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A communist state is a form of government that combines the state leadership of a communist party through the supreme state organ of power, Marxist–Leninist political philosophy, and an official commitment to the construction of a communist society. Communism in its modern form grew out of the socialist movement in 19th-century Europe and blamed capitalism for societal miseries. In the 20th century, several communist states were established, first in Russia with the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then in portions of Eastern Europe, Asia, and a few other regions after World War II. The institutions of these states were heavily influenced by the writings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin and others. However, the political reforms of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev known as Perestroika and socio-economic difficulties produced the revolutions of 1989, which brought down all the communist states of the Eastern Bloc bar the Soviet Union. The repercussions of the collapse of these states contributed to political transformations in the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia and several other non-European communist states. Presently, there are five communist states in the world: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam.
In accordance with Marx's theory of the state, communists believe all state formations are under the control of a ruling class. Communist states are no different, and the ruling communist party is defined as the vanguard party of the most class conscious section of the working class (this class is known as the proletariat in Marxist literature). Communist states usually affirm that the working class is the state's ruling class and that the most class-conscious workers lead the state through the communist party, establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat as its class system and, by extension, the socialist state. However, not all communist states chose to form this state form and class system, and some, such as Laos, have opted to establish a people's democratic state instead, in which the working class shares political power with other classes. According to this belief system, communist states need to establish an economic base to support the ruling class system (called "superstructure" by Marxists) by creating a socialist economy, or at the very least, some socialist property relations that are strong enough to support the communist class system. By ensuring these two features, the communist party seeks to make Marxism–Leninism the guiding ideology of the state. Normally, the constitution of a communist state defines the class system, economic system and guiding ideology of the state.
The political systems of these states are based on the principles of democratic centralism and unified power. Democratic centralism seeks to centralise powers in the highest leadership and, in theory, reach political decisions through democratic processes. Unified power is the opposite of the separation of powers and seeks to turn the national representative organ elected through non-competitive, controlled elections into the state's single branch of government. This institution is commonly called the supreme state organ of power, and a ruling communist party normally holds at least two-thirds of the seats in this body. The supreme state organ of power has unlimited powers bar the limits it has itself set by adopting constitutional and legal documents. What would be considered executive or judicial branches in a liberal democratic system are in communist states deemed as bodies of the supreme state organ of power. The supreme state organ of power usually adopts a constitution that explicitly gives the ruling communist party leadership of the state.
The communist party controls the supreme state organ of power through the political discipline it exerts on its members and, through them, dominates the state. Ruling communist parties of these states are organised on Leninist lines, in which the party congress functions as its supreme decision-making body. In between two congresses, the central committee acts as the supreme organ. When neither the party congress nor the central committee is in session, the decision-making authorities of these organs are normally delegated to its politburo, which makes political decisions, and a secretariat, which executes the decisions made by the party congress, central committee and the politburo. These bodies are composed of leading figures from state and party organs. The leaders of these parties are often given the title of general secretary, but the power of this office varies from state to state. Some states are characterised by one-man dominance and the cult of personality, while others are run by a collective leadership, a system in which powers are more evenly distributed between leading officials and decision-making organs are more institutionalised.
These states seek to mobilise the public to participate in state affairs by implementing the transmission belt principle, meaning that the communist party seeks to maintain close contact with the masses through mass organisations and other institutions that try to encompass everyone and not only committed communists. Other methods are through coercion and political campaigns. Some have criticised these methods as dictatorial since the communist party remains the centre of power. Others emphasise that these are examples of communist states with functioning political participation processes (i.e. Soviet democracy) involving several other non-party organisations such as direct democratic participation, factory committees, and trade unions.
