Leon Trotsky used a lot of pseudonyms, pen names and alias all his life, for various reasons (political persecution first by Czarist and later by Stalinist repression organs, living under illegal or half-legal conditions, factual prohibition of publishing and so on). He used those alias as writer, editor and contributor as well as in false passports.
The name 'Leon Trotsky' [Russian: Lev Trotskii, or Lev Davidovich Trotskii, cyrillic: Лев Давидович Троцкий] itself is a pseudonym which was adopted by young Lev Davidovich Bronshtein [cyrillic: Лев Давидович Бронштейн] — his real name by birth — when he had to put a name into a falsified passport which he needed to escape from his first Siberian banishment in 1902. By the way, it was said that 'Trotsky' [Троцкий] was simply the name of one of his prison guards in Odessa.
After the October Revolution, for legal or citizen requirements (in order not to oblige his sons who had the name of her mother [Trotsky's companion N.I. Sedova], i.e. Sedov, to change their names, Trotsky officially took the name of his companion, i.e. Lev Davidovich Sedov. However, this change of name obviously was a pure technical matter; thus, Trotsky, so far as we know, neither published nor signed any document using his passport name 'Sedov'.
Trotsky's [Bronshtein's] pseudonyms are listed here alphabetically with some occasional comments. Most of these pseudonyms were used only sporadically, during certain periods of his life, while others were used in earlier as well as in later years. Many pen names were used by Trotsky only in correspondence but not in published items, others were used exclusively in internal bulletins of the Left Opposition movement.
Please note that variant forms of spelling (e.g. as a result from different transliterations of Russian cyrillic characters) are not listed in the following table but in a separate list below.
Occasionally, Trotsky used the names of some his secretaries when signing certain documents (e.g. letters) during his final exile period (Turkey, [1929-1933], France, [1933-1935], Norway [1935-1936], and Mexico [1937-1940]); below you find a list of Trotsky's secretaries (1929-1940).
For some general explanations with regard to pseudonyms, name authority files and related issues see our introductory notes to the Name files chapter of TrotskyanaNet.
| Pseudonym, acronym, alias, pen name |
Comments (occasionally) |
|---|---|
| A. | |
| Abel | ca. 1939 |
| A.Breton & D.Rivera | 1938 |
| Al'fa | Til 1917 as well as during exile, 1930s, e.g. in contributions to Biulleten' Oppozitsii |
| Alpha | Til 1917 as well as during exile, 1930s, e.g. in contributions to Biulleten' Oppozitsii |
| Anton | |
| Ant.Ot. | short for Antid Oto |
| Antid Oto | during his first banishment to Siberia, 1900-1902, e.g. as contributor to Vostochnoe Obozrenie and Iskra; occasionally also used in later years, e.g. as contributor to Kievskaia Mysl' [ps. means antidote, counterpoison] |
| A.O. | short for Antid Oto |
| Arbuzov | in Kiev, 1905 |
| Aslan David-Ogly | Trotskyist captives in Stalin's prison camps occasionally refered to Trotsky as Aslan David-Ogly [Aslan meaning 'lion' and David-Ogly meaning son of David] |
| B | |
| Bernie | |
| Clave | |
| Cornell | during last year of Mexican exile. Charles Cornell (1911-1989) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from June 1939 - Aug. 1940) |
| Cr. | short for Crux |
| Crux | during exile, 1933-1940, chiefly in internal bulletins and the like |
| D. | |
| Dae | |
| D.Rivera | 1938 |
| Ds. | |
| En | 1916 |
| Etienne | during exile, 1930s |
| G. | during exile, 1930s, short for Gurov, Gourov ... |
| G--- | during exile, 1930s, short for Gurov, Gourov ... |
