Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky (November 7, 1879 – August 21, 1940) was a Russian revolutionary, theorist, and communist leader whose ideas formed the basis of Trotskyism, a major school of Marxist thought. Born Lev Davidovich Bronstein, he adopted the pseudonym Trotsky while imprisoned for revolutionary activities. A brilliant military strategist, he organized and commanded the Red Army during the Russian Civil War (1918-1922), transforming it from a ragtag force into a formidable fighting machine. Trotsky was also a prolific writer and orator who developed the theory of permanent revolution, arguing that socialist revolutions must spread internationally to succeed. However, he fell out of favor with Joseph Stalin in the mid-1920s and was gradually stripped of his positions, eventually exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929. He spent his final years in exile in Turkey, France, Norway, and Mexico, continuing to write and organize opposition to Stalinism. His assassination in Mexico City by a Stalinist agent marked the violent end of one of the Russian Revolution's most dynamic figures. Trotsky's legacy remains influential in leftist politics and theory worldwide.