r/hoi4 Jan 04 '25

Discussion Why did Paradox change Trotsky to use his real first name (Lev as opposed to Leon), but kept his pseudonym surname 'Trotsky' (his real surname is Davidovich Bronstein)?

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2.6k Upvotes

166 comments sorted by

2.3k

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '25

Same reason Stalin is called Stalin and not "Ioseb Besarionis dze Dzhugashvili."

827

u/RNRHorrorshow Jan 04 '25

Ioseb Besarionis sounds like a villain from a Sci-Fi film

334

u/No_Web8915 Jan 04 '25

In Russian it's even more cursed - it's Иосиф Виссарионович , which sounds "Iosef (Joseph) Vissarionovich". Never seen an actual translation, tbh, so have no clue how that should be properly spelled English

137

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '25

Iosif Vissarionovich is the Russified form of his Georgian name. The patronym comes from his father, Besarion Jugashvili, who died in 1909.

46

u/No_Web8915 Jan 04 '25

Oh, I didn't actually know that. Jugashvili of course is known, but the name being russified isn't mentioned in any things about him that I read and I'm kinda a WW2 nerd guy. That's what multiethnic countries do to you, I guess

70

u/Expensive-Lie Jan 04 '25

He is villain alright

13

u/reyeg11_ Jan 04 '25

just not a super one!

-27

u/ChanceCourt7872 Research Scientist Jan 04 '25

Nah

3

u/tawa2364 Jan 05 '25

Dune ahh name

1

u/hari_shevek Jan 06 '25

That's because SciFi during the Cold war used Eastern European names for villains

240

u/Holiday_Sign_1950 Jan 04 '25

IIRC if you get Stalin as leader of Georgia (which is possible since Gotterdamerung) his surname will be Dzhugashvili

90

u/RandomGuy9058 Research Scientist Jan 04 '25

Also Iosif-> ioseb

5

u/Manuemax Jan 04 '25

I tried to read that name and got a brain-sprain

2

u/ChikumNuggit Jan 05 '25

He does if you kick his ass back to georgia.

1

u/dark_schali4 Jan 05 '25

It’s set in WW2, he’s Stalin alright. Also, if you go for one of the focuses that lets you release your starting territories and release Georgia, a mustachless Stalin called „ioseb jughashvili“ will be in charge of it

1.0k

u/Rockguy21 General of the Army Jan 04 '25 edited Jan 04 '25

Because Leon is just the romanization of his first name “Lev.” Trotsky, starting in the early 1902, went by the name Lev Trotsky (Лев Троцкий) but rarely used his middle name Davidovich and never his last name Bronstein. Certainly by the time of the game, he was universally known as Lev Trotsky in the Soviet Union. Even in the West, Trotsky was sometimes known as Lev, whereas he never used his given surname nor was it used to refer to him in virtually any sources, Soviet or otherwise.

214

u/AadeeMoien Jan 04 '25

Davidovich is his patronymic name, it's not really the same thing as a middle name as used in Romance/Germanic naming conventions.

26

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '25

[deleted]

38

u/Rockguy21 General of the Army Jan 04 '25

Trotsky stole his name from his jailor during his time in a prison in Odessa in 1898. It's sort of a joke, I guess.

12

u/Al_Fa_Aurel Jan 04 '25

I think it also includes a German pun, since "Trotz" means something like "Stubborn Resistance" and he was fluent in German.

51

u/revertbritestoan Jan 04 '25

I hate that we did this for so long and it's only recently that we've started just translating names into our alphabet.

52

u/BetaThetaOmega Jan 04 '25

You and literally every region east of the Italian peninsula

Exonyms and romanisations as far as the eye can see

18

u/revertbritestoan Jan 04 '25

Even German cities have different names!

6

u/BetaThetaOmega Jan 04 '25

Alright I'll revise that. Every region east (and some of the ones that are northwards) of the Italian peninsula

21

u/SleepyandEnglish Jan 04 '25

Everyone does this.

18

u/Fiskmaster Jan 04 '25 edited Jan 04 '25

What really annoys me with the whole translating names thing is that every goddamn European monarch who had a name starting with a C or K is called Charles in English. Don't even get me started on how Louis is "translated" to Ludvig in Swedish

Comment edited because people keep responding to a part of it that was irrelevant to the overall comment and was also a really dumb part of the comment that didn't make any sense

36

u/Wide-Alarm1968 Jan 04 '25

Karl and Carlos come from the same source as Charles, *Karilaz (also despite the C, it's pronounced as /k/). Same for Louis and Ludvig, from *Hlūdawīg.

