Nowadays, when the Soviet Union is mentioned, I am afraid that many friends will naturally think of Stalin. In the country's not very long history, the iron-blooded leader has given the Soviet Union a distinctive mark. Stalin's great talent forged the strength of the Soviet Union, but on the other hand, his overly harsh way of governing also made the country lose its vitality to a certain extent. Today, Stalin is still one of the most controversial figures, but it is undeniable that he did excel in politics. Let's talk about Stalin's worst years in this article, and see how quickly he cut through the mess and almost instantly destroyed his opponent's life.
After the outbreak of the Russian Civil War, Lenin formed the "Five-Member Presidium", and Stalin was elected along with Trotsky. For a large country, especially for such a regime as a monumental figure in human history, the temporary concentration of power in such a small group is a privilege for everyone in it. However, even if Stalin's status was not low at that time, he was still far from the top spot.
At that time, the stars of the Soviet Union were shining, and there were Lenin, Sverdlov, and Dzerzhinsky, who were known as the "Big Three", the founders of the Red Army and the Red Navy, Trotsky, who was almost equal to Lenin, and Zinoviev, Kamenev, and other competitors of comparable status, and Stalin's situation was very embarrassing. Under the cover of Lenin's principle of "collective leadership", everyone is happy on the surface, but contradictions have been accumulating. This up-and-down situation lasted until mid-1918, when Stalin was sent to the Tsaritsyn region to collect grain, where the conflict erupted.
Don't look at the matter of collecting grain and leading soldiers to fight, it seems that there is no way to fight, but the situation in Soviet Russia at that time was very special. Not to mention the internal and external strangulation of the old Russian forces and foreign intervention forces, even many ordinary people could not accept the Soviet regime, and they were particularly resistant to many of the policies of the authorities. Stalin's job was not as simple as knocking on the door and asking for food, and sometimes unconventional means were probably indispensable. In addition, the situation in the Tsaritsyn region was also chaotic, the combat effectiveness of the hastily assembled troops was touching, the defeat was more than the victory, the morale was low; the battle was a mess, the internal friction was not ambiguous, in short, Stalin was faced with a mess that could not be worse.
Just as the so-called "soldiers and horses do not move grain and grass first", according to the regulations of the Soviet high level at that time, the grain collectors had great administrative power and could do whatever it took at any time to do whatever it took. In addition, Stalin can also be regarded as a plenipotentiary sent from above, and he should have considerable right to speak and make decisions. Unfortunately, he actually had nothing to do with the word "total authority", and his words were not even taken seriously when he was surrounded by Trotsky's cronies; Stalin was in a desperate shortage of manpower, but Snesarev, who was then the commander of the Caucasus Military District, was a confidant of Trotsky and could not move a single soldier. All in all, Stalin's position, which seems to be crucial, is actually a light rod commander.
Ironically, Stalin told Tsarits that every day should not be called a bad place, but in his letter to Lenin, he claimed that the grain collection was progressing smoothly, and everyone was cooperating with tacit understanding. Seeing that the deadline was approaching, but he didn't have much food in his hand, he finally couldn't help it. On June 22, 1918, Stalin wrote a series of polite words in a letter to Lenin, and then he very implicitly asked his superiors for military power. The words went like this: "I didn't want to seek any military position for myself, but the commander of the military district forced me into their business." I felt that it would be impossible to do otherwise, and there was no other way. I now believe that it would be good for me to have a direct formal mandate to intervene and appoint, such as the appointment of political commissars of the troops and commands, the attendance at the headquarters of the military districts and the representation of the central military authority in the South. ”
Lenin was not stupid, he was afraid that he would hear the voice at once, but the leader of the Soviet power deliberately chose to ignore it in order to deal smoothly with this sensitive issue at this sensitive point in time. Seeing the delay in replying, Stalin wrote again on 7 July. This time, he proposed to "give someone the right to take emergency measures in the southern part of Russia" by proposing to "give someone the right to take emergency measures in the southern regions of Russia", although he indicated that "someone" was not necessarily himself, but he greatly aggravated the seriousness of the problem when describing the situation, and forced the upper head to make changes immediately from the side. To Stalin's surprise, however, Lenin threw the problem to Trotsky. As a result, instead of gaining any "special powers," Stalin was accompanied by a few more of Trotsky's cronies.
