Leon Trotsky A Personality in the 20th Century

Leon Trotsky is considered one of the most controversial revolutionary figures of his time Was he a practical revolutionary or a naive idealist On the practical side he was the mastermind behind the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917 and was totally ruthless during the ensuing Civil War As an idealist he was committed to the pursuit of international revolution but created many political enemies After Lenins death Trotsky lost in a power struggle with Stalin and later was expelled from the Communist Party Trotsky was exiled from the Soviet Union eventually finding refuge in Mexico In 1940 Stalin ordered his assassination and Trotsky died after being struck in the head with an icepick History records that Trotsky was a master theoretician a skillful propagandist and a brilliant orator