History of Communism

The history of communist ideas, movements, states, revolutions, and political parties, from early egalitarian traditions to contemporary communist movements.

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Utopian socialism: A nineteenth-century socialist current that proposed cooperative communities as alternatives to industrial capitalism. Its reformers preceded Marxism and shaped the debates from which communism emerged.
Marxism: A body of social, economic, and political thought derived from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. It supplied the broad analytical framework adopted and revised by communist parties.
Russian Revolution: The revolutions of 1917 that ended the Russian monarchy and brought the Bolsheviks to power. The Bolshevik victory created the first lasting state governed by a communist party.
Social democracy: A political tradition that pursues social equality through democratic institutions and regulated market economies. Its parliamentary reform strategy diverged from revolutionary communist approaches.
Cold War: The prolonged geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies, roughly from 1947 to 1991. The rivalry turned communist movements and states into central actors in global power politics.
Karl Marx: A German philosopher and political economist whose writings, often with Friedrich Engels, shaped modern communist theory. His critique of capitalism became the most influential intellectual foundation for communist movements.
Leninism: A revolutionary political theory emphasizing a disciplined vanguard party and the seizure of state power. It offered a model for organizing revolution under conditions unlike those Marx had anticipated.
Soviet Union: A socialist federal state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991 and was governed by the Communist Party. Its rise and collapse shaped communist parties, states, and movements worldwide.
Anarchism: A political tradition that opposes coercive hierarchy and advocates forms of voluntary organization. Anarchists and communists shared revolutionary aims but clashed over state power and party authority.
Eastern Bloc: The group of Soviet-aligned states in Central and Eastern Europe during the Cold War. Its party-state systems extended Soviet influence beyond the Soviet Union.