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Communist Party of the Soviet Union

2011-04-20T13:28:23Z

Trotskyist:

[[File:Hammernsickleredonwhite.svg|thumb|200px]]
'''Communist Party of the Soviet Union''' or '''CPSU''' ('''ÐšÐ¾Ð¼Ð¼ÑƒÐ½Ð¸ÑÑ‚Ð¸Ñ‡ÐµÑÐºÐ°Ñ ÐŸÐ°Ñ€Ñ‚Ð¸Ñ Ð¡Ð¾Ð²ÐµÑ‚ÑÐºÐ¾Ð³Ð¾ Ð¡Ð¾ÑŽÐ·Ð°''' '''ÐšÐŸÐ¡Ð¡''') was the only [[political party]] in the [[USSR]]. The [[government]] was controlled by the party structure.

==See also==
* [[Stalinism]]
* [[Communist Party of Russian Federation]]

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[[Category:Soviet Union]][[Category:Political parties]][[Category:Communist organizations]][[Category:Stubs]][[Category:European Communist organizations]][[Category:Asian Communist organizations]]

Leon Trotsky

2011-04-20T13:26:32Z

Trotskyist: /* External links */

'''Leon Davidovich Trotsky''' ([[Russian language|Russian]]: Лев Давидович Троцкий; also [[transliteration|transliterated]] ''Trotskii'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotzky'') (October 26 ([[Julian calendar|O.S.]]) = [[November 07]] ([[Gregorian calendar|N.S.]]), [[1879]] - [[August 21]], [[1940]]), born '''Lev Davidovich Bronstein''' (Лев Давидович Бронштейн), was a [[Bolshevik]] revolutionary and [[Marxism|Marxist]] intellectual. He was an influential politician in the early [[Soviet Union]], first as [[People's Commissar]] for Foreign Affairs and then as the founder and commander of the [[Red Army]] and People's Commissar of War. He was also a founding member of the [[Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee|Politburo]]. Following a power struggle with [[Joseph Stalin]] in the [[1920s]], Trotsky was expelled from the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]] and deported from the Soviet Union; he was later murdered in [[Mexico]] by a Soviet agent. Trotsky's ideas form the basis of the [[communism|communist]] theory of [[Trotskyism]].

== Early days ==

His date of birth in the [[Gregorian calendar]] is [[November 07]] – the same day as the [[Russian revolution|Soviet revolution]] of [[1917]]. Since the [[Julian calendar]] was replaced in [[1918]], his date of death is that of the [[Gregorian calendar]]. He was born in [[Yanovka]], [[Kherson Province]], [[Ukraine]], the son of a farmer, David Bronstein, of [[Judaism|Jewish]] background. He was sent at age 8 by his father to [[Odessa]] for education and was transferred to [[Mykolayiv|Nikolayev]] six years later.

== Revolutionary activity ==

He was first introduced to [[Marxism]] in [[1896]], whilst at school in [[Mykolayiv|Nikolayev]] studying [[mathematics]]. He was first arrested in [[1898]] while working as an organizer for the [[South Russian Workers' Union]]. He was sentenced to two years in prison. During this time, he married his first wife, [[Aleksandra Sokolovskaya]]. In [[1900]] he was sentenced to four years in exile in [[Siberia]], where his first two daughters were born. He escaped from Siberia, taking the name Trotsky from a former jailer in [[Odessa]], and proceeded to [[London]] to join [[Vladimir Lenin]], then managing editor of the [[Russian Social Democratic Labor Party]] newspaper ''[[Iskra]]''.

He attended the [[Second Congress]] of the RSDLP in London in the summer of [[1903]], and in the internal dispute which split the party, sided with the [[Mensheviks]] against Lenin. Although his allegiance to the Mensheviks was short-lived, the damage to his relationship with Lenin lasted for the next 14 years.

By [[1905]], he had returned to [[Russia]]. He was elected Chairman of the [[St. Petersburg Soviet of Workers' Deputies]]. His involvement in the October general strike and his support for that armed rebellion led to his conviction and sentence to exile for life. In January [[1907]], he escaped en route to exile and once again made his way to London, where he attended the [[Fifth Party Congress]]. In October, he moved to [[Vienna]], where he edited a Social Democratic paper called ''Pravda'', which was smuggled into Russia. It was one of numerous short-lived revolutionary ''Pravdas'' and had no connection with the official paper of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|CPSU]] (see ''[[Pravda]]'').

As war approached, Trotsky moved to neutral [[Switzerland]], then to [[France]]. He was deported from France and was living in [[New York City]] when the February [[1917]] [[Russian Revolution]] removed [[Nicholas II of Russia|Tsar Nicholas II]]. He returned in May of that year to Russia as a supporter of the [[Bolshevik]] position, formally joining the faction a few months later. Trotsky was actively involved in efforts to overthrow the [[Russian Provisional Government, 1917|Provisional Government]] headed by [[Aleksandr Kerensky]] and was Chair of the Revolutionary Military Committee that planned and implemented the [[October Revolution]].

