stalin's rise to power

what was stalin's first step in his rise to power?

manipulating lenin's funeral

when did lenin die?

the 21st of january 1924

how old was lenin when he died?

53 years old

when was lenin's funeral?

the 27th of january 1924

where was lenin's funeral held?

the red square in moscow

how many people attended lenin's funeral

tens of thousands

how did stalin trick trotsky?

trotsky was sick - stalin took advantage of this and told him the wrong date, so he didn't show up

what date did stalin give trotsky?

the 26th of january - he also insisted trotsky could not come back to moscow in time for it from where he was recovering in the caucasus.

what was the effect of trotsky not attending lenin's funeral?

the general public thought trotsky was not bothered to attend, and so thought more highly of lenin and dislike trotsky

what else did stalin do at lenin's funeral?

gave a speech praising lenin and positioning himself as his disciple and natural successor

what were the public's pre-conceived notions of trotsky?

he was viewed as arrogant, impatient, and uninspiring, and they did not trust his radical views

what were the public's pre-conceived notions of lenin?

he was viewed as trustworthy, because he had a kind outwards persona, was an inspiring speakers, and held centrist views that were not too radical

what was stalin's second step in his rise to power?

ensuring lenin's testament was not released to the public

when did lenin write his testament?

late december 1922 and early january 1923

in what condition did lenin write his testament?

whilst recovering from several strokes

what did lenin say about stalin in his testament?

he called stalin 'too rude' and suggested that 'a way be found to remove stalin from that post and replace him with someone who differs from him in all respects'

how did stalin convince the other leading party members not to release lenin's testament?

he used the fact that lenin was recovering from strokes when he wrote it to suggest that it should not be released - the other party members agreed, arguably mostly out of self-interest, because it was also very critical of them

what was stalin's third step in his rise to power?

removing trotsky from his position

when was the first party congress since lenin's death?

from the 23rd-31st of may, 1924

what did lenin do at the first party congress?

he joined zinoviev and kamenev to form a troika (or tripartite)

who were zinoviev and kamenev?

left-wing party members

what was stalin's position in the party?

general secretary

what did stalin's position let him do?

control members of congress

how did stalin use his position as general secretary in the first party congress?

he packed all 1140 seats with his supporters

what was the result of stalin's actions at the first party congress?

trotksy lost all the votes and subsequently lost his position as commissar for the war

what was stalin's fourth step in his rise to power?

removing all the important leftist party members

when was the fifteenth party conference held?

from october 26th to november 3rd 1926

what did stalin do at the fifteenth party congress?

he turned on zinoviev and kamenev and joined bukharin and his right-wing allies

what did stalin and bukharin support together?

bukharin's ideology of 'socialism in one country'

how did stalin use his position as general secretary in the fifteenth party conference?

he made all the delegates his own supporters

what was the outcome of the fifteenth party congress?

zinoviev and kamenev lost their jobs in the politburo

how did stalin excuse removing zinoviev and kamenev from their jobs?

he used lenin's anti-factionalism law as a political excuse, arguing that zinoviev and kamenev were damaging the party's cohesion

what was the overall outcome of the fifteenth party conference?

trotsky, zinoviev, and kamenev were expelled from the party?

when were trotsky, zinoviev, and kamenev expelled from the party?

on november 12th, 1927

what was stalin's fifth step in his rise to power?

removing all the important rightist party members

when was the plenum of the central committee held?

from the 10th-17th of november, 1929

what did stalin do at the plenum of the central committee?

he turned on bukharin and his allies

how did stalin attack bukharin and his allies?

he branded them the 'right opposition' and declared them enemies of the communist ideology. he also attacked the NEP

when was stalin finally in charge of the USSR?

by 1929, stalin had turned fifty and was the undisputed leader of the USSR

how long did stalin remain leader of the USSR for?

until his death in 1953