| Communist Party of Greece Κομμουνιστικό Κόμμα Ελλάδας | |
|---|---|
| Paramilitary wing | Democratic Army of Greece (1946–1949) |
| Ideology | Communism Marxism–Leninism Stalinism Anti-revisionism Hard Euroscepticism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| European affiliation | INITIATIVE |
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When did Greece stop being a dictatorship?
The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a right-wing military dictatorship that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974.
When did the USSR invade Greece?
Greek Operation of the NKVDLocationSoviet Union (modern-day Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan and others)Date1937–1950TargetEthnic GreeksAttack typeprison shootings, deportation3 more rows
When was the first Communist country?
During the 20th century, the world's first constitutionally communist state was in Russia at the end of 1917. In 1922, it joined other former territories of the empire to become the Soviet Union.
What happened in Greece after ww2?
By autumn 1944, Greece had been devastated by occupation and famine. Half a million people had died – 7% of the population. ELAS had, however, liberated dozens of villages and become a proto-government, administering parts of the country while the official state withered away.
When did Greece join NATO?
The accession process is overseen by the North Atlantic Council, NATO's governing body. NATO was formed in 1949 with twelve founding members and has added new members eight times. The first additions were Greece and Turkey in 1952.
Did Russia help Greece?
Russia assisted the Greeks against the Ottoman rule prior to and during the Greek War of Independence that broke out in 1821. Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first Governor of the First Hellenic Republic, had previously served as Russia's foreign minister.
What country invented communism?
In 1917, the October Revolution in Russia set the conditions for the rise to state power of Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks, which was the first time any avowedly communist party reached that position.
Who is the father of communism?
Karl MarxKarl Marx FRSASchoolContinental philosophy MarxismThesisThe Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature (1841)Doctoral advisorBruno BauerMain interestsPhilosophy economics history politics21 more rows
Who was the first socialist country?
Overview. The first socialist state was the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, established in 1917.
Who freed Greece in ww2?
Mainland Greece was liberated in October 1944 with the German withdrawal in the face of the advancing Red Army, while German garrisons held out in the Aegean Islands until after the war's end. The country was devastated by war and occupation, and its economy and infrastructure lay in ruins.
What caused Greece to fail?
The Greek crisis started in late 2009, triggered by the turmoil of the world-wide Great Recession, structural weaknesses in the Greek economy, and lack of monetary policy flexibility as a member of the Eurozone.
What led to the downfall of Greece?
Constant war divided the Greek city-states into shifting alliances; it was also very costly to all the citizens. Eventually the Empire became a dictatorship and the people were less involved in government. There was increasing tension and conflict between the ruling aristocracy and the poorer classes.
Did the USSR invade Greece?
Did the Soviet Union ever invade Greece? No, not even when the British were crushing the Greek communist party after World War II.
Who first invaded Greece?
The invasion, consisting of two distinct campaigns, was ordered by the Persian king Darius the Great primarily in order to punish the city-states of Athens and Eretria....First Persian invasion of Greece.Date492 – 490 BC.LocationThrace, Macedon, Cyclades, Euboea, AtticaResultPersian victory in Thrace and Macedon Persian failure to capture Athens1 more row
Was the USSR involved in the Greek Civil War?
The rebels were supported by Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union. The war began as a conflict between the communist-dominated left-wing resistance organisation, the EAM-ELAS, and loosely-allied anticommunist resistance forces. It later escalated into a major civil war between the state and the communists.
Who invaded Greece twice?
Read a brief summary of this topic. Greco-Persian Wars, also called Persian Wars, (492–449 bce), series of wars fought by Greek states and Persia over a period of almost half a century. The fighting was most intense during two invasions that Persia launched against mainland Greece between 490 and 479.
When was Greece liberated?
When liberation came in October 1944, Greece was in a state of crisis, which soon led to the outbreak of civil war. Although controlled by the KKE, the organization had democratic republican rhetoric. Its military wing, the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) was founded in February 1942.
Who was involved in the Greek Civil War?
The Greek Civil War ( Greek: ο Eμφύλιος [Πόλεμος], o Emfýlios [ Pólemos ], "the Civil War") was fought between the Greek government army (supported by the United Kingdom and the United States) and the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) – the military branch of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) (supported by Bulgaria, Albania, Yugoslavia, and covertly by the Soviet Union via their Eastern European proxies) from 1946 to 1949. The fighting resulted in the defeat of the DSE by the Hellenic Army.
