Li Chun Ho (Alvin Li) History Revision: Stalins Rise past paper questions.

(b) Why was Stalin able to defeat Trotsky in the leadership contest? [7] Stalin, a loyal member of the Communist Party in Russia was able to defeat Trotsky in the leadership contest after the death of Lenin due to his position in the party. As the General Secretary of the Communist Party, he was able to choose and remove members of the party. He was allowed to remove members who supported Trotsky as he had great influence and was popular with the Red Army, which raised fears he might become a dictator of Russia. Therefore he slipped through and was allowed to remove men who supported him, and place in members who supported Stalin. Trotskys extreme views made him seen as a concern to older communists. He was arrogant, unwilling to look up to people he believed who was dumb and believed in a world revolution. Many Russians feared this may lead to great harm to Russia. Furthermore, his extreme views would divide the party. On the other side, Stalin was the quieter person. Although he was not a bright and motivated speaker who could inspire his audience, he did not hold extreme views and gained the trust of the majority of the members of the party. He was happy to be at the background behind all of the actions. His long term commitment of being a member over 20 years in the party made him seem as a devoted member. Furthermore, Stalins cunning and quiet tactics made him seen more supportive of Lenin compared to Trotsky. First of all, he managed to lie to his opponent, informing him of the wrong funeral day. At the time, Trotsky was suffering from malaria and was on a train far away. The absence of him made many people lost their respect for him, and it served as an insult to Lenin. Stalin took this to a further step of his advantage by composing a dedicated speech about Lenin on the day of the funeral, saying he was the disciple of Lenin. June 2006 Question 12 (a) What was Lenins Political Will (Testament)? *5+ Before Lenins death, he had written down a testament in which consisted of comments of the members in the Communist Party. The testament contained criticisms of the party itself, including those of Trotsky and Stalin. Stalin was seen as a dangerous person by Lenin, and in his political will, he requested for a way to remove him as General Secretary of the party. Stalin had previously argued with Lenin and insulted his wife, leading to Lenins amendment to add in a postscript warning the members of Stalin in January 1923. The testament also mentioned that Lenin believed although Trotsky was seen as the most capable man in the committee, he was too confident of himself. Furthermore, due to the criticisms of the party, including Stalin and of Trotsky, the party decided not to announce and publish the testament publicly on the day of the funeral. This served as one factor that allowed Stalin to become leader of the country in the near future as Lenins will was not published.

Li Chun Ho (Alvin Li) History Revision: Stalins Rise past paper questions. (b) Why was Stalin able to become leader of Russia by 1928? [7] Stalin was able to become the next leader after Lenin in 1928 due to his quiet cunningness. Because of the fact he did not hold extreme views and was seen as a dedicated member of the Communist Party for 20 years, he was seen as a more trustworthy person compared to Trotsky. Trotsky had held extreme views, and his influence and popularity and commissar of War meant that he had control of the Red Army. This was worrying for the other members of the party as they feared he may turn to a dictator. Furthermore, he wanted a world revolution and many Russian people believed it may do harm to Russia. Furthermore, Stalins position as the General Secretary of the Communist Party meant that he had control to remove and select people to various positions. This enabled and allowed him to remove people from the party who supported Trotsky. Other party members supported this action as they feared that Trotsky might become a dictator, and his extreme views were very likely to influence and possibly divide the party up.