[dennisw]

I'd say Trotsky most definitely was ruthless enough.

Hardly so. After his big splash he got exiled and removed in stages from the inner circles and from Russia itself. He was nothing compared to Stalin and Stalin's politburo, all monsters who one way or another managed to stay in Russia and lead while Trotsky got booted. Eventually killed in a most savage way to send a message.

[x]

You apparently have a soft spot for old Lev. The man who told the rebels of Kronshtadt that they would be "slaughtered like partridges" was certainly ruthless enough with "class enemies." Clearly he wasn't in Stalin's category -- largely because he wouldn't treat party members with the same distrust and brutality as outsiders. But I don't see much point in excusing his brutality. Trotsky lacked Stalin's paranoia, but neither he nor Lenin would have held back from ultimate brutalities if they felt them necessary. One might as well give Mussolini or Ho Chi Minh a pass because they weren't Hitler or Mao. The "famous dictators" scale isn't always the relevant one. Sometimes one has to make a comparison to ordinary humanity.