== After the Russian Revolution ==

After the Bolsheviks came to power, he became the [[People's Commissar]] for Foreign Affairs with the major goal of negotiating peace with [[Germany]] and her allies. But his withdrawal from the talks ([[February 10]], [[1918]]) provoked a German invasion ([[February 18]]), forcing the Soviet regime to sign the highly disadvantageous [[Treaty of Brest-Litovsk]] on [[March 3]]. Trotsky subsequently resigned his diplomatic position. In March, 1918 he was appointed [[People's Commissar]] of Army and Fleet Affairs (Нарком по военным и морским делам, Нарком армии и флота) (1918-1925). In September 1918 he was appointed Chairman of [[Revolutionary Military Council]] (Реввоенсовет) of the Republic. 
As founder and commander of the [[Red Army]], he was largely responsible for their success over the [[White Army]] and victory in the lengthy and violent [[Russian Civil War]]. 
In [[March]] [[1921]] he organised and directed the suppression of the [[Kronstadt Rebellion]], famous as the last major revolt against [[Bolshevik]] rule and an important event in the history of [[Libertarian socialist]] and [[Anarchism|Anarchist]] struggle. 
With the illness and death of Lenin, [[Joseph Stalin]] was able to consolidate his control of the Party and the government. At this point, Trotsky was unable or unwilling to actively oppose Stalin. By remaining silent at the [[Twelfth Party Congress]] in 1923, particularly on the issue of the suppressed [[Lenin's Testament|Testament of Lenin]] that called for Stalin's removal, Trotsky lost his last real opportunity to oppose Stalin, who, along with [[Lev Kamenev]] and [[Grigory Zinoviev]], was able to take control of the Party. Trotsky and his supporters founded the [[Left Opposition]], which fought within the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]] for several years against Stalin's platform and leadership.

Trotsky put forward the theory of '[[Permanent Revolution]]' and an internationalist perspective, which stood in stark contrast to Stalin's policy of building '[[Socialism in One Country]]'. He also put forward an argument for rapid industrialization of the economy and abandonment of the [[New Economic Policy]] while Stalin, allied with [[Bukharin]], argued for gradual industrialization and retention of the NEP. This ideological division provided much of the intellectual basis for the political divide between Trotsky and Stalin, which culminated on [[November 12]], [[1927]] when he was expelled from the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Soviet Communist Party]] (leaving Stalin with undisputed control of the Soviet Union). He was exiled to [[Alma Ata]] (now in [[Kazakhstan]]) on [[January 31]], [[1928]]. He was expelled from the Soviet Union in [[1929]].

Following Trotsky's defeat, Stalin turned against Bukharin and appropriated much of Trotsky's domestic economic policy, although he implemented it in a manner criticised for being overly violent and authoritarian.

== In exile ==

Trotsky was deported in [[1928]]. His first station in exile was the [[Turkey|Turkish]] island of [[Prinkipo]], where he stayed four years. In [[1933]] he was offered asylum in [[France]] by [[Ã‰douard Daladier|Daladier]]. He stayed first at [[Royan]], then at [[Barbizon]]. He was not allowed to visit Paris. In [[1935]] it was implied to him that he was no longer welcome in France and, after weighting alternatives, he moved to [[Norway]], where he was a guest of [[Konrad Knudsen]] near [[Oslo]]. After two years, allegedly under influence from the Soviet Union, he was put under house arrest. After consultations with the Norwegian officials, his transfer to [[Mexico]] on a freighter was arranged.

In Mexico, he lived at one point at the home of the painter [[Diego Rivera]], and at another at that of [[Frida Kahlo]]. He was a prolific writer penning several key works including his ''[http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1930-hrr/index.htm History of the Russian Revolution]'' ([[1930]]) and ''[http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/works/1936-rev/index.htm The Revolution Betrayed]'' ([[1936]]), a critique of the Soviet Union under [[Stalinism]]. Trotsky argued that the Soviet state had become a ''[[degenerated workers' state]]'' controlled by an undemocratic bureaucracy, which would eventually either be overthrown via a second proletarian socialist revolution or degenerate to the point where it reverts to capitalism (as it has today).

In [[1938]], Trotsky and his supporters founded an international [[Marxist]] organization, the [[Fourth International]], which was intended to be a [[Trotskyism|Trotskyist]] alternative to the Stalinist [[Comintern|Third International]]. Trotsky eventually quarreled with Rivera and in [[1939]] moved into his own residence in [[CoyoacÃ¡n]] (a neighborhood in [[Mexico City]]). On [[May 24]], [[1940]], he survived a raid on his home by alleged Stalinist assassins. Later, on [[August 20]], 1940, Trotsky was successfully attacked in his home by a Stalinist agent, [[RamÃ³n Mercader]], who drove the pick of an [[ice axe]] (whose shaft had been drastically shortened in order to allow the weapon to be concealed), into Trotsky's skull. The blow was poorly delivered, however, and failed to kill Trotsky instantly as Mercader had intended. Witnesses have stated that Trotsky let out a blood-curdling cry and began struggling fiercely with Mercader. Hearing the commotion, Trotsky's bodyguards burst into the room and nearly killed Mercader, but Trotsky stopped them, shouting, "Do not kill him! This man has a story to tell." Trotsky died the next day.

