ABSTRACT
Soon after the murder of Ignaz Reiss, Stalin ordered the NKVD to assassinate Trotsky.1 After Reiss informed Trotsky’s son Lev Sedov about the discovery of Stalin’s Okhrana file, Sedov in turn reported this information to his father. Stalin feared that Trotsky might publicize this information. The first attempt on Trotsky’s life was made in January 1938, shortly before the murder of Sedov. Trotsky escaped unharmed. His suspicion that Stalin was behind this assassination attempt increased after his son’s murder in February and the murders of Trotsky’s aides Rudolf Klement and Erwin Wolf. Trotsky and his wife, Natalia Sedova, were greatly hurt by the death of their son, in whom they lost not only a beloved son but a devoted assistant as well. Ironically, if Sedov reported to Trotsky the discovery of Stalin’s Okhrana file, the news fell on deaf ears: Trotsky always denied all accusations that Stalin had ever been an Okhrana agent. To Trotsky, such blasphemy seemed inconceivable.
