Leon Trotsky House Museum

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In 1937 Leon Trotsky, one of the central figures of the Russian Revolution, arrived in Mexico in search of political and humanitarian asylum. Thanks to the intervention of President Lazaro Cardenas, the communist leader was received in the port of Tampico by the painter Frida Kahlo, in representation of Diego Rivera, and by other friends and comrades.

 

The Leon Trotsky House Museum, Rio Churubusco 410, is a very distinct presence in Mexico City’s Coyoacán neighborhood.

The Mexican home of León Davidovich Bronstein, companion of Lenin in the Russian Revolution. This is where he lived his last exile.

This is where he was attacked by a blow with an ice ax, on the evening of August 20, 1940, by an emissary of Stalin’s named Jacques Mornard.

As of 1982, the house is a historic monument, and a museum since 1990.

At that time, it was located on the outskirts of the town of Coyoacan, next to a stream connected to the Churubusco River.

The museum consists of the house in which Trotsky and his wife lived, as well as his grandson and several assistants. A garden with high walls surrounds it, plus the living quarters for the house guards. Two exhibition rooms were added to the house, as well as offices, a library and an auditorium.

The house is rather small. At one end of the garden there is a fortified tower, crowned with a bronze eagle that was part of the original house.

The interior of the house remains just the way it was when Trotsky lived in it. It is dark, with a few steel blinds that cover the windows, and has the ambience of mystery attached to it.

The bullet holes in some of the exterior and interior walls produced by the assault against Trotsky and his family in May, 1940, are still preserved.

The kitchen’s pots and pans, in traditional Mexican style, are also conserved. Some pieces of the modest wardrobe in the room stay as they were left.

Trotsky’s studio is located in the center of the house. His things are kept just the way he left them. These include work instruments, documents and books.

The garden is still kept with flowers and the cacti, which evoke the original plants that Trotsky collected. Tending to his garden and keeping rabbits and chickens was one of his favorite pastimes.

In the center of the garden there is a stela, a stone monument designed by Juan O’Gorman. It has the cremated remains of Trotsky and Natalia Sedova.

Visitors can see photographs, newspaper cutouts and personal mementos. They can see images of the Trotsky family, and of his participation in the Bolshevik Revolution, as well as pictures of his friends in Mexico.

This house has the imprint of a presence that is yet to be deciphered, of Mexico’s recent past.

Today it is surrounded by tranquil streets, walkways, attractive bars and restaurants.

Visit the Trotsky Museum House on Río Churubusco 410, Col del Carmen, Coyoacán, Mexico City. Hours of operation: Tuesday – Sunday, 10:00 – 17:00 hrs.

Today it is surrounded by tranquil streets, walkways, attractive bars and restaurants.