# Communist revolution

* Lenin, Trotsky and Kamenev celebrating the second anniversary of the October Revolution
* Mao Zedong and leading revolutionaries proclaim the People's Republic of China on 1 October 1949
* Viet Minh troops returning to Hanoi after the French withdrawal on 9 October 1954
* A Nepalese Maoist rebel speaks to villagers in the area around Piskar
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. The idea that a proletarian revolution is needed is a cornerstone of Marxism; 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. Thus, in the Marxist view, proletarian revolutions need to happen in countries all over the world.

## Theory

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 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. Thus meaning that under Lenin's framework a communist revolution is not necessarily a proletarian revolution. Some Marxists, such as Rosa Luxemburg, disagree with the idea of a vanguard as put forth by Lenin, especially left communists. 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.

## Communist revolutions and coups throughout history

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.

### Successful

* 1917–1923: The October Revolution and the subsequent Russian Civil War led to the establishment of the Soviet Union.
* 1921: The Mongolian Revolution ended imperial Chinese rule over Mongolia and established the Mongolian People's Republic.
* 1927–1949: The Chinese Communist Revolution led to the establishment of the People's Republic of China and fleeing of the Republic of China to Taiwan.
* 1941–1945: The Yugoslav People's Liberation War led to the defeat of axis powers in the Balkans, abolishment of the Yugoslav monarchy, and the establishment of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia.
* 1942–1945: The National Anti-Fascist Liberation Movement in Albania established the People's Socialist Republic of Albania.
* 1944: The Bulgarian coup d'état led to the immediate abolishment of the Bulgarian monarchy, followed soon after by the establishment of the People's Republic of Bulgaria.
* 1945: The August Revolution forced Emperor Bảo Đại to abdicate and established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
* 1946–1954: First Indochina War
* 1948: Czechoslovak coup d'état.
* 1953–1959: The Cuban Revolution overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, reestablishing the Republic of Cuba as a socialist state.
* 1955–1975: Vietnam War
* 1959–1975: Laotian Civil War
* 1961–1974: Angolan War of Independence
* 1961–1979: The Nicaraguan Revolution sees the Sandinistas oust the Somoza government.
* 1963: Les Trois Glorieuses in Congo-Brazzaville.
* 1968–1975: Cambodian Civil War
* 1969: The Corrective Move in South Yemen.
* 1969: The Somali coup d'état led to the formation of the Somali Democratic Republic.
* 1972: Mathieu Kérékou leads a military coup in Benin, leading to the creation of the People's Republic of Benin.
* 1974: Carnation Revolution (while the revolution overthrew the Estado Novo, the demands for a workers' democracy were quashed by the center-left Socialist Party)
* 1974: The 1974 Ethiopian coup d'état.
* 1978: The Saur Revolution leads to the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the start of the Afghan conflict.
* 1979: The New Jewel Movement overthrow's Eric Gairy's government in Grenada, creating the People's Revolutionary Government.
* 1983: The Upper Voltan coup d'état led by Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaoré. Upper Volta was renamed Burkina Faso. Blaise Compaoré led the 1987 Burkina Faso coup d'état, which killed Thomas Sankara and reversed his far-left policies.
* 1996–2006: Nepalese Civil War.

