The hammer and sickle (

Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...

: "☭")
zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent

proletarian The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose only possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian. Marxist philo ...

solidarity, a union between

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

and industrial workers. It was first adopted during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as ...

representing workers and the

sickle A sickle, bagging hook, reaping-hook or grasshook is a single-handed agricultural tool designed with variously curved blades and typically used for harvesting, or reaping, grain crops or cutting succulent forage chiefly for feeding livestock, ...

representing the peasants. After

(from which

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

withdrew in 1917) and the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

, the hammer and sickle became more widely used as a symbol for labor within the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and for international proletarian unity. It was taken up by many

communist movements The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to "struggle by ...

around the world, some with local variations. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union at the end of the Cold War, the hammer and sickle remains commonplace in

itself and other

former Soviet republics The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

. In some other former

communist countries A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

, as well as in countries where communism is banned by law, its display is prohibited. The hammer and sickle is also commonplace in later self-declared socialist states such as

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, China,

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

, and Laos.

History

Worker symbolism

Farm and worker instruments and tools have long been used as symbols for

struggle. The combination of hammer and sickle symbolised the combination of farmers and construction workers. One example of use prior to its political instrumentalization by the Soviet Union is found in Chilean currency circulating since 1894. An alternative example is the combination of a hammer and a

plough A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...

, with the same meaning (unity of peasants and workers). In Ireland, the symbol of the plough remains in use. The Starry Plough banner was originally used by the

Irish Citizen Army The Irish Citizen Army (), or ICA, was a small paramilitary group of trained trade union volunteers from the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) established in Dublin for the defence of workers' demonstrations from the Dublin ...

, a socialist republican workers' militia.

James Connolly James Connolly ( ga, Séamas Ó Conghaile; 5 June 1868 – 12 May 1916) was an Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. Born to Irish parents in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh, Scotland, Connolly left school for working life at the ...

, who co-founded the Irish Citizen Army with

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

, said the significance of the banner was that a free Ireland would control its own destiny from the plough to the stars. A sword is forged into the plough to symbolise the end of war with the establishment of a Socialist International. That was unveiled in 1914 and flown by the Irish Citizen Army during the 1916 Easter Rising. Starry Plough flag (1914)

Inception

In 1917,

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1 ...

and

Anatoly Lunacharsky Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (russian: Анато́лий Васи́льевич Лунача́рский) (born Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov, – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Bolshevik Soviet People' ...

held a competition to create a Soviet emblem. The winning design was a hammer and sickle on top of a globe in rays of the sun, surrounded by a wreath of grain and under a five-pointed star, with the inscription " proletarians of the world, unite!" in six languages (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

, Belarusian, Georgian,

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

). It originally featured a sword, but Lenin strongly objected, disliking the violent connotations. The winning designer was Yevgeny Ivanovich Kamzolkin (1885–1957). On 6 July 1923, the 2nd session of the Central Executive Committee (CIK) adopted the emblem. In his work, ''Daily Life in a Crumbling Empire: The Absorption of Russia into the World Economy'', sociologist David Lempert hypothesizes that the hammer and sickle was a secular replacement for the

patriarchal cross The Patriarchal cross is a variant of the Christian cross, the religious symbol of Christianity, and is also known as the Cross of Lorraine. Similar to the familiar Latin cross, the patriarchal cross possesses a smaller crossbar placed above ...

Use in Soviet Union

* The

State Emblem of the Soviet Union The State Emblem of the Soviet Union; be, Дзяржаўны герб СССР; kk, ССРО мемлекеттік елтаңбасы; lt, TSRS Valstybinis herbas; lv, PSRS valsts ģerbonis; et, NSVL riigivapp} was adopted in 1923 and was ...

and the

Coats of Arms of the Soviet Republics The emblems of the constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics all featured predominantly the hammer and sickle and the red star that symbolised communism, as well as a rising sun (although in the case of the Latvian SSR, s ...

showed the hammer and sickle, which also appeared on the red star badge on the uniform cap of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

uniform and in many other places. * ''Serp i Molot'' (

transliteration Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or ...

of russian: cерп и молот, "sickle and hammer") is the name of the

Moscow Metallurgical Plant Moscow Metallurgical Plant (russian: Серп и Молот, Serp i Molot, sickle and hammer) in Moscow, Russia was founded in 1883 as a metallurgic workshop and became known as the Goujon (or Guzhon) Plant (завод Гужона). It is one of ...

. * ''Serp i Molot'' is also the name of a stop on the

electric railway A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), ...

line from Kurski

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to Gorky, featured in

Venedikt Yerofeyev Venedikt Vasilyevich Yerofeyev, also Benedict Erofeev or Erofeyev (russian: Венеди́кт Васи́льевич Ерофе́ев; 24 October 1938 in Niva-3 settlement, suburb of Kandalaksha – 11 May 1990 in Moscow) was a Russian writer ...

's novel, '' Moscow-Petushki''. Coat of arms of the Soviet Union 1923–1936

Meaning

At the time of creation, the hammer and sickle stood for worker-peasant alliance, with the hammer a traditional symbol of the industrial proletariat (who dominated the proletariat of Russia) and the sickle a traditional symbol for the peasantry, but the meaning has since broadened to a globally recognizable symbol for

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialec ...

communist parties A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the Socioeconomics, socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Communist Manifesto, The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' ( ...

, or

socialist state A socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term ''communist state'' is ofte ...

