 People who have been as interested as I am in the Cold War will know all about the western and eastern block states, with NATO being in the west and the Warsaw Pact being in the east. Most people also know that North Korea was allied and almost completely reliant on the Soviet Union, and the People's Republic of China was allied with the Soviet Union in the early parts of the Cold War, up until the Sino-Soviet split. And I can't forget Cuba and the whole missile crisis, but for today I'm taking a different route. I'm looking at 10 lesser-known Soviet Cold War allies, and a little bit of history regarding their experience with communism and being part of the eastern block. Just to disclaimer, this is not like my other top 10 videos. First of all, it's not even technically a top 10, I'm just giving 10 relevant examples of lesser-known Soviet allies. And now that I've told you about those videos, I'll be moving them to another channel soon, where the content is not information-based, just to keep this channel's content consistent. Anyways, let's begin. Number 10, Mozambique. Mozambique was a Portuguese colony up until 1975. Upon its independence, it immediately turned to Marxism-Leninism under the guidance of Samora Machel and the Mozambican Liberation Front. The country went barely two years apiece before being caught in a civil war that would last for the next 15 years, up until 1992. The opposition to the Mozambican Liberation Front was the Mozambican National Resistance, which sought to take down the communist government. This was supported by Rhodesia, and later South Africa after the former ceased to exist. The Liberation Front was supported by the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea, and East Germany. Though the People's Republic of Mozambique officially ended in 1990, the successor government was still led by the Liberation Front, and to this day the party, which still holds power, espouses its views as democratic socialists rather than communists. Number 9, Angola. Angola was another former Portuguese colony gaining independence in 1975. Nearly immediately after gaining independence, the country was embroiled in a civil war against the Communist People's Republic of Angola and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola. The Communist side was supported, obviously, by the Soviet Union, but the main helper of the Communist side was in fact Cuba, and the anti-communists were supported by South Africa. The war would ultimately lead to the independence of Namibia in 1990 as well. After 1991, most international troops left the Civil War, and the People's Republic disbanded officially in 1992, with the successor state once again being ruled by a social democratic party. The Civil War officially ended in 2002 with a left-wing victory. Number 8, Benin. Benin was once a French colony, which had gained independence under the name of Dao Me in 1960. The government was overthrown in a coup d'etat in 1972, with the People's Republic of Benin being founded in 1975. To say the least, the government really didn't do much. It implemented some policies which exacerbated the economic downturn, and the country did nothing meaningful to the Communist cause, globally. The state was disestablished in 1990, with the Republic of Benin taking its place. The new republic outlawed Marxism. Number 7, the Congo. The Congo was another French colony, which gained independence in 1960. The country already had been playing around with leftist politics, but the country fully succumbed to communism in 1969, with the proclamation of the People's Republic of the Congo. The Soviet Union did support this country, but like its other ally Benin, it was mostly irrelevant and was just an allied regional partner. The country's socialist government disbanded in 1992, following the fall of the Soviet Union. Number 6, Laos. Now I'm going to cover three former French colonies in Southeast Asia. Laos gained independence from France in 1953, with the constitutional monarchy heading the country. However, right after independence, a civil war broke out. It seems to be a recurring theme, with Soviet-supported communists opposing the government. As in accordance with other events, which I'll explain in greater detail later, Laos officially became a communist state in 1975, and was completely reliant on the Soviet Union until the latter's dissolution in 1991. Laos is one of four Marxist Leninist states still around today, and one of five communist states. Number 5, Cambodia. Cambodia also gained independence from France in 1953, but its history was much more bloody than that of Laos. Democratic Campachia took control of the country in 1975, and this regime was led by none other than Paul Pot. After committing genocides resulting in a quarter of the Cambodian population being wiped off the face of the earth, the regime lost most of its land to Vietnamese occupation in 1979. The new government, the People's Republic of Campachia, was created out of this occupation, and was supported by Vietnam and the Soviet Union. Communism in the country would ultimately fall in parallel with the Soviet Union's demise. Number 4, Vietnam. The first Indochina war would result in the independence of Vietnam from France in 1954, and the country was divided into, with the communists north and the not-communist south, backed by the United States. The disputes between the north and south would ultimately lead to the Vietnam war in 1955, which would last until 1975, resulting in a victory for Ho Chi Minh and the communists. Despite bordering China, Vietnam was clearly allied with the Soviet Union and opposed China. The government still lives on today like Laos. Number 3, Ethiopia. Now this is an interesting one. Aside from the Italian occupation from 1936 to 41, the Ethiopian Empire was led by Haile Selassie until 1974, when a coup d'etat overran his government. The communist military junta, known as the Derg, ruled the country until 1987. This began the Ethiopian Civil War, which would last until 1991. They continued their fight against Eritrean rebels, now with the help of the Soviet Union, and the Derg also fought Somalia in the Ogden War in 1977, resulting in Ethiopian victory. The military government dissolved in 1987 and was replaced by a civil socialist government. However, the civil war was still in full swing and Addis Ababa was captured by anti-communists in 1991, leading to the end of the communist government. A transitional government was in place until 1995, from which Ethiopia and Eritrea descended. Number 2, Afghanistan. The communist Soviet supported government in Afghanistan was formed in 1978, following a coup d'etat. However, the country would soon face resistance from guerrilla fighters known as the Mujahideen, and thus began the Soviet-Afghan War in 1980. The Soviet Union supported the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, though after the nine-year conflict, the Soviet Union was unable to quell the rebellions, and civil war ensued in the state up to the present day. Number 1, Mongolia. Surrounded by communist states to the north and south, it should not be a surprise that Mongolia also succumbed to communism, but the way communism spread to the country was much different than the previous countries I mentioned. The Russian Civil War brought communist forces into the country in the early 1920s, and the Mongolian People's Republic was founded in 1924. The country existed as a de facto puppet state to the Soviet Union during its entire existence, and up until 1944, these two states in Tuva were the only communist states in the world. Mongolia remained in the Soviet spirit of influence even after the Sino-Soviet split. Democratic elections started to be held in the country in 1990, and the communist government was dissolved two years later. Thank you all for watching. Be sure to like, subscribe, and share this video with all of your friends. I'll be starting a Patreon soon once I get to a thousand subscribers, so be sure to look out for that in the coming weeks. And we get closer to that goal of 1,000 subscribers every day, so every way you can help share my content is greatly appreciated. Thanks again, and I'll see you next time.