USSR Power Struggle Worksheet

In 1924 Russia was now controlled by 7 members of the Politburo. It was these men who would run the country immediately after Lenin’s death. A strong, powerful leader needed to be found in order for the country to remain strong. The two serious contenders that emerged as leader of Russia were Leon Trotsky and Josef Stalin. Each of them had good merits as to why they should be considered as the new leader of Russia.

Stalin V Trotsky

As the Secretary of the Party, Stalin could affect who got important party jobs. While Trotsky had been away fighting in the Civil War, Stalin had been in Petrograd being very friendly to all the people that mattered, including Lenin.

Lenin however did not like Stalin and did not think he would make a very good leader. He wrote a letter to the rest of the party when he got very ill explaining these sentiments, but the letter was never made public to the Politburo. Stalin was a clever man and knew how important a good image was. He made sure that he had an important role at Lenin’s funeral while Trotsky did not even make it on the day! Trotsky was actually in Southern Russia at this time recovering from malaria and it is said that he phoned Stalin to find out when the funeral was and Stalin gave him the wrong date! Stalin, along with Zinoviev and Kamenev emerged quickly as strong leaders within the Politburo and together they accused Trotsky of trying to split the communist party. Trotsky was so unpopular by this time that very few of his colleagues were prepared to defend him against these charges. So, from 1924, Trotsky lost more and more of his jobs in the party.

Trotsky was unpopular:
• Trotsky was brilliant, but nobody liked him.

• They thought he was too big-headed.

• Secretary Stalin told him the wrong date for Lenin’s funeral, so he missed it – this made him more unpopular.

• Trotsky wanted to try to cause a world revolution which many Russians feared would ruin Russia.

Politically ruthless:
• The Politburo was divided into two halves as to who they would support.
• The Leftists (Zinoviev and Kamenev) wanted world revolution, and to abolish the NEP, but they hated Trotsky because they thought he was too ambitious.
• The Rightists (Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky) wanted to continue the NEP until the USSR was stronger.

Worksheet Task:

• Aimed at Students studying across AS/A2 or equivalent
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• Lesson fact file on the USSR Power Struggle.
• Use with other Russia worksheets & resources.
• Includes challenging questions.