Current usage

Post-Soviet states

Two federal subjects of the post-Soviet Russian Federation use the hammer and sickle in their symbols: the

Vladimir Oblast Vladimir Oblast (russian: Влади́мирская о́бласть, ''Vladimirskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its closest border 66 km east of central Moscow, the administrative center is the city of Vladimir, wh ...

has them on its flag and the

Bryansk Oblast Bryansk Oblast (russian: Бря́нская о́бласть, ''Bryanskaya oblast''), also known as Bryanshchina (russian: Брянщина, ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk. As of th ...

has them on its flag and coat of arms, which is also the central element of its flag. In addition, the Russian city of

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fe ...

also uses the hammer and sickle on its flag. The former Soviet (now Russian) national airline, Aeroflot, continues to use the hammer and sickle in its symbol. The hammer and sickle can be found as a logo on most

ushanka An ushanka ( rus, уша́нка, p=ʊˈʂankə, from , "ears"), also called an ''ushanka- hat'' ( rus, ша́пка-уша́нка, p=ˈʂapkə ʊˈʂankə), is a Russian fur cap with ear-covering flaps that can be tied up to the crown of the ...

hats, usually the Soviet-styled ones. The ''de facto'' government of

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

uses (with minor modifications) the flag and the emblem of the former

Moldavian SSR The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic ( ro, Republica Sovietică Socialistă Moldovenească, Moldovan Cyrillic: ) was one of the 15 republics of the Soviet Union which existed from 1940 to 1991. The republic was formed on 2 August 1940 ...

, which includes the hammer and sickle. The flag can also appear without the hammer and sickle in some circumstances, for example on Transnistrian-issued license plates.

Communist parties

Three out of the five currently ruling Communist parties use a hammer and sickle as the party symbol: the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

, the

Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of Nor ...

and the

Lao People's Revolutionary Party The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Lao People's Democratic Republic. The party's monopoly on state power is guaranteed by Article 3 of the Constitution of Laos, and it maintains a unitary s ...

. In Laos and Vietnam, the hammer and sickle party flags can often be seen flying side by side with their respective national flags. Many communist parties around the world also use it, including the

Communist Party of Greece The Communist Party of Greece ( el, Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας, ''Kommounistikó Kómma Elládas'', KKE) is a political party in Greece. Founded in 1918 as the Socialist Labour Party of Greece and adopted its curre ...

, the

Communist Party of Chile The Communist Party of Chile ( es, Partido Comunista de Chile, ) is a communist party in Chile. It was founded in 1912 as the Socialist Workers' Party () and adopted its current name in 1922. The party established a youth wing, the Communist Youth ...

, both the

Communist Party of Brazil The Communist Party of Brazil ( pt-BR, Partido Comunista do Brasil, PCdoB) is a political party in Brazil. The PCdoB officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist theory. It has national reach and deep penetration in the trade union and student m ...

and the

Brazilian Communist Party The Brazilian Communist Party ( pt-BR, Partido Comunista Brasileiro), originally the Communist Party of Brazil (), is a communist party in Brazil founded on 25 March 1922 which makes the disputed claim of being the oldest political party st ...

, the Purba Banglar Sarbahara Party from Bangladesh, the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)/CPIM/CPM) is a Marxist–Leninist communist political party in India. It is the largest communist party of India in terms of membership and electoral seats and one of the na ...

, the

Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation The Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation ( abbreviated: CPI(ML)L or CPI-ML(L) or CPIML Liberation) also referred to as the Liberation Group, is a Communist political party in India. History In 1973 the original Commu ...

, the Communist Party of India, the

Communist Party of India (Maoist) The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a Marxist–Leninist–Maoist banned communist political party and militant organization in India which aims to overthrow the "semi-colonial and semi-feudal Indian state" through protracted people's ...

, the Indian Communist Marxist Party, the

Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) or SUCI(C), previously called the Socialist Unity Centre of India and "Socialist Unity Centre", is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in India. The party was founded by Shibd ...

, the Egyptian Communist Party, the

Communist Party of Pakistan The Communist Party of Pakistan (abbr. CPP; ur, کمیونسٹ پارٹی آف پاکستان) is a communist party in Pakistan. History Founding The CPP was founded in Calcutta, India, soon after the establishment of Pakistan on 6 March 1948. ...

, the

Communist Refoundation Party The Communist Refoundation Party ( it, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista, PRC) is a communist political party in Italy that emerged from a split of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) in 1991. The party's secretary is Maurizio Acerbo, who replace ...

in Italy, the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving a ...

, the

Communist Party of Denmark The Communist Party of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Kommunistiske Parti, DKP) is a communist party in Denmark. The DKP was founded on 9 November 1919 as the Left-Socialist Party of Denmark (, VSP), through a merger of the Socialist Youth League and ...

, the

Communist Party of Norway The Communist Party of Norway ( no, Norges Kommunistiske Parti, NKP) is a communist party in Norway. The NKP was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. It was Stalinist from its establishment and, as such, supported t ...

, the

Romanian Communist Party The Romanian Communist Party ( ro, Partidul Comunist Român, , PCR) was a communist party in Romania. The successor to the pro-Bolshevik wing of the Socialist Party of Romania, it gave ideological endorsement to a communist revolution that wou ...

, the

Lebanese Communist Party The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), abbr. PCL is a communist party in Lebanon. It was founded in 1924 by the Lebanese intellectual, writer and reporter Yusuf Yazbek and Fu'ad al-Shamali, a tobacco worker from Bikfaya. History Creation The ...

, the

Communist Party of the Philippines The Communist Party of the Philippines ( fil, Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas) is a far-left, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist revolutionary organization and communist party in the Philippines, formed by Jose Maria Sison on 26 December 1968. It is des ...

and the

Shining Path The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the group as the Commu ...