| State | Established | Dissolved | Duration | Leading party | Supreme state organ of power | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 December 1976 | 29 April 1991 | 14 years, 122 days | Party of Labour[a] | People's Assembly | [1] | |
| 18 May 1971 | 12 July 1991 | 20 years, 55 days | Communist Party | National Assembly | [2] | |
| 17 November 1975 | — | 49 years, 262 days | Communist Party | National People's Congress | [3] | |
| 24 February 1976 | — | 49 years, 163 days | Communist Party[b] | National Assembly of People's Power | [4] | |
| 11 July 1960 | 29 March 1990 | 29 years, 261 days | Communist Party | Federal Assembly | [5] | |
| 8 April 1968 | 3 October 1990 | 22 years, 178 days | Socialist Unity Party | People's Chamber | [6] | |
| 26 April 1972 | 23 October 1989 | 17 years, 180 days | Socialist Workers' Party[c] | National Assembly | [7] | |
| 6 July 1960 | 12 February 1990 | 29 years, 221 days | People's Revolutionary Party | Great People's Khural | [8] | |
| 27 December 1972 | — | 52 years, 222 days | Workers' Party | Supreme People's Assembly | [9] | |
| 10 February 1976 | 9 December 1989 | 13 years, 302 days | United Workers' Party | Sejm | [10] | |
| 21 August 1965 | 30 December 1989 | 24 years, 131 days | Communist Party[d] | Great National Assembly | [11] | |
| 21 October 1969 | 26 January 1991 | 21 years, 97 days | Revolutionary Socialist Party | People's Assembly | [12] | |
| 30 December 1922[I] | 26 December 1991 | 68 years, 361 days[II] | Communist Party | Supreme Soviet | [16] | |
| 2 July 1976 | — | 49 years, 35 days | Communist Party | National Assembly | [17] | |
| 7 April 1963 | 27 April 1992 | 29 years, 20 days | League of Communists[e] | Assembly | [18] |
| State | Established | Dissolved | Duration | Leading party | Supreme state organ of power | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 April 1978 | 27 December 1979 | 1 year, 241 days | People's Democratic Party | Revolutionary Council | [20] | |
| 11 January 1946 | 28 December 1976 | 30 years, 352 days | Party of Labour[a] | People's Assembly | [21] | |
| 10 December 1977 | 26 August 1992 | 14 years, 260 days | People's Movement for the Liberation | People's Assembly | [22] | |
| 23 May 1977 | 1 March 1990 | 12 years, 282 days | People's Revolutionary Party | National Revolutionary Assembly | [23] | |
| 4 December 1947 | 18 May 1971 | 24 years, 245 days | Communist Party | National Assembly | [24] | |
| 7 January 1979 | 15 March 1992 | 13 years, 68 days | People's Revolutionary Party | National Assembly | [25] | |
| 1 October 1949 | 17 November 1975 | 26 years, 47 days | Communist Party | National People's Congress | [26] | |
| 31 December 1969 | 15 March 1992 | 22 years, 75 days | Party of Labour | National People's Assembly | [27] | |
| 16 February 1959 | 24 February 1976 | 17 years, 8 days | Communist Party[b] | National Assembly of People's Power | [28] | |
| 25 February 1948 | 11 July 1960 | 12 years, 137 days | Communist Party | National Assembly | [29] | |
| 9 October 1949 | 8 April 1968 | 18 years, 182 days | Socialist Unity Party | People's Chamber | [30] | |
| 22 February 1987 | 28 May 1991 | 4 years, 95 days | Workers' Party | National Shengo | [31] | |
| 18 August 1949 | 26 April 1972 | 22 years, 250 days | Socialist Workers' Party[d] | National Assembly | [32] | |
| 17 April 1975 | 7 January 1979 | 3 years, 2 days | Communist Party | Assembly of People's Representatives | [33] | |
| 2 December 1975 | — | 49 years, 247 days | People's Revolutionary Party | National Assembly | [34] | |
| 24 November 1924 | 6 July 1960 | 35 years, 225 days | People's Revolutionary Party | Great People's Khural | [35] | |
