Essay on Rise To Power (Stalin)

Resource Description

An essay I wrote about factors of Stalin’s rise to power following Lenin’s death. It got full marks (20/20) and contains many quotes by sovietologists and historians alike. It would make a good inspiration essay or revision notes for Trial Exams/ HSC.

“What factors enabled Stalin to emerge as leader of the USSR by the late 1920’s?”

By the late 1920’s, Stalin emerged as a triumphant dictator of the newly formed Soviet Union. In order to accurately understand why this occurred, one must examine a variety of factors, contextual, political and societal. Stalin’s rise to power was, to an extent, impending, as he already held several key positions within the communist party, which he would later weaponize against his opposition. In the power vacuum following Lenin’s death, Stalin’s political agility, coupled with the sluggishness, inexperience and arrogance that plagued the other members of the Politburo allowed for Stalin to annihilate his opposition.