ABSTRACT
Since Lenin’s illness, it was obvious that a power struggle in the leadership had started. After Lenin’s death on 24 January 1924, during the XIIIth Party Congress a new Politburo was elected: L.B. Kamenev became the chairman, his deputy was G.E. Zinov’ev, A.I. Rykov became chairman of the SNK SSSR, other important leaders were members such as Trotskii as Narkom for the Army and Navy, Bukharin and Tomskii, chief of the labour organization. Stalin as Secretary General of the KP(b) was also a member, but not in the first place. Yet he had the organizational centre of the Party at his disposal. Step by step he eliminated his rivals for leadership from their positions of power. First he joined with Kamenev and Zinov’ev against his most potent competitor Trotskii, who was forced to retire from his position as Narkom for the Army and Navy on 17 January 1925, to be replaced – as mentioned – by Frunze.
