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 revolutionary movement. Some Marxists disagree with the idea of a vanguard as put forth by Lenin, especially left communists but also including some who continue to consider 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 massive communist parties with very large memberships.

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 contentious since one can only speculate as to the kinds of policies that would have been implemented by the revolutionaries had they achieved victory.

• 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 Munich Soviet Republic in 1919, which was defeated within a month by the German army and Freikorps.
• The Hungarian revolution of 1919, led by Béla 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 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 July 26 Movement overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista.
• 1964-present day, the Colombian Armed Conflict between successive military and civilian governments in Colombia and the two largest Marxist groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN).
• 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 — 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.
• 1969-present day People's War in the Philippines by the New Peoples Army
• 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, the ascent to power of the Popular Unity coalition headed by the Marxist Salvador Allende in the 1970 Chilean presidential election was viewed by some as a communist revolution. President Allende was overthrown and killed in the Chilean coup of 1973.
• 1980-present day, brutal terrorist campaign or Peoples War by the Maoist Communist Party of Peru, aka Shining Path. Since 1992 the organization, which was once very dominant has become weak.
• 1981-1992 rebellion by the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front or FMLN in El Salvador against successive military and civillian governments, ending with a peace treaty.
• 1984-1997 In Peru the more moderate, Marxist-Leninist Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement, which unlike the Shining Path did not target the civilian population fought a war against the government of Peru and the Shining Path. The organization was crushed in 1997.