genuinely curious what ya'll think, i apologize in advance for the struggle session this might start lmao

  • shrewchops [he/him]
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    4 years ago

    He was literally the second most popular party official after Lenin, and at one point was a serious rival to Lenin himself. MLs insistence on painting trotsky as some dweeb who three stooged his way into his position and was actually secretly bad and everyone hated is fucking nonsense of the highest order.

    • JoeySteel [comrade/them]
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      4 years ago

      Trotskys opposition won 4000 votes of the membership while the Central Committee (Stalins platform) won 724,000 votes in 1927

      At the Fifteenth Party Conference, Trotsky and Zinoviev finally destroyed themselves politically. Trotsky made a lengthy speech and had to ask repeatedly for more time. He was interrupted con­stantly by ridicule and laughter. Zinoviev grovelled and begged for­ giveness for his errors. He, too, was heckled and ridiculed. Both had been arrogant in power and now they were humiliated and defeated. It was left to Bukharin to make the final savage attack on them; the delegates, thirsting for blood, applauded loudly.
      
      The main discussion at the conference was not on the opposi­tion, but on Stalin’s new theory of “socialism in one country.” It bore the stamp of his mind and outlook, and it marked the begin­ ning of the Stalinist era. The Russian revolutionary drive had been losing momentum since the end of the Civil War and the process had accelerated after Lenin’s death. A new policy was needed that would inspire the Russian people to undertake the superhuman task of carrying their country on from the October Revolution towards socialism and communism. That policy was “socialism in one country.” Its emotional appeal was overwhelm­ ing. It aroused a new fervor in the party, and pride in the revolu­ tion spread beyond the party ranks. It was a declaration of inde­ pendence from the West and of faith in the capacity of their country to forge ahead, creating its own future alone and unsup­ ported. Backward Russia, for so long treated as lagging on the outskirts of Western civilization, would show herself to be ad­ vanced and at the center of civilization in the coming millennium.
      

      -Ian Grey, Stalin, p. 215

      Sounds really popular

    • Alaskaball [comrade/them]MA
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      4 years ago

      "Second most popular party official" yet somehow lost his bid for General Secretary to some damn swarthy asiatic Georgian hun from the Caucuses.

      This flatly ignores the fact that during the 10 years that the many socialist revolutionaries spent in exile Trotters was a loyal member of the Mensheviks until he jumped ship to the Bolcheviks right before the revolution kicked off because he was an opportunistic power-hungry rat that knew which party stood at the vanguard and wanted for himself a slice of glory.

      • shrewchops [he/him]
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        4 years ago

        “Second most popular party official” yet somehow lost his bid for General Secretary to some damn swarthy asiatic Georgian hun from the Caucuses.

        He lost to Stalin because Stalin managed to get a bunch of senior party officials on his side, because a coalition between them seemed more favourable than sole rule by Trotsky. And Stalin wasn't just some asshole.

        This flatly ignores the fact that during the 10 years that the many socialist revolutionaries spent in exile Trotters was a loyal member of the Mensheviks until he jumped ship to the Bolcheviks right before the revolution kicked off because he was an opportunistic power-hungry rat that knew which party stood at the vanguard and wanted for himself a slice of glory.

        He split with Lenin in 1903, and left the Mensheviks in 1904 (To work with the Bolsheviks), and was put on trial by the government in 1905 and was exiled. Literally nothing you say has any connection to reality.

        • Alaskaball [comrade/them]MA
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          4 years ago

          He lost to Stalin because Stalin managed to get a bunch of senior party officials on his side, because a coalition between them seemed more favourable than sole rule by Trotsky. And Stalin wasn’t just some asshole.

          So he did indeed flatly loose in democratic election because he was a pretentious asshole that rested on his laurels. He should have tea with Hillary sometime.

          This flatly ignores the fact that he split with Lenin in 1903 (and was denounced as a Judas, scoundrel, and a stealing swine by him), and left the Mensheviks in 1904 (To work with the Bolsheviks), (because they didn't go his way so he took the third way of getting splinters in his ass by straddling the fencepost between factions) and was put on trial by the government in 1905 and was exiled.

          Fixed :back-to-me-shining:

          • shrewchops [he/him]
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            4 years ago

            Did Trotsky personally piss in your cereal? Because this is getting seriously weird.

            The fact that you've been straight up called out for being wrong and making shit up hasn't even slowed you down.

            • Alaskaball [comrade/them]MA
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              4 years ago

              Yes, he asked to use my netflix account and then filled up my watchlist with anime trash

                • Alaskaball [comrade/them]MA
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                  4 years ago

                  No. I'll die of old age before I can finish that show.

                  Also trottamus put SAO and Guilty Crown on my list and destroyed my recommendations.

            • modsarefascist [he/him]
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              4 years ago

              it's best to ignore the stalinists

              at best they're teens who are into socialism as a rebellion against their parents, at worst they're actual fucking psyops meant to divide the left. sounds nuts until you realize just how fucking nuts the FBI and CIA are and how much they HATE leftists

      • sailorfish [she/her]
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        4 years ago

        some damn swarthy asiatic Georgian hun from the Caucuses

        What? Are we playing the "are Russians more anti-Semitic or more racist" game here or what