| G.G. | during exile, 1930s, short for Gurov, Gourov ... |
| G.Gourov | during exile, 1930s |
| G.Guroff | during exile, 1930s |
| G.Gurov | during exile, 1930s |
| G.Gurow | during exile, 1930s |
| Hansen | during last years of Mexican exile. Joseph Hansen (1910-1979) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Oct. 1937 - Jan. 1939, from Oct. 1939 - Jan. 1940 and from June - Aug. 1940) |
| I.Ianovskii | as member of the St. Peterburg Soviet of Workers' Deputies, 1905 |
| I.S. | during exile, 1930s, in internal documents. I.S. = International Secretariat |
| Ja.G. | in Biulleten' oppozitsii |
| J.Hansen | during last years of Mexican exile. Joseph Hansen (1910-1979) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Oct. 1937 - Jan. 1939, from Oct. 1939 - Jan. 1940 and from June - Aug. 1940) |
| Joe Hansen | during last years of Mexican exile. Joseph Hansen (1910-1979) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Oct. 1937 - Jan. 1939, from Oct. 1939 - Jan. 1940 and from June - Aug. 1940) |
| Joseph Hansen | during last years of Mexican exile. Joseph Hansen (1910-1979) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Oct. 1937 - Jan. 1939, from Oct. 1939 - Jan. 1940 and from June - Aug. 1940) |
| K. | during exile, 1930s, e.g. in Biulleten' oppozitsii. Short for Kruks |
| Kh. | during exile, from 1929, e.g. in Biulleten' oppozitsii and in internal documents |
| Kruks | during exile, 1933-1940, e.g. in Biulleten' oppozitsii and in internal documents |
| Kuznenko | |
| L.Amago | 1938 |
| L.D. | short for Lev Davidovich ... |
| L.D.Trotskii | |
| Lee | |
| Lejba Bronshtein | 1900 |
| Leo | |
| Leon | |
| Leon Davidovich | |
| Léon Sedov | name of his son [Lev L'vovich Sedov] |
| Leo N.Trotskii | |
| Lev Davidovich Sedov | name in his passport, after 1917 |
| Lev N.Trotskii | 1917 |
| Level Léon Lanis | in faked French passport 1934 |
| L.Ianov | ? |
| L.Ianovskii | [see I. Ianovskii] |
| Linier | |
| Liud | |
| L.N. | |
| L.N.T. | before 1917 |
| L.Sedov | name of his son [Lev L'vovich Sedov] |
| L.T. | short for Lev Trotskii, Leon Trotsky ... |
| Lund | during exile, 1930s |
| L.Vladimirov | |
| Lvov | as pamphletist in Nikolaev and Odessa, ca. 1897 |
| M. | |
| Marcel | |
| Meunier | 1930s |
| M.N. | |
| M.Puntervold | Michael Puntervold (1879-1937) was Trotsky's lawyer during exile in Norway |
| M.Sedov | name of his son [Lev L'vovich Sedov] |
| N. | |
| Neofit | 1907 |
| Ni--dim | |
| Nikolai | 1928 |
| N.I.Trotskii | 1904-1917 |
| N.N. | during exile, 1930s, e.g. in Biulleten' oppozitsii |
| Non-Pacifist | |
| N.T. | [also: n.t.] |
| N.Takhotskii | in prison, 1906 |
| N.T--kii | short for N. Trotskii |
| N.Trotskii | 1903 - 1918. [Also: N.T. ; n.t. ; T-skii] |
| N.Trotsky | til 1917 |
| O'Brien | during last years of Mexican exile. Vaughan Thomas O'Brien (1910-1995) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Sept. 1938 - Sept. 1939) |
| Old Man | during exile, 1930s, used in correspondence |
| O.M. | short for Old Man |
| Onken | during exile, 1930s, used in correspondence |
| Opmerker | |
| Ot redaktsii | used on and on |
| Pama | |
| Papa | |
| Paul | |
| Pero | during his first banishment to Siberia, 1900-1902 and as member of the Iskra team [Pero = pen, feather] |
| Petr Aleksandrov | |
| Petr Petrovich | in St. Peterburg, 1905 |
| Piochitas | |
| Postoronii | |
| P.Tanas | in prison, July 1917 |
| Red. | short for Redaktsiia [=editorial board]. Used on an on |
| Redaktsiia | used on and on |
| Rork | during last years of Mexican exile, 1939-1940, e.g. in internal documents. Walter Ketley (aka Rork, Rourke, O'Rourke,) (1917[?]-1990[?]) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Dec. 1939 - Aug. 1940) |
