Leon Trotsky Who was he? Once the second most powerful man in the Soviet Union, Trotsky was sidelined and then exiled by Joseph Stalin. When was he assassinated? August 20, 1940. Where was he assassinated? Coyoacan, Mexico City. Who did it? Ramon Mercader, an assassin recruited by Stalin's secret police. Why? Following his deportation in 1929, Trotsky became one of Stalin's fiercest critics. In 1936, Stalin had him condemned to death on treason charges. What happened? Mercader, a Spanish-born communist, was let into Trotsky's heavily defended compound on the pretext of discussing an article. As Trotsky sat down to read, Mercader struck him on the head with an ice axe. What was the consequence? Trotsky's death had symbolic significance but Stalin had already purged all opposition to his rule by the late 1930s.
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KevinA59946 wrote on 31 Mar 2009 5:00 PM
Great programme - Shame they didn't get the year Leon Trotsky was born right. Trotsky was born in 1879 and not 1889 as stated in the programme - Come on Yesterday, if you are going air factual programmes, then at least make sure the facts are correct!!
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