Who was Leon Trotsky?

A revolutionary Marxist involved in Russian politics.

What role did Leon Trotsky play in the Russian Revolution?

Organized worker's assemblies and the first soviet in St. Petersburg.

Due to his anti-war stance and political activities.

Disagreements over the direction of the Communist Party.

Banishment from the Communist Party, exile, and assassination in Mexico.

Leon Trotsky, originally Lev Davidovich Bronstein, rose to prominence in Marxist Communism after facing imprisonment and exile, ultimately aligning with the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution and becoming a key figure in the early Soviet government.
Despite initially being favored by Lenin, Trotsky's power struggle with Stalin resulted in his banishment from the Communist Party and eventual assassination in Mexico in 1940, highlighting the ruthless political dynamics within the Soviet leadership during that era.

Who was Leon Trotsky?
A revolutionary Marxist involved in Russian politics.
What role did Leon Trotsky play in the Russian Revolution?
Organized worker's assemblies and the first soviet in St. Petersburg.
Why was Leon Trotsky exiled multiple times?
Due to his anti-war stance and political activities.
What led to the power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin?
Disagreements over the direction of the Communist Party.
How did Leon Trotsky's political career end?
Banishment from the Communist Party, exile, and assassination in Mexico.

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Leon Trotsky, born Lev Davidovich Bronstein on November 7th, 1879, was raised in a Ukrainian farming village by successful parents.
Initially struggling with language barriers, Trotsky excelled in Russian literature and became a top student at St. Paul’s High School.
Meeting Aleksandra Sokolovskaya led Trotsky into revolutionary leftist politics, resulting in his imprisonment for involvement in demonstrations.
Married to Aleksandra, Trotsky was exiled to Siberia, where he embraced Marxist Communism and eventually escaped to London.
Adopting the name Leon Trotsky, he worked under Vladimir Lenin, becoming a writer for the Communist newspaper Iskra.
Trotsky's involvement in the Bolshevik-Menshevik split led to his opposition to Lenin's centralized power structure idea.
In 1905, Trotsky played a significant role in organizing worker's assemblies and the first soviet in St. Petersburg during the Russian Revolution.
Deported from various countries due to his anti-war stance, Trotsky eventually returned to Russia after Tsar Nicholas' overthrow.
Trotsky aligned with the Bolsheviks, was arrested for involvement in a demonstration, and became governor of the St. Petersburg soviet.
Appointed People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs, Trotsky negotiated a ceasefire with Germany but faced challenges when Germany invaded Russia in 1918, leading to a civil war.

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The Bolsheviks faced pressure from the White Army in the east and the Finnish White Guard in the north, who aimed to rescue Tsar Nicholas and his family from Yekaterinburg.
The Bolsheviks received orders to kill the entire royal family, leading to their ousting from the town.
Civil wars, disease, famine, and poverty plagued Russia in 1919, with European powers looming around.
Trotsky's resistance against the White Army in St Petersburg turned the tide in favor of the Bolsheviks.
Lenin's stroke in 1922 led to a power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin, with Lenin favoring Trotsky initially.
Stalin discredited Trotsky, leading to his banishment from the Communist Party, exile to Kazakhstan, and later to Mexico, where he was assassinated in 1940.