Stalin Rise to Power

Document A: Situation in Russia

In 1914, the First World War broke out. Russia, under the rule of Tsar Nicholas II, joined the war on the side of the Allies. Much of the food, clothing and livestock of the country went to the army. For a short time, the war united the Russian people in a burst of patriotism (they called the First World War the Great Patriotic War).

Within 12 months the elation gave way to despair. Between 1915 and 1916 more than 4 million Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in action. The war aggravated the domestic problems of the country. Since most production was directed at the war effort, peasants and workers bore the brunt of the sacrifice. Livestock and grain grown by peasants was sent to the army, leaving them to go with very little.

Food was often difficult to find in the urban areas and working and living conditions were cruel. As food prices continued to soar, hunger and suffering grew. While the war had at first united the Russians, they now only craved peace. Unhappiness among the peasants and workers exploded and across the country strikes and riots were staged.

Since 1916, workers had held strikes and protests against the Tsarist regime…The protests turned into full blown mutiny and the Tsar lost all control of the country, and it became necessary for a Provisional Government to rule Russia until a new government was established.

The Provisional Government instituted in March 1917 consisted mainly of middle class liberals. It had no real power without the support of the communists which formed the majority of the Russian population. Without their support the Provisional Government could not be effective.

Elation: (n) great happiness and exhilaration. Aggravated: (adj) made more serious by attendant circumstances Mutiny:  (n) an open rebellion against the proper authorities

Source: South African History.org

Document B: Lenin’s Last Testament (Modified)

Context: The first leader of Communist Russia was Lenin. Lenin did not like Stalin very much. However, Stalin used his power as Secretary of the Communist Party to develop many connections with others in the Communist Party. When Lenin died, Stalin used this to his advantage. His supporters helped him seize power over his only rival, Trotsky. Trotsky was forced to leave the country and anyone who supported him was punished (and sometimes worse.) Below is Lenin’s “Last Testament” where he share’s his true feelings about Stalin.

Comrade Stalin, having become secretary-general, has boundless power concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of using that power with sufficient caution….

Stalin is too rude and this defect, although quite tolerable in our midst and in dealings among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a secretary-general. That is why I suggest that the comrades think about a way of removing Stalin from that post and appointing another man in his stead who in all other respects differs from Comrade Stalin in having only one advantage, namely, that of being more tolerant, more loyal, more polite and more considerate to the comrades, less capricious, etc.

Source: Vladimir Lenin “Lenin’s Last Testament” 1923

Document C: Textbook Account (Modified)

Context: This document shows what most communists believed before Stalin came to power. Communists believed that the revolution would not be over until the whole world was communist.

  After November 1917, the communist hoped to hold on to power long enough to inspire workers in the more economically developed states, such as Germany and Britain, to carry out communist revolutions of their own. The signs in the years 1918-20 were encouraging (especially in Germany) communist leaders in Russia fully expected that, following successful communist revolutions elsewhere, worker’s governments would be willing to give financial and technical aid to backward Russia in completing the revolution.

Document D: Socialism in One Country (Modified)

Context: This document shows how Stalin changed the beliefs of the Communist Party when he came to power. He decided that communists should focus solely on Russia for the time being.

Stalin thought that Russia’s first tasks was to consolidate Lenin’s revolution and the rules of the party by turning the USSR into a modern state, capable of defending itself against its internal and external enemies. Russia, therefore must work:

·      To overcome its agricultural and industrial problems by its own unaided efforts

·      To go on to build a modern state, the equal of any nation in the world

·      To make the survival of the Soviet Union an absolute priority, even if this meant suspending efforts to create the international revolution

Source: Reaction and Revolution: Russia 1894- 1924. Michael Lynch. Michael Lynch is the Modern History Lecturer at Leicester University, United Kingdom.