Trotsky and the Russian Revolution Supporters of Stalin saw Trotsky as a traitor and renegade. Trotsky’s own supporters saw him as the only true Leninist. In Trotsky and the Russian Revolution, Geoffrey Swain restores Trotsky to his real and central role in the Russian Revolution. In this succinct and comprehensive study, Swain contests that: (cid:116)(cid:1) In the years between 1903 and 1917, it was the ideas of Trotsky, rather than Lenin, which shaped the nascent Bolshevik Party and prepared it for the overthrow of the Tsar. (cid:116)(cid:1) During the autumn of 1917 workers supported Trotsky’s idea of an insurrection carried out by the Soviet, rather than Lenin’s demand for a Party-orchestrated coup d’état. (cid:116)(cid:1) During the Russian Civil War, Trotsky persuaded a sceptical Lenin that the only way to victory was through the employment of officers trained in the Tsar’s army. As well as examining Trotsky’s critique of Stalin’s Russia in the 1930s, this volume probes deeper to explore the ideas which drove Trotsky forward during his years of influence over Russia’s revolutionary politics, discussing such key concepts as how to construct a revolutionary party, how to stage a successful insurrection, how to fight a revolutionary war, and how to build a socialist state. Geoffrey Swain is the Alec Nove Chair in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Glasgow, UK. He has written extensively on the modern history of Russia and Eastern Europe, including biographies of the dissident communists Trotsky (2006) and Tito (2011). Introduction to the series History is the narrative constructed by historians from traces left by the past. Historical enquiry is often driven by contemporary issues and, in conse- quence, historical narratives are constantly reconsidered, reconstructed and reshaped. The fact that different historians have different perspectives on issues means that there is often controversy and no universally agreed ver- sion of past events. Seminar Studies was designed to bridge the gap between current research and debate, and the broad, popular general surveys that often date rapidly. The volumes in the series are written by historians who are not only familiar with the latest research and current debates concerning their topic, but who have themselves contributed to our understanding of the subject. The books are intended to provide the reader with a clear introduction to a major topic in history. They provide both a narrative of events and a critical analysis of contemporary interpretations. They include the kinds of tools generally omitted from specialist monographs: a chronology of events, a glossary of terms and brief biographies of ‘who’s who’. They also include bibliographical essays in order to guide students to the literature on various aspects of the subject. Students and teachers alike will find that the selection of documents will stimulate the discussion and offer insight into the raw materials used by historians in their attempt to understand the past. Clive Emsley and Gordon Martel Series Editors Trotsky and the Russian Revolution Geoffrey Swain First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Geoffrey Swain The right of Geoffrey Swain to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Swain, Geoff, author. Trotsky and the Russian revolution / Geoffrey Swain. pages; cm. – (Seminar studies in history) Includes bibliographical references. 1. Trotsky, Leon, 1879–1940. 2. Soviet Union – History – Revolution, 1917–21. 3. Rossiiskaia kommunisticheskaia partiia (bol?shevikov) I. Title. II. Series: Seminar studies in history. DK254.T6S935 2014 947.084092–dc23 [B] 2013031878 ISBN: 978-0-415-73667-1 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-447-90144-0 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-81715-6 (ebk) Typeset in 10/13.5pt ITC Berkeley by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong Contents List of plates viii Chronology ix Who’s who xi Glossary xiv INTRODUCTION 1 Trotsky in history 1 What is Leninism, what is Trotskyism? 