The Struggle for Power - Potential Qs
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Page1 PO TEN TI A LQ s . H o w si g n i fi ca n t w er e t h e per so n al ities o f t h e c o n t en d er s to su cc ee d L en inin ac co u n t i n g f or S t al i n ’ s d ef eat o f h i s o p p o n en ts i nt h e yea r s 1 92 4- 29 ? A N D H o w f a r w e re S t al i n ’ s p erso n a l ch ar a c te r i st i c s r e sp ons i b l e f or t h e d e f e a t o f h i s p o l i t i c a l o p p on e nt s i nt h e y e ar s 1 9 2 4- 2 9 ? A ka. W a s t h e p e r so n a li t y o f co n t e n d e rs the m a in r e a so n f o r S t a lin’ s e m e r g e n ce as l e a d er ? P er so n ali t y w as most si g ni fi ca n t Ot h er factor s w er e mo r e si g n i fi can t P e r so n a l i t i es o f c o n t e n d e r s S = g r ey b l u r, o ve rlo o ke d , u n d er es ti m at ed , w as n ’t a t hre a t , a follo w e r r a t h e r t h ana l ea d er – h e p u t t h e d ec i s i o n s of o t h ers i n t o ac t i o n , ve r y g o o d ad m i n i s t rat o r, a g r ee d w i t h L en i nonm aj o r i ssu es B=t h eo r i st b u t n ot a g o o d s p e a k e r, i n t e ll e c t u a l, p o p u lar, d isa g r ee d w ith Leni n , dee m ed n ot a pr o per c om m uni s t T = a rr og an t, H ead of R A f e a r o f d i c t a tor s h i p , f o r m e r M en sh evi k, m i d d le-cl as s backg r ou nd, f am ou s ora t o ric a l skill s Z + K = l o s t c r e d i b i l i t y, d ou b t s i nt h e i r ab i l i t i e s , l ac k o f i n vo l ve m en t i n C i vi l Tac t i ca l m an eu ver i n g s P osi t io n e d a t the C e n t r e E x p l o i t ed p a r t y p o si t i o n s D e l aye d m e etin g s t o p r e ve n t o p p o si t io n NE P ’s aban donm ent I d e o l o g i c a l di s p u t e s ECONOMY: Ri g h t Win g a n d p e a sa n ts, e sp e ci a ll y K u l a ks, f avored N E P. Tr o t sky w a n t e d dictat o r sh i p o f in d u str y = u n p o p u l a r b e ca u se p e a sa n t s w o u l d be f u n din g it FO R EI G N A FF A I RS: R i g h t Wi n g favor e d “ so ci a lismin o n e co u n try” b e ca u se t h is app e a l e d t o p a trioti sm – t h e cl aime d t h a t t h e sm ych ka b et w e en w o r ke r s a n d pe asant s w ou l d m ake t he U S S R eco no m i cal l y sel f - su ffi ci ent so t ha t t h e y w o u l d n ’ t r e q u ire f or e i g n ai d . Tr ot sky w a n t ed pe r m an en t r evo lution, w hi ch m ad e hi m loo k un p a t riotic – h e cl a i m e d t h at t he U S S Rdi d n’t ha ve t h e f u n d s t o m ai n t a in so ci a li sm wi t h o u t f o r e i g n a id P arty p o s i t i o n s S e at in t h e P o l it b ur o , t h e h i g h e st f o r m o f g o ve r n me n t. Member of t he S ovnar kom G en er al S ec r et ar y –
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Transcript of The Struggle for Power - Potential Qs
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POTENTIAL Qs.How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalins defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-29? AND
How far were Stalins personal characteristics responsible for the defeat of his political opponents in the years 1924-29?
Aka. Was the personality of contenders the main reason for Stalins emergence as leader?
Personality was most significantOther factors were more significant
Personalities of contenders
S = grey blur, overlooked, underestimated, wasnt a threat, a follower rather than a leader he put the decisions of others into action, very good administrator, agreed with Lenin on major issues
B = theorist but not a good speaker, intellectual, popular, disagreed with Lenin, deemed not a proper communist
T = arrogant, Head of RA ( fear of dictatorship, former Menshevik, middle-class background, famous oratorical skills
Z + K = lost credibility, doubts in their abilities, lack of involvement in Civil War, 1917, disagreements with Lenins policies
Tactical maneuverings
Positioned at the Centre
Exploited party positions
Delayed meetings to prevent opposition
NEPs abandonment
Ideological disputes
ECONOMY:
Right Wing and peasants, especially Kulaks, favored NEP.
