History UsefulNotes / LeonTrotsky

Trotsky was never able to build a proper constituency within the Politburo, not even with those who might have been sympathetic. The so-called Left Opposition of Kamenyev and Zinoviev at various times supported and opposed Trotsky and were skeptical of associations with him, since he was personally rather unpopular. Trotsky for his part, maintained the Red Army on a professional rather than clientelist basis, and this prevented him from using the army as a shield to protect himself. Trotsky's criticism of some of Lenin's policies such as the New Economic Policy didn't endear him to Nikolai Bukharin who was rather partial to it, and his support of world revolution at a time of consolidation found little favour among the more moderate members of the Politburo. His perceived inconsistencies and wavering[[note]]he advocated party loyalty and iron discipline during the Civil War and the early 20s but later called for greater democratic participation[[/note]] and his failure to build an effective constituency to counter Stalin's skill in building a network of patronage and clients as General Secretary, played no small role in the latter's eventual triumph over Trotsky.

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Among anti-Stalinists and conventional leftists, Trotsky is presented as the true heir of Lenin, tragically defeated by the totalitarian Stalin. Even in wider Western society disinterested in Marxist ideological squabbles, Trotsky is generally viewed more positively, if only on the assumption that ''anyone'' would have been better than Stalin. What Trotsky actually would have done will forever remain a mystery, but there is no evidence he was any "gentler" than Stalin. He supported crushing the Kronstadt uprising, was utterly ruthless when fighting for his cause, enthusiastically supported Lenin's policies of violence and terror, and had utter contempt for "wishy-washy liberals" whose politics were less extreme than his own. He also never ceased to advocate for world revolution (something he criticized Stalin for ''not'' doing).

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Among anti-Stalinists and conventional leftists, Trotsky is presented as the true heir of Lenin, tragically defeated by the totalitarian Stalin. Even in wider Western society, disinterested in Marxist ideological squabbles, Trotsky is generally viewed more positively, if only on the assumption that ''anybody'' would have been better than Stalin. What Trotsky actually would have done will forever remain a mystery, but there is no evidence he was any "gentler" than Stalin. He supported crushing the Kronstadt uprising, was utterly ruthless when fighting for his cause, enthusiastically supported Lenin's policies of violence and terror, and had utter contempt for "wishy-washy liberals" whose politics were less extreme than his own. He also never ceased to advocate for world revolution (something he criticized Stalin for ''not'' doing).

As Lenin's NumberTwo, the low level bureaucrats resented Trotsky's arrogance, [[note]]He was quite famous for sitting in Politburo meetings, getting bored and reading French novels in the middle of sessions, ignoring the raised eyebrows of everybody else in the room, and like many other Old Bolshevik leaders would refuse or reject assignments he felt were beneath him[[/note]] were jealous of his closeness to Lenin, resentful of his quick rise to the party elite over more long-serving and committed members, fearful of his skills as a military organizer; [[note]]Bolsheviks during the 20s would mutter that Trotsky would become a Napoleon of the Russian Revolution and Stalin later hijacked this for his propaganda during ThePurge of the Red Army[[/note]] all of which coupled with the habitual anti-semitism among some of his peers meant that he had a tough time winning popularity contests. [[note]] In this, he is comparable to UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton, another brilliant administrator whose personal failings and flaws were balanced by [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington the support of the Revolutionary leader]] and figurehead but who was never able to build a separate career independent of his sponsor's shadow.[[/note]]

As Lenin's NumberTwo, the low level bureaucrats resented Trotsky's arrogance, [[note]]He was quite famous for sitting in Politburo meetings, getting bored and reading French novels in the middle of sessions, ignoring the raised eyebrows of everybody else in the room, and like many other Old Bolshevik leaders would refuse or reject assignments he felt were beneath him[[/note]] were jealous of his closeness to Lenin, resentful of his quick rise to the party elite over more long-serving and committed members, fearful of his skills as a military organizer; [[note]]Bolsheviks during the 20s would mutter that Trotsky would become a Napoleon of the Russian Revolution and Stalin later hijacked this for his propaganda during ThePurge of the Red Army[[/note]] all of which coupled with the habitual anti-semitism among some of his peers meant that he had a tough time winning popularity contests. [[note]] In this, he is comparable to UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton, another brilliant administrator whose personal failings and flaws were balanced by [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington the support of the Revolutionary leader]] and figurehead but who was never able to build a separate career independent of his sponsor's shadow.[[/note]]

As Lenin's NumberTwo, the low level bureaucrats resented Trotsky's arrogance[[note]]He was quite famous for sitting in Politburo meetings, getting bored and reading French novels in the middle of sessions, ignoring the raised eyebrows of everybody else in the room, and like many other Old Bolshevik leaders would refuse or reject assignments he felt were beneath him[[/note]], were jealous of his closeness to Lenin, resentful of his quick rise to the party elite over more long-serving and committed members, fearful of his skills as a military organizer[[note]]Bolsheviks during the 20s would mutter that Trotsky would become a Napoleon of the Russian Revolution and Stalin later hijacked this for his propaganda during ThePurge of the Red Army[[/note]]; all of which coupled with the habitual anti-semitism among some of his peers meant that he had a tough time winning popularity contests.[[note]] In this, he is comparable to UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton, another brilliant administrator whose personal failings and flaws were balanced by [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington the support of the Revolutionary leader]] and figurehead but who was never able to build a separate career independent of his sponsor's shadow.[[/note]]

