The Power Struggle - Russia 1924 History Essay Example
How far do you agree that the struggle for power following Lenin’s death in 1924 was caused by the ideological differences between the contenders for power?
The 5 contenders to become leader all had different ideologies which I agree to some extent was an important factor in the struggle for power after Lenin’s death. However, there were also 3 other reasons that could have led to a struggle, for example, the fact that they all had different personalities which meant that they connected with Lenin differently and gained respect from other members of the party and people of the public in different ways, such as their revolutionary record, and to a different extent. I also believe that the power struggle was not solely based on logical differences between the contenders but maybe a struggle based on egos.
The first reason is that Stalin, Bukharin, Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev had different ideologies which contradicted each other, the rules and the practices that Lenin already had in place. Trotsky represented the left wing of the party and believed in the rejection of the New Economic Party, being committed to immediate industrialisation and permanent revolution which was completely different to Bukharin who was on the right wing of the party. Bukharin believed in acceptance of the NEP, he was committed to industrialisation but in the distant future and wanted socialism in one country. On the other hand, Stalin was in the centre which meant that he had a pragmatic commitment to the NEP, he was committed to industrialisation in the near future and socialism should be in one country, which are both similar to Bukharin’s ideas on the right wing. Zinoviev and Kamenev swapped from right to left in 1925, which lost them credibility with the party. The fact that most of the contenders had such different ideas about how to run the country would have caused a struggle because they would not have been able to agree on something between them and would have been competing
The 5 contenders to become leader all had different ideologies which I agree to some extent was an important factor in the struggle for power after Lenin’s death. However, there were also 3 other reasons that could have led to a struggle, for example, the fact that they all had different personalities which meant that they connected with Lenin differently and gained respect from other members of the party and people of the public in different ways, such as their revolutionary record, and to a different extent. I also believe that the power struggle was not solely based on logical differences between the contenders but maybe a struggle based on egos.
The first reason is that Stalin, Bukharin, Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev had different ideologies which contradicted each other, the rules and the practices that Lenin already had in place. Trotsky represented the left wing of the party and believed in the rejection of the New Economic Party, being committed to immediate industrialisation and permanent revolution which was completely different to Bukharin who was on the right wing of the party. Bukharin believed in acceptance of the NEP, he was committed to industrialisation but in the distant future and wanted socialism in one country. On the other hand, Stalin was in the centre which meant that he had a pragmatic commitment to the NEP, he was committed to industrialisation in the near future and socialism should be in one country, which are both similar to Bukharin’s ideas on the right wing. Zinoviev and Kamenev swapped from right to left in 1925, which lost them credibility with the party. The fact that most of the contenders had such different ideas about how to run the country would have caused a struggle because they would not have been able to agree on something between them and would have been competing