Chapter 21
In the twentieth century communism was a phenomenon of enormous significance in the world. Communism regimes came to power almost everywhere in the wake of the war and revolution. Once established, those regimes set about a thorough and revolutionary transformation on societies. The modern communism found its political and philosophical roots in the nineteenth century European socialism. By the 1970s almost one- third of the worlds population lived in societies governed by communist regimes. The most significant were the Soviet Union, the worlds largest country in size, and China, the worlds largest country in population. Communist also came to Eastern Europe in the wake of WWII and the extension of the Soviet military presence there. Communist movements of the 20th century drew the mystique of the earlier French Revolution. Like this, the French communist revolutionaries ousted old ruling classes and dispossessed landed aristocracies. But the communist revelations were distinctive as well. In Russia, communist came to power on the back of a revolutionary upheaval that took place within a single year. That historic event opened the door for a massive social upheaval. This became a social revolution and it quickly demonstrated the inadequacy of the Provisional Government. In 1949, communism triumphed the land of China.