Without Trotsky there would have been no Bolshevik Revolution, but Trotsky was no Bolshevik.

Providing a full account of Trotsky's role during the Russian Civil War and concentrating on his time as an active participant in Russian revolutionary politics, rather than his ideological writings of emigration, Swain gives a very different picture of the Bolshevik Commissar of War. This radically new interpretation of Trotsky's career spanning 1905-1917 incorporates the tense relationship between Trotsky and Lenin until 1917, and pays particular attention to the Russian Civil War and Trotsky's military organisation and contribution to the war.

Swain argues critically that Trotsky achieved where Lenin would have failed, suggesting that Trotsky was in the main part responsible for the Bolshevik Revolution.

This biography of Trotsky provides readers with the first full account of Trotsky's role during the Russian Civil War as Commissar for War.

About the Author

Geoffrey Swain teaches at the Schoolof History at the Universityof West England, Bristol.

As of April 2006 Swain will be Alec Nove Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the Universityof Glasgow

Reviews

Geoffrey Swain has produced a robust, highly readable and fresh look at Trotsky that provides new insights into his personality, life, career and political ideas. Trotsky comes out as a more human and rounded figure than in many other biographies but, at the same time, Swain emphasises his ruthlessness. He gives no comfort to romantics who sentimentalize Trotsky as a more restrained alternative to Stalin.

Professor Christopher Read, University of Warwick

Book Information
ISBN 9780582771901
Author Geoffrey Swain
Format Paperback
Page Count 248
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 696g
Dimensions(mm) 133mm * 211mm * 14mm