51 pages • 1-hour read
The Lacuna
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Background
Historical Context: Stalinism and Trotsky in Exile
In Part 3 of The Lacuna, protagonist Harrison Shepherd works for artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in Mexico City while they shelter Communist leader Leon Trotsky, known as Lev, in the story. A central conflict during this time is the split between the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, and Trotsky. Both Trotsky and Stalin were leading figures in the 1905 Russian Revolution, which overthrew the monarchy and led to the establishment of a Communist regime in the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was originally led by Vladimir Lenin. Lenin died on January 21, 1924. Following his death, there was a power struggle for leadership of the party, which Stalin won. During Stalin’s reign, Trotsky became an increasingly vocal critic of Stalin’s policies. Trotsky argued that Stalin was suppressing democracy in the Soviet Union and pursuing disastrous economic policies. As a result, Stalin expelled Trotsky from the Communist Party in 1927 and had him deported from the country in 1929. Trotsky lived in exile until his assassination in 1940.
While living in exile, Trotsky remained a vocal opponent of Stalin’s dictatorship and isolationism. He advocated for Communism around the world in keeping with his theory of proletarian internationalism. He also established the Fourth International, an organization to provide an alternative to Stalinist Communism. Beginning in 1936, Stalin held what is known as Moscow show trials to convict Trotsky, his supporters, and others who opposed his policies. Trotsky was sentenced to death in one of these trials. Following his sentencing, the Soviet secret police, the GPU or NKVD, plotted to have Trotsky assassinated in exile, which led to the heightened sense of paranoia documented in The Lacuna.
On May 24, 1940, a group of Stalinists, including Mexican painter David Siqueiros, attempted to assassinate Trotsky in Mexico. They were unsuccessful. By August 1940, a Spanish NKVD agent named Rámon Mercader, posing as Canadian Frank Jacson, had infiltrated Trotsky’s inner circle. He assassinated Trotsky on August 20 with an ice pick. Trotsky died the next day. Mercader was awarded the Order of Lenin by Stalin for his actions.
Historical Context: The Red Scare
Throughout American history, there have been several iterations of moral panics about Communism, socialism, or left-wing politics more generally as a threat to the “American way of life.” These moral panics are collectively known as “The Red Scare,” a reference to the color red, which is commonly associated with Communism. A moral panic is a societal fear of an action or idea considered evil that is seen to be spreading. Often, a moral panic is based on a perception of something rather than on its factual basis. As Artie Gold notes in The Lacuna, “‘Anticommunism’ is not very much concerned with ‘communism’” (560). Protagonist Harrison Shepherd gets caught up in the governmental scrutiny and media hysteria of the early days of the Second Red Scare, more commonly known as McCarthyism, after Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was a vocal proponent of anticommunism.
The Second Red Scare partially originates in the shifting global geopolitics at the end of World War II. During WWII, the United States and the Soviet Union were allied against the Axis countries. Indeed, the USSR was essential to defeating Nazi Germany. Following the end of the war in 1945, capitalist America and the Communist USSR were the only major international powers remaining. The US government, fearing the growth of anticapitalism at home and abroad, broke with the Soviet Union and pursued a containment strategy to stop the spread of Communism around the world. This became the Cold War.
As part of this strategy, the government pursued increasingly draconian legislation against Communists in the United States. Laws were passed requiring loyalty oaths to the United States and disavowals of Communist activity. Communists and suspected Communists were blacklisted, jailed, and/or deported for their associations. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), known from 1938 to 1944 as the Dies Committee for its chairman, Democratic Representative Martin Dies, Jr., was established to investigate anyone seen as a threat to America, particularly Communists. Many prominent authors, actors, and directors were questioned by the committee. Author Dashiell Hammett, a popular author of noir detective novels who supported Communist organizing, was imprisoned in 1951 and blacklisted by 1953 for refusing to name others when questioned. His career subsequently declined, and he became a “hermit.” Author Barbara Kingsolver cited Dashiell Hammett’s work as an inspiration for Harrison Shepherd’s novels; Hammett and Shepherd’s similar treatments during the Red Scare suggest other parallels as well (“The Lacuna.” Barbara Kingsolver).
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