1. The Four Primary Factors Contributing to his Victory
Stalin’s Rise to Power
The Four Primary Factors Contributing to his Victory

2. Establishment of a Soviet Single-Party State Timeline
1918
Lenin and Bolsheviks seize power
1921
Communist power is secure (3 years of civil war)
1922
Lenin’s health begins to fail
1924
Lenin dies; struggle for power by Stalin
1929
Stalin emerges as sole party leader
“Lenin lived, Lenin is alive, Lenin will live!”

3. Factors Contributing To Stalin’s Rise to Power
Factor #1: Ban of Factionalism
1921: A resolution was passed banning all groups within the Communist party from putting forward ideas that disagreed with official party policy; those who were tolerant of factionalism were expelled from the party
Consequences: this ban caused a lack of debate within the party and led to many expulsions (those who succeeded in getting their ideas accepted were quick to accuse others of “factionalism”

4. Factors Contributing To Stalin’s Rise to Power
Factor #2: Centralized Party Machine
As the Communist party was forced to deal with the complexities of running a large nation, they began to see the need for party centralization. The position of General Secretary was created (held by Stalin) to streamline party activity.
Consequences: This position, and the growing centralization of the party, put Stalin in a unique position to influence job appointments.

5. Factors Contributing To Stalin’s Rise to Power
Factor #3: Growth in Party Membership
The Communist Party grew considerably throughout the 1920s and by the early 1930s there were almost 4 million members – most of these were young, uneducated and politically inexperienced
Consequences: There were many “malleable” recruits who were much more likely to obey instructions than older party members

6. Factors Contributing To Stalin’s Rise to Power
Factor #4: No Clear Leader
A single leader didn’t emerge following Lenin’s death, but instead a “collective leadership” made up of 5 men
Leon Trotsky was the most feared of the senior leaders, but felt he shouldn’t have to compete for leadership. He seemed to lack to political will to fight and ended up in exile (also missing Lenin’s funeral seemed disrespectful and irresponsible!). He wasn’t willing to stage a coup and essentially gave up the top position.
Stalin played the other members against each other until eventually all 3 lost their government positions (political maneuvering)

7. Potential Leaders of the Soviet Party following Lenin’s Death in 1924
Lev Kamenev
Leon Trotsky
Nikolai Bukharin
Joseph Stalin
Gregory
Zinoviev

8. Factors Contributing To Stalin’s Rise to Power
Stalin’s Victory
Stalin’s victory was not inevitable and was not simply the result of his political skill…
Opposition to factionalism led other party members to their political demise
Centralized nature of the party made it easy to control
Poorly educated members were easy to dominate
Stalin’s skills aided his rise – shifting allegiances, use of secret police