Abstract

The rise of Asia is probably the most important and least studied phenomenon of modern times. While historical consciousness, like scientific consciousness, often lags behind the revolutions that transform the world and our view of it, the fact that the rise of Asia has been co-extensive with the spread of Communism is a specific feature of the problem. The rise of Asia in the 20th century began with the victory of the October Revolution, gained impetus with the failure of Western “socialist” revolution in 1923 and the ensuing turn of the communist revolution to the East in 1925, was abetted by the weakening of the European state system and the break-up of the colonial system.