Stefano G. Azzara.Marxist Thought, Leninism, and the Historical Balance of the Twentieth Century. RM 8(1):116-121 "A synopsis of the international conference on ""Lenin and the Twentieth Century"" held in Urbino, Italy, in 1994. Though the conferees disagreed on many issues, substantial agreement existed on the importance of thorough analysis of the collapse of real socialism. Deconstruction of the Soviet myth of a systematized and institutionalized Leninism is prerequisite to the initiation of a new theoretical/political phase and restoration of intellectual dignity to the revolutionary project. Other conference topics include: (1) V. I. Lenin's role in revealing the link between social stability and political emancipation of the capitalistic metropolis and its colonial domination; (2) Lenin's universal concept of humanity; (3) the usefulness of the category of imperialism for understanding the contemporary international political and economic order; (4) the withering of the state; and (5) the need to maintain a common Marxist framework while simultaneously exploring the plurality of approaches used by Marxist scholars. D. Generoli"