Leon Trotsky
Much of Lev Davidovich Bronstein’s life was riddled with sacrifice. He sacrificed for a cause that was very important to him. Many times, he had to work on the edge of legality, and he was often punished by the law for this. He was a writer, revolutionary, Marxist, and Soviet politician. The majority of his life was spent trying to bring the form of government he believed in to Russia.
Bronstein was born on November 7, 1879 in what is now known as the Ukraine. He was born into a family of Jewish farmers and money was really never an issue for them. They lived comfortably, and his family had the means to send Lev to school. At the age of eight, Lev started attending a school in Odessa. In 1896 he moved to Nikolayev for his final year of schooling. It was while he was there that he became enthralled with Marxism. Marxism is a way of political structure and thinking created by Karl Marx in the 1800s. “Under Marxism, outdated class structures were supposed to be overthrown with force instead of being replaced through patient modification” (businessdictionary.com). This meant that from very early on he had a revolutionary mindset.
He often skipped school to meet and talk with political exiles, read illegal pamphlets, and immerse himself with likeminded people. In 1897 Lev helped form the South Russian Workers’ Union (Rosenberg). The union called for drastic economic changes, including collective ownership of land and factories, recognition of basic liberties, and shorter work days and safer conditions (encyclopediaofukraine.com). Staying true to his Marxist beliefs, Bronstein and the union were not afraid to use terror and violence to achieve their goals. For his involvement in this, he was arrested in 1898. He spent two years in prison before being brought to trial and convicted to a four year exile in Siberia. He had two daughters with a co-revolutionary he met in a transfer prison. Also while in prison, the Social Democratic Party was formed, and Bronstein chose to associate himself with this party. After two years he escaped Siberia, leaving his family behind. He was able to escape in the back of a wagon covered in hay. Bronstein was given a blank passport. This is when he chose the moniker that would stick with him for the rest of his life: Leon Trotsky, the name of his jailer at the Odessa prison he was earlier held.
Out of exile, Trotsky found his way to London, England. He wrote for Russian newspapers and pamphlets about Marxism and his ideas. In 1903 the Social Democrats split into the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. Lenin, another revolutionary, took control of the majority Bolsheviks, while Trotsky became a member of the Menshevik minority. The majority of the Bolsheviks were quite young, most being under 30 years old. The Mensheviks were a more visible and active party on the workers behalf, and they enjoyed great success from 1905-1917.
In 1905 there was an uprising in Russia known as Bloody Sunday. Protesting workers and families met in St. Petersburg Square and marched peacefully on the tsar's palace. Confused soldiers were unsure of their command and random shootings started to break out through the crowd. Nearly one hundred citizens were killed in the violence. Upon hearing of this, Trotsky returned to Russia. Trotsky quickly became a leader in the revolution, and when it failed, he was arrested for his involvement. He was again sentenced to exile in Siberia and this time escaped en route in January of 1907 (jewishvirtuallibrary.org).
The next ten years of his life he bounced around from cities like Vienna, Zurich, Paris, and even New York. During this time Trotsky put his writing talents to use, and when World War I began, he started writing anti-war articles. The Tsar was overthrown and in 1917 Trotsky returned to Russia once again.
He joined the Bolshevik party which took power after the October Revolution in 1917. He was appointed as the leader of the Red Army to fight the White Army in the Russian civil war (Hutchinson). After Lenin fell ill, Leon lost out in the power struggle to Joseph Stalin. Stalin had received a less public role of General Secretary early on, but this position allowed him to gain loyalty within the Communist Party.
Slowly, Trotsky was pushed out of Russia until he finally settled in Mexico. While there, a man under the orders of Joseph Stalin stabbed him with an ice pick, and he died from the wounds the next day. It would not go without reason to say that Leon Trotsky was one of the most influential men of his time. His ideas and actions laid the cornerstone for Communism in Europe. Had he not been politically outmaneuvered by Stalin, Trotsky would have been the leader of the Soviet Union. Even so, without Leon Trotsky, the world would not be as it is today.
