Along with Lenin, Leon Trotsky was the leader of the October Revolution.  He was instrumental in the creation and victory of the Red Army during the civil war and wars of intervention.   After Lenin's death, formed the Left Opposition to the rising bureaucracy of Stalin.  His analyses of the class nature of the USSR, fascism, the process of revolution, etc,. as well as his writings on cultural issues are a treasure of Marxist clarity and insight.   We provide here a selection of his writings in chronological order.  For a personal look at him, see Lunacharsky's Revolutionary Silhouette of him.  See also other classic works of Marxism.  For a more extensive selection please visit the Trotsky Internet Archive.

• On Optimism & Pessimism: On the 20th Century & on Many other Issues (1901)
  A young Trotsky muses on a variety of topics in this short piece.

• Why Marxists Oppose Individual Terrorism (1909)
  An excellent outline of the basic reasons why Marxism and individual terrorism are not compatible.  Our power is in our mass, united action against the oppressor, not in individual acts of terror which serve as an excuse for increased state repression and which alienate the masses from the cause of socialism.

• Don't Spread Yourself Too Thin (1923)
  A great, short piece by Leon Trotsky on how to make the best use of your time when studying the often difficult ideas of Marxism.

• The Lessons of October (1924)
  A great overview and analysis of the October revolution.  Explains the most important lessons to be learned and applied.

• The Problem of Nationalities (1930)
  An outstanding exposition of the Leninist approach to the national question.   From History of the Russian Revolution.

• In Defence of October   (1932)
  A speech given in Copenhagen. Using the Marxist method, Trotsky defends the revolution's positive and progressiveaspects which need to be defended in spite of the tragic rise of Stalinism.  For a full analysis of Russia since 1917 to the present attempts to restore capitalism see Ted Grant's book: Russia, from Revolution to Counter-Revolution.

• The Class Nature of the Soviet State (1933)
  An outstanding outline of the class-nature of the soviet state.  A great intro or refresher to the Revolution Betrayed.

• If America should go Communist (1935)
  A brief, friendly explanation to the American working class of what sorts of changes they could expect if they lived under a democratic socialist system.  Much of it still applies to today!

• The Revolution Betrayed:  What is the Soviet Union and Where is it Going? (1936)
  An extraordinary use of the Marxist method, this book explains the rise of the Stalinist bureaucracy in the USSR, and shows how it was a deformed workers' state, requiring a political revolution to place political power back in the hands of the proletariat.  (buy this book online)

• The Transitional Program for Socialist Revolution (1938)
  A must read!  In this work Trotsky outlines the approach Marxists need to take in order to spread the ideas of socialism to the broadest layers of the masses.

• 90th Anniversary Introduction to the Communist Manifesto (1938)
  A good overview of the relevance of the manifesto.

• Marxism in Our Time (1939)
  Leon Trotsky's introduction to the book "The Living Thoughts of Karl Marx" has long been out of print. The book itself, complied by Otto Ruhle in 1939, was an abridged version in Marx's own words of volume one of Capital. Trotsky's introduction took up the defence of Marxism, analysing the development of capitalism in the Twentieth century and showing the continuing relevance of Marx's writings and theories. It represents a brief, but brilliant exposition of Marxism. In order to bring Trotsky's defence of Marxism up to date, this pamphlet was published in 1994 with an introduction by Alan Woods and Ted Grant, which draws upon extensive contemporary material. In addition, we include a supplementary article by Trotsky entitled "Once Again on the 'Crisis of Marxism'".

• ABC of Materialist Dialectics (1939)
  Trotsky's 'ABC of Materialist Dialectics' is a brilliant short explanation of Marxist philosophy. It was written as part of a defense of Marxism against a middle class revisionist tendency in the American Trotskyist movement in the late 1930s, which attempted to challenge its basic principles. As opposed to pragmatism and empiricism, Trotsky defended dialectical materialism as a richer, fuller, more comprehensive view of society and life in general. With an introduction by Rob Sewell.

• Trotsky's Testament (1940)
  Wounded and dying after being stabbed with an icepick by one of Stalin's assassins, Trotsky wrote his final words.