Leninism (redirected from Leninists)

Leninism

Principles expounded by Vladimir Ilich Lenin to guide the transition of society from capitalism to communism. The tenets of Marxism, which Lenin embraced, provided no concrete guidelines for the transition. Lenin believed that a small, disciplined, professional group of revolutionaries was needed to violently overthrow the capitalist system and that a “dictatorship of the proletariat” must guide society until the day when the state would wither away. Leninism in practice meant control of all aspects of life by the Communist Party and the creation of the first modern totalitarian state. See also Bolshevik; Stalinism; totalitarianism.

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Leninism 

the teachings of V. I. Lenin, the brilliant continuator of the revolutionary cause and of the doctrine of K. Marx and F. Engels. Lenin creatively developed all aspects of Marxism—its philosophy, political economy, and scientific communism—under new historical conditions. Leninism is being developed further in the theoretical work of the CPSU and the world communist movement. Leninism is “Marxism of the era of imperialism and proletarian revolutions, the era of the collapse of colonialism and the victory of national liberation movements, the era of the transition of mankind from capitalism to socialism and the construction of communist society” (K 100-letiiu so dnia rozhdeniia V. I. Lenina: Tezisy TsK KPSS, 1969, p. 5).