Why did Stalin emerge as leader of Russia?

Following Lenin’s death the power struggle for his succession was fierce, yet Stalin initially was not a central figure in the competition. Often described as the ‘grey blur’ by other party members, Stalin’s rise to power could certainly not have been predicted. He could owe his success to his deceitful and tactical nature, without which he could not have exploited his opponents individually or in small groups, such as the alliance between Kamenev and Zinoviev.

Stalin was elected General Secretary in 1922, in a position that was not regarded by others as anything more than a glorified clerk, though he developed it to be much more than that. The soon to be Russian leader developed a power base that he managed to exercise and exploit when it suited him - for example in 1923 Stalin drew up a list of approved names for the Party Congress; he had complete control over who was there, despite the attending traditionally being elected by local parties in order to provide a fair congress. However, Stalin exploited his own position by gaining support of politicians and manipulating the aforementioned list of the attending - notably, this was a tactical move in his quest to eliminate his opponents because the Party Congress was in charge  of the Politburo, within which was Trotsky. Filling the Party Congress with Stalin supporters was sure to implement badly upon his current rival. It is possible to argue that trotsky as a rival did not do everything to maintain his own power, for he was unwilling to form private alliances with other Communists in order to assist the security of his position. Moreover, Trotsky’s deteriorating health meant that Stalin was able to take advantage of his absences in Politburo meetings and able to influence Trotsky’s colleagues. Stalin’s power base had a steady growth, meaning that within just a year of Lenin’s death, Stalin had used his overwhelming influence as General Secretary at the Fourteenth Party Congress in 1925 to win his alliance, the Duumvirate with Bukharin, a cleary win of 559 votes to just 65. This is a clear demonstration of just one man’s power in a position that did not in fact grant him so much.