In one of the most notorious acts of political intrigue in modern history, Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky was assassinated just outside Mexico City on this day in 1940. Trotsky was one of the big brains behind the communists who seized power over Russia in 1917. But political winds often change in an instant, and within a decade he was considered an enemy of the state after losing a power struggle over the future of the Soviet Union.
Trotsky was a beloved figure to many in the country, having helped pull Russia out of World War I, which had destroyed the country’s economy and military and left Russians with hungry stomachs and crushed spirits. He also led the military to success in the civil war that followed the communists’ rise to power.
Trotsky was seen as the natural successor to Soviet head honcho Vladimir Lenin, but Joseph Stalin quickly shoved him aside in 1924 when the “dear leader” died. Stalin quickly consolidated power and transformed the government into an even more intense military dictatorship.
Trotsky loudly objected to the new government, advocating for more democratic governance and smarter economic planning. Stalin responded by stripping him of any political power, destroying his reputation, and exiling him from the USSR. The disgraced politician bounced around the world, writing vicious condemnations of the Stalinist regime, before gaining asylum in Mexico. He managed to evade one assassination attempt but was killed in 1940 with an ice ax by a supposed family friend; the Soviet Union (unconvincingly) denied responsibility.