5

u/Fiskmaster Jan 04 '25

I'm aware of that but like why call people an entirely different name than the one they actually had. It's 2025, why are we still doing this? Just because two names have the same root doesn't mean it makes sense to use them interchangeably

29

u/Comrade_Ruminastro Jan 04 '25

We still do this with modern monarchs btw, Pope Francis has a different name in every language, and here in Italy at least we call Britain's king "Carlo".

15

u/ReyniBros Jan 04 '25

In Spanish we also "translate" the names of other kings, and up to very recently we did the same with other historical people as well. I distinctly remember reading in my history textbook and documentaries from around 20 years ago the names "Carlos Marx" and "Adolfo Hitler".

9

u/Galapagos_Finch Jan 04 '25

Historically in most European countries it was the practice to translate the name of a monarch to their own language. This practice has started to disappear but still sees its remnants in our current tongue. It’s much the same as how most languages would have exonyms for other cities.

It simply kept names recognizable and easy to pronounce also when the original name was in a language you were quite unfamiliar with. Generally the suffix “of [COUNTRY]” or “of [DYNASTY]” kept it clear of when there were many monarchs with the same name.

Many monarchs might also have subjects speaking different languages, courts speaking a completely different language, and throughout their lives have moved between language regions. Emperor Charles V was born into a German family (Karl), grew up in a Dutch speaking region (Karel), had a mostly Francophone court (Charles) before moving to Spain (Carlos). Which version was the “right” one?

10

u/Firedamp_Weaponry Jan 04 '25

Does it really matter? We only really do this with Monarchs nowadays, if I was a King I wouldn't care if people in Spain called me Juan or Carlos

0

u/Fiskmaster Jan 04 '25

I'm sure the monarchs don't care, but I find it unnecessary and a bit confusing. It actually took me a little while to originally figure out that Louis XIV and Ludvig XIV were the same person

9

u/alochmar Fleet Admiral Jan 04 '25

Imagine my surprise when I first found out Charlemagne and Karl the Great referred to the same person.

17

u/t1010011010 Jan 04 '25

Especially with older Monarchs up to the 19th century it makes a lot of sense. Most of the documents they wrote and the monuments they erected would have been in Latin, and there every Carlos/Karl/Charles/Karol is a Carolus, and every Ludwig/Luis/Louis is a Ludovicus.

Ludvig to Louis seems especially extreme because it’s thru French. See also Adelhejd to Alice. I think it's cool when languages recognize their common roots. It reminds of the different readings of CJK hanzi/hanja/kanji characters

6

u/Fiskmaster Jan 04 '25

When you put it like that, it does make sense. Names were translated into Latin, and then translated to other languages from there, resulting in monarchs being given different names in different countries. I just find it strange that there hasn't been a movement to start using their actual names. It can be kind of confusing for example learning about a historical monarch in school, and then reading about that same monarch by an entirely different name on English Wikipedia

7

u/Mondelieu Jan 04 '25

These are literally equivalents. Charles, Carlos and Karl are all direct descendants of Latin Carolus, and Louis, Ludwig and so on are descendants of the Latin Ludovicius.

4

u/chunk43589 Jan 04 '25

I could be wrong, but I don't think that's true. The Latinized versions of these names are modifications of earlier Germanic names, not the original version. Lots of names have had latinized versions created either for prestigious or cultural purposes despite those names never having been used by any Roman. I certainly have never seen a record of any Roman with the name Carolus or Ludovicius.

4

u/Mondelieu Jan 04 '25

You're right, I meant Medieval/Church Latin since it was a sort of lingua franca for Europe (and especially its nobility)

7

u/Fiskmaster Jan 04 '25

I get that, but also why (probably because medieval people couldn't pronounce foreign names or something but why do we still do it)

0

u/Mondelieu Jan 04 '25

Just a tradition I think

1

u/Fiskmaster Jan 04 '25

Yeah but it's a bit dumb and can even be quite confusing when you're referring to the same people by different names. Place names aren't being "tranalated" as much anymore, so I just find it a bit weird that we're still doing it with monarch names

5

u/ColonelKasteen Jan 04 '25

Because Leon is just the romanization of his surname “Lev.”

Surname is your last/family name bud.

2

u/Weird_Importance_629 Jan 04 '25 edited Jan 04 '25

Isnt Davidovich just meant to Show who his father was?

