The speeches and documents by Leon Trotsky which are contained in this second volume date from the period when it was at the height of its authority as the general staff of the revolutionary movement. Lenin and Trotsky himself, more than any other leaders, embodied that authority and left their mark on the proceedings and resolutions of the International. These volumes contain the reports and speeches made by Trotsky in connection with its work and the theses which he wrote. It shows not only his mastery of the main currents of political and economic events as they unfolded after the First World War but also of the details of the inner life of the Communist Parties in Europe with which he was particularly concerned.