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Journal D Exil Trotsky

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Rare Book

224 pages, Pocket Book

First published January 1, 1959

5 people are currently reading
176 people want to read

About the author

Leon Trotsky

1,093 books805 followers
See 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.

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5 stars
24 (36%)
4 stars
24 (36%)
3 stars
11 (16%)
2 stars
6 (9%)
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1 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
219 reviews7 followers
August 26, 2023
Indispensable, like all of Trotsky's works. This diary illuminates the extremely difficult conditions of Trotsky's exile in France and partly in Norway, while Stalin was persecuting his family members and supporters in the Soviet Union. At the same time it gives powerful expression to Trotsky and his wife Natalia's revolutionary optimism and strength.

There are many pithy and insightful observations about French and European bourgeois reformist and Stalinist politics, with fascism and the approach of war in the background.

This is also a brilliant literary document, with many vivid passages, and some of Trotsky's most memorable reflections on the significance of his life and work, e.g.: “Life is not an easy matter…. You cannot live through it without falling into frustration and cynicism unless you have before you a great idea which raises you above personal misery, above weakness, above all kinds of perfidy and baseness.”
Profile Image for Julio The Fox.
1,751 reviews124 followers
August 17, 2025
"Old age is the most surprising thing that happens to a man". Leon Trotsky
Very few things surprised Trotsky during his forced exile from the Soviet Union in 1929. He was the sworn enemy of both Stalinism and capitalism. The leaders of both hounded him, blackmailed dozens of countries into keeping him away from their shores, and, as Winston Churchill once suggested, it might not be a bad thing if he perished. These diary entries, written primarily during his short stay in Norway, illustrate a prodigious mind thinking on all matters of the day, often with black humor. On Pope Pius XI broadcasting live from the miracle site at Lourdes, France: "But best of all was the Papal blessing of the faithful. The head Roman druid and the radio! Truly, the mind of mankind is stuck in its own excrement". Be sure to purchase any edition of the DIARY that contains an appendix featuring his Last Will and Testament: "life is beautiful. Let future generations cleanse it of all filth and oppression".
148 reviews7 followers
September 27, 2023
Trotsky’s last days of exile were spent staying one step ahead of both fascism and Stalin’s assassins. This book starts in mid-exile and covers his time in France, Norway and Mexico. He is reduced to keeping up with the news, worrying about an imprisoned son, and taking daily walks with his wife, whom he loves and relies on and who has both heart and lung problems (to match Trotsky’s own cardiac problems). What is it like to be a world class revolutionary and suddenly be out of the game? Most interesting, and timely, are Trotsky’s observations on Western social democracies so easily folding to fascism.
Profile Image for Charlie Lee.
303 reviews11 followers
February 22, 2021
3.5 stars.

As far as biographies go, this was quite interesting, focusing on a tumultuous period of Trotsky's life as he was persecuted by Stalin. For those with an interest in the key personalities of the socialist revolution in Russia, this book holds significant historical interest. Perhaps not a book I would recommend exactly, unless you were really interested in that subject matter or researching for a particular reason.
426 reviews8 followers
July 27, 2024
Better than Pol Pot's Year Zero, but not by much. The line, 'Old age is the most unexpected of all things that can happen to a man' drew me to the book. Nothing else really impressed.
Learning that 'the thinking of mankind is bogged down in its own excrement,' didn't have the same resonance. Or that Stalin gained Lenin's ear simply because he was the only revolutionist unwilling to poison him. Or that radio is a suitable medium for a prison.
A diary of 1937-8 when old fox Trotsky had his affair with Frida Kahlo and met Andre Breton would have generated more interest.
Profile Image for Yves Panis.
584 reviews31 followers
March 11, 2017
Petit livre qui retrace la période française de Trotsky en 1935. Moins puissant que "ma vie" mais éclairant pour comprendre le chemin du banni d'URSS.
Profile Image for Sinan Öner.
399 reviews
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September 12, 2020
1917 Sovyet Ekim Devrimi'nin liderlerinden Leon Trotsky'nin "Sürgün Günlüğü" kitabı çok değerli bir yayın! Lenin'in dostlarından Leon Trotsky, Stalin'le anlaşmazlıkları nedeniyle Sovyetler Birliği'nden ayrılmış, farklı ülkelerde "sürgün" olmuştu, İstanbul Büyükada'da üç buçuk yıl "sürgün"de kalan Leon Trotsky, Avrupa'nın, Amerika'nın farklı kentlerinde "sürgün" oldu. "Sürgünlük" yıllarında Leon Trotsky durmadan yazılar, kitaplar yazdı, yayınladı. Leon Trotsky, "Devrim Yapan Üç Adam"dan biri olarak dünyada saygın bir liderdi, Marxizm'i anlayışındaki farklılıkları belli ederken bir Tarihçi olarak, bir Politik lider olarak davrandı, yayınlarında neden farklı bir Marxizm anlayışı olduğunu ayrıntılı açıkladı. Lenin'le Leninizm arasında nasıl bir fark var idiyse, Trotsky ile Troçkizm arasında bir fark vardır, bu "fark"ı anlamak için Leon Trotsky'nin kitaplarını okumak yetiyor, "Sürgün Günlüğü" de Leon Trotsky ile ilgili bilgilenmek için değerli bir yayın.
33 reviews
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May 9, 2012
The Sam Shochat "Jew" Disavow Theory:

Applicants lose either way, (Jobs:sell to China), Sellout, and no one makes money. I learned something from the lower class. The "Jon Nicholson theory of Societal Stair Climbing."

If I can't be king, no one can. Degrees, and Drafts aren't worth anything if I'm not given a degree or drafted.

So, Stony Brook, Long Island, and all of America worthless. We all have rights though. I won the bet though. No one's famous, or rich from the Smithtown class of 95. People get to see Lindsey Lohan with her clothes off in Playboy though.

Outcome: Welfare Utopian Economic Society {W(alden)America}
Cause: Salem, Mass Economic Crash Theory
(Richest Port in America before Witches, Story, and Stone)
Profile Image for Mikhael.
9 reviews9 followers
November 23, 2011
Some really interesting insights into the Trotsky/Stalin relationship. Disappointingly it is only 1935, as the title says -- I was hoping for some Mexico content. It does include Trotsky's last will and testament, which is touching and interesting in its own right. Good read, quick read, good bit of primary source to keep lying around.
157 reviews4 followers
September 15, 2016
Great insight as to what was going on in Trotsky's mind and in the world, in 1935. Long live the insights and conclusions of Leon Trotsky! As a world, we are making small steps to reach the goal of world-wide Socialism.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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