(f) How Stalin exercised power over the communist party and the soviet state

Why did a leadership struggle begin even before Lenin’s death?

Lenin’s illness before January 1924 raised the prospect of a power struggle among rivals to succeed him as leader of the Party.

What leadership system was established after Lenin’s death in 1924?

A collective leadership was formed, made up of members of the Politburo.

What characterised the period 1924–1928 within the Soviet leadership?

It was marked by constantly changing rivalries among members of the Politburo as they competed for power.

What position had Stalin achieved by 1928?

By 1928, Stalin had emerged as the real power in the Communist Party.

How did Stalin gain this dominant position?

He used the powers he had acquired as General Secretary of the Communist Party.

What did Stalin’s rise reveal about power in the USSR?

It showed that real power lay within the Communist Party rather than the state.

How did Stalin use his power after 1928?

He increasingly eliminated his opponents and established a personal dictatorship.

How did Stalin’s rule relate to Lenin’s leadership?

Stalin’s methods built on authoritarian trends that were already evident under Lenin.

When did Stalin begin laying the foundations of his power?

During Lenin’s illness, from 1922 onwards.

What key position did Stalin gain in 1922?

General Secretary of the Communist Party.

Why was the post of General Secretary initially underestimated?

It was seen as boring, administrative, and unlikely to advance a political career.

Why was the role of General Secretary actually powerful?

Because real power increasingly lay in the Party structure, which the General Secretary controlled.

What was Stalin’s role as General Secretary?

He was head of the Party secretariat, responsible for the day-to-day running of the Communist Party.

Why did being General Secretary give Stalin power?

It allowed him to coordinate all Party departments and access vast amounts of information.

How did access to Party files help Stalin?

He controlled over 26,000 personal files on Party members, which could be used against rivals.

What was Stalin’s relationship with the secret police?

Dzerzhinsky, head of the Cheka, reported to Stalin regularly, meaning most Politburo members were under surveillance.

How did Stalin control Party debates?

He decided the agenda of Party meetings, limiting what could be discussed.

What was the Lenin Enrolment (1923–25)?

A Party membership drive aimed at recruiting more industrial workers.

Why was the Lenin Enrolment important for Stalin’s power?

Over 500,000 new members joined, doubling Party membership; many were politically inexperienced and loyal to Stalin.

Why were new Party members loyal to Stalin?

They depended on the Party for jobs and privileges, which required loyalty to Party leaders like Stalin.

What role did Stalin play in the Lenin Enrolment?

He supervised it as General Secretary and identified closely with new members due to his humble background.

How did Stalin use patronage to strengthen his position?

He appointed supporters to key Party positions and removed opponents.

Name some of Stalin’s allies promoted to high office.

Molotov, Kalinin, Voroshilov, and Sergei Kirov

Why was Sergei Kirov made Party boss in Leningrad in 1926?

To replace the disfavoured Zinoviev with a loyal supporter of Stalin.

How did Stalin dominate Party votes?

Party Congresses were filled with delegates who owed their positions to him.

How did Stalin differ from Lenin in using Party structures?

Lenin created the system; Stalin exploited it to build personal power.

Why was Stalin nicknamed “Comrade Card-Index”?

Because of his focus on administration, records, and routine Party work.

How did contemporaries describe Stalin’s personality?

As a “grey blur” — an efficient administrator but lacking charisma.

Why did Stalin’s lack of charisma help him?

He built power quietly and largely unnoticed by rivals.

Where was the power struggle after Lenin’s death mainly played out?

Among the members of the Politburo.

Why was Leon Trotsky seen as the obvious successor to Lenin?

He was a leading Bolshevik and creator of the Red Army.

Why did Trotsky fail to secure power?

He was arrogant, disliked teamwork, and failed to build support within the Party.

What was Trotsky’s attitude to Party politics?

He viewed inter-Party manoeuvring as beneath him and made little effort to organise supporters.

What position gave Grigory Zinoviev a strong power base?

Party Secretary in Leningrad.

What were Zinoviev’s main weaknesses?

He was vain, a skilled speaker but ineffective in practical matters.

What accusation was commonly made against Lev Kamenev?

Lack of principle.

What position did Kamenev hold?

Party Secretary in Moscow.

How did Lenin describe Nikolai Bukharin?

As the “golden boy” of the Party.

What were Bukharin’s strengths and weaknesses?

He was intelligent and young but lacked political experience.

What was Mikhail Tomsky’s main political base?

The trade union movement.

Why did Tomsky’s influence decline?

Lenin reduced the political power of trade unions, limiting their role.

What role did Alexei Rykov take after Lenin’s death?

Chair of the Sovnarkom.

Why was Rykov an ineffective rival to Stalin?

His outspoken nature upset colleagues and he suffered from alcoholism.

Why were Stalin’s rivals disadvantaged compared to him?

• Their positions lacked the influence and control that Stalin gained as General Secretary

• lacked party support

How did Stalin weaken his opponents in the Politburo?

By exploiting divisions between the Left and Right over the future of the Revolution.

Which politicians made up the Left of the Party?

Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev.

What did the Left believe in?

Permanent Revolution and breaking with Lenin’s economic policies.

Which politicians made up the Right of the Party?

Bukharin, Tomsky and Rykov.

What did the Right believe in?

Continuing Lenin’s NEP in the short term.

How was the Left defeated in 1926?

Their views were criticised at the Fifteenth Party Conference.

What accusation was used against the Left?

Forming factions within the Party.

What happened to Zinoviev and Kamenev?

They were expelled but readmitted in 1928 after renouncing their views.

What happened to Trotsky?

He was exiled to Alma-Ata in 1928 and expelled from the USSR in 1929.

What new issue divided the Party in 1927–28?

Stalin’s plan for rapid industrialisation and the First Five-Year Plan.

Why did the Right oppose ending the NEP?

They feared food shortages due to peasant resistance.

What was Stalin’s ideological response to the Right?

He claimed they threatened “Socialism in One Country”

What was The Foundations of Leninism?

A directive supporting the removal of the NEP, aimed at politically naive Party members.

How did Stalin undermine Bukharin personally?

By highlighting Bukharin’s past disagreements with Lenin.

He was also accused of Trotskyism as he criticised the growth of bureaucracy, a view associated with Trotsky allowing Stalin to accuse him of factionalism.

How did Stalin weaken the Right’s support base?

By removing their supporters from Moscow Party branches and trade unions.

How did Stalin discredit the NEP?

By highlighting food shortages and approving emergency grain requisitioning.

Why could Stalin always win Party votes?

He controlled appointments and was supported by officials loyal to him.

What happened at the Central Committee meeting in April 1929?

Bukharin admitted political errors.

What happened to the Right Opposition leaders?

They were removed from their posts; Rykov remained until 1930.

What happened to the idea of collective leadership?

It ended by 1929.

Why was Stalin dominant by early 1929?

He had removed all serious rivals and controlled Party machinery.

Who did Stalin represent within Soviet society?

The growing class of Party bureaucrats seeking to protect their privileges.