| R.Ruskin | |
| Samokovliev | in a false passport, used for travel to London, 1902 |
| S.I. | S.I. = Secrétariat International |
| S.S. | during his first banishment to Siberia, 1900-1902 |
| Starik | (meaning "old man") during exile, 1930s, used in correspondence |
| Sympathizer | |
| T. | short for Trotskii, e.g. in Biulleten' oppozitsii |
| Tarov | during exile, 1930s, in Biulleten' oppozitsii |
| T--ii | short for Trotskii |
| T--skii | short for Trotskii |
| T.Vaughan | during last years of Mexican exile. Vaughan Thomas O'Brien (1910-1995) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Sept. 1938 - Sept. 1939) |
| Uncle Leo(n) | during exile, 1930s, in correspondence |
| V. | during exile, 1930s, in correspondence |
| Van | during exile, 1930s, in correspondence. Van = nickname of Jean VanHeijenoort (1912-1986), one of Trotsky's secretaries during his exile in Turkey, France, Norway and Mexico (from Oct. 1932 - Sept. 1936 and from Jan. 1937 - Nov. 1939) |
| Vérité | |
| Vidal | 1934-1935 |
| Vikentev | in St. Peterburg, 1905 |
| Vivos Voco | |
| Vremenno-obiazannyi | |
| V.T.O. | during last years of Mexican exile. Vaughan Thomas O'Brien (1910-1995) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Sept. 1938 - Sept. 1939) |
| V.T.O'Brien | during last years of Mexican exile. Vaughan Thomas O'Brien (1910-1995) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Sept. 1938 - Sept. 1939) |
| V.Vern | during exile, 1930s, e.g. in internal documents |
| Wolfe | during last years of Mexican exile, e.g. in 1937. Bernard Wolfe (1915-1985) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Jan.-Aug. 1937) |
| W.R. | during last years of Mexican exile, 1939-1940, e.g. in internal documents. Walter Ketley (aka Rork, Rourke, O'Rourke,) (1917[?]-1990[?]) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Dec. 1939 - Aug. 1940) |
| W.Rork | during last years of Mexican exile, 1939-1940, e.g. in internal documents. Walter Ketley (aka Rork, Rourke, O'Rourke,) (1917[?]-1990[?]) was one of Trotsky's secretaries and guards in Coyoacán (from Dec. 1939 - Aug. 1940) |
| --X | 1930s |
| Yan Vanovskii | [see I. Ianovskii] |
| Your Old Man | during exile, 1930s, used in correspondence |
The following is a - probably not at all complete - alphabetically arranged list of the various forms (varying with regard to spelling, transliteration and completeness) of Trotsky's name (his adopted name as well as his real name by birth) as appearing in library catalogues, name authority files, encyclopaedias, book covers, passports, passenger lists, police records, governmental documents etc.:
Full Cyrillic form (Russian, not Yiddish variant!) of Trotsky's adopted name and name by birth:
Лев Давидович Троцкий
Лев Давидович Бронштейн
Note: For further forms of name and pseudonyms (in Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Farsi, Chinese, Japanese etc.) see
VIAF ID 19685134 [VIAF=Virtual International Authority File]
When signing documents (e.g. letters), Trotsky occasionally used, as mentioned above, the names (or, pseudonyms, or, nick names) of men and women who functioned as secretaries to him during his final exile period; countries of exile were: Turkey (1929-1933), France (1933-1935), Norway (1935-1936), and Mexico (1937-1940).
What follows is an alphabetical list of Trotsky's secretaries from 1929 to 1940; a red asterisk (*) behind a secretary's name means that a biographical sketch of the respective person is provided within TrotskyanaNet's Bio-Bibliographies chapter.
The list is embedded as an image file, but see also a PDF-alternative.
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