“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” Lord Acton. Although almost sixty-nine years have passed since the release of George Orwell's “Animal Farm,” the ultimate meaning of this satire is still disputed. This article will explore Orwell's satirical incitement of how the corrupt nature of power in Animal Farm mirrors that of 20th century Marxism and Communism, but more importantly how in the present day Orwell's classic allegory has much needed relevance. Napoleon is not a just leader, nor a democratic leader, nor even the great liberator of Animal Farm. Like Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler, Napoleon is a tyrannical dictator. In "Animal Farm" the political rhetoric and propaganda that Orwell blends together with the imagery give us a vision of revolution that can quickly turn into tyranny or, in his words, how "...revolution always ends badly for the weakest" (Davidson). In the 20th century almost all European countries were dominated by empires and ruled exclusively by monarchies, but there would be a rapid change in that government, which would change Europe and its aristocracies forever. Communism, based on a variant of sociologist Karl Marx's ideology of Marxism, gained considerable support throughout Europe, particularly in Russia. For Russians and Russia, the early part of the century was tumultuous. Famine, basic social structures, civil war and a massive world war of daily concern, along with an impassive dictator who couldn't care less about the Russian underclass. The rise of communism changed all this. In a brutal but seemingly brief revolution, Russia's power structure shifted from imperialism to communism apparently... middle of paper... hey, Animal Farm is “... the first post-World War II British novel that embodies a fundamental turning point in the world's historical mood." The book has been an everlasting testament throughout the times due to its enduring message. “…Revolutionaries, once in power, often become just as repressive as the people they overthrew. Too often the oppressed become the oppressors." (Simon). The struggle for pre-eminence between the two rival pigs demonstrates how, in both fictional and historical circumstances, the abandonment of founding principles for oppressive rules of government. For Orwell “the turning point of history was supposed to be when the pigs kept the milk and apples for themselves” (Davidson) signaling the passage of the pigs from a socialist animal utopia to the adoption of a repressive regime that adopted the traits and behaviors of their original oppressors