Leon Trotsky House Museum, Mexico City

The Leon Trotsky House Museum in Coyoacán is a tribute to the Russian revolutionary, politician, journalist and political theorist Leon Trotsky and the organization that advocated political asylum. Its focal point is the residence where Trotsky resided with his wife and teenage grandson during his exile from 1939 to 1940. Tragically, it was also the place where the Russian communist dissident was assassinated on August 20, 1940, by Ramón Mercader, an agent of Stalin's NKVD.

The entire complex is enclosed by tall outer walls, complete with watchtowers, giving it the appearance of a fortress. This precaution was taken after a previous unsuccessful attempt on Trotsky's life on May 24, 1940, orchestrated by a group of NKVD agents with the assistance of Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros.

The house, particularly the study where Mercader struck Trotsky with a fatal blow from an ice axe, has been preserved exactly as it was at the moment of the assassination, with papers and books in their original positions. Additional rooms within the museum showcase photographs, newspapers, and personal belongings of Trotsky, including his iconic small round glasses. The guards' house houses a permanent photographic collection, featuring images of Trotsky's family and his involvement in the Russian Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. Moreover, there are temporary exhibition halls that regularly feature artworks from various artists.

The surrounding garden is meticulously maintained, adorned with tropical flowers and plants, some of which were collected by Trotsky himself, including rare cacti. In the heart of the garden lies the tomb of Trotsky and his wife, marked by a stone stele and a flagpole with the Soviet flag. The transformation of the complex into a museum and asylum institution occurred in 1990, commemorating the 50th anniversary of Trotsky's assassination.