Trotsky: A Biography
Author | Robert Service |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Subject | Biography |
Publisher | Macmillan Publishers |
Publication date | 2009 |
Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
Awards | Duff Cooper Prize[1] |
Preceded by | Stalin: A Biography |
Trotsky: A Biography is a biography of the Marxist theorist and revolutionary Leon Trotsky (1879–1940) written by the English historian Robert Service, then a professor in Russian history at the University of Oxford. It was first published by Macmillan in 2009 and later republished in other languages.
Having converted to the Marxist revolutionary movement in early life, Trotsky had been a member of the
The book received a mixed reception upon publication. The mainstream British and American press was overwhelmingly positive.[2] Conversely, reviews in peer-reviewed, academic journals were more critical, highlighting factual errors throughout the text and viewing his work as an attempt to discredit Trotsky as a historical figure.[3][4]
In 2010, a rebuttal to his historical interpretation was written by American political theorist and Trotskyist
Background
Prior to the publication of Trotsky: A Biography, Service had written a number of historical studies and biographies of Russia in the period of revolution: The Bolshevik Party in Revolution 1917-23: A Study in Organizational Change (1979), A History of Twentieth-Century Russia (1997), The Russian Revolution, 1900-27 (1999), A History of Modern Russia, from Nicholas II to Putin (1998, Second edition in 2003), Lenin: A Biography (2000), Russia: Experiment with a People (2002), Stalin: A Biography (2004) and Comrades: A World History of Communism (2007).
Service is of the opinion, controversial among Trotskyists and anti-Stalinist Leninists, that politically the difference between Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin was only marginal and that excessive antidemocratic attitudes and use of terror as a mean of politics, was an embedded attitude with all three men and a significant portions of the Bolshevik leadership from the earliest days. The excesses of Stalin was mainly a matter of personality and background such as ruthlessness, jealousy, a deep feeling of anger emanating from being continually overlooked and disregarded, a level of personal paranoia, and never failing memory regarding hurt and perceived enemies and a deep lust for vengeance on a personal level.
Lenin favoured Stalin until, too late, their fallout in 1923 really opened Lenin's eyes to the danger of a future with Stalin in power. Trotsky failed to form alliances and was socially inept and never fully accepted in the Bolshevik party leadership, which he had joined late. However, Stalin, contrary to his opponent, was a brilliant politician and political tactician, who was among the few who genuinely understood the consequences and means of political maneuvering in an environment in which appeals to the masses (where the other leaders were strong) had been systematically cut out of the equation by the means of the red-terror and prohibition of most means and vehicles of opposition that they had themselves promoted and embraced.
The ability to think theoretically, appeal in writing or speech to the public had rapidly diminished in political value by 1924 and was steadily declining in political value, and only alliances counted, which was Stalin's strength. Trotsky had himself aided the cutting off the only branch which might have supported him.
Critical reception
Academic reviews
His biography of Trotsky was positively reviewed in the British and American press on its publication, but two years later was strongly criticized by Service's
Service responded that the book's factual errors were minor and that Patenaude's own book on Trotsky presented him as a "noble martyr". In July 2009, prior to the publication of his own book, Robert Service had written a review of Partenaude's publication Stalin's Nemesis: The Exile and Murder of Leon Trotsky which he applauded for being "vividly told" but also criticised for neglecting Trotsky's crimes while sharing power in the USSR.
The book has also been harshly criticized by the German historian of communism Hermann Weber who led a campaign to prevent Suhrkamp Verlag from publishing it in Germany. Fourteen historians and sociologists signed a letter to the publishing house. The letter cited "a host of factual errors", the "repugnant connotations" of the passages in which Service deals with Trotsky's Jewish origins, and Service's recourse to "formulas associated with Stalinist propaganda" for the purpose of discrediting Trotsky.[9][10] Suhrkamp published the German translation in July 2012.
Historian
In the London Review of Books, historian Sheila Fitzpatrick wrote a comparative review of Service’s biography alongside a written publication by Betrand Patenaude on the last years of Trotsky’s life in exile. Fitzpatrick noted that Service subscribed to the same view as Dmitri Volkogonov that Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky were “historically almost indistinguishable from each other” without providing any new additional sources to his work. However, Fitzpatrick questioned Service’s premise of historical inevitability in that the Soviet Union would have experienced the same “totalitarian despotism under Trotskyist rule”. Fitzpatrick also found it implausible that Trotsky like Stalin would have launched an anti-semitic campaign after World War II or initiated the Great Purge. Rather, Fitzpatrick suggested Trotsky would presumably have provided good leadership during the Second World War but may have struggled to maintain party cohesion as seen during the succession struggle after 1924.[12]
Press reviews
Reviews in the mainstream British press were predominantly positive. In
In contrast,
See also
- Criticism of Marxism
- David North- American political theorist that produced a rebuttal to Service with his work, “In Defense of Leon Trotsky”.
- Hoover Institution
- Isaac Deutscher - Polish historian that produced a three-volume biography of Trotsky.
- Lenin: A Biography
- Stalin: A Biography
- The Stalinist Legacy
References
Footnotes
- ^ "Professor Robert Service". St Antony's College. 13 January 2015. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
- ^ Montefiore 2009.
- JSTOR 23308381.
- ^ "Instead, the aim of his work is to discredit Trotsky, and unfortunately he often resorts to the formulas associated with Stalinist propaganda"."European historians oppose publication by Suhrkamp of Robert Service's Trotsky biography". 23 November 2011.
- JSTOR 23308381.
- ^ "European historians oppose publication by Suhrkamp of Robert Service's Trotsky biography". World Socialist Web Site. 23 November 2011.
- ^ McLemee, Scott. "The Re-Assassination of Leon Trotsky". Inside Higher Ed. July 8, 2011
- .
- ^ “Robert Service has written a diatribe, not a scientific polemic!” The World Socialist Web Site. Retrieved 2011-11-28
- ^ "European historians oppose publication by Suhrkamp of Robert Service's Trotsky biography". 23 November 2011.
- ^ "'Second assassination' of Trotsky -- Paul Le Blanc reviews Robert Service's biography of Trotsky | Links". links.org.au.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Sheila (22 April 2010). "The Old Man". London Review of Books.
- ^ Montefiore 2009.
- ^ Gray 2009.
- ^ "Trotsky: past, present… future? An interview with Tariq Ali". 26 June 2018.
- ^ Ali 2009.
Bibliography
- Ali, Tariq (31 October 2009). "The Life and Death of Trotsky". The Guardian. London.
- Gray, John (2009). "Behind the Myth". Literary Review. London. Archived from the originalon 2011-08-19.
- Montefiore, Simon Sebag (11 October 2009). "Trotsky by Robert Service: review". The Daily Telegraph. London.
External links
- Library of Economics and Liberty.
- Q&A interview with Service on Trotsky: A Biography, July 18, 2010, C-SPAN