• PugJesus@lemmy.worldOPMEnglish
      22·
      3 months ago

      Leon Trotsky, Communist theorist and revolutionary who led the Red Army in the early days of the Soviet Union. After Lenin died, he came into conflict with Stalin, and ended up going into exile. He was killed by one of Stalin’s assassins in like 1940ish with an icepick.

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    3 months ago

    I occasionally wonder how Russia would have ended up if Trotsky succeeded Lenin instead of Stalin.

    • TranscendentalEmpire@lemm.eeEnglish
      9·
      3 months ago

      The biggest difference would have been avoiding the sino-soviet schism.

      The modern hate within communities like hexbear and ml for Trotsky is kinda ironic given that most of them are fans of Mao. Especially considering the split between Stalin and Trotsky began over what to do with China.

      Stalin wanted to support the KMT, further dividing the country and enabling him to take mongolia and parts of northern China. Trotsky wanted to aid the CCP, and eventually create a global network of communist countries. This ran counter to Stalin’s agenda of communism under one united country.

    • Chocrates@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      3 months ago

      Lenin’s party at least lifted up and used folks like Stalin, so it may have been better but I doubt it would have been “good”.

      I don’t really know a thing about Trotsky though, other than he was Lenin’s chosen successor and then had to flee before getting assassinated

      • NOT_RICK@lemmy.worldEnglish
        9·
        3 months ago

        Trotsky was inclined to empower the workers’ councils (Soviets) to be decision-makers. He was far more democratic than most of the other Bolsheviks. Not saying it would have worked, but I highly doubt it would have been worse than the Stalinist era.

        • Chocrates@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          3 months ago

          Was Trotsky a Russian chauvinism? But based solely on Stalin, it’d be hard to do worse, by whatever measure you have for worse.

      • Gork@lemm.eeEnglish
        2·
        3 months ago

        Dude eventually got ice axed. Definitely not a good way to go.

  • Psaldorn@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    3 months ago

    Recent DDBB assassination tier list pointed out that Trotsky’s death wasn’t that long before the first KFC opened. (I have not fact checked)

    It’s my new KFC head canon now