Trotsky Assassinated: Stalin's Rival Dies in Mexico
Ramon Mercader strikes Leon Trotsky with an ice axe in his Mexico City study, ending the life of the exiled radical who had long warned against Stalin's rise. This brutal assassination silences a major voice of opposition within the communist movement and solidifies Stalin's control over the international left for decades to come.
August 20, 1940
86 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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