Abstract
This chapter re-examines Trotsky’s political biography around the Tenth
Party Congress, assessing claims from his autobiography. The focus is on several events and policy areas, at and outside of the congress: the Kronstadt uprising, the trade unions, economic policy, and military affairs. It will be demonstrated that Trotsky is not a reliable guide. He lied or suffered from a remarkable amnesia about his real role at Kronstadt. The trade-union debate was not an accidental event in relations with Lenin that was soon forgotten, but a fundamental difference that made a lasting negative impression in Lenin’s assessment of Trotsky. Trotsky was a prophet of the reintroduction of market incentives in grain only if his recommendations of 1920
are edited to omit one-half of his proposals. The instance in which Trotsky’s
analysis of the Tenth Party Congress holds up is the view that the period 1919–
21 was important in laying the groundwork for his eventual political decline and defeat.
Party Congress, assessing claims from his autobiography. The focus is on several events and policy areas, at and outside of the congress: the Kronstadt uprising, the trade unions, economic policy, and military affairs. It will be demonstrated that Trotsky is not a reliable guide. He lied or suffered from a remarkable amnesia about his real role at Kronstadt. The trade-union debate was not an accidental event in relations with Lenin that was soon forgotten, but a fundamental difference that made a lasting negative impression in Lenin’s assessment of Trotsky. Trotsky was a prophet of the reintroduction of market incentives in grain only if his recommendations of 1920
are edited to omit one-half of his proposals. The instance in which Trotsky’s
analysis of the Tenth Party Congress holds up is the view that the period 1919–
21 was important in laying the groundwork for his eventual political decline and defeat.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Congress of Contradictions: The Tenth Party Congress, March 1921 |
| Editors | Clayton Black, Alexis Pogorelskin |
| Publisher | Brill Publishers |
| Chapter | 5 |
| Pages | 88-111 |
| Number of pages | 24 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-90-04-74708-1 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-90-04-74707-4 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published (in print/issue) - 11 Nov 2025 |
Publication series
| Name | Historical Materialism Book Series |
|---|---|
| Volume | 366 |
| ISSN (Print) | 1570-1522 |
