The Ideologies of Lenin and Mao Tse-tung: Similarities and Differences

…In a country like Russia, the working class is suffering more from the insufficient development of capitalism than from capitalism itself. –Lenin, 1905

…The present stage of the revolution in China is a transitional one for putting an end to the colonial… or semi feudalistic society, preparatory to the establishment of a socialist society. –Mao, 1939

The Ideologies of Lenin and Mao Tse-tung: Similarities and Differences is an analysis by the CIA of the Marxist principles as interpreted by the two founders of Soviet Russia, Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924), and Communist China, Mao Tse-tung (1893-1976).

This CIA report, written in 1964 and released in 2002, describes similarities between the Russian and Chinese communist ideologies, such as the theory of transition from a bourgeois democratic revolution to a socialist revolution under proletarian guidance. It also describes differences, such as Mao’s emphasis on the relevance of the peculiarities of the Chinese people, something Lenin did not consider important. Moreover, Lenin placed much emphasis on atheism, while Maoism considered the self-reformation and mind training of each individual important.

Students of the foundations of Marxism, journalists, politicians, and anyone interested in the history of China and Russia will find this analysis vital background reading.