1917 through to 1924. Lenin was a natural born leader and his leadership skills along…
In 1922, when Vladimir Lenin died, someone needed to step up and the Soviet Union. As he was slowly dying, a power struggle emerged between Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin. Even though Trotsky “had been widely viewed as the heir of Lenin, it was relatively easy for Stalin to combine with the other Bolshevik leaders in order to head off this threat” (Paley 10). In Lenin’s “Final Testament”, Lenin could already see that Stalin was quickly and surreptitiously gaining power. Stalin’s position of General Secretary gave him the ability to appoint people to important positions. Lenin was also reluctant to see Stalin as his successor because he thought that Trotsky could do a much better job. Lenin believed that Trotsky was the best man in the central…
Like Hitler, Stalin first became active in politics when he joined a militant political party. The party Stalin joined was known as the Russian Social Democratic Party. Stalin was arrested in 1902 and was deported to Siberia but escaped and was back in Georgia two year later. Stalin first met Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik faction of the Social Democratic Party, when he returned to Georgia. Lenin was a political mentor to Stalin and had great respect for him. In 1912, Lenin nominated Stalin to the Central Committee of the Bolshevik party. However, Stalin was arrested once again and exiled to Siberia in 1917 where he would remain until the Czar was overthrown. After the Bolshevik revolution in 1917, Lenin became the new ruler of Russia and named Stalin the Commissar of Nationalities. Over the years, however, Lenin’s health began to deteriorate. In 1924, Lenin died and the party now known as the All-Union Communist Party was headed collectively by several of Lenin’s cabinet members. Like Hitler, Stalin was a very clever manipulator and was able to turn the members against each other. After successfully obtaining more power, Stalin had the few political enemies he had left shot and he assumed power of the Soviet Union (“Joseph Stalin”,…
A key factor that allowed Lenin and his party to dominate Russia was how the power was distributed throughout the government. The Bolsheviks created a system that took the form of a ‘pyramid of power’ this meant that the decisions and power sifted through all the political parties involved in the government finally leading up to the central committee; which was subjugated by the Bolsheviks. This meant that no matter what anyone else wanted if the Bolsheviks didn’t want to pass or agree with something, they didn’t have to; resulting in an extremely de facto government. The reason the Bolsheviks created this system how it was, is down to Lenin’s avid disbelief in democracy, Lenin favoured his ideal of democratic centralism, which invariable meant that he was in command and this ‘pyramid of power’ system suited Lenin’s desires. The fact that nobody else had such control of the government would have made it difficult for any change as they couldn’t get any alternative in the public domain as the Bolshevik system wouldn’t allow it, therefore any opposition that did exist wouldn’t be able to express their opinions and so the Bolsheviks were in a pretty secure position, thus able to survive the early days.…
Trotsky was the reason as to how the Bolsheviks gained so much power as he insisted on using ex-tsarist officers to train and control the red army. He used strict discipline in order to help the army and this greatly supported the Bolsheviks and helped them win the civil war. Trotsky also was the reason as to how the civil war was won, because not only did he recruit trained army officers- which was extremely difficult to do due considering most supported the whites- but also because he organized food and weaponry (8) and forced the red army to attack the Kronstadt sailors across melting ice, ruthlessly stooping the result and putting an end to the civil war. In other words, he won the civil war virtually single handed. This was one of the main reasons as to how the Bolsheviks consolidated their power and without the training of the army commanded by Trotsky, they wouldn’t have had the chance to be noticed. Furthermore, without Trotsky’s harsh commands and the declaration of “war is the instrument of policy” the civil war would’ve carried on, destroying the Bolshevik party and everything they had worked…
In 1917, Russia was crumbling into pieces. The World War I was draining all of Russia’s resources. There was shortage of food throughout the country, which left people starving. At the battlefront, millions of Russian soldiers were dying, they did not possess many of the powerful weapons that their opponents had. The government under Czar Nicholas II was disintegrating, and a provisional government had been set up. In November of 1917, Lenin and his communist followers known as the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government and set a communist government in Russia. However, in 1924, Lenin died and Josef Stalin assumed leadership of the Soviet Union, which was the name for the communist Russia. Stalin was a ruthless leader who brought many changes to the Soviet Union. Stalin’s goal was to transform the Soviet Union into a modern superpower and spread communism throughout the world, and he was determined to sabotage anyone who stood in his way. He used many methods such as collectivization, totalitarianism and five year plan’s to achieve his goals. Stalin’s rule brought both harmful and beneficial consequences to the Soviet Union; however, the negative factors were so terrible, that they overwhelm the positive factors.…
Once he was the undisputed leader - the Vozhd (meaning Boss) he continued to use the position of General Secretary of the Communist Part to promote loyal supporters and demote, or expel from the party those who he could not be sure about.…
Joseph Stalin, a communist, led the Soviet Union from the mid 1920s to until his death which was in 1953. Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks, communists, fought and won the Russian Civil War. Once Lenin died his successor, Leon Trotsky, took over the Bolsheviks. Stalin and Trotsky had a fight for the Communist Bolshevik party, Stalin gained…
Vladimir Lenin was a Bolshevik Leader for the 1917 October Revolution, and the first Head of State for the Soviet Union. His contribution to political science, Leninism, was developed from his interpretations on the Marxist theory. After the revolution, Lenin headed the new Soviet government that formed in Russia. He became the leader of the USSR upon its founding in 1922. Lenin held the highest post in the Soviet government until his death in 1924.…
In December of 1922 the creation of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, better known as the Soviet Union, is created. First lead by Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union was found to be the first country to be considered socialist with plans to become a communist party in the future. The Soviet Union was made up of 15 republics and at the time was the largest country in the world. After Lenin’s death in 1924, Joseph Stalin came to power that had control throughout World War II until his death in 1953. After the war the Soviet Union became a global power and seemingly stayed strong until its fall on December 25th, 1991.…
Stalin's assumption of power was different. He was a leading member of the Bolshevik movement based on Karl Marx and headed by Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. When Lenin fell ill in the early 1920's Stalin used his position in the Bolshevik Party to isolate Lenin in his sickbed. He soon controlled all access to the failing Lenin, and if Lenin wanted him to be successor to the helm of the Bolshevik movement, we have mainly only Stalin's word of that decision by Lenin. Of course there are documents for and against Stalin being Lenin's successor, but their validity has always been questionable.…
Unlike Hitler and Napoleon, Stalin gain power by force. After Vladimir Lenin died the race for power started for Stalin. Lenin’s successors were either Stalin or close comrade Leon Trotsky. Stalin eventually was able to gain power by forcing people into exile including Trotsky. Stalin never befitted the people of Russia but they were able to accept him because of the propaganda he put out.…
Stalin was known as the leader and overall ruler of the Soviet Union after he took power…
In the final days of 1922, Vladimir Lenin wrote a letter called Lenin's Testament. In this document, Lenin attacked Stalin while endorsing Leon Trotsky cautioning that Stalin might be unable of using the authority granted to him by his position with restraint. At the same time, he said that Trotsky was the “the most capable man”. Trotsky also lead the Red Army against the White Army, something which likely boosted his popularity. It is clear that these factors meant Leon Trotsky was the expected person to rise to power, however, none of this lead to Trotsky’s rise to power.…
The first leader of the Soviet Union was Vladimir Lenin. Vladimir Lenin was the first leader of the Soviet Union and was the creator of the Soviet Union. The next leader of the Soviet Union was Joseph Stalin. Stalin ruled not with kindness, but with fear. He killed over 20 million people (“How Many Did Stalin Really Murder”).…