Differences between Stalin and Trotsky

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Differences between Stalin and Trotsky

A little about the two

Trotsky was born in 1879 into a rather prosperous life. His father was a wealthy Jewish peasant who cared much for his son, especially his academic achievements. He spent a year in the university in Odessa and showed great excellence in mathematics. Alongside this, he also had an interest in politics, and when he was 18 he was a Marxist and a leader of a small revolutionary group. Because of this interest, he was exposed and was sent into exile in Siberia for 4 years. During these four years he attracted the attention of Lenin through his many writings, whom he joined in London in 1902. The two men respected each other but had different views upon which way the Socialist revolution should go. Thus, the party split into the Bolsheviks- Stalin as general secretary in 1922 (rapid socialist revolution) and the Mensheviks (slower socialist revolution), in which Trotsky sided with the Mensheviks. In 1905 Trotsky led an unsuccessful revolution, which revealed his public speaking ability. But, unlike Lenin who built up his political power, Trotsky couldn't gather any organised following which probably explains why it was Lenin and not Trotsky who led the revolution in 1917.

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However, Trotsky learned from his mistakes. He showed considerable organising skills in the civil war when he created the Red Army. He was distrusted and disliked by many in the group, but looked like the most obvious successor to Lenin, at the time.

Trotsky was not a people person, as he once famously quoted "nature and individuals occupied a lesser place then books and ideas…people passed through my mind like shadows." He was also a very arrogant man, who was very narrow minded, looking at many people as if they were his inferiors. This made him very unpopular with ...

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