World War 1 is over

Measures to ensure peace are in place (4)

Countries are on the road to recovery

A brief on the situations in these countries

Recall: how did Russia turn Communist?

• Russia under the Tsar• Tsar brought Russia into WW1• Communists took over; Tsar overthrown• Russian Civil War; Lenin won• Lenin & CP took Russia out of WW1• Russia began to rebuild under COMMUNIST

RULE• Lenin ruled for 7 years and fell ill

• What and who is next???

Lenin ill…

Two potential candidates

Josif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili

Date of Birth: December 1879- His father was a shoemaker and an alcoholic; abandoned the family when Stalin was still a young child; lived a hard life- Twice exiled to Siberia by the Tsarist secret police, he escaped each time- Made his name in violent bank raids to raise party funds- He was slow and steady, but very hardworking- He also held grudges and generally made his enemies suffer-Became a leading Communist after playing an important role in defending the Bolshevik city of Tsaritsyn -Represented the chief mourner at Lenin’s funeral which tribute to his contributions-Believes in slogan “Socialism in One Country” – Russia must be a strong communist state first and make itself strong; this should be the main aim

Lev Davidovich Bronshtein

Date of Birth: November 1879 - Born into a respectable and prosperous Jewish farming family - Exceptionally bright at school and brilliant at university- Politically active – arrested in 1900 and deported to Siberia- Escaped to London and met Lenin there in 1902- Joined the Social Democratic Party- Published two Bolsehvik newspapers including Pravda(the main newspaper of Communist Russia later)- In 1917, he played a key role in the Bolshevik Revolution- In 1918, he became the Commissar for War and led the Bolsheviks to victory in the Civil War which broke out in 1918- Did not turn up at Lenin’s funeral to mourn the leader-Believes in the slogan “Russia must spark a world socialist revolution” – world must be turned into communist and this must be Russia’s main aim

Who would you vote for?

• Candidate 1: Josif• Not the smartest but

very very hardworking• Has a boring but

powerful job• Build up Russia as a

strong communist state; world comes later

• Candidate 2: Lev• Smart, talented esp.

in writing• Arrogant to most

party members• In love with the Red

Army• World Revolution led

by Russia

Next leader of Soviet Union

Lenin’s Testament (or will)

• Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary-General, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution. Comrade Trotsky, on the other hand, is distinguished not only by outstanding ability. He is personally perhaps the most capable man in the present Central Committee., but he has displayed excessive self-assurance and shown excessive preoccupation with the purely administrative side of the work.

• Lenin, 1922

• Stalin is too rude and this defect, although quite tolerable in our midst and in dealing among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a Secretary-General. That is why I suggest 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.

• Lenin, 1922

In a nutshell

Did not lookdown on women

Literacy level of Russians improved

tremendously

Russia went on to become a world

superpower

Extremely ruthless& merciless ruler

Control freak:Secret police, cult

Killed millions ofOwn people:

Man-made famine

How did Josef Stalin rise to

power?

four factors

Lack of strong political opponents

Cunning personality/Long term planning/

Strategist nature

Strength of his position within the Communist Party

(CP

Trotsky’s weaknesses as the only available

opponent

1. Lack of strong political opponents

• Trotsky & Bukharin, Kamenev & Zinoviev• Trotsky sacked as War Commissar• Stalin allies with Bukharin & turns against

Kamenev & Zinoviev• Kamenev, Zinoviev & Trotsky expelled

from CP• Trotsky exiled to Siberia• Stalin turns against Bukharin• Bukharin expelled from CP

• In 1936, Trotsky settled in Mexico. On 20 August 1940 Ramon Mercader, who was acting on Stalin's order, stabbed Trotsky with an ice pick. He died the next day.

• Trotsky's killer, Mercader, was imprisoned for twenty years in a Mexican jail. After his release he traveled to Moscow, was awarded the Order of Lenin and spent the remainder of his life in comfort under the protection of the killers of the GPU-KGB.

3. Strength of his position within CP

• Made the General Secretary

• In a position to fire and hire communist party members

• By 1933, there were 3 and a half million new members, all recruited by him!

• They were “malleable”, inexperienced, uneducated, thirsty for power

• Obeyed his instructions

4. Trotsky’s weakness as opponent

• Leader of Red Army, brilliant speaker & thinker

• But arrogant; often offended other party members

• Made little effort to build up his power within party; more interested in Red Army

• Believed in World Communist Revolution – made people in USSR frightened of getting into conflicts with other countries

• Always falling ill in the 1920s – malaria-like infection, when Lenin was dying

• Very blur and gullible!

• E.g. Tricked by Stalin at Lenin’s funeral. Stalin gave him a wrong date and he didn’t turn up for the funeral. Allowed Stalin to pretend to be Lenin’s chief mourner and Lenin’s closest friend

2. Cunning Personality/Strategist

• Knew what he wanted from the start

• Took on boring but powerful job as General Secretary

• Played off one opponent against others until there was none left

• Tricked others for his own benefit (e.g. Trotsky during Lenin’s funeral)

Just like that, he will rule USSR for … years

Did not lookdown on women

Literacy level of Russians improved

tremendously

Russia went on to become a world

superpower

Extremely ruthless& merciless ruler

Control freak:Secret police, cult

Killed millions ofOwn people:

Man-made famine

Possible SEQs

• “The lack of strong political opponents was the main/sole/most important reason for Stalin’s rise to power at the end of Lenin’s rule.” How far do you agree with this statement? EYA. (12m)

• How far do you agree that Stalin won the leadership contest after Lenin’s death due to Trotsky’s weakness as the main opponent? EYA. (12m)