The Substantial Reasons for Stalins Emergence over Trotsky - Assignment Example

Essay Why did Stalin rather than Trotsky emerge as leader of USSR in 1929? Plan of Investigation The investigation gauges the substantial reasons of Stalin’s emergence over Trotsky as the leader of the USSR in 1929. In order to understand how Stalin succeeds in becoming ruler, an investigation into the events surrounding Lenins death and Stalins rise to power must be examined. An investigation into Trotskys downfall and exile from Russia also needs to be undertaken. Predominantly, this paper was based on the written history. Also, various sources were taken from journal accounts, articles, and books in the library. A few electronic sources were helpful. The three most substantial and reliable sources are Forty Years Since Leon Trotsky’s Assassination written by Lyn Wash, The Secret History of Stalins Crimes by Alexander Orlov, and the book written by Edward Radzinskii and translated by H.T Willets entitled Stalin: The First in Depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia’s Secret Archives. All of the sources will show why Stalin achieved power and not Trotsky. Why did Stalin rather than Trotsky emerge as leader of USSR in 1929? Summary of Evidence Stalin was named Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili in Gori, now the Republic of Georgia.1 In 1913, he adopted the name Josef Stalin which means “a man of steel”.2 The Dzhugashvilis lack of finances did not hinder Stalin from going to school because of his intelligence. He studied priesthood, but his preoccupation with prohibited literature, especially the works of Karl Marx made Stalin drop out of school to become a revolutionary.3 Stalin held various positions that seemed unchallenging in the Bolshevik party. These positions aided him in gaining influence across the Bolshevik party which later became the precursor of his success. Stalin never participated in risky moves. He had no involvement in the 1917 October Revolution.4 At the onset of his career (before 1924), his performance was dull; however, previous researches showed that this blank career was noteworthy to his uprising5. Stalin was an early member of the party, having “worked for a decade with the political underground in the Caucasus”, before becoming general secretary, he was one of the party members that Lenin was familiar with.6 Also, Stalin followed Lenins “ideology about centralism and a strong party of professional revolutionaries.7 Lenin admired Stalin’s excellence in organizing, making him one of the six members of the Central Committee. His tasks there were to help in making policy and write the Pravda. After the death of Lenin, Zinoviev and Kamenev attempt to prevent the reading of his last testament.8 Stalin opposed the will, but stayed in the shadows. Thus without any effort, Stalin was saved by Zinovieva and Kamenevs fear. He was also able to maintain his portrayal as ever loyal to Lenin. Also, the death of Lenin prevented him from being sent to the provinces. These events gave way to his emergence as the USSR leader in 1929. In 1926, another favorable thing happened for Stalin. Dzerzhinsksy’s, the leader of Cheka, death allowed Stalin to gain access to one of the powerful bodies of Russia, earning more citizen support. He was able to turn them against the influence of their old leader. E.H Carr admired Trotsky’s great intellect, his great administration capacity and his talent in oration, but commented that he also lacked the quality of an essential leader. Trotsky was impatient and ignored his equals and colleagues whom he thought possessed less intelligence.9 When it comes to Congress, Trotsky was never popular because he never gave favors. He did not gain support due to this unwise strategy. In addition, being a Jew was a disadvantage for Trotsky. The majority of the Bolshevik party was anti-semitic, which made their loyalty turn against Trotsky. It had been proven during World War I that without a power base, Trotsky’s quest against Stalin would have been futile.10 Trotsky’s lack of ability to compete with Stalin at similar level is due to the low level of support that he received from his colleagues.11 Analysis Stalin’s ruthlessness and harsh character proved significant in his succession of Lenin. At young age, Stalin was already seen as rebellious.12 In order to gather money for the Bolshevik government, he engaged in to robberies and terroristic acts.13 He was captured and luckily escaped imprisonment eight times.14 These circumstances earned Stalin a reputation as true blooded and loyal Bolshevik. The power of Stalins charisma and influence widened his political horizon, since he was capable of appointing people close to him for the party’s key positions. Whenever his policies were opposed, it is easy for him to influence them in a direction better to his liking. Trotsky was perceived by the Russian citizens as one who put Russia in peril. Hence, he did not succeed because of his unwillingness to compromise. His main policy was a permanent revolution. Trotsky wanted to spread communism across countries. It must be noted that Trotsky was an apt military man. He led the Red Army. Trotsky believed that due to the smallness and underdevelopment of Russia’s economy, it must revive communism into different countries. This plan was seen as a threat of invasion, because he wanted to interfere with other countries. The Russians did not want to have the whole world at war with them. The citizens of Russia wanted to develop a better economy and country for a new