BBC - Infamous Assassinations (2007) Part 5 Leon Trotsky

Get ready to witness the 20th Century's most damaging and outrageous assassination attempts, first-hand. From the assassination of John F Kennedy to the gunning down of Mahatma Gandhi, the tragic shooting of John Lennon to the brutal bombing of one of Hitler's henchmen, the BBC series Infamous Assassinations brings you as close to the killers as the cameramen themselves - which sometimes means just a few feet.

Using rare archive footage and reconstructions, each episode of this BBC documentary series focuses on a different story, from attacks on royalty, politicians and guerrilla leaders to media personalities who all, for one reason or another, stepped in the way of an assassin determined to bring their life to an end. Many of their motives have remained shrouded in mystery. Until now…

Part 5: Assassination of Leon Trotsky

Mexico City, 1940

On 20 August 1940, the exiled Bolshevik leader was assassinated with an ice-pick by Ramon Mercader, who was undoubtedly working on behalf of Stalin and his secret police. Why was it still necessary for Stalin to assassinate him?