World History Moment: The Exile Of Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky sings and addresses a huge assemblage during the sessions of the Third International, also known as The Communist International/Comintern, in Moscow in Dec. 1921.
Leon Trotsky sings and addresses a huge assemblage during the sessions of the Third International, also known as The Communist International/Comintern, in Moscow in Dec. 1921. AP Photo
Leon Trotsky sings and addresses a huge assemblage during the sessions of the Third International, also known as The Communist International/Comintern, in Moscow in Dec. 1921.
Leon Trotsky sings and addresses a huge assemblage during the sessions of the Third International, also known as The Communist International/Comintern, in Moscow in Dec. 1921. AP Photo

World History Moment: The Exile Of Leon Trotsky

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After Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, died early in 1924, Leon Trotsky seemed to be his natural successor. But before Lenin’s body was cold, Joseph Stalin was outmaneuvering Trotsky for power. Stalin won the power grab. On Jan.uary 31, 1928, Stalin had Trotsky exiled from Moscow to a remote city in the eastern provinces. Trotsky would eventually make his way to Mexico. But Stalin had a long memory. Historian John Schmidt tells the story.