Group+8-The+Power+Struggle+for+Leadership

= The Power Struggle for Leadership =

[[image:http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/09_03/stalinDM2109_468x551.jpg width="226" height="234" caption="Leader: Joesph Stalin"]]
Joseph Stalin was an extremely influential character as he led Russian from the mid 1920s until 1953. The USSR’s second leader ever was known for his fascist style of leadership he killed millions of soviet citizens in the process of advocating his beliefs. The leader that preceded Stalin was Lenin. Stalin was greatly influenced by this powerful leader and even changed his name from Iosif Vissarionovich to Stalin which combined the Russian term for ‘steel’ with Lenin. Stalin in fact was so closely aligned with Lenin that he used their connection to rise to power. Stalin became Lenin’s right-hand man during the time that Lenin led the Bolshevikpolitical faction and the Russian Nation. Eventually Lenin granted Stalin a role as general secretary of the Communist Party, in control of paperwork. Stalin used this to appoint people and gain followers contributing to his upcoming power and leadership. This resulted in him appointing 10 000 supporters as provincial officials to help his campaign. When Lenin realized that Stalin had other motifs, he became concerned and wanted to prevent Stalin from gaining power. Lenin wanted to reinforce Trotsky’s position, because he believed that Trotsky would be a much better leader. Soon after Lenin died and was unable to stop Stalin from rising up. Leading up to Stalin’s reign, he joined wit Kamenev and Zinoviev, two other politicians, and campaigned on the left wing against Trotsky who was aligned with Bukharin. Unexpectedly Stalin dropped his political companions to join with Bukharin and they now fought an opposition of Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev. When the tension between Stalin and Trotsky built up, Stalin ordered his opponent to be assassinated in Mexico in 1940. Trotsky’s death left only two Lenin’s men were left, Stalin and foreign minister Vyacheslav Moltov. Over his time ruling Stalin got rid of left wing leadership in Russia, used a popular party’s leader, Kirov’s assassination in 1934 as an excuse to clear the political scene of his other enemies. Stalin gained so much power that his status allowed him to kill or imprison anyone who did not agree with him which resulted in Stalin having sole power of USSR.

[[image:http://www.cddc.vt.edu/marxists/archive/trotsky/photo/t1900b.jpg width="248" height="322" caption="Leader: Leon Trotsky"]]
Leon Trotsky was a political figure that sought change. At the young age of 22, he was imprisoned for four and half years and exiled to Siberia due to revolutionary activity. His real name was Lev Deavidovich but he used the name Trotsky to conceal his true identity. As a member of the Russian Social-Democrats, Trotsky worked with Lenin on a revolutionary newspaper, Iskra. Soon after returning to Russian, he led the St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers’ Deputies and helped to plan a revolt against the tsarist government. This resulted in him going to jail and once again he was exiled to Siberia. Trotsky managed to escape and spent his times traveling to places such as New York and Vienna where he continued to revolt. After the Russian Revolution, Trotsky led the left wing Menshevik faction. Once again he was jailed but this did not prevent him from being accepted into the Bolshevik Party and voted onto the Bolshevik central committee, which acted as bail. When Lenin became ill Trotsky became the front runner for Lenin’s succession. When Lenin began to return to good health in the winter of 1922-23 Trotsky assisted the leader with foreign trade policy, the handling of the national minorities, and the improvement of the system of government. When Trotsky lashed out against the party leadership in October Stalin seized this opportunity to improve his reputation. When Lenin died the following week, Trotsky was situated as an outsider. Stalin always carried a great dislike for his political opponent, Trotsky and in 1928 he was exiled to Alma-Ata, a remote part of Soviet Union. Soon after Trotsky was banned from modern day Russiaand moved to Turkey where he governed and following that he attempted to revolutionize France. After this failed attempt Trotsky ventured to Norway but was forced out and instead he settled in Coyacan, Mexico. Trotsky was wanted dead and this was attempted when men attacked his house with machine guns but it was not successful until 3 months latter when Spanish communist, Ramon Mercader killed him with an ice pick. Despite claims from the Soviet government denying to be connected to Trotsky's death, Mercader was sentenced to a twenty year term under Mexican law.