. The Communist Party of Sweden, the

Portuguese Communist Party The Portuguese Communist Party ( pt, Partido Comunista Português, , PCP) is a communist, Marxist–Leninist political party in Portugal based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself patriotic and internationalist,Portug ...

and the

Mexican Communist Party The Mexican Communist Party ( es, Partido Comunista Mexicano, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its nam ...

use the hammer and sickle imposed on the red star.

Variations

Many symbols having similar structures and messages to the original have been designed. For example, the Angolan flag shows a segment of a cog, crossed by a

machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca uses a machete to carve wood. ...

and crowned with a socialist star while the

flag of Mozambique The flag of Mozambique is the national flag of the Republic of Mozambique that was adopted on 1 May 1983. It is a tricolor flag with white fimbriations and a red triangle. Teal stands for the riches of the land, the white fimbriations signif ...

features an

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms des ...

crossed by a

hoe Hoe or HOE may refer to: * Hoe (food), a Korean dish of raw fish * Hoe (letter), a Georgian letter * Hoe (tool), a hand tool used in gardening and farming ** Hoe-farming, a term for primitive forms of agriculture * Backhoe, a piece of excavati ...

. In the logo of the

Communist Party USA The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...

, a circle is formed by a half cog and a

semicircular In mathematics (and more specifically geometry), a semicircle is a one-dimensional Locus (mathematics), locus of points that forms half of a circle. The full Arc (geometry), arc of a semicircle always measures 180° (equivalently, radians, or a ...

sickle-blade. A hammer is laid directly over the sickle's handle with the hammer's

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

at the logo's center. The logo of the Communist Party of Turkey consists of half a cog wheel crossed by a hammer, with a star on the top. Tools represented in other designs include: the

brush A brush is a common tool with bristles, wire or other filaments. It generally consists of a handle or block to which filaments are affixed in either a parallel or perpendicular orientation, depending on the way the brush is to be gripped duri ...

, sickle and hammer of the

Workers' Party of Korea The Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) is the founding and sole ruling party of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea. Founded in 1949 from the merger of the Workers' Party of North Korea and the Workers' Party of ...

; the

spade A spade is a tool primarily for digging consisting of a long handle and blade, typically with the blade narrower and flatter than the common shovel. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the ...

, flaming torch and

quill A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal- nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, event ...

used prior to 1984 by the British Labour Party; the

pickaxe A pickaxe, pick-axe, or pick is a generally T-shaped hand tool used for prying. Its head is typically metal, attached perpendicularly to a longer handle, traditionally made of wood, occasionally metal, and increasingly fiberglass. A stan ...

and rifle used in

communist Albania The People's Socialist Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika Popullore Socialiste e Shqipërisë, links=no) was the Marxist–Leninist one party state that existed in Albania from 1946 to 1992 (the official name of the country was the People's R ...

; and the hammer and compasses of the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

emblem and flag. The

Far Eastern Republic The Far Eastern Republic ( rus, Дальневосто́чная Респу́блика, ДВР, r=Dalnevostochnaya Respublika, DVR, p=dəlʲnʲɪvɐˈstotɕnəjə rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə), sometimes called the Chita Republic, was a nominally indep ...

of Russia used an

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ...

crossed over a spade or pickaxe, symbolising the union of the fishermen and miners. The

Fourth International The Fourth International (FI) is a Revolutionary socialism, revolutionary socialist international organization consisting of followers of Leon Trotsky, also known as Trotskyism, Trotskyists, whose declared goal is the overthrowing of global ca ...

, founded by

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

, uses a hammer and sickle symbol on which the number 4 is superimposed. The hammer and sickle in the Fourth International symbol are the opposite of other hammer and sickle symbols in that the head of the hammer is on the right side and the sickle end tip on the left. The

Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

League for the Fifth International The League for the Fifth International (L5I) is an international grouping of revolutionary Trotskyist organisations around a common programme and perspectives. History L5I was founded as the Movement for a Revolutionary Communist Internationa ...

merges a hammer with the number 5, using the number's lower arch to form the sickle. A sickle with a rifle is also used by the Marxist and Islamist group People's Mojahedin of Iran. The

Communist Party of Britain The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) is a communist party in Great Britain which emerged from a dispute between Eurocommunists and Marxist-Leninists in the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1988. It follows Marxist-Leninist theory and ...

uses the hammer and dove symbol. Designed in 1988 by Michal Boncza, it is intended to highlight the party's connection to the peace movement. It is usually used in conjunction with the hammer and sickle and it appears on all of the CPB's publications. Some members of the CPB prefer one symbol over the other, although the party's 1994 congress reaffirmed the hammer and dove's position as the official emblem of the party. Similarly, the Communist Party of Israel uses a dove over the hammer and sickle as its symbol. The flag of the Guadeloupe Communist Party uses a sickle, turned to look like a majuscule G, to represent

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands— Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

. The flag of the Black Front, a Strasserist group founded by early Nazi Party members and expelled around the time of the

Night of the Long Knives The Night of the Long Knives (German: ), or the Röhm purge (German: ''Röhm-Putsch''), also called Operation Hummingbird (German: ''Unternehmen Kolibri''), was a purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. Chancellor Ad ...

purge, along with his supporters and the

Sturmabteilung The (; SA; literally "Storm Detachment (military), Detachment") was the original paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party. It played a significant role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s. Its primary purposes were providing pro ...

and originator of the ideology and the Black Front himself

Otto Strasser Otto Johann Maximilian Strasser (also german: link=no, Straßer, see ß; 10 September 1897 – 27 August 1974) was a German politician and an early member of the Nazi Party. Otto Strasser, together with his brother Gregor Strasser, was a lea ...

