How did the USSR fall affect modern history, and what were its consequences? Pt 1: Rise of Stalin

December 25, 1991, on Christmas day, marked the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war. The world celebrated victory over the end of communism, and one of the biggest rivals to capitalism.

The Rise of Stalin

To give context about the fall of the Soviet Union, we need to start from its rise. In 1917, Vladimir Lenin, revolutionary paid by the Germans to comeback to Russia after being exiled to Siberia, led the Bolsheviks in the Russian revolution. They overthrew Tsar Nicolas II and established the victory of communism. In Russia, the revolutionaries were known as the red coats and then there was the white coats, who fought to get back the power from the red coats, but ultimately, they were defeated once more and it solidified Lenin's power. With this power, he established the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP), and alongside Lenin rose five others: Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Bukharin. The six had laid the groundwork for the Soviet Union, and the fight between the communism and capitalism.

Stalin, the famous leader of the Soviet Union, rose to power using fear and terror. He rose to power, becoming Secretary General of the Central Committee, placing himself in a favorable position to becoming the successor of Lenin. In Lenin’s declining health, he had chosen two successors, Trotsky and Stalin. Trotsky was widely accepted and honestly favored to become the leader of the Bolshevik party, but Stalin did not accept that.

When Lenin died, he never made clear who his successor was, which increased tension between the five, who were fighting for control of the USSR. Stalin would first plan his rise by getting rid of his biggest rival, Trotsky. It would come first at Lenins funeral, where he made himself seem all caring and respectful in setting it up by himself. In the end everyone showed up for their leader…almost everyone. Trotsky was the only one who did not show up to Lenin’s funeral. This made Trotsky seem as though he did not respect or care for the leader, but Trotsky claimed it was because Stalin deceived him and told him the wrong date. Not only that, but the RSDLP was divided by two economic policies: the right wing wanted to continue the New Economic Policy (NEP) that would slowly industrialize and continue building socialism, but the left wing wanted to stop following the NEP and work on rapid industrialization and put forth a global communistic revolution. Through these divisions, Stalin planned on exploiting them so that he could get the power.

Stage 1

Stage one was the plan to ally with Zinoviev, Bukharin, Kamenev to remove Trotsky. Trotsky had supported the radical left-wing policy instead of the right-wing NEP plan, and this had made hima common enemy. They planned to eliminate Trotsky, as they not only did not support Trotsky, but they also hated him as a person as he would constantly undermine them and had an arrogant attitude. Zimoviev and Kamenev had betrayed Trotsky, as they left him hanging and rejected all of his ideas in the Thriteenth Party Congress, where he then lost all of his credibility. After this they would keep pushing Trotsky until he finally lost his position as commissioner of war in 1925.

Stage 2

Zinoviev and Kamenev were supposed to be on Stalin's side, but then they started to switch up on him and their policies shifted from right wing (NEP) to more radical left wing (Rapid Industrialization). The thing was, was that left wing policies were the thing they were fighting against in the first place. The three — Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Trotsky — can be referred to as the United Opposition, and they now supported rapid industrialization, and it came to a head in the fifteenth congress meeting. Stalin had accused them of “factionalism” — separating into separate groups (In this case the UO against the NEP) — which had been outlawed by Lenin. Because of their so-called illegal activity, they ended up being expelled from the group and Trotsky ended up going into exile. Stalin had won the first battle, but now it was time to finish all of his opponents.

Stage 3 — Betrayal

Though he fought for the right wing, Stalin became the thing he hated the most, a radical left-winger. Previously, the NEP was a favorite, however soon it fell out of favor with the general public because of its failure to address long term problems, favorability to rapid industrialization, and also the division it created in the political sphere. Around 1928, he ended up turning into a rapid industrialist (left-wing), turning against Bukharin. Around this time, Stalin had also launched his five-year plan for rapid industrialization. The five-year plan had led a campaign of hate, where they murdered the Kulaks, took away private property, militarism, and most important of all; building factories and machinery for industrialization. Bukharin did not agree with Stalin and his plans, as he though they were hateful and not going to be successful, but also foresaw it as something that could be developed as a terror regime. He plotted with Kemenev, where they plotted to keep Stalin in their reigns and to limit his power… but they were found out.

The Moscow trials were the result of Bukharin’s betrayal; he was put on trial accused of creating counter revolutionary “bloc of rights and Trotskyites”. His charges were essentially that he was leading the revolution against the Soviet Union, conspiracy with other foreign states, and creating divisions within the state to weaken its power. He ultimately admitted guilt to these charges. In the statement in his interrogation, he was very forward about his claims and concerns, as he “was not one of the cogs of counter-revolution, but one of the leaders of counter-revolution…we organized terrorist groups, engaged in wrecking activities, wanted to overthrow the valiant leadership of Stalin, the Soviet government of the proletariat.” In the end, he was deemed a grave danger to the soviet state and was sentenced to death via shooting on March 13, 1938.

The consolidation of Stalin’s power was through decade of political maneuvering, and terror. Through the series of rivalries and division caused by Stalin, he was able to consolidate his power and become the only party standing, with no opposition in the Soviet Union. In the beginning, Stalin was considered to be the least likely candidate to succeed Lenin, however through the defamation, exile, and murder of his political opponents he became the uncontested leader.

— — — — — — — — — — — Sources — — — — — — — — -

How Did Stalin Rise to Power? — World History Edu

How Stalin Won the Leadership Struggle, 1924–1929

Stalin and the Transformation of the Soviet Union, 1924–1941 — Explaining History Podcast

The Case of Bukharin — from the Moscow Trials

The Moscow Trials and the political genocide in the Soviet Union