Communist symbolism

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Communist symbolism represents a variety of themes, including revolution, the proletariat, the peasantry, agriculture, or international solidarity. The red flag, the hammer and sickle and the red star or variations thereof are some of the symbols adopted by communist movements, governments, and parties worldwide.

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A tradition of including communist symbolism in socialist-style emblems and flags began with the flag of the Soviet Union and has since been taken up by a long line of socialist states.

In Indonesia, Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine, communist symbols are banned and displays in public for non-educational use are considered a criminal offense. [1]

Hammer and sickle

Hammer and sickle.svg
A tableau in a communist rally in Kerala, India showing two farmers forming the hammer and sickle, the most famous communist symbol Hammer and Sickle - Kerala.jpg
A tableau in a communist rally in Kerala, India showing two farmers forming the hammer and sickle, the most famous communist symbol

The hammer and sickle appears on the flags of most communist parties around the world. Some parties have a modified version of the hammer and sickle as their symbol, most notably the Workers' Party of Korea which includes a hammer representing industrial workers, a hoe representing agricultural workers, and a brush (traditional writing-implement) representing the intelligentsia.

The hammer stands for the industrial working class and the sickle represents the agricultural workers, therefore together they represent the unity of the two groups. [2]

The hammer and sickle was first used during the 1917 Russian Revolution, but it did not appear on the official flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics until 1924. [2] Since the Russian Revolution, the hammer and sickle has been used by various communist parties and communist states.

Red star

Red star.svg

The red five-pointed star is a symbol of the ultimate triumph of the ideas of communism on the five (inhabited, excluding Antarctica) continents of the globe. It first appeared as a military symbol in Tsarist Russia. It was then called the “Mars star,” reminiscent of Mars, the ancient Roman god of war. On January 1, 1827, the law was signed that put a five-pointed star on the epaulets of officers and generals. In 1854, the star began to be used on shoulder straps. Later, the five-pointed star with a two-headed eagle inside it was used to mark military trains and carriages. In Soviet Russia, the five-pointed star symbolized the protection of peacetime labor by the Red Army (again, like in Ancient Rome, where Mars was also the protector of the agricultural workers). In 1918, the drawing of the badge for the soldiers of the Red Army in the form of a red star with a golden image of a plough and a hammer in the center was approved. The star symbolized protection, while the plough and the hammer were read as a union of workers and peasants. By the 1920s, the red star began to be used as an official symbol of the state, and finally, in 1924, it became part of the Soviet flag and the official emblem of the Soviet Union. [3] [4]

In the succeeding years, the five-pointed red star came to be considered a symbol of communism as well as of broader socialism in general. It was widely used by anti-fascist resisting parties and underground socialist organizations in Europe leading up to and during World War II. During the war, the red star was prominently used as a symbol of the Red Army troops of the Soviet Union countering the invading forces of Nazi Germany and wiping them out of Eastern Europe, achieving absolute victory, and ending the war at the Battle of Berlin.[ citation needed ] Most states in the Eastern Bloc incorporated the red star into state symbols to signify their socialist nature.

Red flag

Socialist red flag.svg

The red flag is often seen in combination with other communist symbols and party names. The flag is used at various communist and socialist rallies like May Day. The flag, being a symbol of socialism itself, is also commonly associated with non-communist variants of socialism.

The red flag has had multiple meanings in history. It is associated with courage, sacrifice, blood and war in general, but it was first used as a flag of defiance. [5] The red flag gained its modern association with communism in the 1871 French Revolution.[ citation needed ] After the October Revolution, the Soviet government adopted the red flag with a superimposed hammer and sickle as its national flag. Since the October Revolution, various socialist states and movements have used the red flag.

Red and black flag

Anarchist flag.svg

The red and black flag has been a symbol of general communist movements, though generally used by anarcho-communists. The flag was used as the symbol of the anarcho-syndicalists during the Spanish Civil War. The black represents anarchism and the red represents leftist and socialist ideals. [6] Over time, the flag spilled into statist leftist movements, these movements include the Sandinistas and the 26th of July Movement, where the flags colors are not divided diagonally, but horizontally. As in the case of the Sandinistas, they adopted the flag due to the movement's anarchist roots. [7]

The Internationale

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Orchestral arrangement
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The Internationale is an anthem of the Communist movement. [8] It is one of the most universally recognized songs in the world and has been translated into nearly every spoken language. Its original French refrain is C'est la lutte finale/Groupons-nous et demain/L'Internationale/Sera le genre humain (English: This is the final struggle/Let's group together and tomorrow/The International/Will be the human race). It is often sung with a raised fist salute.

