Rise of Stalin: From Lenin's Legacy to Soviet Power

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From Lenin to Stalin

The Creation of the Third International

Russian revolutionary socialist thought shied away from accommodating bourgeois democracy and becoming reformist parties. Its aim was no longer the destruction of capitalism. Faced with this situation, the Bolsheviks defended the need to renew Marxism, creating parties willing to lead the revolution. This had also been happening in Russia. Founded in Moscow, the Third International, also known as the Comintern, made a call for all socialist parties to abandon the Second International and adhere to the new revolutionary wing. This proposal caused divisions. The break became more evident when it adopted the 21 conditions that had to be met by the parties that wanted to adhere. The 21 conditions caused scissions in many socialist parties and gave birth to the communist parties.

The world's communist parties remained bound to follow its strict rules and agreements. These were all part of a new conception of Marxism: the expansion of the communist revolution, also known as Leninism.

Lenin, Trotsky, and the Soviet Revolution

Lenin and Trotsky believed that the Soviet Revolution could not be consolidated. The major breakthrough attempt at insurrection occurred in Germany through the work of the Spartacists, a radical wing of German Social Democracy. Its aim was to achieve power and create a communist regime but was crushed by the army, and important German leaders lost their lives. There was also a revolution in Hungary where a communist system was imposed. These two failed revolutions meant the Soviet Revolution grew isolated from revolutionaries throughout Europe, where communist parties were created in most countries. One goal of the Soviet Revolution, its spread to other countries in the world, seemed very difficult to be fulfilled in a short time.

The Death of Lenin and the Dispute for Power

Lenin died in 1924. He was the leader of the Bolsheviks and the promoter of the new Soviet state. The power vacuum quickly triggered a fight between the party leaders, called the Great Debate. The debate was polarized around two figures: Trotsky, who was the most prominent figure among Lenin's successors, and Stalin, who directed the secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Trotsky and his allies represented the most radical part of the party that wanted the abandonment of the NEP to deepen the socialist revolution, to foster collective resources, and to scale what they called the permanent revolution, promoting a more democratic system. Stalin represented the most conservative positions: continuing with a system of mixed economy, building socialism in one country, and reserving policy decisions for the leaders of the CPSU.

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