, featured a crossed hammer and sword, symbolizing the unity of the workers and military. In 1938, the

Dobama Asiayone Dobama Asiayone ( my, တို့ဗမာအစည်းအရုံး, ''Dóbăma Ăsì-Ăyòun'', meaning ''We Burmans Association'', DAA), commonly known as the Thakhins ( my, သခင် ''sa.hkang'', lit. Lords), was a Burmese national ...

, an anti-British nationalist group in the then British Burma, adopted a tricolour flag charged with red sickle and hammer. From 1974–2010, the flag of Burma (Myanmar) featured a bushel of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

superimposed on a

cogwheel A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic ...

surrounded by fourteen white stars; the rice representing the peasants and the cogwheel representing the workers, the combination symbolizing that the peasants and workers be the two basic social classes for State building, while the fourteen equal-sized white stars indicate the unity and equality of fourteen

member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...

of the Union. The flag of Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM, Party of the Revolution in

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa * Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of ...

), currently the ruling political party of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

, has a slightly different symbol with a hammer and a

(''jembe'') instead of a sickle to represent the most common farm tool in Africa. The

National Bolshevik Party The National Bolshevik Party (NBP; russian: Национал-большевистская партия), also known as the Nazbols (russian: нацболы), operated from 1993 to 2007 as a Russian political party with a political program of Nat ...

used the hammer and sickle in their flag, but colored black instead of gold and in a design similar to the

Nazi flag The flag of Nazi Germany, officially the flag of the German Reich, featured a red background with a black swastika on a white disc. This flag came into use initially as the banner of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) after its foundation. Following the app ...

, a brighter red flag than the USSR, with a black hammer and sickle on a white disk in the center. The symbols of the liberal socialist parties of

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist and social-liberal political party in Argentina. It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from social liberalism to social democracy. The UCR is a member of the ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

and the

Czech National Social Party Czech National Social Party ( Czech: ''Česká strana národně sociální'', ČSNS) is a civic nationalist political party in the Czech Republic, that once played an important role in Czechoslovakia during the interwar period. It was establish ...

in the Czech Republic features a hammer and a quill with the former representing workers and the latter representing clerks.

Art

The hammer and sickle has long been a common theme in socialist realism, but it has also seen some depiction in non-Marxist popular culture.

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

who created many drawings and photographs of the hammer and sickle is the most famous example of this. File:Lenpl_06.jpg, The metro station, ''Plošča Lienina'',

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

File:BWHammerSickle.jpg, Sándor Pinczehelyi, ''Hammer and Sickle'' File:Hammer and Sickle - Kerala.jpg, A

tableau Tableau (French for 'little table' literally, also used to mean 'picture'; tableaux or, rarely, tableaus) may refer to: Arts * ''Tableau'', a series of four paintings by Piet Mondrian titled ''Tableau I'' through to ''Tableau IV'' * ''Tableau viv ...

in a communist rally in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

File:Juche-Tower-2014.jpg , " Worker,

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...

and the

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator o ...

" in front of the

Juche Tower The ''Juche'' Tower (more formally, the Tower of the ''Juche'' Idea), completed in 1982, is a monument in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, and is named after the ideology of ''Juche'' introduced by the country's first leader, Kim Il-sung. ...

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populat ...

Legal status

In several countries in the former

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

, there are laws that define the hammer and sickle as the symbol of a "

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

and criminal ideology" and the public display of the hammer and sickle and other Communist symbols such as the red star is considered a criminal offence.

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croa ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, Lithuania,

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnist ...

(1 October 2012 – 4 June 2013) and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

have

banned communist symbols Bans on communist symbols have been introduced or proposed in a number of countries as part of their decommunization policies. General bans Indonesia "Communism / Marxism–Leninism" (official terminology) was banned in Indonesia follo ...

including this one. A similar law was considered in

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and t ...

, but it eventually failed in a parliamentary committee. In Ukraine, the legislature equals communist symbols including hammer with sickle to Nazi

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. I ...

symbols. In 2010, the Lithuanian,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

n, Hungarian,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

n, and Czech governments called for the European Union to criminalize "the approval, denial or belittling of communist crimes" similar to how a number of EU member states have banned

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

. The

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body ...

turned down this request, finding after a study that the criteria for EU-wide criminal legislation were not met, leaving individual member states to determine the extent to which they wished to handle past totalitarian crimes. In February 2013, the

Constitutional Court of Hungary The Constitutional Court of Hungary ( hu, Magyarország Alkotmánybírósága) is a special court of Hungary, making judicial review of the acts of the Parliament of Hungary. The official seat of the Constitutional Court is Budapest. Until 2012 ...

annulled the ban on the use of symbols of fascist and communist dictatorships, including the hammer and sickle, the red star and the swastika, saying the ban was too broad and imprecise. The court also pointed to a judgement of the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that a ...

in which Hungary was found guilty of violation of article 10, the right to

freedom of expression Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...

. In June 2013, the

Constitutional Court of Moldova The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Moldova () represents the sole body of constitutional jurisdiction in the Republic of Moldova, autonomous and independent from the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The task of the Consti ...

ruled that the Moldovan Communist Party’s symbols—the hammer and sickle—are legal and can be used. In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

, the display of communist symbols is banned and the country's

Communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...

was also banned by decree of president

Suharto Suharto (; ; 8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian army officer and politician, who served as the second and the longest serving president of Indonesia. Widely regarded as a military dictator by international observers, Suharto le ...

, following the 1965–1966 killings of communists in which over 500,000 people were killed. In January 2018, an activist protesting against

Bumi Resources PT Bumi Resources Tbk is one of the largest mining companies in Indonesia structured as a holding company. In the 2012 Forbes Global 2000, Bumi Resources was ranked as the 1898th-largest public company in the world. It is reputedly the biggest th ...

displayed the hammer and sickle, was accused of spreading communism, and later jailed. In

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, dissemination of items which are "media of fascist, communist or other totalitarian symbolism" was criminalized in 1997. However, the Constitutional Tribunal found this sanction to be unconstitutional in 2011.

