A person who may very well be "Leon Trotsky" is the first name on the list, two names before Elie Miliband. The first-listed traveler is using the clearly fraudulent name "Irska" Bronstein. Irska claims to be a 25-year-old "Hebrew" tailor of Russian origin coming from London.

It should be noted that "Trotsky" was very clever and often traveled with forged documents. His real name was Lev Davidovich Bronstein and his biographies indicate that in the early years of the 20th Century he had lived in London where he was a principal of the Russian socialist magazine named Iskra (The Spark) with people like Vladimir Lenin.

Lev D. Bronstein, a.k.a. Leon Trotsky, ca. 1905

Iskra was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party. The first edition was published in Leipzig in 1900. Subsequent editions were published in Munich, London, and Geneva.

One might ask how Russian socialist emigrants raised the funds to produce a newspaper in 4 different cities?

One might also reasonably ask why Jewish emigrants from Russia, living in the cities of London, Geneva, and New York would concern themselves with overthrowing the Czar of Russia. Does this not look very similar to the exile groups of Iraqis in London and Washington, e.g. Ahmed Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress, who concerned themselves with overthrowing Saddam Hussein?

Initially Iskra was managed by Lenin. In 1903, after the split of the RSDLP, Lenin left the staff, the newspaper was seized by Mensheviks and was published under the control of Plekhanov until 1905. The average circulation was 8,000.

ISKRA - The paper of Lenin and Trotsky; but who paid the bills?

There were differences between the Russian-Jewish socialists. One group, known as "economists," argued that the party should focus on helping industrial workers improve their lot in life.

Another group argued that overthrowing the monarchy (in Russia – not Britain) was more important and that a well organized and disciplined revolutionary party was essential. This group was led by the London-based newspaper Iskra, which was founded in 1900. Trotsky sided with the Iskra position. One might ask why this London-based group did not also call for the overthrow of the British monarchy?

Trotsky was one of the senior writers of Iskra, whose motto was "From a spark a fire will flare up," the well-known communist motto.

The person who traveled under the name Irska Bronstein was obviously using an alias. Irska is not a Russian name; there is no such name. Irska is clearly a play on the word "Iskra," the newspaper Bronstein, a.k.a. Trotsky, was a director of.

I have not yet found any documented evidence to contradict the possibility that Trotsky was in New York in January 1905. Trotsky does not reappear in Russia until much later in the year, when he arrives in St. Petersburg in October or November and is arrested in December. I could be completely wrong on this. Irska Bronstein may not be Trotsky and may really be Irska Bronstein, but there are no other records for anyone with such a name.

About Trotsky in early 1905, Anatol Lunacharsky, a party member, wrote about his appearance at a party conference in Geneva in the spring of 1905:

I first met him at a comparatively late stage, in 1905, after the events of January. He had arrived, I forget where from, in Geneva and he and I were due to speak at a big meeting summoned as a result of this catastrophe.

Trotsky was among the Menshevik leaders. The Third (Bolshevik) Congress was held in London in May 1905 while the Mensheviks held their conference at the same time in Geneva, which suggests that Lunacharsky first met Trotsky in May 1905.

If this Irska Bronstein was indeed Trotsky, it would show the New York connection with Trotsky began earlier than previously thought. It would also suggest an earlier connection between Trotsky and the Miliband family and their foreign-based movement to overthrow the Czar and destroy Russia.

The Russian Czar Nicholas II and family

Miliband and Bronstein probably had more in common than threads and needles.

Irska Trotsky was detained and held for a day or so until his cousin, Abraham or Abram Bronstein in New London, Conn. sent him the funds he needed to travel on to Connecticut. (Elie Mileband or Miliband was also detained, although for other reasons.)

Although I could very well be wrong about this Miliband link with Leon Trotsky, I thought this information about the Miliband family was very interesting and deserved to be posted.