Question 1 Stalin and Trotsky led two very different political careers. Before 1917 Trotsky wasn’t even a member of the Bolsheviks, siding with the Mensheviks at the 2nd party congress in 1903 when the Social Democrats splintered into the two smaller parties: Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. Trotsky sided with the Mensheviks more pacifist views towards revolution and general protests. In fact it wasn’t until after the March revolution in 1917 when he was in jail (following the July …showed first 75 words of 2548 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2548 total…the fact that Stalin could never be totally unafraid of Trotsky until he had been irradiated. In conclusion I can see that while Trotsky was alive he could always be seen as a threat to Stalin this has to say something of his effectiveness yet he never actually changed anything. So I can not say that he was terribly effective, yet there was little he could have done as S gaining any real power again.