### Unsuccessful

* 1871: Paris Commune
* 1915–1920: Jungle Movement of Gilan
* 1916: Easter Rising
* 1918: Finnish Civil War
* 1918–1925: Canadian Labour Revolt
* 1918: Aster Revolution
* 1918–1919: German Revolution of 1918–19
* 1918: Red Week
* 1918: Luxembourg communist revolution
* 1918–1920: Estonian War of Independence
* 1919–1923: Irish soviets
* 1919: Hungarian Soviet Republic
* 1919: Bender Uprising
* 1920: Georgian coup attempt
* 1921: Proština rebellion
* 1923: September Uprising
* 1923: Hamburg Uprising
* 1924: Tatarbunary Uprising
* 1924: Estonian coup d'état attempt
* 1932: 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising
* 1935: Brazilian communist uprising
* 1936–1937: Spanish Revolution of 1936
* 1942–1954: Hukbalahap Rebellion
* 1945: Saigon Commune
* 1946–1954: Hukbalahap rebellion
* 1946–1949: Greek Civil War
* 1946–1951: Telangana Rebellion
* 1948–1949: Jeju uprising
* 1948–1989: Communist insurgency in Burma
* 1948–1960: Malayan Emergency
* 1948: Madiun Affair
* 1960–1996: Guatemalan Civil War
* 1962–1990: Communist insurgency in Sarawak
* 1965–1983: Communist insurgency in Thailand
* 1968–1989: Communist insurgency in Malaysia
* 1970: Teoponte Guerrilla
* 1971: JVP insurrection
* 1971: Sudanese coup d'état
* 1972–1974: Araguaia Guerrilla War
* 1975: 7 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état
* 1979–1992: Salvadoran Civil War
* 1982: Amol uprising
* 1987–1989: JVP insurrection
* 2021–2023: Eswatini protests

### Ongoing

* 1964–present: Colombian conflict
* 1967–present: Naxalite–Maoist insurgency
* 1969–present: New People's Army rebellion and communist armed conflicts in the Philippines
* 1972–present: Maoist insurgency in Turkey
* 1980–present: Internal conflict in Peru
* 2021–present: Myanmar civil war (2021–present)