Usage

Flags

Europe

File:Flag of the Soviet Union (1922–1923).svg,

Flag of the Soviet Union The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (), commonly known as the Soviet flag (), was the official state flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1922 to 1991. The flag's design and symbolism are derived fro ...

from 1922 to 1923 File:Flag of the Soviet Union (1924).svg, Flag of the Soviet Union from 1924 File:Flag of the Soviet Union (1924–1936).svg, Flag of the Soviet Union from 1924 to 1936 File:Flag of the Soviet Union (1936–1955).svg, alt=, Flag of the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1955 File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg, Flag of the Soviet Union from 19 August 1955 to 26 December 1991 File:USSR, Jack and fortress flag of naval fortresses 1964.svg, Naval Jack of the Soviet Union and

from 16 November 1950 to 26 July 1992 File:Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union.svg, Naval ensign of the Soviet Union and Russia from 16 November 1950 to 26 July 1992 File:Flag of the Aeroflot.svg, Flag of Aeroflot from 1961 to 1991 File:Flag of the Communist Party of the Donetsk People's Republic.svg, Flag of the Communist Party of the Donetsk People's Republic File:Flag of PCR.svg, Flag of the

File:KPRF Flag.svg, Flag of the

Communist Party of the Russian Federation The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF; russian: Коммунистическая Партия Российской Федерации; КПРФ, Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Rossiyskoy Federatsii; KPRF) is a left-wing nationalist and c ...

File:Flag of Bryansk Oblast.svg, Flag of

(Russia) File:Flag of Vladimirskaya Oblast.svg, Flag of

(Russia) File:Flag of Oryol.svg, Flag of

(Russia) File:Partito Comunista Italiano.png, Flag of the

Italian Communist Party The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy. The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...

File:Sammarinese Communist Party flag, 1950s.svg, Flag of the

Sammarinese Communist Party The Sammarinese Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Sammarinese, abbreviated PCS) was a Marxist political party in the small European republic of San Marino. It was founded in 1921 as a section of the Communist Party of Italy (PCI). The organi ...

File:Dhkp.svg, The flag of the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party–Front (

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

) File:Flag of the Portuguese Communist Party.svg, Flag of the

File:Flag of the KSC.svg, Flag of

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech language, Czech and Slovak language, Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed be ...

File:League of Communists of Yugoslavia Flag.svg, Flag of League of Communists of Yugoslavia

Asia

File:Flag of the Communist Party of Vietnam.svg, Flag of the

Vietnamese Communist Party The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North ...

File:Flag of the Chinese Communist Party.svg, Flag of the

File:Flag of the Chinese Communist Party (Pre-1996).svg, Flag of the

(before 1996) File:中國工農紅軍軍旗.svg, Flag of

Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army The Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army or Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Revolutionary Army, commonly known as the Chinese Red Army or simply the Red Army, are the armed forces of the Chinese Communist Party. It was formed when Communist ...

File:Flag of the Taiwan Democratic Communist Party.svg, Flag of the

Taiwan Democratic Communist Party The Taiwan Democratic Communist Party was a minor political party in Taiwan. It was founded on 1 October 2009 by Chen Tien-fu, cousin of former president Chen Shui-bian. The party's stated purpose was to create a distinct form of socialism in Ta ...

File:National Flag of Chinese Soviet Republic.svg, Flag of the

Chinese Soviet Republic The Chinese Soviet Republic (CSR) was an East Asian proto-state in China, proclaimed on 7 November 1931 by Chinese communist leaders Mao Zedong and Zhu De in the early stages of the Chinese Civil War. The discontiguous territories of the ...

(1931–1937) File:Flag of the Workers' Party of Korea.svg, Flag of

File:CPI-banner.svg, Flag of the Communist Party of India File:CPI-M-flag.svg, Flag of the

File:South Asian Communist Banner.svg, Flag of various South Asian communist parties, including the

File:SUCI flag.svg, Flag of the

Socialist Unity Centre of India The Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) or SUCI(C), previously called the Socialist Unity Centre of India and "Socialist Unity Centre", is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in India. The party was founded by Shibd ...

File:বাংলাদেশ কমিউনিস্ট পার্টির পতাকা.svg, Flag of the

Communist Party of Bangladesh The Communist Party of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের কমিউনিস্ট পার্টি) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party in Bangladesh. History After the partitioning of India in 1947, during the 2nd ...

File:Flag of the CPN (Unified Socialist).svg, Flag of the

Nepal Communist Party The Nepal Communist Party, abbreviated NCP ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी, ) is a defunct communist party of Nepal. It was founded on 17 May 2018, from the unification of two leftist parties, Communist ...

File:Communist Party of Bhutan Flag.svg, Flag of the

Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist–Leninist–Maoist) The Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist–Leninist–Maoist) (abbr. CPB (MLM)) is an underground communist party in Bhutan. The CPB (MLM) aims to start a New Democratic Revolution and overthrow the Bhutanese monarchy and the House of Wangchuck. ...

File:Flag of the Communist Party of Indonesia.svg, Flag of

Communist Party of Indonesia The Communist Party of Indonesia (Indonesian: ''Partai Komunis Indonesia'', PKI) was a communist party in Indonesia during the mid-20th century. It was the largest non-ruling communist party in the world before its violent disbandment in 1965. ...

