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My Life: An Attempt At An Autobiography
Since Leon Trotsky's My Life was first published, it has been regarded as a unique political, literary and human document. Written in the first year of Trotsky's exile in Turkey, it contains the earliest authoritative account of the rise of Stalinism and the expulsion of the Left Opposition, who heroically fought for the ideas and traditions of Lenin. Trotsky's exile is the culmination of a narrative which moves from his childhood, his education in the 'universities' of tsarist prisons, Siberia and then his foreign exile - to his involvement in the European revolutionary movement, his central role in the tempestuous 1905 Revolution, the Bolshevik victory in October 1917 and the Civil War which followed. Trotsky's work concludes with the heroic struggle against Stalinism and his eventual exile and deportation from the Soviet Union. "The publication of a new edition of my grandfather's autobiography, My Life , is an important step in establishing the truth," writes Esteban (Sieva) Volkov in the preface to this book. Esteban is the last remaining survivor and witness of the last chapter of Leon Trotsky's life in Mexico. The book also contains an introduction by Alan Woods, the author of many acclaimed works on the Russian revolutionary movement.
- GenresHistory
600 pages, Paperback
Published February 19, 2018
About the author
Leon Trotsky
1,116 books843 followersSee also Лев Троцкий
Russian theoretician Leon Trotsky or Leon Trotski, originally Lev Davidovitch Bronstein, led the Bolshevik of 1917, wrote Literature and Revolution in 1924, opposed the authoritarianism of Joseph Stalin, and emphasized world; therefore later, the Communist party in 1927 expelled him and in 1929 banished him, but he included the autobiographical My Life in 1930, and the behest murdered him in exile in Mexico.
The exile of Leon Trotsky in 1929 marked rule of Joseph Stalin.
People better know this Marxist. In October 1917, he ranked second only to Vladimir Lenin. During the early days of the Soviet Union, he served first as commissar of people for foreign affairs and as the founder and commander of the Red Army and of war. He also ranked among the first members of the Politburo.
After a failed struggle of the left against the policies and rise in the 1920s, the increasing role of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union deported Trotsky. An early advocate of intervention of Army of Red against European fascism, Trotsky also agreed on peace with Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. As the head of the fourth International, Trotsky continued to the bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, and Ramón Mercader, a Soviet agent, eventually assassinated him. From Marxism, his separate ideas form the basis of Trotskyism, a term, coined as early as 1905. Ideas of Trotsky constitute a major school of Marxist. The Soviet administration never rehabilitated him and few other political figures.
Russian theoretician Leon Trotsky or Leon Trotski, originally Lev Davidovitch Bronstein, led the Bolshevik of 1917, wrote Literature and Revolution in 1924, opposed the authoritarianism of Joseph Stalin, and emphasized world; therefore later, the Communist party in 1927 expelled him and in 1929 banished him, but he included the autobiographical My Life in 1930, and the behest murdered him in exile in Mexico.
The exile of Leon Trotsky in 1929 marked rule of Joseph Stalin.
People better know this Marxist. In October 1917, he ranked second only to Vladimir Lenin. During the early days of the Soviet Union, he served first as commissar of people for foreign affairs and as the founder and commander of the Red Army and of war. He also ranked among the first members of the Politburo.
After a failed struggle of the left against the policies and rise in the 1920s, the increasing role of bureaucracy in the Soviet Union deported Trotsky. An early advocate of intervention of Army of Red against European fascism, Trotsky also agreed on peace with Adolf Hitler in the 1930s. As the head of the fourth International, Trotsky continued to the bureaucracy in the Soviet Union, and Ramón Mercader, a Soviet agent, eventually assassinated him. From Marxism, his separate ideas form the basis of Trotskyism, a term, coined as early as 1905. Ideas of Trotsky constitute a major school of Marxist. The Soviet administration never rehabilitated him and few other political figures.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 1, 2026
Trotskijs självbiografi, som han skriver från exilen på Prinkipo 1930. Leo Trotskij är en av 1900-talets giganter, en av dom modigaste och allra mest briljanta, och levde ett helt makalöst liv. Särskilt delarna om åren efter revolutionen är fantastiska såväl som plågsamma i skildringen av byråkratins framväxt och häxjakten på oppositionen som kommer att jaga honom över hela världen. När boken skrivs har han tio år att leva innan han slutligen mördas av en stalinistisk agent.