The song has been used by communists all over the world since it was composed in the 19th century and adopted as the official anthem of the Second International. It later became the anthem of Soviet Russia in 1918 and of the Soviet Union in 1922. It was superseded as the Soviet Union anthem in 1944 with the adoption of the State Anthem of the Soviet Union, which placed more emphasis on patriotism. The song was also sung in defiance to Communist governments, such as in the German Democratic Republic in 1989 prior to reunification as well as in the People's Republic of China during the Tiananmen Square protests of the same year. [9] [10]

Plough or Starry Plough

Starry Plough flag (1914).svg
StarryPlough.svg

The original Starry Plough was designed by William H. Megahy, though the concept may have originated with George William Russell, for the Irish Citizen Army [11] and showed silver stars on a green background. [12] The flag depicts an asterism (an identified part) of the constellation Ursa Major, called The Plough (or "Starry Plough") in Ireland and Britain, the Big Dipper in North America, and various other names worldwide. Two of the Plough's seven stars point to Polaris, the North Star. James Connolly, co-founder of the Irish Citizen Army with Jack White and James Larkin, said the significance of the banner was that a free Ireland would control its own destiny from the plough to the stars. [13] The sword as the plowshare is also a biblical reference in Isaiah 2:3-4. In the bible verse, God pushes his followers to turn their weapons into tools, turning the means for war into the means for peace. The marriage of Catholic tradition, the biblical reference being integral to the flag's design, with socialist concepts, like the working class and the oppressor forcing them to take up their plowshares as arms, leaves the Starry Plough flag with complexity and nuanced implications, which culminate in a very wide range of interpretations. [14] During the 1930s the design changed to a blue banner which was designed by members of the Republican Congress, and was adopted as the emblem of the Irish Labour movement, including the Labour Party. Labour adopted the rose as its official emblem in 1991 but continued to use the Starry Plough for ceremonial occasions, and in 2021 the party reverted to using the Starry Plough as their primary symbol (this time with white stars on a red background).

Plough Flag.svg
Unknown Chinese Communist Flag (1920s%3F).png

In China, the Plough flag (Chinese :犁头旗), a red flag with white or yellow plough, was widely used in the period of the First Revolutionary Civil War as the flag of the Chinese Peasants' Association, an organization led by the Chinese Communist Party. [15] [16] It is believed that Peng Pai (Chinese :彭湃) was the first user in 1923 at the peasants' association of Hailufeng. [17] The Plough flag has many different versions and some are combined with the flag of Blue Sky, White Sun or Red Field; [18] other are different on the details of the plough. [19] [20]

National emblems

Soviet leaders sought to distinguish their insignia from the emblems used by the Russian emperor and aristocracy as they replaced and omitted the traditional heraldic devices, substituting an emblem that did not conform to traditional European practices State Emblem of the Soviet Union.svg
Soviet leaders sought to distinguish their insignia from the emblems used by the Russian emperor and aristocracy as they replaced and omitted the traditional heraldic devices, substituting an emblem that did not conform to traditional European practices

Many communist governments purposely diverged from the traditional forms of European heraldry in order to distance themselves from the monarchies that they usually replaced, with actual coats of arms being seen as symbols of the monarchs. Instead, they followed the pattern of the national emblems adopted in the late 1910s and early 1920s in Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union.[ citation needed ]

Other communist symbols

While not necessarily communist in nature, the following graphic elements are often incorporated into the flags, seals and propaganda of communist countries and movements.

Notable examples of communist states that use no overtly communist imagery on their flags, emblems or other graphic representations are Cuba and the former Polish People's Republic.

Examples of these symbols in use.

Hammer and sickle

Red flag

Red star

Red and black flag

Plough

Other symbols

See also

National symbols

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of the Soviet Union</span>

The State Flag of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also simply known as the Soviet flag or the Red Banner, was a red flag with two communist symbols displayed in the canton: a gold hammer and sickle topped off by a red five-point star bordered in gold. The flag's design and symbolism are derived from several sources, but emerged during the Russian Revolution. It has also come to serve as the standard symbol representing communism as a whole, recognized as such in international circles, even after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammer and sickle</span> Symbol of communism

The hammer and sickle is a communist symbol representing proletarian solidarity 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red flag (politics)</span> Symbol of socialism and left-wing politics

In politics, a red flag is predominantly a symbol of left-wing ideologies, including socialism, communism, anarchism, and the labour movement. The originally empty or plain red flag has been associated with left-wing politics since the French Revolution (1789–1799). The red flag and red as a political colour are the oldest symbols of socialism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Belarus</span>

