Scientific article

UDK 94(47).084.3 "1919"

pdf-version

Sergei G. Piroev
master's degree, Saint Petersburg State University
(St. Petersburg, Russia),
spiroyev@mail.ru

Leon Trotsky as the Leader of the autumn defence of Petrograd in 1919

Scientific adviser:
Ilya S. Ratkovsky
Reviewer:
Svetlana N. Filimonchik
Paper submitted on: 06/05/2025;
Accepted on: 06/29/2025;
Published online on: 06/29/2025.
Abstract. The article analyzes activities of Leon Trotsky, Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council, during the defense of Petrograd in the autumn of 1919, avoiding ideological bias or tendencies toward idealization or demonization of his actions. This research involved examinig archival materials from the Central State Archive of St. Petersburg, which had not been previously introduced into scholarly discourse. Drawing on a combination of published sources, archival materials, and existing scholarly literature, the author concludes that Trotsky’s leadership during the autumn defense was marked by contradictions, but his decisions ultimately contributed to a strategic shift at the front in favor of the Red Army.
Keywords: Russian Civil War, defense of Petrograd, Leon Trotsky, Northwestern Army, Seventh Army

For citation: Piroev, S. G. Leon Trotsky as the Leader of the autumn defence of Petrograd in 1919. StudArctic forum. 2025, 10 (2): 22–31.

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