Soviet Union (Russia)

• Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924): Leader of the Bolshevik Revolution and the first head of the Soviet Union.
• Joseph Stalin (1878–1953): General Secretary of the Communist Party, dictator from the 1920s to 1953.
• Nikita Khrushchev (1894–1971): Premier and leader during the de-Stalinization period (1953–1964).
• Leonid Brezhnev (1906–1982): General Secretary during the height of the Cold War (1964–1982).
• Yuri Andropov (1914–1984): General Secretary (1982–1984).
• Konstantin Chernenko (1911–1985): General Secretary (1984–1985).
• Mikhail Gorbachev (1931–2022): Final leader of the Soviet Union; known for Perestroika and Glasnost (1985–1991).

China

• Mao Zedong (1893–1976): Founding father of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the Communist Party.
• Zhou Enlai (1898–1976): Premier of the People’s Republic of China and influential leader.
• Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997): Leader who implemented market-oriented reforms.
• Jiang Zemin (1926–2022): General Secretary (1989–2002).
• Hu Jintao (1942– ): General Secretary (2002–2012).
• Xi Jinping (1953– ): Current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President.

Vietnam

• Ho Chi Minh (1890–1969): Revolutionary leader and President of North Vietnam.
• Le Duan (1907–1986): General Secretary (1960–1986).
• Nguyen Van Linh (1915–1998): General Secretary during the Doi Moi economic reforms.

Cuba

• Fidel Castro (1926–2016): Revolutionary leader and Prime Minister, later President of Cuba.
• Raúl Castro (1931– ): Fidel’s brother, leader after Fidel’s retirement (2008–2018).
• Miguel Díaz-Canel (1960– ): Current President and leader of the Communist Party of Cuba.

North Korea

• Kim Il-sung (1912–1994): Founding leader of North Korea and the Workers’ Party of Korea.
• Kim Jong-il (1941–2011): Leader after Kim Il-sung.
• Kim Jong-un (1984– ): Current leader.

Eastern Europe

East Germany (GDR)

• Walter Ulbricht (1893–1973): First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party.
• Erich Honecker (1912–1994): Leader during the late Cold War.

Romania

• Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej (1901–1965): First leader of Communist Romania.
• Nicolae Ceaușescu (1918–1989): Dictator overthrown in 1989.

Poland

• Bolesław Bierut (1892–1956): First leader of Communist Poland.
• Władysław Gomułka (1905–1982): Leader during de-Stalinization.

Hungary

• Mátyás Rákosi (1892–1971): Stalinist leader.
• János Kádár (1912–1989): Reformist leader after the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

Czechoslovakia

• Klement Gottwald (1896–1953): First Communist leader.
• Gustáv Husák (1913–1991): Leader during the normalization period post-Prague Spring.

Yugoslavia

• Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980): Leader of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Latin America

Chile

• Salvador Allende (1908–1973): Socialist leader overthrown in a coup.

Nicaragua

• Daniel Ortega (1945– ): Leader of the Sandinista government.

Africa

Angola

• Agostinho Neto (1922–1979): First President of Angola.
• José Eduardo dos Santos (1942–2022): Long-term leader.

Ethiopia

• Mengistu Haile Mariam (1937– ): Leader of the Derg, a Marxist-Leninist regime.

Mozambique

• Samora Machel (1933–1986): Marxist revolutionary and first President.

Other Notable Communist Leaders

• Che Guevara (1928–1967): Argentine Marxist revolutionary and key figure in the Cuban Revolution.
• Rosa Luxemburg (1871–1919): German Marxist revolutionary.
• Karl Liebknecht (1871–1919): German revolutionary leader.
• Georgi Dimitrov (1882–1949): Bulgarian communist leader.