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Summary Russia 1924-41 (Stalin) Notes
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12 pages of detailed notes on Russia . Includes key facts, dates and statistics, as well as multiple historians' quotes to support interpretations.
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StalinStalin - Character & Abilities
What was Stalin’s early career like?
● Involved in Georgian resistance movement, leading to expulsion from seminary in 1899
● Raised funds for Bolsheviks through bank hold-ups & train robberies
What were Stalin’s early roles in the Bolshevik party?
● 1905: emerged to represent local branches of Bolshevik Party (Georgia & South R) at
conferences
● 1912: elected to Central Committee of Bolsheviks, excelled as an administrator & debater
What did Stalin do as General Secretary?
● 1922: made General Secretary of the Communist Party, recorded & conveyed party policy
● Able to build personal files on all party members
● Had power of patronage: put supporters in key positions, continued to back him as owed
position to him
What was ‘Lenin enrolment’?
● 1923-5: party set out to increase no. of true proletarians in its ranks
● Resulted in membership of CPSU rising from 340,000 in 1922 to 600,000 by 1925
● As general secretary, S oversaw ‘Lenin enrolment’ thus used expansion to increase his
growing power of patronage
What did Stalin do about Georgia?
● 1917-22: appointed Commissar for Nationalities
● Handled issue harshly
● L angry at Stalin’s behaviour in discussions w/ Georgian representatives, had to personally
intervene
How was Stalin a manager?
● Commander during Civil War
● General Secretary of Communist Party was most senior management post
● By 1927, controlled Party Congress, allowing him to expel main rival from party
● More sinister management shown through instigation of Great Terror & appointment of
Beria as head of secret police
How was Stalin a planner?
● Planned economic & social change to modernise R
● Planned economy & police state introduced 1928-33
● 1928: first 5 year plan adopted & start of collectivisation programme
What has been said of Stalin’s personality?
● Trusted no one, incl. party supporters & family members
● In Testament, L urged party members to remove Stalin from role as not sure if he could
exercise power w/ ‘sufficient caution’
● 1922: Nicolai Sukhanov described him as a ‘dull, grey blank’
● View of S as madman challenged by Kotkin, historian who believes S was far more diligent,
intelligent, resourceful & rational than has been made out
What did Figes say about Stalin?
● Figes: Stalin’s ‘personal dislike of Trotsky was so all-consuming that he would have sided
with the Devil so long as it secured his enemy’s defeat’
● Figes: ‘Stalin imposed a rigid Party line with lethal consequences for those who challenged it’
● Figes: Lenin making Stalin General Secretary of the Party was ‘arguably the worst mistake in
the revolution’s history’
Rivalries & Divisions in Bolshevik Party
What issues were Bolsheviks divided on in 1917?
, ● After overthrow of PG in 1917, some prominent Bolsheviks incl. Kamenev, Zinoviev & Rykov
called for coalition to be formed w/ other socialist groups
● Some party members saw War Communism as too harsh, leading to NEP concession
Which issues did leading Bolsheviks disagree over after Lenin’s death?
● Dispute over if NEP should continue
● Many demanded more openly democratic form of gvt
● Left, under T’s guidance, continued to press for Permanent Revolution, while right
emphasised need for socialism in one country
How did Stalin pave the way for dictatorship?
● Skill in manipulating debates & individuals to consolidate his position
● Gave validation to his credentials as overall leader by obtaining important positions in
Bolshevik party early in his career
What happened to the United Opposition group?
● Formed by Trotsky, Kamenev & Zinoviev
● Opposed NEP & demanded more ‘free speech’
● Met w/ contempt & excluded from Politburo
● 1927: T expelled from party & by Jan 1929 expelled from USSR altogether
What opposition was there to collectivisation?
● Those on right thought it resembled aspects of War Communism e.g. grain requisitioning
● Bukharin expressed concerns & joined forces w/ Kamenev. was branded a Factionalist
Who else did Stalin remove?
● 1929: Bukharin ousted from positions as President of Comintern, editor of Pravda & member
of Politburo
● Tomsky & Rykov demoted
● Stalin gained agreement of core of loyal party members in order to remove ‘critics’ from
positions of power, allowing him to dominate gvt
Trotsky/Stalin Rivalry
What happened after L’s death?
● Politburo (Stalin, Trotsky, Rykov, Tomsky, Kamenev & Zinoviev) publicly proclaimed intention
to continue as collective leadership but privately began competition for individual authority
● Stalin gained advantage by delivering oration at L’s funeral, while T was absent
● May 1924: Central Committee presented w/ Testament & realised it was too damning to be
used against one individual
What were attitudes towards Trotsky?
● ‘The kind of person who attracted either admiration or distaste, but seldom loyalty’ (Lynch)
● Seen as arrogant
● Distrusted due to Menshevik routes
● Jewish so subject to anti-Semitism
What changes to the party did Trotsky call for?
● Attacked bureaucratisation, which he defined as rejection of discussion in Party & growth of
Secretariat’s power
● Called for return to ‘Party democracy’, condemning centralising of power
● Overlooked fact ‘Bolshevik rule since 1917 had always been bureaucratic’ (Lynch)
What was Trotsky’s attitude to NEP?
● Backed L over NEP in 1921 despite disapproving of policy
● 1923: T led group of Party members in openly criticising Gosplan for putting interests of
Nepmen over those of Revolution
● Urged return to tighter state control of industry & warned that under NEP revolutionary
gains made under War Communism would be lost
What was Stalin’s attitude to NEP?
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