August 21 this year marks 75 years since the day when Leon Trotsky was killed. The biography of this famous revolutionary is well known. But the following circumstance is striking: he became an enemy not only for those who are rightly regarded as counter-revolutionaries - the enemies of the October Revolution of 1917, but also for those who prepared and implemented it with him. Moreover, he never became an anti-communist and did not revise revolutionary ideals (at least the original ones). What is the reason for such a sharp gap with like-minded people, which ultimately led to his death? Let's try to find the answer to this question together. First, we’ll give a curriculum vitae.
Leon Trotsky: a brief biography
It is rather difficult to describe briefly, but still try. Lev Bronstein (Trotsky) was born on November 7 (what a striking coincidence of dates, how can one not believe in astrology?) In 1879 in the family of a wealthy Jewish landowner (more precisely, a tenant) in Ukraine, in a small village, which is now located in the Kirovograd Region .
He began his studies in Odessa at the age of 9 (we note that our hero left his parental home as a child and never returned for a long time to him), continued it in 1895-1897. in Nikolaev, first at a real school, then at the Novorossiysk University, but soon stopped studying and plunged into revolutionary work.
So, at eighteen - the first underground circle, at nineteen - the first arrest. Two years in different prisons under investigation, the first marriage to the same as he himself, concluded by Alexander Sokolovskaya directly in Butyrskaya prison (appreciate the humanism of the Russian authorities!), Then a link to the Irkutsk province with his wife and brother-in-law (humanism is still in action). Here Trotsky Leo does not waste time in vain - he and A. Sokolovskaya have two daughters, he is engaged in journalism, is published in Irkutsk newspapers, and sends several articles abroad.
This is followed by an escape and a dizzying journey with forged documents to the name of Trotsky (according to Lev Davidovich himself, that was the name of one of the overseers in the Odessa prison, and his name seemed to the fugitive so sympathetic that he offered it for making a fake passport) to London itself.
There our hero ripened to the very beginning of the second congress of the RSDLP (1902), at which the famous split between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks took place. Here he met Lenin, who appreciated Trotsky's literary gift and tried to introduce him to the editorial board of the Iskra newspaper.
Before the first Russian revolution, Trotsky Leo held an unstable political position, hesitating between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. His second marriage with Natalya Sedova belongs to this period, which he concludes without divorcing his first wife. This marriage was very long, and N. Sedova was with him until his death.
1905 - the time of the unusually fast political rise of our hero. Arriving in Petersburg, which was booming after the Bloody Resurrection, Lev Davidovich organized the St. Petersburg Council and first became its deputy chairman, G. S. Nosar (the pseudonym Khrustalev is a lawyer, Ukrainian, born in the Poltava region, who was shot in 1918 on the personal instructions of Trotsky), and after his arrest and chairman. Then, at the end of the year - arrest, in 1906 - a court and exile in the Arctic (the region of present Salekhard) forever.
But Trotsky Leo would not be himself if he allowed himself to be buried alive in the tundra. On the way to exile, he commits a daring escape and single-handedly makes his way through half of Russia abroad.
After this follows a long period of emigration until 1917. At this time Lev Davidovich began and threw many political projects, published several newspapers, and tried in every possible way to gain a foothold in the revolutionary movement as one of its organizers. He does not take the side of either Lenin or the Mensheviks, hesitates between them all the time, maneuvers, tries to reconcile the warring wings of Social-Democracy. He is desperately trying to take a leadership position in the Russian revolutionary movement. But he does not succeed, and by 1917 he finds himself on the sidelines of political life, which leads Trotsky to the idea of leaving Europe and trying his luck in America.
Here he made very interesting acquaintances in various circles, including financial ones, which allowed him to come to Russia after the February Revolution, in May 1917, clearly not with an empty pocket. The previous chairmanship in the Petrosoviet secured him a place in the new reincarnation of this institution, and financial opportunities are put forward as leaders of the new Council, which, under the leadership of Trotsky, enters the struggle for power with the Provisional Government.
He eventually (in September 1917) joined the Bolsheviks and became the second person in the Leninist party. Lenin, Leo Trotsky, Stalin, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Sokolnikov and Bubnov — these are seven members of the first Politburo, founded in 1917 to govern the Bolshevik revolution. Moreover, from September 20, 1917 he was also the chairman of the Petrograd Soviet. In fact, all the practical work on the organization of the October Revolution and its defense in the first weeks of Soviet power is the work of Leon Trotsky.
In the years 1917-1918. he served the revolution, first as the people's commissar of foreign affairs, and then as the founder and commander of the Red Army as commissar for military and naval affairs. Trotsky Leo was a key figure in the victory of the Bolsheviks in the civil war in Russia (1918-1923). He was also a permanent member (1919-1926) of the Politburo of the Bolshevik Party.
