Red Star - Symbol of Communism

Symbol of Communism

The five-pointed red star is often used as a symbol of communism. It is sometimes understood to represent the five fingers of the worker's hand, as well as the five continents. A lesser known suggestion is that the five points on the star were intended to represent the five social groups that would lead Russia to communism: the youth, the military, the industrial labourers, the agricultural workers or peasantry, and the intelligentsia. It was one of the emblems, symbols, and signals representing the Soviet Union under the rule of the Communist Party, along with the hammer and sickle. Across Europe, the symbol is treated very differently in different countries: some have passed laws banning it, claiming that it represents "a totalitarian ideology", while other countries hold a very positive view of it as a symbol of antifascism and resistance against Nazi occupation. In the Soviet heraldry the red star symbolized the Red Army and the military service as opposed to the hammer and sickle which symbolized the peaceful labour.

• Red star, Red Army 1918

• Red Cavalry poster with budenovka, 1920

• Coat of arms of the Latvian Socialist Soviet Republic (1919–1920)