Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky, original name Lev Davidovich Bronstein (1879-1940). Russian revolutionary. He was banished to Siberia in 1898 for his Marxist activities and while there married his fellow conspirator, Aleksandra Sokolovskaya. He escaped in 1902, leaving his wife behind, and married again while in Paris (1903). In 1917 he rejoined the Bolsheviks in Russia and became Lenin’s chief partner in organizing the October Revolution. Following their triumph, he took charge of the Red Army in the Civil War (1918-20). After Lenin’s death he led the opposition to Stalin but was expelled from the Communist Party in 1927 and later exiled. He continued to oppose Stalin from abroad but was murdered in Mexico by a Spanish communist who is believed to have been one of Stalin’s agents. Whilst in exile Trot-sky wrote an autobiography and a history of the Russian Revolution. His ideas have provided the foundation for a number of left-wing political groups.