### Table of revolutions

| Start date | End date | Duration | Event(s) | State | Rebel group | Revolutionary base area | Deaths | Result |
| 18 March 1871 | 28 May 1871 | (72 days) | Paris Commune | France | Communards National Guards | Paris | 7,544 killed overall | Revolt suppressed Disbanding the Second National Guard by the French government |
| 1 October 1915 | 5 June 1920 | (4 years, 249 days) | Jangal Movement | Qajar Iran | Jangal revolutionaries | Gilan province | | Establishment of the Persian Socialist Soviet Republic |
| 24 April 1916 | 29 April 1916 | (6 days) | Easter Rising | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Irish rebel forces Irish Citizen Army | Dublin | 485 killed | Unconditional surrender of rebel forces, execution of most leaders. |
| 7 November 1917 | 7 November 1917 | (1 day) | October Revolution | Russia | Bolsheviks Petrograd Soviet Left SRs Red Guards Anarchists | Petrograd | Few wounded Red Guard soldiers | Bolshevik victory Start of the Russian Civil War |
| 27 January 1918 | 15 May 1918 | (109 days) | Finnish Civil War | Finland | Finnish Reds Soviet Russia | Finland | 38,300 killed | Finnish Whites victory |
| 2 August 1918 | 11 June 1925 | (6 years, 314 days) | Canadian Labour Revolt | Canada | One Big Union Communist Party of Canada | Canada | | Failure of the revolt |
| 28 October 1918 | 31 October 1918 | (4 days) | Aster Revolution | Austria-Hungary Kingdom of Hungary | Hungarian National Council Hungarian Social Democratic Party Soldiers' Councils | Hungary | | Revolutionary victory Hungary terminated Austria-Hungary End of the First World War in Hungary Establishment of First Hungarian People's Republic |
| 29 October 1918 | 11 August 1919 | (287 days) | German Revolution of 1918–19 | German Empire (1918) German Republic (1918–1919) | Communist revolutionaries: SPD (until 9 Nov. 1918) USPD (from 9 Nov. 1918) Spartacus League KPD IKD Revolutionary Stewards FVdG Soviet Republics: People's State of Bavaria (until March 1919) Bavarian Soviet Republic Bremen Soviet Republic Saxon Soviet Republic Würzburg Soviet Republic Alsace-Lorraine Soviet Republic | Various regions of Germany | 150–196 | Fall of the German Empire Suppression of leftist uprisings, including the Spartacist uprising End of the First World War Establishment of the Weimar Republic |
| 9 November 1918 | 14 November 1918 | (6 days) | Red Week | Netherlands | Faction of the Social Democratic Workers' Party | | | No revolution |
| 10 November 1918 | 14 January 1919 | (66 days) | Luxembourg communist revolution | Luxembourg | Assorted communists, socialists, and liberals | | | French Army victory Abdication of Marie-Adélaïde 1919 Luxembourg referendum |
| 28 November 1918 | 2 February 1920 | (1 year, 67 days) | Estonian War of Independence | Estonia | Estonian Worker's Commune RSFSR Red Latvian Riflemen | | 3,988+ killed | Treaty of Tartu: Independence of EstoniaVidzeme gained by the Republic of Latvia |
| 29 January 1919 | 24 May 1923 | (4 years, 116 days) | Irish soviets | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1919–1921) Irish Free State (1921–1923) | Irish soviets | Ireland | | Soviets shutdownMajority of individuals involved arrested |
| 23 March 1919 | 1 August 1919 | (132 days) | Hungarian Soviet Republic | Hungarian Republic | Hungarian Soviet Republic | Hungary | 6,670 killed | Collapse of the Hungarian Soviet RepublicRomanian occupation of most of HungaryTreaty of TrianonMiklós Horthy takes power as Regent of Hungary |
| 27 May 1919 | 27 May 1919 | (1 day) | Bender Uprising | Romania | Red Guards Ukrainian SSR | Tighina | 150 | Romanian–French victory |
| 2 May 1920 | 3 May 1920 | (2 days) | 1920 Georgian coup attempt | Democratic Republic of Georgia | Georgian Bolsheviks | Georgia | Several killed | Government Victory Treaty of Moscow signed |
| 1 March 1921 | 11 July 1921 | (133 days) | Mongolian Revolution of 1921 | Bogd Khanate of Mongolia Outer Mongolia | Mongolian People's Party | Outer Mongolia | | Mongolian communist victory: Collapse of the Bogd KhanateEnd of Chinese control over MongoliaCreation of the Mongolian People's Republic |
| 2 February 1921 | 5 April 1921 | (63 days) | Proština rebellion | Italy | Civilians led by Ante Ciliga Communist Party of Italy | Istria | Unknown | Government victory: Civilians arrestedVillage of Šegotići burned to the ground |
