How and why was Stalin able to gain power essays

How and why was Stalin able to gain power essays There are different interpretations of how and why Stalin was able to gain power, either concentrating on his own actions and abilities, or the situation at the time and the failure of his opponents. It would appear that the success of Stalin was due to both his own strengths and actions in the political arena and the weaknesses displayed by his opponents, in relation to the prevailing circumstances of the time. Stalin was, by opportunism or careful planning, able to gain control of the party machine and use it to his advantage, and use his own political skills to out manoeuvre his opponents, while they often displayed lackluster tactics in a vain attempt to win the support of a party loyal to Stalin. The political positions to which Stalin was elevated within the Communist Party were undoubtedly of major importance in his successful campaign to establish himself as the leader of the USSR. Before the death of Lenin it was evident that Stalin had huge power within the party machine, as Lenin himself expressed in his Testament, and Lynch explains the accumulation of this power in reference to the nature of Soviet government from 1917 onwards, as the lack of precedent and guidelines led to the creation of individual advancement which would, ordinarily, not exist. The acquisition by Stalin of his political offices from 1917 to 1922 increased his power over the party machine immensely, as he found himself with more authority over both personnel and policy. Most importantly, his appointment to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1922 put him in the position of being the vital link-man with access to personal files of all party members and the responsibility f or recording and conveying party policy. The power of patronage, which also came along with this position, though not Lenins intention, gave Stalin the power to place supporters in key positions and the power to ...