The Struggle for Power: Stalin's Rise, 1924–1929

The significance of Stalin's rise to power and the reasons for his success by 1929. An assessment of Lenin and Leninism, his death and legacy; the contenders for power and the nature of party rivalry and factionalism; the defeat of the left opposition (1924–27) and the right (1927–29); debates over economic policy; the ideological debate between permanent revolution and socialism in one country; the role of figures such as Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky and Krupskaya; and historical perspectives on the power struggle.