The Life and Success of Leon Trotsky

For three centuries prior to the 1917 revolution, Russians lived in a state of dissatisfaction and dissent under the autocratic rule of the Romanov Tzars. Being an autocracy, there was no parliament to stand for the desires of the Russian people, ministers were rarely elected because of any sort of competency, and any sort of public dissent was quickly quelled by the Okhrana, the Russian secret police at the time.

Russia was falling behind the rest of the world when it came to industrialisation and modernisation. Tzar Nicholas desperately tried to hold onto his autocratic powers, while around him, the Russian people became more educated and aware of their global position. Depressed peasants, downtrodden workers and the frustrated politically minded all clamoured for a change in the way Russia was run and for a say in the government of the country, such as was enjoyed by the populations of more advanced European countries.

As discontent grew, revolutionary ideas became ingrained in the psyche of many Russians, with the development of the socialist movement, and the spread of Marxism. Land and Liberty, one of the first socialist groups was a Russian clandestine revolutionary organisations of Narodniki (middle- or upper-class revolutionaries attempting to spread socialism in rural areas). It had a profound effect on Vladimir Lenin, and other revolutionaries. It also served as a precursor to the RSDLP, Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, which in 1903 split into the Bolsheviks (majority) and Mensheviks (minority), left wing revolutionary parties. The Mensheviks believed in a slow, steady introduction of socialism. They also believed that once the Tsar was overthrown, there would be a cooperation between the proletariat and bou...

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...hrough the grapevine, Lenin learned of Trotsky, and in recognition of his literary talents, he sent a message that Trotsky should report immediately to Iskra headquarters in Europe. By way of Zurich and Paris, in October 1902, young Trotsky arrived on the doorstep of Lenin’s apartment. In the Early morning, with Lenin still in bed. Nadezhda Krupskaya opened the door and warmly greeted the young man. “The ‘pen’ has arrived,” she announced to Lenin.

Lenin, a good listener and Trotsky, with much to say were a good match. The Iskra kept close tabs on the events in Russia, eager to keep their fingers on the pulse of the revolution. Lenin was quick to see the value in Trotsky, marking him as a man of “exceptional abilities”. At Lenin’s urging, he delivered speeches in London, Brussels, Liège, and Paris. During his visit to France, he met his second wife, Natalia Sedova.