Stalin (Trotsky book)

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The cover of the first edition (1946) Trotsky - Stalin ed. Malamuth - 1941 (1946, front cover).jpg
The cover of the first edition (1946)

"Stalin" is a two-volume biography of Joseph Stalin, written by Leon Trotsky between 1938 and 1940. The second volume was not completed because of the author's murder. The publication of the book was delayed by the publisher because of the American entry into World War II - the work was published only when the Cold War began: it was edit by Charles Malamuth and first published in 1946. The book has a strong anti-Stalinist message: the Soviet leader is accused of committing a number of crimes, including poisoning of Vladimir Lenin. Translated into many languages; first published in the USSR in 1990 and became a bestseller. In 2016, a new edition was published by Alan Woods in English. Woods added 100,000 words, had "Malamuth's political distortions removed" and created "The most complete version ever in any language". [1]

Joseph Stalin Soviet leader

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet politician who led the Soviet Union from the mid–1920s until 1953 as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1922–1952) and Premier (1941–1953). Despite initially governing the Soviet Union as part of a collective leadership, he eventually consolidated power to become the country's de facto dictator by the 1930s. A communist ideologically committed to the Leninist interpretation of Marxism, Stalin formalised these ideas as Marxism–Leninism, while his own policies are known as Stalinism.

Leon Trotsky Marxist revolutionary from Russia

Leon Trotsky was a Soviet revolutionary, Marxist theorist, and politician whose particular strain of Marxist thought is known as Trotskyism.

Military history of the United States during World War II American military actions taken leading up to and during the Second World War

The military history of the United States in World War II covers the war against the Axis powers, starting with the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. During the first two years of World War II, the United States had maintained formal neutrality as made official in the Quarantine Speech delivered by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1937, while supplying Britain, the Soviet Union, and China with war material through the Lend-Lease Act which was signed into law on 11 March 1941, as well as deploying the U.S. military to replace the British invasion forces in Iceland. Following the "Greer incident" Roosevelt publicly confirmed the "shoot on sight" order on 11 September 1941, effectively declaring naval war on Germany and Italy in the Battle of the Atlantic. In the Pacific Theater, there was unofficial early U.S. combat activity such as the Flying Tigers.

Contents

Summary

The book begins with an unfinished introduction where Trotsky attempts to prove his objectivity in relation to the events in the rest of the book, however was never finished due to his assassination. [2] Trotsky spends the first chapter discussing Stalin's childhood, where he describes the young Stalin as a child who hates authority and whose "hostility was reserved, underhanded, watchful". [3]

Trotsky spends the next few chapters discussing Stalin's increasing role in revolutionary activities with the likes of Vladimir Lenin and Trotsky himself. Many of the revolutionary activities Stalin participated in during the early years of his life were against the Tsarist regime, who ruled Russia at the time. [4] Trotsky is quick to point out the difference between Lenin and Stalin, saying of Lenin, "The idea of making a fetish of the political machine was not only alien but repugnant to his nature." [5] Trotsky contrasts this sentiment of Lenin with a critique of Stalin, saying of him, "His thinking is too slow, his associations too single-tracked, his style too plodding and barren." [6]

Vladimir Lenin Russian politician, communist theorist, and founder of the Soviet Union

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known by his alias Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. Under his administration, Russia and then the wider Soviet Union became a one-party communist state governed by the Russian Communist Party. Ideologically a communist, he developed a variant of Marxism known as Leninism; his ideas were posthumously codified as Marxism–Leninism.

Russian Empire former country, 1721–1917

The Russian Empire was an empire that extended across Eurasia and North America from 1721, following the end of the Great Northern War, until the Republic was proclaimed by the Provisional Government that took power after the February Revolution of 1917.

After a couple of more chapters about Stalin's continued participation in anti-Tsarist movements and increasing popularity among revolutionaries, the section is left unfinished due to Trotsky's murder, only to resume during the period in which Lenin is approaching his death. [7]

Trotsky describes the years leading up to Lenin's death as being full of tension and internal conflict among those in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). [8] Trotsky makes clear throughout the final chapter of the book that Lenin feared Stalin taking control of the Soviet Union after his death. Trotsky posits that Stalin may have been at fault for the poisoning of Lenin that ultimately led to his death and claims the events he outlines in the chapter "were known to no more than seven or eight persons" and that "of that number, besides myself, only Stalin and Molotov are still among the living." [9] With regard to Lenin's successor, Trotsky credits Lenin for saying, "I propose to the comrades to find a way to remove Stalin from that position and appoint to it another man," who would be, "more loyal, more courteous and more considerate to comrades, less capricious, etc.". [10]

Communist Party of the Soviet Union Ruling political party of the Soviet Union

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) was the founding and ruling political party of the Soviet Union. The CPSU was the sole governing party of the Soviet Union until 1990, when the Congress of People's Deputies modified Article 6 of the most recent 1977 Soviet constitution, which had granted the CPSU a monopoly over the political system.

