Stalin's Rise to Power

Stalin's Rise to Power Power Struggle between Trotsky and Stalin and its Immediate Aftermath * The struggle for succession: Lenin finally died on January 1924, two years after a debilitating stroke in May 1992. Meanwhile various Party bosses began jockeying for his position. * Each of the major Party leaders had their own sources of power or fiefdoms. * Zinoviev headed the powerful and prestigious Party organisation of Petrograd * Kamenev headed the Moscow party organisation. * Trotsky remained Commissar for War and he had immense national prestige as a leader of the October Insurrection and organiser of the victory of the Civil War. However, he had joined the Bolsheviks only in 1917. * Bukharin was the editor of the Pravda, the Party newspaper. * Like Zinoviev and Kamenev, Stalin (born Djugashvili) was a long time Party member. From 1917 he was Commissar for Nationalities, and therefore responsible for the creation of the USSR in 1924. * Stalin was appointed as the General Secretary in 1922 May, and was a member of the Orgburo and Politburo since 1919. * Stalin had the political skills necessary to maximise the power the Secretariat gave him without overplaying his hand. Many regarded both Stalin and his official position as dull and insignificant - gave him a further advantage, because his rivals failed to take Stalin seriously until it was too late. Sukhanov

  • Word count: 882
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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What were the causes of the russian revolution

What were the causes of the Russian Revolution? The Russian revolution was caused by the continual breakdown of the governments in Russia and the incompetency and authoritarian views of its Tzars. Their failures as leaders included policies that neither pleased nor benefited the people. By the end of the nineteenth century, Russia's economy, government, military, and social organization was at an extreme decline. Russia had become the least advanced of the major European nations in terms of political and social development. There was no parliament, and no middle class. The Church, officers, and other important people and institutions were firmly against social progress. For the first few decades of the 1800's, Russia's outlook was brighter under Alexander I, who was relatively liberal. He became more reactionary however, and following his death, a group of young army officers tried to overturn the Tzardom. This was called the Decembrist Revolt. The next Tzar, Nicholas, was a die hard authoritarian. The Administrative system continued to decay regardless of his iron fisted rule. The gap between the rich and the poorer continued to widen. Over five hundred peasant revolts took place during his reign. Alexander II, who took the throne in 1855 tried to avert revolt by attempting reform. In 1861 he freed the serfs and gave them expectations of free land allotments. But to their

  • Word count: 723
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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How did Mussolini use the Arts and the Media as a way of controlling the Italian People?

How did Mussolini use the Arts and the Media as a way of controlling the Italian People? Mussolini had many methods of using people's own artistic talents to his own advantage, though the effectiveness of some of these methods is questionable. Mussolini used many different forms of media to communicate himself and his ideals. Perhaps the most effective of these was the use of the poster. A high proportion of Italy at this time was illiterate and the posters that were produced were attractive and portrayed 'Il duce' as a great man how had many interests and was grea at many things. the state constantly put up fresh posters for the regime, and also took down any anti-state posters. they were a great way of portraying in a glance how great Mussolini was supposed to have been. The newpapers and cinema were also used to try and control the thinking of the Italian people. However these two mediums of communication had difficulties as there was a high illiteracy rate and there was a general lack of enthusiasm for cinema going in Italy at that time. Only 10% of the population read Fascist run newspapers and most of the films on show at that time were from Holywood, so there was not the same oppotunity for Mussolini to exploit the cinema industry as Hitler had with his propaganda films such as 'The Eternal Jew'. Radio was the final method of mass media that Mussolini tried

  • Word count: 654
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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What lay behind the horrors of the slave trade.

