9. Leon Trotsky survived multiple attempts on his life before succumbing
Leon Trotsky was a Marxist who made the unfortunate mistake of falling out with Josef Stalin, forcing him to flee the Soviet Union in self-imposed exile. However, his communist beliefs and his attempts to spread their ideas to other nations alienated him from host nations, including at one point the United States. In 1936 a show trial was held in the Soviet Union, instigated by Stalin, during which several witnesses “confessed” to conspiring with Trotsky to have Stalin assassinated. Stalin directed the Soviet secret police – the NKVD – to eliminate Trotsky, who was by then living in Mexico, in deteriorating health. Stalin ordered an attempt on Trotsky’s life in early 1939, which failed, and another was planned by NKVD agents using three different teams, one of which was led by Ramon Mercader.
On May 24, 1940, another assassination was attempted, which Trotsky survived unharmed when his bodyguards repulsed the attackers. Trotsky’s grandson was injured and one of his guards was carried off by the attackers and later murdered. In August, 1940, Mercader attacked Trotsky in his home. His weapon of choice was an ice axe, with which he struck a blow which failed to kill the Russian. Trotsky, it was later reported, responded by spitting on his assailant and grappling with him. Mercader’s hand was broken in the altercation. Trotsky died just over 24 hours later, of loss of blood following a botched surgery. The total number of assassination attempts he survived before the fatal attack is disputed by historians of the Soviet Union, but at least a dozen were ordered by Stalin alone.