ACCOUNT FOR STALIN 'S RISE TO POWER IN THE PERIOD 1922 TO 1929
INTRODUCTION
Stalin 's ascent to the leadership of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was neither easy nor inevitable. Following the incapacitation and subsequent death of Vladimir Lenin, there were many legitimate claimants to this leadership: Grigory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, Nikolai Bukharin and, particularly, Leon Trotsky, Lenin 's right-hand man and heir apparent. Among such company Stalin - the bureaucrat from humble origins in the Slavic republic of Georgia - seemed unlikely to fill the political vacuum left by Lenin 's death. This essay examines Stalin 's rise to power. It argues that a combination of factors, including the disorganised structure …show more content…
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