“to What Extent Was the Rise to Power of Stalin Due to Personal Appeal and Ability”?

Joseph Stalin used his intellect, and power, to outmanoeuvre his rivals to become leader of the Soviet Union. Using carefully planned propaganda including, painting, statues, and a series of cultivated posters Stalin immortalised and glorified his leadership. These state-manufactured images created a ‘cult of personality' around him, subsequently, creating an image of a heroic worshipped figure, who was associated with every aspect of soviet society. Stalin controlled the media and according to the historian Moshe Lewin, Stalin single handily, ‘become the system,’ (Lewin in Pittaway, 2008, p.137.)

Following the death of Vladimir Lenin, Stalin utilized the political divisions within the Russian government to gain power. Firstly, Stalin was given the position of Commissar of Nationalities, which entitled the power of patronage. After Lenin died, Stalin competed with other members of the Politburo for power, however he was able to use the power of patronage to extend privileges to his supporters and isolate his competitors. This power allowed him support himself within politics and attributed to his own rise in leadership. Also, Stalin utilized the political divisions between his fellow members of the Politburo, as seen by the triumvirate that he formed. This bloc within the Politburo consisted of Stalin, Kamenev, and Zinoviev and had the

During the years following the death of Lenin in 1924, there was an immense power struggle in the politburo of the Communist Party, as its leading figures competed to replace him. By 1929, Joseph Stalin had defeated his rivals - and therefore become leader of the party - through three stages: the defeat of the left opposition (and therefore Trotsky), the united opposition (Zinoviev, Kamenev and Trotsky), and finally the right deviation (Bukharin). Stalin gained power due to a number of factors, particularly his position as General Secretary of the party, along with his other roles, but also through errors made by the Bolsheviks, most notably their underestimation and dismissal of Stalin. However, his position as General Secretary gave

One of the most important reasons why Stalin won the power struggle is that he used his high positions in the Communist party and the power that came with it to his advantage. Several factors fall under this category. Firstly is how Stalin used his position as General Secretary, as well as jealousies between the leaders and Trotsky’s illness to stage-manage Lenin’s funeral. To the general public, it appeared that Stalin was very close to Lenin, and as a result

Soso Djugashvili, more commonly known as Joseph Stalin, ‘man of steel’, dictator of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Russia, can be considered a ‘Red Tsar’ to an extent when features of Stalinism are compared to those of Tsarism and Russia ruled by Nicholas II’s autocratic regime from 1894 to 1917. A ‘Red Tsar’ is a communist leader whom follows similar principles followed under the leadership of a Tsar, that were influenced by few opinions allowing sole leadership and little opposition from others. Stalin can be considered a ‘Red Tsar’ to an extent as he ruled Communist Russia as a somewhat totalitarian state and was considered a ‘God-like’ figure sent to Earth to lead the nation and its people. From Stalin’s reign of terror from 1929 to 1953 there can be similarities seen in his regime to features of Tsarism as well as differences, this is why there are alternative interpretations for Stalin being considered a ‘Red Tsar’.

Between 1924 and 1945, Joseph Stalin was able to emerge as the leader of the USSR and maintain what Kruchev described as “the accumulation of immense and limitless power”. Stalin's rise to power was a combination of his ability to manipulate situations and the failure of others to prevent him from taking power, especially Leon Trotsky. Stalin ruled the USSR from 1929 until his death in 1953. His rule was one of tyranny, a great change from the society that his predecessor, Lenin, had envisioned. During his time of reign, Stalin put into effect two self-proclaimed "five-year

Joseph Stalin, from the time that he was a low level revolutionary to the years that he spent as the dictator of the Soviet Union, always knew what he needed to do to achieve his goals. His organized rise to power allowed him to gain a steady flow of followers who would support him for decades to come. Stalin received a minor government position in 1917, but by the time a new leader was needed in 1924, he “had turned the largely routine post of Party general secretary into the most powerful office in the Soviet Union” (“Joseph Stalin) and “had built a personal empire for himself through his control over committee appointments at all levels . . . expand[ing] the leading Party organs with his supporters, who then voted against his rivals”

Joseph Stalin greatly influenced Russia in the years 1924 through 1932. His rise to this power can be explained by the Russian Revolutionary experience that allowed him to gain authority in Russia. Although historians often refer to Stalin as a ruthless, mindless dictator, he redirected the Russian Revolution to major economic development. Stalin’s character in Russia during the Revolution catalyzed the many events that took place during the time period. Because of Stalin’s ability to both appeal to the masses, and take advantage of events, like Lenin’s death, Stalin was able to rise to power. Essentially, the Russian Revolution fostered the development of Stalin’s dictatorship leading the country into a state of economic growth and influence. The Revolution fostered Stalin’s ability to maintain a central leadership, use violence to gain control, and regenerate a previously disconnected economy.

