From Total Obscurity to Infamous Dictator: Why Stalin Was More Clever and Cunning Than You Think

Background

Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili became the leader of the newly formed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in January 1924 and held the position until his death in 1953. Emerging from the humble beginnings of Gori, Georgia, he was initially studying to become a priest, though he would be expelled after being found in possession of Marxist literature. Joining the Bolsheviks in 1905, he changed his name to Stalin in 1912, derived from the Russian word for steel (stal). Today, that name is synonymous with mass murder, and the man who carries it is remembered as an infamous dictator. It is estimated that Stalin murdered as many as twenty million people, mostly through his purges, collectivisation and five-year plans. However, the name ‘Stalin’ was largely unrecognisable in the party even as the Russian Civil War (1917-1923) drew to a close. Yet, within less than a year, he would find himself succeeding Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks.

General Secretary of the Communist Party

In 1922, at the 11th Party Congress, it was decided that the Central Committee would be expanded by creating a series of new positions, one of which was General Secretary of the Communist Party. Its duties were exactly what the title suggests: organising the times and locations of Party Congress sessions, directing course meetings, and even appointing local party leaders. All of these seemingly minor powers proved extremely advantageous to Stalin after he assumed the position on April 3, 1922. It allowed him to remain in the background and coordinate several planned and cunning manoeuvres against his main rival in the play for power: Leon Trotsky.

Lenin’s Testament

By 1922, Lenin had already suffered a series of strokes, robbing him of his ability to move or speak very much. However, he dedicated a testament in which he recommended the removal of Stalin that was due to be read at the 12th Party Congress in 1923. In the testament he described Stalin as “too rude… [which]… becomes intolerable in a General Secretary… 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.”

As General Secretary, Stalin received knowledge of this ahead of time. He was thus able to use his powers to delay the testament from being read. This gave him the time to censor the sensitive information, using his connections to prohibit its replication and publication. He also re-organized the 13th Party Congress in 1924, when the testament finally was read, so that only a small number of members were in attendance. Needless to say, Stalin would have been in a tricky situation had he not taken such swift action and dealt with what was arguably the greatest threat to his position.

Playing Trotsky

When Lenin passed away on January 24, 1924, Stalin seized the opportunity to further his influence within the party. It was generally expected that Lenin’s right hand man would lead the funeral, however, Trotsky had departed from Moscow days before, due to health issues of his own. Upon receiving a letter informing him of what had happened, he quickly contacted Stalin, who aptly gave him the incorrect date of the funeral, causing him to miss it entirely. This allowed Stalin to dominate the funeral, since the man who was ‘next in line for the throne’ was shockingly absent. Trotsky confronted Stalin about this, only for Stalin to apologise for the apparent ‘mistake’ on his part. Nevertheless, all the effort that Stalin had put into gaining power and influence had paid off, and he was now the undisputed leader of the USSR. Trotsky would remain in the party albeit briefly. As one of Stalin’s leading critics, he would be exiled in 1926 and ultimately assassinated in 1941.

Gaining Power through Popularity

Undoubtedly, Stalin’s most important course of action was the gradual recruitment of loyal followers. This meant two things for Stalin: first, he was more likely to remain in power since he orchestrated his own popularity, and second, he had the necessary connections to carry out his schemes. The Troika (triumvirate) with comrades Lev Kameneve and Gregori Zinoviev is the most well known example of this. Other big names included Grigory Ordzhonikidze, Nikolai Bukharin, Genrikh Yagoda, and Felix Dzerzhinsky. Stalin appointed Ordzhonikidze as local party leader, whereas Dzerzhinsky served as head of the Cheka. Both Ordzhonikidze and Bukharin had fallen out of favour with Lenin and found refuge under Stalin. All of them had something to gain by allying themselves with Stalin, which meant that their loyalty to him was assured. Stalin had amassed what was essentially his own little army. This manpower allowed him to censor Lenin’s testament, thus getting the incorrect information to Trotsky regarding Lenin’s funeral, and doing it all in secrecy. In other words, he slowly but efficiently constructed the most powerful tool for consolidating his power: numbers.

A Couple of Lucky Breaks

Yet with all that Stalin had achieved, it would be a crime to suggest that it was entirely without luck. The big break that he gained was that neither Lenin nor Trotsky or anyone else in the party considered him as a threat until it was too late. Trotsky was a prominent figure amongst the Bolsheviks, and was largely considered to be Lenin’s successor. He played a leading role in organising the 1917 October Revolution. As head of foreign affairs, he negotiated the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, which took Russia out of World War One in March 1918, and served as head of the Red Army in the subsequent Russian Civil War. Evidently, Trotsky was an intelligent man, and he likely would have beaten Stalin had he realised the threat earlier on. Another lucky break for Stalin was that he was appointed General Secretary by none other than Lenin himself, who also failed to recognise that Stalin was a threat until it was too late. Stalin had a rogue habit of disobeying orders, so Lenin likely wanted Stalin out of the way, while he and Trotsky led the Bolsheviks. The position of General Secretary was perfect for this, since it gave Stalin enough power so that he would not feel cheated and remained loyal, but limited enough so that he could still be controlled. However, Lenin clearly underestimated what a General Secretary could do with mere administrative power.

While Stalin had essentially been given the position of General Secretary, it would have been useless had he not been clever and cunning enough to capitalise on it and strike while Trotsky and Lenin were looking away. He used this launchpad wisely, quietly operating behind the curtain, and revealing himself only when he was strong enough for no one to threaten him, much less stop him.

Conclusion

Stalin would go on to commit some of the biggest atrocities in history. The Great Purge, collectivisation and thirteen five-year plans would ultimately define his legacy. His crimes seem to have largely overshadowed his rise to leadership and consolidation of power, which exposes another angle of the man: a sly and cunning individual who manipulated his way to the top.

Written by Alex Herzmansky

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