Communist revolution
A
communist revolution is a
proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of
Marxism that aims to replace
capitalism with
communism, typically with
socialism (
state ownership over the
means of production) as an intermediate stage.
The need for a proletarian revolution is a cornerstone of
Marxism. Marxists believe that the workers of the world must unite and free themselves from capitalist oppression to create a world run by and for the working class. Thus, in the Marxist view, proletarian revolutions need to happen in countries all over the world; see
world revolution.
Leninism argues that a communist revolution must be led by a
vanguard of '
professional revolutionaries' - that is, men and women who are fully dedicated to the communist cause and who can then form the nucleus of the communist revolutionary movement. This vanguard is meant to provide leadership and organization to the rest of the working class before and during the revolution, so as to prevent the all-too-common situation in which the government defeats a revolution thanks to the superior discipline and organization of its police and army. Some Marxists disagree with the idea of a vanguard as put forth by Lenin, especially
left communists but also including some who may still call themselves
Marxist-Leninists despite such a disagreement. These critics insist that the entire
working class - or at least a large part of it - must be deeply involved and equally committed to the socialist or communist cause in order for a proletarian revolution to be successful. To this end, they seek to build mass working class movements with a very large membership.
See the articles on
communism and
communist states for further discussion regarding the goals and results of some of these revolutions.
Communist revolutions throughout history
The following is a list of communist revolutions throughout
history. The most significant ones are marked in
bold. Among the lesser known revolutions, a number of borderline cases have been included which may or may not have been communist revolutions. The nature of
unsuccessful revolutions is particularly controversial, since one can only speculate as to the kinds of policies that would have been implemented by the revolutionaries if they had won.
* The creation of the
Paris Commune in
1871, considered by
Karl Marx to be the first attempt by the
working class to establish a communist society.
* The
1917 communist revolution in
Russia, known as the
October Revolution and a part of the
Russian Revolution. It resulted in the victory of the
Bolsheviks and the creation of
Soviet Russia, the predecessor of the
Soviet Union.
* The
German Revolution of
1918-
1919, led by
Rosa Luxemburg and
Karl Liebknecht, which ended in defeat for the communists.
* The creation of the short-lived
Bavarian Soviet Republic in
1919, which was defeated within a month by the proto-fascist
Freikorps and "White Guards of Capitalism".
* The
Hungarian revolution of
1919, led by
BĂ©la Kun, which was also eventually defeated.
* The
Chinese Revolution, final stage of the
Chinese Civil War (
1926-
1949), that resulted in the victory of the
Communist Party of China on
mainland China in
1949.
*The
Spanish Revolution of 1936 began during the outbreak of the
Spanish Civil War which lasted from 1936-39.
* The
Proclamation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in
1948, when the Soviet-backed
Workers Party of Korea, led by
Kim Il-sung, announced the formation of the state of the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
* The
Cuban Revolution of
1959, in which
Fidel Castro and the
Communist Party of Cuba overthrew the regime of
Fulgencio Batista.
*The
Indonesian revolution and
Communist Party of Indonesia support for President
Sukarno, which ended when
Indonesian General
Suharto removed President Sukarno from power and defeated the Communist Party of Indonesia, in
1965-
1966.
* The
First Indochina War in Vietnam that resulted in the defeat of the French at the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu,
1954, and brought the
Communist Party of Vietnam under
Ho Chi Minh to power in
North Vietnam â€" a victory followed closely by the protracted
guerrilla warfare-dominated
Vietnam War (1957-1975), which in turn led to the
Fall of Saigon and the driving-out of occupying
U.S. military forces there, and the unification of North and South Vietnam by communist guerrilla forces into the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
* The
Malayan Emergency when the
Malayan Communist Party and communist guerillas fought against, and were defeated by, British and
Malayan forces,
1948-
1960.
* The Marxist-led
Guinea-Bissauan Revolution in
Guinea-Bissau,
Africa, against
Portugal,
1959-
1974.
* The victory of the communist
Pathet Lao of the communist
Lao People's Revolutionary Party in
Laos by
1975, and the establishment of the communist-administered
Lao People's Democratic Republic.
* The victory of the communist-linked and armed
Mozambican Liberation Front in
Mozambique,
1964-
1975.
* The victory of the communist-linked and armed
Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola in
Angola,
1975-
2002, under
Agostinho Neto and
José Eduardo dos Santos.
* The overthrow of Emperor
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia by
Mengistu Haile Mariam who then set up one-party Marxist-Leninist rule in
Ethiopia by the communist
Workers' Party of Ethiopia,
1977-
1991, until they were defeated and expelled by the
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front during a subsequent civil war.
* The
1978 coup (known as the "Saur Revolution") that brought the
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan to power in
Afghanistan. They were overthrown by the
mujahedin in
1992.
* The overthrow of
Eric Gairy that brough the
New Jewel Movement to power in
Grenada from
1979 until
1983, when they were deposed by a
U.S.-led invasion.
* The overthrow of
Anastasio Somoza Debayle that brought the
Sandinista National Liberation Front to power in
Nicaragua from
1979 -
1990. They lost the February 25, 1990 elections and peacefully surrendered power.
*Though it was achieved through a peaceful election, also sometimes viewed as a communist revolution was the ascent to power of the
Popular Unity coalition headed by the
Marxist Salvador Allende in the
1970 Chilean presidential election. President Allende was overthrown and killed in the
Chilean coup of 1973.