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Among anti-Stalinists and conventional leftists, Trotsky is presented as the true heir of Lenin, tragically defeated by the totalitarian Stalin. Even in wider Western society, disinterested in Marxist and Leninist minutiae, Trotsky is generally viewed more positively, if only on the assumption that ''anybody'' would have been better than Stalin. What Trotsky ''actually'' would have done will forever remain a mystery, but there is no evidence he was any "gentler" than Stalin. He supported crushing the Kronstadt uprising, was utterly ruthless when fighting for his cause, enthusiastically supported Lenin's policies of violence and terror, and had utter contempt for "wishy-washy liberals" whose politics were less extreme than his own. He also never ceased to advocate for world revolution (something he criticized Stalin for ''not'' doing).

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Among anti-Stalinists and conventional leftists, Trotsky is presented as the true heir of Lenin, tragically defeated by the totalitarian Stalin. Even in wider Western society, disinterested in Marxist and Leninist minutiae, Trotsky is generally viewed more positively, if only for the assumption that ''anybody'' would have been better than Stalin. What Trotsky ''actually'' would have done will forever remain a mystery, but there is no evidence he was any "gentler" than Stalin. He supported crushing the Kronstadt uprising, was utterly ruthless when fighting for his cause, enthusiastically supported Lenin's policies of violence and terror, and had utter contempt for "wishy-washy liberals" whose politics were less extreme than his own. He also never ceased to advocate for world revolution (something he criticized Stalin for ''not'' doing).

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Among anti-Stalinists and conventional leftists, Trotsky is presented as the true heir of Lenin, tragically defeated by the totalitarian Stalin. Even in wider Western society, disinterested in Marxist and Leninist minutiae, Trotsky is generally viewed more positively, if only for the assumption that ''anybody'' would have been better than Stalin. What Trotsky ''actually'' would have done will forever remain a mystery, but there is no evidence he was any "gentler" or "more reasonable" than Stalin. He supported crushing the Kronstadt uprising, was utterly ruthless when fighting for his cause, enthusiastically supported Lenin's policies of violence and terror, and had utter contempt for "wishy-washy liberals" whose politics were less extreme than his own. He also never ceased to advocate for world revolution (something he criticized Stalin for ''not'' doing).

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Among anti-Stalinists and conventional leftists, Trotsky is presented as the true heir of Lenin, tragically defeated by the totalitarian Stalin. Even in wider Western society, disinterested in Marxist and Leninist minutia, Trotsky is generally viewed more positively, if only for the assumption that ''anybody'' would have been better than Stalin. What Trotsky ''actually'' would have done will forever remain a mystery, but there is no evidence he was any "gentler" or "more reasonable" than Stalin. He supported crushing the Kronstadt uprising, was utterly ruthless when fighting for his cause, enthusiastically supported Lenin's policies of violence and terror, and had utter contempt for "wishy-washy liberals" whose politics were less extreme than his own. He also never ceased to advocate for world revolution (something he criticized Stalin for ''not'' doing).

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Among anti-Stalinists and conventional leftists, Trotsky is presented as the true heir of Lenin, tragically defeated by the totalitarian Stalin. Even in wider Western society, disinterested in Marxist and Leninist minutia, Trotsky is generally viewed more positively, if only for the assumption that ''anybody'' would have been better than Stalin. What Trotsky ''actually'' would have done will forever remain a mystery, but there is no evidence he was any "gentler" or "more reasonable" than Stalin. He supported crushing the Kronstadt uprising, and was utterly ruthless when fighting for his cause, enthusiastically supporting Lenin's policies of violence and terror. He also never ceased to advocate for world revolution (something he criticized Stalin for ''not'' doing).

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Among anti-Stalinists and conventional leftists, Trotsky is presented as the true heir of Lenin, tragically defeated by the totalitarian Stalin. Even in wider Western society disinterested in Marxist and Leninist minutia, Trotsky is generally viewed more positively, if only for the assumption that ''anybody'' would have been better than Stalin. What Trotsky ''actually'' would have done will forever remain a mystery, but there is no evidence he was any "gentler" or "more reasonable" than Stalin. He supported crushing the Kronstadt uprising, and was utterly ruthless when fighting for his cause, enthusiastically supporting Lenin's policies of violence and terror. He also never ceased to advocate for world revolution (something he criticized Stalin for ''not'' doing).

* HistoricalHeroUpgrade: Among anti-Stalinists and conventional leftists, Trotsky is presented as the true heir of Lenin. In fact, Trotsky agreed with the communist cause and all it entails; he supported crushing the Kronstadt uprising (which Emma Goldman castigated him for) and was utterly ruthless when fighting for his cause. He advocated world revolution and opposed Stalin because the latter was ''not'' doing that, criticizing the Popular Front and rejecting any cooperation with wishy-washy liberals.

