Leon Trotsky, most at home as an orator, made his last major public speech, considered among his finest and most inspired, in Copenhagen on November 27, 1932. The talk was not just a comprehensive statement on the particular and unique history of the Soviet experience, it was a also ringing defense of that revolution, the imperative of revolution in general, and the possibility of human freedom opened by such events. Two thousand people heard Trotsky, who had traveled from exile in Turkey on a surprise visa at the invitation of a Social Democratic student group. Produced by Pioneer Publishers, the newly established publishing house established by the Communist League of America (Opposition) and published in New York City in 1930. The title page is incorrect both in name and date. The real title being ‘In Defense of October,’ and date of the talk in November. Online text of speech here.

In Defense of the Russian Revolution by Leon Trotsky. Pioneer Publishers, New York. February, 1932.

Contents: In Defense of the October Revolution, The Causes of October, The Peasantry, The Bolshevik Party, Fifteen Years of the Soviet Regine, The Balance Sheet of October, The Revolution and Its Place in History. 45 pages.

PDF of pamphlet: ucf.digital.flvc.org/islandora/object/ucf%3A5602/datastream/OBJ/download/In_defense_of_the_Russian_revolution__Speech_delivered_at_Copenhagen__December_1932.pdf