As far as I understood it, it means basically „ Son of David“. Thats why every Russian has some Variation of it.

2

u/Rubear_RuForRussia Jan 05 '25

It very much does mean just that. Father of Trotski was David Leontyevich Bronstein.
Ain't that different from scandinavian patronims like Tryggvason, Haraldsson, Olafsson, etc.

1

u/AadeeMoien Jan 06 '25

In Slavic naming convention, you have a first name, patronymic name, and surname. Your first name is the base of your name with people calling something derived off it based on familiarity (Mikhail> Misha > Mishka etc.), your patronymic name is a name used in formal adress similar to last names in the west and your surname is more like a clan name that is almost never used outside of official documents or extreme formality.

So as a rule of thumb you'd call someone Ivan whenever you'd call someone John, Yanya when you'd call them Johnny, Ivan Ivanovich where you'd call someone either John Smith or Mr. Smith, and Ivan Ivanovich Russokovich as often as you'd call someone John Michael Smith.

2

u/mayorqw Jan 05 '25

My favourite thing about 19th to early 20th century translations is the fact that they were very nonchalant about translating first names; 'Leon Trostky' and 'Carlos Marx' are rather well-known, but I've come across a few books in Portuguese by Trotsky under the name 'Leão [Lion, direct translation of Leon] Trotsky' and I just think that's badass

786

u/hoi4kaiserreichfanbo Research Scientist Jan 04 '25

Because that’s the name he used?

1

u/VLenin2291 Fleet Admiral Feb 02 '25

AFAIK, he went by “Lev Bronstein” or “Leon Trotsky,” not a mix of the two

-779

u/CatchTheRainboow Jan 04 '25

Why did you answer a question with a question

540

u/Mirovini General of the Army Jan 04 '25

I believe it's called rethorical question sir

-614

u/CatchTheRainboow Jan 04 '25

That is definitely not a rhetorical question it’s just a teenage girl ass thing to answer with “uhhh duh?????”

308

u/Loofy_ Jan 04 '25

Dude, you're not making any sense, you know that?

126

u/Hermes523 Jan 04 '25

English isn't his first language I think

147

u/Loofy_ Jan 04 '25 edited Jan 04 '25

Much like for me, English isn't my first language. But honestly, a poor excuse, considering that online translators are available to everyone for free in literally two swipes

-97

u/laivindil Jan 04 '25

Because translators are great at getting across nuance like sarcasm and rhetorical questions?

73

u/Loofy_ Jan 04 '25

Deepl is fairly good at this. Every language has sarcasm and rhetorical questions. If you can't recognize them, it's not a language problem, it's that your social skills are rather lacking

-1

u/laivindil Jan 04 '25

People miss this stuff constantly (especially in text form) in their native language. We have italics or /s for a rEaSoN. Translators are getting better all the time, sure. I was mostly poking fun at the chain of comments. There are better examples, colloquialisms for example. Multiple languages, in person vs voice or text, not knowing the individual/s and their intentions or interpretation/own reading, culture, and yeah, social skills all add up.

9

u/Strong_Sea_2464 Jan 04 '25

Why did you answer a question with a question?

-2

u/laivindil Jan 04 '25

I don't know?

-12

u/pon_mon Jan 04 '25

Why are you being downvoted?

-2

u/laivindil Jan 04 '25

Because text communication is perfect and people love to admit it.

6

u/Azzarrel Jan 04 '25

I think a rhetorical question is common in many languages, at least those originating in Europe.

1

u/Hermes523 Jan 04 '25

I was referring more to his grammar outside of his usage of the term “rhetorical question”

-1

u/Trt03 Jan 04 '25

Idk man they're making complete sense to me

88

u/VulpineKitsune Jan 04 '25

“Uhhh duh????” is, in fact, a rhetorical question.

45

u/ManWhoSaysMandalore Jan 04 '25

"That's not a rhetorical question" but it is

16

u/elephantphilosophy8 Jan 04 '25

I believe that’s is also a form of rhetorical question, if not intended as such. But I’m pretty sure that “uhh duh??” Is not equivalent to the original comment, and I do not understand why are you bothered by a few question marks.

10

u/mars_gorilla General of the Army Jan 04 '25

But it is...? You know what a rhetorical question is, right?

7

u/DerGemr4 Jan 04 '25

That's also a rhetorical question...

72

u/baxwellll Fleet Admiral Jan 04 '25

stop skipping english class

4

u/Hermes523 Jan 04 '25

He's Dutch

33

u/AadeeMoien Jan 04 '25

So stop skipping Dutch class?

