Lenin to Stalin: Rise of the Soviet State and Stalinism

From Lenin to Stalin: Soviet Political Transformation

Creation of the Third International (Comintern)

After the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks argued that European socialist parties had changed. Their aim was not primarily the destruction of capitalism; rather, the Bolsheviks defended the need to renew Marxism in Europe. They proposed the foundation of a new workers' international. In 1919 the Comintern (Third International) was founded. This proposal created divisions within socialist parties.

Expansion of the Communist Revolution

Lenin and Trotsky believed that the Soviet revolution might not hold if it did not spread to other countries. The most important attempts at revolutionary communist insurrection occurred in Germany. Their goal was to seize power and create communist regimes. There was also a revolution in Hungary. Both revolutions failed.

Lenin's Death and the Power Struggle

In 1924, Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks and promoter of the new Soviet state, died. The succession of power resulted in a struggle among leaders of the Bolshevik Party. The debate revolved around two figures: Trotsky, who was more radical, and Stalin, who was more conservative. By 1927, Stalin had consolidated power.

Stalin ended the mixed economy and the New Economic Policy (NEP), and implemented forced collectivization of property. He expelled or sentenced many opponents to death after charges of treachery, and later established a true dictatorship known as Stalinism. Under Stalin, absolute power was centralized and he pursued a model of socialism focused primarily on the needs of Russia.

Stalin's Consolidation of Power

Stalin's system imposed Communist ideology on the state and Soviet society. The Communist Party became the only political option. The USSR was converted into Stalin’s personal dictatorship; he created a new social class, the nomenklatura. Socialist ideas were curtailed and Socialist Realism became the official art of the Soviet Union.

Planning and Collectivization of the Economy

The state controlled all economic sectors. The First Five-Year Plan (1929–1933) collectivized agriculture and brought industry under state ownership; the market economy was suppressed. Collectivization aimed to eliminate the kulaks; capital needed for industrial growth was extracted from agriculture. Agriculture remained a weak point in the economy, and there were shortages of consumer products. Industrial production grew substantially.

Key features of Stalin's economic transformation included:

• End of the NEP and reestablishment of state control over industry
• Forced collectivization of agriculture and suppression of the kulaks
• Suppression of market mechanisms and prioritization of heavy industry
• Rapid industrial growth amid consumer shortages

Stalinist Terror and the Purges

Stalinism developed into a regime of dictatorship: those who opposed the regime were considered enemies. In the 1930s Stalin initiated widespread purges. Estimates suggest around 700,000 people were executed during these campaigns. Thousands of Soviet citizens were either executed or sent to labor camps (the Gulag system).