The national flag of Belarus is an unequal red-green bicolour with a red-on-white ornament pattern placed at the hoist (staff) end. The current design was introduced in 2012 by the State Committee for Standardisation of the Republic of Belarus, and is adapted from a design approved in a May 1995 referendum. It is a modification of the 1951 flag used while the country was a republic of the Soviet Union. Changes made to the Soviet-era flag were the removal of communist symbols – the hammer and sickle and the red star – as well as the reversal of the colours in the ornament pattern. Since the 1995 referendum, several flags used by Belarusian government officials and agencies have been modelled on this national flag.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Emblem of China</span>

The National Emblem of the People's Republic of China is a national symbol of the People's Republic of China and contains in a red circle a representation of Tiananmen Gate, the entrance gate to the Forbidden City, where Mao Zedong declared the foundation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949. Above this representation are the five stars found on the national flag. The largest star represents the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), while the four smaller stars represent the four revolutionary social classes as defined in Maoism. The emblem is described as being "composed of patterns of the national flag":

...The red color of the flag symbolizes revolution and the yellow color of the stars the golden brilliant rays radiating from the vast red land. The design of four smaller stars surrounding a bigger one signifies the unity of the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

—China Yearbook 2004

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red star</span> Symbol associated with communist ideology

A 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emblems of the Soviet Republics</span>

The emblems of the constituent republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics all featured predominantly the hammer and sickle and the red star that symbolized communism, as well as a rising sun, surrounded by a wreath of wheat. The USSR State motto, Workers of the world, unite!, in both the republic's language and Russian was also placed on each one of them. In addition to those repetitive motifs, emblems of many Soviet republics also included features that were characteristic of their local landscapes, economies or cultures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emblem of Uzbekistan</span>

The State Emblem of Uzbekistan was formally adopted on 2 July 1992 by the Government of Uzbekistan. It bears many similarities to the emblem of the former Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, which the Republic of Uzbekistan succeeded. Like many other post-Soviet republics whose symbols do not predate the October Revolution, the current emblem retains some components of the Soviet one. Prior to 1992, Uzbekistan had an emblem similar to all other Soviet Republics, with standard communist emblems and insignia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Transnistria</span>

Transnistria, a de facto state internationally-recognised as part of Moldova, has two co-official national flags. The first co-official national flag consists of three horizontal bands of red, green, and red, of vertical width 3:2:3, and in the upper canton, is the main element of the coat of arms of Transnistria; a golden hammer and sickle and a gold-bordered red star. The hammer and sickle fit into a conventional square, and the star, a conditional circle. Transnistria adopted this design that comprises a version of the flag of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic used between 1952 and 1990 in the 2000 Law about State Symbols. The second co-official national flag consists of three horizontal stripes in the colors white, blue, and red, identical to the Russian flag but at a ratio of 1:2 instead of 2:3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Starry Plough (flag)</span> Irish political flag

The Starry Plough banner is a flag which was originally used by the Irish Citizen Army, a socialist Irish republican movement, and subsequently adopted by other Irish political organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emblem of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic</span>

The Byelorussian SSR emblem was used as the coat of arms of the Soviet Socialist Republic until the fall of the Soviet Union. The coat of arms is based on the coat of arms of the Soviet Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emblem of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic</span>

The coat of arms of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on 20 May 1921 by the government of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. The coat of arms is loosely based on the coat of arms of the Soviet Union. It shows symbols of agriculture. The red star rising above the Caucasus stands for the future of the Georgian nation, and the hammer and sickle for the victory of Communism and the "world-wide socialist community of states".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emblem of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic</span>

The coat of arms of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on 10 February 1941 by the government of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. The coat of arms is based on the coat of arms of the Soviet Union. It shows symbols of agriculture, an outer rim featuring wheat, corn, grapes and clover. The red banner bears the Soviet Union state motto in both the Romanian language and the Russian language. In Romanian, it was initially "Пролетарь дин тоате цэриле, униць-вэ!"; then, from the 1950s "Пролетарь дин тоате цэриле, уници-вэ!". Both are written in the Latin alphabet as "Proletari din toate țările, uniți-vă!". The acronym MSSR is shown only in Romanian in Moldovan Cyrillic ("РССМ"). The emblem was replaced on 3 November 1990 by the present coat of arms of Moldova. Currently, the unrecognized breakaway state of Transnistria uses a similar state emblem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emblem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic</span>

The emblem of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was adopted on 14 March 1919 by the government of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and subsequently modified on 7 November 1928, 30 January 1937 and 21 November 1949. The coat of arms from 1949 is based on the coat of arms of the Soviet Union and features the hammer and sickle, the red star, a sunrise, and stalks of wheat on its outer rims. The rising sun stands for the future of the Soviet Ukrainian nation, the red star as well as the hammer and sickle for communism and the "world-wide socialist community of states".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Socialist-style emblems</span> Coat of arms with communist symbolism

Socialist-style emblems usually follow a unique style consisting of communist symbolism. Although commonly referred to as coats of arms, most are not actually traditional heraldic achievements. Many communist governments purposely diverged from heraldic tradition in order to distance themselves from the monarchies that they usually replaced, with coats of arms being seen as symbols of the monarchs.