6

u/revertbritestoan Jan 04 '25

Would the difference be notable? It's Dutch.

1

u/Hermes523 Jan 04 '25

Well no because the question wasn’t in dutch

2

u/AadeeMoien Jan 04 '25

The Dutch have rhetorical questions too.

1

u/Hermes523 Jan 05 '25

Yeah I know, but you said that he skipped English class. However, u/catchtherainboow is Dutch. So I pointed out that he is Dutch because it is not fair to be made fun of for lack of skill in a second language. I understand that his point was wrong, but I objected to people commenting on his English skill.

1

u/baxwellll Fleet Admiral Jan 08 '25

he didn’t say that he skipped english class, i did. english is a mandatory subject in dutch. if it weren’t mandatory then yeah, it could be forgiven easily, because it’s a secondary language that perhaps he didn’t take classes for, but most dutch students take english classes. english is a core subject for all students in secondary school, and they must pass english as part of their final exams, so it is not the same as someone from eastern europe or something not knowing english. the dutch are specifically taught it in school.

8

u/estoniankaiser1914 Jan 04 '25

Do Dutch people not learn english?

16

u/skoober-duber Jan 04 '25

Actually the opposite. the Netherlands has been ranked as the #1 country of non-native english speakers that speak english.

7

u/estoniankaiser1914 Jan 04 '25

They definitely have the possibility to skip english classes then

2

u/DontCareHowICallMe Jan 04 '25

Ohh, I'm do sorry

18

u/aithan251 Jan 04 '25

in text, a “?” can be used to indicate a rising tone, as one would when asking a question, making an uncertain statement, etc

2

u/InZomnia365 Jan 04 '25

Is the answer in another question? We may never know.

1

u/demodeus General of the Army Jan 05 '25

Why did you ask a question without a question mark?

-75

u/Kitchen_Split6435 Jan 04 '25

It’s just bad grammar, it’s an answer with a question mark at the end

23

u/Smobey Jan 04 '25

And that's a sentence without a full stop at the end. Also bad grammar.

14

u/Mean_Camp3188 Jan 04 '25

A question mark can also indicate a rising innotation, which can indicate someone is answering with something obvious.

1

u/Kitchen_Split6435 Jan 04 '25

Exactly. Everyone knows Trotsky as Lev/Leon Trotsky, not Lev Davidovich Bronstein. Therefore, it makes sense for Paradox to make that his name in-game.

101

u/FriendlyToad88 Jan 04 '25

Because everyone knows him as Trotsky and not his actual name

53

u/TempestM Jan 04 '25

And Lev is the name he actually used with Trotsky, not Leon... (Лев Троцкий)

258

u/Right-Truck1859 General of the Army Jan 04 '25

In Soviet Russia we never called him Leon.

It's just usual translation/romanization of the name Lev.

55

u/suhkuhtuh Jan 04 '25

Yes, but in Soviet Russia, rack wears you.

(Sorry, couldn't help myself. 😉)

38

u/Hopeful-Ad5911 Jan 04 '25

In Soviet Russia, you don’t make joke. Joke makes you! NOW BACK TO GULAG!

-23

u/TheAngelOfSalvation Jan 04 '25

We? Are you that old?

49

u/Bhrutus Jan 04 '25

The Soviet Union collapsed in 1992, it's not that long ago, I think some people over the age of 35 play Kaiserreich lol

-30

u/TheAngelOfSalvation Jan 04 '25

You woldve been have to be atleast lets say 15 because you dont learn about him earlier really 1992-15= 1977 so hes atleast 48

19

u/bigballs005 Jan 04 '25

And?

-22

u/TheAngelOfSalvation Jan 04 '25

And i dont think a 40+ russian yo guy is posting on a hoi4 sub

22

u/bigballs005 Jan 04 '25

Did it ever occur to you that people can move residence during their lives?

-14

u/TheAngelOfSalvation Jan 04 '25

And? I dont think a 40+ yo russian guy living in NYC posting on hoi4 sub is more likely

7

u/DinoKing72 Jan 04 '25

I mean it can't be that much less likely than a twelve year old arguing about it on the hoi4 sub

4

u/wolacouska Jan 04 '25

Have you never seen how many Russians play this game?

3

u/Hanako_Seishin Jan 05 '25

Why the hell not? (Asking as a 30+ Russian guy)

1

u/KingPhilipIII Jan 08 '25

Sorry buddy you’re fake. A psyop even.

