Leon TrotskyJulius Martov, letter to Pavel Axelrod on Leon Trotsky (March 2, 1903)Lenin suggested that we admit Trotsky, whom you know, to the editorial staff, by right. His literary work testifies to an undeniable talent, he is completely "ours" in his thinking, he is entirely identified with the interests of Iskra and, here, abroad, he exercises considerable influence, thanks to his exceptional eloquence. He speaks magnificently; he couldn't do better. Anatole Lunarcharsky wrote about Trotsky's role in the failure of the Russian Revolution of 1905 in his book Silhouettes. Trotsky's popularity among the St. Petersburg proletariat was very great at the time of his arrest, and it was further increased by his efficiency and heroic behavior at the trial. I must say that Trotsky, of all the social democratic leaders of 1905-1906, undoubtedly showed himself, despite his youth, to be the best prepared; and he was the least marked by the émigré narrow-mindedness which handicapped even Lenin. He understood better than the others what the state struggle is. He also emerged from the revolution with the greatest gains in popularity; neither Lenin nor Martov gained much. Plekhanov lost a lot because of the semi-liberal tendencies he revealed. But now Trotsky was in the forefront. Maxim Gorky, New Life (November 7, 1917) The similarities between Lenin and Trotsky Lenin, Trotsky and their supporters have already been poisoned by the rotten venom of power. The proof is their attitude towards freedom of expression and the person and towards all the ideals for which democracy fought. Blind... middle of paper... and that his greatest significance, his greatest value, did not lie in his physical life, nor in his epic deeds, which eclipse those of all the heroic figures of history in their their sweep and greatness, but in what he would leave behind once the assassins had done their work. He knew his fate was sealed and he worked against time to leave all that was possible for us and, through us, for humanity. During the eleven years of his last exile, he chained himself to his desk like a galley slave and worked, as none of us know how to work, with such energy, such perseverance and such discipline that only men of genius can work. He worked against time to pour out through his pen all the rich contents of his powerful brain and preserve it in permanent written form for us and for those who will come after us..