What was the landscape like in Greece in 1943?
The Greek landscape was favourable to guerrilla operations, and by 1943, the Axis forces and their collaborators were in control only of the main towns and connecting roads, leaving the mountainous countryside to the resistance. EAM-ELAS in particular controlled most of the country's mountainous interior, while EDES was limited to Epirus and EKKA to eastern Central Greece. By early 1944 ELAS could call on nearly 25,000 men under arms, with another 80,000 working as reserves or logistical support, EDES had roughly 10,000 men, and EKKA had under 10,000 men.
What was the main cause of the Greek occupation?
The power vacuum that the occupation created was filled by several resistance movements that ranged from royalist to communist ideologies. Resistance was born first in eastern Macedonia and Thrace, where Bulgarian troops occupied Greek territory. Soon large demonstrations were organized in many cities by the Defenders of Northern Greece (YVE), a patriotic organization. However, the largest group to emerge was the National Liberation Front (EAM), founded on 27 September 1941 by representatives of four left-wing parties. Proclaiming that it followed the Soviet policy of creating a broad united front against fascism, EAM won the support of many noncommunist patriots.
Why did Churchill go to Athens?
It caused much protest in the British press and the House of Commons. To prove his peacemaking intentions to the public, Churchill went to Athens on December 25 to preside over a conference in which Soviet representatives also participated, to bring about a settlement. It failed because the EAM/ELAS demands were considered excessive and so rejected. The conference took place in the Hotel Grande Bretagne. Later, it became known that there was a plan by EAM to blow up the building, aiming to kill the participants, and the conference was finally cancelled.
How many partisans were there in the Peloponnese?
By late 1946, the DSE was able to deploy about 16,000 partisans, including 5,000 in the Peloponnese and other areas of Greece. According to the DSE, its fighters "resisted the reign of terror that right-wing gangs conducted across Greece". In the Peloponnese especially, local party officials, headed by Vangelis Rogakos, had established a plan long before the decision to go to guerrilla war, under which the numbers of partisans operating in the mainland would be inversely proportional to the number of soldiers that the enemy would concentrate in the region. According to this study, the DSE III Division in the Peloponnese numbered between 1,000 and 5,000 fighters in early 1948.
What happened to King George II of Greece?
While Axis forces approached Athens in April 1941, King George II and his government escaped to Egypt, where they proclaimed a government-in-exile, recognised by the UK but not by the Soviet Union. Winston Churchill encouraged King George II of Greece to appoint a moderate cabinet. As a result, only two of his ministers were previous members of the 4th of August Regime under Ioannis Metaxas, who had both seized power in a coup d'état with the blessing of the king and governed the country since August 1936. Nevertheless, the exiled government's inability to influence affairs inside Greece rendered it irrelevant in the minds of most Greek people. At the same time, the Germans set up a collaborationist government in Athens, which lacked legitimacy and support. The puppet regime was further undermined when economic mismanagement in wartime conditions created runaway inflation, acute food shortages and famine among the civilian population.
When did Greece become independent?
The history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition of its autonomy from the Ottoman Empire by the Great Powers (Britain, France, and Russia) in 1828 , after the Greek War of Independence, to the present day.
Which country was occupied by Greece in 1919?
In no small measure through the diplomatic efforts of Venizelos, Greece secured Western Thrace in the Treaty of Neuilly in November 1919 and Eastern Thrace and a zone around Smyrna in western Anatolia (already under Greek administration as the Occupation of İzmir since May 1919) in the Treaty of Sèvres of August 1920.
What was the first large-scale insurrection against Ottoman rule?
The first large-scale insurrection against Ottoman rule was the Orlov Revolt of the early 1770s, but it was brutally repressed. The same time, however, also marks the start of the Modern Greek Enlightenment, as Greeks who studied in Western Europe brought knowledge and ideas back to their homeland, and as Greek merchants and shipowners increased their wealth. As a result, especially in the aftermath of the French Revolution, liberal and nationalist ideas began to spread across the Greek lands.
What islands did the Ottomans control?
Otherwise, only the islands of the Aegean and a few coastal fortresses on the mainland, under Venetian and Genoese rule, remained free from Ottoman rule, but by the mid-16th century, the Ottomans had conquered most of them as well. Rhodes fell in 1522, Cyprus in 1571, and the Venetians retained Crete until 1670. The Ionian Islands were only briefly ruled by the Ottomans ( Kefalonia from 1479 to 1481 and from 1485 to 1500), and remained primarily under the rule of Venice.