Vyacheslav Molotov Soviet politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs

Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik, and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin. Molotov served as Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars (Premier) from 1930 to 1941, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1939 to 1949 and from 1953 to 1956. He served as First Deputy Premier from 1942 to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev. Molotov was removed from all positions in 1961 after several years of obscurity.

Finally, Trotsky gives his account of the events surrounding Lenin's funeral, for which he was criticized for not being present:

According to a widely disseminated version, I lost power because I was not present at Lenin's funeral. This explanation can hardly be taken seriously. But the fact of my absence at the mourning ceremonies caused many of my friends serious misgivings. In the letter from my oldest son, who was then nearing eighteen, there was a note of youthful despair: I should have come at any price! [11]

Trotsky accuses Stalin of scheduling the funeral in a way to prevent Trotsky from being able to attend:

Stalin maneuvered, deceiving not only me but, so it appears, also his allies of the triumvirate. Stalin was guided in his risky maneuvers by more tangible considerations. He might have feared that I would connect Lenin's death with last year's conversation about poison, would ask the doctors whether poisoning was involved, and demand a special autopsy. It was, therefore, safer in all respects to keep me away until after the body had been embalmed, the viscera cremated and a post mortem examination inspired by such suspicions no longer feasible. [12]

Trotsky's chronology ends with Stalin reading his "oath of fealty" over the bier of Lenin, which Trotsky describes as having "now superseded the Ten Commandments". [12]

Reception

Sketch featured in the New York Times article on "Stalin" -by Trotsky. Vasiliev. Stalin and Lenin. 1917. Vasiliev Sketch.png
Sketch featured in the New York Times article on "Stalin" -by Trotsky. Vasiliev. Stalin and Lenin. 1917.

On April 28, 1946, a New York Times article about the release of Trotsky's book was published. The article provides a thorough summary of the book and offers background information about Trotsky and his assassination. The article mentions the significance of the book during the time:

It now is made available to the public at a moment when the man it attempts to appraise is at the height of his power and influence [13]

The article also makes note of the editing that had to be done to the book as a result of Trotsky's death, resulting in the majority of the book to be about Stalin's youth rather than his time in power:

The rest was compiled by the editor from "largely raw material," with extensive interpolations of his own. The inevitable result is a certain lack of balance. Stalin's earlier years (up to 1917) have received a much fuller and more systematic treatment than his activities since the establishment of the Soviet regime in Russia. Admirable as Mr. Malamuth's editorial work has been, the later part of the book, dealing with the crucial problem of Stalin's rise to power, has remained rather sketchy and leaves some important points insufficiently developed. [13]

Literature

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References

  1. ↑ "Stalin (Clothbound Hardback)". WellRed Books. 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  2. ↑ Trotsky, Leon (1941). Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. United States: Harper & Brothers. pp. xi–xv.
  3. ↑ Trotsky, Leon (1941). Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. U.S.: Harper & Brothers. p. 23.
  4. ↑ Trotsky, Leon (1941). Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. U.S.: Harper & Brothers. pp. 55–84.
  5. ↑ Trotsky, Leon. Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. p. 62.
  6. ↑ Trotsky, Leon. Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. p. 66.
  7. ↑ Trotsky, Leon. Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence.
  8. ↑ Trotsky, Leon. Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. pp. 372–383.
  9. ↑ Trotsky, Leon. Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. p. 373.
  10. ↑ Trotsky, Leon. Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. p. 375.
  11. ↑ Trotsky, Leon. Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. p. 381.
  12. 1 2 Trotsky, Leon. Stalin: An Appraisal of the Man and his Influence. p. 382.
  13. 1 2 Karpovich, Michael (April 28, 1946). ""Stalin" -by Trotsky". The New York Times.
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