Following Lenins death in 1924, a large power vacuum existed which had to be filled for the revolution to continue.

There was a power struggle between Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin, Trotsky and Stalin as there was no formal procedure put in place to succeed Lenin following his death. It is important to note that it was a combination of many reasons which led to Stalins triumph as leader. Nature of Stalin and Trotsky Between the main rivals Stalin and Trotsky it was believed that Trotsky would be the natural successor because he was more charismatic, intelligent and also largely responsible for the Red Victory in the Civil War. Stalin was a grey blur however and was seen as the least likely to assume the leadership because he was distant and quiet. However, it was Stalin that successfully triumphed as leader of the USSR. Trotskys popularity was a reason for the triumph of Stalin was because Trotsky was not popular within the communist party. Trotsky was extremely arrogant and looked down upon those who were intellectually inferior to him. He had been known to turn his back on them, read a book while they spoke and treated them with content. Therefore Trotsky had no friends in the Politburo which would lead to his downfall as he did not have enough support from the other politburo members. Historiography 1: Trotsky was flamboyant and brilliant, while Stalin was unspectacular and methodical, colleagues tended to regard the former as dangerously ambitions and the latter as reliably self-effacing. (Stalin and Khrushchev: The USSR 1924-64 by Michael Lynch, pg 17) Michael Lynchs view is a key reason to Stalins Triumph. He states that Stalin seemed to be less of a threat however it is because of this that Stalin is able to triumph because no one believed he would be the successor. Stalins dominant position in the party Another reason for Stalins triumph was his ability to build up a powerful base within the party bureaucracy. In the past few years he had accumulated an enormous amount of power and influence within the party.(These can be seen on the sheet) His role as the General Secretary was key reason for his success. Being the General Secretary of the Communist Party gave him control over promotions as well as demotions and various appointments. This gave Stalin a great advantage as he was able to appoint his own supporters key positions within the party. Historiography 2: Two years after the end of the Civil War Russia and society already lived under Stalins virtual rule without being aware of the rulers name Deutscher, l, Stalin, Penguin, Hammondsworth, 1966 ed, p 232 The quote shows part of the reason why Stalin successfully came into power. It highlights Stalins ability to gradually gain dominant positions in the party unnoticed.

The Death of Lenin The relationship between Lenin and Stalin was not good. Lenin had greatly disliked Stalin and had pushed to remove him from his post. Before Lenins death he had written a testament which had Lenins opinion on Stalin. He wrote that Stalin was Too rude and this defect is intolerable in a Secretary General. That is why I suggest that comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from his post and appointing another man. If this testament was to be read to the people of Russia Stalins political career would have ended. However Stalin was saved by the informal triumvirate he had made with Zinoviev and Kamenev. Zinoviev gave a speech to the committee that Lenins fears about Stalin were groundless and that Stalin was working in perfect harmony with himself and Kamenev. Because of this speech the committee decided to leave Stalin as office as general secretary. The failure of the speech being announced in public was one reason why Stalin would become the future leader of USSR. Another reason was the way Stalin took advantage of Lenins funeral. By tricking Trotsky into believing the funeral was at another date Stalin led the mourning and made speeches declaring his eternal loyalty to Lenins ideas. By leading the funeral it looked as if Stalin had looked to be the future leader of USSR. Stalins Political Intelligence A key reason for Stalins triumph was his ability to manipulate alliances to his own advantage. The triumvirate had proved important in Stalin becoming a leader. The reason was that this alliance kept the testament from going public which saved Stalins political career. Stalin decided to join the rightists not because he agreed with the NEP but in the hope that they would help drive Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev out of the Politburo. With the support of the rightists Stalin made sure that Trotsky was always voted down in the Politburo. He also took advantage of being general secretary he was able to elect three of his own supporters into the Politburo. With their help Stalin was able to dismiss Trotsky, Kamanev and Zinoviev from the Politburo and give him a dominant position in the party. With Trotsky out of the picture Stalin turned against the rightists. With the majority of supporters in the Politburo Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky also resigned from the Politburo making Stalin the Supreme leader of USSR. Historiography 3: Stalin was moderate and methodical, not to say pedestrian, but he was the only one skilled at building tactical alliances and this put him head and shoulders above the rest (Soviet Union since 1917 by Martin McCauley, published by Longman Group UK on April 1982) This reference highlights Stalins political intelligence. He is seen as the only one skilled at building tactical alliances and therefore makes him superior to his rivals (Trotsky) that were not as cunning. Trotskys inability to make alliances because of his arrogance was a key factor in Stalins Triumph. Overall, it is not by one reason that Stalin Triumphs but through a combination of luck, political intelligence, positions of power and Trotskys arrogance and inability to play the political game that led to Stalins Triumph as leader of USSR by 1928.