Marxism-Leninism

Marxism-Leninism, strictly speaking, refers to the version of Marxist theory developed by Vladimir Lenin; see Leninism.

Related Topics:
Marxist theory - Vladimir Lenin - Leninism

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However, in historical contexts, different (and sometimes opposing) political groups have used the term "Marxism-Leninism" to describe the ideologies that they claimed to be upholding. Most of these groups can be classified under the following three categories:

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• The supporters of Leon Trotsky and other communists who opposed Stalin's Soviet Union and the other states that emulated it; see Trotskyism.
• The advocates of Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union and Mao Tse-tung's China, usually known as anti-revisionists; see Stalinism and Maoism.
• Several groups of reformist Communists (such as, for example, the supporters of Nikita Khrushchev's reforms in the Soviet Union after Stalin's death).
 
Marxism-Leninism: History of the term ►