What was the Byzantine Empire?
The Byzantine Empire had ruled most of the Greek-speaking world since late Antiquity, but experienced a decline as a result of Muslim Arab and Seljuk Turkish invasions and was fatally weakened by the sacking of Constantinople by the Latin Crusaders in 1204. The establishment of Catholic Latin states on Greek soil, and the struggles of the Orthodox Byzantine Greeks against them, led to the emergence of a distinct Greek national identity. The Byzantine Empire was restored by the Palaiologos dynasty in 1261, but it was a shadow of its former self, and constant civil wars and foreign attacks in the 14th century brought about its terminal decline. As a result, most of Greece gradually became part of the Ottoman Empire in the late 14th and early 15th centuries, culminating in the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, the conquest of the Duchy of Athens in 1458, and of the Despotate of the Morea in 1460.
What is the history of Greece?
The history of modern Greece covers the history of Greece from the recognition of its autonomy from the Ottoman Empire by the Great Powers (Britain, France, and Russia) in 1828, after the Greek War of Independence, to the present day.
When did King George I rule?
Reign of King George I, 1864 –1913. King George I of the Hellenes in Hellenic Navy uniform. At the urging of Britain and King George, Greece adopted the much more democratic Greek Constitution of 1864. The powers of the King were reduced, the Senate was abolished, and the franchise was extended to all adult males.
What is communism in ancient times?
Communism in antiquity. Further information: Pre-Marxist communism, Primitive communism, and Religious communism. The 1st century BC Roman philosopher Seneca believed that humans had fallen from a Golden Age of primitive communism. Many historical groups have been considered as following forms of communism.
What is communism history?
The 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.
What was the impact of the Soviet Union on the spread of communism during the 20th century?
This was to have a phenomenal impact on the spread of communism during the 20th century as the Soviet Union installed new Marxist–Leninist governments in Central and Eastern Europe following World War II and indirectly backed the ascension of others in the Americas, Asia and Africa.
How did the Cultural Revolution affect China?
The movement paralyzed China politically and weakened the country economically, culturally and intellectually for years. Millions of people were accused, humiliated, stripped of power and either imprisoned, killed or most often sent to work as farm laborers. Mao insisted that these he labelled revisionists be removed through violent class struggle. The two most prominent militants were Marshall Lin Biao of the army and Mao's wife Jiang Qing. China's youth responded to Mao's appeal by forming Red Guard groups around the country. The movement spread into the military, urban workers and the Communist Party leadership itself. It resulted in widespread factional struggles in all walks of life. In the top leadership, it led to a mass purge of senior officials who were accused of taking a " capitalist road ", most notably Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. During the same period, Mao's personality cult grew to immense proportions. After Mao's death in 1976, the survivors were rehabilitated and many returned to power.
What did early Christianity believe?
Early Christianity supported a form of common ownership based on the teachings in the New Testament which emphasised sharing. For example, in the Book of Acts the passages Acts 2:44-45 and Acts 4:32-45 state all believers held their possessions communally and would distribute goods based on need. Additionally, the related Jewish sect known as the Essenes was committed to, "social and material egalitarianism." Despite these practices falling into decline even before the era of Constantine, the principles of sharing property and holding goods in common continued within the Christian traditions of monasticism.
When did the Marxist-Leninist movement end?
In 1978, Spain's PCE replaced the historic "Marxist–Leninist" catchphrase with the new slogan of "Marxist, democratic and revolutionary". The movement faded in the 1980s and collapsed with the fall of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989.
Which African country was the only to have a communist government?
Angola was perhaps the only African state which made a longstanding commitment to communism, but this was severely hampered by its own war-burdened economy, rampant corruption and practical realities which allowed a few foreign companies to wield considerable influence despite the elimination of the domestic Angolan private sector and a substantial degree of central economic planning. Both Angola and Ethiopia built new social and political communist institutions modeled closely after those in the Soviet Union and Cuba. However, their regimes either dissolved after the collapse of the Soviet Union due to civil conflict or voluntarily repudiated communism in favour of social democracy.
What is the history of socialism in Greece?
t. e. Socialism in Greece has a significant history, with various activists, politicians and political parties identifying as socialist. Socialist movements in Greece began to form around the early 20th century, including the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) (1920–present), the Socialist Party of Greece ...
