Conditions In Which The Authoritarian Leader Emerged
Tip
In the case of the USSR, it is LENIN who establishes the authoritarian state.
If the question asks about the emergence of an authoritarian state, you must use Lenin, and not Stalin.
If the question asks about the emergence of an authoritarian leader, you can use Lenin OR Stalin for the case of Russia/USSR
Lenin’s final years exposed weaknesses in consolidating the Revolution.
The Bolshevik victory in 1917 created a one-party authoritarian state.
Early Soviet accounts emphasized popular support, but many modern historians see it as elite coup + mass unrest.
Early Bolshevik consolidation: Sovnarkom created; decrees on land and peace gained support; dissolution of Constituent Assembly (1918) marked suppression of competition.
Civil War (1918–21) and War Communism: State centralization, grain requisitioning, famine, and unrest set precedents for authoritarian control later used by Stalin.
NEP (1921): Allowed limited private trade, split party into Right (Bukharin, pro-NEP) and Left (Trotsky, anti-NEP). Stalin positioned himself as pragmatic mediator.
Faction ban (1921): Following Kronstadt, the 10th Party Congress outlawed factions, permanently ending open dissent within the party.
Lenin’s illness (1922–24): Strokes left him incapacitated; no clear succession plan.
Lenin’s Testament (1923): Criticized Stalin but also attacked Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Bukharin. Suppressed after Lenin’s death (1924), leaving a power vacuum.
Historiography
Read more about the historiography of the Russian Revolution in Paper 3 Europe - Imperial Russia, revolutions and the establishment of the Soviet Union (1855-1924)
Active recall
The conditions that give rise to Stalin as an authoritarian leader are ones of political and economic instability, lack of long term projection and chaos after the revolution.
Note that the role of “the people” and potential social unrest doesn’t seem to be as important for this case study.
Have that in mind when you have to write compare and contrast questions with leaders from other regions.
The International Issue
Expectation of world revolution: Lenin believed the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution would spark uprisings across industrial Europe.
Failure of revolutions abroad: With no mass revolutions in Germany, Hungary, or elsewhere, Russia remained isolated and surrounded by hostile powers.
Tension with Marxist theory: Marxist doctrine expected socialism to emerge internationally through the proletariat. In reality, the Bolshevik Revolution was led by a small party in a backward, single country.
Lenin’s justification: World revolution was delayed; meanwhile, the USSR had to defend and strengthen its socialist state.
Ideological dilemma: The role of the Comintern remained unclear, should the USSR prioritize exporting revolution or securing its own survival?
Legacy: Lenin left the debate unresolved. Stalin later resolved it with “socialism in one country.”
Active recall
How did the Bolsheviks’ dissolution of the Constituent Assembly in 1918 set a precedent for authoritarian control in the USSR?
In what ways did the Civil War (1918–21) and War Communism contribute to centralization and the acceptance of harsh state intervention?
Why did the introduction of the NEP (1921) deepen ideological divisions within the party, and how did Stalin exploit these splits?
What was the significance of the 1921 faction ban for the future of party democracy in the USSR?
How did Lenin’s illness and Testament (1922–24) create uncertainty over succession, and why was its suppression important for Stalin’s rise?