The Main Contenders to Succeed Lenin

Stalin was born in Georgia, and one of the few leading revolutionaries to actually come from a peasant background.He was well educated, having done well enough in school to train as a priest, where he instead found Marxism and was inspired to join the world of revolutionaries.

Between 1902 and 1913, Stalin was frequently arrested and exiled to Siberia. Alongside this, his first wife died in 1907, which hardened him to become a much meaner man. It was around this time where he would take on the pseudonym 'Stalin', meaning 'man of steel'.

In 1912, he was invited to join the central committee of the Bolshevik party. When the February Revolution took place in 1917, he was one of the first to arrive in Petrograd. Stalin was promoted through many jobs within the party, going from:

• Editor of the Pravada, the party newspaper, when he first joined.
• After the October Revolution, he became Commissar for nationalities.
• In March, 1919, he became Head of the Rabkrin (the Workers' and Peasants' inspectorate).
• In May, 1919, he became Head of the Orgburo, controlling party organisation.

Stalin's appointment to all of these key posititons shows that he was well liked by Lenin, though the other members of the party underestimated him prior to the Leadership Challenge. He was both not seen as important and also a poor orator (leading to his use of the others' speaking skillls.

Trotsky joined the Bolshevik party late, being a Menshevik up until 1917. However, he was popular as a hero of the October revolution and Russian Civil War, especially with younger and more radical members of the party. During Lenin's leadership he was a member of the Politburo as Commissar of War.

He was seen as the natural successor to Lenin due to:

• His great speaking skills
• His intelligence
• His status as a war hero
  
• His contribution to the party being second only to Lenin's

However, he suffered some feverous attacks from 1923, meaning that he failed to attend Lenin's funeral. This, the fact that he joined late, and the fact that he seemed arrogant and aloof (leading him to avoid making alliances with the other possible successors) were all factors working against him. Despite this, he was the strongest candidate for the next leader of the Bolshevik party.

Trotsky was also Jewish. Despite being offered role as Deputy Chair of the Soviet Government, he declined, as he was well aware of the anti-semitism throughout the country and didn't want to damage the party's popularity.

Zinoviev was an old Bolshevik, member of the Politburo. He was one of Lenin's friends, and the Mensheviks used to call him "Lenin's mad dog". His speeches were somewhat impressive, though they lacked the substance that others' held. Aslongside this, he played an important role in initating the cult of Lenin after the assassination attempt in 1918.

He did fall out with Lenin over the decisions he made about the government, and so was given the role of "Secretary of the Leningrad Soviet" rather than recieving a major post in the Sovnarkom. This position did let Zinoviev build a strong power base however, and in 1919 he was made Chairman of the Comintern (or the director of the eagerly awaited world revolution). Zinoviev only became a full member of the Politburo in 1921.

Another factor working against him was the fact that he was widely disliked by the members of the party, as he was seen as over ambitious and constantly flaunted any rewards he recieved.

Kamenev was another old Bolshevik and full-time revolutionary since 1905. From 1907 to 1914 he worked as a close collaborator with Lenin abroad. He was a good writer and had a personal charm about him that he had previously used to bring Stalin to the Bolshevik camp. He worked at an editor of the Pravada with Stalin, Party Secretary in Moscow, and eventually Commissar for Foreign Trade, bringing him into the Politburo. While in the Politburo, Kamenev used his power to moderate violence of the Cheka through the civil war.

However, he opposed Lenin's April Theses at first, and allied himself with Zinoviev against Lenin again in 1917. Kamenev was also not personally seen as a natural leader.

Bukharin was one of the younger Bolsheviks, and seen as "the golden boy". He theorised about the specifics of Russian communism often and debated often with Lenin about political strategy. No other candidate to replace him had disagreed with Lenin on as much, yet their personal relations remained positive throughout Lenin's life.

He worked as another editor of the Pravada newspaper in 1918, where he remained until 1929. Bukharin remained in Moscow during the civil war as well, which boosted his reputation as a theoretician. In 1922, he became a full member of the Politburo, though he held little power having little experience of note beyond the Pravada. He did have a followerbase of students, though.

Bukharin supported the NEP strongly, as well as a union between workers and peasants, leading him to oppose Trotsky. He represented a more moderate and peaceful alternative to Stalinism, though this led Lenin to call him "soft wax".

Also born to a peasant family, Rykov worked at chairman of the Veshenka and succeeded Lenin as Chairman of the Sovnarkom, having been deputy since 1921. He was authoritative and outspoken, though this led him to come across as cold and not very endearing to his colleagues. Rykov was also regarded as "far and away the most important proponent of the NEP".

Despite being seen as a talented administrator and more statesmanlike than his colleagues, but did have a reputation as a drinker.