Trotsky wanted dictatorship of industry = unpopular because peasants would be funding it
FOREIGN AFFAIRS:
Right Wing favored socialism in one country because this appealed to patriotism the claimed that the smychka between workers and peasants would make the USSR economically self-sufficient so that they wouldnt require foreign aid.
Trotsky wanted permanent revolution, which made him look unpatriotic he claimed that the USSR didnt have the funds to maintain socialism without foreign aid
Party positions
Seat in the Politburo, the highest form of government.
Member of the Sovnarkom
General Secretary
Allowed members of his own choosing via Lenin Enrolment and therefore gained their loyalty
Responsible for party bureaucracy.
The politburo was dependent on the secretariat for information, which Stalin could manipulate
Commissar for all nationalities
Dealt with 50% of USSRs population
Could communicate with local officials
Built an army of supporters by appointing them specific jobs
Head of peasants and workers inspectorate (Rabkrin), 1920
Root out corruption and removed opposition,
Stalin kept records of rivals
He was able to build up support and use government resources for his own ends.
How far does Stalins position as General Secretary explain his success in defeating his rivals in the years 1924-29?General Secretary role led to his successOther factors led to his success
General SecretaryTactical maneuverings
Personalities of contenders
Ideological disputes
Other party positions
How far were divisions over the continuation of NEP responsible for the contest to succeed Lenin in the years 1924-28?Aka. Was the NEP issue the reason for the emergence of a power struggle?The problem of NEP led to the power struggleOther factors led to the power struggle
NEP led to power struggle b/c it caused ideological disputeTrotsky resented the policy, wanted to abolish free market in favor of a dictatorship of industry (GID) at the expense of the peasants. He thought that NEP was too capitalist.Bukharin wanted NEP because it led to economic growth despite harboring capitalism elements
Ban on Factions, 1921In 1921 a resolution was passed banning all groups within the party from putting forward ideas that disagreed with the official party policy.
Those who showed a tolerance to factionalism could be expelled from the party.
Trotsky broke the policy by forming the Left Opposition, which opposed the policies of the Right.If there was no ban on factions then there wouldnt be accusations of factionalism or a divided party T + B could have reached an agreement.
Lenins Testament
Lenins Testament criticised all the leading candidates e.g. he described Stalin as not being able to use power with sufficient caution and Trotsky for excessive self assurance. This made it unclear who Lenin wanted to be leader, and therefore a power struggle broke out.
Other ideological disputes, such as the foreign affair debate.
Party positions
The contenders were allocated different roles, which allowed them to exert a certain amount of control.
Trotsky was Head of RA and therefore he posed the greatest threat and needed to be removed. The triumvirate removed him through accusations of factionalism, Trotskyism, and bonapartism.This led to a struggle for power because the Triumvirate feared what would happen if Trotsky gained immense power.
BureaucratizationThe Left said that the Revolution had become a government of bureaucrats who lacked the revolutionary spirit and commitment required to fight capitalism. The Lenin Enrolment was only accelerating the process of bureaucratization. Trotsky wanted greater openness but this would alienate the people who had jobs working in the bureaucracy.Thus this led to the power struggle because some wanted bureaucracy whilst others didnt.
Grain Procurement Crisis, 1928At mid-1926, Russian industry began to fail.Kulaks refused to sell grain and went on a strike.
The United Opposition (Z + K + T) wanted to establish rapid industrialization to solve the issue.This is what led to a power struggle between the Duumvirate and the United Opposition.
To what extent was Stalins rejection of the NEP the key reason for his success in the power struggle to succeed Lenin?NEP rejection led to his successOther factors led to his success
NEP began to fail in 1928 so Stalin abandoned the policy before he was blamed for its failure.He supported the Left now and immediately gained followers because there was no direction in the Left after Trotskys removal.
He was advocating the Lefts policies and therefore gained popularity.Stalin managed to pin the blame on Bukharin, who was the theorist behind NEP.
Tactical maneuverings
Personalities of contenders
Ideological disputes
Party positions
How far were the divisions over the continuation of the new economic policy responsible for the outcome of the power struggle?
NEP was responsible for the outcome (Stalin being leader)Other factors were responsible for the outcome
NEP began to fail in 1928 so Stalin abandoned the policy for the leaderless Left and gained immense popularity.Tactical maneuverings
Personalities of contenders
Ideological disputes
Party positions
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