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• Communism is a doctrine that encompasses a wide range of theories, ideologies and systems of thought in political, social and economic sciences. Its main precepts, the abolition of private property and centralized economy, were proclaimed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in the Communist Manifesto on February 21, 1848. Since then communism has been altered by Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong and other political figures and theorists.

• Fast Facts

  1. As of 2004, five communist states remain in the world: Cuba, North Korea, Laos, China and VietnamIndopedia.org: Communist state
  2. The basic maxims include class struggle, state exclusive monopolies and the abolition of private propertyMarxists.org: The Communist Manifesto
  3. Russia became the first communist state on November 7, 1917BBC News: Timeline: Soviet Union
  4. The Red Scare is a term that describes a period of anti-communism in U.S. historyThe New York Times: My Father’s Red Scare (January 4, 2007)
  5. Workers of the world unite! is the most famous communist sloganHistoryworld.net: Communism

• Central Ideologies

  After Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had formulated the theory, the practical followers Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong had each elaborated on it, publishing their writings and spreading them among their people.Historyworld.net: Communism These works became the ideological basis upon which the communist parties of China, Soviet Union and Cuba relied.

• Cold War

  Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain speech on March 5, 1946 marked the beginning of the cold war.Fordham.edu: Modern History Sourcebook All European communist states, collectively known as the Warsaw Pact opposed the West, led by the United States under the aegis of NATO. While no direct warfare occurred, the hostility spilled over into the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War and the Soviet-Afghan War.

• Collapse of the Soviet Union

  The Soviet Union collapsed at the end of December 1991 due to a complex of political and economic reasons.BBC: Reform, Coup and Collapse: The End of the Soviet State It had been preceded and foreshadowed by the fall of the Berlin Wall.BBC: Reform, Coup and Collapse: The End of the Soviet State The dissolution of the Soviet state signaled the advent of globalism.Theglobalist.com: Globalism Versus Globalization

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Karl Marx | Joseph Stalin | Mao Zedong | Fidel Castro | Vladimir Lenin | North Korea | Soviet Union | China | Cuba | ANSWER Coalition

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