Why Did Stalin Rather Than Trotsky Emerge as Leader of the Ussr

Throughout the 1920's and 30's Joseph Stalin was able to rise to power and build a totalitarian state. After Vladimir Lenin died in 1924, Stalin was able to maneuver his way to the top. Stalin was able to rise to power, build a totalitarian state, and was able to disrupt and transform soviet society by using propaganda.

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

Trotsky had one great weakness which led to his downfall; he was unpopular. The other Communist leaders were united by their dislike of Trotsky. They resented his earlier non-Bolshevik past and his sudden rise with the party after 1917. Many other Bolsheviks also hated Trotsky, because of the fact that he had been a Menshevik. Therefore Trotsky had no real allies to help him secure power, and always had people plotting against him. An example of this is when Zinoviev and Kamenev decided that they should take over as the new leaders. They decided to use Stalin and his control of party organisation to help them, and these three formed the Triumvirate. This ultimately prevented Trotsky from becoming

Also, Stalin was much more involved with the base of the Party and was thought to have worked hard to get himself to the top. Meanwhile, Trotsky was seen as a man trying to push his way in. Further damaging Trotsky, Lenin described him as possessing "…excessive self-confidence… and overly attracted by the purely administrative aspects of affairs…" Even though he unintentionally projected Trotsky in this way, Lenin felt that if the removal of Stalin were not acted upon, the conflict between Trotsky and Stalin would intensify, which would jeopardize the whole Party. Combined with the Testament, Trotsky could have used the Postscript to obtain power, but instead Stalin squashed it in the Central Committee.

After Lenin’s death, Stalin removed his colleagues from power and many were exiled including Leon Trotsky,

They ruled with an iron fist and also had goals to eliminate anyone who was against their ideas. Even thought they had similar intentions, the way they reached their goals were different. Lenin rose to power after Russian society overthrew the czar, allowing him to take control of a democratic republic, while Stalin rose to power after Russian society had already been under a dictatorship for some time now. Also, while Lenin was more focused on socialist ideals to have complete economic control on land and business, Stalin mainly focused on his communist ideology to maintain his power violently, causing Stalin to fall out of his power and leadership quicker than Lenin. Adding on the reasons they had such ways of doing things could have been connected to how their childhood shaped their ideals, personalities and attitude, it was also the surroundings they grew up in that led them to where they

When Lenin/Old Major died there was a power struggle for control between Trotsky/Snowball and Stalin/Napoleon. Trotsky was a very smart strategist while Stalin was a simple yet effective leader. While not as smart as Trotsky he was a very effective politician.

Stalin was frequently captured and sent to Siberia, but, he managed to escape. “Stalin played a key role in the Russian revolution he gained control over the party newspaper Pravda and helped Lenin to escape Finland” (Joseph Stalin Bio, biography.com Editors, bio.com website). Stalin was one of the five Lenin appointed in the Russian civil war against anti-Bolshevik policies. Stalin frequently clashed with Leon Trotsky and Stalin advocated harsh measures to ensure discipline and loyalty. In 1922, Lenin fell ill and Stalin became one of the main links between Lenin and the outside world. Lenin became increasingly distrustful of Stalin, disliking his arrogance and love of power. In Lenin’s testimony he wanted Stalin removed from power. However, with great skill Stalin formed alliance’s with other key Communist party members, he outmaneuvered Trotsky and had him expelled from the Soviet Union. On the death of Lenin, Stalin was able to assume the position as leader of the Soviet Union, He quickly strove to consolidate

Vladimir Lenin was slowly degrading before Stalin took power. Before Lenin died, he spoke out against Stalin by saying, “Stalin has concentrated enormous power in his hands, and I am not sure he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution.” (Document 1). As the main creator of the Communist party and the USSR, Lenin warned the public that Stalin’s power was going to get to his head and he was going to become a selfish ruler. This became true when Stalin becomes a full time dictator. He begins abusing his power by creating a police state that brought terror among the public. He forced obedience and crushed any opposition that came in his way. Secret police arrested and killed off any traitors towards Stalin. Stalin, then, betrayed members of the Communist Party. From there, he lofted the Great Purge, which was a campaign of terror against all of his citizens. He killed off anyone that threatened the power and authority against him. Old Bolsheviks and the police themselves were either arrested or eliminated. It is estimated by the end of the Great Purge, Stalin killed as many as 8 to 13 million people. These were all people who supposedly threatened his regime. Even more people got killed, when Stalin started persecuting religious officials and followers. By Lenin’s warning, the Great Purge, and religious persecution, it is evident on how Stalin frequently abused his power during his reign. It also shows how selfish he is towards his

"According to another side that Joseph Stalin called by Man , Legend and Leader, in case of, he comparing with another person. As Main Political Differences between Stalin & Trotsky. Also, Stalin supported "socialism in one country," looking to strengthen the Soviet Union so that communism could survive there even if it died in other countries. Trotsky believed that he focus should stay on world revolution and that once the rich countries of the world had also

Upon the creation of the USSR, Lenin introduced new rule that would ensure greater totalitarian control. Only communists would be able to stand for the soviets, and so this meant that the communist party had the true control over the

It’s ok to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to do something really really brave. In Crispin Cross Of Lead he did something really really brave. Everyone agrees that the kingdom needs a good ruler, however some feel like Crispin should not have stayed to be king.

After Lenin's death in 1924, two conflicting schools of thought about the future of the Soviet Union arose in party debates. Trotsky, one of the primary proponents of the party's left wing, believed that a world revolution was essential for the survival of socialism in the economically backward Soviet Union. However, the left wing's domestic policy also advocated rapid development of the economy and the creation of a socialist society.

Stalin was extremely ambitious and his initial taste of power had made him even more egotistical. Trotsky fled but was hunted down and eliminated to ensure Stalin retained power. The long term effects of this ensured that future opponents of Stalin would also be eliminated. With Lenin dead and Trotsky eliminated Stalin realized he was now able to concentrate on his own policies. He abandoned Lenin's idea of 'World Revolution' and adopted his own policy of 'Socialism in One Country'.

Lenin believed that Trotsky was the best suitable to take the Communist party to the next level. Trotsky was not all that popular among party members though and Stalin was in a position as Gen Sek, or General Secretary, to place his people in powerful positions throughout the party. Also, Stalin worked extremely hard at achieving power whereas Trotsky was rather lazy. Because of these reasons along with Stalin's "zero tolerance" attitude towards everyone, he was able to seize control.