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Section III (Personalities): Leon Trotsky, Revolutionary and Theorist of Permanent Revolution
Quick questions on Trotsky early life and Marxist formation: HSC Modern History Personality
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is the 1903 London Congress?Show answer
The Second Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) met in Brussels and London in July-August 1903. The decisive dispute was over Article 1 of the Party Statutes: whether a Party member was someone who recognised the programme and worked under Party direction (Lenin), or someone who recognised the programme and cooperated under Party guidance (Martov). Trotsky sided with Martov and the future Mensheviks on the organisational question.
What is marriage to Natalia Sedova?Show answer
In Paris in 1903 Trotsky met Natalia Ivanovna Sedova, a Russian Marxist student. They became life partners in 1904 (Trotsky was never formally divorced from Sokolovskaya). Sedova would be at Trotsky's side through revolution, civil war, exile, and assassination.
What is q1?Show answer
Source A is an extract from Trotsky's My Life (1930) on the 1898 Nikolayev arrest. Using Source A and your own knowledge, explain Trotsky's political formation before 1905. [5 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Evaluate the extent to which Trotsky's pre-1917 political marginality shaped his later position in the Bolshevik party. [25 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Compare the views of Isaac Deutscher and Robert Service on the early Trotsky. [10 marks]
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