Leon Trotsky was a Bolshevik leader and one of the most prominent figures of the Russian revolution. Trotsky had been in exile abroad during the February Revolution, but he returned to Russia in May of 1917. Upon his arrival, he closely aligned himself with his supposed good buddy Lenin, and joined the Bolshevik Party during the summer. Trotsky headed what was called the Revolutionary Military Committee, which among other things, provided the military muscle needed for the October Revolution. After the revolution, he was appointed commissar of foreign affairs and led Russia’s negotiations with Germany and Austria for the armistice and subsequent peace treaty that made possible Russia’s exit from World War I. Trotsky unwisely opposed Joseph Stalin on a number of issues which didn’t exactly endear him to the Soviet leader. Trotsky was eventually deported and made his way to Mexico where he became friends with the famous Mexican painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera (I always thought the trendy popular Kahlo was massively overrated, but that’s another story)…there were several unsuccessful attempts on Trotsky’s life. He might have been alright if he kept a low profile, but he kept agitating Stalin in statements and written articles. On August 20th, 1940, Trotsky was attacked by Ramón Mercader who used an ice axe as a weapon (ouch!). He hit Trotsky with a blow to his head but it failed to kill Trotsky (shades of Rasputin) , as Mercader had intended. Witnesses to the attacks said that Trotsky spat on his attacker and engaged in a fierce fight with him. This resulted in Mercader's hand getting busted. Hearing all the commotion, Trotsky's bodyguards burst into the room and nearly killed Mercader, but the benevolent Trotsky asked them to stop. Actually, he had an ulterior motive. He wanted the would-be assassin to answer questions. Trotsky was taken to a hospital and operated on and he survived for more than a day before succumbing at the age of 60 as a result of extensive blood loss and severe brain injuries. Mercader spent 20 years in a Mexican prison for the crime. Once he got out, he was hailed as a hero of the people in the Soviet Union and then he lived out his life in Cuba. Mercader was wary of Trotsky even after death His supposed final words were; “I hear it always. I hear the scream. I know he’s waiting for me on the other side.”. Maybe Trotsky was waiting for him in the spirit world to extract some sort of revenge.
