3. Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky was one of the most influential people in Russia during the Communist Revolution. Trotsky was one of the key Russian communist intellectuals, and had proven himself on the battlefield, helping to repel a Cossack counter attack. Along with Lenin, Trotsky was also key for shoring up power within the Bolshevik Party.
In fact, Trotsky’s influence within emerging Communist Russia was so great that when Lenin died in 1924 many assumed that Trotsky would assume leadership. However, in the ensuing power struggle it was Joseph Stalin who seized control. Stalin’s vision for Soviet Russia relied on a large bureaucracy and centralized power. Trotsky, however, believe in a much more open society driven by debate and intellectual engagement.
When Trotsky lost, he was exiled to Turkey, and eventually made his way to Mexico City. He didn’t go or live quietly, however, and quickly became one of the most vocal anti-Stalin critics. His steady barrage of criticism throughout the 1930’s convinced Stalin to have him assassinated.
In 1936 Trotsky was tried in absentia in Moscow for plotting to kill Stalin. Several other old-guard Bolsheviks were also tried and charged. Many of them confessed to plotting with Trotsky to assassinate Stalin. All were sentenced to death, as was Trotsky.
On May 24th 1940, armed assassins stormed Trotsky’s villa in Mexico City. Armed body guards were able to beat the attackers back, but a body guard and young assistant were captured and later killed. Trotsky’s grandson was also injured, having been shot in the foot.
On August 20th, a Spanish Communist by the name of Ramón Mercader gained entry into the villa and attacked Trotsky with an ice pick. Trotsky was injured but managed to fight with Mercader long enough for his bodyguards to intervene.
Trotsky demanded that Mercader be left alive so he could be questioned. He then went to the hospital, was operated on, but ended up dying just a day later.