The End of Lenin & Stalin

The Emergence of Stalin as Leader of the USSR - Part One

By 1929, Stalin had emerged as the leader of the Party and of the country. He was an expert at appearing moderate and rising above the arguments and personality battles of his rivals. The first step was to remove Trotsky.

Lenin's funeral

After Lenin’s death, Stalin organised his funeral.
He also suppressed Lenin’s final testament.
This meant that fewer people knew about Lenin's final criticisms.
At the funeral, Stalin appeared close to Lenin and carried his coffin (pall-bearer). He positioned himself as Lenin’s loyal servant. Petrograd was named Leningrad that year.
Trotsky was tricked by Stalin and supposedly told the wrong date of the funeral. Officially, he did not attend because he was 'ill'.

The first step

Stalin took a series of steps to secure his position in power.
First, Stalin arranged with Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin to leave Trotsky isolated, particularly after he made the unpopular move of criticising the lack of democracy within the party.

Trotsky out of the picture

In 1925, Trotsky lost his job as Commissar for War at the party congress because the other members of the Politburo had control over the ballots.
In August 1940, an agent (Ramon Mercader) sent by Stalin murdered Trotsky in Mexico (where he was in exile).

The Emergence of Stalin as Leader of the USSR - Part Two

The second step for Stalin to secure his position was to remove Zinoviev and Kamenev and the third was to remove Bukharin.

New Economic Policy

The NEP became a huge area for disagreement in the Communist party.
Stalin supported the NEP, and given his control of the party's agencies/organisations it was difficult for those who disagreed with him to get their ideas across.
Zinoviev and Kamenev allied with Trotsky and formed the United Opposition to criticise this economic policy. Stalin accused Zinoviev and Kamenev of being ‘factionalists’.

Removal of the United Opposition

Lenin had outlawed factionalism in 1921. Calling them factionalists made the United Opposition seem disloyal.
Zinoviev and Kamenev were dismissed from their posts, and along with Trotsky they were expelled from the party in 1927.
Zinoviev and Kamenev repented and were let back into the party, whilst Trotsky was exiled from the country in 1929.
In August 1940, an agent sent by Stalin murdered Trotsky in Mexico.

Bukharin

Ending the threat of Bukharin was the last step for Stalin to secure his position.
He wanted to industrialise the USSR rapidly.
Bukharin was not popular in the Communist party, and Stalin had only allied with him previously out of convenience.
In 1927-28, the Soviet Union was worried about the threat of a war with the West.

Collectivisation

Stalin called for an acceleration in the country’s industrialisation and introduced strict state control over food production to feed the cities.
Stalin encouraged the police in Siberia to seize grain. This was contrary to the policies of the NEP.
- This was the first step towards collectivisation (peasant farms being taken over by the state).
He announced Five Year Plans to speed up Russian industrialisation.

Bukharin's response

Bukharin disagreed with Stalin, and was condemned by Stalin and his allies as a ‘Right Communist’.
Bukharin began plotting with Kamenev about how to stop Stalin.
His plotting was discovered and he was expelled from the Politburo in 1929.

1The Leadership Struggle, 1924-1929

1.1Struggle for Power 1924-28

1.1.1Stalin & his Rivals

1.1.2The End of Lenin & Stalin

1.1.3Stalin & the Communist Party

2Five Year Plans & Collectivisation

2.1Changes in Industry

2.1.1Industrialisation & Gosplan

2.2Agriculture & Collectivisation

2.2.1Five Year Plans & Grain Hoarding

2.2.2Collectivisation

2.2.3Kulaks

3Purges, Show Trials & The Cult of Stalin

3.1The Use of Terror in the 1930s

3.1.1Purges

3.1.2NKVD

3.1.3Show Trials

3.1.4Labour Camps

3.2Propaganda & Censorship

3.2.1Art & Religion Under Stalin

3.2.2Media & the Cult of Stalin

3.2.3The Cult of Stalin

3.2.4History

4Life in the Soviet Union, 1924-1941

4.1Life in the Soviet Union

4.1.1Living Conditions & Ethnic Minorities in the USSR

5The Second World War, 1941-1953

5.1USSR in the War

5.1.11941-1942

5.1.21943-1945

5.2Stalin & WW2

5.2.1Stalin's Popularity

5.2.2Post-War Consolidation

5.3Post-War Recovery

5.3.1Economic Recovery

5.3.2The USSR by 1953

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