On August 20, 1940, Russian revolutionary and Marxist theorist Leon Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico City. A key leader of the October Revolution and second only to Lenin in the early Soviet Union, Trotsky played a pivotal role in shaping the Communist Party. However, his opposition to Joseph Stalin’s rise to power made him a target of the regime. As Stalin consolidated control, Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party and eventually deported from Russia.

Leon Trotsky

While living in exile in Mexico, Trotsky continued his political activism, but his past caught up with him. On this day in 1940, Ramón Mercader, an assassin working for Stalinist forces, attacked Trotsky in his home, striking him in the head with an ice axe. Trotsky succumbed to his injuries the following day. Mercader was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Upon his release, he moved to the Soviet Union, where he was awarded the prestigious Hero of the Soviet Union Medal for his actions.

Trotsky’s assassination marked the end of a complex and influential life, but his ideas and legacy continue to shape leftist movements around the world.