Stalin's personal rule

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  • Stalin's personal rule
    • Stalin's rise to power between the death of Leenin & the beginning of the 2nd rev of 1928-9
      • The sources of Stalin's strengths
        • 1922 - S General secretary of party
        • S was close to L in his final months - virtually controlled access to him
          • Had L office bugged in order to gain info - early sign of paranoia evident in 1930s
        • S compiled reports on other prominent comm - inc those who were to be his main rivals for power & influence
        • 1923 - massive inc in party membership - 'Lenin enrollment' - controlled by S - owed loyalty to S
        • Struggle for power after L death about policy - partly personality
          • S won both battles
            • policies he introduced/ associated with his name were more in keeping with Soviet needs at the time, than those of his rivals.
            • S more of match for other leading comm - personality - (Z,K,T,B)
            • S more intellectual rivals found it difficult to understand why they were defeated by S - underestimated both his ruthlessness & abilities
              • S ruthlessness - organised violent bank raids to get moeny from Bolsheviks - key feature of his personality - overshadowed his other qualities.
      • Political & personal ability
        • 1924 - S already in powerful position in party - GS - member of Orgburo, Secretariat & Politburo
          • Politburo - small decision making body of party
          • Orgburo & Secretariat - carried out decisions
          • S only man to carry out positions simultaneously
          • As GS - S ran party machine - most powerful sigle position in USSR & could decide promotions to party positions
          • As member of Politburo - S in small group of leading Comm met regularly to make policy
          • as member of Secretariat & Orgburo - also responsible for carrying out policy decisions & monitering party personnel
          • between 1917 & 1923 - S also Commissar for nationalities - he supervised officials in non-Russian Republics that had been part of the old Russian Empire
          • As head of the Wokers' & Peasants' inspectorate - he supervised the work of all government departments.
        • S rivals held important posts
          • Zinoviev - head of the party organisation in Leningrad
          • Trotsky - Commissar for War until 1925
        • After Lenin's death - S presented himself as the upholder of the former leader's legacy
        • Instrumental in creating the Lenin cult - inc having L body embalmed
        • S arranged L funeral - delivered speech - stated determination to continue translating L's ideas into practice - himself interpreting what these ideas were

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