Why had Stalin emerged as the eventual successor to Lenin by 1929?

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Katie Taylor 10H                                                                                                       4/27/07

Why had Stalin emerged as the eventual successor to Lenin by 1929?

When Lenin died in 1924 from complications due to a previous stroke, few had heard of Josef Stalin. General Secretary since 1922 as none of the other Bolsheviks had wanted the job, Stalin (meaning “man of steel”) was constantly in the background. He was viewed by the Politburo as “a grey-blur” and he was quite literally unknown by the general public. The jobs he did were dull administrative tasks, and staying out of the limelight meant he had few enemies at this point. No one could have possibly suspected the power Stalin would wield in the years to come. Yet Stalin had ambition and was determined to become the next great leader of communist Russia.

        Stalin had subtly and “secretively” begun the task of gaining power long before Lenin’s death. He used his supposedly “dull” job as General Secretary to find out every thing that was going on in the party, even tapping phone calls. His position enabled him to make sure that his supporters filled all posts below the Politburo in the communist hierarchy. He talked to ordinary people at the bottom of this hierarchy and by Lenin’s death he was on his way to gaining a huge regional level power base. Stalin also served on the Orgburo, which controlled the day-by-day organisation of the state, putting him in charge of small but significant tasks regarding the party and Russia. He was also able to appoint military officers loyal to him, who would be less loyal to other members of the party. Through these two roles he was able to learn, in great detail, how the party was run. He could see how people gained and lost power, and he used this knowledge to continue his rise.

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After Lenin’s death he could finally take more drastic and public actions in his quest for power. Stalin led the Party in making sure that Lenin was treated like a hero of the people and personally took charge of all funeral arrangements. Stalin made his presence felt by attending all-important functions to show that he was in charge. Stalin also took the precaution of telling Trotsky the wrong date for the funeral making him look disrespectful in the eyes of the party. Stalin delivered the eulogy and helped carry the coffin, he organised the building of a Lenin museum and ...

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