Russia. Due to a variety of favorable events and vigilant political decisions, Stalin emerged as a favourite in 1929. He was the leader of Bolshevik party. Nonetheless, Stalins fellowmen were ignorant of the power that he was already accumulating. This power and underestimation of Stalin brought their defeat. Stalin’s strategic siding with the left and right of the Bolshevik party maneuvered him to knock off his opponents which included Trotsky. The mass demonstration in Moscow enabled him to eliminate three of his major opponents. Evaluation of Sources All in all, ten sources have been utilized in order to complete this paper. There were from library books and electronic sources. I found three of which as very useful. The first on the list is the book entitled- The Secret History of Stalins Crimes, it was published in London at Random House publishing company in 1953. It was written by Alexander Orlov. The book is very interesting and insightful. It is loaded with information. An individual can find anything and everything about the life of Stalin from the start of his rebellion in his childhood days to his elimination of rivals, one of them famous for the name Trotsky, up until his reign as head of the Soviet Union. It also elaborated the lucky circumstances that made his way to the throne. The second source is The First in Depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia’s Secret Archives. This was printed at Doubleday in New York City during 1996, which is authored by Edward Radzinskii. This book contained a brief biography of the life and origin of Josef Stalin. The third source was the website article by Lynn Walsh Forty Years Since Leon Trotsky’s Assassination. This article was written in 1980. It depended more on Trotsky’s statements. For instance, Trotsky refuted the notion that Stalin had masterminded his rise to power. In Walsh’s review Trotsky stated: In view of the prolonged decline in the international revolution," wrote Trotsky in 1935, "the victory of the bureaucracy—and consequently of Stalin—was foreordained. The result which the idle observers and fools attribute to the personal forcefulness of Stalin, or at least to his exceptional cunning, stemmed from causes lying deep in the dynamics of historical forces. Stalin emerged as the half-conscious expression of the second chapter of the revolution, its Morning after.15 This helps explain that not only Stalin’s personality, but a series of events were necessary to allow him to become leader of the USSR. Along with the top three sources, the Igshistoryonline Website was very useful. All of the sources were insightful, but a little biased. Since Stalin is one of the most infamous men in history, finding an impartial author or source would be hard. However, enough information has been gleaned to give an accurate view on why Stalin and not Trotsky came to power. All of the sources used are based on primary sources. These sources were carefully and thoughtfully written based on thorough research. The sources that were written before the fall of the USSR can be seen as slanted. This slant is due to the bias of the Western world toward the USSR bloc during the Cold War. After World War II, Stalin was seen as a tyrant by the West. The sources since the USSR fell are more informed due to the newly discovered records only recently made available due to the change of government. This must be taken into consideration when weighing the source information. Conclusion In a nut shell, Stalin’s emergence as the USSR was caused from his personal characteristics, favorable events, as well as pre-planned events, and a combination of factors. The suppression of Lenins will, Stalins control of Prada, the party newsletter, and Trotskys faults led to Stalins emergence over Trotsky. After several years of an uphill struggle, Stalin was able to break into the key positions with the help of his supporters. However, Trotsky’s downfall was due to his timidity to the degree that Stalin has gain a massive support because of it. Trotsky also held views that made the Russian people turn on him, such as the spreading of Communism to the whole world. Also Trotsky’s refusal to grant favors hurt him politically. Finally, the Bolsheviks did not accept Jews. All of these factors allowed Stalin to win over Trotsky. The emergence of Stalin was not only because of his attributes, but also because of Trotsky’s failures. Bibliography Books Bullock, Allan, Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives. New York: Knopf, 1992. Orlov, Alexander, The Secret History of Stalins Crimes. New York: Random House, 1953. Radzinskii, Edward, translated by H.T Willets, Stalin: The First in Depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia’s Secret Archives. New York: Doubleday, 1996. Electronic Sources Answers.com Website, ‘Joseph Stalin, Political Leader / World War II Figure, 2007, Retrieved on January 9, 2008 Bookrags Website, ‘Did Stalins Policies Make His Reign a Success?’, 2006, Retrieved on January 9, 2008 Bookrags Website, ‘Stalin and his actions: Justifiable or Not?’ 2006. Retrieved on January 9, 2008 Bookrags Website, ‘Stalin and Lenin’, 2006, Retrieved on January 9, 2009 Igshistoryonline Website. ‘Why did Stalin Rather than Trotsky Emerged as Leader of USSR in 1929?’ Retrieved on January 9, 2007 Jewish Virtual Library Website, ‘Joseph Stalin’ 2008, Retrieved on January 9, 2008 < http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/stalin.html> Walsh, Lyn, ‘Forty Years Since Leon Trotsky’s Assassination’, 1980, Retrieved on January 9, 2008 Read More