Stalins Rise To Power Essay -- essays research papers

Question: How far did Stalin achieve and maintain what Kruchev described as â€Å"the accumulation of immense and limitless power†, in the USSR between 1924 and 1945? Between 1924 and 1945, Joseph Stalin was able to emerge as the leader of the USSR and maintain what Kruchev described as â€Å"the accumulation of immense and limitless power†. Stalin's rise to power was a combination of his ability to manipulate situations and the failure of others to prevent him from taking power, especially Leon Trotsky. Stalin ruled the USSR from 1929 until his death in 1953. His rule was one of tyranny, a great change from the society that his predecessor, Lenin, had envisioned. During his time of reign, Stalin put into effect two self-proclaimed "five-year plans". Both were very similar in that they were intended to improve production in the nation. The first of these plans began collectivization, in which harvests and industrial products were seized by the government and distributed as needed. The government eliminated most private businesses and the state became the leader in commerce. By these, and many more ideas, Stalin was able to collect limitless and immense power with no one to stop him. In 1925, according to historian V. Serge1, LeonTrotsky did not take advantage of several opportunities, which would have helped him to crush Stalin politically. When he failed to take advantage of these opportunities, Stalin maneuvered himself into a stronger position within the party by allying with Zinoviev and Kamnev. He manipulated them into crushing Trotsky, thus eliminating the strongest opponent in his path to power. Stalin cleverly avoided potential political diminishment when Lenin formulated his Testament in December 1922. Lenin's Testament2 described what he thought of the future of the Party and Party leaders, especially Trotsky and Stalin. Lenin warned the people of a potential split in which Stalin and Trotsky would be the head factors. When describing Stalin, Lenin felt that he had showed "†¦unlimited authority†¦ in his hands and whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution." The content of Lenin's Testament eventually became more damaging to Trotsky than Stalin, allowing Stalin to accumulate even more power. Together with Lenin unintentionally praising Stalin, Stalin manipulated the content of the Testament to enhance... ...e 1930s. He decided and persuaded the people that the former leaders and allies, such as Kamenev and Zenoviev, were plotting against the Party with Trotsky. The purpose of the purges, according to N. Mandelstam4, was not to secure power Stalin’s position, but to intimidate the nation. So, all opponents were imprisoned. In January 1937, several other prominent Bolshevik leaders were trailed for treason and executed. The climax of Stalin’s purges came in March 1938 when 21 leading Bolsheviks, including Bukharin, Rykov and Yagoda were similarly accused and killed. This demonstrates Stalin’s immense power, for he could simply eliminate anyone standing in his way! Between 1924 and 1945, Stalin proved that he could, â€Å"accumulate immense and limitless power† in the USSR, mainly because everyone was either scared or inspired by him. Many of the poor peasants thought that he could give them what the wanted. Many of the kulaks were afraid to face Joseph and those who did were imprisoned. Even the Party members who did not give Stalin his way were eliminated. Because of his immeasurable amount of power and strength over the nation, Joseph Stalin would not be opposed by anyone until his death!