In 1922, Vladimir Lenin founded the Soviet Union, and during these years, Stalin became one of his most loyal followers. As he continued to gain popularity and began to move up the party ladder, Stalin became Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. This role enabled him to appoint his allies to government jobs and have a base of political support (History.com Staff, 2009). When Lenin passed away in 1924, Stalin began creating a "cult of personality" around himself and got artists to paint pictures glorifying him (Trueman, 2015). He also built himself to be a great genius and a leader who was guided by Lenin and described himself as "Lenin's right hand man" (Kenny 2015). In the late 1920's, Stalin gained complete control over the Soviet Union and became its dictator.

Stalin’s unquestionable dominance over the Bolshevik party and their actions highlights the impact of Stalinism

Trotsky’s involvement in the 1917 revolution was of utmost significance to Bolshevik success. With Lenin in exile in Finland, Trotsky became the public face of Bolshevism. Trotsky’s leadership of the Soviet demonstrated his distinct skills, which became essential to the success of the revolution. His formation, recruiting, disciplining and arming of the Red Guard became a significant factor to the movement. It had amassed to over 200,000 militants by October. Additionally Trotsky’s arranging of the Soviet, placing Bolshevik delegates in power, allowed the Bolsheviks to organize the Military Revolutionary committee.

Thus, the “Cult of Personality” was flourishing. Propaganda glorifying Stalin and Soviet ideals brainwashed the minds of Russian people. Stalin successfully impressed his socialist philosophies on millions of workers and peasants. Over time, socialism transformed into Stalinism, and it took hold. Stalin was able to hypnotize people towards one belief, the love of Stalin. When they saw Stalin being portrayed heroically everyday in the news or on posters, they began to idolize him. Stalin is like Big Brother; he was the main focus and had total power over the people and their actions.

It is undeniable that Stalin had a profound impact on the Soviet Union following Lenin’s death. His rise to power within the Soviet Union has provided historians with a hotbed of political intrigue for many years. He was an opportunist, coming to dominance by manipulating party politics and influential figures in the politburo to eliminate his opposition by recognising and exploiting their weaknesses thus becoming the dominant leader of the Soviet Union. He was severely underestimated by other members of the Politburo about his potential within the party, leading to missed opportunities to ally and stand against him- a mistake that Stalin never made. He gained support from the public by exploiting the idea of ‘the Cult of Lenin’ in 1924 at Lenin’s funeral, and then adopting this concept for himself, thereby likening himself to Lenin; and, more importantly, gained support from other party members by following the wishes of Lenin, for example, initially supporting the continuation of the NEP and supporting the idea of factionalism. This essay will also argue that he was ideologically flexible as he was able to change his ideas for the party according to who he needed as an ally, in order to achieve dominant status in the party. He sought out which individual was the biggest threat, and eliminated them before they could stand against him.

Stalin had his own body of Nobles known as the Nomenklatura. They were similar to Tsarist nobles in that their authority could be easily disregarded. Their support was gained by threatening to remove privileges that Stalin had total control over. Amongst Stalin’s government there was much corruption at lower levels. As the Tsars has governmental bureaucracy, Stalin had “inner circles” of government, party officials and industrial managers who made decisions to suit themselves, ignoring the instructions from the centre outwards. The policies that came out of Stalin’s government were believed to be “acting in the interests of the people” but were in fact quite the opposite.

282). One of Stalin’s tactics to establish his social power was through “manipulation and control of the media” (Strong & Killingsworth, 2011, p. 407). Stalin seemed to be quite skilled in his use of the media to portray the image of himself that he wished his followers to see. News articles were written in such a way to cause people feel as if Stalin was synonymous with power. All of this media manipulation cemented the growing bond between Stalin and his followers making them love him all the more (Strong & Killingsworth, 2011, p. 407). Thereby exerting his social power through literature and by using the manipulation of media created a God-like image of himself that his followers loved and adored.