The personalities of the contenders Essay Example for Free

The personalities of the contenders Essay How significant were the personalities of the contenders to succeed Lenin in accounting for Stalin’s defeat of his opponents in the years 1924-29? Lenins death on the 21st January 1924 caused huge sadness across the country. After Lenins death, everyone was eagerly waiting to know who would be the next leader of Russia. In the years after Lenins death, there was no clear successor to his leadership. However, when Lenin was leader, Trotsky was always there for him, and he played a huge role in the Civil War, therefore everyone thought he would become Lenins successor. However, as well as Trotsky there were other significant contenders, such as Stalin, Bukharin, Zinoviev and Kamenev which created a huge power struggle. I believe that the personalities of the contenders were significant in this struggle. However, other factors such as ideological battles, removal of opponents by Stalin and the consolidated powerbases also had an effect. The personalities of all were all extremely different by a great margin. The most likely to win, Trotsky was intellectually gifted which greatly benefitted him. He was also a great military leader and had good organisational skills. Trotsky has a few strong disadvantages to his personality though. His late arrival to the Bolshevik party could be interpret Trotsky as an unloyal character while his arrogance due to his intelligence made him quite a few different enemies in the Bolshevik party. Trotsky’s arrogance led to his defeat as he vastly underestimated Stalin and the threat he posed, while also decreasing his inner party support. At the time Trotsky would be clear favourite to win but his poor characteristics let him down. The next contender and winner of the battle for power was Joseph Stalin. An underdog and one of the least likely looking people to win, Stalin played his cards well and to his advantage. Being a Bolshevik from the beginning supported the fact that Stalin was a loyal Bolshevik which was a strength of his personality. Stalin being a cunning character was another strength of his and was a contributing factor to the defeat of his enemies as he was easily able to manipulate and outplay them. His ruthlessness and his ability to easily gain support due to his position and authority to promote them also benefitted greatly to the defeat of his enemies. He had a major weakness and thorn in his side though and that was Lenin’s opinion of him. The ability to easily manipulate Stalin was also a major disadvantage for him. While Stalin didn’t look it, he had just as big  of a chance as Trotsky due to his nature. Another contender in the race for leadership was the â€Å"Golden boy† known as Bukharin. Bukharin was possessed one of the best personalities of the party and his traits and strengths such as his incorruptibility and honest and well natured manner were good aspects about him. His â€Å"Golden boy† title was also helpful as it represented how liked he was by Lenin before his death. His intellectuality also benefitted him greatly and he was often referred to as the brains of the Bolsheviks. Bukharin’s main weakness though was that he ha d no ambition and he was too young. These factors led to a small support for Bukharin while his right-wing views also cut out some votes for him. Another contender, Zinoviev possessed good strengths such as being a good speaker and being good friends with Lenin. These would essentially give Zinoviev a right to the leadership of the party. He was involved little in the civil war though and his dislikeable and vain nature did little to help him gain the support he needed which was why he teamed up with the last contender Kamenev. Kamenev was also a friend of Lenin but compared to Zinoviev was from a working class background which would have benefitted him greatly due to the say and respect he would have. Kamenev had little influence though and was too uninspirational greatly denting his chances Therefore, what we can infer from the personalities and strengths of each other contenders was that Stalin cleverly manipulated and took advantage of each contenders weaknesses which led to him becoming leader. Stalin would also use the past to his advantage e.g. Zinoviev’s poor revolutionary record or Trotsky’s past allegia nces. Stalin would also use the personalities of other contenders to his advantage e.g. Trotsky’s arrogance or the fact that Bukharin has no ambition. There were also many other factors that led to Stalin’s victory though. Another way in which Stalin won was the removal of opponents by Stalin. Stalin slowly but surely took out each of his opponents carefully and concisely. Stalin removed Trotsky by creating the Triumvirate with Kamenev and Zinoviev. Stalin carefully destroyed Trotsky’s reputation with Zinoviev and Kamenev with things such as questioning his loyalty to Lenin, destroying his influence by questioning his ‘Bonapartism’ ideology and question his activities leading up to the revolution. Stalin also made Trotsky miss the funeral of Lenin, shocking the party and destroying Trotsky’s influence by a huge chunk. When Stalin had taken care of Trotsky,  he then took care of Zinoviev and Kamenev by splitting the Triumvirate and creating the Duumvirate with Bukharin. With Zinoviev and Kamenev in decline due to the influence they had in the defeat of Trotsky, Stalin easily defeated them. When that had happened Stalin quickly turned against Bukharin and with his growing inf luence Stalin removed him from the race for leadership. At the end of everything, Stalin had removed all opponents and this was a big factor in determining Stalin’s victory due to the fact that it had removed all of the people in the way of Stalin becoming leader of the Bolsheviks. Another way Stalin took power was by increasing his influence by never actually taking a side. While everyone was on either a left-wing or right-wing stance, Stalin remained neutral as to not damage his influence with members of either side. This way Stalin would face less opposition due to him not going against a large opposition of the party. His stance on things such as the NEP also came to his advantage and he both agreed and disagreed with it at different times. Stalin also took a neutral view on how fast Russia should industrialise, he personally however took a left wing view towards this.

