Book review: The Death of Trotsky

Several years ago, I read Isaac Deutcher’s monumental three-volume biography of Leon Trotsky. Naturally, it included an account of Trotsky’s assassination. I’ve also read a couple of Stalin biographies and Richard Pipes’ “The Russian Revolution.”

I don’t recall how “The Death of Trotsky: The True Story of the Plot to Kill Stalin's Greatest Enemy” by Josh Ireland came to my attention; probably a review in New York Review of Books or The New Yorker. Ireland turns the history of Trotsky’s murder into a book-length narrative by drawing on the various threads of Trotsky’s biography, the biography of his assassin, Ramón Mercader, and the contemporary events and personalities of people in their orbits. These are all woven together in a style more commonly found in novels. 

The weather, sights and smells, landscapes, and personal quirks of characters are described in vivid detail. This gives the story a pacing and color absent from most histories. In several places, I found the narrative—particularly surrounding the violent ends of many of the characters—emotionally gripping. Mercador was a Spanish communist from Barcelona. Accordingly, the Spanish Civil War provides some of the backdrop to the events, as Stalin exploited the Republican cause for his own political ends.

In the end, the real assassin was Stalin. Trotsky’s break with Stalin, Lenin’s repudiation of Stalin and endorsement of Trotsky as his successor, and ultimately the refusal of Trotsky to abate his criticism of Stalin after he was exiled drove Stalin to kill many of his collaborators and ultimately, Trotsky himself. Mercator certainly had agency, but both he and his NKVD handlers know that Stalin would kill them if they failed or abandoned their mission. 

I’m not a big consumer of fiction. I prefer history and biography. But this is a rare book that effectively combines documentary history with the cinematic tension of The Godfather films. A really fine read!