The slave triangle worked like this. Firstly the people in Britain made goods like guns, alcohol, and iron bars, which were made very cheaply. All the goods were then carried to the docs in Glasgow, Liverpool or Bristol. All these goods were then boarded on to the ships and were taken to West Africa to be traded for slaves. The people bought only the strong looking slaves, both men and women. They took them to a market and placed them into chains, and were marched to the coast. They slaves were once again examined to see whether they were healthy, and if they were they were usually branded high up on the shoulder or high up on their backs. The branded slaves were taken to the barraoon and were placed on the ships. Men were separated from the women. The ships were packed with 600 or ore slaves. They were tightly packed in the warm, dark airless holds below the deck. They were placed there for the entire voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, which lasted for several weeks. Not surprisingly, many slaves died during this time. The slaves who survived were taken to South Africa, West Indies or North America depending on where the slaves were needed. The slaves were traded for sugar, rum, tobacco or cotton. Europe then bought the goods from the countries and the slave trade continued working like this. People in Britain were in involved in many ways, example of people who were

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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"Why did Stalin, rather than Trotsky, emerge as Lenin's successor?"

"Why did Stalin, rather than Trotsky, emerge as Lenin's successor?" The triumph of Communism in Russia was arguably down to one man - Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin). The takeover started in April1917 when Lenin released the 'April Theses' asking for the provisional government to step down. It was 6 months later though that any real progress came about as Lenin and the Bolsheviks formatted a new Soviet Government. It did not go as smoothly as the Bolsheviks had planned though because as soon as they had set up a government - they had a civil war to deal with. This war heavily influenced their policies as they had to contend with fighting the Whites who were heavily against a Communist Russia. The party was hardened and militarized but this was through no choice of their own. Russia at this time saw the Bolsheviks instigate extreme economic policies such as War Communism and implacable hostility developed towards the West. The Civil war was not completely responsible for these effects but it is obvious that without the civil war - Communist Russia could have been a far different place. It was Lenin and his policies that helped the Bolsheviks consolidate power and for doing this, he was seen as an almost omnipotent figure by the Russian people. This was not the case for every Russian person however. On August 30th 1918 - Lenin survived an assassination attempt but he

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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How successful were the attempts by Alexander II to reform Russia?

How successful were the attempts by Alexander II to reform Russia? After the brutal and extended Napoleonic wars, Russia was perceived as a powerful state that managed to repel the armies of the great Napoleon I. Despite this military success, Russia remained domestically backwards economically, politically and socially. The Crimean war had revealed true weaknesses in the Russia industrial sector. Reforms urgently needed to be instigated if Russia was to become part of the modern European nations. Amongst all Russian Tsars, it would be fair to describe Alexander II as a pioneer. His father Nicholas I recognised the importance of reforming Russia but feared the consequences of doing so, as Tsars Peter III and Paul I had both been assassinated by unhappy nobles. However, Alexander II most notorious restructuring was to be the emancipation of the serfs. The noble's ownership of serfs was at the heart of all Russia's economic problems. Alexander II ordered the serfs to be freed in 1861. This was to mark the fist real effort from any Russian Tsar to reform an outdated system. By freeing the serfs Alexander II forced the Aristocracy to sell of their land and to take up jobs, thus making an effort to end unfair in heritage and promoting, to a certain extent a meritocracy. Serfs were also to suffer less cruel treatment at the hands of greedy landlords. They were given the right to

  • Word count: 1200
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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The Weakness of the Directory was the main reasons for Napoleons rise to Power. How far do you agree?

The Weakness of the Directory was the main reasons for Napoleon's rise to Power. How far do you agree? On 10th November 1799 the Coup of Brumaire brought about a leader who would bring France's power to the forefront of Europe, a nation feared by all others. The coup was the final of a series of coups between 1797 and 1799. This shows that the Directory was extremely weak which caused Napoleon to rise to power, however there were other reasons as well, such as Napoleon's political connections, his success in wars and his own personal strengths, and the opportunities he creates for himself. The revolution in France was by no means a quick process, taking over ten years before stability was finally regained and Napoleon came to power. During the ten years there were many different types of government all with different ideas, however not one of the governments really affected the peasants, thus the people of France became fed up. Fed up of paying taxes to sort out the massive financial chaos, fed up of paying for pointless wars and so people just didn't care enough to stop Napoleon rising to power, despite warnings about him from Benjamin Constant, who believed he was to self-centred, which through policies in the Napoleonic Code actually turn out to be true. The revolution also created a whole in the army due to many of the military generals who were loyal to the king,

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  • Word count: 1481
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Why Did OConnell Achieve More For The Nationalist Cause In Ireland Than Young Ireland Or The Fenians?

