Thus Trotsky played a crucial role in keeping the Bolshevik regime alive. He was then made war commissar and in this capacity, built up the Red Army which prevailed against the White Russian forces in the civil war. His first post in the new government was as foreign commissar, where he found himself negotiating peace terms with Germany. Despite previous disagreements with Lenin, Trotsky joined the Bolsheviks and played a decisive role in the communist take-over of power in the same year. After the outbreak of revolution in Petrograd in February 1917, he made his way back to Russia. While Lenin assumed leadership of the 'Bolshevik' (majority) faction, Trotsky became a member of the 'Menshevik' (minority) faction and developed his theory of 'permanent revolution'. Eventually, he escaped Siberia and spent the majority of the next 15 years abroad, including a spell in London. He was soon arrested, jailed and exiled to Siberia where he joined the Social Democratic Party. Trotsky became involved in underground activities as a teenager. His father was a prosperous Jewish farmer. Trotsky was born Lev Davidovich Bronstein on 7 November 1879 in Yanovka, Ukraine, then part of Russia. But he lost out to Joseph Stalin in the power struggle that followed Lenin's death, and was assassinated while in exile. © Trotsky was a key figure in the Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia, second only to Vladimir Lenin in the early stages of Soviet communist rule.
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