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)
Self review
- 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.”
Self review
- 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?
