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Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–41

The struggle for power, 1924–28

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

Stalin's post as General Secretary and his weaknesses, Trotsky's strengths and weaknesses, Kamenev and Zinoviev, Bukharin and the New Economic Policy, Socialism in One Country, Lenin's funeral, how Stalin defeated his rivals one at a time and where they stood by 1928.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Evaluation

Which post gave Stalin his greatest advantage?

Evaluation

What were Trotsky's strengths?

Key term

What did Bukharin argue for?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Which post gave Stalin his greatest advantage?

    Model answer

    General Secretary of the party, which let him appoint and dismiss officials at every level and pack meetings with men who owed him their jobs.

  2. 2

    What weaknesses did Stalin have as a candidate for the leadership?

    Model answer

    He was thought dull and unimpressive, had played only a minor role in 1917, and Lenin's testament criticised him and urged the party to move him.

  3. 3

    What were Trotsky's strengths?

    Model answer

    He had organised the October rising and built the Red Army, wrote and spoke brilliantly, and was widely expected to succeed Lenin.

  4. 4

    What were Trotsky's weaknesses?

    Model answer

    He was arrogant and made enemies easily, had joined the Bolsheviks late, and his command of the army and talk of world revolution alarmed the other leaders.

  5. 5

    Who were Kamenev and Zinoviev?

    Model answer

    Old Bolsheviks who controlled the Moscow and Leningrad party machines, but who had opposed the seizure of power in 1917 and were weak leaders alone.

  6. 6

    What did Bukharin argue for?

    Model answer

    He was the party's leading thinker and defended the New Economic Policy, urging that socialism be built gradually with the peasants' cooperation.

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