Stalin's Personal and Political Ability

General Secretary
1. Stalin ran the party machine
2. Powerful position in the party
  1. Especially powerful as not only role in the party
  2. Could decide promotions to party positions
Member of Politburo
1. Politburo : small group of leading party members who, until Stalin became acknowledged leader, met to decide party and government policy
2. Part of small group of leading communists who met regularly to make policy
3. Effectively decision makers of the USSR
Member of Secretariat and the Orgburo
1. Secretariat and Orgburo : Two high ranking party organisations responsible for supervising and carrying out decisions made by the party leadership
2. Stalin responsible for carrying out policy decisions and monitoring party personell
Commissar for Nationalities
1. Between 1917 and 1923
2. Supervised officials in non-Russian republics that had been part of the Old Russian Empire and now made up the territory of the USSR
Head of the Workers' and Peasants' Inspectorate
1. Stalin supervised the work of all government departments
Nobody else had the links or influence within the party as a whole that Stalin had
1. Stalin knew how to use these links and opportunities effectively

Resource summary

	Created by ellen.harrison about 10 years ago