1940: Leon Trotsky Assassinated by Soviet Agent in Mexico
Leon Trotsky, Russian revolutionary and founder of the Red Army, was attacked at his fortified home in Coyoacan, Mexico City, on 20 August 1940. The attacker, Ramon Mercader, was an undercover agent of the Soviet secret police, the NKVD, who had spent months gaining the trust of those in Trotsky’s inner circle.
Mercader struck Trotsky with an ice axe, inflicting a fatal wound to the skull. Trotsky died the following day, aged 60. Mercader was arrested at the scene, convicted of murder, and served 20 years in a Mexican prison. He was later awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union medal by Stalin.
