Le-Tone Wei

Why did Stalin emerge as leader of USSR in 1929?

In 1924 the USSR’s leader Vladimir Lenin died after continuous strokes. His death triggered the leadership struggle, and Russia urgently needed a successor to continue in guiding the country and proposing policies to run the country. Candidates such as Trotsky and Bukharin were highly regarded and party members believed they were to take over Lenin’s position; Joseph Stalin on the other hand, was perceived as a mediocre and uninteresting party member, he was not thought as a suitable candidate to replace Lenin’s former status. Yet Stalin succeeded in taking power and control over the Soviet party and emerged as the leader of USSR in 1929. This led historians questioning: how and why did he emerge as the leader so unexpectedly? Many people believe that it was his personal skills that gave other factors an advantage. I believe his personal skills is the secondary factor that assisted his emergence; from my perspective, the reason why he became leader is primarily due to luck. Without luck there would less likely be a power struggle, Lenin could have appointed his successor and Stalin would never have become the leader of USSR. However the main cause of his success is still considered to be an exceedingly disputable topic, and I will be examining the different factors behind this topic while suggesting my personal opinions and beliefs.

As mentioned before, many people believe that Stalin became the leader of USSR because of his personal skills. Stalin was ruthless and tough, his childhood might be the reason why he became such a person. He had a working class background, which meant that his family was poor. As his family struggled financially, Stalin was often enduring hefty beatings from his devout mother. This strengthened Stalin and he was able to perform illegal acts such as raiding banks for the