His family life saw much tragedy, being a target of attempted FamilyExtermination by Stalin: After him being exiled from the Soviet Union, his surviving children all died one by one and every single one before him (his daughter Zinaida committed suicide in exile in 1933 after being told she wouldn't see her daughter again; his son Sergei Sedov died under unclear circumstances in Siberia in 1937, and his son Lev Sedov died at the hands of one of Stalin's agents in 1938). The definitive biography of Trotsky, a multi-volume set by Isaac Deutscher, is considered a masterpiece in the genre. Trotsky's own reputation as a historian and martyr was invoked during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar as an authority on Stalinism. Later historians argue that aside from Trotsky's own biases, his understanding of Stalin's activities and personality was considerably limited on account of his exile and he gave far too little credit for Stalin's shrewdness and cunning. Ironically, it was Trotsky who first conceived of mass industrialization, a policy that Stalin co-opted and implemented (quite brutally it must be admitted). Historians wonder if Trotsky would ever have been a realistic alternative to Stalin within the Soviet Union, or if his own ideas could have been implemented in a far less bloody fashion than Stalin[[note]]Post-90s, the general consensus, among neutral non-partisan historians, is that Trotsky was too individualistic and stubborn for party politics and that he was only ever effective as long as Lenin backed him. Even ''Lenin'' considered him a {{Troll}}.[[/note]]. As such he is a perennial favorite for counter-factual historians and even {{troll}}s.

By temperament and personality Trotsky was not a shrewd politican, but an outspoken civil bureaucrat. His disdain for political intrigue and refusal to compromise his principles meant that he accrued little support and much opposition. Given this, the Sovietologist Stephen Kotkin opines that after Lenin's death, even if Stalin had died then Trotsky would not have been able to assume effective control of the Soviet Union. It is worth noting that Trotsky also believed this for a different reason, as he viewed Stalin as a mere representative of the bureaucratic degeneration of the Soviet Union, and so the bureaucracy would have found someone else in Stalin's absence.

* ''The Assassination of Trotsky'', directed by Joseph Losey and starring Richard Burton as Trotsky.

* ''VideoGame/TheNewOrderLastDaysOfEurope'' sees Trotsky joining forces with Bukharin to get rid of Stalin in the power struggle following the power struggle Lenin's death, resulting in the PointOfDivergence that sets the stage for the AlternateHistory's plot.

As Lenin's NumberTwo, the low level bureaucrats resented Trotsky's arrogance[[note]]He was quite famous for sitting in Politburo meetings, getting bored and reading French novels in the middle of sessions, ignoring the raised eyebrows of everybody else in the room, and like many other Old Bolshevik leaders would refuse or reject assignments he felt were beneath him[[/note]], were jealous of his closeness to Lenin, resentful of his quick rise to the party elite over more long-serving and committed members, fearful of his skills as a military organizer[[note]]Bolsheviks during the 20s would mutter that Trotsky would become a Napoleon of the Russian Revolution and Stalin later hijacked this for his propaganda during ThePurge of the Red Army[[/note]]; all of which coupled with the habitual anti-semitism among some of his peers meant that he had a tough time winning popularity contests. [[note]] In this, he is comparable to UsefulNotes/AlexanderHamilton, another brilliant administrator whose personal failings and flaws were balanced by [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWashington the support of the Revolutionary leader]] and figurehead but who was never able to build a separate career independent of his sponsor's shadow.[[/note]]

Leon Trotsky (7 November [26 October in the Old Style Calendar] 1879 – 21 August 1940), born Lev Davidovich Bronstein, was a Soviet Bolshevik revolutionary and Marxist theorist. Before the Revolution he mostly hung about in exile in Siberia, briefly part of a political group known as the Mensheviks and then later the Mezhraiontsy, a group that sought to reunite the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. After the [[UsefulNotes/RomanovsAndRevolutions February Revolution]] Trotsky joined the Bolsheviks and became [[UsefulNotes/VladimirLenin Lenin's]] second-in-command. Trotsky was one of the leaders of the Russian 1917 October Revolution, head of the Military Revolutionary Committee and planned the strategic takeover of Petrograd. During the early days of the Soviet Union, he served first as People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs and later as the founder and commander of [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets the Red Army]] and People's Commissar of War. He was a major figure in the Bolshevik victory in the 1917–1922 Russian Civil War and Kronstadt rebellion. He was also among the first members of the Politburo, an internationally respected intellectual and a man of great personal charisma.

-->-- '''Leon Trotsky'''

%%Trotsky is a figure of great debate in the annals of history, who did both impressive and abhorrent things. Please mind the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment.

%%Trotsky is a figure of great debate in the annals of history, who did both impressive and abhorrent things. Please mind the Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment.

* In the AlternateHistory timeline ''Literature/{{Reds}}'', Trotsky travels to the newly socialist UASR after his exile and becomes a prominent figure in the American communist intelligentsia. He actually outlives Stalin by several decades.