Stalin's Rivals must have been aware of Lenin's call to remove Stalin from the party. So despite Lenin's will not being published, why was he not kicked from the party, or removed from important roles?
I've just been revising my history AS Level and this really began to niggle me, so if anyone could enlighten me I'd appreciate it!
Lenin's Testament was a profoundly embarrassing document in which Lenin insulted not only Stalin, but all of Stalin's rivals. Stalin, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bukharin, and Trotsky were all criticized with varying degrees of venom. Publicizing the document wasn't in anyone's interest.