The emblem of the Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was an official emblem used in the Soviet Union in the early 20th century. It had underwent a number of changes over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Emblem of the Soviet Union</span>

The State Emblem of the Soviet Union was the official symbol of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics adopted in 1923 and used until the dissolution of the state in 1991. Although it technically is an emblem rather than a coat of arms, since it does not follow traditional heraldic rules, in Russian it is called герб, the word used for a traditional coat of arms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bans on communist symbols</span>

Communist symbols have been banned, in part or in whole, by a number of the world's countries. As part of a broader process of decommunization, these bans have mostly been proposed or implemented in countries that belonged to the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War, including some post-Soviet states. In some countries, the bans also extend to prohibit the propagation of communism in any form, with varying punishments applied to violators. Though the bans imposed by these countries nominally target the communist ideology, they may be accompanied by popular anti-leftist sentiment and therefore a de facto ban on all leftist philosophies, such as socialism, while not explicitly passing legislation to ban them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emblem of the Chinese Communist Party</span>

The emblem of the Chinese Communist Party is the hammer and sickle displayed in golden yellow or red. According to Article 53 of the constitution of the Chinese Communist Party, "the Party emblem and flag are the symbol and sign of the Communist Party of China."

References

  1. ↑ "Het spook van het communisme waart nog steeds door Europa" (in Dutch). 22 December 2009. Archived from the original on 5 November 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Flag of Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | Symbol, Colors & Meanings | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  3. ↑ "The Soviet flag EXPLAINED". 20 June 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  4. ↑ "The Soviet flag EXPLAINED". 21 June 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ 1602 Dekker Satirom. Wks. 1873 I. 233 What, dost summon a parlie, my little Drumsticke? tis too late: thou seest my red flag is hung out. 1666Lond. Gaz. No. 91/4 That the Red Flag was out, both Fleets in sight of each other, expecting every hour fit weather to Engage. Flags of the World, "Flag of Defiance".
  6. ↑ "Anarchist FAQ Appendix" Archived 2015-09-01 at the Wayback Machine .
  7. ↑ "El socialismo libertario de" (in Spanish). Centro Para la Promoción, Investigación Rural y Social. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 30 March 2009.
  8. ↑ The Guardian, Australia (25 October 2009). "The International". pp. first paragraph. Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Telling the Story with Music: The Internationale AT TIANANMEN SQUARE". Association for Asian Studies. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  10. ↑ Tuohy, William (1989-10-09). "E. German Police Beat Protesters : Brutality in Berlin Comes on 2nd Day of Demonstrations". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-11-15.
  11. ↑ "Irish Literary Portraits" ed. W. R. Rodgers p.195
  12. ↑ "History of Starry Plough Flag". Angelfire.com. 1989-11-06. Retrieved 2010-07-23.
  13. ↑ "The Plough and the Stars Irish Theatre Players Perth". www.dfa.ie. Department of Foreign Affairs . Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  14. ↑ "The Starry Plough Flag". Irish Studies Group at SUNY Geneseo.
  15. ↑ "002这是好的很 毛泽东发表《湖南农民运动考察报告》发表四十四周年".
  16. ↑ "土地革命时期农民秋收暴动旗帜" Archived 2017-09-26 at the Wayback Machine .
  17. ↑ "彭湃与陆丰农民运动" Archived 2021-04-28 at the Wayback Machine .
  18. ↑ "广明龙农会会旗" Archived 2016-10-25 at the Wayback Machine .
  19. ↑ "#消夏计划#石塘双峰寨——中国的意大利费拉拉式水" Archived 2018-10-20 at the Wayback Machine .
  20. ↑ "【网络媒体走转改】湖北红安这条古街记录过革命时期的壮怀激烈，更见证了新中国的巨大变迁".
  21. 1 2 “Che Guevara: Revolutionary & Icon”, by Trisha Ziff, Abrams Image, 2006
  22. ↑ “Communists, Capitalists still buy into Iconic Che Photo, Author says” by Brian Byrnes, CNN , May 5, 2009

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