After the defeat of the Left Opposition, which waged an unequal struggle against the rise of Joseph Stalin and his policies in the 1920s, aimed at increasing the role of the bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, Trotsky was removed from power (October 1927), expelled from the Communist Party (November 1927 g.) and expelled from the Soviet Union (February 1929).
As head of the Fourth International, Trotsky in exile continued to confront the Stalinist bureaucracy in the Soviet Union. By order of Stalin, he was killed in Mexico in August 1940 by Ramon Mercader, a Soviet agent of Spanish descent.
Trotsky's ideas formed the basis of Trotskyism, a major line of Marxist thought that opposed the theory of Stalinism. He was one of the few Soviet politicians who were not rehabilitated under the government of Nikita Khrushchev in the 1960s, or during the "Gorbachev" perestroika. In the late 1980s, his books were released for publication in the Soviet Union.
Only in post-Soviet Russia was Lev Trotsky rehabilitated. His biography was investigated and written by a number of famous historians, among which, for example, Dmitry Volkogonov. We will not retell it in detail, but analyze only a few selected pages.
The origins of character formation in childhood (1879-1895 gg.)
In order to understand the origins of the formation of the personality of our hero, we need to take a closer look at where Leon Trotsky was born. It was the Ukrainian hinterland, a steppe agricultural zone, which remains the same to this day. And what did the Jewish Bronstein family do there: father David Leontyevich (1847-1922), who hails from the Poltava region, mother Anna, Odessa citizen (1850-1910), their children? The same as other bourgeois families in those places - earned capital by the brutal exploitation of Ukrainian peasants. By the time our hero was born, his illiterate (note this circumstance!) Father, who, in fact, was surrounded by people alien to him by nationality and mentality, already owned an estate of several hundred acres of land and a steam mill. Dozens of farm laborers bent his back.
Does the reader not recall all this something from the life of the drill planters in South Africa, where only instead of black kaffirs are swarthy Ukrainians? It was in such an atmosphere that the character of little Leva Bronstein was formed. No peer friends, no reckless boyish games and pranks, just the boredom of a bourgeois house and a top view of Ukrainian farm laborers. It is from childhood that the roots of that sense of self-superiority over other people, which constituted the main character trait of Trotsky, grow.
And to be a worthy assistant to his dad, but, fortunately, his mother, being a slightly educated woman (Odessa woman after all), felt in time that her son was capable of more than the unpretentious exploitation of peasant labor, and insisted that he be sent to study in Odessa (live in an apartment with relatives). Below you can see how Leon Trotsky was in his childhood (photo presented).
The personality of the hero begins to appear (1888-1895).
In Odessa, our hero was enrolled in a real school by the quota that was allocated for Jewish children. Odessa was then a noisy cosmopolitan port city, very different from the typical Russian and Ukrainian cities of that time. There is a scene in Sergei Kolosov’s serial film “The Split” (we recommend watching it for everyone who is interested in the history of the Russian revolution) when Lenin meets Trotsky who escaped from his first exile in London in 1902 and is interested in the impression the British capital made on him. He replies that it was simply impossible to experience more of an impression that Odessa made upon him after moving to it from a rural backwater.
Studying Leo perfectly, all the years in a row becoming the first student in his course. In the memoirs of peers, he appears to be an unusually ambitious person, the desire for primacy in all distinguishes him from fellow students. By adulthood, Leo turns into an attractive young man, to whom, in the presence of wealthy parents, all doors in life should be open. How did Leo Trotsky live further (his photo during his studies is presented below)?
First love
Trotsky planned to study at Novorossiysk University. For this purpose, he transferred to Nikolaev, where he completed the last course of a real school. He was 17 years old, and he did not even think about any revolutionary activity. But, unfortunately, the sons of the landlord were socialists, they pulled a high school student into their circle, where various revolutionary literature was discussed - from Narodnik to Marxist. Among the members of the circle was A. Sokolovskaya, who had recently completed obstetric courses in Odessa. Being six years older than Trotsky, she made an indelible impression on him. Wanting to show off knowledge in front of the subject of his passion, Leo intensely began to study revolutionary theories. This played a cruel joke with him: starting once, he never again got rid of this occupation.
Revolutionary activity and imprisonment (1896-1900)
Apparently, the young ambitious man suddenly dawned on - after all, here it is, the very thing to which one can devote life, which can bring coveted glory. Together with Sokolovskaya, Trotsky plunges into revolutionary work, prints leaflets, conducts social-democratic agitation among the workers of the Nikolaev shipyards, and organizes the "South Russian Workers' Union".
