Editing Leon Trotsky (section)

=== United Opposition (1926–1927) ===
In early 1926, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and their "New Opposition" supporters gravitated towards Trotsky's supporters. The two groups soon formed an alliance, incorporating some smaller opposition groups, known as the [[United Opposition (Soviet Union)|United Opposition]].

The United Opposition faced repeated threats of sanctions from the Stalinist leadership. Trotsky had to agree to tactical retreats, mainly to preserve his alliance with Zinoviev and Kamenev. The opposition remained united against [[Stalin]] throughout 1926 and 1927, especially regarding the [[Chinese Revolution of 1925–1927|Chinese Revolution]]. Stalinist methods against the Opposition became increasingly extreme. At the XVth Party Conference in October 1926, Trotsky could barely speak due to interruptions and catcalls; at its end, he lost his Politburo seat. In 1927, Stalin began using the [[Joint State Political Directorate|GPU]] (Soviet secret police) to infiltrate and discredit the opposition. Rank-and-file oppositionists were increasingly harassed, sometimes expelled from the Party, and even arrested.

Soviet policy toward the Chinese Revolution became the ideological demarcation line. The revolution began on 10 October 1911,<ref>Sterling Seagrave, ''Dragon Lady'' (Alfred A. Knopf Inc.: New York, 1992) p. 454.</ref> leading to Emperor [[Puyi]]'s abdication on 12 February 1912.<ref>Compilation Group for the "History of Modern China" Series, ''The Revolution of 1911'' (Foreign Languages Press: Peking, 1976) p. 153.</ref> [[Sun Yat-sen]] established the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], but it controlled little of the country, much of which was divided among warlords. The Republican government formed the [[Kuomintang]] (KMT). In 1920, the KMT opened relations with Soviet Russia. With Soviet help, the KMT built up its army. The planned [[Northern Expedition]] to crush northern warlords became a point of contention. Stalin urged the small [[Communist Party of China|Chinese Communist Party]] to merge with the KMT for a bourgeois revolution before attempting a Soviet-style workers' revolution.<ref>Joseph Stalin, "The Prospects of Revolution in China" a speech to the Chinese Commission of the Executive Committee of the Communist International on 30 November 1926" contained in ''J. Stalin on Chinese Revolution'' (Suren Dutt Publishers: Calcutta, India, 1970), pp. 5–21.</ref>
[[File:Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky at Felix Dzerzhinsky funeral.jpg|thumb|[[Mikhail Kalinin|Kalinin]] and [[Stalin]] bearing [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]]'s coffin, 22 July 1926. Trotsky is visible over Kalinin's left shoulder.|alt=Mikhail Kalinin and Joseph Stalin carry a coffin. Leon Trotsky stands behind Kalinin.]]

Trotsky wanted the Communist Party to complete an orthodox proletarian revolution and maintain clear class independence from the KMT. Stalin funded the KMT during the expedition.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OCI3gnzsYc0C&q=trotsky+squeezed+lemon+chiang&pg=PA233|title=China in war and revolution, 1895–1949|author=Peter Gue Zarrow|year=2005|publisher=Psychology Press|edition=illustrated|volume=1 of Asia's transformations|isbn=978-0-415-36447-8|page=233|access-date=1 January 2011}}</ref> He countered Trotskyist criticism in a secret speech, saying [[Chiang Kai-shek]]'s right-wing KMT were the only ones capable of defeating imperialists, that Chiang had funding from rich merchants, and his forces should be used until "squeezed for all usefulness like a lemon before being discarded". However, Chiang reversed the tables in the [[Shanghai massacre]] of 12 April 1927, massacring the Communists in Shanghai midway through the Northern Expedition.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wjCsAAAAIAAJ&q=trotsky+squeezed+lemon+chiang&pg=PA96|title=Moscow and Chinese Communists|author=Robert Carver North|year=1963|publisher=Stanford University Press|edition=2|isbn=978-0-8047-0453-3|page=96|access-date=1 January 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yMwdWFtgV0QC&q=trotsky+squeezed+lemon+chiang&pg=PA282|title=A history of Russia: Since 1855|author=Walter Moss|year=2005|publisher=Anthem Press|edition=2, illustrated|volume=2 of A History of Russia|isbn=978-1-84331-034-1|page=282|access-date=1 January 2011}}</ref>