On this day 85 years ago, Leon Trotsky was brutally attacked by a Stalinist assassin. He died the following day. This short obituary summarises the breadth of Trotsky’s marvellous contributions to humanity: as a theoretician, as a journalist, and as a working-class fighter.

Since launching a call for a new left party, over 600,000 have signed up, illustrating a burning desire for change. In turn, we republish Lenin’s advice on how Communists should orientate towards mass workers parties to win them over to a communist programme.

This weekend, RCP members will gather for our annual summer camp, where we will focus on the immense theoretical contributions made by Ted Grant, who kept the flame of genuine Marxism burning through to the 21st century, laying the foundations for our International.