In January 1898, more than 200 members of the union, including Trotsky, were arrested. He spent the next two years in prison awaiting trial - first in Nikolaev, then in Kherson, then in Odessa and in Moscow. In Butyrka prison, he made contact with other revolutionaries. There he first heard about Lenin and read his book, The Development of Capitalism in Russia, gradually becoming a real Marxist. Two months after its conclusion (March 1-3, 1898), the first congress of the newly formed Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) took place. Since then, Trotsky defined himself as its member.
First marriage
Alexandra Sokolovskaya (1872-1938) was imprisoned for some time in the same Butyrka prison in Moscow, where Trotsky was at that time. He wrote romantic letters to her, begged for her consent to marry him. Characteristically, her parents and the prison administration supported the ardent lover, but the Bronstein couple was categorically against it - apparently anticipating that they would have to bring up children of such unreliable (in the everyday sense) parents. Contrary to his father and mother, Trotsky still marries Sokolovskaya. The wedding ceremony was held by a Jewish priest.
The first Siberian exile (1900-1902)
In 1900, he was sentenced to four years of exile in the Irkutsk region of Siberia. Because of the marriage, Trotsky and his wife are allowed to settle in one place. Accordingly, the couple was exiled to the village of Ust-Kut. Here they had two daughters: Zinaida (1901-1933) and Nina (1902-1928).
However, to keep such an active nature as Lev Davidovich, Sokolovskaya failed to stand next to her. Having gained some fame due to articles written in the link and tormented by a thirst for activity, Trotsky lets his wife know that he is not able to stay away from the centers of political life. Sokolovskaya meekly agrees. In the summer of 1902, Leo escapes from Siberia - first in a hidden cart under hay to Irkutsk, then with a forged passport in the name of Leon Trotsky by rail to the borders of the Russian Empire. Alexandra subsequently fled from Siberia with her daughters.
Leon Trotsky and Lenin
After escaping from Siberia, he moved to London to join Plekhanov, Vladimir Lenin, Martov and other editors of the Leninist Iskra newspaper. Under the pseudonym “Feather,” Trotsky soon became one of its leading authors.
At the end of 1902, Trotsky met with Natalya Ivanovna Sedova, who soon became his companion, and from 1903 until his death, his wife. They had 2 children: Lev Sedov (1906-1938) and Sergey Sedov (March 21, 1908 - October 29, 1937), both sons died before their parents.
At the same time, after the period of repression of the secret police and internal disorder that followed the first congress of the RSDLP in 1898, Iskra managed to convene the 2nd congress of the party in London in August 1903. Trotsky and other Iskra-ists took part in it.
Congress delegates were divided into two groups. Lenin and his Bolshevik supporters advocated a small but very organized party, while Martov and his Menshevik supporters sought to create a large and less disciplined organization. These approaches reflected the difference in their goals. If Lenin wanted to create a party of professional revolutionaries for the underground struggle against the autocracy, then Martov dreamed of a European-style party with an eye on parliamentary methods of fighting tsarism.
At the same time, the closest associates presented Lenin with a surprise. Trotsky and most of the Iskra editors supported Martov and the Mensheviks, while Plekhanov supported Lenin and the Bolsheviks. For Lenin, the betrayal of Trotsky was a strong and unexpected blow, for which he called the latter Judas and, apparently, never forgave.
During 1903-1904 many members of the factions switched sides. So, Plekhanov soon parted with the Bolsheviks. Trotsky also left the Mensheviks in September 1904 and until 1917 called himself a "non-factional Social Democrat", trying to reconcile various groups within the party, as a result of which he took part in many clashes with Lenin and other prominent members of the RSDLP.
How did Leo Trotsky personally relate to Lenin? Quotes from his correspondence with the Menshevik Chkheidze quite clearly characterize their relationship. So, in March 1913, he wrote: "Lenin ... a professional exploiter of all backwardness in the Russian labor movement ... The whole building of Leninism is currently built on lies and falsification and carries the poisonous beginning of its own corruption ..."
Later, during the struggle for power, he will be reminded of all his vacillations regarding the party’s general course set by Lenin. Below you can see what Trotsky Lev Davidovich was (photo with Lenin).
Revolution (1905)
So, everything that we know about the personality of our hero so far does not characterize him very flattering. His undoubted literary and journalistic talent is leveled out by painful ambition, posturing, selfishness (remember A. Sokolovskaya, left in Siberia with two small daughters). However, during the period of the first Russian revolution, Trotsky manifests himself unexpectedly from a new perspective - as a very courageous man, an outstanding speaker, able to ignite the masses, as their ingenious organizer. Arriving in May 1905 in the seething revolutionary Petersburg, he immediately rushes into the thick of things, becomes an active member of the Petrograd Soviet, writes dozens of articles, leaflets, speaks in front of crowds with fiery speeches electrified by revolutionary energy. After some time, he was already deputy chairman of the Council, actively participating in the preparation of the October general political strike. After the appearance of the royal manifesto of October 17, which granted political rights to the people, it sharply opposed it and called for the continuation of the revolution.
