How Did Joseph Stalin Come To Power

Although there are many different opinions about how Stalin became the dictator of Soviet Union for more than 25 years, most of the historians coincide in two main strategies that aided him to raise his power: the deletion of opposition and his role within the Party as a General Secretary. Stalin used political manoeuvres to fight against the leaders of both the Right and the Left, accusing them, pointing out the flaws of their ideologies, and making them lose credit. Surprisingly, one of his ways to come to power was shifting his ideology whenever it was convenient to fight the opposition. The Great Purges of the 1930s also exterminated all the present or potential enemies of Stalin, within the Party, in the Red Army or any other citizens

Stalin’s first objective was Trotsky; he claimed that Trotsky’s rejection to the NEP was an evidence showing that he was against Lenin. His stratagem was extremely successful that as soon as 1927 Trotsky was removed from power. After that, Stalin’s opposition was Bukharin, Tomsky and Rykov, that formed the Left, and Kamenev and Zinoviev, which formed the Right. Stalin managed to expel Kamenev and Zinoviev from the Central Committee because they were “creating too much conflict within the Party”. Stalin’s next step was the Great Turn: changing his ideology and claiming that the NEP was not appropriate, discrediting the leaders from the Left like Kamenev and Zinoviev. Through this skilful organized manipulation of Factionalism within the Party, Stalin was able to destroyed the opposition that represented a threat to his power. As the historian E.H Carr says, Stalin’s victory was a triumph, not of reason, but of

Stalin was part of the Politburo and grew power in the secretariat until he became General Secretary in 1922. That job allowed him to choose the local Party officials, who elected delegates to the Congress, who elected the central Committee; and gave him access to hundreds of files and reports about the members of the Communist Party. At the same time, Lenin’s plan enrolled 500,000 people to the Party after they came to the power in 1917 that had little idea about the Communist ideology and were only seeking money and privileges. Even though they did not have knowledge, it increased the number of people that were in favour of the Communist Party and it allowed Stalin to create alliances and ensure his support. By persuading those people and selecting his supporters for influential roles, Stalin was able to create his own network of associates and ensure his coming to