Mercader later testified at his trial: "I laid my raincoat on the table in such a way as to be able to remove the ice axe which was in the pocket. I decided not to miss the wonderful opportunity that presented itself.
The moment Trotsky began reading the article, he gave me my chance; I took out the ice axe from the raincoat, gripped it in my hand and, with my eyes closed, dealt him a terrible blow on the head."

Trotsky's house in CoyoacÃ¡n was preserved in much the same condition as it was on the day of the assassination and is now a museum. His grave is in its grounds.

Trotsky was never formally rehabilitated by the Soviet government, despite the [[Glasnost]]-era rehabilitation of most other [[Old Bolshevik]]s killed during the [[Great Purges]].

== Theory ==

=== Trotskyism ===
''Main article: [[Trotskyism]].''

==== Permanent Revolution ====
''Main article: [[Permanent Revolution]].''

==== Transitional Program ====
''Main article: [[Transitional Program]].''

== Related articles ==

*[[Stalinism]]
*[[History of Russia]], a series of articles.
*[[Labor army]]
*[[David Ives]] wrote a satirical one-act play entitled ''Variations on the Death of Trotsky'', included in the collection ''[[All in the Timing]]''

==References==
* ''The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History,'' Volume 39, published by Academic International Press
* ''Trotsky, the Eternal Revolutionary'' by Dimitri Volkogonov published by the Free Press in [[1996]].
* ''The Mind of an Assassin'', by [[Isaac Don Levine]], New York: New American Library/Signet Book, [[1960]].
* [[Isaac Deutscher]] wrote a largely sympathetic biography of Trotsky, in three volumes, titled ''Trotsky: The Prophet Armed'' ([[1954]]), ''Trotsky: The Prophet Unarmed'' ([[1959]]), and ''Trotsky: The Prophet Outcast'' ([[1963]]). Also see his book ''Ironies of History'' ([[1966]]).
* Dave Renton - ''Trotsky'' ([[2004]])

==External links==
*[http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/index.htm Trotsky archive] at [[Marxists.org]] (under [[GFDL]]-license)
*[http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/trotsky.htm FBI records relating to Trotsky's murder]
*[http://www.trotsky.net Writings and Marxist analysis]
*[http://www.marxist.net/trotsky/life/life.htm Forty Years Since Leon Trotsky’s Assassination] by Lyn Walsh
*[http://www.marxist.com/LeninAndTrotsky/ Lenin and Trotsky - What they Really Stood For] by [[Alan Woods]] and [[Ted Grant]]
*[http://www.socialistworld.net/index2.html?/eng/2000/05d.html Trotsky's Relevance Today] by [[Peter Taaffe]]
*[http://geocities.com/deweytextsonline/isr.htm Impressions of Soviet Russia, by John Dewey]
*[http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUStrotsky.htm Trotsky Biography] From Spartacus Educational

{{wikipedia|Trotsky}}

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[[Category:Leninists]]
[[Category:Marxists]]
[[Category:Trotskyism]]

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Leon Trotsky

2011-04-20T13:26:00Z

Trotskyist: /* External links */

Totalitarianism

2011-04-20T13:24:01Z

Trotskyist:

Totalitarianism consists of any social system in which the de facto government controls virtually every aspect of the people's lives. All of them include lack of democratic workers' control over the means of production and widespread use of violence against the opponents.
Totalitarianism is the antithesis of [[freedom]]. There are many different possible types of totalitarianism.

Forms of totalitarian government include [[fascism]], [[Stalinism]] and [[theocracy]].

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[[Category:Forms of government]]

Category:Stalinism

2011-04-20T13:22:24Z

Trotskyist:

[[Category:Communism]]
[[Category:Soviet Union]]

Category:Stalinism

2011-04-20T13:21:17Z

Trotskyist: New page: Category:Communism

[[Category:Communism]]

Stalinism

2011-04-20T13:20:54Z

Trotskyist:

'''Stalinism''' is a [[totalitarianism|totalitarian]] branch of [[socialism]] developed and implemented in the [[Soviet Union]] by [[Joseph Stalin]]. After his death, the worst forms of totalitarian rule were condemned by [[Nikita Khrushchev]].

==Trotskyist perspective==

[[Leon Trotsky]] has developed a theory, explaining Stalinism in Marxian terms. According to him, Stalinism was not a form of socialism because of lack of any democratic workers' control. Instead, the system was run by a parasitic bureaucracy whcih did not constitute a [[social class]] on it own. The bureaucracy eventually initiated a transition to [[capitalism]], to ensure their own domination in the economy.

Stalinist USSR was therefore described by Trotsky as a degenerated workers' state. States based on the Soviet model are sometimes descibed as deformed workers' states because they have never been healthy workers' states.

[[Category:Stalinism]]