Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels concocted the idea of ​​Marxism, or communism, in the mid-1800s, and this philosophy was one of the ideologies the most influential of the time. , influencing many European political leaders such as Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov and Joseph Stalin. This raises a question that historians have debated for decades: who followed Marxist politics more closely: Stalin or Lenin? Although both Stalin's and Lenin's rules were based on the concept of communism, Lenin added elements to it for the benefit of the Russian people while Stalin modified parts of it for his personal benefit. Before we can decide who was the most Marxist, we must examine the doctrines of Marxism. Marx and Engels collected their ideas in a book called The Communist Manifesto. This document sets out the principles of Marxism, which can be summarized in ten main points. First, private property and ownership of land by individuals will become illegal. Second, income tax must be adjusted according to the individual's income; more income meant higher taxes, and less income meant lower taxes. Individual inheritance becomes non-existent. Anyone who was not in favor of society had their property confiscated; this included foreign immigrants and rebels. The banking system will be centralized in a national bank and all individual money will be placed in this bank. Transportation and communications will be controlled by the government. The government will gain increased shares in the control of factories and other production facilities such as farms. All capable citizens will be required to work and industrial and agricultural “armies” will be created. Agricultural and industrial production will be interconnected, and middle of paper ......od, the Perm Railway Commissioner and the Food Commissioner of the Yekaterinburg province. "Lenin Collected Works. Edwards, Judith. Lenin and the Russian Revolution in World History. Berkeley Heights: Enslow Publishers, Inc, 2001. Montague, Richard “The Contrasting Views of Marx and Lenin”. /socialist-standard/ 2000s/2001/no-1169-december-2001/marx-and-lenins-views-contrasted.Foster, William Z. Lenin and Stalin as mass leaders New York: Workers Library Publishers, 1939.Getty, J. Arch and Oleg V. Naumov. The Road to Terror London, England: Yale University Press, 1999. McGill, David Stalin: The Five Year Plans and Collectivization London, England: Philip Allan Updates, 2008. , James Stalin, Siberia and the crisis of the new economic policy Cambridge: Cambridge University Press., 2004.