A communist state is a state with a form of government characterized by single-party rule or dominant-party rule of a communist party and a professed allegiance to a Leninist or Marxist-Leninist communist ideology as the guiding principle of the state. Before, this meant public ownership of all or most means of production by the Communist party-run state is necessary for the possibility to further the interest of the working class; today, a communist state, as in China and Vietnam for instance, can exist alongside a mixed economy. According to Marxist-Leninists, the state is a tool in the hands of the ruling class, which in a socialist society is the working class, so a socialist state is, according to Leninists, a state of the working class.

In practice, communist states do not refer to themselves as communist states. They do not do so to disguise the fact that the ruling party is communist, however, but because they do not consider themselves in the present time a communist society. Instead, they constitutionally identify themselves as socialist states or workers' states. The primary goal of these states, which also explains their official name, is to guide their respective countries in the process of building socialism, ultimately leading to communism.

Aaron Russo (February 14, 1943 - August 24, 2007) was an American entertainment businessman, film producer and director, and political activist. He was best known for producing such movies as Trading Places, Wise Guys, and The Rose. Later in life, he created various Libertarian-leaning political documentaries including Mad as Hell and America: Freedom to Fascism. After a six-year battle with bladder cancer, Russo died on August 24, 2007.

Aaron Russo was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1943. Growing up on Long Island, Russo worked for his family's undergarment business.

In April 1968, Russo opened the nightclub Kinetic Playground in Chicago, Illinois, originally naming it the Electric Theater. He booked numerous prominent rock groups and musicians at the club such as The Grateful Dead, Iron Butterfly, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Rotary Connection, and The Who.

In addition to owning his own nightclub, Russo managed several musical acts throughout the 1970s including The Manhattan Transfer and Bette Midler.

Seth Price (born 1973 in East Jerusalem) is a New York-based conceptual artist known for investigating the field of contemporary art distribution and media distribution, in general. His work follows the mutability of the web-based archive (e.g., Wikipedia) in refusing to crystallize past art projects and writings. This strategy is summed up by Price as follows: "Sometimes it’s good to go forward and then double back, and circle around again. To those who turned their feet around so that their tracks would confuse their pursuers: why not walk backward?".

Seth Price is represented by Friedrich Petzel Gallery in New York. He was exhibited in the 2008 Whitney Biennial.

Leland Yee (Chinese: 余胤良; pinyin: Yú Yìnliáng, born November 20, 1948) is a California State Senator in District 8 which represents the western half of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County. Prior to becoming state senator, Yee was a California State Assemblyman, Supervisor of San Francisco's Sunset District, and was a member and President of the San Francisco School Board. In 2004 Yee became the first Asian American to be appointed Speaker pro Tempore, making him the second highest ranking Democrat of the California State Assembly.

Leland Yee immigrated to San Francisco from Taishan,Guangdong, China when he was three years old and later became a naturalized United States citizen. His father served in the U.S. Army and the Merchant Marines. Yee attended San Francisco's Martin Luther King Jr. Academic Middle School and earned a bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley, a master's from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. in Child Psychology from the University of Hawaii.

After obtaining his PhD in Child Psychology, Yee worked as a therapist in the Mental Health Department of San Francisco, the Oakland School District and with Asian American for Community Involvement, a non-profit that serves low-income people.