The first significant attempt to implement communism on a large scale occurred in Russia following the February Revolution of 1917, which resulted in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.
The Bolshevik Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, capitalized on the discontent with the Provisional government and successfully seized power in the October Revolution of the same year.
Throughout the 20th century communism spread to various parts of the world, largely as a result of Soviet influence, often through revolutionary movements and post-World War II geopolitical shifts.
The eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 marked a significant decline in the global influence of communism, though the ideology persists in some countries and continues to inspire political movements worldwide.
[2] On 24–25 October 1917 the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist Revolutionaries organized a revolution, occupying government buildings, telegraph stations, and other strategic points.
[8] The use of violence, terror and rule of a single communist party was criticised by other Marxists, including Karl Kautsky,[9] and Rosa Luxemburg,[10] as well as Anarcho-Communists like Peter Kropotkin.
[12] Authors Roger Keeran and Thomas Kenney stipulate that the primary cause of the Soviet Union's collapse was a betrayal of established socialist principles, particularly during the Gorbachev era.
[15] Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost undermined the planned economy, weakening the Communist Party and allowing non-communist power to take hold.
It began shortly after World War II and lasted until the early 1990s; this era was marked by ideological, political, and military rivalry between the two superpowers and their respective allies.
Per the Levada Center in 2018, 66 percent of Russians said they regretted the Soviet break-up[16] highlighting the enduring impact of this historical period on the collective memory of the nation.