Do you agree that Trotsky was the strongest candidate to run the communist party after the death of Lenin?
When Lenin died, there was 5 main contenders to take over the reins. These five contenders were Trotsky, Stalin, Bukharin, Kamenev and Zinoviev. In this essay, I will be seeing if Trotsky was the strongest candidate to run the party, and If any of the other four candidates were better for the party.
Trotsky was the strongest candidate for a number of reasons. One reason why he was the strongest candidate was that he rivalled Lenin in intellect and charisma. This means that he was similar or even smarter than Lenin, meaning he could easily take over the power as he had the same capabilities as Lenin. Another benefit about Trotsky was that he was a great orator, also he was very popular with youth and committed communists meaning he was already allies with the party, and he could easily take it over it. Also with Trotsky he controlled and restructured the red army to lead them to victory.
Comparing Trotsky with Zinoviev, there are a quite a few differences between the two to see which one was the strongest candidate to run the communist party. Zinoviev compared to Trotsky was seen to be a coward. Zinoviev remained in his hotel far away from the fighting when the revolution was happening. This shows that Zinoviev did not have the mental capability to go out and fight and lead the men which are fighting for you. Whereas Trotsky was a warrior who wasn't afraid to go out and lead his men, if Trotsky didn't lead the red army, then I believe the party would of lost the revolution. Also Zinoviev was seen to be the least appealing in the party, and Lenin's testament said he was disloyal and lack vision. This means that Zinoviev wouldn't change the system, and he could even stab the communists in the back and betray them. Trotsky didn't have any of these bad words, so that's why he is the strongest contender to take over power.
Comparing Trotsky with Bukharin, there are a few qualities which separate the two. Bukharin was a very young man at the time of Lenin's death, meaning that he has a lack of experience. Also he was a prisoner many times, showing his foolishness. However Lenin said Bukharin to be the 'golden boy' and the future of the party, however Bukharin was too young to take over power of the biggest country in the world, and if he made a mistake, it would ruin his confidence and people would dislike him straight away. But if he waits a few years then he can build his experience. But for the time after Lenin's death, Trotsky was a more suitable candidate to take over power.
Stalin was probably Trotsky's main rival to gain complete power of the party. However Stalin wasn't see to be a revolutionary hero, meaning people might think of him to be a coward. Also Lenin said he had enormous power in his hand, but he didn't use it wisely. This means that by him having this amount of power he could start a pointless war which could kill lots of people. But Stalin was very popular with the party and the people, but he could be seen to have too much power which could lead to dangerous and devastating consequences so that is why Trotsky was the more suitable candidate.
Trotsky didn't really need to worry about Kamenev for a number of reasons. One reason was that Kamenev didn't play any notable part in the civil war. This shows that Kamenev didn't really want to be involved in the war, and also it shows other contenders were more enthused such as Trotsky. Lenin said Kamenev was disloyal to the party, this means that people would question him of his loyalty to the party, and whether they could be trusted. This was not a problem for Trotsky as he had always been loyal. Also Kamenev had a reputation of giving up, this would not fill people with confidence as they might think he might give up with party and not put any effort into it, Trotsky did not have this problem proven by his running of the red army. Trotsky is clearly the better contender out of him and Kamenev.
In conclusion, I believe Trotsky was the strongest candidate to take over the power of Russia as he was the most stable, him and Lenin were friends, had a good support base and in Lenin's testament it stated 'He was the most able man present in the group'. This shows that Lenin trusted him, and he would be proud of him to take over. Stalin is the next closest contender as he was very popular in the party, but was seen to have too much power, and was not trusted by Lenin.