File:Bandeira do Partido Socialista de Timor.png, Flag of the Socialist Party of Timor File:Flag of the Communist Party of the Philippines (alternative II).svg, Flag of the

File:Flag of LPRP.svg, Flag of

File:Banner of the Communist Party of Kampuchea.svg, Flag of

Communist Party of Kampuchea The Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK),, UNGEGN: , ALA-LC: ; french: Parti communiste du Kampuchea also known as the Khmer Communist Party,

File:Flag of the Communist Party of Malaya.svg, Flag of the

Malayan Communist Party The Malayan Communist Party (MCP), officially the Communist Party of Malaya (CPM), was a Marxist–Leninist and anti-imperialist communist party which was active in British Malaya and later, the modern states of Malaysia and Singapore from ...

(1930-1989) File:Flag of the Lebanese Communist Party.svg, Flag of the

File:Flag of the Syrian Communist Party (Bakdash).svg, Flag of the Syrian Communist Party (Bakdash) File:Flag of Kurdistan Workers' Party 1978.svg, Flag of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of sou ...

(1978–1995) File:JCPF.svg, Flag of the

Jordanian Communist Party The Jordanian Communist Party (JCP; ar, الحزب الشیوعی الاردنی, ''al-Hizb al-Shuyu'i al-Urduni'') is a communist party in Jordan, founded in 1948. Its current general secretary is Dr. Munir Hamarana. It publishes ''al-Jamahir' ...

File:PaCoPa new.png, alt=, Flag of the Palestinian Communist Party

Africa

File:Flag of Algerian Communist Party.svg, Flag of the

Algerian Communist Party The Algerian Communist Party (french: Parti Communiste Algérien; ar, الحزب الشيوعي الجزائري) was a communist party in Algeria. The PCA emerged in 1920 as an extension of the French Communist Party (PCF) and eventually beca ...

File:Flag of Angola.svg ,

Flag of Angola The national flag of Angola came into use when Angola gained independence on November 11, 1975. It is split horizontally into an upper red half and a lower black half with an emblem resting at the center. It features a yellow half gear wheel ...

File:Flag_of_FRELIMO_(1997–2004).svg, Flag of

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from the Portuguese , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It is the dominant party in Mozambique and has won a majority of the seats in the Assembly of the Republic in every election since the country's first ...

(1987-2004) File:Flag_of_the_People's_Republic_of_the_Congo.svg, Flag of the

People's Republic of the Congo The People's Republic of the Congo (french: République populaire du Congo) was a Marxist–Leninist socialist state that existed in the Republic of the Congo from 1969 to 1992. The People's Republic of the Congo was founded in December 196 ...

and the

Congolese Party of Labour The Congolese Party of Labour (french: Parti congolais du travail, PCT) is the ruling party of the Republic of the Congo. Founded in 1969 by Marien Ngouabi, it was originally a pro-Soviet, Marxist–Leninist vanguard party which founded the Pe ...

File:Communist_Party_of_Kenya_Flag.png, Flag of the Communist Party of Kenya File:Flag_of_the_South_African_Communist_Party.svg, Flag of the

South African Communist Party The South African Communist Party (SACP) is a communist party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA), tactically dissolved itself in 1950 in the face of being declared illegal by the governing Na ...

File:Workers-Party-of-Ethiopia-flag.png, Flag of the Workers' Party of Ethiopia

Americas

File:Flag of Sendero Luminoso.svg, Flag of

File:PCdoB flag.svg, Flag of PCdoB File:BANDERA PCCE.png, Flag of the PCCE File:Communist_Party_USA_Flag.svg, Flag of the

State emblems

Soviet Union (in the constitutional order)

File:State Emblem of the Soviet Union.svg, State emblem of the

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

File:Emblem of the Russian SFSR.svg,

Emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' are often used in ...

of the

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

File:Coat of arms of the Russian Federation (1992-1993).svg,

of the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia North Asia or Northern Asia, also referred to as Siberia, is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographic ...

(1992‒1993) File:Emblem of the Ukrainian SSR.svg,

Emblem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic The coat of arms of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on 14 March 1919 by the government of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and subsequently modified on 7 November 1928, 30 January 1937 and 21 November 1949. The coat of ...

File:Emblem of the Byelorussian SSR (1981-1991).svg,

Emblem of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic The Byelorussian SSR emblem was used as the coat of arms of the Soviet Socialist Republic until the fall of the Soviet Union. The coat of arms is based on the coat of arms of the Soviet Union. Description The central feature of the emblem is the ...

File:Emblem of the Uzbek SSR.svg, Emblem of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic File:Emblem of Kazakh SSR.svg,

Emblem of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic The coat of arms of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on March 26, 1937, by the government of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. The coat of arms is based on the coat of arms of the Soviet Union. It shows symbols of agricult ...

File:Emblem of the Georgian SSR.svg, Emblem of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic File:Emblem of the Azerbaijan SSR.svg,

Emblem of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic The national emblem of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted in 1937 by the government of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. The style is based on the emblem of the Soviet Union. The emblem features a drilling rig represen ...

File:Emblem of the Lithuanian SSR.svg,

Emblem of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic The emblem of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic ( lt, Lietuvos TSR valstybinis herbas) was adopted in 1940 by the government of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. The emblem was designed by Vsevolodas Dobužinskis based on the St ...

File:Emblem of the Moldavian SSR (1981-1990).svg,

Emblem of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic The coat of arms of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on 10 February 1941 by the government of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian SSR). The coat of arms is based on the coat of arms of the Soviet Union. It shows ...

File:Emblem of the Latvian SSR.svg,

Emblem of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic Emblem of the Latvian SSR ( lv, Latvijas PSR valsts ģerbonis) was adopted on August 25, 1940, by the government of the Latvian SSR. It was based on the emblem of the Soviet Union. It features symbols of agriculture (wheat) and Latvia's maritim ...

