Why Did Stalin Gain The Tension Between Trotsky And Lenin

After Vladimir Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin had to win the vote of the people, despite a number of obstacles in his way. First, he had to get support from Lenin’s followers. To do so, he presented himself as a chief mourner at the funeral, and permitted the embalming of the body. In a letter to be read after his death, Lenin suggested that Stalin should be replaced as general secretary, and it was only that the Central Committee decided to keep the letter a secret that Stalin maintained his grip on power. In 1925, conflict arose between Trotsky, who believed in utilising the concept of ‘permanent revolution’ to gain power, and Stalin, who believed that the priority should be to build up the strength of the USSR. Trotsky’s idea proved to be
unpopular, and he was voted out. Stalin then had to win the votes of both the right and left-wing parties, by dismissing party members that had previously supported him, arguing against the NEP and favouring industry expansion. After his success in appealing to the public, Stalin finally achieved his ultimate goal and became dictator of the USSR. Gradually, Stalin’s paranoia lead to distrust, resulting in the Great Purge and the deaths of millions of political opponents, soldiers, religious leaders, ethnic groups and ordinary people. Stalin believed that Russia had 10 years to catch up to the rest of the Westernised world, and that to be united was to be strong.