Creation Of Totalitarian States

... a gave the regime the charismatic legitimacy that it needed to survive. He also brought determination, discipline and unity to the party transforming it from a small party in cooperation with others in the Soviet, into a powerful revolutionary party capable of seizing power. However, Lenin was not a strategist, and the plans for the seizure of power would not have existed had it not been for Trotsky. It was the combination of Lenin and Trotsky that enabled the revolution to occur. Lenin's charisma and theory was put into practise by Trotsky's planning and organisation. His organisation of the Red Army during the civil war strengthened the Bolshevik grip on power, which without him may well have loosened and slipped. In Russia, therefore, it was very much the combined influence of Lenin and Trotsky that provided the required strong leadership, and allowed the revolution to take place.

Mao Zedong, on the other hand, was a more complete revolutionary leader. He provided the charisma and enthusiasm to carry those around him along through a cult of personality, and similarly to Stalin, became a God-like figure to those who followed him. However, he also maintained an effective, well-disciplined party with the clear objective of seizing power. The Red Army was an effective fighting unit, organised and disciplined. Certainly, there was no comparison between the Red Army and Chiang Kaishek's ill-disciplined forces. However, like Lenin, Mao was an intelligent theoretician. His adaptation of Marxism-Leninism to fit a Chinese model showed insight and political realism, the realisation that China could not fit into the model of communism that had been used in Russia was vital to the survival of the revolution. Through his sense of political realism, Mao also perceived what would appeal to an oppressed population. By virtue of his organising ability and his awesome power to inspire those around him, Mao won the loyalty of a large section of the population. His ability to adapt communism, simplifying Marxist principles into a set of guidelines for the peasants to follow showed a realisation of China' ...