Was the cold war a success or a failure?
Sucess because they prevented all-out scale nuclear warfare. Failure because the original problem of Cold War was never solved. Unstable former USSR is now a leading factor for terrorist organizations to arm themselves.
What were the successes and failures of communism in Russia?
When Communists took over Russian Empire in 1917, it was in a state of decay. There was corruption and inefficiency all over the country. They were loosing the war, and people were starving to death. The greatest success in Communism in USSR was to overthrow the inefficient government and to bring forward very progressive development plans. These five year plans, as they were called, transformed USSR from a backward country into a global super power. But the cost of this development was ultimately too high to bare. There were too many people imprisoned and executed, and too many personal liberties were taken away from people. Eventually this led to the downfall of communism in USSR.
Why did communism fail?
The fundamental error of communism was that it failed to recognise exactly what the human person is; any reorganisation of human society is bound to fail if there are errors in its most basic premise. Communist philosophy does not see the individual as an end in himself but merely as a component of something greater. Progress, or the raising of human happiness, cannot be attempted at the unwilling expense of the life or liberty of the individual. Capitalism will ultimately fail for the the same reason. It will be sustained longer because it usually goes hand in hand with some kind of respect for the freedom of the human person. Finally, both are materialisms and entirely neglect the spiritual aspect of human beings. A political philosophy not grounded in a holistic anthropology is doomed from day one. Please, don't take this as a plug for any religion, but simply as something I perceive and which time alone will cofirm or negate.
Who are successful communist rulers? Who are failed capitalism rulers?
I don't think there is/was a successful communist ruler who hasn't made some serious human rights violations. As for failed capitalist rulers, there are a multiple rulers who some have liked and others have not. In a capitalist society we are allowed to not like our rulers. In a communist society you HAVE to like your ruler or you will "disappear."
What were the main successes and failures of the chinese communist revolution?
They were able to get people to believe in Communism and to make sacrifices for the country. But they also had massive famines and economical problems. Many important and ancient places were destroyed/damaged and the country did not modernize like most of the world.