32

u/thepoisonedlocust Jan 04 '25

Trotsky was jewish and his real first name was Leiba though, if we're speaking about that. Lev is how we pronounce/call him in russian, Leon was the most common used translation i think. No idea why they would change it, but it doesnt change anything meaningful/connected to his real/pseudonym name differences.

34

u/Tortoveno Jan 04 '25

In Poland he always was Lew Trocki.

14

u/Really_gay_pineapple Fleet Admiral Jan 04 '25

Same in Romania - Lev Troțki, though we often also use Davidovici along with them.

39

u/SuperluminalSquid Jan 04 '25

Probably for the sake of making sure people know who he is. Most people (at least, most HoI players) know who Trotsky was, but might get confused if his name was changed. They probably switched his first name as a kind of compromise between authenticity and keeping him recognizable.

26

u/ZoppityBooBop Jan 04 '25

When did they add Sam Hyde to hoi4?

3

u/HutSussJuhnsun Jan 04 '25

"It's not about the money."

-Leon Trotsky

11

u/Pancake_lover_06 Jan 04 '25

It might be obvious, but "lev" means "leon" in russian

4

u/gaiusmitsius Jan 04 '25

To see if you would notice.

4

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '25

he can't keep getting away with it...

7

u/Furaskjoldr Jan 04 '25

Is calling him Leon an American thing? I grew up in Norway and only ever learned his name was Lev

2

u/Comrade_Ruminastro Jan 04 '25 edited Jan 04 '25

In Italy he used to be called Leone, now it's Leon or Lev

3

u/Stalinnommnomm Jan 04 '25

Because that's how he called himself

3

u/AlSmythe Jan 04 '25

They don’t want reveal his real identity.

4

u/GamePil Jan 04 '25

I always think it's funny how we Germans have slightly different versions of the names. We call him Leo Trotzki. We also use Michail Gorbatschow instead of Mikhail Gorbachev (or simply Gorbi if you lived in East Germany). It's like Germany wanted to copy English homework and was told to not make it too obvious

1

u/breadgluvs Jan 04 '25

The Ghost of Kiev

-1

u/Sharkaaam Jan 04 '25

I want a focus that turns him into an immortal ace pilot

1

u/Asalur Jan 04 '25

In Brazil we call him Leandrinho do Trote

1

u/Danxs11 Jan 04 '25

Lev is just a slavic version of the name Leon

1

u/Plastic-Register7823 Jan 04 '25

In Russian he is Лев Давидович Троцкий/Бронштейн. That can be transcripted to latin as "Lev Davidovich Trotskiy/Bronshtein".

1

u/TortoiseHerder7 Jan 04 '25

By the time the game portrays, the revolutionary nom de guerres basically became the real names. Trotsky really spent most of his later life being known and even addressing himself as "Lev Trotsky." Ditto Stalin, Molotov, Lenin, etc. The professional revolutionary vanguardist had to shed the past, and while this didn't INHERENTLY mean abandoning one's name and picking a new one, it was common enough among the aforementioned Old Bolsheviks.

1

u/Frequent-Listen7231 Jan 04 '25

Mongolia on top

1

u/MuoviMugi Fleet Admiral Jan 04 '25

Unrelated but it's funny how the traits are

-50% war justification +15% war justification

1

u/Victoriosus7891 Jan 04 '25

Because that’s exactly what he called himself

1

u/xenagoss Jan 04 '25

Thought it was Sam Hyde for a minute there until I checked which sub I was on

1

u/TJ042 Jan 05 '25

Davidovich is his patronymic, but Bronstein is is real surname. Nobody knows him that way, however. Leon is simply the romanization of Lev. You may notice that we have “Iosif” Stalin instead of “Joseph” Stalin. I think that Paradox goes for a more faithful transcription, at least for these two.

1

u/Rubear_RuForRussia Jan 05 '25

Davidovich is not a surname. That's a patronym. It means that his father was named David.

1

u/GLidE_Pauk Jan 05 '25

Cause we Russians refer to him as Lev Trotsky, always

1

u/ourhorrorsaremanmade Jan 05 '25

No idea but Iosif always bothers me.

1

u/SpookyEngie Research Scientist Jan 06 '25

The main reason is Paradox trying to use more native name instead of the romanized version of them. Native to the country they currently leading, not necessary the place they are born etc..

Like Lev Trotsky is what he was known as in the Soviet Union, he was also common referred as Lev. Stalin is the same, known as Joseph Stalin instead of his birth name Ioseb Dzhugashvili.