| 3 March 1921 | 8 April 1921 | (37 days) | Labin mining strike and rebellion | Italy | Labin Republic | Istria | 5 | Government victory: Strike suppressedMiners acquitted of crimes |
| 14 September 1923 | 29 September 1923 | (16 days) | September Uprising | Bulgaria | BCP BZNS Anarchists | | 841 killed | Bulgarian government victory: Rebellion crushed; rebels withdraw to the Balkan Mountains |
| 23 October 1923 | 24 October 1923 | (2 days) | Hamburg Uprising | Weimar Republic | Communist Party of Germany | Hamburg | 99 killed | Government victory |
| 15 September 1924 | 18 September 1924 | (4 days) | Tatarbunary Uprising | Romania | Tatarbunary Revolutionary Committee | Tatarbunary | 3,000 killed | Revolt quelled by the Romanian government |
| 1 December 1924 | 1 December 1924 | (1 day) | 1924 Estonian coup attempt | Estonia | Communist Party of Estonia | | 151 killed | Estonian government victory |
| 1 August 1927 | 1 October 1949 | (22 years, 62 days) | Chinese Civil War Chinese Communist Revolution | China | Chinese Communist Party Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (1927–1937) People's Liberation Army (1946–1950) | Communist-controlled China | cca. 8 million | Communist victory: Beginning of the Cross-Strait conflict |
| 22 January 1932 | February 1932 | (11 days) | 1932 Salvadoran peasant uprising | Republic of El Salvador | Communist Party of El Salvador Pipil rebels | Western El Salvador: AhuachapánLa LibertadSanta AnaSonsonate | 10,000 – 40,000 | Revolt suppressed, ethnocide of Pipil people |
| 23 November 1935 | 27 November 1935 | (5 days) | Brazilian communist uprising of 1935 | Brazil | National Liberation Alliance Brazilian Communist Party | Natal, Recife, and Rio de Janeiro | 150+ killed | Government victory |
| 19 July 1936 | 25 May 1937 | (311 days) | Spanish Revolution of 1936 | Spain | CNT-FAI UGT | Various regions of Spain – primarily Madrid, Catalonia, Aragon, Andalusia, and parts of Levante, Spain. | | Suppressed after ten-month period. |
| 22 June 1941 | 29 November 1945 | (4 years, 161 days) | Yugoslav People's Liberation War | Yugoslavia | Yugoslav Partisans | | 850,000–1,200,000 | Yugoslav Partisan–Allied victory: Defeat of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in the BalkansDefeat and overthrow of the Independent State of Croatia, Government of National Salvation, Chetniks, and other Axis collaboratorsCommunist-led Partisans abolish the Yugoslav Serb monarchyEstablishment of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia under the rule of Josip Broz Tito |
| 29 March 1942 | 2 September 1945 | (3 years, 158 days) | Hukbalahap Rebellion (First phase) | Japan  Philippines | Hukbalahap | Central Luzon | | Huk victory: End of the Japanese occupation in 1945Tension rises between the U.S-backed government and the HuksRebellion resumes in 1946 |
| 16 September 1942 | August 1945 | (2 years, 320 days) | National Liberation Movement | Albanian Kingdom | National Anti-Fascist Liberation Movement | Albania | | Establishment of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania |
| 9 September 1944 | 9 September 1944 | (1 day) | 1944 Bulgarian coup d'état | Bulgaria | Fatherland Front BCP NOVA BZNS | | | Fatherland Front victory: Abolishment of the monarchy on 8 September 1946Establishment of the People's Republic of Bulgaria on 15 September 1946. |
| 16 August 1945 | 30 August 1945 | (15 days) | August Revolution | Empire of Vietnam | Việt Minh | Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam | | Việt Minh victory: Abdication of Emperor Bảo ĐạiAbolishment of the Vietnamese monarchyEstablishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam |
| 6 September 1945 | 25 June 1950 | (4 years, 293 days) | Korean Revolution | Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea | Communist Party of Korea (1945–1946) New People's Party of Korea (1946–1946) Workers' Party of South Korea (1946–1949) Workers' Party of North Korea (1946–1949) Workers' Party of Korea (from 1949) | | | Proclamation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in 1948Start of the Korean War |