Why Did O'Connell Achieve More For The Nationalist Cause In Ireland Than Young Ireland Or The Fenians? Although O'Connell was not entirely successful himself in forwarding the nationalist cause in Ireland and achieving all that he aspired to it can be said that he at least did achieve more for the nationalist cause in Ireland than both Young Ireland and the Fenians. Part of the reason for his success over both the Fenians and Young Ireland lies within the aims of the three groups. For instance, through the Catholic Association O'Connell attempted to embrace wider aims than just achieving Catholic emancipation. These wider aims include electoral reform, reform of the Church of Ireland, tenant's rights and economical development. These aims were an important factor in trying to advance the whole interest of the Irish, Catholic community, and so as a result these aims attracted a wider range of supporters, which in turn is another factor as to why O'Connell and the Catholic Association achieved more than the Fenians or Young Ireland. In contrast, the aims of Young Ireland and the Fenians were relatively narrow in terms of embracing problems of the whole Irish, Catholic community. For example they both wanted a repeal of the Act of Union as well as an overthrow of British power. In addition Young Ireland also wanted to overthrow the Landlord system in Ireland; this was the only

  • Word count: 1489
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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Compare and access the main reasons for the failure of the Italian revolutions due to poor leadership in the period of 1815 1831

Compare and access the main reasons for the failure of the revolutions due to poor leadership in the period of 1815 - 1831 The revolutions between 1815 and 1831 had a variety of factors that caused them to fail instead of succeed in this period of time. These revolts that took place in various states were mainly organised and founded by the middle class, they believed that revolts would ensure a change in government and the way in which these states were ruled. These secret societies formed in Italy to enhance the Italian way of life, they even schemed abroad in places such as London and Paris. However the main reasons for the failure of these results is due to the large proportion of people such as peasants and workers not supporting them well enough to have a large affect. The revolution could not be a social one due to the fact the middle class was such narrow part of the population and did not involve others. The lack of communication was a key issue due to the revolutions were all localised, the French revolt of 1830 gave the Italian societies a sense of hope that the French would support their needs in Italy. They did not manage to obtain any foreign support to counter the Austrian influence in Italy. No outside power was prepared to help the revolutionaries the Austrian power was simply too overruling. The first revolution begun in Naples in 1818, the middle classes

  • Word count: 1675
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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The Effects of European Imperialism on the Current Day Democratic Republic of the Congo

Karl Jasulavic Mrs. Neuhaus Eng 111 4 September 2004 The Effects of European Imperialism on the Current Day Democratic Republic of the Congo It is a well known fact that the areas of central Africa have long suffered from poverty, death, disease, and lack of technology, but what is responsible for this? No one can say for sure what the cause of the areas misfortune is, but one possible explanation can be linked all the way back to King Leopold's time. Specifically, European imperialism lead by King Leopold in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. King Leopold planted seeds in Central Africa that in turn lead to these long-term hardships that plague the area to this day. Before exploring the notion that European imperialism is the reason for Central Africa's strife the word imperialism needs to be discussed. Imperialism is a tricky subject with no real definition; however there are ideas and social phenomena that can be used for explanation. Depending on what the situation is imperialism can mean several different things. For the most part, in modern times, imperialism has included the aggressive establishment of political control by one state over another through different methods. Colonies and protectorates are two major means by which states take force upon other states, this is also known as "formal imperialism." Not only is brute force used

  • Word count: 1320
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: History
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