Trotskyism is the theory of
Marxism as advocated by
Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an
orthodox Marxist and
Bolshevik-
Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a
vanguard party. His politics differed sharply from
Stalinism, mainly in opposing
socialism in one country which he claimed was a break with
proletarian internationalism, and also what he claimed as his unwavering support for a true
dictatorship of the proletariat based on
democratic principles.
Trotsky's followers maintain that, together with Lenin, Trotsky was the most important leader of the Russian Revolution and the international Communist movement in 1917 and the following years.[1] Now, numerous groups around the world continue to describe themselves as Trotskyist, although they have developed Trotsky's ideas in different ways. A follower of Trotskyist ideas is usually called a "Trotskyist" or, pejoratively, a "Trotskyite" or "Trot".[2]
On the political spectrum of Marxism, Trotskyists are considered to be on the left. They supported democratic rights in the USSR,[6] opposed political deals with the imperialist powers, and advocated a spreading of the revolution throughout Europe and the East.
According to Trotsky, the term 'Trotskyism' was coined by Pavel Milyukov, (sometimes transliterated as 'Paul Miliukoff'), the ideological leader of the Constitutional Democratic party (Kadets) in Russia. Milyukov waged a bitter war against 'Trotskyism' "as early as 1905", Trotsky argues.[7]
