How Did Stalin Develop To Power

The most dominant factor in Stalin’s acquisition of power was his political skills. Stalin's first major success over the other contenders, though they did not realize it, was the power he gained from his position as General Secretary of the party. This gave Stalin the ability to appoint new members as well as have access to information on other party members. He was able to build up a base of support by promoting his supporters into higher party positions. No one else in the party wanted this position so it Stalin took it and seen as a bureaucratic burden. The other members viewed it as a less important position compared to the more intellectual ones that they had. In contrast, Zinoviev was head of Comintern, Kamenev was the Party's leading writer and Trotsky was the War Commissar. …show more content…
To do this, Trotsky’s opponents highlighted his ideological difference on the issue of Socialism in One Country versus Permanent Revolution. Trotsky’s belief was that Russia should invest in the idea of Permanent Revolution – exporting the Communist ideals to other countries. This opposed Stalin’s Socialism in One Country, which was more appealing to the people of Russia. Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev were able to paint a picture of Trotsky as someone who believed Russia needed help from other countries and should continue war. Stalin was able to cast aside his own personal views and adopt those that would benefit him in isolating Trotsky. He maintained the right wing view of socialism in one country as his preferred foreign policy and was able to have Trotsky exiled from the Politburo in October 1926, and later from the country in January 1929. Thus, one could argue that Stalin’s cunning political personality was a leading factor in his rise to