The Unjustified Assassination of Trotsky
Leon Trotsky experienced one of the most brutal assassinations of all time, death by an ice pick, and to make matters even worse his assassination was unjustified.Trotsky supported the middle class citizens as a Marxist theorist. He was most known for his time in the Russian Revolution defeating all opposing forces of the Bolsheviks. As leader of the Workers’ Revolution, and he defended what he believed in the Bolsheviks, who had a more communistic drive. He may have made many controversial decisions during his time in power and expressed his unpopular opinions towards Joseph Stalin. But in the long run none of his actions should have resulted in an assassination. In the end his death was tragic yet,
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His work ethic, public speaking skills and overall leader aided him in influencing the russian citizens to trust him. The citizens were tired of the horrible factory conditions and overcrowding. (Figes, 1) There was hardly any legislation to protect the workers laboring in the factory. Another problem in the factory was the dangerous equipment, the workers could be severely injured and the government wouldn’t compensate for their recovery. Workers pleaded for an insurance policy to protect them if they were injured but the government denied it. So when Leon Trotsky, an upcoming major political figure, decided to support their revolution, many government officials grew to hate him. This is yet another cause of Stalin's ruthlessness towards …show more content…
His opponent Joseph Stalin had no reason to have him assassinated because he was already exiled out of Russia. The only harm he could have caused to Stalin was in his left sided opinions of governing, religious views, and Marxist opinion brought him down in the end. His last days were spent in refugee in Mexico with his wife. Trotsky spent his years in exile antagonising Stalin with criticism of the way he was running the Russian government. On August 20, 1940 by Ramón Mercader, an assassin sent from Stalin’s forces, attacked Trotsky with an ice pick. Leon Trotsky was brutally injured and died from his injures August 21, 1940, the next
As relations changed between Russia and the rest of the world, so did the main historical schools of thought. Following Stalins death, hostilities between the capitalist powers and the USSR, along with an increased awareness of the atrocities that were previously hidden and ignored, led to a split in the opinions of Soviet and Western Liberal historians. In Russia, he was seen, as Trotsky had always maintained, as a betrayer of the revolution, therefore as much distance as possible was placed between himself and Lenin in the schoolbooks of the 50s and early 60s in the USSR. These historians point to Stalin’s killing of fellow communists as a marked difference between himself and his predecessor. Trotsky himself remarked that ‘The present purge draws between Bolshevism and Stalinism… a whole river of blood’[1].
He implemented a tremendous amount of forced labor camps, called the GULAG. These camps were where citizens would go to serve time for their crimes. If a peasant was caught stealing anything, arriving late to work three times, or making jokes about high ranking Communist officials, they would be sent off to the concentration camps to serve as punishment (“Gulag”). These camps and strict policies were a large part of the reason that Stalin was considered to be so feared. No one every opposed him or tried to revolt because of his reputation for being so
He was supported by the Bolsheviks and the left wing of the Social Revolutionary party. · Trotsky's efforts are aimed at a new revolution hidden in the slogan. "All power to Soviets". Lenin wanted to make revolution. And felt this was the perfect time.
Trotsky played a key role in the Bolshevik party, encouraging revolution, which saw the Bolsheviks gain power in 1917. He built up a strong Red Army during the civil war, used to ensure the survival of the Bolshevik government and was seen by many as the most likely candidate to take over as leader after Lenin’s death, showing the significance he was held in by Russians. However, evidence suggests that after Lenin’s death he lost his a considerable amount of power, eventually being exiled from the Communist party. In the short-term it is clear that Trotsky had a huge significance in the development of Russia, shown clearly through both his letters and documents, and the opinions of those close to Trotsky. The significance is obvious through his role in the build up to the October Revolution, his negotiations with Germany through the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, his contribution to Bolshevik success in the civil war and his attitude towards terror and his failure to out maneuver Stalin to succeed Lenin.
The outbreak of revolution in Russia lured Trotsky back into action, but he was soon arrested. While in jail, Trotsky joined the Bolsheviks (“Leon Trotsky”). After his release, Trotsky allied with Vladimir Lenin as he gained control of the Russian government. Trotsky was made commissar of war and was charged with the formation of the Red Army to defend communism (“Leon Trotsky”). Although the Red Army proved successful in its endeavor, its Red Terror campaign caused “thousands of people, many of whom were only suspected of being anti-communist, [to be] slaughtered in unthinkably cruel ways” (Asnes, Tania. Kissel, Adam ed). Soon after, Lenin's death left Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky to battle to be Russia's leader. Although Trotsky had the skills and the intellect that should have made him the clear choice, jealousy among his colleagues prompted them to side with Stalin (“Leon Trotsky”). Soon after Stalin gained power, he exiled Trotsky. His role in Russian history had come to an abrupt
Trotsky thought that Communism could not survive in the USSR alone. He argued that the capitalist countries of the West feared Communism and would try to destroy it. For this reason, he said, it was necessary to spread Communism to the countries of Western Europe and to their overseas colonies. This would be done by giving help to revolutionary groups and parties in Western Europe.