When the gendarmes arrested Khrustalev-Nosar, Lev Davidovich took his place, was engaged in the preparation of combat workers' squads, the shock force of a future armed uprising against the autocracy. But in early December 1905, the government decided to disperse the Council and arrest its deputies. An absolutely amazing story takes place during the arrest itself, when the gendarmes burst into the Petrosoviet meeting room, and the presiding Trotsky, only by force of his will and gift of persuasion, takes them out of the door for a while, which makes it possible for those present to prepare: destroy some documents dangerous to them, get rid of weapons. But the arrest nevertheless took place, and Trotsky again finds himself in a Russian prison, this time in the St. Petersburg Crosses.
The second escape from Siberia
The biography of Lev Davidovich Trotsky abounds in striking events. But our task does not include a detailed exposition of it. We confine ourselves to a few vivid episodes in which the character of our hero is most clearly manifested. Among them is the story related to Trotsky’s second exile to Siberia.
This time, after a year of imprisonment (however, in quite decent conditions, including access to any literature and the press), Lev Davidovich was sentenced to eternal exile in the Arctic, in the region of Obdorsk (now Salekhard). Before leaving, he handed over a farewell letter with the words: “We are leaving with deep faith in the speedy victory of the people over their centuries-old enemies. Long live the proletariat! Long live international socialism! ”
It goes without saying that he was not ready for years to sit in the polar tundra, in some wretched home, and expect a saving revolution. Moreover, what kind of revolution could one talk about if he did not participate in it?
Therefore, the only way out for him was an immediate escape. When the caravan with the prisoners reached Berezovo (the famous place of exile in Russia, where the ex-Prince A. Menshikov spent the rest of his life), from where there was a journey to the north, Trotsky feigned an attack of acute sciatica. He ensured that he was left with a couple of gendarmes in Berezovo until his recovery. Having deceived their vigilance, he escapes from the town and gets to the nearest Khanty settlement. There, in some incredible way, he hires deer and walks along the snowy tundra (it happens in January 1907) for almost a thousand kilometers to the Ural Mountains, accompanied by a hunter guide. Having reached the European part of Russia, Trotsky easily crosses it (let's not forget that the year 1907 is coming, such as he is, the authorities tie “Stolypin ties” around his necks) and finds himself in Finland, from where he is moving to Europe.
It was quite safe for him to complete this adventure, so to speak, although the risk to which he exposed himself was incredibly high. They could easily stab him with a knife or stun them and throw them in the snow to freeze, taking a look at the rest of the money that was with him. And it would be the assassination of Leon Trotsky not in 1940, but three decades earlier. There would have been no enchanting take-off during the years of the revolution, nor all that followed. However, the history and fate of Lev Davidovich himself ordered otherwise - for happiness for himself, but on the mountain of long-suffering Russia, and to his homeland to no lesser extent.
The last act of life drama
In August 1940, the world spread the news that Leon Trotsky was killed in Mexico, where he lived in the last years of his life. Was this a global event? It is doubtful. It has been almost a year since Poland was defeated, and two months have already passed since the surrender of France. China and Indochina blazed with fire. Feverishly preparing for the war of the USSR.
So, in addition to the few supporters from among the members of the Fourth International created by Trotsky and numerous enemies, starting from the authorities of the Soviet Union and ending with the majority of world politicians, few commented on this death. The newspaper Pravda placed a murderous obituary composed by Stalin himself and filled with hatred of the murdered enemy.
It must be mentioned that they tried to kill Trotsky more than once. Among the potential killers, even the great Mexican artist Siqueiros was noted , who participated in the raid on Trotsky’s villa in Mexico as part of a group of Orthodox Communists and personally fired an automatic burst on Lev Davidovich’s empty bed, not suspecting that he was hiding under it. Then the bullets passed by.
But what killed Leon Trotsky? The most amazing thing is that the weapon of this murder was not a weapon - cold or firearms, but an ordinary ice ax, a small pickaxe used by climbers during their ascents. And the NKVD agent Ramon Mercador, a young man whose mother was an active participant in the Spanish Civil War, held her in her hands . As an Orthodox Communist, she blamed the defeat of the Spanish Republic for Trotsky's supporters, who, although they participated in the civil war on the side of the republican forces, refused to act in line with the policy set out from Moscow. She conveyed this belief to her son, who became the true instrument of this murder.