How and why was Stalin able to gain power
There are different interpretations of 'how and why Stalin was able to gain power', either concentrating on his own actions and abilities, or the situation at the time and the failure of his opponents. It would appear that the success of Stalin was due to both his own strengths and actions in the political arena and the weaknesses displayed by his opponents, in relation to the prevailing circumstances of the time. Stalin was, by opportunism or careful planning, able to gain control of the party machine and use it to his advantage, and use his own political skills to out manoeuvre his opponents, while they often displayed lackluster tactics in a vain attempt to win the support of a party loyal to Stalin. The political positions to which Stalin was elevated within the Communist Party were undoubtedly of major importance in his successful campaign to establish himself as the leader of the USSR. Before the death of Lenin it was evident that Stalin had huge power within the party machine, as Lenin himself expressed in his 'Testament', and Lynch explains the accumulation of this power in reference to the nature of Soviet government from 1917 onwards, as the lack of precedent and guidelines led to the creation of individual a
He was unable to take advantage of Stalin's mishandling of the Georgian situation, declining to attack and again missing a vital opportunity when he voted against the publication of Lenin's 'Testament'. He also used the 'legacy of Lenin' to his advantage in defense of the NEP and the commitment to 'Socialism In One Country', creating the image of Trotsky as anti-Leninist, a policy that helped distance Trotsky from support within the party. While the debate over the NEP was raging, Trotsky again made a vital error of judgment, forwarding the Menshevik policy of 'Permanent Revolution', which would be detrimental to the USSR's progress as an industrialized nation, a point which was easily used by Stalin, in the light of a fear of foreign invasion, to portray Trotsky as an enemy of the state. The threat of war, however ill founded, was influential in Stalin's future policies to ensure Russian survival. the best qualification to move Russia away from any ideological or economic dependence on the West" Colletti goes further, to claim that the reactionary wave which swept across Europe in the aftermath of the 1917 revolution, helped to create the situation where Stalin could use patriotism to appeal for support. Lee believes that this saved Stalin from his intellectual inferiority, as he had not cultivated links with Europe. Trotsky's poor judgment was also evident when he took action, his condemnation of party bureaucracy at the Party Congress, Central Committee, Politburo meetings, and in numerous essays. He effectively adopted a centrist approach in the party debates, enabling him to move from one policy to the next with relative ease in order to eliminate his opponents, a policy made easier by the apparent threat to Russian survival from the West. The failure of Communism in the West has also been advanced as an explanation for the success of Stalin in his rise to power, a view given much support from Lee and Colletti, who give much emphasis to the failure of the German Revolution is strengthening the position and policy of Stalin. Stalin could therefore rely on their support to outvote and out manoeuvre opponents. According to Deutchser it was:"A political error of the first magnitude and dealt a fatal blow to Trotsky's prestige"Bullock points out that the apparent commitment of Stalin to collective leadership after the death of Lenin was another astute move to show his dedication to the former leader, claiming that no one could take Lenin's place and using the ambition of others to brand them as anti-Leninist and factionalist. Stalin throughout the leadership campaign could not play on the cult of the personality if he was to succeed as this, according to Bullock, would prove counter productive in the closed world of the CPSU. "No other contender came anywhere near matching Stalin in his hold on the party machine" LynchLenin's Enrolment further increased this power over the party machine as the new members, numbering three hundred thousand, were loyal to Stalin since he had the power to fire them, thus increasing Stalin's grip on party votes. " (Lee) The success of Stalin in gaining power was it would appear, the result of a number of factors, both of his own making and out of his control. According to Lynch:"The prevailing view of Party members towards Trotsky is an important part of any explanation of Trotsky's political failure and Stalin's success"Trotsky's failure to take the appropriate action at key moments, as he himself pointed out to Lenin, allowed for Stalin's power within the party to grow unchecked.
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Acceptance Essays
