WI: Lenin Assassinated

On the 14th of January, 1918 there was an assassination attempt on Lenin in Petrograd. Obviously in OTL the assassin missed and Lenin lived. What if he had died? Who would have succeed him as head of the Bolsheviks? Could this change the outcome of the Russian civil war? Will it butterfly away the NEP and what are the long term implications?
 
No. Trotsky was universally despised within the Party. He had no chance of success. At all. Ever.
Mistrusted? Yes. Universally despised? No.

He always had his supporters, particularly in the Red Army. And that was the problem. He was the obvious threat that everyone in the party was concerned about. They were more afraid of Trotsky becoming a Red Bonaparte than Stalin's Machiavellian scheming
 
Mistrusted? Yes. Universally despised? No.

He always had his supporters, particularly in the Red Army. And that was the problem. He was the obvious threat that everyone in the party was concerned about. They were more afraid of Trotsky becoming a Red Bonaparte than Stalin's Machiavellian scheming
If most of Trotsky's support came from the Red Army I don't imagine that he would take over with this POD then. From what I know the Red Army became politically powerful during the Russian Civil War. As that is yet to begin when Lenin is assassinated Trotsky wouldn't have them as a power base. This would also reduce the incentives for everybody to gang up on him.
Regarding Stalin, I don't know as much about what he was doing at this time but I believe that his rise to power didn't start until later. So that puts him out of contention.

On another topic I imagine that this would provoke a much heaver crack down on counter-revolutionaries by the Cheka then OTL's. So maybe whoever was in command of them at the time might end up in cotrol of the USSR.
 
If most of Trotsky's support came from the Red Army I don't imagine that he would take over with this POD then. From what I know the Red Army became politically powerful during the Russian Civil War. As that is yet to begin when Lenin is assassinated Trotsky wouldn't have them as a power base. This would also reduce the incentives for everybody to gang up on him.
Regarding Stalin, I don't know as much about what he was doing at this time but I believe that his rise to power didn't start until later. So that puts him out of contention.

On another topic I imagine that this would provoke a much heaver crack down on counter-revolutionaries by the Cheka then OTL's. So maybe whoever was in command of them at the time might end up in cotrol of the USSR.

Zinoviev taking over is an interesting possibility. In that case you would see the Bolsheviks try to build a coalition with other political parties. Maybe the Constituent Assembly is reconvened.

Another more obscure possibility is Adolf Joffe

IIRC Stalin was heading Pravda at this time so he has some clout. However before the April Theses he was spouting a work with the revolutionary coalition line
 
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