Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky was one of the most prominent leaders of the Russian Revolution in 1917. He was one of the primary contenders for the leadership of the Bolshevik Party in 1922 after the death of Lenin. When Stalin took this post, Trotsky swiftly concluded that the Revolution had been undermined. He was expelled from the Communist Party in 1927 and subsequently went into exile in Mexico, where he was assassinated by Soviet agents in 1940.Kunal Chattopadhyay is Professor at the Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University. He is the author of The Marxism of Leon Trotsky (2006).Paul Le Blanc is an activist and acclaimed American historian teaching at La Roche University, Pennsylvania. A conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, his politics were at odds with the establishment from a young age. He has written extensively on the history of the labor and socialist movements of the United States and Europe, including books on Lenin, Trotsky, Luxemburg and the importance of the revolutionary collective.

• ContentsIntroductionSection 1: Revolutionary Russia and Bureaucratic Dictatorship 1. In Defense of October 2. Stalinism and Bolshevism3. Letter to Soviet Workers Section 2: Fascism and United Front4. What Is National Socialism 5. Letter to a German Worker (United Front for Defense) 6. Lessons of SpainSection 3: Anti-Imperialism and National Struggle7. Closer to the Proletarians of Colored Races8. The Chinese Revolution 9. Letter to the Workers of India 10. Mexico and British Imperialism 11. Nationalized Industry12. On Black Nationalism (excerpts) Section 4: Summing Up, Looking to the Future13. Transitional Program (excerpts)14. Trade Unions in the Epoch of Imperialist Decay15. TestamentNotesIndex

'Out of the vast ideological arsenal he produced, Trotsky always considered that his most important works were those from his years in exile, which remain essential reading for those seeking to bring about fundamental change today'