| May 1946 | 17 May 1954 | (8 years, 17 days) | Hukbalahap Rebellion (Second phase) | Republic of the Philippines | Communist Party of the Philippines People's Liberation Army | Central Luzon | Nearly 6,000 killed | Philippine government victory: End of the rebellionCapture of Luis Taruc in 1954Beginning of communist insurgency in the Philippines in the 1960s |
| 4 July 1946 | 25 October 1951 | (5 years, 114 days) | Telangana Rebellion | Hyderabad State (1946–1948) Union of India (1948–1951) | Telangana peasants Andhra Mahasabha Communist Party of India | | | Withdrawal of rebellion: Dissolution of Hyderabad StateDissolution of communes and guerrilla squadsLand reforms are enactedBan on the Communist Party of India lifted |
| 19 December 1946 | 1 August 1954 | (7 years, 226 days) | First Indochina War | French Indochina | DR Vietnam Việt Minh Lao Issara (1945–1949) Pathet Lao (1949–1954) Khmer Issarak United Issarak Front (1950–1954) | | 400,000–842,707 total killed | DR Vietnam-allied victory: 1954 Geneva ConferenceDeparture of the French from IndochinaState of Vietnam, Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Kingdom of Laos and Kingdom of Cambodia achieve independenceVietnam was partitioned between North (controlled by the Việt Minh) and South (controlled by the State of Vietnam)Start of the Vietnam War |
| 21 February 1948 | 25 February 1948 | (5 days) | 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état | Czechoslovak Republic | Communist Party of Czechoslovakia pro-communist faction of the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers' Party | | | Appointment of a communist-dominated government |
| 2 April 1948 | 16 April 1989 | (41 years, 15 days) | Communist insurgency in Burma | Union of Burma (1948–1962) Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma (1962–1988) Union of Burma (1988–1989) | Communist Party of Burma (1948–1989) Communist Party (Burma) (1948–1978) Shan State Communist Party (1956–1958) Communist Party of Arakan (1962–1986) | Shan State | 3,000+ killed | Burmese government victory |
| 3 April 1948 | 13 May 1949 | (1 year, 41 days) | Jeju uprising | United States Army Military Government in Korea (until August 1948) South Korea (from August 1948) | Workers' Party of South Korea | Jeju Island | 30,000–100,000 killed | Uprising suppressed |
| 16 June 1948 | 31 July 1960 | (12 years, 46 days) | Malayan Emergency | Federation of Malaya  Federated Malay States | Malayan Communist Party Malayan National Liberation Army | British Malaya | 11,107 | British-allied victory: Independence of the Federation of Malaya on 31 August 1957Insurgency continues |
| 18 September 1948 | 19 December 1948 | (93 days) | Madiun Affair | Indonesia | People's Democratic Front: PKIPSPBISOBSIPesindo | Madiun | 1,920+ killed | Rebellion suppressed |
| 26 July 1953 | 1 January 1959 | (5 years, 160 days) | Cuban Revolution | Cuba | 26th of July Movement Student Revolutionary Directorate Second National Front of Escambray | Sierra Maestra | 3,000 | 26 July Movement victory: Overthrow of Fulgencio Batista's governmentEstablishment of a government led by Fidel CastroEscambray rebellion |
| 1 November 1955 | 30 April 1975 | (19 years, 181 days) | Vietnam War | South Vietnam | Viet Cong People's Liberation Armed Forces of South Vietnam | Memot District (1966–72) Lộc Ninh (1972–75) | 1,326,494–3,447,494 | Communist victory |
| 23 May 1959 | 2 December 1975 | (16 years, 194 days) | Laotian Civil War | Laos | Lao People's Party Pathet Lao  North Vietnam | Xam Neua | 20,000–62,000 killed | Pathet Lao and North Vietnamese victory: Establishment of the Lao People's Democratic RepublicEnd of the Kingdom of LaosSmall scale insurgency by anti-Pathet Lao factions |
| 13 November 1960 | 29 December 1996 | (36 years, 47 days) | Guatemalan Civil War | Guatemala | URNG (from 1982) PGT (until 1998) MR-13 (1960–1971) FAR (1960–1971) EGP (1971–1996) ORPA (1979–1996) | Guatemala | Between 140,000 and 200,000 dead and missing (estimated) | Peace accord signed in 1996 |
| 4 February 1961 | 25 April 1974 | (13 years, 81 days) | Angolan War of Independence | Portuguese Angola | MPLA | Province of Angola | 12,990+ killed | Angolan victory: Military stalemateMPLA, FNLA, and UNITA political victoryCarnation RevolutionAlvor Agreement and Angolan independence in 1975 |
