The Genesis of the Cult of Trotsky in the Russian Civil War

Abstract

AbstractFrom 1914 onwards, leader‐centric imagery became a prominent component of hegemonic Russian political discourse, and these early cults of military and political leaders served as inspiration for later veneration of Lenin and Stalin. The case of Leon Trotsky, a top leader of the Red Army and the Soviet state, is of crucial importance for understanding the political universe of the revolutionary era. However, among the many biographies of Trotsky, including those which focus heavily on his Civil War‐era political activities, few consider how the symbolic image of Trotsky was manifested in political communication. This article addresses the genesis of the Trotsky cult in its early stage during the Russian Civil War, asking who and how participated in the formation of the cult, and what its meanings were in the context of the revolutionary milieu. Based on an analysis of dominant narratives in the Soviet press, including Trotsky's personal newspaper, as well as of the language of the people's letters to the leader, the article concludes that the cult‐building is best understood as a part of multiple, local, often individual initiatives, rather than as a conscious, well‐coordinated, top‐down political propaganda strategy of Soviet officials.