Lenin’s Testament (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Lenin's Testament
What was Lenin's Testament?
Lenin's Testament was a letter written in late December 1922, dictated over several days because Lenin had difficulty speaking following his first stroke. He added a postscript in January 1923. The document was intended to be read out at the Party Congress after his death and served as Lenin's written assessment of the Party leadership and his concerns about the future direction of the Bolshevik Party.
Lenin described the Testament as a 'political will' in which he set out his view of future dangers facing the Party. The document was dictated during a period when Lenin's health was rapidly deteriorating, making it all the more significant as his final guidance to the Party.
The document reflected his alarm at the ambitions and rivalries among those around him as they positioned themselves for the transition to new leadership 'from beyond the grave'.
Lenin's concerns about the Party leadership
Lenin expressed concerns about all the men who might succeed him. His Testament cast doubt over leading figures including Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin. However, Lenin was particularly harsh in his assessment of Stalin, who had been General Secretary since April 1922.
Lenin's criticisms of Stalin centred on two main issues:
- Stalin's brutal actions in crushing opposition and dissent in Georgia
- Stalin's recent insult to Lenin's wife, Krupskaya
These two incidents revealed Stalin's character flaws that Lenin believed made him unsuitable for leadership.
The Georgia incident
Historical Example: The Georgia Deception
During the Civil War, Lenin had appointed Stalin as Commissar of Nationalities. When the Red Army moved in to seize control of Georgia, Stalin told his Party colleagues that Georgia had been won back from the Mensheviks (who had previously controlled the region) through a mass uprising in favour of the Bolsheviks, supported by the Georgian people.
The Truth Revealed: Lenin and Trotsky fiercely criticised Stalin when they discovered the truth: he had crushed Georgian independence by brute force, not through a popular uprising. This episode demonstrated Stalin's willingness to use violence and to misrepresent events to his colleagues, traits that troubled Lenin.
Stalin's insult to Krupskaya
Historical Example: The Telephone Confrontation
Through Lenin's wife Nadezhda Krupskaya (who worked as Lenin's secretary during his illness), Stalin discovered that Lenin was in correspondence with Trotsky about the future of the Party. Stalin attempted to see Lenin, but Krupskaya prevented him from doing so.
The Incident: In the angry telephone conversation that followed this rebuff, Stalin made brutally rude comments about Krupskaya. This personal insult to Lenin's wife deepened Lenin's mistrust of Stalin and contributed to the harsh criticisms in the Testament.
Lenin's verdict on Stalin
Lenin's Direct Assessment:
In the Testament, Lenin wrote that Stalin was "too coarse and this defect, although quite tolerable among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a Secretary-General." Lenin suggested removing Stalin from his position as General Secretary and appointing someone "more tolerant, more loyal, more polite and more considerate to the comrades."
Lenin characterised Trotsky as distinguished by exceptional abilities and noted he was "the most able man in the present Central Committee," though he also criticised Trotsky's "far-reaching self-confidence." Lenin described the October 1917 episode involving Zinoviev and Kamenev (when they opposed the seizure of power) as not accidental, though it should not be used against them personally. He praised Bukharin as "the most valuable and greatest theoretician of the Party," but questioned whether his views could be regarded as fully Marxist.
Why the Testament was not published
Lenin intended his Testament to be read out at the 1924 Party Congress. His verdicts on the leading Bolsheviks were potentially explosive and would have had a dramatic impact on the power struggle following his death.
The Suppression of the Testament
However, this did not happen. Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev, who had all been heavily criticised in the Testament, worked together to persuade their colleagues not to publish the document. They contained the political damage that publication would have inflicted on their positions in the Party.
The Testament could not be erased from existence. It remained in the political undergrowth as a dangerous secret that could be used (and frequently was used) as ammunition when the power struggle developed after 1924.
Key Points to Remember:
- Lenin's Testament was written in late December 1922 and January 1923 as his 'political will' for the Party's future
- Lenin was particularly harsh in criticising Stalin over the Georgia incident (crushing independence by brute force) and his insult to Krupskaya
- The Testament recommended removing Stalin from his position as General Secretary, describing him as "too coarse" for the role
- Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev prevented publication of the Testament at the 1924 Party Congress, containing its political damage