The house-museum of the founder of the workers' and peasants' Red Army, Lev Davidovich Bronstein, better known as Trotsky, is located at his burial site.

In 1924, Trotsky gradually lost control over the army. In 1927, he was removed from all positions and sent into exile, and in 1929, he was expelled from the USSR. In 1932, he was stripped of Soviet citizenship.

In 1937, Lev Trotsky arrived in Mexico at the invitation of President Lázaro Cárdenas, who granted him political asylum. In 1937 and 1939, he lived in Coyoacán with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in their 'blue house,' now known as the Frida Kahlo Museum. However, due to political disagreements, Trotsky moved to a house on the neighboring street, at the corner of Río Churubusco and Viena.

On August 20, 1940, Ramón Mercader, while in Trotsky's house, inflicted a fatal blow to his head with an ice axe. Trotsky died the next day. Mercader acted on the orders of Joseph Stalin, whom Trotsky opposed. The assassination operation, dubbed 'Duck,' was led by NKVD officials Pavel Sudoplatov and Naum Eitingon. Soon after the murder, Mercader was posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin.

In Mexico, Mercader was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the murder of Trotsky. After his release in 1961, he moved to Cuba and the USSR, where he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.