This book investigates the Communist political phenomenon, including the origins and development of Communism as well as the revolutions that led to the rise of the major Communist states around the world.Written for high school students, undergraduates, and general readers, this book surveys the global rise of Communism. It begins with a timeline and narrative overview, which are followed by reference entries, primary source documents, and original argumentative essays on enduring issues related to Communism. The book first covers the earliest phases of the "Utopian Socialist" movement and the beginnings of Marxist theory. It then discusses the Russian Revolution of 1917; the creation of the Soviet Union; the regime of terror instituted by Stalin; the expansion of Communism during the years of the Cold War, particularly in Asia; and the Cuban Revolution and the regime of Fidel Castro. It also discusses the progression toward revolution among the European Satellite countries as it included the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, the Czech revolution of 1968, and the multiple revolutions from 1989-1991 that saw the collapse of the Soviet system and the Cold War.

Offers original argumentative essays to help students critically consider major issues and debates related to Communism

Alphabetical List of EntriesTopical List of EntriesHow to Use This BookPrefaceTimelineHistorical OverviewThe Rise of Communism: A to ZPrimary DocumentsKarl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto (February 1848)Vladimir Lenin, Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism (1917)Vladimir Lenin, The "April Theses" (April 1917)The Call for a Popular Front against Fascism: "Resolution of the Seventh World Congress of the Communist International" (August 1935)Joseph Stalin's Response to Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech (March 14, 1946)Mao Zedong Calls for a People's Democratic Dictatorship (June 1949)Kim Il-Sung, Address to the Korean People on the Occasion of the Liberation of Pyong Yang (December 1950)Manifesto of the South Vietnam National Liberation Front (1961)Communication from Nikita Khrushchev to President John F. Kennedy during the Cuban Missile Crisis (October 28, 1962)The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, "The Sixteen Points of the Cultural Revolution" (August 8, 1966)Key QuestionsQuestion 1: Was Communism an Inherently Flawed Theoretical Conception That Would Inevitably Lead to Repressive, Totalitarian States, or Was It a Promising Theory Twisted by Particular Individuals and Institutions Making Communist Regimes Particularly Repressive and Violent?Question 2: Did Communism Provide a Particularly Strong System for the Rapid Advancement of Science and Technology, or Was Such Development Impeded by the Communist System and Inevitably Doomed to Lag Behind the Democratic/Capitalist States?Question 3: Were Cold War Fears about the Communists' Intentions and Means for the Continual Spread of Communism and Eventual World Domination Justified on the Part of the Western Democracies?Selected Annotated BibliographyIndexAbout the Author and Contributors