Struggle for power in party-state leadership 1921-1941
In the period between 1921 and 1941, the struggle for power within the party-state leadership in the Soviet Union was marked by a series of power struggles and political purges. These struggles were driven by a number of factors, including ideological differences, personal ambition, and the desire to maintain control of the Communist Party and the Soviet state.
A significant players in this struggle for power was Joseph Stalin. Stalin, who had risen to power in the Communist Party during the 1920s, was able to consolidate his power through a series of purges and political maneuvers. Stalin was able to eliminate many of his rivals within the party, including Leon Trotsky, Grigory Zinoviev, and Lev Kamenev, through a combination of political repression and show trials. Stalin’s rise to power was also facilitated by the forced collectivization of agriculture, which led to the deaths of millions of peasants and the destruction of the Soviet economy.
Another important figure in the struggle for power during this period was Nikolai Bukharin. Bukharin, who was a leading member of the Communist Party’s right wing, opposed Stalin’s policies of collectivization and industrialization. Bukharin’s opposition to Stalin’s policies led to his eventual downfall, as Stalin used his control of the party and the state to purge Bukharin and his supporters from the party.
Additionally, the struggle for power within the Soviet leadership was also characterized by a series of purges and show trials that were aimed at eliminating potential rivals and consolidating Stalin’s control over the party and the state. One of the most notable of these purges was the Great Purge of the late 1930s, in which thousands of party members and government officials were arrested, tortured, and executed on charges of being “enemies of the people.”
The struggle for power in the Soviet Union during this period was also shaped by the international situation. In the late 1930s, Stalin began to fear that the Soviet Union was being encircled by hostile capitalist powers. This fear led to a series of purges aimed at eliminating potential “fifth columnists” within the party and the state. It also led to the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany, which temporarily put an end to the threat of war on two fronts for the Soviet Union.
The struggle for power in the Soviet Union during the period between 1921 and 1941 was characterized by a series of power struggles and political purges that were driven by ideological differences, personal ambition, and the desire to maintain control of the Communist Party and the Soviet state. The purges and show trials that characterized this period had a devastating impact on the Soviet people, as well as on the country’s economy and political stability.
Works Cited:
Conquest, Robert. The Great Terror: A Reassessment. Oxford University Press, 1990.
Getty, J. Arch, and Oleg V. Naumov. The Road to Terror: Stalin and the Self-Destruction of the Bolsheviks, 1932-1939. Yale University Press, 1999.
Service, Robert. Stalin: A Biography. Harvard University Press, 2005.
Tucker, Robert C. Stalin in Power: The Revolution from Above, 1928-1941. W.W. Norton, 1990.
