A communist revolution is a working class revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace the current global economic system and class society with a classless, stateless and moneyless society, communism. Depending on the type of government, the term socialism can be used to indicate an intermediate stage between capitalism and communism and may be the goal of the revolution, especially in Marxist–Leninist views. The idea that a proletarian revolution is needed is a cornerstone of Marxism; Marxists contend that the workers of the world must unite and free themselves from capitalist production relations, establishing transitional workers' states that socializes the means of production and ultimately abolishing all class distinctions and the state itself to form a classless society. Thus, in the Marxist view, proletarian revolutions need to happen internationally.
Theory Karl Marx saw revolution as a necessity for communism, where the revolution would be based on class struggle led by the organised proletariat to overthrow capitalism and the bourgeoisie, followed by the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat.
Leninism argues that a communist revolution must be led by a vanguard of "professional revolutionaries", men and women who are fully dedicated to the communist cause and who can then form the nucleus of the revolutionary movement. Thus meaning that under Lenin's framework a communist revolution is not necessarily a proletarian revolution. Some Marxists, such as Rosa Luxemburg, disagree with the idea of a vanguard as put forth by Lenin, especially left communists. Another line of criticisms 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.
Communist revolutions and coups throughout history
The following is a list of successful and unsuccessful communist revolutions and coups throughout history. Success is measured solely by the successful overthrow of the existing order and does not imply an assessment whether the resulting order was in fact communist. Among the lesser-known revolutions, a number of borderline revolutions 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.
Successful
1917–1923: The October Revolution and the subsequent Russian Civil War led to the establishment of the Soviet Union. 1921: The Mongolian Revolution ended Chinese occupation and White Russian influence over Mongolia and established the Mongolian People's Republic. 1927–1949: The Chinese Communist Revolution led to the establishment of the People's Republic of China and fleeing of the Republic of China to Taiwan. 1941–1945: The Yugoslav People's Liberation War led to the defeat of axis powers in the Balkans, abolishment of the Yugoslav monarchy, and the establishment of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia. 1942–1945: The National Anti-Fascist Liberation Movement in Albania established the People's Socialist Republic of Albania. 1944: The Bulgarian coup d'état led to the immediate abolishment of the Bulgarian monarchy, followed soon after by the establishment of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. 1945: The August Revolution forced Emperor Bảo Đại to abdicate and established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. 1946–1954: First Indochina War 1948: Czechoslovak coup d'état. 1953–1959: The Cuban Revolution overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, reestablishing the Republic of Cuba as a socialist state. 1955–1975: Vietnam War 1959–1975: Laotian Civil War 1961–1974: Angolan War of Independence 1961–1979: The Nicaraguan Revolution sees the Sandinistas oust the Somoza government. 1963: Les Trois Glorieuses in Congo-Brazzaville. 1968–1975: Cambodian Civil War 1969: The Corrective Move in South Yemen. 1969: The Somali coup d'état led to the formation of the Somali Democratic Republic. 1972: Mathieu Kérékou leads a military coup in Benin, leading to the creation of the People's Republic of Benin. 1974: Carnation Revolution (while the revolution overthrew the Estado Novo and created a governing alliance between army captains and the Communists, the demands for a workers' democracy were quashed by a new coup on 25 November 1975 that installed a minority government of the center-left Socialist Party with the backing of the United States and its Western allies) 1974: The 1974 Ethiopian coup d'état. 1978: The Saur Revolution leads to the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the start of the Afghan conflict. 1979: The New JEWEL Movement overthrow's Eric Gairy's government in Grenada, creating the People's Revolutionary Government. 1983: The Upper Voltan coup d'état led by Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaoré. Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso. Compaoré later led the 1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état, which killed Sankara and reversed his far-left policies. 1996–2006: Nepalese Civil War.
