Marxist-Leninism: An Exploration of Ideological Adoption and Influence

Abstract

Questions of “Marxism in Action” are prominent in many aspects of political discourse. This study proposes that the main tenant of Marxist thought missing in Leninist political theory and the application thereof to the U.S.S.R. is the concept of the dictatorship of the proletariat. This argument draws on Marxist theory, Leninist theory, and the on-the-ground dictatorship of the proletariat in the U.S.S.R. between 1917 and 1924. This paper serves as a reminder of the common discrepancy between political theory and application, as every significant political doctrine is subject to an inevitable play of influences, modifications, and alterations in the geopolitical arena.