nation” and a “dominant world power” (Lewis and Whithead p. 48), but whose brutal regime sacrificed millions of lives. On the other hand, Leon Trotsky was a Russian socialist whose “political and literary [movements] stretched the first four decades of the 20th Century” (Commine p. 24). Trotsky also founded the “global opposition” (Commine p. 35) to Stalin’s regime. Despite his ability to be ruthless, Trotsky was no match for Stalin when it came to struggle for political power that ensued after Lenin’s death. The antagonisms between the two were very little but there were some. For example, both Stalin and Trotsky were “philosophical materialists” (McClellan p. 77) who were once in the same Russian Social Democratic Party as youths. In addition, they both competed for Lenin’s place in office. However, the personal differences between the two were the reason for their rivalry. As committed communists, Stalin and Trotsky both believed in the revolution but conflicted in their different strategies for it to take place. Despite their personal differences and antagonisms, but Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky became two patrons of world domination, neither to be beyond recollection. ...