Samtidigt präglas boken mycket av dom omständigheter som får Trotskij att skriva den. Vi möter en Trotskij med garden uppe. Jorden har för honom blivit en planet till vilket han inte har ett visum. När den skrivs har han begränsat med tillgång till arkivmaterial och vi möter en Trotskij väldigt mycket under angrepp. Något som är enastående med Trotskij tycker jag är att han aldrig klagar trots dom omänskliga umbäranden han och hans familj utsattes för. Alla hans fyra barn och alla hans vänner och kamrater dog. Han blev ensam kvar. Den processen hade påbörjats men inte avslutats 1930.
Mitt liv är ett försvarstal nästan mer än en biografi, och det märks att Trotskij känner sig nödgad att bemöta alla anklagelser - stora och små - som under den här tiden riktas mot honom. Den är ganska svårläst om man inte redan har ganska god förståelse för den ryska revolutionen. Jag hade önskat att han fick skriva sina memoarer under andra förutsättningar, men å andra sidan vore det att önska ett annat liv för Leo Trotskij och det önskade han definitivt inte för sig själv. Han får själv sista ordet:
”Under fyrtiotre år av mitt medvetna liv har jag varit en revolutionär, under fyrtiotvå år har jag kämpat under marxismens baner. Om jag finge leva om mitt liv, skulle jag naturligtvis söka undvika det och det misstaget, men mitt livs allmänna inriktning skulle jag inte vilja ändra. Jag skall dö som en proletär revolutionär, som marxist, som en dialektisk materialist, och följaktligen som en oförsonlig ateist. Min tro på mänsklighetens kommunistiska framtid är inte mindre glödande. Tvärtom är den fastare nu än den var i mina ungdomsår.
Natasja har just kommit in från gårdssidan och öppnat fönstren så att luften fritt kan komma in i mitt rum. Jag kan se den vackra, gröna gräsmattan nedanför muren och den klara, blå himlen ovanför muren, och solljus överallt. Livet är underbart. Må de framtida generationerna rensa det från all ondska, allt förtryck och allt våld, och njuta av dess rikedom.”
Samtidigt präglas boken mycket av dom omständigheter som får Trotskij att skriva den. Vi möter en Trotskij med garden uppe. Jorden har för honom blivit en planet till vilket han inte har ett visum. När den skrivs har han begränsat med tillgång till arkivmaterial och vi möter en Trotskij väldigt mycket under angrepp. Något som är enastående med Trotskij tycker jag är att han aldrig klagar trots dom omänskliga umbäranden han och hans familj utsattes för. Alla hans fyra barn och alla hans vänner och kamrater dog. Han blev ensam kvar. Den processen hade påbörjats men inte avslutats 1930.
Mitt liv är ett försvarstal nästan mer än en biografi, och det märks att Trotskij känner sig nödgad att bemöta alla anklagelser - stora och små - som under den här tiden riktas mot honom. Den är ganska svårläst om man inte redan har ganska god förståelse för den ryska revolutionen. Jag hade önskat att han fick skriva sina memoarer under andra förutsättningar, men å andra sidan vore det att önska ett annat liv för Leo Trotskij och det önskade han definitivt inte för sig själv. Han får själv sista ordet:
”Under fyrtiotre år av mitt medvetna liv har jag varit en revolutionär, under fyrtiotvå år har jag kämpat under marxismens baner. Om jag finge leva om mitt liv, skulle jag naturligtvis söka undvika det och det misstaget, men mitt livs allmänna inriktning skulle jag inte vilja ändra. Jag skall dö som en proletär revolutionär, som marxist, som en dialektisk materialist, och följaktligen som en oförsonlig ateist. Min tro på mänsklighetens kommunistiska framtid är inte mindre glödande. Tvärtom är den fastare nu än den var i mina ungdomsår.
Natasja har just kommit in från gårdssidan och öppnat fönstren så att luften fritt kan komma in i mitt rum. Jag kan se den vackra, gröna gräsmattan nedanför muren och den klara, blå himlen ovanför muren, och solljus överallt. Livet är underbart. Må de framtida generationerna rensa det från all ondska, allt förtryck och allt våld, och njuta av dess rikedom.”
June 27, 2026
What an inspiring read! This was an epic journey: rich in detail, intellectually stimulating, and surprisingly entertaining. Even the sections covering Trotsky’s early life, despite being less overtly political, were fascinating and narratively compelling. Throughout the entire book, I often felt as though I was reading the script of an epic historical film rather than a conventional nonfiction biography. It is exceptionally well written and genuinely enjoyable to read.