| 25 June 1975 | 30 November 1990 | 15 years, 158 days | Liberation Front | People's Assembly | [36] | |
| 9 September 1948 | 27 December 1972 | 24 years, 109 days | Workers' Party | Supreme People's Assembly | [37] | |
| 2 September 1945 | 2 July 1976 | 30 years, 304 days | Workers' Party | National Assembly | [38] | |
| 14 December 1948 | 10 February 1976 | 27 years, 58 days | United Workers' Party | Sejm | [39] | |
| 30 December 1947 | 21 August 1965 | 17 years, 234 days | Communist Party[d] | Great National Assembly | [40] | |
| 30 April 1975[IV] | 2 July 1976 | 1 year, 63 days[V] | People's Revolutionary Party | People's Assembly | [42] | |
| 30 November 1970 | 20 May 1990 | 19 years, 171 days | Socialist Party | Supreme People's Council | [43] | |
| 14 August 1921 | 11 October 1944 | 23 years, 58 days | People's Revolutionary Party | People's Khural | [45] | |
| 20 November 1945 | 7 April 1963 | 17 years, 138 days | League of Communists[b] | Federal People's Assembly | [46] |
| State | Established | Dissolved | Duration | Leading party | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 December 1979 | 28 April 1992 | 12 years, 123 days | People's Democratic Party | [47] | |
| 11 November 1975 | 10 December 1977 | 2 years, 29 days | People's Movement for the Liberation | [48] | |
| 16 August 1963 | 31 December 1969 | 6 years, 137 days | National Movement of the Revolution | [49] | |
| 12 September 1974 | 22 February 1987 | 12 years, 163 days | Workers' Party | [50] | |
| 13 March 1979 | 29 October 1983 | 4 years, 230 days | New Jewel Movement | [51] |
| State | Established | Dissolved | Duration | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 November 1920 | 30 December 1922 | 2 years, 31 days | [52] | |
| 2 September 1920 | 27 October 1922 | 1 year, 318 days | [53] | |
| 8 October 1920 | 27 October 1924 | 4 years, 19 days | [54] | |
| 1 January 1919 | 27 February 1919 | 57 days | [55] | |
| 31 July 1920 | 31 December 1922 | 2 years, 153 days | [56] | |
| 12 May 1919 | 26 June 1919 | 45 days | [57] | |
| 12 February 1918 | 20 March 1918 | 36 days | [58] | |
| 29 November 1918 | 5 June 1919 | 188 days | [59] | |
| 6 April 1920 | 15 November 1922 | 2 years, 223 days | [60] | |
| 8 July 1920 | 21 September 1920 | 75 days | [61] | |
| 25 February 1921 | 30 December 1922 | 1 year, 308 days | [62] | |
| 26 April 1920 | 24 October 1924 | 4 years, 181 days | [63] | |
| 17 December 1918 | 13 January 1920 | 1 year, 27 days | [64] | |
| 16 December 1918 | 27 February 1919 | 73 days | [65] | |
| 27 February 1919 | 31 July 1920 | 1 year, 155 days | [65] | |
| 15 May 1919 | 25 June 1919 | 41 days | [66] | |
| 1 March 1918 | 13 March 1918 | 12 days | [67] | |
| 7 November 1917 | 30 December 1922 | 5 years, 53 days | [68] | |
| 25 December 1917 | 18 April 1918 | 114 days | [69] | |
| 10 March 1919 | 30 December 1922 | 3 years, 295 days | [70] |
| State | Established | Dissolved | Duration | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 November 1945 | 12 December 1946 | 1 year, 22 days | [71] | |
| 7 April 1919 | 2 May 1919 | 25 days | [72] | |
| 10 January 1919 | 4 February 1919 | 21 days | [64] | |
| 4 June 1932 | 13 September 1932 | 101 days | [73] | |
| 7 November 1931 | 22 September 1937 | 5 years, 319 days | [74] | |
| 14 October 1979 | 11 June 1980 | 241 days | [75] | |
| 29 January 1918 | 5 May 1918 | 96 days | [76] | |
| 1 December 1939 | 12 March 1940 | 102 days | [77] | |
| 21 March 1919 | 3 August 1919 | 135 days | [78] | |
| 22 January 1946 | 15 December 1946 | 327 days | [79] | |
| 20 May 1920 | 20 September 1920 | 123 days | [80] | |
| 16 June 1919 | 7 July 1919 | 21 days | [64] | |
| 7 November 1944 | 1 October 1949[VIII] | 4 years, 328 days | [81] |