Lenin's Death
The mental strains of leading a revolution, governing, and fighting a civil war aggravated the physical and mental wounds from the attempted assassinations; Lenin still retained a bullet in his neck, until a German surgeon removed it. Among his comrades, Lenin was notable for working almost ceaselessly, fourteen to sixteen hours daily, occupied with minor, major, and routine matters. About the man at his life’s end, Vokogonov said: “Lenin was involved in the challenges of delivering fuel into Ivanovo-Vosnesenskl... the provision of clothing for miners, he was solving the question of dynamo construction, drafted dozens of routine documents, orders, trade agreements, was engaged in the allocation of rations, edited books and pamphlets at the request of his comrades, held hearings on the applications of peat, assisted in improving the workings at the ‘Novii Lessner’ factory, clarified in correspondence with the engineer P. A. Kozmin the feasibility of using wind turbines for the electrification of villages... all the while serving as an adviser to party functionaries almost continuously.” When already sick, Lenin remembered that, since 1917, he had only rested twice: once, whilst hiding from the Kerensky Provisional Government, and whilst recovering from Fanya Kaplan’s failed assassination. In March 1922, physicians examined him, they found evidence of mental or pathological distress, but, given his fatigue and the headaches he suffered, they prescribed rest. Upon returning to St. Petersburg in May 1922, Lenin suffered the first of three strokes, which left him incapacitated for weeks. By August he resumed limited duties, delivering three long speeches in November. In December 1922, he suffered the second stroke that partly paralyzed his right side; he then withdrew from active politics. In March 1923, he suffered the third stroke that rendered him mute and bed-ridden until his death. After the first stroke, Lenin dictated government papers to Nadezhda; among them was Lenin's Testament which changed the structure of the soviet party, and was partly inspired by the “1922 Georgian Affair", the testament criticized high-rank Communists, including Joesef Stalin, Kamenev, Bukharin, and Trotsky. About the Communist Party's General Secretary, Josef Stalin, Lenin reported that the limited authority" concentrated in him was unacceptable, and suggested that "comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post." His phrasing implies “personal rudeness, unnecessary roughness, lack of finesse”, flaws "intolerable in a Secretary-General". At Lenin's death, Nadezhda mailed his testament to the central committee, to be read aloud to the 13th Party Congress in May 1924. However, to remain in power, the ruling troika- Stalin, Kamenev, Zinoviev — suppressed Lenin's Testament; it was not published until 1925, in the United States, by the American intellectual Max Eastman. In that year, Trotsky published an article minimizing the importance of Lenin's Testament, saying that Lenin's notes should not be perceived as a will, that it had been neither concealed, nor violated; yet he did invoke it in later anti-Stalin polemics. Lenin died at six o’clock, Moscow time, on 21 January 1924, aged 53, at his estate in Gorki Leninskiye. In the four days that the Bolshevik Leader Vladimir Ilyich Lenin lay in state,more than 900,000 mourners viewed his body in the Hall of collums; among the statesmen who expressed condolences to Russia was Chinese premier Sun Yat-sen, who said: “Through the ages of world history, thousands of leaders and scholars appeared who spoke eloquent words, but these remained words. You, Lenin, were an exception. You not only spoke and taught us, but translated your words into deeds. You created a new country. You showed us the road of joint struggle... You, great man that you are, will live on in the memories of the oppressed people through the centuries.” Three days after his death, Petrograd was renamed Leningradin his honour.

