Communist Countries in History Quiz

Answer: Benin

The country was renamed as the People's Republic of Benin with the People's Revolutionary Party of Benin as the only legal party of the country. The formation of the People's Republic of Benin was associated with many internal territorial administrative changes.

However, the regime was infamous for its purges of political enemies, and imprisonment and torture of opposition leaders. Corruption severely damaged the economy of the country. It collapsed after the downfall of communist countries in Eastern Europe.

However, Kérékou became the President of Benin again after elections in 1996.

Answer: Brunei

Cambodia was famously under communist rule during the Khmer Rouge, which was responsible for the Cambodian genocide under Pol Pot. The People's Republic of Kampuchea was established after the overthrow of Democratic Kampuchea, the rule of Pol Pot.

Before the unification of Vietnam, it was divided into North and South Vietnam. Communist rule was established in the entire country after North Vietnam won the Vietnam War.

Laos became a socialist state after the communist Pathet Lao movement took control of Laos in 1975 after the Laotian Civil War. The Lao People's Revolutionary Army became the governing party.

Brunei became an unitary Islamic absolute monarchy after independence from the British. It is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sarawak.

Answer: Ethiopia

'Derg' is the Ge'ez word for 'committee'. Derg came to power after Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown. It consisted of officials from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Major Mengistu Haile Mariam and Major Atnafu Abate were important powerful leaders of Ethiopia during this time. Derg was in power in Ethiopia from 1974 to 1987. Opposition to the Derg was a major reason behind the Ethiopian Civil War.

The People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia replaced Derg and existed from 1987 to 1991 when Mengistu Haile Mariam abolished the Derg. Communist rule ended soon after the Soviet Union stopped supporting it.

Answer: North Korea

'Juche' was developed as a variant of Marxism-Leninism that was uniquely Korean in character. It was developed under the rule of Kim Il-Sung, the first dictator of North Korea. The official name of North Korea is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which has the Workers' Party of Korea as the legal party. Political independence, economic self-sustenance and self-sustenance in defence are the three official goals of 'juche'.

North Korea became infamous for the widespread abuse of human rights, with many people being imprisoned in prison camps or executed.

Answer: India

In the 1957 state elections in the state of Kerala, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) came to power under the leadership of E.M.S. Namboodiripad. The CPI(M) has ruled Kerala under many occasions, with other notable chief ministers being C. Achuta Menon, E.K. Nayanar, V.S. Achutanandan and Pinarayi Vijayan.

The CPI(M) has also ruled West Bengal under Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, and Tripura under Nripen Chakraborty, Dasarath Deb and Manik Sarkar.

Answer: Mongolia

Mongolia was also under communist rule during the Soviet era. The Mongolian People's Republic existed from 1924 to 1992, and it maintained close relations with the USSR. It was ruled by the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party. However, Mongolia was never directly a part of the USSR.

The Soviet Union constituted of fifteen republics - the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Moldova, Latvia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Estonia. Each country became an independent country after the collapse of the USSR.

Answer: Somalia

The Supreme Revolutionary Council that held political power in communist Somalia was headed by Lieutenant Colonel Salaad Gabeyre Kediye and Chief of Police Jama Korshel. In 1976, the Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party was founded with both socialism as well as Islam being the underlying ideologies.

The Ogaden War against Ethiopia was fought by the Somali Democratic Republic. Anarchy has prevailed in Somalia after Siad Barre was removed from power in 1991.

Answer: Dortmund

The German Democratic Republic existed from 1949 to 1990 with East Berlin as the capital and the largest city. It covered that part of Germany which was controlled by the Soviet Union after the end of World War II. The Socialist Unity Party of Germany was the governing Marxist-Leninist party of the country. Walter Ulbricht, Erich Honecker and Egon Krenz served as General Secretary of the party. The formation of a unified Germany was symbolised by the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

Dortmund is a city in North-Rhine Westphalia, and was part of West Germany when Germany was divided.

Answer: The Saur Revolution

'Saur' refers to the second month of the Persian calendar, the time when the revolution took place. The uprising against the erstwhile Afghan president Mohammed Daoud Khan resulted in his death and the founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Afghanistan under the leadership of Nur Muhammad Taraki.

His rule was succeeded by that of Hafizullah Amin, who in turn was succeeded by Babrak Karmal which saw the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. From 1987 to 1992, Afghanistan was a socialist Islamic republic.

Answer: Hua Guofeng

The Cultural Revolution lasted in China from 1966 to 1976 in order to preserve 'true communist thought' in the country. It was marked by persecution of millions of people who were considered as a threat to the principles of socialism.

The Gang of Four consisted of four officials of the Communist party, Jian Qing, Mao Zedong's last wife, along with Yao Wenyuan, Wang Hongwen and Zhang Chungqiao. Its decline started after the death of military leader Lin Biao. Officially, Lin Biao and the Gang of Four were charged with treasonous crimes against the State.

Hua Guofeng was the person who became the Chairman of the Communist Party of China and Premier of the People's Republic of China after the death of Mao Zedong.