Soviet Premier thumb|Molotov and Stalin Addressing a Moscow communist party conference on 23 February 1929, Molotov emphasised the need to undertake "the most rapid possible growth of industry" both for economic reasons and because, he claimed, the Soviet Union was in permanent, imminent danger of attack. The argument over how fast to expand industry was behind the rift between Stalin and the right, led by Bukharin and Rykov, who feared that too rapid a pace would cause economic dislocation. With their defeat, Molotov emerged as the second most powerful figure in the Soviet Union. During the Central Committee plenum of 19 December 1930, Molotov succeeded Alexey Rykov as the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, the equivalent of a Western head of government.
Soviet Premier thumb|Molotov and Stalin Addressing a Moscow communist party conference on 23 February 1929 Molotov emphasised the need to undertake "the most rapid possible growth of industry" both for economic reasons and because he claimed the Soviet Union was in permanent imminent danger of attack The argument over how fast to expand industry was behind the rift between Stalin and the right led by Bukharin and Rykov who feared that too rapid a pace would cause economic dislocation With their defeat Molotov emerged as the second most powerful figure in the Soviet Union During the Central Committee plenum of 19 December 1930 Molotov succeeded Alexey Rykov as the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars the equivalent of a Western head of government