The Leon Trotsky House Museum, Trotsky Museum, or Trotsky House Museum, ( es, Museo Casa de León Trotsky, links=no) is a museum honoring
Leon Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
and an organization that works to promote
political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...
, located in the
Coyoacán
Coyoacán ( , ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. The former village is now the borough's "historic center". The name comes from Nahuatl and most likely means "place of coyotes", when the Aztecs named a pre-Hispanic vil ...
neighborhood of
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. Its official name is Instituto del Derecho de Asilo - Museo Casa de León Trotsky (Right of Asylum Institute - Leon Trotsky House Museum).
The center of the complex is the house where Trotsky and his second wife,
Natalia Sedova
Natalia Ivanovna Sedova (russian: Ната́лья Ива́новна Седо́ва; 5 April 1882 Romny, Russian Empire – 23 January 1962, Corbeil-Essonnes, Paris, France) is best known as the second wife of Leon Trotsky, the Russian revolutio ...
, lived from April 1939 to August 1940, and where Trotsky was murdered. The house has been kept as it was at that time, especially the study in which
Ramón Mercader
Jaime Ramón Mercader del Río (7 February 1913 – 18 October 1978),Photograph oMercader's Gravestone/ref> more commonly known as Ramón Mercader, was a Spanish communist and NKVD agent, who assassinated Russian Bolshevik revolutionary Leon Tr ...
killed Trotsky with an
ice pick
The ice pick is a pointed metal tool used from the 1800s to the 1900s to break, pick or chip at ice. The design consists of a sharp metal spike attached to a wooden handle. The tool's design has been relatively unchanged since its creation. The ...
to the back of the head. Around the house is a garden and high walls with watchtowers.
A former handball court – to the rear of the actual house – has been modified and incorporated into a library, contemporary gallery, permanent display, offices, and auditorium. It now serves as the main entrance to the museum on Río Churubusco 410.
"On September 24, 1982, by presidential decree, the property was declared a historical monument" and the complex was turned into the current museum and asylum institution in 1990, on the 50th anniversary of the assassination.
History
Trotsky’s exile
Trotsky was forced into exile outside the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in February 1929 because of his criticism of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
's government. For the next eight years, Trotsky and his wife, Natalia Sedova, wandered among several countries under surveillance, and later under a death sentence due to Trotsky's persistent political activity against Stalin from exile. Trotsky was pursued by Stalinist agents, and other enemies like
White émigré
White Russian émigrés were Russians who emigrated from the territory of the former Russian Empire in the wake of the Russian Revolution (1917) and Russian Civil War (1917–1923), and who were in opposition to the revolutionary Bolshevik commun ...
s from the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
, at his exile in Turkey from February 1929 to July 1933, in France from July 1933 to June 1935, and in Norway from June 1935 to December 1936.
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
and
Frida Kahlo
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...
were successful in persuading the
Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas del Río (; 21 May 1895 – 19 October 1970) was a Mexican army officer and politician who served as president of Mexico from 1934 to 1940.
Born in Jiquilpan, Michoacán, to a working-class family, Cárdenas joined the M ...
government to give the Trotskys political asylum in Mexico, and Trotsky and Sedova arrived in Mexico in January 1937.
From January 1937 to April 1939, the couple lived at
Frida Kahlo
Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by the country's popular culture, ...
's family home called
“La Casa Azul” (The Blue House), which is located in the Coyoacán borough of Mexico City. However, by 1939, Diego Rivera and Leon Trotsky had a falling-out. Some stories state that it was over ideology and Diego's criticism of Trotsky's writing and others state that Trotsky had had an affair with Frida, or a combination of both. The Trotskys then moved to the house on Viena Street in the same district in April 1939, not far from The Blue House.
Trotsky's grandson, Esteban Volkov, also lived with Trotsky and Sedova at the Viena Street house from August 1939 to August 1940.
Assassination
While Mexico had an active Communist movement at that time, like elsewhere it was divided between those who supported Stalin and those who opposed him. On 24 May 1940, a failed attempt on Trotsky's life was led by NKVD agent
Iosif Grigulevich
Iosif Romualdovich Grigulevich (russian: Иосиф Ромуальдович Григулевич; May 5, 1913 – June 2, 1988) was a Soviet secret police (NKVD) operative active between 1937 and 1953, when he played a role in assassination plots ...
and Mexican painter
David Alfaro Siqueiros
David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...
. The group were disguised as police officers and managed to overpower guards, set up machine guns in the house's inner courtyard and began firing at the various rooms of the small house. Those inside survived by hiding under bedroom furniture. Trotsky's grandson was wounded in the foot.
Robert Sheldon Harte
Robert Sheldon Harte (1915 – May 24, 1940) was an American Communist who worked as one of Leon Trotsky’s assistants and bodyguards in Coyoacán, Mexico. During the Stalinist attack against Trotsky’s household on May 24, 1940, Harte was abduc ...
, a young assistant and bodyguard of Trotsky, was abducted and later murdered, but the other guards defeated the attackers. This attack prompted the building of the walls that surround the property and the building of guard towers, which gives the property a fortress-like appearance.
![StudyTrotskyCoyoacanDF](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/StudyTrotskyCoyoacanDF.JPG)
The next attempt on Trotsky's life, on 20 August 1940, was successful. A Spanish Stalin supporter by the name of
Ramón Mercader
Jaime Ramón Mercader del Río (7 February 1913 – 18 October 1978),Photograph oMercader's Gravestone/ref> more commonly known as Ramón Mercader, was a Spanish communist and NKVD agent, who assassinated Russian Bolshevik revolutionary Leon Tr ...
, under the name of Jacson Mornard and with a Canadian passport, had become the lover of Trotsky's personal secretary. As such, he gained the household's trust and was permitted on the premises.