Stalin later died on March 5th. It was said that he died peacefully in his bed but in fact that was only a myth. Stalin actually died from a brain hemorrhaged which started from a stroke first on March 1st 1953. There were also times before this where he had a stroke but there was always medication there for him in time to be able to treat him. He one day had a stroke and just collapsed and that was the first sign of it being very serious at this point. When he collapsed there was an alert sent out to all his doctors so they could get there with the medication, but they didn’t get it in time. The doctors were all out on purge missions.(“Death of Stalin”)
Joseph Stalin’s official reign of terror ended with his death in 1953, but the effects of his autocratic rule continued for many years to follow. His lasting hold on the people of the former Soviet Union still lingers in a few brainwashed minds. In the article "Stalin’s Afterlife" and the movie "Russia’s War - Blood Upon the Snow", Stalin is portrayed as the monster really was and should be remembered as.
Stalin’s hunger for power and paranoia impacted the Soviet society severely, having devastating effects on the Communist Party, leaving it weak and shattering the framework of the party, the people of Russia, by stunting the growth of technology and progress through the purges of many educated civilians, as well as affecting The Red Army, a powerful military depleted of it’s force. The impact of the purges, ‘show trials’ and the Terror on Soviet society were rigorously negative. By purging all his challengers and opponents, Stalin created a blanket of fear over the whole society, and therefore, was able to stay in power, creating an empire that he could find more dependable.
Around the early 1920’s, Stalin took power and became leader of Russia. As a result Russians either became fond of Stalin’s policies or absolutely despised them. Stalin’s five-year plans lured many into focusing on the thriving economy rather than the fact that the five year plan hurt the military. The experience of many lives lost, forced labor camps, little supply of food, influenced the Russians negative opinion about Stalin. Having different classes in society, many Russians had different points of views. For the Peasants, times were rough mainly because of the famine, so they were not in favor of Stalin and his policies; where as the upper classes had a more optimistic view of everything that was occurring. Stalin’s policies affected the Russian people and the Soviet Union positively and also had a negative affect causing famine for the Russian people.
Stalin’s leadership of the Soviet Union can be best described as a period of terror and censorship. In other words, he was very strict, considering the fact that he created the totalitarian government. In order to create this type of government, Stalin used fear and propaganda. He took part in The Great Purge, which was a campaign of terror that was supposed to eliminate anyone who threatened Stalin’s power. He also relied on secret police, who would arrest and execute any traitors. The online blog, “The Reasons For the Failure of The Russian Revolution”, brings up information on how Stalin planned to rule as dictator of Russia. It has been noted, “This ‘reshaping’ had three main aspects: the elimination of all dissent; the liquidation of all forms of democracy and of working class organisation; the slashing of the living standards of the working class and the physical annihilation of millions of peasants” (Text 5). This quote explains how Stalin wanted to industrialize Russia, which includes the deaths of several peasants of Russia. The Russians did not just die from The Great Purge, but also from Stalin’s Five-Year Plan. The Five-Year Plan was an attempt to industrialize the Soviet Union. It was also a plan for increasing the output of steel, coal, oil, and electricity. He had control over economic resources, including farms and
As a dictator Stalin was very strict about his policies, especially working. For instance. Stalin had set quotas very high , as they were very unrealistic. The workers had very long days, and under the rule of Stalin most people worked many hours in overtime, and resulting in no pay. Stalin treated workers very, very harshly. Those who did not work were exiled to Siberia or killed. Some may say you got what you deserved in Stalin’s time. Those who worked very hard for Stalin sometimes got bonuses such as trips, or goods likes televisions and refrigerators. The workers had to conform to Stalin’s policies . Stalin’s harsh treatment of workers received a very unwelcoming response, but in fact the liberal amount of goods that the workers had made, had in fact
Stalin was able to damage Trotsky’s reputation and political prestige, by tricking Trotsky for not showing up at Lenins funeral. After Lenins death, on the 21st of January 1924, on over three days, about three and a half million people queued to see Lenins body. Although many people felt hatred towards the regime, many felt a bona fide affection towards Lenin, which was comparable with the affection the people had to the Romanov dynasty, before the October Revolution. Throughout Lenins funeral, Stalin hoped that he could strengthen his position in the Party and remove Trotsky from his powerful position, which he was in. Trotsky turned ill just before Lenin’s death, and had settled in the south of Russia, to recover. Stalin contacted Trotsky about Lenins death and meant that Trotsky would not make it to the funeral. For Trotsky not attending the funeral, caused his reputation and political prestige, within the party, to be damaged. During Lenins funeral, Stalin made a speech referring t...
Leon Trotsky. His murderous regime however ended in 1953 in a peaceful death. The snare Throughout the period of time that Russia was under the rule of the Romanov dynasty, [C-300] the Tsars ruled by divine right. This made them respectable and looked at as god like figures by the empire. was therefore the Church and religion of Russia which consolidated the Tsars position as the 'father' of Russia.
After the death of Lenin, his chief lieutenant Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin fought for control of the country. Stalin was able to win out over Trotsky and gain control of the Russian government. He felt that Lenin and Trotsky’s socialistic ideas were flawed in that they were to wait for other countries to revolt and become socialistic as well. Staling believed that a single country could make socialism .