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How far did the fundamental features of Lenin’s government of the USSR remain in
place under Stalin?
Lenin established some key fundamental features in his government such as the growing
centralisation of power labelled as “Democratic Centralism”, the “Decree on Party Unity”,
the Nomenklatura system, which led to the growth of bureaucracy, the creation of a one-party
state, the implementation of economic policies and the use of terror. These remained intact
under Stalin`s control, however only to an extent because Stalin reinterpreted these policies
and used them to his own advantage to transform Russia from a one-party state into a
totalitarian dictatorship.
Firstly, the structure of the government remained the same in terms of centralisation
of power at the highest levels of the party, however Stalin`s government was only to an extent
similar to Lenin`s, because Stalin gave himself more power instead of a collective leadership.
Under Lenin, the Bolsheviks claimed their government was based on the principle of
Democratic Centralism as Soviets were used as bodies to represent the workers at local
levels. Decision making would then take place at higher levels of the government which
represented the interest of the people. However, during and after the Civil War power was
transferred from the Sovnarkom to the Politburo as it increasingly became the main decision
making body which enabled Lenin and other elite Bolshevik leaders to centralise power at the
top of the government. Stalin continued this as a fundamental feature of Lenin`s government.
Through the purges, Stalin removed the members of the Politburo under Lenin`s control and
surrounded himself with cronies such as Molotov, thus he had complete authority over his
subordinates. Consequently, the political institutions in the USSR failed to gain any real
power and remained mechanisms for rubber-stamping official policies decided by the
leadership like they were under Lenin. However, Stalin changed the meaning of leadership at
the top of the party which differed from Lenin`s collective leadership in his government. In
the 1930s Stalin increased his control over the Politburo and other political institutions as
they met less frequently. Under Lenin, the Politburo used to meet weekly which Stalin
changed to only about 9 times a year. In 1945, Stalin reduced the role of the Politburo even
more by renaming it presidium and increasing its membership from 10 to 36, showing that
power was no longer held by a small group of party leaders, but by Stalin himself. Ultimately,
Stalin transferred the fundamental feature of the dictatorship of the proletariat of Lenin`s
government into a personal dictatorship.
Moreover, new party policies introduced by Lenin such as the “Decree on Party Unity”
became a fundamental feature of his government and remained in place under Stalin too,
however Stalin exploited it to his own advantage. Lenin banned the formation of fractions
through the “Decree on Party Unity” because there was a threat to stability because of the
huge growth in Party membership from 300,000 in 1917 to 730,000 in 1921. Therefore,
Lenin secured Bolshevik control because if a party policy had been agreed, members were
expected to accept it and not form factions to challenge the policy. Consequently, Lenin could
tighten the power of himself and other elite leaders` because they could impose their views
over the whole party without facing any real internal opposition. However, this only
increased Lenin`s personal power to an extent because he preferred a collective leadership,
therefore he allowed debate and discussions before decisions would be made in the Politburo.
1
How far did the fundamental features of Lenin’s government of the USSR remain in
place under Stalin?
Lenin established some key fundamental features in his government such as the growing
centralisation of power labelled as “Democratic Centralism”, the “Decree on Party Unity”,
the Nomenklatura system, which led to the growth of bureaucracy, the creation of a one-party
state, the implementation of economic policies and the use of terror. These remained intact
under Stalin`s control, however only to an extent because Stalin reinterpreted these policies
and used them to his own advantage to transform Russia from a one-party state into a
totalitarian dictatorship.
Firstly, the structure of the government remained the same in terms of centralisation
of power at the highest levels of the party, however Stalin`s government was only to an extent
similar to Lenin`s, because Stalin gave himself more power instead of a collective leadership.
Under Lenin, the Bolsheviks claimed their government was based on the principle of
Democratic Centralism as Soviets were used as bodies to represent the workers at local
levels. Decision making would then take place at higher levels of the government which
represented the interest of the people. However, during and after the Civil War power was
transferred from the Sovnarkom to the Politburo as it increasingly became the main decision
making body which enabled Lenin and other elite Bolshevik leaders to centralise power at the
top of the government. Stalin continued this as a fundamental feature of Lenin`s government.
Through the purges, Stalin removed the members of the Politburo under Lenin`s control and
surrounded himself with cronies such as Molotov, thus he had complete authority over his
subordinates. Consequently, the political institutions in the USSR failed to gain any real
power and remained mechanisms for rubber-stamping official policies decided by the
leadership like they were under Lenin. However, Stalin changed the meaning of leadership at
the top of the party which differed from Lenin`s collective leadership in his government. In
the 1930s Stalin increased his control over the Politburo and other political institutions as
they met less frequently. Under Lenin, the Politburo used to meet weekly which Stalin
changed to only about 9 times a year. In 1945, Stalin reduced the role of the Politburo even
more by renaming it presidium and increasing its membership from 10 to 36, showing that
power was no longer held by a small group of party leaders, but by Stalin himself. Ultimately,
Stalin transferred the fundamental feature of the dictatorship of the proletariat of Lenin`s
government into a personal dictatorship.
Moreover, new party policies introduced by Lenin such as the “Decree on Party Unity”
became a fundamental feature of his government and remained in place under Stalin too,
however Stalin exploited it to his own advantage. Lenin banned the formation of fractions
through the “Decree on Party Unity” because there was a threat to stability because of the
huge growth in Party membership from 300,000 in 1917 to 730,000 in 1921. Therefore,
Lenin secured Bolshevik control because if a party policy had been agreed, members were
expected to accept it and not form factions to challenge the policy. Consequently, Lenin could
tighten the power of himself and other elite leaders` because they could impose their views
over the whole party without facing any real internal opposition. However, this only
increased Lenin`s personal power to an extent because he preferred a collective leadership,
therefore he allowed debate and discussions before decisions would be made in the Politburo.
1
