A communist revolution is a proletarian revolution inspired by the ideas of Marxism that aims to replace capitalism with communism. Depending on the type of government, the term socialism can be used to indicate an intermediate stage between capitalism and communism and may be the goal of the revolution, especially in Marxist–Leninist views.[1] The idea that a proletarian revolution is needed is a cornerstone of Marxism;[2] Marxists believe that the workers of the world must unite and free themselves from capitalist oppression to create a world run by and for the working class.[3] Thus, in the Marxist view, proletarian revolutions need to happen in countries all over the world.
Karl Marx saw revolution as a necessity for communism, where the revolution would be based on class struggle led by the organised proletariat to overthrow capitalism and the bourgeoisie, followed by the establishment of a dictatorship of the proletariat.
Leninism argues[4] [5] that a communist revolution must be led by a vanguard of "professional revolutionaries", men and women who are fully dedicated to the communist cause and who can then form the nucleus of the revolutionary movement.[6] Thus meaning that under Lenin's framework a communist revolution is not necessarily a proletarian revolution.[7] Some Marxists, such as Rosa Luxemburg,[8] [6] disagree with the idea of a vanguard as put forth by Lenin, especially left communists.[9] [10] [11] Another line of criticisms insist that the entire working class—or at least a large part of it—must be deeply involved and equally committed to the socialist or communist cause in order for a proletarian revolution to be successful. To this end, they seek to build massive communist parties with very large memberships.
The following is a list of successful and unsuccessful communist revolutions and coups throughout history. Among the lesser-known revolutions, a number of borderline revolutions have been included which may or may not have been communist revolutions. The nature of unsuccessful revolutions is particularly contentious since one can only speculate as to the kinds of policies that would have been implemented by the revolutionaries had they achieved victory.
de:Ralf Hoffrogge
. 2014 . Working-Class Politics in the German Revolution: Richard Müller, the Revolutionary Shop Stewards and the Origins of the Council Movement . . Historical Materialism . Joseph B. . Keady . Radhika . Desai . 978-90-04-28006-9.fi:Jaakko Paavolainen
. 1966 . Poliittiset väkivaltaisuudet Suomessa 1918, I Punainen terrori . Political violence in Finland 1918, I Red terror . Helsinki . Tammi . fi.fi:Jaakko Paavolainen
. 1967 . Poliittiset väkivaltaisuudet Suomessa 1918, II Valkoinen terrori . Political violence in Finland 1918, II White terror . Helsinki . Tammi . fi.fi:Jaakko Paavolainen
. 1971 . Vankileirit Suomessa 1918 . Prison camps in Finland in 1918 . Helsinki . Tammi . fi . 951-30-1015-5.it:Silvio Pons
. 2014 . The Global Revolution: A History of International Communism 1917–1991 . . Oxford Studies in Modern European History . Cameron . Allan . 978-0-19-965762-9.fi:Aapo Roselius
. 2004 . Saksalaisten henkilötappiot Suomessa vuonna 1918 . German casualties in Finland in 1918 . Westerlund . L. .fi:Lars Westerlund
. Sotaoloissa vuosina 1914–1922 surmansa saaneet . Deaths in war conditions between 1914 and 1922 . 165–176 . Helsinki . VNKJ 10/2004, Edita . fi . 952-5354-52-0.fi:Marko Tikka
. 2014 . Warfare & Terror in 1918 . Tepora . T. .fi:Tuomas Tepora
. Roselius . A. .fi:Aapo Roselius
. The Finnish Civil War 1918: History, Memory, Legacy . 90–118 . Leiden . . 978-90-04-24366-8.fi:Tuomas Hoppu
. Sisällissodan pikkujättiläinen . The Little Giant of the Civil War . 376–394 . Helsinki . . 978-951-0-35452-0 . fi.fi:Lars Westerlund
. 2004a . Sotaoloissa vuosina 1914–1922 surmansa saaneet . Those who were killed in wartime between 1914 and 1922 . Helsinki . VNKJ 10/2004, Edita . fi . 952-5354-52-0.fi:Lars Westerlund
. Kalleinen . Kristiina .fi:Kristiina Kalleinen
. 2004 . Loppuarvio surmansa saaneista venäläisistä . Final assessment of the Russians who were killed . Westerlund . L. .fi:Lars Westerlund
. Venäläissurmat Suomessa 1914–1922, 2.2. Sotatapahtumat 1918–1922 . Russian deaths in Finland 1914–1922, 2.2. War events 1918–1922 . 267–271 . Helsinki . VNKJ 3/2004c, Edita . fi . 952-5354-45-8.de:Ralf Hoffrogge
. From Unionism to Workers' Councils – The Revolutionary Shop Stewards in Germany 1914–1918 . Immanuel . Ness . Dario . Azzellini . Ours to Master and to Own: Worker's Control from the Commune to the Present . . Chicago . 2011.