Leon Trotsky

Who was Trotsky?

Leon Trotsky was a Soviet revolutionary, Marxist theorist, and politician. Trotsky was a brilliant orator - he was much more charismatic than Stalin. He had worked closely with Lenin as the war commissar, commander of the Red Army.

Where was Trotsky during the February Revolution?

Trotsky had been in the USA during the February Revolution. In May 1917, after the February Revolution, he returned to Russia.

What did Trotsky believe in?

Trotsky believed in 'permanent revolution'. His argument was that the revolution would degenerate if it could not spread and become international. He thought the Bolsheviks should use instability around the world to spark revolutions elsewhere. This brought him into conflict with Stalin. Stalin believed in 'Socialism in One Country'.

What were Trotsky's main roles?

Trotsky had 4 key roles:

• ❖ He was elected president of the Petrograd Soviet on 25th September 1917, because the Bolsheviks had protected Petrograd from the Kornilov Revolt.
• ❖ Trotsky played a key role in the October Revolution in 1917, where he used the Military Revolutionary Committee to take over road bridges, telegraph offices and the army headquarters.
• ❖ Trotsky's was appointed as Commissar for War during the Russian Civil War. In this role, he was responsible for the Red Army, and his actions were one of the key reasons the Bolsheviks won.
• ❖ Trotsky negotiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany which was signed on 3rd March, 1918.

What happened to Trotsky during the leadership struggle?

Stalin managed to remove Trotsky as a rival during the leadership struggle:

• ❖ Trotsky claimed Stalin deliberately told him the incorrect date for Lenin's funeral. This meant when Trotsky did not attend, his opponents could claim he did not respect Lenin's legacy.
• ❖ In 1924, Stalin allied with Zinoviev and Kamenev in supporting the New Economic Policy, in order to oppose Trotsky who wanted rapid industrialisation.
• ❖ Zinoviev and Kamenev worked against Trotsky at the Thirteenth Party Congress in 1924, so that all of Trotsky's ideas were rejected.
• ❖ Trotsky lost his job as Commissar for War in 1925.

What happened to Trotsky during the purges?

During the purges:

• ❖ Trotsky was not in the USSR during the Great Purges of 1936 to 1938 as he lived in exile.
• ❖ Other members of the Communist Party were accused of being 'Trotskyites', a threat to the USSR and communicating with Trotsky in their show trials.

How did Trotsky die?

Trotsky was murdered in Mexico on 20th August, 1940, by a member of the NKVD who forced an ice pick into his head.