Nikolai Bukharin

Some basic facts:

• Born in Moscow, 1888.

• His parents were both primary school teachers.

• He got quite a good education.

Early involvement in politics

• Got involved in student activities at Moscow University during the attempted revolution of 1905, at the age of 16.

• Joined the Bolshevik faction of Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1906.

• Became member of the Moscow Party Committee by 1908.

• Committee was infiltrated by Okhrana, Bukharin was arrested on several occasions.

• Decided to go into exile.

1917

• Returns to Russia.• Played no role in the

revolution.• Joins Moscow Soviet

and becomes editor of Pravda.

• Joins Central Committee.

Change of views

• Leads Left Opposition to Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

• Wanted war effort to continue and to be turned into push for international proletarian revolution.

• Becomes more moderate and accepts Lenin’s policies by 1921.

• Encourages development of New Economic Policy.

• Becomes member of the Politburo in 1924 and president of Comintern in 1926.

After Lenin

• Bukharin now leads the Right.• No longer interested in world revolution – sees

priority as defending Communism in the Soviet Union first.

• Becomes more conservative and believes in a policy of gradualism.

• Close to Alexei Rykov, the head of the government from 1924 to 1930.

• Allied with Stalin from 1925 to 1927.

Bukharin’s strengths:

‘Bukharin is not only a most valuable and major theorist of the Party; he is also rightly considered the favourite of the whole Party’

‘The golden boy of the Bolshevik Party’

• He was close to Lenin, and Lenin evidently thought very highly of him.

Bukharin’s strengths:

• Due to his youth and involvement in youth politics, he appealed to many young Russians.

• He was an intellectual and strong theorist.

• He was already important and popular within the party.

• He was a good speaker.

Bukharin’s weaknesses:

• He had lead the opposition at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

• He had been critical of Lenin and Trotsky on some occasions.

• He actually lacked political skills.

Strategy to become leader:

• Needed to use his links with Lenin more than he did. Unfortunately it was Stalin who associated himself with Lenin the best.

• Race for power was perhaps 5 or 10 years too early for Bukharin? He was still a young rising star, and needed a little more time to establish himself as a politician and firm up his views and allegiances.