Joseph Stalin's rise to power

Joseph Stalin started his career as a robber, gangster^[1] as well as an influential member and eventually the leader of the Bolshevik faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. He served as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from April 3, 1922 until the official (and temporary) abolition of the office during the 19th Party Congress in October 1952 and absolute leader of the USSR from January 21, 1924 until his death on March 5, 1953.

Stalin began his political activity after being exposed to Marxism and other left-wing thinkers while studying in a Georgian seminary.^[2] After being discovered in possession of radical literature, Stalin was expelled in 1899. He devoted himself to revolutionary activities and became a member of the anti-tsarist, Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP). Stalin joined the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin, whom he finally met in 1905.^[3] Tasked with raising money, Stalin resorted to criminal activity,^[4] Stalin took a leading role in the planning and execution of the 1907 Tiflis bank robbery. Following the October Revolution, Stalin was appointed leader of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities. He also took military positions in the Russian Civil War and Polish-Soviet War. Stalin was one of the Bolsheviks' chief operatives in the Caucasus and grew closer to Lenin, who saw him as tough and loyal, capable of getting things done behind the scenes. Stalin played a decisive role in engineering the 1921 Red Army invasion of Georgia. His successes in Georgia propelled him into the ranks of the Politburo in late 1921. At the 11th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) in 1922, the leaders decided to expand the party's Central Committee. This decision led to the creation of the office of the General Secretary which Stalin assumed on 3 April. Stalin soon learned how to use his new office to gain advantages over key persons within the party. He prepared the agenda for the Politburo meetings, directing the course of meetings. As General Secretary, he appointed new local party leaders, establishing a patronage network loyal to him.^[5]

In 1922, Lenin's health was rapidly deteriorating alongside his relationship with Stalin.^[6] Lenin and Trotsky had formed a bloc alliance to counter bureaucratisation of the party and the growing influence of Stalin.^[7][8] Lenin wrote a pamphlet, "Lenin's Testament", urging the party to remove Stalin as General Secretary fearing his authoritarianism.^[9][10][11] When Lenin died in 1924, the party was thrown into chaos and a vicious power struggle began. Stalin, through his office as General Secretary, received advanced knowledge about Lenin's Testament and sought to delay its release.^[12] Upon its release to the party, Stalin offered to resign as General Secretary, but this was rebuked to maintain the image of party unity.^[13] With his position secure, Stalin focused on consolidating his power and leveraging antagonisms among party leaders. Many were members of the Politburo, and rivalries extended beyond that. Several People's Commissars were involved in the Party's internal personal as well as political struggles. The main factions within the party included the intellectual "left wing", and the trade unionist "right wing". Leon Trotsky led a group of his own supporters. In this environment, Stalin painted himself as a moderate labeling his faction "the centre" while quietly building alliances with both sides in the mid-1920s.^[14]

Stalin then pivoted to focus on Trotsky. Stalin forged an alliance with fellow Old Bolsheviks to oppose Trotsky in the party apparatus. Defeating Trotsky was difficult as he had a prominent role in the October Revolution. Trotsky developed the Red Army and played an indispensable role during the Russian Civil War. Stalin feuded with Trotsky quietly, to appear as "The Golden Centre Man". Prior to the Revolution, Trotsky frequently snubbed Stalin, mocked his lack of education, and questioned his effectiveness as a revolutionary.^[15] Stalin's theory of "Socialism in One Country" was a contrast to Trotsky's "Permanent Revolution". Trotsky's downfall was swift, he was first removed as Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs (January 1925), then removed from the Politburo (October 1926), and lost his seat on the Central Committee in October 1927. Stalin expelled him from the party in November 1927, and sent him to Alma–Ata in Kazakhstan in 1928. Trotsky was expelled from the Soviet Union in February 1929 and lived the rest of his life in exile. With Trotsky, Stalin then pivoted to form an alliance with the party's right wing. Using his position as General Secretary, Stalin began to fill the Soviet bureaucracy with loyalists. After Lenin's death, Stalin traveled across the USSR to deliver lectures on Leninist philosophy and began framing himself as Lenin's successor. As the 1920s progressed, Stalin used his position to expel critics within the party and tightened his grip. Stalin's alliance with the party's right wing ended when Stalin decided to proceed with the First Five Year Plan, abandoning the New Economic Policy.^[16] Stalin defeated his opponents within the party by 1928, ending internal power struggles. From 1929 onwards Stalin's leadership over the party and state was established and he remained undisputed leader of the USSR until his death.