| 19 July 1961 | 17 July 1979 | (17 years, 364 days) | Nicaraguan Revolution | Nicaragua | FSLN EPS MAP-ML (1978–1979) MILPAS  Panama (1978–1979) | North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region | 30,000+ killed | FSLN military victory in 1979: Overthrow of Somoza government in 1979Insurgency of the ContrasFSLN junta led by Daniel Ortega take power of Nicaragua in 1981Electoral victory of FSLN in 1984 |
| c. December 1962 | 3 November 1990 | (27 years, 338 days) | Communist insurgency in Sarawak | Malaysia | North Kalimantan Communist Party North Kalimantan People's Army | Sarawak | 400–500 killed | Government victory: Peace Declaration of Sri Aman in 1973Dissolution of the Sarawak Communist Organisation/North Kalimantan Communist Party (SCO/NKCP). |
| 13 August 1963 | 15 August 1963 | (3 days) | Trois Glorieuses | Congo | Congolese trade unions:Congolese Youth UnionConfédération générale aéfienne du travailArmed Forces of the Republic of the Congo | | | Uprising successful: Fulbert Toulou ousted from powerAlphonse Massamba-Débat chosen as prime ministerNational Revolution Movement formed as the single ruling party |
| 27 May 1964 | Present | (60 years, 295 days) | Colombian conflict | Colombia | ELN (1964–) FARC dissidents (2016–) EPL/Los Pelusos (1967–)FARIP (?–) FARC (1964–2017) ERP (1985–2007) CGSB (1987–1990) M-19 (1974–1990) MOEC (1964–1995) MAQL (1984–1991)ERC (1964–1992) ERG (1964–2008) PRT (1964–1991) | Colombia with spillovers into Venezuela | 220,000+ killed | Ongoing: Colombia–FARC peace deal in 2016Start of Catatumbo campaign in 2018 |
| 1965 | 1983 | (18 years, 1 day) | Communist insurgency in Thailand | Thailand | Communist Party of Thailand Malayan Communist Party Pathet Lao Khmer Rouge (until 1978, 1979–1983) | Nakhon Phanom Province | 6,762+ killed | Thai government victory: Amnesty declared on 23 April 1980 by the Thai governmentOrder 66/2523 signed by Prime Minister Prem TinsulanondaCommunist insurgency declines and ends in 1983 |
| 18 May 1967 | Present | (57 years, 304 days) | Naxalbari uprising Naxalite–Maoist insurgency | India | Communist Party of India (Maoist) People's Liberation Guerrilla Army | Red corridor | Since 1997: 13,060–14,552 | Ongoing |
| 17 June 1968 | 2 December 1989 | (21 years, 169 days) | Communist insurgency in Malaysia | Malaysia | Malayan Communist Party Malayan National Liberation Army | Malay Peninsula and Sarawak | 367 | Peace Agreement of Hat Yai signed: Dissolution of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP)Insurgency continues in Sarawak until 1990 |
| 17 January 1968 | 17 April 1975 | (7 years, 91 days) | Cambodian Civil War | Cambodia | Communist Party of Kampuchea Khmer Rouge | Ratanakiri Province | 275,000–310,000 killed | Communist victory |
| 29 March 1969 | Present | (55 years, 354 days) | New People's Army rebellion | Philippines | Communist Party of the Philippines New People's Army | Samar | 43,000+ killed (up to 2008) (63,973+ killed) | Ongoing |
| 22 June 1969 | 22 June 1969 | (1 day) | Corrective Move | South Yemen | Marxist faction of the NLF | | No deaths | Coup successful: Overthrow of Al-Shaabi and his alliesNasserists purged from the National Liberation FrontSouth Yemen becomes a socialist state, with Salim Rubai Ali as president. |
| 21 October 1969 | 21 October 1969 | (1 day) | 1969 Somali coup d'état | Somali Republic | Supreme Revolutionary Council | Mogadishu | | Supreme Revolutionary Council victory: Somali Republic deposedSomali Democratic Republic established |
| 19 July 1970 | 1 November 1970 | (106 days) | Teoponte Guerrilla | Bolivia | Guerrilla de Teoponte (Ejército de Liberación Nacional) | Teoponte Municipality | | Bolivian government victory |
| 5 April 1971 | June 1971 | (62 days) | 1971 JVP insurrection | Dominion of Ceylon | JVP State of Augestan | Southern Province and Sabaragamuwa Province | Official: 1,200 Estimated: 4,000–5,000 | Ceylonese government victory: Rebel leaders were captured and the remaining members surrenderedCeylonese government re-established control of the entire islandExpulsion of North Korean diplomats |
| 19 July 1971 | 22 July 1971 | (4 days) | 1971 Sudanese coup d'état | Democratic Republic of Sudan | Revolutionary Council Sudanese Communist Party Rebel military units | Khartoum | | Coup attempt fails: Nimeiry government restoredAnti-communist purges by government forcesExecution of rebelling officersExecution of several Sudanese Communist Party leadersConsolidation of Nimeiry's control |
