SOURCE A Stalin and Lenin together in 1917. Many photos of the two together were ‘doctored’ later in the 1920s and 1930s to support the idea of Stalin as ‘Lenin’s heir’
The Bolshevik takeover of Russia in November 1917 was followed by civil war, famine and terror. Lenin managed to hold on to power through a combination of ruthlessness and pragmatism. On his death in 1924 a ‘cult of personality’ developed around his leadership.
In the struggle for power that followed Lenin’s death, being able to claim that he was the ‘natural’ successor to Lenin helped Josef Stalin secure the leadership. By 1929 Stalin had discredited his rivals and was effectively the sole ruler of the Soviet Union. As he tightened his grip on the country a ‘cult of Stalin’ began to develop to rival and then overtake that of Lenin.
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