Stalin's rise to absolute power began to progress steadily after the death of Lenin in 1924. His most significant methods can be classified as those of his administration, his purges of the party, the show trials he ordered, and the slave labour camps that were used to "re-educate" so-called "enemies of the state".

Stalin's position from February 1922 as the General Secretary of the Communist party was seen by many other high-ranking Soviet government and party officials as giving him very little real power.  It was this underestimation by the other party members that played a significant role in giving Stalin the opportunity to build up his power base and remove those that he perceived as posing a threat to him. Also, he was the Liaison Officer for the Politburo and Orgburo. These positions made him the only person to have a full vote in all of the three...