1.  starter activity
Stalin & Lenin never sat together for this photo. It was ‘remastered’ in photo lab at a later date. Why would anyone have gone to such trouble?

2. How did Stalin become leader of Russia by 1929?
Stalin’s Rise To Power
How did Stalin become leader
of Russia by 1929?
5mins

3. Stalin’s Rise To Power
The events we will cover in the next 3 lessons never officially happened. According to official Soviet histories, Stalin became leader of the USSR at the moment of Lenin’s death:
‘1924 was the first year without Lenin. The Communist party and the Soviet people continued their creative work of building socialism under Comrade’s Stalin’s leadership’.
However this was far from the truth.
From 1924 – 9 a bitter struggle for power engulfed the Communist Party. It was only in 1930, six years after Lenin’s death , that Stalin was publicly recognised as the leader of Russia.

4. Who should replace Lenin as leader of the USSR?
Learning Objectives: To be able to describe the contenders to succeed Lenin as leader of the USSR To explain some of the pros and cons of each of the contenders To analyse which contender you feel has the best claim to the succession

5. What makes a good leader? (5 minutes)
1. With a partner choose the 6 most important qualities for a leader of the USSR to have in Explain your choices

6. Did you get any of these? Inconspicuous Good student of Marx
Good orator
Decisive
Organiser
Popular world figure
Founder member of the Party
Unwaveringly loyal to the party
Family man
Humble origins
Good military leader
Good writer
Prepared to take on critics within the party
Ruthless
Popular with the Party
Choose 6 qualities you think Lenin’s successor should have. Add more of your own.

7. Who were the contenders?
The Communist Party in 1924
Trotsky
Zinoviev
Kamenev
Stalin
Bukharin
Left Wing
Centre
Right Wing

8. Lenin’s Testament: 1922 (10 minutes)
1. Read through Lenin’s Testament on the hand out
2. Who did Lenin want to be the leader of Russia? Why?
3. Do you agree with Lenin’s judgements? Discuss with your partner.

9.  Your task
Your teacher will assign you a contender for the party leadership. You will become an expert on the strengths and weaknesses of different contenders for the party leadership. Research your own leader from the list below and then complete a table your teacher gives you.
Stalin
Trotsky
Zinoviev
Kamenev
Bukharin
Be ready to feedback to the rest of the class

10. TROTSKY STALIN BUKHARIN ZINOVIEV KAMENEV PARTY APPEAL & POWERBASE
POSITION WITHIN THE PARTY
REVOLUTIONARY RECORD
RELATIONSHIP WITH LENIN & LENIN’S TESTEMENT
PARTY APPEAL & POWERBASE
GOVERNMENT POWERBASE
TROTSKY
STALIN
BUKHARIN
ZINOVIEV
KAMENEV

11. Stalin - strengths
Genuine working-class background (mother a seamstress & washerwoman/ father a cobbler)
Hardworking – won a place at seminary
Admired Lenin’s writings (as a youth)
Party activist
Fundraiser (raiding banks)
Reputation for toughness (‘man of steel’)

12. Stalin - strengths Editor of Pravda
Opportunist – 1919, used roll as Head of Peasants’ Inspectorate to familiarise himself with workings of govt.
Careerist – rapid promotion to Orgburo, Politburo & General Sec.

13. Stalin - weaknesses October Revolution – played little part
Antagonised leading Communists, e.g. Sverdlov & Trotsky
Reputation for ‘industrious mediocrity’, ‘a grey blur which flickered obscurely but left no trace’ (Sukhanov, 1917, died 1940 in a gulag)

14. Trotsky - strengths Rivalled Lenin in intellect & charisma
Great orator
Popular with youth & committed Communists
Superb organiser (October Revolution, Civil War)
Commissar for War – strong military support

15. Trotsky - weaknesses Personal weaknesses - arrogant & aloof
Lacked political skills – didn’t foster support among fellow Communist leaders
Radical & potentially divisive views
Poor public perception – seen as outsider & lacking party loyalty
Ill health (possibly malaria) – absent for key meetings & events (Lenin’s funeral)

16. Zinoviev - strengths Longstanding Bolshevik – active since 1903
Close to Lenin – arrived in Petrograd with Lenin, April 1917
Party Sec. in St Petersburg – able to build powerbase
Chairman of Comintern
Member of Politburo
Good orator

17. Zinoviev - weaknesses Opposed armed uprising in Oct. 1917
Disagreed with Lenin about formation of new govt. – exclusion of other socialists
Lacked popular appeal – E.H.Carr, ‘weak, vain & ambitious’
Not an intellectual

18. Kamenev - strengths Active member of Bolshevik Party since 1905
Worked closely with Lenin from
Major contributor to party doctrine
Party Sec. in Moscow
Commissar for Foreign Trade
Member of Politburo
Moderate
E.H.Carr, ‘Intellectually superior to Stalin & Zinoviev’

19. Kamenev - weaknesses Opposed Lenin’s April Theses
Opposed armed uprising of October 1917
Wanted socialist coalition govt.
E. H. Carr, ‘lacked vision’

20. Bukharin - strengths Appealed to youth
Major figure in party before 1917
Close to Lenin – called him ‘the golden boy of the Bolshevik Party’, ‘the favourite of the whole Party’
Contributor to Pravda
Member of Politburo
Intellectual & epicurean

21. Bukharin - weaknesses Led opposition to Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Criticised Lenin & Trotsky over trade union debate
Lacked political skills

22. Who should replace Lenin as leader of the USSR?
PLENARY Which of the contenders most fits in with your characteristics / qualities list you compiled in the starter task?

23. Communist top trumps!
Read the activity on page 19 and construct your own top trumps cards – with explanations as well as scores

24. Ever heard of speed dating? How does the process work?

25. The Communist Party is looking for a new leader and has decided to hold a ‘speed dating’ event to choose a successor to Lenin. Work in groups of 6 and adopt one of the roles below:
Interviewer
Trotsky
Stalin
Bukharin
Zinoviev
Kamenev
Interviewer – read p and come up with at least 3 questions for each candidate you’d like to ask them
Candidates – read the appropriate section of p and be prepared to explain your background, revolutionary record, relationship with Lenin & party appeal.
The activity. Each candidate will be interviewed for 2 minutes before moving on. A bell will signal when your time is up. At the end, when all candidates have been interviewed you will have one last opportunity to criticise your rivals. The interviewer will then decide which candidate is the winner.

26. Groups Nura – S James – T Katarina – Z Amy – K Anil – B
Julia and Hannah - Interviewers
Alex – S
Olivia R - T
Fatema – Z
Anastasiya - K
Olivia S – B
Interviewers – Anna and Laura