republic · Mainland Southeast Asia
People's Republic of Kampuchea
Origins
After Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea, its forces took Phnom Penh on 7 January 1979, and the People's Republic of Kampuchea was proclaimed, led by the Kampuchean United Front for National Salvation, a group of former Khmer Rouge cadres who had defected to Vietnam, including Heng Samrin and Hun Sen.
Rule and society
The PRK was a one-party state under the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, with Vietnamese troops and advisers. It reopened schools, markets, pagodas and Phnom Penh itself, and gathered evidence of Khmer Rouge crimes at Tuol Sleng. It faced famine in 1979 to 1980 and a guerrilla war from a coalition of the Khmer Rouge, royalists and republicans, which held Cambodia's UN seat.
Decline and legacy
As Soviet aid declined, Vietnam prepared to withdraw its troops, completed in 1989. That year the state was renamed the State of Cambodia, dropping some socialist features to prepare for a negotiated settlement.
Lineage
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- People's Republic of Kampuchea was a protectorate of Socialist Republic of Vietnam1979 CE – 1989 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). People's Republic of Kampuchea. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/peoples-republic-of-kampuchea
- MLA
- “People's Republic of Kampuchea.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/peoples-republic-of-kampuchea. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “People's Republic of Kampuchea.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/peoples-republic-of-kampuchea.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘People's Republic of Kampuchea’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/peoples-republic-of-kampuchea (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