Exporting Revolution: The Soviet Union Elevates Communism To Power

The Soviet Union’s export of revolution was the real reason the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was able to seize power. In 1919, the Soviet Union established the Third Communist International, which aimed to export revolution around the world. In April 1920, Grigori Voitinsky, the representative of the Third Communist International, traveled to China. In May, an office was set up in Shanghai to make preparations for the formation of the CCP. Over the next 30 years, the CCP was merely an organ of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and Mao Zedong received a monthly stipend of 160 to 170 yuan from the Russians. (The average monthly salary of a worker in Shanghai at that time was around 20 yuan.) The CCP’s seizure of power was in part connected with the Communist Party’s infiltration of the United States. This is one of the reasons U.S. President Harry S. Truman cut off support to Chiang Kai-shek while the Soviets continued to support the CCP. Truman also made the decision to exit Asia after World War II. In 1948, the U.S. Army left South Korea, and on January 5, 1950, Truman announced that the United States would no longer interfere with affairs in Asia. This included the termination of military assistance to Chiang Kai-shek’s Taiwan, including in the case of a war between the PRC and the Republic of China. A week later, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Acheson reiterated Truman’s policy and said that if war were to break out on the Korean Peninsula, the United States would not get involved. These anti-intervention policies provided an opportunity for the Communist Party to expand its influence in Asia. When North Korea invaded the South, and the United Nations sent troops, the United States changed its policy. The CCP went all out in trying to export revolution. In addition to training guerrilla fighters in different countries, providing weapons, and sending troops to fight against legitimate governments, it also provided significant financial support for insurrections.