Vanguard

A vanguard is a (usually small) group of people who lead a movement. It comes from two old French words, avant (front) and garde (guard).^[1] In military terms, a vanguard is a group of soldiers who scout ahead to protect an army from surprise attacks.

in Politics

In the political philosophy of Leninism "vanguard" refers to the "vanguard party". This would be a small group of dedicated revolutionaries who would lead the Communist movement in Russia.^[2]

References

1. "Vanguard". Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary. 2004. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
2. Bealey, Frank W. (1999). "Vanguard of the Proletariat". The Blackwell Dictionary of Political Science. Retrieved 14 June 2011.