This thoroughly revised and updated new edition of Ian D. Thatcher's Trotsky provides students with a clear and accessible introduction to the ideas and political life of Leon Trotsky, one of the key players in the Russian Revolution. Based upon a wealth of primary sources, including previously unpublished material, it works chronologically; from Trotsky's early life as a young revolutionary, to his rise within the Bolsheviks party, his leadership of the Red Army in the Russian Civil War 1918-20, the factures within the Communist Party surrounding the death of Vladimir Lenin and Trotsky's life in exile and assassination in 1940. Ian D. Thatcher discusses Trotsky's vision of Marxism and how his views differed from those of his comrades, Lenin and Joseph Stalin to give students an understanding of the complex theoretical side of the Russian Revolution. This new edition includes an extended historiography section in the introduction and conclusion and key thematic questions for students. This book will be essential reading for all students of modern Russia, the Russian Revolution and the history of communism.
