After Lenin’s death, Trotsky wanted to spread Communism all over the world. In response, Stalin claimed this would lead to war, and introduced his ideas of Communism at home. This was much more appealing, as the Russians really did not want to go to war after all the troubles they’d had in World War One, and the Civil War. If Trotsky had won the power, and attempted to spread Communism over the world, war would have been inevitable. This was another reason that Stalin emerged as leader and not Trotsky, because Communism at home was more popular than World Communism.
In 1923, at the Twelfth Party Congress, Trotsky refused to make a principle speech in place of Lenin. Instead, Stalin did who successfully dominated, whilst skilfully agreeing with Lenin’s complaints about Russians trying to dominate other nationalities in the USSR. These complaints had originally been made by Lenin at Stalin, and although Trotsky could have weakened Stalin by acting upon this, he failed to do so, thus letting a great opportunity slip away. As well as this, Zinoviev was becoming concerned with Stalin’s increasing power. Stalin deceivingly offered to resign, and Zinoviev turned his attention to Trotsky. This was also a big reason why Stalin emerged as leader, since once again, he had been underestimated, and was not considered a threat when really he truly was.
Factionalism meant that groups who tried to disagree with the official policy and party leadership would be banned. In late October, Trotsky organised “The Declaration of the Forty Six,” which was an attack on the poor economic within the government, and which also accused Stalin of cheating in the elections. However, this led Trotsky open to the accusation of factionalism, and in turn, he was condemned by the Central Committee. This was a major set back for Trotsky, and in turn, was huge victory for Stalin.
In 1924, Trotsky turned his attacks to Kamanev and Zinoviev, which shows that he regarded these two as a greater threat than Stalin, further evidence of how Stalin was underestimated, and was therefore able to emerge as leader of the USSR. The Troika which consisted of Stalin, Kamanev and Zinoviev, accused Trotsky once again of factionalism claiming he believed in a “permanent revolution.” Trotsky argued that Socialism could not be established in Russia until it had spread throughout Western Europe. Stalin disagreed, and told people of Russia that Trotsky was going against what Lenin believed in. This made Trotsky look very negative, especially towards Lenin’s beliefs, and as a result, Trotsky was condemned once again.
By 1926, Stalin had gained much support, and in a last desperate attempt, Trotsky, Kamanev and Zinoviev joined forces to attack Stalin. They were known as the United Opposition but by this time there actions were too late. Stalin was too powerful by this stage, and had emerged as leader since members of the Politburo had failed to recognise him as a threat. Later in the year, they published Lenin’s testament. The three were expelled from the party, and by 1927 all opposition propaganda was banned, This was enforced by the Secret Police, which were also a reason why Stalin won the leadership contest. They removed anyone who went against the government.
In conclusion, as a result of Trotsky’s arrogance, Stalin’s skills and abilities were put aside, and he was not considered a threat until it was far too late. Stalin’s deviance and ruthlessness helped him to eliminate the opposition, such as his clever funeral trick, and his views on Russian policies won over the Russian people. It is because of these factors, that Stalin emerged as leader of the USSR and not Trotsky.