On that day, Mercader asked Trotsky to look over something he had written, and as Trotsky read the work, Mercader removed an alpine climbing axe from his coat and struck Trotsky in the back of the skull.
The blow to Trotsky's head was bungled and failed to kill Trotsky instantly, as Mercader had intended. Witnesses stated that Trotsky spat on Mercader and began struggling fiercely with him, which resulted in Mercader's hand being broken. Hearing the commotion, Trotsky's bodyguards burst into the room and nearly killed Mercader, but Trotsky stopped them, laboriously stating that the assassin should be made to answer questions.
[Volkogonov, Dmitri (1996). ''Trotsky: The Eternal Revolutionary.'' Free Press. ; p. 466] Trotsky was taken to a hospital, operated on, and survived for more than a day before he died on 21 August 1940, as a result of loss of blood and shock.
Mercader was arrested by Mexican police, convicted of murder and spent twenty years in a Mexican prison. When he was released in 1960, Mercader reportedly fled to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, then
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, where he received the
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
. According to some later reports, he would die of cancer in
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. .
The room in which Trotsky was killed remains exactly as it was at that moment, including the papers and the books in their exact positions.
The museum
The current museum was created on 20 August 1990, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the assassination along with the Instituto del Derecho de Asilo y las Libertades Públicas (Institute for the Right of Asylum and Public Liberties). The latter was created to help other political dissident seeking asylum in Mexico, but it was consolidated with the museum in 1996.
The official name of the organization is now the Instituto del Derecho de Asilo - Museo Casa de León Trotsky.
The museum receives an average of 17,000 foreign visitors each year, along with 50,000 students from visits organized by the
Secretariat of Public Education
The Mexican Secretariat of Public Education ( in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of ...
. The museum is supported only by ticket sales and donations. There is occasional support by the city government such as the renovation of the guard tower.
There is also a gift shop and cafe and it is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10am – 5pm.
House
The museum consists of the house that Trotsky lived in, the garden area and the outer walls with guard facilities, located in a quiet, residential neighborhood next to an arroyo that ran parallel to the Churubusco River.
''
La Jornada
''La Jornada'' (''The Working Day'') is one of Mexico City's leading daily newspapers. It was established in 1984 by Carlos Payán Velver. The current editor ''(directora general)'' is Carmen Lira Saade. ''La Jornada'' has presence in eight sta ...
'' newspaper called the atmosphere of the place “real, tense, not with abundance and not always happy.”
The complex was declared a historic monument in 1982.
The house is small and common for a dwelling built in the early 20th century in the area. One notable exception is a tower topped by a bronze eagle of the type that
Venustiano Carranza
José Venustiano Carranza de la Garza (; 29 December 1859 – 21 May 1920) was a Mexican wealthy land owner and politician who was Governor of Coahuila when the constitutionally elected president Francisco I. Madero was overthrown in a February ...
used during the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
. It is claimed that it was a gift from Carranza to the house's former owner, a Mister Turatti. Bullet holes from the Siqueiros attack are still on the outer walls.
The interior of the house has been kept as it was when Trotsky lived there: the kitchen has its pots and pans, shoes are lined alongside beds, with floors and beds covered by Mexican textiles. There are some bullet holes in the interior as well. The center of the house is Trotsky's study were everything from his glasses, to papers, to books and more are left exactly as they were when Trotsky was attacked.
Garden
The rest of the complex space is taken up by the garden area, which is still maintained with tropical flowers and other plants, such as rare cacti, which Trotsky collected. There are photos in the museum of Trotsky collecting cacti in the Mexican countryside and tending the garden along with the rabbits and chickens which were in the hutches and coops that still exist.
The center of the garden contain a stone stele designed by
Juan O’Gorman
Juan O'Gorman (July 6, 1905 – January 17, 1982) was a Mexican painter and architect.
Early life and family
Juan O'Gorman was born on 6 July 1905 in Coyoacán, then a village to the south of Mexico City and now a borough of the Federal Distri ...
, which contains Trotsky's ashes along with those of his wife. Above the stele is a flagpole with the
Soviet flag
The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), commonly known as the Soviet flag (), was the official state flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1991. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from ...
.
Guards quarters
Along the high outer walls and watchtowers are guard houses and other facilities that have been turned into exhibit halls and other facilities associated with the museum.
These rooms display photographs, newspapers more personal effects of Trotsky and more.
As a museum, some other buildings were added along the walls which contain photos from Trotsky's lifetime, biographical notes in Spanish and memorabilia such as Trotsky trademark small round glasses. The guards’ house contains a permanent photographic collection containing images of Trotsky's family, his participation in the
Bolshevik Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...
and his family tree.
In what were once guest quarters at the end of the garden, hang dozens of black-and-white photos of Trotsky and Natalia accompanied by celebrity friends, such as Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.
Permanent exhibit hall
This contains "a photographic collection that shows Trotsky's family, his participation in the Bolshevik revolution and his family's genealogical tree" As well as personal items, and displays of contextual historical information.
Temporary exhibit halls
There is also an art gallery, which has rotating short term contemporary art exhibitions, installations, and performances by different artists, and sometimes documentary or archival shows.
These art shows include works by graffiti artists and tattoo artists.
Events have been attended by officials from the city's Public Security agency, the borough of Coyoacán, technical schools and even the Cuban embassy.
Auditorium and library
The auditorium seats eighty and the Rafael Galván library has a collection of over 6,000 volumes mostly on the social sciences, economics and politics.
References
External links
Official siteOlder blog
{{Authority control
Museums in Mexico City
Leon Trotsky
Coyoacán
Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
Historic house museums in Mexico
Trotsky
Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...
20th century in Mexico City