It has been a commonplace on the Left for decades: If only Trotsky, and not Stalin, had succeeded Lenin, everything would have been different. Today on Uncommon Knowledge, Christopher Hitchens and Robert Service address the prospect. What if?

SERVICE: If Trotsky had been in charge of the Soviet Union, there would have been a bloodbath in Europe before Hitler.
HITCHENS: Ah, perhaps instead of Hitler.

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