Why didn't Trotsky take over the USSR after Lenin?

After Lenin took a one-way trip to deadsville the leadership of the USSR was up in the air. As you'll know Stalin, who Lenin thought was kind of lame, took over and Trotsky was sidelined, exiled and later deadificated. So why did this happen? Why didn't Trotsky take over the USSR after Lenin? To find out watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

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[jalawami]

"The Soviet government has congratulated Belgium on not becoming western Germany, but has issued a reminder to its own neighbours that such independence isn't guaranteed." Tell me what you want, but the newspaper texts are the best part of these videos. He just puts so much effort into something that is on screen for like a half a second.

[Janny]

One little thing led to Trotsky downfall that’s not talked about much is Poland. The Soviet’s disastrous war in the early ‘20s contributed greatly to dashing Trotsky’s political career.

[CSquared]

Stalins tactic of “agree now, purge later” is just so damn simple that it could be said Trotsky’s stubbornness killed him.

[jbshiva]

This does make me wonder how Trotsky's rule of the USSR would have realistically turned out. I say realistically because all I've seen of exploring this hypothetical route is the world somehow turning into a magical communist paradise. But realistically, how would Trotsky have handled the USSR considering it was still recovering from the Russian Civil War, was isolated from the global economy, and the German Communist Revolution that Lenin was counting on to set off a wave of European Communist revolutions did not pan out.

[francesco]

Moral of the story: if you don't like a guy and you think he should not be your successor you should not put him into a key position where he is able to gain more and more power while silently killing his rivals, expecially if that guy is famous for being power hungry, extremely brutal and with basically no morals to stop him.

[Dalynx]

Alternate Title: How Stalin Became the Leader of the USSR with the Power of Friendship

[NotSoOtto]

Fun fact: Stalin (or one of his mates) gave Trotsky the wrong date for Lenin's state funeral, making it seem like he opposed Lenin to the general public as he did not turn up while most other Bolsheviks members did.
Also, the politburo did not publicly disclose Lenin's Testament to the public that praised Trotsky and heavily critisized Stalin (asking for the removal of his powerful General Secretary position), which probably would have stopped Stalins rise to power.

[EpicGamerWinXD]

Next Video: “Is Transnistria technically the entire USSR?”

[valmid]

Trotsky: utilizes workers tools as a symbol

Also Trotsky: *gets killed by a worker’s tool*

[TurtleChad]

Lenin: "I want Trotsky to be in charge"

Trotsky: "Nice pick"

Stalin: "Ice pick"

[vostroyanfirstborn]

God, that animation beneath the credits is both appropriate and chilling

[infidel]

LOVE the part at 3:07 where the guy next to Stalin gets erased. Art imitates life!

[yugoslavball]

“After Lenin came down with a case of the deads” the absolute humor of this channel is amazing.
Edit: MOM I’M FAMOUS :D

[ArthurCSchaperMR]

Still waiting for you to do the following videos!

1. Why did the Revolutions of 1848 fail in Germany and Spain?
2. Why do people drive on different sides of the road in different countries?

[joktann]

Stalin never fails to impress me with how diligent he was with purges lol

[harveyaa]

It’s because that’s what James Bisonette wanted

[davidmartinez]

What a way to start the video. Your sense of humor is vastly underrated and is one of the main reasons I enjoy your content so much.

[Breadlord]

Could you make a video on the short lived Chinese empire of 1915-16? It’s a VERY fascinating topic that doesn’t get talked about much

[corindolan]

C'mon, we all know its because he picked the wrong civil war path

[SanderDoesThings]

Lenin getting the 'No' sign from the gates of heaven is the funniest thing I've seen on the channel