Not only did Trotsky live an extraordinarily interesting life, but the way he wrote about his own experiences is perhaps even more fascinating. Throughout the book, he actively applies dialectical materialism to understand his own life in relation to the society and historical processes unfolding around him. This gives the autobiography a depth that goes far beyond mere memoir.
One passage in particular left a profound impression on me:
This passage beautifully illustrates just how close Lenin and Trotsky really were during the October Revolution, and once again demolishes many of the myths propagated by Stalinist historiography.
Beyond the historical narrative, the book is filled with fascinating theoretical observations. There are far too many to discuss here, but one passage I particularly appreciated was Trotsky’s analysis of the bourgeois press:
It is remarkable how clearly Trotsky understood the mechanisms of bourgeois media and ideological manipulation. Reading this passage, one cannot help but notice how little has fundamentally changed. Decades before the publication of Manufacturing Consent, The so-called discovery of Noam Chomsky, Trotsky was already describing a phenomenon that Marxists had long recognized: that the most effective bourgeois propaganda is often not the blatant lie, but the selective and strategic presentation of truth.
Overall, I found this to be an extraordinary work: not merely an autobiography, but also a historical account, a political education, and an application of dialectical materialism to one man’s life and to an entire revolutionary epoch.
Not only did Trotsky live an extraordinarily interesting life, but the way he wrote about his own experiences is perhaps even more fascinating. Throughout the book, he actively applies dialectical materialism to understand his own life in relation to the society and historical processes unfolding around him. This gives the autobiography a depth that goes far beyond mere memoir.
One passage in particular left a profound impression on me:
“Late that evening, as we were waiting for the opening of the congress of the Soviets, Lenin and I were resting in a room adjoining the meeting hall, a room entirely empty except for chairs. Someone had spread a blanket on the floor for us; someone else, I think it was Lenin’s sister, had brought us pillows. We were lying side by side; body and soul were relaxing like over-taut strings. It was a well-earned rest. We could not sleep, so we talked in low voices. Only now did Lenin become reconciled to the postponement of the uprising. His fears had been dispelled. There was a rare sincerity in his voice.
He was interested in knowing all about the mixed pickets of the Red Guards, sailors, and soldiers that had been stationed everywhere. ‘What a wonderful sight: a worker with a rifle, side by side with a soldier, standing before a street fire!’ he repeated with deep feeling.”
This passage beautifully illustrates just how close Lenin and Trotsky really were during the October Revolution, and once again demolishes many of the myths propagated by Stalinist historiography.
Beyond the historical narrative, the book is filled with fascinating theoretical observations. There are far too many to discuss here, but one passage I particularly appreciated was Trotsky’s analysis of the bourgeois press:
“Zola wrote of the French financial press that it could be divided into two groups: the venal, and the so-called incorruptible that sells itself only in exceptional cases and at a very high price. Something of the sort may be said of the mendacity of newspapers in general. The yellow press lies as a matter of course, without hesitating or looking back. Newspapers like The Times or Le Temps speak the truth on all unimportant and inconsequential occasions, so that they can deceive the public with all the requisite authority when necessary.”(My Emphasis)
It is remarkable how clearly Trotsky understood the mechanisms of bourgeois media and ideological manipulation. Reading this passage, one cannot help but notice how little has fundamentally changed. Decades before the publication of Manufacturing Consent, The so-called discovery of Noam Chomsky, Trotsky was already describing a phenomenon that Marxists had long recognized: that the most effective bourgeois propaganda is often not the blatant lie, but the selective and strategic presentation of truth.
Overall, I found this to be an extraordinary work: not merely an autobiography, but also a historical account, a political education, and an application of dialectical materialism to one man’s life and to an entire revolutionary epoch.
November 1, 2022
Only read about 100 pages- which i loved. But I am also reading Trotsky's history of the russian revolution and that takes priority. Love his style and his disarming way of writing like a regular fellow though about often portentous things.
February 28, 2024
Makes me wonder what would have happened to the old USSR if Trotsky was the one who succeeded Lenin instead of Stalin
November 7, 2022
A fascinating account of the life of Trotsky, from his early years to the Russian revolution and the rise of stalinism
January 8, 2024
A moving and inspiring book, that not only tells the story of one of the greatest revolutionaries' life, but also contains many valuable lessons for todays revolutionaries throughout the world. My Life by Trotsky is an absolute must read for every marxist out there.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews