1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:08,039 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey y'all, I'm Eves and welcome to This 3 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:11,039 Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a podcast for people who could 4 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: never know enough about history. Today is The day was 5 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:31,160 Speaker 1: nineteen forty Mexican artist David Alfadoos and Stalinist agent Iosef Grigulovich, 6 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,520 Speaker 1: along with the crew of Hitman, attempted to assassinate Leon Trotsky. 7 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:40,479 Speaker 1: Trotsky was a Soviet revolutionary in Marxist theorist who was 8 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,600 Speaker 1: a leading figure in the Bolshevik movement under Vladimir Lenin. 9 00:00:44,640 --> 00:00:47,720 Speaker 1: After Lenin died in Ur and Joseph Stalin rose to 10 00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:51,800 Speaker 1: power and the Communist Party in Soviet Union, Trotsky emerged 11 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: as one of Stalin's main critics and opponents. Trotsky was 12 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: against the increasingly bureaucratic Soviet state and called for more 13 00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: democracy in the com in his party. He thought that 14 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:05,199 Speaker 1: the Stalinist policy of socialism in one country would hinder 15 00:01:05,240 --> 00:01:10,680 Speaker 1: efforts for world revolution. In Trotsky was removed from his 16 00:01:10,760 --> 00:01:13,720 Speaker 1: post in the War Commissariat. The next year, he was 17 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: dropped from the Politburo, and in nineteen seven he and 18 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:21,960 Speaker 1: his supporters were expelled from the Communist Party in January 19 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:25,680 Speaker 1: of night, Trotsky was exiled to almah Ata and Soviet 20 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:28,720 Speaker 1: Central Asia. He lived there for a year before he, 21 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 1: his wife and their son were expelled from the Soviet 22 00:01:31,920 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: Union and sent to Turkey, but he continued to write 23 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:38,360 Speaker 1: and criticize Stalin as well as people who had opposed 24 00:01:38,400 --> 00:01:42,360 Speaker 1: Stalin but had settled for the regime. Trotsky settled on 25 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,920 Speaker 1: the Turkish island of Prinkipo, where he stayed for four years. 26 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,640 Speaker 1: He completed his autobiography and his three volume history of 27 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: the Russian Revolution. Some of his supporters volunteered to serve 28 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: as his bodyguards, but in nineteen thirty three, Trotsky and 29 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:01,440 Speaker 1: his family were offered asylum in France. Soon enough, he 30 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:04,480 Speaker 1: was no longer welcome in France either, and he moved 31 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: to Norway, then Mexico, where he had been granted asylum. 32 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,080 Speaker 1: The Trotsky's settled in the Koyoka Kan area of Mexico 33 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: City at the Blue House, the home of painters Diego 34 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:19,040 Speaker 1: Rivera and Frieda Carlo, and he continued to write, completing 35 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:23,240 Speaker 1: The Revolution Betrayed in nineteen thirty six. But in a 36 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:26,240 Speaker 1: series of trials in the late nineteen thirties, many so 37 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:30,360 Speaker 1: called Old Bolsheviks were found guilty of treason and imprisoned 38 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 1: or executed. Many of the defendants confessed to having plotted 39 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,680 Speaker 1: with Trotsky to kill Stalin and other Soviet leaders. Trotsky 40 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: was found guilty of treason and absentia and sentenced to death. 41 00:02:43,360 --> 00:02:50,720 Speaker 1: On nine forty, Stalinist agent Iosef Grulovich, Mexican painter David Alfadoos, 42 00:02:51,040 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: and others armed with machine guns attempted to kill Trotsky. 43 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: The assassins hit his house with more than two hundred bullets, 44 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: but Trotsky and his wife survived. But another assassination plot 45 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:07,639 Speaker 1: was already in the works. A trotsky I named Sylvia 46 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 1: Agailov met a man named Jacques Mornar who was supposedly 47 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: the son of a Belgian diplomat, but his real name 48 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:18,720 Speaker 1: was Ramon Mercader and he was a Spanish communist whose 49 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:22,919 Speaker 1: mother was a Stalinist. She tasked her son with killing Trotsky. 50 00:03:23,600 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: When Sylvia moved to Mexico City to work for the 51 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: Trotsky's Ramon went with her. On August, Ramone visited Trotsky 52 00:03:32,680 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: and murdered him with an ice axe. Trotsky died the 53 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:41,360 Speaker 1: next day in the hospital. Marcadare was tried and convicted 54 00:03:41,400 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: of the murder and spent twenty years in prison. I'm 55 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: Eave jeffcot and hopefully you know a little more about 56 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. And if you have 57 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:54,720 Speaker 1: any comments are suggestions, you can send them to us 58 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:57,600 Speaker 1: at this day at I heard media dot com. You 59 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: can also hit us up on social media where at 60 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:04,720 Speaker 1: t d i HC Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 61 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: Thanks so much for listening to the show and we'll 62 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from my Heart Radio, 63 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 64 00:04:21,160 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.