The Fight to Succeed Lenin – Cookie Power! In this activity, the cookies represent power. The class must move the cookies to the candidates they believe to be in the most powerful position at each stage.

Stage 1: Speeches Each candidate must stand-up and make a speech declaring what their power-base is. The class then decides how many cookies (i.e. how much power) each candidate has.

Stage 2: Lenin’s Funeral Stalin and Trotsky stand-up Stalin delivered significant blows to Trotsky at Lenin’s funeral – he tricked Trotsky into not attending the funeral and Stalin took the opportunity to make himself look like he was Lenin’s true disciple. Any cookie movement?

Stage 3: Lenin’s Testament Stalin, Zinoviev, Kamenev and Trotsky stand-up Lenin’s Testament was given to the Politburo in May 1924. This could have meant the end to Stalin’s career but Zinoviev and Kamenev urge that Lenin’s Testament is not made general knowledge – why? They didn’t want to draw attention to Oct 1917 – K & Z were against a Bolshevik revolution at that time. They didn’t think Stalin was a major player in the power struggle and wanted his help in defeating Trotsky and they feared that the Testament might help Trotsky. Trotsky kept quiet (because he had supported the Decree on Party Unity March 1921 – see top of p133 in Oxley) – this can be seen as a mistake. Who deserves the cookie power?

Stage 4: Stalin joins the Left Zinoviev, Kamenev, Stalin and Trotsky stand-up In 1924 at the 13th Party Congress Zinoviev, Kamenev and Stalin had formed the Triumvirate and were leading the Party. Trotsky spoke out at the Congress saying that the Party had become too bureaucratic and less democratic than under Lenin. His speeches were brilliant but he was defeated easily in the vote as congress was packed with Stalin’s delegates. Trotsky could have appealed to his supporters… but he had approved of the ban on factions and was unwilling to split the Party. Any cookie movement?

Stage 5: The Battle Amongst the Left Zinoviev, Kamenev, Stalin and Trotsky stand-up During 1924 Zinoviev and Kamenev mounted a vicious campaign against Trotsky and questioned his loyalty pre- 1917. What was Trotsky’s previous party and why was this a problem? Trotsky retaliated with an article “Lessons of October” in which he criticised Zinoviev and Kamenev for their lack of support in October 1917. Stalin stayed in the background watching the Left tear themselves apart while he continued to build his power base. He appeared the moderate peace- maker, anxious to maintain Party unity. Who gains cookie power?

Stage 6: Stalin joins the Right The Left-wing candidates, Bukharin and Stalin stand-up In 1925 Stalin joined the Right over ‘Socialism in One Country’. What does ‘Socialism in One Country’ v Trotsky’s idea of ‘Permanent Revolution’ mean? Zinoviev and Kamenev launched an attack on Stalin saying that the NEP should be ended but, with Bukharin supporting Stalin (Bukharin was highly respected intellectually), Z & K lost every vote. Why did the Left want the NEP to end? In 1926 Zinoviev and Kamenev joined Trotsky and formed the ‘United (or ‘New’) Opposition’. They tried to get the Party masses to support them by organising demonstrations but they were accused of factionalism and lost all positions of power before being expelled from the Party. So Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev leave the building and who’s gets the cookies?

Stage 7: Stalin attacks the Right In 1926 Stalin had already increased the size of the Politburo by including his own close allies (in order to ensure that Zinoviev and Kamenev were out-voted). In 1928 there was a shortage of grain for the cities, despite a good harvest; many Party members demanded requisition of grain. In 1928 Stalin turned against the Right by attacking the NEP, demanding all hoarded grain be confiscated and advocating rapid industrialisation. Bukharin put up a strong defence but was outvoted by Stalin and his supporters. Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky were removed from the Politburo. So Tomsky, Bukharin and Rykov leave the building and guess who’s gets all the cookies?

Winner: Stalin In December 1929 when he celebrated his 50th birthday he was the undisputed leader of the USSR.