Strategies+used+to+take+power+Mao+and+Stalin

Sarah Dick

__Setting the scene:__ Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT were relying too much on the wealthy landowners and were loosing popularity. Chiang Kai-shek was running on a platform of nationalism, democracy, and land reform but he only really accomplished the nationalist tendencies. __Politically:__ -Mao helped found the Chinese Communist Party in 1921, which at first comprised mostly of intellectuals. -Then in order to gain more support, they switched their focus to winning mass support from the peasants rather than industrial towns throughout China. -This strategy seemed to be effective for Mao because in 1931 he was elected Chairman of Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. -Mao worked his way up the ranks within the party and consolidated his position as leader of the party. __Militarily:__ -Between 1930 and 1934 Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT were waging campaigns against Mao. Mao Zedong decided then to focus on building up the Red Army. Being trapped in the mountains by Kai-shek’s forces Mao decided that the only way to continue was to break through the KMT ranks. -In October of 1934 Mao launched the //Long March// in which 100,000 communists covered 6,000 miles in 368 days. -This trek became legend within China and Mao’s reputation was firmly established. -The KMT also failed at resisting the Japanese who occupied Manchuria in 1931. -In 1937 a full-scale war broke out and the Japanese wiped out most of the KMT forces -This enabled Mao’s forces to look like heroes as they waged a guerilla war against the Japanese in the north. -This won major support among the peasants and middle class. __Economically__ -Land reform (policy greatly helped peasants) -Redistribution of wealth __Conclusions:__ -Therefore, Mao came to power mainly due to the failures of Chiang Kai-shek previous to him. Shek did nothing to improve the living or working conditions of the poor and his regime was seen as corrupt. -Shek failed against the Japanese where Mao succeeded. -Mao took advantage of Shek’s weaknesses and targeted the peasants, who would provide him with the largest supporter base. -Mao’s forces became large enough that he pushed the KMT out of power finally in January 1949
 * MAO:**

__Setting the Scene:__ Russia was in a state of chaos after the 1917 revolution where masses of Russian workers and peasants supported the overthrow of the hated Tsar Nicholas II. The workers' state won a civil war against forces that wanted to bring back the Tsar--and which were supported by the active military intervention of 14 imperialist countries, including the U.S. But the cost of the victory was catastrophic. Russia's economy suffered the worst decline ever known in world history, by one estimate __Militarily__ - [|Stalin took military leadership positions in the Russian Civil War and Soviet-Polish War]. - Stalin played a decisive role in engineering the 1921 __ [|Red Army invasion of Georgia] __ - Stalin and his allies didn't take over without a fight. In particular, Trotsky led an opposition that aimed to preserve the traditions of 1917. -But the Stalinists defeated this challenge--and from the late 1920s on, they systematically began to take back every gain won in the revolution. __Politically__ -Stalin began advocating that the Bolsheviks should focus building communism in the countries they already controlled rather than spreading the revolution. This drew to him many like-minded Party members -Stalin also undermined his enemies' reputations, pointing out that Trotsky wasn't a Bolshevik before the revolution and that Kamenev and Zinoviev had voted against the revolution. -On November 14, Trotsky and Zinoviev were expelled from the Party - Out of the circumstances of war and economic chaos, a group of state bureaucrats came together around Stalin and began to put its hold on power before everything else. - Stalin quickly exerted his power and started the first of him “five year plans”, which established his seemingly unlimited power.
 * STALIN:**

__Comparison:__ -Both Mao and Stalin worked their way up the ranks politically. Both at first worked within the current system of government. Both leaders also greatly benefited from the chaotic state of their nation. Mao’s assent to power was greatly aided by the failures of the KMT and Stalin also benefited from the failures of Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Kamenev. -Contrastingly, Mao was a little more militant at first in overthrowing the KMT and Mao also was more involved internationally like for example with the Japanese forces. Stalin was more concerned with domestic policy and defeating his adversaries within his own nation. -Both leaders believed in platforms that included mass land reforms and some for of the redistribution of wealth.