Why was Trotsky the successor of Stalin?

Answer 1

More like the other way around. In a nutshell: Trotsky was one of the fathers of the original Russian revolution (along with Lenin and some others) and he was the first leader of the Red Army after the revolution in 1918. In the early 1900s, Trotsky (along with Lenin and others) bonded over their desire to build a socialist Russia-and over their dislike and mistrust of the monarchy and the aristocracy. But they differed as well; Lenin supported the Bolsheviks (who wanted a small group and tighter controls running the hoped-for new government), while the more liberal Trotsky supported the Mensheviks (who wanted to be more inclusive and have less controls). Although Lenin pretty much considered Trotsky a traitor at the time, and had little good to say about him, Trotsky never really embraced his separation from Lenin, and in fact, abandoned the Mensheviks after they refused an opportunity to reconcile with Lenin and his group. He got in trouble with the Russian authorities and was sent to Siberia, but he escaped and emigrated abroad, first to London and later to the Americas, specifically, the US. He returned to Europe during WWI, and after the war and the Russian Revolution, he returned to help run the new government and became the first head of the Red Army. Although he and Lenin worked well together (Lenin defended him when others tried to get rid of him) Lenin eventually suffered several strokes and died. Although Lenin wanted Trotsky to succeed him, dissent in the party made his life difficult in many ways. Eventually, Stalin consolidated his power and became, in effect, the head of the government. He and Trotsky despised one another and as Stalin rose to power, Trotsky thought it best to exit the scene. He returned to the Americas, this time to Mexico. This time, luck was not with him-Stalin sent assassins kill him and finally managed it after several unsuccessful attempts. In August 1940 Trotsky was attacked in his home by a man with an ice ax and he dies soon after. He was 60 years old.