Unsuccessful
1871: Paris Commune 1915–1920: Jungle Movement of Gilan 1916: Easter Rising 1918: Finnish Civil War 1918–1925: Canadian Labour Revolt 1918: Aster Revolution 1918–1919: German Revolution of 1918–19 1918: Red Week 1918: Luxembourg communist revolution 1918–1920: Estonian War of Independence 1919–1923: Irish soviets
1919: Hungarian Soviet Republic 1919: Bender Uprising 1920: Georgian coup attempt 1921: Proština rebellion
1923: September Uprising 1923: Hamburg Uprising 1924: Tatarbunary Uprising 1924: Estonian coup d'état attempt 1932: 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising 1935: Brazilian communist uprising 1936–1937: Spanish Revolution of 1936 1942–1954: Hukbalahap Rebellion 1945: Saigon Commune 1946–1954: Hukbalahap rebellion 1946–1949: Greek Civil War 1946–1951: Telangana Rebellion 1948–1949: Jeju uprising 1948–1989: Communist insurgency in Burma 1948–1960: Malayan Emergency 1948: Madiun Affair 1960–1996: Guatemalan Civil War 1962–1990: Communist insurgency in Sarawak 1965–1983: Communist insurgency in Thailand 1968–1989: Communist insurgency in Malaysia 1970: Teoponte Guerrilla 1971: JVP insurrection 1971: Sudanese coup d'état
1972–1974: Araguaia Guerrilla War 1975: 7 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état 1979–1992: Salvadoran Civil War 1982: Amol uprising 1987–1989: JVP insurrection 2021–2023: Eswatini protests
Ongoing
1964–present: Colombian conflict 1967–present: Naxalite–Maoist insurgency 1969–present: New People's Army rebellion and communist armed conflicts in the Philippines 1972–present: Maoist insurgency in Turkey 1980–present: Internal conflict in Peru 1990–present: DHKP/C insurgency in Turkey 1993–present: Insurgency in Ecuador 2021–present: Myanmar civil war (2021–present)
Table of revolutions Start dateEnd dateDurationEvent(s)StateRebel groupRevolutionary base areaDeathsResultNotes()Paris Commune Communards National GuardsParis7,544 killed overallRevolt suppressed ()Jangal Movement Qajar IranJangal revolutionariesGilan provinceEstablishment of the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic()Easter Rising Irish rebel forces Irish Citizen ArmyDublin485 killedUnconditional surrender of rebel forces, execution of most leaders.()October Revolution Bolsheviks Petrograd Soviet Left SRs Red Guards AnarchistsPetrogradFew wounded Red Guard soldiersBolshevik victoryStart of the Russian Civil War()Finnish Civil War; ; ; ; Finnish Reds; ; ; ; Soviet RussiaFinland38,300 killed, , , , , , , , , Finnish Whites victory()Canadian Labour Revolt One Big Union Communist Party of CanadaCanadaFailure of the revolt()Aster Revolution Kingdom of Hungary Hungarian National Council Hungarian Social Democratic Party Soldiers' CouncilsHungaryRevolutionary victory Hungary terminated Austria-Hungary End of the First World War in Hungary Establishment of First Hungarian People's Republic()German Revolution of 1918–19 Communist revolutionaries: SPD USPD Spartacus League KPD IKD Revolutionary Stewards FVdG Soviet Republics: People's State of Bavaria Bavarian Soviet Republic Bremen Soviet Republic Saxon Soviet Republic Würzburg Soviet Republic Alsace-Lorraine Soviet RepublicVarious regions of Germany150–196 Fall of the German Empire Suppression of leftist uprisings, including the Spartacist uprising End of the First World War Establishment of the Weimar Republic()Red Week Faction of the Social Democratic Workers' PartyNo revolution()Luxembourg communist revolutionAssorted communists, socialists, and liberalsFrench Army victory Abdication of Marie-Adélaïde 1919 Luxembourg referendum()Estonian War of Independence Estonian Worker's Commune Red Latvian Riflemen3,988+ killed Treaty of Tartu: ()Irish soviets Irish Free State Irish sovietsIreland()Hungarian Soviet Republic Hungarian Soviet RepublicHungary6,670 killed()Bender Uprising Red GuardsTighina150Romanian–French victory()1920 Georgian coup attempt Democratic Republic of Georgia Georgian BolsheviksGeorgiaSeveral killedGovernment Victory Treaty of Moscow signed()Mongolian Revolution of 1921 Bogd Khanate of Mongolia Outer Mongolia Mongolian People's PartyOuter MongoliaMongolian communist victory: ()Proština rebellionCivilians led by Ante Ciliga Communist Party of ItalyIstriaUnknownGovernment victory: ()Labin mining strike and rebellion Labin RepublicIstria5Government victory: ()September Uprising BCPBZNS Anarchists841 killedBulgarian government victory: ()Hamburg Uprising Weimar Republic Communist Party of GermanyHamburg99 killedGovernment victory()Tatarbunary Uprising Tatarbunary Revolutionary CommitteeTatarbunary3,000 killedRevolt quelled by the Romanian government()1924 Estonian coup attempt Communist Party of Estonia151 killedEstonian government victory()Chinese Civil War Chinese Communist Revolution Chinese Communist Party Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (1927–1937) People's Liberation Army (1946–1950) Communist-controlled Chinacca. 8 millionCommunist victory: ()1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising Republic of El Salvador Communist Party of El SalvadorPipil rebelsWestern El Salvador: 10,000 – 40,000Revolt suppressed, ethnocide of Pipil people()Brazilian communist uprising of 1935 Brazil National Liberation Alliance Brazilian Communist PartyNatal, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro150+ killedGovernment victory()Spanish Revolution of 1936 CNT-FAI UGTVarious regions of Spainprimarily Madrid, Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia, and parts of Levante, Spain.Suppressed after ten-month period.()Yugoslav People's Liberation War Yugoslav Partisans850,000–1,200,000; ; ; Yugoslav Partisan–Allied victory: ()Hukbalahap Rebellion HukbalahapCentral LuzonHuk victory: ()National Liberation Movement Albanian Kingdom National Anti-Fascist Liberation MovementAlbaniaEstablishment of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania()1944 Bulgarian coup d'état Fatherland Front BCP NOVA BZNSFatherland Front victory: ()August Revolution Empire of Vietnam Việt MinhNorthern, Central and Southern VietnamViệt Minh victory: ()Korean Revolution Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea Communist Party of Korea New People's Party of Korea
Workers' Party of South Korea Workers' Party of North Korea
Workers' Party of Korea ()Greek Civil War Kingdom of Greece Provisional Democratic Government Democratic Army Communist Party of Greece and allies Ex-EAM members and other communist guerrillas' local groups People's Civil GuardGreece (with spillover into Albania)80,000–158,000 total killedMonarchist victory()Hukbalahap Rebellion Republic of the Philippines Communist Party of the Philippines