e a lasting impression on the others as having a better idea of what to do than the other speakers. He was also known as fearless, willing to take on the tasks that others considered too dangerous. Arrested several times and spending many years in prison, he also learned how to survive on the "streets" from common criminals; this experience, in turn, gave him the reputation of being cunning and ruthless, a reputation which he would use to his advantage many times in his life. He eventually succeeded in first directing the party towards the common workers and away from the intellectuals and then wresting leadership of the party from the intellectuals.
Stalin's one main obstacle in his quest for leadership of the party was Lenin. Stalin was attracted to Lenin's leadership and gradually made his way to the upper echelons of party leadership after the Revolution. However, Lenin was so popular within the party and within the newborn Soviet Union that he could not be pushed aside by any successor. After Lenin's death, all accomplishments of his success
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