| April 1972 | October 1974 | (2 years, 214 days) | Araguaia Guerrilla War | Federative Republic of Brazil | Communist Party of Brazil | Goiás and Tocantins | 90+ killed | Military dictatorship victory: Successful counter-insurgency operationGuerrillas failed to gain popular supportGuerrilla forces exterminated |
| 24 April 1972 | Present | (52 years, 328 days) | Maoist insurgency in Turkey | Turkey | Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey MKP-HKO-PHG | Tunceli Province | | Ongoing |
| 25 April 1974 | 25 April 1974 | (1 day) | Carnation Revolution | Estado Novo | Armed Forces Movement | | 5 deaths | Coup successful: Dissolution of the Estado NovoBeginning of the Portuguese transition to democracyEnd of the Portuguese Colonial War and independence of Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and São Tomé and PríncipeIndonesian invasion of East TimorFar-left demands latterly quashed by the Socialist Party |
| 12 September 1974 | 12 September 1974 | (1 day) | 1974 Ethiopian coup d'état | Ethiopia | Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police and Territorial Army | | | Coup successful: Emperor Haile Selassie is placed under arrest and is taken to the Fourth Division Army headquartersDerg suspends constitutionBeginning of the civil war |
| 7 November 1975 | 7 November 1975 | (1 day) | 7 November 1975 Bangladeshi coup d'état | Bangladesh | Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal Biplobi Shainik Sangstha | | | Successful coup: Death of Khaled Mosharraf |
| 27 April 1978 | 28 April 1978 | (2 days) | Saur Revolution | Afghanistan | People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan | Afghanistan | 2,000 | PDPA victory: Overthrow and execution of Mohammed Daoud Khan and his familyPurging and killing of Daoud's supportersEstablishment of the Democratic Republic of AfghanistanEventual Soviet military intervention |
| 13 March 1979 | 13 March 1979 | (1 day) | New Jewel Movement | Grenada | New Jewel Movement | | | Installation of the People's Revolutionary Government |
| 15 October 1979 | 16 January 1992 | (12 years, 94 days) | Salvadoran Civil War | El Salvador | FMLN FPL (BLP, LP-28) ERP RN (FAPU) PRTC (MLP) PCES | | 87,795+ killed | Chapultepec Peace Accords |
| 17 May 1980 | Present | (44 years, 305 days) | Internal conflict in Peru | Peru | Communist Party of Peru–Shining Path People's Guerrilla Army Militarized Communist Party of Peru Red Mantaro Base Committee Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (1982–1997) | Ayacucho Region | 70,000+ killed | Ongoing |
| 25 January 1982 | 25 January 1982 | (1 day) | 1982 Amol uprising | Iran | Union of Iranian Communists (Sarbedaran) | Amol County | 80–300 killed | Iranian government victory |
| 4 August 1983 | 4 August 1983 | (1 day) | Upper Voltan coup d'état | Upper Volta | Left-wing armed forces faction led by Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaoré | | 13 killed | Thomas Sankara installed as the President of Upper VoltaFormation of Burkina Faso |
| 15 April 1987 | 29 December 1987 | (259 days) | 1987–1989 JVP insurrection | Sri Lanka | Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Deshapremi Janatha Viyaparaya Patriotic People's Armed Troops | | 60,000–80,000 killed | Sri Lankan Government victory: Execution of Rohana WijeweeraEmergency conditions in South-western and Central provinces liftedInsurgency declined following the fall of the Eastern bloc |
| 13 February 1996 | 21 November 2006 | (10 years, 282 days) | Nepalese Civil War | Nepal | Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) People's Liberation Army, Nepal | Rapti Zone | 17,800 killed overall | Comprehensive Peace Accord |
| 20 June 2021 | June 2023 | (2 years, 1 day) | 2021–2023 Eswatini protests | Eswatini | Communist Party of Swaziland (CPS) People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC)Swazi Democratic Party (SWADEPA) Economic Freedom Fighters of Swaziland (EFFSWA)African United Democratic Party (AUDP)Mass Democratic Movement (MDM)Swaziland International Solidarity Forces | | 24+ | Protests suppressed. |
| August 2021 | Present | (3 years, 229 days) | Myanmar civil war (2021–present) | Myanmar | People's Liberation Army (Myanmar) National Unity Government Brotherhood Alliance | Myanmar | 45,264+ killed | Ongoing |