The first significant attempt to implement

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

on a large scale occurred in Russia following the

February Revolution of 1917 The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of two revolutions which took place in Russia in 1917. The main ...

, which led to the

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...

of Tsar Nicholas II after significant pressure from the Duma and the military. After the abdication, Russia was governed by a

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

composed of remnants of the dissolved Duma and the

soviets The Soviet people () were the citizens and nationals of the Soviet Union. This demonym was presented in the ideology of the country as the "new historical unity of peoples of different nationalities" (). Nationality policy in the Soviet Union ...

—workers’ and soldiers’ councils—in a power sharing system known as ''dvoevlastie'' (dual power). Later that year, the

Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

, led by

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

, seized power in the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

and established the Russian Soviet Republic. After the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

ended in 1922, the Bolsheviks formally established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), with Lenin as its first leader. Throughout the 20th century

spread to various parts of the world, largely as a result of Soviet influence, often through revolutionary movements and post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

geopolitical shifts. The

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

period saw a global ideological struggle between the communist bloc, led by the Soviet Union, and the capitalist West, led by the United States. The eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked a significant decline in the global influence of communism, though the ideology persists in some countries and continues to inspire

political movement A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...

s worldwide. Efforts to build

in Russia began after the success of the February Revolution in 1917, and ended with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

was established under the liberal and social-democratic government; however, the

refused to accept the government and revolted in October 1917, taking control of Russia.

, their leader, rose to power and governed between 1917 and 1924. The

Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF; ) is a communist political party in Russia that officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist philosophy. It is the second-largest political party in Russia after United Russia. The youth o ...

remains the second-largest political party after

United Russia The All-Russian Political Party United Russia (, ) is the Ruling party, ruling List of political parties in Russia, political party of Russia. As the largest party in the Russian Federation, it holds 325 (or 72.22%) of the 450 seats in the St ...

Russian Revolution

February Revolution

The First World War placed an unbearable strain on Russia's weak government and economy, resulting in mass shortages and hunger. In the meantime, the mismanagement and failures of the war turned the people and importantly, the soldiers against the Tsar, whose decision to take personal command of the army seemed to make him personally responsible for the defeats. In February 1917, the Tsar first lost control of the streets, then of the soldiers, and finally of the Duma, resulting in his forced abdication on 2 March 1917. On 26 February 1917 citywide strikes spread throughout

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

. Dozens of demonstrators were killed by troops. The crowds grew hostile, so the soldiers had to decide which side they were on. As the situation became critical, soldiers refused to work for the Tsar. On 26 February 1917 the Army abandoned the Tsar; the soldiers mutinied and refused to put down the riots. By 27 February 1917 the workers were in control of the entire city.

October Revolution

On 24–25 October 1917 the Bolsheviks and

Left Socialist Revolutionaries The Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries-Internationalists () was a revolutionary socialist political party formed during the Russian Revolution. In 1917, the Socialist Revolutionary Party split between those who supported the Russian Prov ...

organized a

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

, occupying government buildings, telegraph stations, and other strategic points. On 24 October 1917, the

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

took over bridges and telephone exchanges. On 25 and 26 October 1917 the Red Guards took over banks, government buildings, and railways stations. The cruiser Aurora fired blank shots at the Winter Palace signalling the start of the revolution. That night (9:40 pm), the Red Guards took over the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government. On 27 October 1917 Lenin proclaimed that all power now belonged to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.

The Civil War

After Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin took over the Soviet Union, many people still opposed the communist party. This led to the Civil War between the White Army and Red Army. The White Army included the opposition party, while the Red Army included the armed forces of the government and people that supported Vladimir Lenin. The Civil War resulted in the deaths of 10–30 million people.

