Red flag (politics)In politics, a red flag is predominantly a symbol of socialism, communism, Marxism, trade unions, left-wing politics, and anarchism. The originally empty or plain red flag has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution (1789–1799).Brink, Jan ten [ Robespierre and the Red Terror], (1899). Socialists adopted the symbol during the Revolutions of 1848 and it was first used as the flag of a new authority by the Paris Commune of 1871.
Red starA red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. It has been widely used in flags, state emblems, monuments, ornaments, and logos. One interpretation sees the five points as representing the five fingers of the worker's hand, as well as the five populated continents (counting the Americas as one).
History of communismThe history of communism encompasses a wide variety of ideologies and political movements sharing the core theoretical values of common ownership of wealth, economic enterprise, and property. Most modern forms of communism are grounded at least nominally in Marxism, a theory and method conceived by Karl Marx during the 19th century. Marxism subsequently gained a widespread following across much of Europe and throughout the late 1800s its militant supporters were instrumental in a number of failed revolutions on that continent.
Flag of RussiaThe national flag of the Russian Federation (государственный флаг Российской Федерации Gosudarstvenny flag Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is a tricolour of three equal horizontal fields: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. It was first raised in 1696, as an ensign for merchant ships under the Tsardom of Russia. After just over a century and a half of usage, uninterrupted by the proclamation of the Russian Empire, the flag was replaced following a decree by Alexander II in 1858.
Communist symbolismCommunist symbolism represents a variety of themes, including revolution, the proletariat, the peasantry, agriculture, or international solidarity. Communist states, parties, and movements use these symbols to advance and create solidarity within their cause. These symbols often appear in yellow on a red background. The flag of the Soviet Union incorporated a yellow-outlined red star and a yellow hammer and sickle on red. The flags of Transnistria, Vietnam, China, North Korea, Angola, and Mozambique would all incorporate similar symbolism under communist rule.
CommunismCommunism (from Latin communis) is a left-wing to far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered around common ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange that allocates products to everyone in the society based on need. A communist society would entail the absence of private property and social classes, and ultimately money and the state (or nation state).
Communist Party of the Russian FederationThe Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF; Kommunisticheskaya Partiya Rossiyskoy Federatsii; KPRF) is a left-wing nationalist and communist political party in Russia that officially adheres to Marxist–Leninist philosophy. It is the second-largest political party in Russia after United Russia. The youth organisation of the party is the Leninist Young Communist League. The CPRF can trace its origins to the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which was established in 1898.
Hammer and sickleThe hammer and sickle (Unicode: ☭) is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industrial workers. It was first adopted during the Russian Revolution at the end of World War I, the hammer representing workers and the sickle representing the peasants. After World War I (from which the Russian Empire withdrew in 1917) and the Russian Civil War, the hammer and sickle became more widely used as a symbol for labor within the Soviet Union and for international proletarian unity.
FlagA flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed, and flags have evolved into a general tool for rudimentary signalling and identification, especially in environments where communication is challenging (such as the maritime environment, where semaphore is used). Many flags fall into groups of similar designs called flag families.
Socialist stateA socialist state, socialist republic, or socialist country, sometimes referred to as a workers' state or workers' republic, is a sovereign state constitutionally dedicated to the establishment of socialism. The term communist state is often used synonymously in the West, specifically when referring to one-party socialist states governed by Marxist–Leninist communist parties, despite these countries being officially socialist states in the process of building socialism and progressing toward a communist society.
