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It turned out that the used needles actually belonged to the owners of a diabetic cat named Trotsky, who’d momentarily left their rubbish unattended only for it to spill over and be photographed by reporters.

He was befriended there by Ramon Mercader, who pretended to be sympathetic to Trotsky’s ideas but in reality was a Soviet agent.

Apekina already knew she wanted to write about the revolution and the novel started to coalesce several years ago after a trip to Mexico City where she visited Trotsky’s house.

By that time, Trotsky had been forced into exile and Stalin was in full control, bolstered by a determination to portray himself as absolutely loyal to Lenin’s ideals.

Kahlo reportedly engaged in relationships with Russian exile Leon Trotsky and some of Rivera’s past female lovers.