the 1920s power struggle

death of lenin

health had been steadily deteriorating overtime

had been suffering bouts of aphasia + agraphia (symptoms of stroke)

suffered 4 strokes between May 22 and jan 24

died 21st of Jan 1924

impact

ame as a shock to the party + nation

mourned heavily by the people

• enormous + elaborate funeral

• placed in a mausoleum in the Red Square

• Petrograd renamed Leningrad

Stalin’s oath to Lenin

• mixture of revolutionary call to arms + religious catechism

• referred to Lenin’s wishes for the Party as “commandments”

• sentiment conveyed by Stalin was false, was actually a power grab

last will + testament

presented Lenin’s views on each of the leading party figures

not very complimentary to any

Trotsky

• “He is perhaps the most capable man in the current Central Committee”

Stalin

• received the greatest condemnation

• stated he couldn’t be trusted and should be removed from power

• “Stalin is too rude and this defect … becomes intolerable in a Secretary General”

was to be read out at the CC and be made public

Zinoviev argued Lenin’s comments were baseless + shoudn’t be published

CC voted 44-10 to keep it private

stalin

during the CW was removed from his position (subordinate to Trotsky) in Tsaritsyn for disobedience

became the Party’s General Secretary in 1922

• many viewed these roles as part of the dull bureaucratic routine

• actually gave him great power

• gave him the power of patronage (would appoint people on condition of votes @ congress)

• allowed him to direct the flow of information through the party

also was appointed to head of Workers’ + Peasants’ Inspectorate in 1920

• gave him power of patronage in administrative positions

was also member of the Politburo + Commissar for Nationalities

“Gave me the impression – and I was not alone in this view – of a grey blur which flickered obscurely and left no trace” (Sukhanov)

trotsky

one of the CP’s best orators + writers

popular with the young + radical members of the party

had a strong base in the army as Commissar for War

was dismissive of other Bs which made him unpopular amongst colleagues

was overtly loyal + would agree with decisions as to not cause divisions

didn’t get involved in in-fighting or alliances, preferred debating → more vulnerable to less scrupulous colleagues

suffered with health following 1923 → was absent from Politburo meetings + weak when dealing w opposition

main issues in the leadership struggle (4)

1. nature of leadership

2. NEP + industrialisation debate

3. permanent revolution v socialism in one country

4. party manoeuvring

nature of leadership

party members favoured “collective leadership” or rule by committee → seen as more socialist

feared Trotsky

• commander of the Red Army put him in a strong position to cross opposition

• presentations in govt were dictatorial in style (e.g. organisation of the RA)

• in reality, had no intention of becoming a dictator, argued for more democracy + openness in the mid 1920s (e.g. in the New Course Debate of 1923 Trotsky stated "Bureaucratism threatens to separate the Party from the masses.")

reasons why the NEP had become unattractive

capitalist aspects

• wealth disparity

• property dealing

• speculation

high levels of unemployment (20% by mid-20s)

scissors crises

industry was yet to surpass pre-WWI levels

NEP + industrialisation debate

all potential leaders agreed on the need to industrialise but not on HOW

different views on the left and right

the left

led by Trotsky, Zinoviev + Kamenev

wanted to end the NEP + rapidly industrialise

militarise labour

take control of the peasants again to increase agricultural exports

BUT could lead to peasant opposition, less agricultural output + conflict with the West

the right

led by Bukharin

wanted to continue the NEP

encourage peasants to become richer → spend more on consumer goods → lead to growth of manufacturing industry

feared conflict with peasants would lead to economic collapse + endanger communist state

BUT was slow + capitalist in nature, scissors crises showed its weaknesses

permanent revolution

lead by Trotsky

believed communist revolution wouldn’t succeed as the proletariat in R was too small + the economy underdeveloped

needed support of the working class from more industrialised E countries

R should put $ + effort into encouraging foreign working classes to stage revolutions

wanted to achieve ultimate goal of world communist revolution

wanted to subject Russia to continuing revolutionary processes to move towards socialism

• compulsory labour units

• forcing peasants into collective farms

socialism in one country

lead by Stalin towards end of 1924

argued world revolution had not and would not happen in the immediate future

russians should instead focus on building their own socialist states

appealed to nationalism + patriotism

• R was in a position to show the world what socialism meant

• would create a workers’ society that was superior to the capitalist west

• would be world leaders

flexible doctrine as he didn’t specify what was going to be done to achieve what was said

party manouvering

achieved through:

• using support gained through patronage

• forming + breaking alliances

• taking advantage of his colleagues underestimations of his skills, cunning + intelligence

• manipulating the course of ideological debate

“Although Stalin seemed to win every trick, it is unlikely that he followed a long-term plan. He did not need to; he could stand back and watch his rival dig their own graves, occasionally offering his spade to one or other of them” (JN Westwood)

lenin’s funeral

tricked Trotsky into not turning up → damaged his reputation

set himself up as Lenin’s disciple and played into the cult of Lenin to gain support

alliance with the left

formed a triumvirate with Zinoviev + Kamenev who would now essentially lead the party

Trotsky was easily defeated in party votes as Congress was packed with Stalin loyalists and Z+K blocs

Z + K launched campaign that attacked Trotsky’s former allegiance to the Menshevik party pre-1917

• "the agent of Menshevism in the working class."

Trotsky responded with Lessons of October in 1924 where he critiqued their opposition to the OR

Stalin remained passive → appeared the moderate peacemaker who wished to achieve party unity

Z + K allowed Stalin to bring more supporters into key positions → was able to dominate committees

alliance with the right

SiOC became very attractive to the right

formed and alliance with Bukharin + the Party’s centre

Z + K attempted to pass a MoNC against Stalin but lost

Z + K then formed an alliance with Trotsky (“United Opposition”) and tried to organise demonstrations in Moscow

was extremely damaging as were accused of factionalism + expelled in 1927

turning against the right

1928

began to advocate for rapid industrialisation + peasant cooperation through force

once again gained support of the left → removed right leaders including Bukharin from the Politburo + other party bodies

became the undisputed leader of the USSR by Dec 1929