• Background & Theory
• Theory
• Current Communist Groups
• Communist Countries

Background & Theory

Background

• Communist ideology is attributed to Karl Marx's 1848 work: The Communist Manifesto.
• Communism was discussed widely in Marx's time, but not acted upon until many years after his death with the Russian Revolution in 1917, which brought V.I.Lenin and the Communist "Bolshevik" party to power.

  Theory

Current Communist Groups in the USA

• Communist Party USA - has not had a presidential candidate since 1984 (Gus Hall), but continues to run candidates at local levels. (Source: CPUSA FAQ)
• Workers World Party, founded in 1959, has run presidential candidates since 1980.

Communist Countries

Former Communist Countries

• Cambodia (1975 to 1989) under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, then the Peoples Revolutionary Party
• North Vietnam (1954 to 1976 - unification of Vietnam under communist control)
• Russia/Soviet Union (1917 to 1991)
• Somalia (1969 to 1991)
• Warsaw Pact nations (~1945 to ~1991)
• Yemen, Peoples Democratic Republic of (1969 to 1990)
• Yugoslavia (1945 to 1992)

• Many former communist regimes collapsed between 1989 and 1992 with the collapse of the Soviet Union, which as the leading Communist country, served as a benefactor to many of these regimes. (Source: Communist State Information)

  Present

• Peoples Republic of China, since 1949 by Communist Party of China

• Cuba, since 1959 by Fidel Castro of the Communist Party of Cuba
• Laos, since 1975 by the Lao People's Revolutionary Party
• North Korea, since 1948 by the Korean Workers' Party
• Vietnam, since 1976 by Communist Party of Vietnam