File:Emblem of the Kirghiz SSR.svg, Emblem of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic File:Emblem of the Tajik SSR.svg,

Emblem of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic The State Emblem of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on March 1, 1937 by the government of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic. The emblem is based on the State Emblem of the Soviet Union. It shows symbols of agriculture ( cotton ...

File:Emblem of the Armenian SSR.svg, Emblem of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic File:Emblem of the Turkmen SSR.svg, Emblem of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic File:Emblem of the Estonian SSR.svg,

Emblem of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic Emblem of the Estonian SSR was adopted by the Stalinist authorities after the Soviet Union had occupied and annexed Estonia in August 1940. The emblem features a sunrise accented by sunbeams, the hammer and sickle for the victory of communism a ...

File:Emblem_of_the_Transcaucasian_SFSR_(1930-1936).svg,

Emblem of the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic The Emblem of the Transcaucasian SFSR was adopted by the government of the Transcaucasian SFSR. The final version was adopted in 1930. The emblem is based loosely on the state emblem of the Soviet Union. It incorporates designs from each of ...

(1923‒1936) File:Emblem_of_the_Karelo-Finnish_SSR.svg, Emblem of the Karelo-Finnish Soviet Socialist Republic (1941‒1956)

Other

File:Emblem_of_the_Tuvan_People%27s_Republic_(1943-1944).svg, State emblem of the

Tuvan People's Republic The Tuvan People's Republic (TPR; tyv, Тыва Арат Республик, translit=Tywa Arat Respublik; Yanalif: ''Tьʙа Arat Respuʙlik'', ),) and abbreviated TAR. known as the Tannu Tuva People's Republic until 1926, was a partially rec ...

(1943‒1944) File:Coat of arms of Transnistria.svg,

of the self-proclaimed

Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

File:Emblem of Laos 1975-1991.svg, State emblem of the

Lao People's Democratic Republic Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

(1975‒1991) File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_People's_Republic_of_the_Congo.svg, Emblem of the

(1970–1991) File:National Emblem of the Chinese Soviet Republic.svg, State emblem of the

(1934–1937) File:Coat of Arms of Moscow (Soviet).svg, Emblem of

(1924-1937) File:Coat of arms of Austria.svg,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

's Coat of arms File:Emblem of Angola.svg, The Emblem of Angola

Logos

Europe

File:КПСС.svg, Badge of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union File:Emblem of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.svg, Emblem of the

File:Coat of arms of PCR.svg, Emblem of the

File:Emblem of the SKJ.svg, Emblem of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia File:KPRF_Logo.svg, Logo of the

File:Logo of the Communist Party of Greece.svg, Logo of the

File:Logo Partito Comunista Italiano.svg, Logo of the

File:Partito di Unità Proletaria logo.svg, Logo of the

Proletarian Unity Party (Italy) The Proletarian Unity Party (Italian: ''Partito di Unità Proletaria'', PdUP) was a far-left political party in Italy. Origins The PdUP was founded in the November 1972 by minority factions of two parties: the New PSIUP, led by Vittorio Foa and ...

File:Logo of the Communist Party (Italy).svg, Logo of the Communist Party (Italy) File:Pce 2014.svg, Logo of the

File:PCPE.svg, Logo of the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain File:Portuguese Communist Party logo.svg, Logo of the

File:Communist Party of Ireland.svg, Logo of the

Communist Party of Ireland The Communist Party of Ireland (CPI; ga, Páirtí Cumannach na hÉireann) is an all-Ireland Marxist–Leninist communist party, founded in 1933 and re-founded in 1970. It rarely contests elections and has never had electoral success. The par ...

File:Logo of the Communist Party of Britain.svg, Logo of the

File:CPGB hi res.png, Logo of the

Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee) The Communist Party of Great Britain is a political group which publishes the ''Weekly Worker'' newspaper. The CPGB (PCC) claims to have "an internationalist duty to uphold the principle, 'One state, one party'. To the extent that the European U ...

File:Kommunistiska Partiet.svg, Logo of the

Communist Party (Sweden) The Communist Party ( sv, Kommunistiska partiet, K) is a Marxist–Leninist political party in Sweden started in 1970. From 1970 to 1977, it was known as the Communist League Marxist–Leninists (Revolutionaries) (, KFML(r)) and from 1977 to 2 ...

File:Norwegian Communist Party.png, The Logo of the

File:DKP logo.svg, Logo of the

File:Kp logo.jpg, Logo of the Communist Party (Denmark) File:KTP Emblem 2019.png, Logo of the Finnish Communist Worker's Party File:KPD-logo.svg, Logo of the

Communist Party of Germany The Communist Party of Germany (german: Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West German ...

File:Partito_Comunista_(Svizzera).tif, Logo of the Communist Party (Switzerland) File:NCPN logo 2021 small.svg, Logo of the

New Communist Party of the Netherlands The New Communist Party of the Netherlands ( nl, Nieuwe Communistische Partij Nederland, NCPN) is a communist party in the Netherlands. The NCPN was founded in 1992 by the former members of the Communist Party of the Netherlands to oppose CPN's me ...

File:Communist Party of Wallonia.svg, Logo of the

Communist Party of Belgium (1989) The Communist Party of Belgium (french: Parti Communiste de Belgique, or PCB; nl, Communistische Partij van België) is a communist party in Belgium. It was founded in Wallonia in 1989 as the Communist Party of Wallonia after the Communist Party o ...

File:MLKP Badge.svg, Badge of the Marxist–Leninist Communist Party of Turkey File:TDKP Logo.svg, Logo of the

Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey The Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Devrimci Komünist Partisi, TDKP) is a clandestine communist party in Turkey. TDKP considers itself to be the continuation of the People's Liberation Army of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Halk Ku ...

