Divisions and Contenders for Power: Stalin (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes

Divisions and Contenders for Power: Stalin

Stalin's position in January 1924

When Lenin died in January 1924, Stalin occupied a position of considerable institutional authority within the Communist Party. He sat on the Central Committee as part of the 'Triumvirate' alongside Zinoviev and Kamenev. Despite being underestimated by many colleagues, Stalin had emerged as one of the main contenders to succeed Lenin.

Stalin's power base derived primarily from his role as General Secretary, a post he had held since April 1922. This position enabled him to control the expanding party bureaucracy and make appointments that consolidated his influence. The Party was growing rapidly during this period, and Stalin excelled at building networks of loyal subordinates through his administrative control.

Stalin's background and party roles

Stalin had joined the Central Committee in 1917, marking the beginning of his rise through party ranks. In 1918, Lenin established the Politburo, appointing Stalin as one of its five founding members. That same year, Stalin became People's Commissar for Nationalities, a position responsible for asserting Bolshevik authority across Georgia, Ukraine and other non-Russian territories. This role extended his power over military affairs and gave him influence within the Red Army during the Civil War.

By 1922, Stalin's appointment as General Secretary placed him at the centre of party administration, with authority over the growing bureaucratic machinery that managed party membership and organisation.

Character and reputation by 1924

Stalin's personality by 1924 combined several contrasting qualities. He had developed a reputation for brutality and exceptional work capacity, demonstrating expertise in managing bureaucratic details. His colleagues from the 1917 seizure of power, who held more prominent positions, often dismissed Stalin as intellectually inferior because of his humble origins (the son of a cobbler) and limited formal education.

However, Stalin possessed extensive knowledge of the party machinery and had systematically positioned loyal supporters in important posts. Though frequently rude in manner, he could display affability and friendliness when it served his purposes. Many allies, including Bukharin, used the pet nickname 'Koba' for him and considered him reasonable and reliable.

Stalin demonstrated patience and concealment of his long-term objectives. He harboured jealousy towards rivals but waited extended periods before taking revenge against those he perceived as enemies. According to Lazar Kaganovich, Stalin in the early 1920s was not yet the monstrous figure he later became; he was 'in the early years, Stalin was a soft individual', only becoming cruel through experiences in the power struggle that followed.

Stalin's strengths

Stalin possessed several advantages in the developing power struggle:

• Administrative control: His position as General Secretary gave him authority over party appointments and bureaucracy during rapid party expansion. This enabled him to cultivate loyalty among subordinates through patronage and promotion.

• Ideological credentials: Stalin had worked to master the theories of Marxism-Leninism, establishing himself as theoretically competent despite his opponents' dismissal of his intellectual abilities.
• Strategic underestimation: His opponents consistently underestimated him and failed to recognise his true intentions, allowing Stalin to operate without attracting sufficient opposition.
• Personal relationship with Lenin: During Lenin's illness from 1922 to 1923, Stalin deliberately positioned himself close to the leader. This proximity enabled Stalin to claim special understanding of Lenin's wishes and intentions after the leader's death.
• Political alliances: Fear of Trotsky led Stalin to forge an alliance with Zinoviev and Kamenev in the Triumvirate, pooling their combined authority against their common rival.

Stalin's weaknesses

Despite these advantages, Stalin faced substantial obstacles:

• Negative perception: Most colleagues regarded him as crude and violent. Lenin's criticism of Stalin's actions as People's Commissar for Nationalities reinforced this negative image, with Lenin specifically denouncing Stalin's brutality.
• Limited revolutionary prestige: Stalin had performed only a minor role during the 1917 Revolution and remained overshadowed by figures of greater prominence, such as Trotsky, or greater popularity, such as Bukharin. This lack of revolutionary credentials weakened his claim to leadership.
• Lenin's Testament: Although Lenin's Testament remained undisclosed to the wider Party membership in 1924, Stalin's colleagues knew that Lenin had turned against him. The Testament existed as a concealed but dangerous political weapon that opponents could deploy during power struggles. Lenin had criticised Stalin and recommended his removal from the General Secretary position.

Stalin benefited from the fact that other leading Bolsheviks had their own reasons for suppressing Lenin's Testament in 1924, as it contained potentially damaging verdicts on several figures. Nevertheless, Stalin remained vulnerable on this issue. In 1926, Lenin's sister, Mariya Il'ich Ul'yanova, defended 'comrade Stalin' against criticisms circulating within the Politburo.

Contemporary assessments of Stalin

Old Bolsheviks: the Old Party Guard comprised those who had joined the Bolshevik Party before 1917. They constituted the revolutionary elite but numbered only around 40,000 individuals. Not all were leading figures like Kamenev.

According to Nadezhda Ioffe (daughter of Adolf Abramovich Ioffe, an Old Bolshevik who died in 1927), none of the Old Bolsheviks' generation perceived Stalin as representing danger. Kamenev opposed Bukharin becoming General Secretary, whilst Bukharin objected to Zinoviev holding that post. All agreed they feared Trotsky. No one actively supported Stalin obtaining the General Secretary position, but nobody seemed particularly opposed either. This indifference ultimately allowed Stalin to consolidate enormous power through that role.

Mariya Il'ich Ul'yanova provided a different perspective in 1926. Writing to the Central Committee Presidium, she challenged recent attacks on Stalin by describing Lenin's actual attitude. She emphasised that during Lenin's final illness, he called for Stalin most frequently and entrusted him with the most confidential tasks—responsibilities Lenin would assign only to someone he particularly trusted and regarded as a close comrade. She argued that claims of a complete breakdown between Lenin and Stalin during Lenin's final months distorted reality, stating that their relationship 'remained very close and comradely'.

The impact of Lenin's Testament

Lenin's Testament contained explosive assessments of leading Bolsheviks. Had Lenin's Testament been published at the 1924 Party Congress as Lenin intended, it would have dramatically affected the subsequent power struggle. Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev, all heavily criticised in the document, persuaded colleagues to suppress publication. They thereby contained the potential political damage to their positions within the Party.

However, the Testament could not be eliminated entirely. It persisted in the political undergrowth as a concealed secret that opponents deployed (and frequently did deploy) as ammunition once the power struggle intensified after 1924. The Testament's existence kept Stalin on the defensive regarding Lenin's final judgement for an extended period.