A Night in Afghanistan Essay -- Personal Narrative, Descriptive Essay

"Shhhh!" my mother whispered as the tanks rumbled by under the cold Afghan night, the stars twinkling above the mountains surrounding us. From our hiding place in the brush along the shoulder of the dirt path through the Khyber Pass, I could see tanks stretching to infinity and, try as I might, I could not find an end to the convoy of trucks. Huddled along with my father, mother, and infant brother and sister, we peered anxiously as the Russian Spetsnaz scouts rolled past us in jeeps ahead of the convoy heading toward the Afghanistan-Pakistan border-the very place our destination lay. My brother began to whimper. My mother began to pray. It seemed as if the line of tanks would never end. Finally, as the last of them rolled by, silence engulfed us. My father had been planning for months for our flight into Pakistan along the Khyber road and we could not stop now. Our nerves were frayed. We had not slept for three days since being smuggled out of the capital and the 15-mile walk across the border might have well been 15 hundred miles. My father stopped for a moment and fished a small, empty... ... Today, that pouch of a few ounces of earth that my father gathered during our last hours in Afghanistan lies on a desk in his study, reminding me of what I have lost, of another place filled with memories that I used to call home. But today, what I call home is in Orange County, California, half a world away from Afghanistan. Perhaps one day I will go back to see what is left after the years of war and strife and once again relax in our old backyard, or go to pick apples in an orchard in the Maymana district. But I will go back only to visit.

Piping

Introduction: The term fabrication applies to the cutting, bending, forming, and welding of Individual pipe components to each other and their subsequent heat treatment and nondestructive examination (N DE) to form a unit (piping subassembly) for installation. The term installation refers to the physical placement of piping subassembly, valves, and other specialty items in their required final location relative to pumps, heat exchangers, turbines, boilers, and other equipment; assembly thereto by welding or mechanical methods; final NEED; heat treatment; leak testing; ND cleaning and flushing of the completed Installation.Depending on the economics of the particular situation, fabrication may be accomplished in a commercial pipe fabrication shop, or a site fabrication shop, where portions of the piping system are fabricated into subassembly or modules for transfer to the location of the final installation. As a general rule piping NAPS 21/2 (DNA 65) and larger for nuclear and fossil power plants, chemical plants, refineries, industrial plants, resource recovery, and generation units are most often shop fabricated.Piping NAPS 2 (DNA 50) and smaller Is often shop fabricated where special heat treatment or cleaning practices may be required: otherwise it is field fabricated. Pipelines and other systems involving long runs of essentially straight pipe sections welded together is usually field assembled. In recent years, the infusion of new bending technologies, new welding processes, new alloys, fracture toughness limitations, and mandatory quality assurance (QUA) programs have made piping fabrication and Installation much more complex than In the past.Greater emphasis Is being placed on written procedures for QUA and quality intro (ICQ) programs, special processes, and qualification and certification of procedures and personnel. Improper selection of fabrication or installation practices can result in a system, which will not function properly or will fail before its expected life span. Accordingly, fabrication and installation contractors must work closely with the designer and be aware of the mandatory requirements of the applicable codes, the unique requirements and limitations of the materials, and those of the fabrication and installation techniques being applied.Codes and Standards Considerations: A great many codes and standards apply to piping. It is incumbent on the fabricator and/or Installer to be familiar with the details of these codes and standards since some codes have the force of law, As an example, the SAME 331. 1 Power Piping Coded is referenced by SAME Section I Power Boilers: for piping classed as Boiler External Piping. The latter that is law in most states, contains rules for code stamping, data reports, and third-party inspection. Piping under SAME Section 1113 also has legal standing. Most other piping codes are used for contractual agreements.Most codes preference SAME Section for nondestructive examination methodol ogy and SAME Section XIX for welding requirements. Each of the codes covers a deferent piping practices, some have mandatory requirements, while others only have recommendations. Heat treatment requirements may vary from one to another. The manner in which the code-writing bodies have perceived the hazardous nature of different applications has led to differing NEED requirements. Generally, the codes are reasonably similar, but the owner, designer, fabricator, and installer must meet the specifics of the applicable code to ensure a satisfactory installation.It is essential that the designer be very familiar with the code being used and that purchasing specifications for material, fabrication, and installation be very specific. Reference to the code alone is not sufficient. In the design, a particular allowable stress for a specific material, grade, type, product form, and/or heat-treated condition was selected. The specifications issued for material purchase and fabrication must ref lect these specify to assure that the proper materials and fabrication practices are used. It is also incumbent upon the fabricator and/or installer to be very familiar with the applicable code.Each project should be reviewed in detail. â€Å"Standard shop practices† may not always produce the desired result. Communication between the designer, fabricator, and installer is essential. All should be familiar with the various standards used in piping design. Most piping systems are composed of items, which conform to some dimensional standards such as SAME 836. MM and SAME 836. MM for Pipe, 816. 57 for flanges, etc. The Manufacturers Standardization Society (MS) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) issue other dimensional standards.The Pipe Fabrication Institute (IF) publishes a series of Engineering Standards, which outline suggested practices for various fabrication processes. These standards give excellent guidance for many aspects of piping fabrication not covered by t he codes. The American Welding Society (SAWS) publishes a number of recommended practices for welding of pipe in various materials. Materials Considerations: Piping systems are fabricated from a great variety of metals and nonmetals, material selection being a function of the environment and service conditions. Materials must inform to the standards and specifications outlined in the governing code.Some codes such as SAME Section Ill impose additional requirements on materials beyond those in the material specifications. All fabrication and installation practices applied to these materials must be conducted so as to assure that the final installation exhibits all of the properties implicit in the design. For example, hot bending of certain austenite stainless steels in the assassination range will reduce their corrosion resistance if they are not subsequently heat-treated. Accordingly, a heat treatment to restore these properties should be specified.

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