Lenin was faced with the displeasure of the people; War Communism was a harsh way to live, and people were dealing with extreme poverty the likes of which had never been seen before. He implemented the New Economic Policy to face these issues, however, he would not let this policy stand for long, as it held Capitalist ideas that he did not approve of. Lenin also creating the Comintern to deal with the apprehension of Communism in the rest of the world, and tries to rebuild relationships with countries. Once he dies, Lenin leaves a massive power vacuum and Trotsky and Stalin try to fill it. There is a three year debate between Stalin and Trotsky, the essence of which is either modernizing Russia (Stalin) or focusing on improving the lives of the peasants and farmers (trotsky). Stalin ultimately wins through propaganda and hiring government officials for himself. In my personal opinion, I feel like Stalin did not modernize Russia, however, he did bring them up the ladder in technology, and though his rule was cruel and terrible, his treatment of the people prepared them for the harsh conditions of World War 2. Though he did not modernize Russia, he gave them a taste of how bad life can be with a dictator, which showed them how bad life could be, and incited another spark of revolution against the corrupt government.