The last few years of Lenin's life were marred by illness. The Soviet dictator had suffered a series of debilitating strokes, which made it impossible for him to discharge his duties. Thoughts inevitably turned to the succession, and a number of very senior figures in the upper echelons of the Communist Party jockeyed for position so that they would be perfectly placed to take over from Lenin when he passed away.

One such figure was Stalin. Over the years, he'd built a large and growing power-base within the Secretariat, the body charged with responsibility for administering the Party. In his position as General-Secretary, Stalin had amassed enormous power, which he used to control many of the crucial organs of the Soviet state. Among other things, this meant that he could exert considerable patronage, promoting younger members of the Party to key positions that would bolster his support when the time came for him to take over.

Lenin, in his final testament, sharply criticized Stalin and called for his removal as General-Secretary. This was a clear acknowledgment that Stalin had concentrated too much power in his hands and would abuse that power if he was allowed to continue in his present role.

Yet after Lenin's death, Stalin was able to ensure that his testament did not gain a wide audience, even among Party members. He was also able to outmaneuver his opponents in the Communist Party and take the reins of power. Once established as the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union, Stalin then systematically set about destroying his rivals for power, such as Kamenev, Bukharin, Zinoviev, and Trotsky. With all his enemies wiped out, Stalin was now absolute ruler of the USSR, and would remain so until his death in 1953.

How was Stalin able to rise to power as the leader of the Soviet Union?

Stalin was able to rise to power as the undisputed leader of the Soviet Union through a combination of skillful political maneuvering and ruthlessness. He emerged from an early squabble with Leon Trotsky to earn Lenin's confidence, and appointment to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party (not initially a major position of leadership as it would later be) in 1922. Stalin increased the power of the position by appointing loyal friends to subordinate positions. When Lenin died in 1924, Stalin and a few powerful allies were able to marginalize Leon Trotsky, and Stalin solidified his power. He used propaganda to create a dictatorial cult of personality around himself, and used his loyal followers (some of whom he later turned against) on the Politburo and elsewhere in Soviet government to secure support for radical new collectivization measures. His power would not be truly consolidated until the vicious purges of the early 1930s, but he was firmly in power, having outmaneuvered Trotsky, by 1929. 

How did Stalin come to lead the Soviet Union?

Joseph Stalin whose real surname was Dugashviliwas an early follower of Lenin. He later changed his name to Stalin, meaning "man of steel." His friends called him "Koba," the name of a Robin Hood type figure who fascinated him as a child. Although he was paranoid and ruthless, this does not explain his rise to power. Stalin was also quite cunning. He often sided with members of the politburo against a single member, thus eliminating that member. Then, he sided with the majority of the remaining members, thus eliminating those who opposed him one by one. Ultimately, even Lenin began to distrust Stalin, but Lenin suffered a debilitating stroke. While he was recuperating, Stalin had special editions of newspapers printed for Lenin's eyes only which portrayed only good news. Stalin had the phones of other members of the politburo bugged (including his arch rival Leon Trotsky) and when he learned that Lenin's will specifically objected to Stalin succeeded him, he intercepted the Will. Stalin quickly turned on those who had previously supported him, thus securing more power for himself. Typically, he accused them of being enemies of the Revolution. In this regard, he was helped by his major henchman, Lavrentia Beria, a psychopathic murderer. During the Great Purges, Stalin eliminated practically everyone who had supported him earlier, frequently promising leniency if they confessed, or threatening their families.  Members of the politburo often slept with pistols under their pillows to commit suicide should the KGB appear in the middle of the night, so that they might avoid the hideous torture they knew would await them otherwise. They often held their breaths when they heard the sound of the apartment elevator, hoping it would not stop on their particular floor. An excellent but chilling account of Stalin's rise to power and his stranglehold on the Soviet Union is Simon Begag Montefiore: Stalin, at the Court of the Red Tsar.

How did Stalin come to lead the Soviet Union?

Joseph Stalin came to lead the Soviet Union through his organizational skills and his completely ruthless desire for more power.

Stalin got into position to compete for the top spot in the Soviet Union by being a good organizer.  This talent of his allowed him to rise all the way to be one of Vladimir Lenin's top subordinates.  Once Stalin made it to that position, he used his ruthlessness to become the top leader of the Soviet Union.

Stalin worked politically to the post of general secretary of the Central Committee a very powerful one.  He managed to maneuver in ways that allowed him to get most of the people who mattered (like various generals) on his side.  He used his power to get rid of rivals.  Every time he got rid of one rival, he became more powerful and then used that power to get rid of more rivals until he was alone at the top.

How did Stalin rise from an ordinary revolutionary to be the supreme leader of the Soviet Union?

There are three points I would make to answer this question.

First, we should not be surprised that Stalin started as “an ordinary revolutionary” and then rose to power.  Hardly anyone starts as a leader in any situation, particularly not in a revolutionary situation.  When you have a complete overthrow of the way a government and society works, you have to expect that people who were “nobodies” would be able to rise to positions of power rather quickly.  It would be very strange if people who were prominent under the Tsar became important leaders after the rise of communism.

Second, Stalin was clearly a very brutal man.  He was willing to do whatever it took to get power and to keep power.  We can see, for example, that Lenin had started to rethink having Stalin in a position of power by the early 1920s.  However, Lenin’s poor health and Stalin’s willingness to use underhanded methods kept Stalin in power.  For example, Stalin formed an alliance with Grigory Zinoviev and Lev Kaminev to oppose Leon Trotsky, who was his main rival for power.  Stalin would later dispose of Zinoviev and Kaminev when he no longer needed them. Stalin was able to rise in part because he wanted power and was willing to do just about anything to get and keep it.

Finally, Stalin was really good at working behind the scenes.  He used the powers of the positions that he held to gain allies for himself.  He excelled at getting people to feel that they were in his debt and that they depended on him for their own positions.  This meant that Stalin was able to build up networks of people who would support him in his bid for power.

All of these factors help to explain why Stalin was able to come to power in the Soviet Union.