4 1 DEVELOPING A WORLD VIEW 7 Upbringing: from rebel to Marxist 7 Battling with Lenin 11 Living revolution 15 Results and Prospects 20 2 THE TRIUMPH OF THE ‘WORKER INTELLECTUAL’ 27 The party divided 27 Pravda, the voice of the worker intellectual 29 Hope abandoned, hope restored 34 3 LIVING THE REVOLUTION 40 Ending the quarrel with Lenin 40 Checking adventurism, combating reaction 43 Insurrection 46 Results and Prospects in action 51 4 DEFENDING THE REVOLUTION 60 Peasant distrust 60 Building an army 61 Stalin and military specialists 64 Peasants during wartime 69 From command crisis to victory 73 vi TROTSKY AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION 5 BUILDING A WORKERS’ ECONOMY 80 Labour armies 80 War with Poland 82 The Trade Union controversy 84 Planning proposals 86 Planning progress 90 Bureaucratic obstruction of planning 92 6 COMBATING THERMIDOR 97 Deviationist 97 Planning resumed 100 Opposition 104 Towards exile 108 7 CONCLUSION 115 DOCUMENTS 119 1 Report of the Siberian Delegation (1903) 120 2 Our Political Tasks (1904) 121 3 Results and Prospects (1906) 123 4 Pravda no. 2 (17–30 December 1908) 126 5 Pravda no. 16 (24 September 1910) 126 6 Pravda nos. 18–19 (29 January/11 February 1911) 127 7 History of the Russian Revolution (1932) 127 8 Speech to the Soviet Executive (8 December 1917) 128 9 Statement by Trotsky at the Brest-Litovsk Peace Conference on Russia’s withdrawal from the war (28 January 1918) 128 10 Trotsky to Lenin and Sklyanskii (Trotsky’s deputy) (7–9 August 1918) 130 11 Trotsky to Lenin (13 August 1918) 131 12 Trotsky to Lenin (23 August 1918) 131 13 Trotsky to Sverdlov and Lenin (4 October 1918) 131 14 Trotsky to Lenin (13 October 1918) 132 15 Trotsky to the Central Committee (25 December 1918) 132 16 Trotsky to the Central Committee (after 25 March 1919) 133 17 A Letter to the Middle Peasants (6 February 1919) 135 18 Criminal Demagogy (17 July 1919) 136 19 Trotsky to the Central Committee (telegram, 17 February 1920) 138 20 Report to the Third Congress of Trade Unions (9 April 1920) 138 21 Trotsky to the Central Committee plenum (7 August 1921) 141 Contents vii 22 Memorandum to the Politburo on the Party’s involvement in the economy (10 March 1922) 142 23 Trotsky to the Politburo of the Central Committee (21 April 1922) 144 24 Trotsky to the Deputy Chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars and Politburo (23 August 1922) 145 25 Trotsky to the Politburo concerning Stalin’s letter about Gosplan and the Council of Labour and Defence (15 January 1923) 146 26 Trotsky’s report to the Twelfth Congress of the Russian Communist Party (17–25 April 1923) 147 27 The New Course – Bureaucratism and the Revolution (December 1923) 150 28 My Life (1930) 152 29 Declaration of the Thirteen (14 July 1926) 153 BIBLIOGRAPHY 155 INDEX 160 List of plates Plate 1 Leader Leon Trotsky seated with his Bolshevik Party comrades, 1920s Plate 2 Leon Trotsky talking to a young man, 1925 Plate 3 Marxist revolutionary Natalia Sedova (1882–1962), the second wife of Leon Trotsky, c. 1910 Plate 4 Leon Trotsky arriving for peace negotiations with the Germans, Brest- Litovsk, 27 December 1917 Plate 5 Portrait of Leon Trotsky as Commissar of War, c. 1920 Plate 6 Leon Trotsky arrives at Petrograd (St Petersburg) railway station, 1921 Plate 7 Leon Trotsky addressing soldiers of the Red Army at the time of the Russian Revolution, 1917 Plate 8 Leon Trotsky with Natalia Sedova at Sukhumi on the Black Sea, 1924 Chronology 1879 Born 1896 Starts revolutionary activity in Southern Workers’ Union 1898 First arrest, followed by exile to Siberia 1902 Escapes from exile, moves to London and meets Lenin 1903 Attends Second Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) 1905 Revolutionary activity in St Petersburg, briefly President of Petersburg Soviet 1906 Trial for membership of Petersburg Soviet, writes Results and Prospects 1907 Escapes second Siberian exile, attends Fifth Congress of the RSDLP 1908 Settles in Vienna, launches Pravda 1912 Organises Vienna Conference of RSDLP 1912–14 War correspondent during Balkan Wars 1914–16 Moves to Paris, writes for Our Word 1917 January Arrives in New York February Tsar overthrown May Returns to Petrograd summer Negotiates merger with Bolshevik Party September President of the Petrograd Soviet October Organises the October Revolution through the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet 1918 January As Commissar of Foreign Affairs, heads Russian delegation to Brest-Litovsk peace negotiations March As Commissar of War starts to construct the Red Army August Travels to Sviyazhsk to halt the Red Army’s retreat and plan for reconquest of Kazan, achieved September 1918–19 Constantly on move to weak areas of the Red Army’s deployment