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Factors that led to the Emergence of Stalin as a Leader of the Soviet Union

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Factors that led to the Emergence of Stalin as a Leader of the Soviet Union
Introduction
Following Lenin’s death in 1924, there was contemplation regarding who would take
over his position. The five leading Communists suited to contest for Lenin’s post included
Bukharin, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Trotsky and Stalin. Since the Communist party did not select its
leaders through elections, the competition was very intense. The qualifications for Lenin’s post
were based on exercise of power within the party. Even though Bukharin, Kamenev, and
Zinoviev had good leadership attributes, they were too weak to compete against either Stalin or
Trotsky. Both Stalin and Trotsky were considered powerful members of the Communist party,
thus they were best placed to lead USSR. The power struggle between Stalin and Trotsky became
very intense (Walsh 126). However, in 1929 Lenin proved beyond doubt that he was suited to
become the supreme leader of USSR. His accession to power was attributed to political
scheming, weaknesses of his political rivals, and a strong power base (Phillips 73). This paper
seeks to analyze the factors that led to Stalin’s triumph over Trotsky in succeeding Lenin.
Trotsky’s Weaknesses and Mistakes
After Lenin’s death, there was limited doubt that Trotsky would take over his reign. Other
than being the Communist party’s political think tank, Trotsky was a gifted speaker as well as a
writer. He was recognized for his role in the Bolshevik Revolution and also as a Civil War hero.
Above all, he played a significant role in negotiating peace for USSR with the Treaty of Brest-

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Litovsk. Despite all these qualities that would have easily seen Trotsky become the next leader
after Lenin’s death, he still failed. According to Walsh (126), Trotsky’s failure can be attributed
to his arrogance, disrespect towards his party members, and his lack of commitment to the job.
Most importantly, he failed no notice how fast Stalin was gaining political momentum thus he
underestimated him.
Similarly, Trotsky and Lenin’s failure to disclose his testament regarding Stalin’s
citizenship and Lennin’s failure to provide public opinion on his perception of Stalin was a major
weakness on their part. In order to suppress Stalin’s growing poltical power base, the testament
would have provided a useful tool in portraying Stalin as an outsider who should not seek such a
senior position. In essence, the Left Wing of the Communist party failure to use the document,
which would have damaged Stalin’s poltical image, was both a weakness and a mistake (Walsh
126).
Moreover, the issue of ‘Permanent Revolution’ which Trotsky proposed was another
political mistake. He advocated for the spread of a worldwide revolution a strategy for
strengthening USSR’s security (127). He wanted the revolution to facilitate the spread of
communism throughout the world. On the other hand, Stalin focused on promoting ‘Socialism in
One Country’. There was no hope of success through the permanent revolution since it had failed
to materialize after 1917. His position regarding the permanent revolution made the people of
USSR question Trotsky’s motive, further weakening his power base (Phillips 80).
Lastly, Trosky was a victim of Stalin’s tricks (Kuromiya 53). Instead of using his
numerous networks to find a way to Lenin’s funeral, he took Stalin’s word with regard to Lenin’s
burial date. At the time of Lenin’s death, Trosky fell ill and had to seek medical attention in
Sothern Russia. Stalin misinformed him about Lenin’s burial date and therefore he ended up

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(Name) (Professor) History (Date) Factors that led to the Emergence of Stalin as a Leader of the Soviet Union Introduction Following Lenin's death in 1924, there was contemplation regarding who would take over his position. The five leading Communists suited to contest for Lenin's post included Bukharin, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Trotsky and Stalin. Since the Communist party did not select its leaders through elections, the competition was very intense. The qualifications for Lenin's post were based on exercise of power within the party. Even though Bukharin, Kamenev, and Zinoviev had good leadership attributes, they were too weak to compete against either Stalin or Trotsky. Both Stalin and Trotsky were considered powerful members of the Communist party, thus they were best placed to lead USSR. The power struggle between Stalin and Trotsky became very intense (Walsh 126). However, in 1929 Lenin proved beyond doubt that he was suited to become the supreme leader of USSR. His accession to power was attributed to political scheming, weaknesses of his political rivals, and a strong power base (Phillips 73). This paper seeks to analyze the factors that led to Stalin's triumph over Trotsky in succeeding Lenin. Trotsky's Weaknesses and Mistakes After Lenin's death, there was limited doubt that Trotsky would take over his reign. Other than being the Communist party's political think tank, Trotsky was a gifted speaker as well as a writer. He was recognized for his role in the Bolshevik Rev ...
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Anonymous
Awesome! Perfect study aid.

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