What was the socialist party of Greece?
The socialist workers’ party of Greece (SEKE, as it was previously known until 1924) was established by communist ideologies and the “first trade union struggles of the working class”.
What was the Panhellenic Socialist Movement?
The Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) emerged in 1974 following the military dictatorship, with Andreas Papandreou as the party's leader. PASOK established itself as a party that represented social and political change, differentiating itself from right-wing and the traditional left-wing parties. During this time, the political party New Democracy returned to governance, with Constantine Karamanlis as the Prime Minister from 1974 to 1980. In 1977, politics in Greece experienced a leftward shift, with PASOK gaining popularity and maintaining 25.2% of the vote and 93 seats in parliament.
What political party was Constantine Karamanlis in?
During this time, the political party New Democracy returned to governance, with Constantine Karamanlis as the Prime Minister from 1974 to 1980. In 1977, politics in Greece experienced a leftward shift, with PASOK gaining popularity and maintaining 25.2% of the vote and 93 seats in parliament.
What was the Greek National Liberation Front?
The Greek National Liberation Front emerged during World War II after German occupants entered Greece in 1941. The movement was a resistance group that ultimately transformed into the de facto government towards the end of the war and in 1944, creating a national unity government. It was estimated that there were around 500,000 to 2,000,000 members of the Greek National Liberation Front. The ultimate aim of the movement was to unite antifascist groups in standing against the Metaxas dictatorship.
When was the communist party legalized?
After the military dictatorship , the communist party was legalized again and were allowed to run in elections. Founded in 1974 by Andreas Papandreou following the military dictatorship in Greece. It was the first traditionally left-wing party in Greece to defeat New Democracy in the 1981 election.
Who founded the Panhellenic Liberation Movement?
Papandreou founded PASOK as well as the Panhellenic Liberation Movement (PAK) following the military dictatorship that subsided in 1974. Papandreou was the son of Georgios Papandreou, who also served as the prime minister of Greece for three terms where he put an end to far right-wing governance in 1963.
How Did Socialism Crop Up in Greece?
Understanding Greek socialism today requires a look at the myth of ancient Greek democracy and modern Greek history. Ancient Greece and forward consisted of separate city-states, connected only by culture and trade, which were at odds and at war with each other for centuries. Athenian voting was for a male aristocracy; women, non-land owners, and slaves were property. Slavery enabled both commerce and constructs.
How did Greek socialism result?
When the Greek ministry recently brought in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development for advice, they found that Greek socialism resulted from the evolution of complex, fragmented, and duplicative welfare state programs with no clear strategy or comprehensive plan. The population under the poverty level was 30 percent and highest among youth, and the high poverty rate increased by forced austerity on social programs caused by their bankruptcy.
What was the Athenian Republic?
The touted yet imperfect Athenian republic was a crucible of true social inequality and sanctioned slavery. This heavily traversed land, rich with knowledge, prolific with olives, and bereft of arable land, was destined to suffer by the influential indignities of commerce and conquest.
What was the Athenian voting system?
Athenian voting was for a male aristocracy; women, non-land owners, and slaves were property. Slavery enabled both commerce and constructs.
What is the birthplace of democracy?
Athens, the birthplace of democracy and the first republic, is now in horrific economic disarray, with Greeks fleeing to find new opportunity abroad.
Overview
Postwar division and reconciliation
The Civil War left Greece in ruins and in even greater economic distress than it had been following the end of German occupation. Additionally, it divided the Greek people for ensuing decades, with both sides vilifying their opponents. Thousands languished in prison for many years or were sent into internal exile on the islands of Gyaros and Makronisos . Many others sought refuge in communis…
Background: 1941–1944
While Axis forces approached Athens in April 1941, King George II and his government escaped to Egypt, where they proclaimed a government-in-exile, recognised by the UK but not by the Soviet Union. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill encouraged King George II of Greece to appoint a moderate cabinet. As a result, only two of his ministers were previous members of the 4th of August …
Confrontation: 1944
By 1944, EDES and ELAS each saw the other to be their great enemy. They both saw that the Germans were going to be defeated and were a temporary threat. For the ELAS, the British represented their major problem, even while for the majority of Greeks, the British were their major hope for an end to the war.
