Trotsky Personality/Annotated Timeline

Leon Trotsky, born Lev Davidovich Bronstein in Yanovka (Southern Ukraine). Trotsky was born in a prosperous Jewish farming family and while Trotsky's father, David Leontyevich Bronstein was illiterate and poorly educated he encouraged Trotsky into education and away from his Jewish background. Trotsky was sent to Odessa to begin his education and in his last years of schooling his family moved to Nikolayev in 1896 where his life as a revolutionary began to take shape.

Trotsky began skipping school at the age of 17 to discuss politics with exiled officials and read illegal pamphlets and books. Trotsky joined other young men in debates and generated many revolutionary ideas.

Trotsky's carer as a revolutionist began when he started the illegal workers union name "South Russia Workers' Union". The Union grew at an exponential rate and before action could be taken, the Tsar's secret police arrested Trotsky and other founding members of the Workers' Union.

Trotsky was exiled to Serbia where he continued his Marxist education. Trotsky read Marxist and populist newspaper, He also began to share Lenin's beliefs as Trotsky would often study the articles developed by Lenin and other Marxists. Trotsky's superior intellect, writing abilities and influential speeches and articles increased his worldwide reputation and prestige in the socialist revolutionary community. Vladimir Lenin recognized his talent and invited Trotsky to join him in London and work for the Russian Social-Democrat Newspaper, Iskra. It was at this time that Trotsky's intellectual capabilities were refined and became more renown under the wing of Lenin, it is known that Lenin referred to Trotsky as his "Little Eagle". During the second congress of the social democratic party in london the party was split into 2 factions Mensheviks(minority) and Bolsheviks(majority) of which Trotsky found himself alienated from both due to his independent and conflicting ideas of how the revolution should be brought about. Trotsky often criticized Lenin and the Bolsheviks about their ideas and organisational skills, he believed that a dictatorship will be established as a result of the Bolshevik's revolutionary plan.

The atrocities of Bloody Sunday reached all parts of the world and Trotsky decided to return to Russia. In Russia, Trotsky aimed to inspire and encourage workers and civilians to protest and create uprisings to challenge the Tsars power, Trotsky's literacy skills allowed him to convey his Marxist beliefs throughout Russia in the form of pamphlets, newspapers and articles. The revolution of 1905 was led by Trotsky himself and entailed workers' strikes, extreme peasant unrest(400,000) and military mutinies. Norman Lowe speaks of the Revolution as an beginning to the establishment of a constituent assembly, the State Duma Of the Russian Empire, the Multi-Party system and the Russian constitution of 1906.