Seeing Red
MAPPING COMMUNISM IN ASIAWith the end of the Cold War in
1989 – signified by the destruction
of the Berlin Wall – the Soviet Union
collapsed, and with it, communist
regimes in Eastern Europe. Governed
by a political and economic doctrine
that advocates communal control of
production, called “collectivism”,
today, only four communist states
remain in Asia.DATA SOURCED FROM BBC1965
Communist guerrilla
warfare breaks out in
Thailand, begun by
Thai militants who have
trained in communist
propaganda and
philosophy in China1975
The Khmer Rouge
seizes Cambodia.
North Vietnam claims
Siam under communist
rule. The Lao People’s
Democratic Republic is
formed, introducing a
communist regime1949
Mao Zedong forms
the People’s Republic
of China after his
party, the Chinese
Communist Party, wins
the elections1959
The Vietcong begin a
guerrilla war to unite
the North and South
of Vietnam under
communism. China
declares their form of
communism more open
than the Soviet Union’s1948
Overwhelmed by
critics, Mao launches
the Cultural Revolution
to wipe out contra-
revolutionaries.
Millions of people
leave the citieskey events
Vietnam
PoPulation 89.7 million
GeneRal seCRetaRy of the Communist
PaRty: nGuyen Phu tRonG
PResident: tRan dai QuanG
Vietnam suffered decades of war: first against
French colonial rule, then against South Vietnam,
which was supported by the anti-communist US.
With the latter defeated, Vietnam was unified in
1975, and became a one-party communist state.
President Tran Dai Quang was elected in 2016,
but the communist party rules, under General
Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, following the decade-
long rule of Nong Duc Manh. Nguyen Xuan Phuc
is the current prime minister, who has declared a
clampdown on corruption in the country’s bid to
become a developed nation by 2020.KAZAKHSTANTAJIKISTANKYRGYZSTANTURKMENISTANUZBEKISTANin fo Cus