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Stalin and the Soviet Union. The Communist Party in the Early 1920’s – Why Did Stalin Win The Struggle For Power?. When Lenin died he left no clear successor to lead the Communist Party. Lenin’s Testament criticised all the leading candidates.
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The Communist Party in the Early 1920’s – Why Did Stalin Win The Struggle For Power? When Lenin died he left no clear successor to lead the Communist Party. Lenin’s Testament criticised all the leading candidates. A group of leaders emerged: a ‘collective leadership’. By 1929 one of these leaders, Stalin had become a dominant force.
The Ban on Factionalism. In 1921 a resolution banned all groups within the party that disagreed with the official party policy. Those who showed a tolerance to factionalism could be expelled from the party. This ban caused a lack of debate within the party; it also resulted in many expulsion.
A Centralised Party Machine. Communists did not believe in bureaucracy. However, the complexities of government forced the party into becoming more centralised. The party decided to have a General Secretary to organise matters. This put Stalin in a unique position to influence job appointments.
Stalin’s Victory The centralised nature of the party made it relatively easy to control it. This had begun under Lenin. In a few years, Stalin eliminated all possible competitors inside the party and established an absolute control over it.
The growth in Party membership. By 1933 there were 3 and a half million members. Many members were young, inexperienced, and uneducated. These were “malleable recruits”. They were much more likely to obey instructions than some older party members.
The falsification of history Stalinists deliberately and decisively falsified history. They retouched photographs to remove discredited comrades, they changed history books to put themselves at places where they had not been, they tormented and manipulated professional historians.
Command Economy The Soviet Union developed a command economy under Stalin. In a command economy, government officials made all basic economic decisions. The government owned all businesses and distributed all resources.
The Five-Year Plan Stalin proposed the first of several "five-year plans" in 1928. It was aimed at building heavy industry, improving transportation, and increasing farm output. Government now controlled all economic activities.
Collectivization in Agriculture Stalin also brought agriculture under governmental control. He wanted all peasants to farm on either state owned farms or on collectives. The government wanted farmers to produce more grain to feed workers in the city. This also helped to restart selling grain abroad.
The Great Purge The Great Purge was a campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union which occurred from 1936 to 1938. It involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and government officials, repression of peasants and the Red Army leadership.
Military Purges The death toll on the military was staggering: 3 out of 5 Soviet marshals; 110 out of 195 division commanders; 220 out of 406 brigade commanders; 75 out of 80 members of the Supreme Military Council; 90% of the generals; 75% of the colonels; 8 admirals
