3. How did Stalin gain and hold on to power?
Lenin had led the Soviet Union since the October Revolution of 1917. After his death in 1924 there was a power struggle between the leading Bolsheviks from which Josef Stalin emerged victorious. Why did Stalin, and not Trotsky, emerge as Lenin’s successor? The death of Lenin Lenin had led the Soviet Union since the October Revolution of 1917. However, between 1921, until his death in 1924, he suffered a series of...