Trotsky’s Ascent
From “Permanent Revolution: A History of Trotsky’s Russia” by Pavel Nikolayevsky
When Karl Marx first penned “Das Kapital”, he had no idea what monsters he would inspire. While it is reasonable to believe that Marx had good intentions at heart, his teachings would become the basis for one of the most murderous ideologies in the history of mankind. The ideology of communism would be used as the justification for unimaginable atrocities committed by among the most reviled tyrants in history. Long after Marx was dead, Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks would overthrow the Russian Empire[1], plunging Russia into civil war and creating the world’s first communist state.
After Lenin’s death, his fellow Bolsheviks squabbled over who should succeed him. In the end, three main candidates emerged to replace Lenin; Nikolai Bukharin, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky. Bukharin was quickly eclipsed by Stalin and Trotsky, and would eventually ally with Stalin against Trotsky. Stalin, who was already the General-Secretary of the Communist Party, and had the backing of the nomenklatura, likely would have succeeded Lenin, if not for what came to be known as “Lenin’s testament.” Lenin’s testament denounced Stalin, stating that he was unfit for any position of major power. It should be noted that some historians believe that Lenin’s testament may have been a forgery on Trotsky’s part. Nevertheless, Trotsky leapt on the opportunity, and successfully discredited Stalin.
Leon Trotsky now found himself the world’s second communist dictator, and would soon find his place in history as a hated despot. It was Marx who founded the communist ideology. It was Lenin who created the world’s first communist regime. And it was Trotsky who would provide the means for communism to spread beyond Russia. Trotsky’s Russia may not be the worst or most infamous of the Comintern Powers, but he played an integral role in spreading the communist ideology to the extent that the Civilzational War became possible. Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, and [redacted] were men of ideas, mad ideologues who had a utopian vision that they would achieve by any means necessary, and the world suffered because of it.
[1]Technically, Lenin overthrew Alexander Kerensky’s Russian Republic, not the Russian Empire
When Karl Marx first penned “Das Kapital”, he had no idea what monsters he would inspire. While it is reasonable to believe that Marx had good intentions at heart, his teachings would become the basis for one of the most murderous ideologies in the history of mankind. The ideology of communism would be used as the justification for unimaginable atrocities committed by among the most reviled tyrants in history. Long after Marx was dead, Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks would overthrow the Russian Empire[1], plunging Russia into civil war and creating the world’s first communist state.
After Lenin’s death, his fellow Bolsheviks squabbled over who should succeed him. In the end, three main candidates emerged to replace Lenin; Nikolai Bukharin, Joseph Stalin, and Leon Trotsky. Bukharin was quickly eclipsed by Stalin and Trotsky, and would eventually ally with Stalin against Trotsky. Stalin, who was already the General-Secretary of the Communist Party, and had the backing of the nomenklatura, likely would have succeeded Lenin, if not for what came to be known as “Lenin’s testament.” Lenin’s testament denounced Stalin, stating that he was unfit for any position of major power. It should be noted that some historians believe that Lenin’s testament may have been a forgery on Trotsky’s part. Nevertheless, Trotsky leapt on the opportunity, and successfully discredited Stalin.
Leon Trotsky now found himself the world’s second communist dictator, and would soon find his place in history as a hated despot. It was Marx who founded the communist ideology. It was Lenin who created the world’s first communist regime. And it was Trotsky who would provide the means for communism to spread beyond Russia. Trotsky’s Russia may not be the worst or most infamous of the Comintern Powers, but he played an integral role in spreading the communist ideology to the extent that the Civilzational War became possible. Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, and [redacted] were men of ideas, mad ideologues who had a utopian vision that they would achieve by any means necessary, and the world suffered because of it.
[1]Technically, Lenin overthrew Alexander Kerensky’s Russian Republic, not the Russian Empire