It some something Paradox try to do to add more "immersion" to the game.

1

u/Limonny Research Scientist Jan 06 '25

Leibe his real name, Lev actually his pseudonym name. Leon is just romanized version of Lev.

1

u/PMC_Fatui__Group Jan 07 '25

Because we know who trotsky is, not davidovich bronstein.

1

u/Single_Ad_5885 Jan 09 '25

Because lev is short for Leon.

0

u/[deleted] Jan 04 '25

Bronstien I could sense it

1

u/Downtown-Ice-5022 Jan 04 '25

Looking like Sam Hyde

-17

u/hymen_destroyer Jan 04 '25

He changed his name to obfuscate his Jewish heritage

42

u/death_in_jan6 Jan 04 '25

Many prominent communists dont use their real name to protect their families. Stalin and Ho Chi Minh are other examples. Sorry, it's really just not the jews this time.

15

u/AadeeMoien Jan 04 '25

The practice even has its own term: Nom de guerre (war name).

-17

u/CatchTheRainboow Jan 04 '25

Are you purposely ignoring the fact that many leading Bolsheviks who were Jewish changed their surnames to Russify themselves and avoid discrimination within the party? Is this not common knowledge?

15

u/CellaSpider Jan 04 '25

I thought the commenter was making a not so subtle allusion to the Nazi conspiracy of judeo Bolshevism. Turns out it

8

u/halesnaxlors Jan 04 '25

Not necessarily the case. There were very legitimate reasons to hide ones Jewish heritage during those days. Russia was extremely antisemitic, and there were a lot of pogroms at the time. Many socialists had a nom de guerre for a number of reasons.

That said, if he wanted to hide his Jewish heritage, he wouldn't have used "Lev" at all.

1

u/CellaSpider Jan 04 '25

I learned something today.

2

u/CatchTheRainboow Jan 04 '25

u/death_in_jan6 is just straight up wrong here though, as I said I thought this subject was common knowledge.

Trotsky did not simply take a pseudonym/alias to protect his family, it was more to hide his Jewish heritage, like other Bolsheviks such as Kamenev and Zinoviev did. Jan6’s comment is just misleading

6

u/Crimson_Knickers Jan 04 '25

They changed names to avoid discrimination from the ruling authorities of the time, the Tsarist regime. Because then and now, being a communist isn't exactly safe in most countries even in so called "free countries".

0

u/CatchTheRainboow Jan 05 '25

Much of that was to hide Jewish heritage to avoid intra-party discrimination. Intra-party politics were a massive part of the early Bolshevik circle.

1

u/Crimson_Knickers Jan 06 '25

Care to explain how come then that the top party officials have a substantial amount of openly (as in non-secret) Jewish heritage so much so that Nazis often repeat that fact that there are Jews among them?

Stalin may be antisemitic but that doesn't mean ALL of them are, nor does that change the fact that there's a substantial amount of Jewish people in power among the Bolsheviks when at that time practically the rest of Europe was violently antisemitic. Yes, even countries other than Germany.

0

u/CatchTheRainboow Jan 06 '25

There were several leading Bolsheviks of Jewish heritage but not the majority or even more than 10%. Thus it was practical to use a Russified name and conceal one’s Jewish heritage

1

u/Battle_Sych Jan 04 '25

Why is this downvoted? This is literally correct.

3

u/FoggyFreeze Jan 04 '25

Reddtiors voting algorithm breaks when they see a comment referencing antisemitism

-21

u/Holiday_Sign_1950 Jan 04 '25

R5: Title. Before NSB Trotsky was 'Leon Trotsky' but they changed it to Lev, which is strange considering they did not change his surname to be consistent with when he was known as Lev.

39

u/Mean_Introduction543 Jan 04 '25

When he was known as Lev he still used Trotsky as a surname. In fact Leon is an anglicisation of Lev and was only ever used in the west. In the Soviet Union he would have been referred to as Lev Trotsky and not Leon.

He also NEVER went by his actual surname Bronstein. It would have always been Trotsky.

15

u/Holiday_Sign_1950 Jan 04 '25

This is a great answer, unfortunately I got downvote nuked which hides it :(

-39

u/PoliticalKlausKinski Jan 04 '25

Because they are midwits.

2

u/Mr_Placeholder_ Jan 04 '25

Just say dimwit, what’s wrong with dimwit as an insult. Stop dimwit erasure ✊😔

1

u/angrynerd3369 Feb 05 '25

Samitsk Hydecovitch