Much of Lev Davidovich Bronstein’s life was riddled with sacrifice. He sacrificed for a cause that was very important to him. Many times, he had to work on the edge of legality, and he was often punished by the law for this. He was a writer, revolutionary, Marxist, and Soviet politician. The majority of his life was spent trying to bring the form of government he believed in to Russia.
Bronstein was born on November 7, 1879 in what is now known as the Ukraine. He was born into a family of Jewish farmers and money was really never an issue for them. They lived comfortably, and his family had the means to send Lev to school. At the age of eight, Lev started attending a school in Odessa. In 1896 he moved to Nikolayev for his final year of schooling. It was while he was there that he became enthralled with Marxism. Marxism is a way of political structure and thinking created by Karl Marx in the 1800s. “Under Marxism, outdated class structures were supposed to be overthrown with force instead of being replaced through patient modification” (businessdictionary.com). This meant that from very early on he had a revolutionary mindset.
He often skipped school to meet and talk with political exiles, read illegal pamphlets, and immerse himself with likeminded people. In 1897 Lev helped form the South Russian Workers’ Union (Rosenberg). The union called for drastic economic changes, including collective ownership of land and factories, recognition of basic liberties, and shorter work days and safer conditions (encyclopediaofukraine.com). Staying true to his Marxist beliefs, Bronstein and the union were not afraid to use terror and violence to achieve their goals. For his involvement in this, he was arrested in 1898. He spent two years in prison before being brought to trial and convicted to a four year exile in Siberia. He had two daughters with a co-revolutionary he met in a transfer prison. Also while in prison, the Social Democratic Party was formed, and Bronstein chose to associate himself with this party. After two years he escaped Siberia, leaving his family behind. He was able to escape in the back of a wagon covered in hay. Bronstein was given a blank passport. This is when he chose the moniker that would stick with him for the rest of his life: Leon Trotsky, the name of his jailer at the Odessa prison he was earlier held.
Out of exile, Trotsky found his way to London, England. He wrote for Russian newspapers and pamphlets about Marxism and his ideas. In 1903 the Social Democrats split into the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. Lenin, another revolutionary, took control of the majority Bolsheviks, while Trotsky became a member of the Menshevik minority. The majority of the Bolsheviks were quite young, most being under 30 years old. The Mensheviks were a more visible and active party on the workers behalf, and they enjoyed great success from 1905-1917.
In 1905 there was an uprising in Russia known as Bloody Sunday. Protesting workers and families met in St. Petersburg Square and marched peacefully on the tsar's palace. Confused soldiers were unsure of their command and random shootings started to break out through the crowd. Nearly one hundred citizens were killed in the violence. Upon hearing of this, Trotsky returned to Russia. Trotsky quickly became a leader in the revolution, and when it failed, he was arrested for his involvement. He was again sentenced to exile in Siberia and this time escaped en route in January of 1907 (jewishvirtuallibrary.org).
The next ten years of his life he bounced around from cities like Vienna, Zurich, Paris, and even New York. During this time Trotsky put his writing talents to use, and when World War I began, he started writing anti-war articles. The Tsar was overthrown and in 1917 Trotsky returned to Russia once again.
He joined the Bolshevik party which took power after the October Revolution in 1917. He was appointed as the leader of the Red Army to fight the White Army in the Russian civil war (Hutchinson). After Lenin fell ill, Leon lost out in the power struggle to Joseph Stalin. Stalin had received a less public role of General Secretary early on, but this position allowed him to gain loyalty within the Communist Party.
Slowly, Trotsky was pushed out of Russia until he finally settled in Mexico. While there, a man under the orders of Joseph Stalin stabbed him with an ice pick, and he died from the wounds the next day. It would not go without reason to say that Leon Trotsky was one of the most influential men of his time. His ideas and actions laid the cornerstone for Communism in Europe. Had he not been politically outmaneuvered by Stalin, Trotsky would have been the leader of the Soviet Union. Even so, without Leon Trotsky, the world would not be as it is today.