File:Aeroflot.svg, Logo of Aeroflot File:Communist_Party_of_Ireland_(Marxist-Leninist)_Emblem.png, Logo of the Communist Party of Ireland (Marxist–Leninist) File:Group_of_Social_Revolutionary_Nationalists.svg, Symbol of the Group of Social Revolutionary Nationalists

Asia

File:Logo Maki.png, alt=, Emblem of the

Israeli Communist Party The Israeli Communist Party, commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Maki (), is a communist political party in Israel and forms part of the political alliance known as Hadash. It was originally known as Rakah, an acronym for ''Reshima Komunistit ...

File:WPK symbol.svg, Emblem of the

File:Logo of the Communist Party of Indonesia.svg, Emblem of the

(1914‒1966) File:Logo of the Acoma Party.svg, Logo of the Acoma Party (

) File:LogoKPT.svg, Logo of the

Communist Party of Tajikistan The Communist Party of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҳизби Коммунистии Тоҷикистон, ''Hizbi Kommunistiyi Tojikiston''; russian: Коммунистическая партия Таджикистана) is a communist party in Tajikistan ...

File:Socialist Party of Bangladesh Official Logo.png, Logo of the

Socialist Party of Bangladesh The Socialist Party of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের সমাজতান্ত্রিক দল, abbreviated 'বাসদ', 'BASAD', or 'SPB') is an anti-revisionist Marxist-Leninist communist party in Bangladesh. The part ...

File:CPN-UML.svg, Logo of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (1991-2018) File:Emblem of Vietnam Communist Party.svg, Alternative emblem of the

. File:Communist Party of Vietnam flag logo.svg, Emblem of the

File:Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China.svg, Logo of the Ministry of State Security File:Danghui (pre-1996).svg,

Emblem of the Chinese Communist Party The emblem of the Chinese Communist Party is a stylised version of hammer and sickle. According to Article 53 of the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party, "the Party emblem and flag are the symbol and sign of the Communist Party of China. ...

(1942–1996) File:Danghui.svg, Emblem of the Chinese Communist Party (1996–present) File:LankaSamaSamajaLogo.png, Logo of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, which features the symbol of the

File:CPI symbol.svg, Logo of the Communist Party of India File:Cpm_election_symbol.svg, Logo of the

Africa

File:Machete and Gear.svg, Cogwheel, machete and star logo of

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

File:PCBeninlogo.svg, Logo of the Communist Party of Benin File:Meison.jpg, Emblem of the

All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement The All-Ethiopia Socialist Movement ( am, መላ ኢትዮጵያ ሶሻሊስት ንቅናቄ, Mela Ītyōṗṗyā Soshalīsit Nik’inak’ē, native acronym: MEISON) is a political party in Ethiopia. A Marxist-Leninist organization, MEISON ...

File:Logo of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Party.svg, Emblem of the

Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP) ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ሕዝባዊ አብዮታዊ ፓርቲ, Ye-Ītyōṗṗyā Həzbāwī Abyotawi Party), informally known as Ihapa, is the first modern political party in Ethiopia, esta ...

(ca. 1975) File:Roundel_of_Congo_1970.svg, Logo of the

File:Emblem_of_Somali_Revolutionary_Socialist_Party.svg, Emblem of the

Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party (SRSP), , it, Partito Socialista Rivoluzionario Somalo was the ruling party of the Somali Democratic Republic from 1976 to 1991. History SRSP was created by the military regime of Siad Barre under S ...

File:Emblem_of_the_South_African_Communist_Party.svg, Logo of the

File:Revolutionary Union (Namibia).png, Logo of the Revolutionary Union (

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

) File:PCCote-d-Ivoire.svg, Logo of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Ivory Coast File:FRELIMO Emblem.svg, Logo of

(1987-2004) File:Parti des travailleurs (Tunisie).svg, Logo of the Workers' Party of Tunisia File:Egyptian_Communist_Party_logo.svg, Logo of the Egyptian Communist Party

Americas

File:Emblema PCM Mexico.svg, Logo of the

File:Partido Comunista de Chile.svg, Logo of the

File:PCB logo.svg, Logo of the

File:PCdoB logo.svg, Logo of the

File:Logomarca do Partido da Causa Operária, do Brasil.png, Logo of the

Workers' Cause Party Workers' Cause Party ( pt, Partido da Causa Operária, PCO) is a political party in Brazil. Its origins can be traced back to 1978. On that year, several Trotskyist activists who were not satisfied with the socialist international united under ...

File:CPUSA.svg, Emblem of the

File:Logo of the Communist Party of Argentina (Extraordinary Congress).svg, Logo of the Communist Party of Argentina (Extraordinary Congress) File:Logo del Partido Comunista del Ecuador.svg, Logo of the

Communist Party of Ecuador Communist Party of Ecuador (in Spanish: ''Partido Comunista del Ecuador'') is a communist party in Ecuador. It was formed in 1925 as the Socialist Party. The party publishes ''El Pueblo'', the general secretary is Winston Alarcón and the yout ...

File:Shining Path Hammer and Sickle.svg, Logo of

Unicode

, the "hammer and sickle" symbol is U+262D (☭). It is part of the

Miscellaneous Symbols Miscellaneous Symbols is a Unicode block (U+2600–U+26FF) containing glyphs representing concepts from a variety of categories: astrological, astronomical, chess, dice, musical notation, political symbols, recycling, religious symbols, tri ...

(2600–26FF) code block. On systems where Compose key is available, it could be written as omposeCCCP. It was added to Unicode 1.1 in 1993.

Notes

References

External links