When the matter came to an end, Stalin was immediately enraged. On July 10, 1918, he broke the window paper and threw the problem straight to Lenin: "The food problem is naturally intertwined with the military problem, and the reason why I need military omnipotence is all for the benefit of the cause." I've written about this, but I haven't received a response. Very well, then I can go my own way and remove the commanders and military commissars of the army groups who are endangering the cause without any formalities. It was the interests of the cause that drove me to do so, and even the pieces of paper without Trotsky could not stop me! The next day, he gave Moscow an almost desperate "ultimatum," saying that he would do whatever it took to collect grain, even if it was "interfering in the work of the command."
Although the words are tough, but think about it carefully, at present, the people of the other side hold the military power, and the other side is full of the other side's cronies, stalin even if he has great ability, it is almost impossible to break through. However, the latter not only did it, but also flipped almost instantaneously.
After making a "final request" to Moscow, Stalin forced three "new members" into the command of the Caucasus Military District, of which Rusimovich was appointed director of the Military Supervision Office and two others served as his assistants. Stalin was very precise in grasping the psychology of the officers and men: the military talent of Snesarev, appointed by Trotsky himself, was like that, and he led the soldiers to defeat the battle, and many officers and soldiers complained about it. With the help of these wedges, Stalin gradually empties Snesarev and constantly expands his influence in the army.
It is worth mentioning that at the time when Stalin was most undermanned, Voroshilov passed by Tsaritsyn with two broken troops. Coincidentally, the two had been in contact more than a decade earlier, and Voroshilov was in agreement with some of Stalin's political views. Voroshilov had a man, Stalin lacked someone, and the two were almost in agreement. Under Stalin's manipulation, Sniesalev had to sign the order: "All the remnants of the former Third and Fifth Armies, the troops of the former Tsaritshin Front and the troops composed of morozov and the inhabitants of Donets Krai were merged into one army group, and the former commander of the Fifth Army, Kriment Yeferemovich Voroshilov, was appointed commander." At this point, Stalin's political team in Tsaritsin was basically formed.
On July 19, 1918, all the members of the command of the North Caucasus Military District were suddenly arrested, and there was no resistance. Three days later, Stalin established the Military Commission of the North Caucasus Military District, and he was elected chairman. After Stalin took office, he burned three fires in a row, strictly enforced military discipline, straightened out the rules, boosted morale, and lifted up and down. And he himself had a certain military talent, and he really brought the officers and men of Tsarits what they most longed for--victory. It was not long before Stalin established supreme prestige in Tsaritsyn, and it was only then that Trotsky was consciously tempted to fight back.
After learning of Stalin's series of moves, Trotsky reached out to Tsaritsyn again, only to realize that his years of operation had disappeared. He also tried to launch a counterattack, but the whole of Tsaritsyn was transformed by Stalin into an airtight fortress. In desperation, Trotsky could only intercede in a low voice, and even so, he only exchanged Snesarev, and the others were not so lucky. In addition, history proves that not everyone can play around in Tsaritsyn, for example, in early 1919, Lenin deliberately recalled Stalin to Moscow in order to alleviate the contradictions between Tot and Slovak. Only half a year later, Tsaritsin was captured by the White Army. Four months later, the enemy briefly broke through to Moscow, only 400 kilometers, and in a hurry, Stalin, who was commanding the operation in the direction of Leningrad, was again sent to the southern front, and on January 3, 1920, Stalin recaptured Tsaritsyn again.
Today, most people believe that the war between Slovak and Totto was fought after Lenin's death, but in fact, the two had their first confrontation around Tsaritsyn as early as 1918. Looking back at this confrontation, Trotsky originally had an absolute advantage, but he realized it in hindsight and buried the good situation in vain. Stalin, on the other hand, was able to seize the opportunity in adversity, dared to break through the predicament with a quick knife and chaos, and seemed to be a broken jar, but in fact he cautiously grasped the situation, chose the most appropriate way of doing things at the most appropriate time, and turned the situation around in one fell swoop without bloodshed. Stalin's position in the Soviet hierarchy at that time was far inferior to that of Trotsky, who was tossed helpless. Nowadays, many people are still deeply investigating the reasons for the failure of the trust, and it is not difficult for us to find from the above that the gap between the personality and strength of the two is so large that their fates are probably doomed from the beginning.