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Section III (Personalities): Leon Trotsky, Revolutionary and Theorist of Permanent Revolution
Quick questions on Trotsky and the October Revolution: HSC Modern History Personality
8short 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 return from New York?Show answer
Trotsky was in New York at the outbreak of the February Revolution, editing the Russian socialist paper Novy Mir with Bukharin and Volodarsky. He left New York on 27 March 1917 (New Style) on the SS Kristianiafjord. The British navy interned him at Amherst, Nova Scotia from 3 April to 29 April 1917, on suspicion of being a German agent. After Provisional Government protests he was released and arrived in Petrograd on 4 May 1917 (Old Style 17 May).
What is the Petrograd Soviet chairmanship?Show answer
The Petrograd Soviet gained a Bolshevik majority on 31 August 1917. Trotsky was elected chair of the Petrograd Soviet on 25 September 1917, the position he had occupied for 50 days in 1905. The chairmanship gave him institutional command of the city's workers' and soldiers' deputies and a public platform second only to the Provisional Government's.
What is 24-25 October 1917?Show answer
The seizure of power began on the night of 24 October 1917 (New Style 6-7 November) after the Provisional Government attempted to close two Bolshevik papers and to arrest the MRC leadership. Trotsky directed operations from the Smolny Institute. By the morning of 25 October the MRC controlled the bridges, the telephone exchange, the post office, the railway stations, the State Bank, and the major streets. The Winter Palace fell late in the night of 25-26 October.
What are the Second Congress of Soviets?Show answer
The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets opened at Smolny at 10:40 PM on 25 October 1917. Mensheviks and Right SRs walked out in protest at the armed seizure. Trotsky met the walkout with the famous line, "You are a pitiful handful of bankrupts. Your role is played out.
What is lenin's later assessment?Show answer
In the "Letter to the Congress" of December 1922 (commonly called Lenin's Testament), Lenin wrote: "Comrade Trotsky, as his struggle against the Central Committee on the question of the People's Commissariat of Transport has already proved, is distinguished not only by outstanding ability. He is personally perhaps the most capable man in the present Central Committee."
What is q1?Show answer
Source A is an extract from Sukhanov's Russian Revolution (1922) on Trotsky in October 1917. Using Source A and your own knowledge, explain Trotsky's role in the October Revolution. [5 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Evaluate the extent to which Trotsky was the decisive leader of the October Revolution. [25 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
Compare the views of Alexander Rabinowitch and Robert Service on Trotsky in October 1917. [10 marks]