Leon Trotsky Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Leon Trotsky
OCCUPATION: Activist, Political Leader
BIRTH DATE: November 07, 1879
DEATH DATE: August 21, 1940
PLACE OF BIRTH: Yanovka, Ukraine
PLACE OF DEATH: Mexico City, Mexico
AKA: Leon Trotsky
Full Name: Lev Davidovich Bronshtein

Best Known For

Communist Leon Trotsky helped ignite the Russian Revolution of 1917, and built the Red Army afterward. He was exiled and later assassinated by Soviet agents.

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Leon Trotsky

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In February, he wrote a testament expressing his final thoughts for posterity and forcibly denied Stalin's accusations. On August 20, 1940, Trotsky was sitting at his desk in his study in Mexico City. Ramon Mercader, an undercover agent for the Soviet Union's secret police, attacked Trotsky with an ice pick, puncturing his skull. He was taken to the hospital, but died a day later, at the age of 60.

For decades, Leon Trotsky was discredited in the Soviet Union,

the result of Stalin's hatred and his totalitarian control. However, 10 years after the collapse of the Soviet government, in 2001, Trotsky's reputation was officially "rehabilitated" by the Russian government. His legacy of being the most brilliant intellect of the Communist Revolution and his reputation as a tireless worker, rousing public speaker and decisive administrator was restored. Some historians believe if he had not subordinated himself to Lenin during the Bolshevik Revolution, the history of the Soviet Union might have been very different. However, Trotsky had allowed his intelligence and arrogance to antagonize those less able than himself, and in the end, alienated many around him, allowing deceitful men like Stalin to take advantage.