Leon Trotsky Biography Essay

Leon Trotsky effectively and concisely summarized his life’s work in one sentence: “Ideas that enter the mind under fire remain there securely and forever” (“Leon Trotsky Biography”). Trotsky spent much of his life fighting to make his beliefs a reality and gaining many followers along the way. The “fire” that ignited in his mind continued to burn throughout his life as evidenced by the various organizations in existence that stemmed from his beliefs. Leon Trotsky was an activist who stood for communism and who accomplished a multitude of political feats.
Leon Trotsky was born Lev Davidovich Bronstein to David and Anna Bronstein on November 7, 1879, in Yanovka, Ukraine (“Leon Trotsky Biography”). The first eight years of his schooling were completed in Odessa with subsequent education in Nikolayev in 1896 (“Leon Trotsky”). It was here that Trotsky was introduced

to Marxism (“Leon Trotsky”), an ideology that would prove instrumental in setting his course in life. Soon after, he began his revolutionary activity. In 1898, Trotsky was exiled to Siberia for his part in the founding of the Southern Russian Worker’s Union (“Leon Trotsky Biography”). In the four years he spent in prison, Trotsky married Aleksandra Sokolovskaya, his co conspirator, and fathered two daughters (“Leon Trotsky Biography”). In 1902, Trotsky abandoned his family and escaped exile using forged papers to change his name to Leon Trotsky (“Leon Trotsky”), a name which would go down in history. He made his way to London, England, where he joined the Socialist Democratic Party and met Vladimir Lenin (“Leon Trotsky Biography”). Trotsky was on his way to making big waves in Russia.
Leon Trotsky was above all a communist- a person who believes in an equal society. Influenced by Karl Marx, Trotsky developed his own theory based on communism. At the center of his theory was the idea of “permanent revolution” (Markey, Dell). “Permanent revolution” was the concept that Russia's Communist revolution should spread to countries all over the world until they became a “worker's paradise”(Markey, Dell). As evidenced by his theories, Trotsky was an advocate for Russia's working class and believed that they alone had the power to bring about significant change. Similar to various others influenced by Marxism, Trotsky was an atheist. Of religion, he said “Religions are illogical primitive ignorance. There is nothing as ridiculous and tragic as a religious government” (“Leon Trotsky” AZ). All of Trotsky's theories combined came to be known as Trotskyism.
Leon Trotsky's early revolutionary pursuits and his idealistic theories put him in the center of Russian politics.

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

end.
Unfortunately, Leon Trotsky was killed by Ramon Mercador, “an undercover agent for the Soviet Union's secret police” (“Leon Trotsky Biography”) on August 20, 1940 in Mexico. His life might have turned out differently had he not followed his passion but as he famously said “The end may justify the means, as long as there is something that justifies the end” (“Leon Trotsky Biography”). Whether the end or the means were justified is debatable, but one thing if for certain: Leon Trotsky impacted history.