[[image:http://marxistleninist.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/trotskyandstalin.jpg caption="Trotsky vs. Lenin"]]
Trotsky had a more effective leadership style than Stalin. Lenin had hoped that Trotsky would become his successor and had unfulfilled demands that Stalin should not gain control. Trotsky was intended to take control of The Soviet Union and Stalin's actions reinforced this. Trotsky's values and beliefs coincided closely with Lenin’s while Stalin's plans took a different path and caused concern. Stalin was known for leading a dictatorship when he was in power, but as a fascist he also altered Soviet’s economy. Stalin replaced Lenin’s New Economic Policy of the 1920’s with a command economy. His new economy heavily supported industrialization and central control over the economy. When Industrialization took over the Soviet’s agriculture was ruined. This large emphasis on industrialization and lack of emphasis on agriculture also led to famine. Stalin’s government was to blame for the starvation that led to millions of deaths of Soviet citizens. During the Ukrainian Genocide approximately 2-5 million Ukrainians were famished and Stalin was completely responsible for this. Some of the best ideas during the Russian Revolution originated from Trotsky. He was known for his inspiring speeches, as well as his determination as a worker, and was a crucial administrator. Although, he possessed many positive attributes, many believed that Trotsky's arrogance and condescending nature towards those during the communist movement made him a poor role model. If Trotsky had been granted with power, he probably would have had a very similar style of leadership as Lenin. The main differences between Trotsky and Stalin’s methods of leading The Soviet lay in foreign policy, cultural policy, and the extent of terrorist repression. In conclusion, there is no solid evidence of how good of a leader Trotsky would have been as all men have flaws. Trotsky, however, certainly would have done a better job than Stalin and would have raised a more concrete Soviet society with far less destruction. Stalin's impulsive decisions and selfish desire for power had horrible consequences for the nation. Due to the similarity between Lenin and Trotsky's goals and leadership it can be concluded that Trotsky would not have made the same mistakes as his opposition and therefore the results of his country would have been more positive.

If Lenin’s wishes had been realized how would Trotsky lead differently than Stalin?
===  ===  If Lenin’s wish to have Trotsky take over after his death had been fulfilled, we would modern day Russia would have turned out much differently. Lenin and Trotsky held a lot more in common in comparison to Lenin and Stalin. Stalin was known for his fascist ways and he killed millions of innocent people to pursue his beliefs and to make his vision of Russia reality. Stalin emphasised manufacturing and disregarded agriculture. If Trotsky was leading Russia a different approach towards establishing power would have been taken, a more civil advance. His politics altered greatly in comparison to Stalin. We see an example of these political variations with Socialism in One Country and the need for an international permanent revolution. Today there is a theory that Trotsky would not have had as much of an impact, but when it comes to the unnecessary starvations and deaths that happened during Stalin's reign, the events would have been prevented under Trotsky's rule. The starvations were directly related to the growth in manufacturing which replaced Lenin’s New Economic Policy. Trotsky would not have morphed Russia’s economy as greatly as Stalin did, because Lenin trusted Trotsky and believed he was the best man for the job. Lenin’s New Economic Policy was a big part of what he did as a leader, so he would want his successor to keep it in place. All in all, despite drastic changes put in place by Stalin, his changes were not always positive. Trotsky, however, would have taken an approach of dealing with matters with slower change. In addition, Trotsky's leadership would have taken a much calmer, respectful approach which would have eliminated some of the hardships that the Soviet Union Endured.

Marli Siebrits, Kevin Frank, Kevyn Karimi

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1917, the end of, Trotsky was unquestionably the second man in the Bolshevik Party after Lenin, overshadowing the ambitious Zinoviev, who had been Lenin's top lieutenant over the previous decade, which lasted until 1926, and in the end. "Leon Trotsky." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. . ====== "BBC - History - Historic Figures: Leon Trotsky (1879 - 1940)." BBC - Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. . "How to Understand Stalin's Rise to Power | eHow.com." eHow | How To Do Just About Everything! | How To Videos & Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. . "Leon Trotsky (Russian revolutionary) :: Exile and assassination -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. . estimates, some, and one quarter of the Russian population. "Joseph Stalin." Jewish Virtual Library - Homepage. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. . in, Trotsky cannot be undervalued. His philosophy was simple. If a commander. "Leon Trotsky." History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2010. .

Trotsky
[] Lenin [] Stalin []