Soviet socialism

Collapse of the Soviet Union

Authors Roger Keeran and Thomas Kenney stipulate that the primary cause of the Soviet Union's collapse was a betrayal of established socialist principles, particularly during the Gorbachev era. Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost undermined the planned economy, weakening the Communist Party and allowing non-communist power to take hold. This is catalyzed in Gorbachev's removal of the Communist Party's constitutional role in 1990. A year later, the USSR was dissolved despite a majority of the Soviet citizens voting against dissolution. Boris Yeltsin then became the first president of Russia.

Russian President The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the Federal State Council and the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces. I ...

Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin (1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician and statesman who served as President of Russia from 1991 to 1999. He was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1961 to ...

would ban the CPSU in the aftermath of the failed coup attempt. The

(CPRF) would be founded at the Second Extraordinary Congress of Russian Communists on 14 February 1993 as the successor organization of the Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (CPRSFSR). The CPRF was the ruling party in the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

, the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly from 1998 to 1999. It is the second-largest political party in Russia after

Cuba and the Cold War

The

was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. It began shortly after World War II and lasted until the early 1990s; this era was marked by ideological, political, and military rivalry between the two superpowers and their respective allies. One of the most significant flashpoints of the

was

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

. After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Cuba became a close ally of the Soviet Union, aligning itself with

communist ideology Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

. This alliance was pivotal during the

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

in 1962, when the discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles on Cuban soil brought the world to the brink of nuclear war. The crisis was ultimately resolved through a tense negotiation, resulting in the removal of the missiles in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba and the secret removal of U.S. missiles from

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Modern Russia

Soviet nostalgia remains prevalent among the Russian populace. Per the

Levada Center The Levada Center is a Russian independent, nongovernmental polling and sociological research organization. It is named after its founder, the first Russian professor of sociology Yuri Levada (1930–2006). The center traces back its history t ...

in 2018, 66 percent of Russians said they regretted the Soviet break-up highlighting the enduring impact of this historical period on the

collective memory Collective memory is the shared pool of memories, knowledge and information of a social group that is significantly associated with the group's identity. The English phrase "collective memory" and the equivalent French phrase "la mémoire collect ...

of the nation.

Organizations

* All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) (1995) * All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks (1991) * All-Union Young Guard Bolsheviks * Alliance of the Revolutionary Socialists *

* Communist Party of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic *

Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU),. Abbreviated in Russian as КПСС, ''KPSS''. at some points known as the Russian Communist Party (RCP), All-Union Communist Party and Bolshevik Party, and sometimes referred to as the Soviet ...

* Communist Party of the Soviet Union (1992) * Communist Party of the Soviet Union (2001) * Communist Party of Social Justice *

Communists of Russia The Communist Party "Communists of Russia" (CPCR; ; ''Kommunisticheskaya partiya «Kommunisty Rossii»'', ''KPKR'') or simply Communists of Russia (CR; ; ''Kommunisty Rossii'', ''KR'') is an Anti-revisionism, anti-revisionist Marxism–Leninism ...

* Essence of Time * Labour Russia *

League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class The League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class (LSEWC) was a Marxist group in the Russian Empire. It was founded in St. Petersburg by Vladimir Lenin, Julius Martov, Gleb Krzhizhanovsky, Anatoly Vaneyev, Alexander Malchenko, P. ...

* Left Front * Leninist Komsomol of the Russian Federation * Party of Narodnik Communists * Party of Revolutionary Communism * Party of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat * Revolutionary Workers' Party * Russian Communist Workers Party * Russian Communist Workers' Party of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union * Russian Maoist Party * Russian Socialist Movement * Russian United Labour Front * Socialist Alternative * Socialist League Vpered * Stalin Bloc – For the USSR *

Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union The Union of Communist Parties – Communist Party of the Soviet Union (UCP–CPSU) is a federation of communist parties in the post-Soviet states founded in 1993. Gennady Zyuganov has been the organisation's chairman since 2001. He replaced ...

* United Communist Party * Vanguard of Red Youth

References

{{Marxism–Leninism Communism in the Soviet Union History of socialism Political history of Russia Political movements in Russia Political movements in the Soviet Union Politics of Russia Politics of the Soviet Union