I would argue that the most important mechanism by which
Stalin rose was his ability to gather political power to himself. This was done largely
through bureaucratic means (as opposed to via charisma or
force).
Stalin made great use of his position as general
secretary of the party. This had been seen as merely a bureaucratic, clerical post, but
Stalin used it to amass power. For example, he had control of who entered the party and
who got promoted within it. This allowed him to build a large group of lower-level
party members and functionaries who were loyal to him (because he was responsible for
placing them in their positions).
By bureaucratic
mechanisms such as this, Stalin took power in the Soviet Union. He was later to
consolidate and hold power via terror, but his original power came from his bureaucratic
and administrative abilities.
No comments:
Post a Comment