Thread: Who was Leon?

Was on a blog, that had some pretty heavy conversing. Wondering if anyone here has any opinions on Leon Trotsky.
Who was he, did he have power, was he good/bad?

Trotsky was the idealist in the Russian Revolution, Lenin the leader, Stalin the muscle. In the end he was not wise enough politically to succeed and was assassinated by Stalin. Trotsky had power in his ideas (which spoke to other idealists), but not in military might nor in political strategy and that is why he ended up exiled to Mexico where he got a pick axe through the skull as a parting gift from the USSR.

He had an affair with Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and was apparently the heart throb of "The Revolution" (bunch of prize picks those bastards were, horrid facial hair, ugly glasses, ill fitting suits, not bathing regularly).

He was one of those Communists that was always on about how "Well we haven't tried it the right way yet"....well the Soviets tried Lenin, then Stalin, they completely skipped Trotsky's "right way" and so he remains like another guy who never led a country Ernesto Che Guevara....loved by the idealists and scoffed at by pragmatics like me.

Trotksy, Lenin, Stalin -okay they were all in the same timeframe. So Russians were having infighting amongst each other? No national pride as Russians? Or was nationalism not a mindset rather idealism?

Were they apart of what was the Triple Entente? Or they left during it?

This is a quote -


In response to Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia in 1914, Russian government officials denounced the Austro-Hungarian invasion as an "ignoble war" on a "weak country

Russian government official Nikolaĭ N. Shebeko stated: "the attack on Serbia by a powerful empire such as Austria, supposedly in order to defend its existence, cannot be understood by anyone in my country; it has been considered simply as a means of delivering a death-blow to Serbia
....in the Balkans
On 30 July 1914, Russia enacted a general mobilization. The day after general mobilization was enacted, Austria-Hungary's ally Germany declared war on Russia prior to expected Russian intervention against Austria-Hungary.

Following a raid by Ottoman warships on the Russian port of Odessa, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire in November 1914

So America was down with Russia during this time? Or is this a different timeframe from the days of Leon? Much earlier?

Russia is a relatively new nation much like Germany (formerly Prussia). They grew into a nation under the Tsars. The Revolution was the Whites (royal family) vs the Reds (communists Bolshevik and Menshevik). Tsar Nicholas II was inept and cruel as a leader and due to his failure to even keep the Russo - Japanese War close AND getting pulled into The Great War with a starving nation he got a revolution and lost.

Yes the Russians were allied with the Serbs in The Great War so when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia the Russians were in. France is deeply allied with Russia at this time and England sides with them because mutual enemy Germany wanted the greatest navy. The United States remained out for a while and oddly enough there had almost been a build up to war with England and Canada (how silly!).

He was Karl Marx's horse.





Trotsky ..... Gedditgeddit. Line em up and I'll knock em over, Badum-tish

Got me a class here, thx.

YOU'RE NOT DYIN', YOU'RE KILLING THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU!!

I have learned something today Prussia was Germany, I always thought it was Russia with a P.

Originally Posted by Master

I have learned something today Prussia was Germany, I always thought it was Russia with a P.

Saddo has a little bit of knowledge to offer. Just a little.