Frommer's Review
During Lenin's last days, Stalin and Trotsky fought a silent battle for leadership of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. Trotsky stuck to ideology, while Stalin took control of the party mechanism. Stalin won, and Trotsky was exiled to continue his ideological struggle elsewhere. Invited by Diego Rivera, an ardent admirer of his work, he settled here on the outskirts of Mexico City to continue his writings on political topics and Communist ideology.
His ideas clashed with those of Stalin in many respects, and Stalin, wanting no opposition or dissension in the world Communist ranks, set out to have Trotsky assassinated. A first attempt failed, but it served as a warning to Trotsky, his wife, Natalia, and their household. The house became a veritable fortress, with watchtowers, thick steel doors, and round-the-clock guards, several of whom were Americans who sympathized with Trotsky's philosophies. Finally, a man thought to have been paid, cajoled, or blackmailed by Stalin, directly or indirectly, was able to gain admittance to the house by posing as a friend of Trotsky's and a believer of his political views. On August 20, 1940, he put an ice pick into the philosopher's head. The assailant was caught, and Trotsky died of his wounds shortly afterward. Because Trotsky and Rivera had previously had a falling out -- Trotsky was having an affair with Rivera's wife, Frida Kahlo -- Rivera was a suspect for a short time.
You can visit Natalia's study, the communal dining room, and Trotsky's study -- with worksheets, newspaper clippings, books, and cylindrical wax dictating records still spread around -- as well as the fortresslike bedroom. Some of the walls bear the bullet holes left from the first attempt on his life. Trotsky's tomb, designed by Juan O'Gorman, is in the garden. You can recognize this house by the brick riflemen's watchtowers on top of the high stone walls.
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