By the summer of 1944, it was obvious that the Germans would soon withdra…
Interlude: 1945–1946
In February 1945, the various Greek parties signed the Treaty of Varkiza, with the support of all the Allies. It provided for the complete demobilisation of the ELAS and all other paramilitary groups, amnesty for only political offenses, a referendum on the monarchy and a general election to be held as soon as possible. The KKE remained legal and its leader, Nikolaos Zachariadis, who ret…
Civil War: 1946–1949
Fighting resumed in March 1946, as a group of 30 ex-ELAS members attacked a police station in the village of Litochoro, killing the policemen, the night before the elections. The next day, the Rizospastis, the KKE's official newspaper, announced, "Authorities and gangs fabricate alleged communist attacks". Armed bands of ELAS' veterans were then infiltrating Greece through mountai…
See also
• Air operations during the Greek Civil War
• Nikos Belogiannis
• Nikos Ploumpidis
• Proxy war
• The Travelling Players
Bibliography
• Bærentzen, Lars, John O. Iatrides, Ole Langwitz Smith, eds. Studies in the history of the Greek Civil War, 1945–1949, 1987
• Byford-Jones, W. The Greek Trilogy: Resistance-Liberation-Revolution, London, 1945
• Carabott, Philip and Thanasis D. Sfikas, The Greek Civil War, (2nd ed 2017)
Background
Administration of Ioannis Kapodistrias
- On his arrival, Kapodistrias launched a major reform and modernisation programme that covered all areas. He re-established military unity by bringing an end to the second phase of the civil war; re-organised the military, which was then able to reconquer territory lost to the Ottoman military during the civil wars; and introduced the first modern quarantine system in Greece, which broug…
Assassination of Kapodistrias and The Creation of The Kingdom of Greece
- In 1831, Kapodistrias ordered the imprisonment of Petrobey Mavromichalis, the Bey of the Mani Peninsula, one of the wildest and most rebellious parts of Greece. This was a mortal offence to the Mavromichalis family, and on 9 October 1831 (27 September in the Julian Calendar) Kapodistrias was assassinated by Petros' brother Konstantis and son Georgios on the steps of t…
Reign of King Otto, 1833–1863
- Otto's reign would prove troubled, but he managed to hang on for 30 years before he and his wife, Queen Amalia, left the same way they came, aboard a British warship. During the early years of his reign, a group of Bavarian regents ruled in his name, and they made themselves very unpopular by trying to impose German ideas of rigid hierarchical government on the Greeks, while keeping mo…
Reign of King George I, 1864–1913
- At the urging of Britain and King George, Greece adopted the much more democratic Greek Constitution of 1864. The powers of the King were reduced, the Senate was abolished, and the franchise was extended to all adult males. Approval votingwas used in elections, with one urn for each candidate divided into "yes" and "no" portions into which voters dropped lead beads. Nevert…
World War I and Subsequent Crises, 1914-1922
- When World War I broke out in 1914, the King and his Prime Minister Venizelos both preferred to maintain a neutral stance, in spite of Greece's treaty of alliance with Serbia, which had been attacked by Austria-Hungary as the first belligerent action of the conflict. But when the Allies asked for Greek help in the Dardanelles campaign of 1915, offering Cyprus in exchange, their div…
Republic and Monarchy
- The catastrophe deepened the political crisis, with the returning army rising up under Venizelist officers and forcing King Constantine to abdicate again, in September 1922, in favour of his firstborn son, George II. The "Revolutionary Committee" headed by Colonels Stylianos Gonatas (soon to become Prime Minister) and Nikolaos Plastiras engaged in a witch-hunt against the roy…
World War II
- Despite this declared neutrality, Greece became a target for Mussolini's expansionist policies. Provocations against Greece included the sinking of the Greek cruiser Elli on 15 August 1940. Italian troops crossed the border on 28 October 1940, beginning the Greco-Italian War, but were stopped by a determined Greek defence that ultimately drove them back into Albania. Metaxas d…
Civil War
- German forces withdrew on 12 October 1944, and the government in exile returned to Athens. After the German withdrawal, the EAM-ELAS guerrilla army effectively controlled most of Greece, but its leaders were reluctant to take control of the country, as they knew that Soviet premier Joseph Stalin had agreedthat Greece would be in the British sphere of influence after the war. T…
Postwar Greece
- After the civil war, Greece sought to join the Western democracies and became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organizationin 1952. Since the Civil war (1946–49) but even more after that, the parties in the parliament were divided in three political concentrations. The political formation Right-Centre-Left, given the exacerbation of political animosity that had preceded dividing the co…