HISTORY 1DD3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Lev Kamenev, Grigory Zinoviev, Nikolai Bukharin
1 Nov 2017
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After lenin"s death in early 1924, there was a struggle for power among the five most powerful bolsheviks: trotsky, stalin, zinoviev, bukharin and kamenev. Stalin rose to the top, but ultimately they boil down to stalin being a more ruthless political operative than his opponents. Stalin was not distinguished as an intellectual, but was seen within the party as a pragmatist. He had methodically worked his way up to be the key administrator within the communist party. Along the way he had cultivated various loyal individuals whom he promoted to important positions in the party and in government. He had thus quietly established his own personal power base within the party before lenin"s death. Kamenev and bukharin all held equal or higher rank than stalin in the party, were well known as intellectuals, and had gained their prestige before and during the revolution. All were much respected within the party, but each had a potential weakness.
