Soviet Union

Flag of the Soviet Union from 1955-1991

The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922-1991. The USSR synthesized Marxism-Leninism, was the primary actor that defeated fascism in WW2. However, the USSR tragically fell to revisionism in 1956, causing systemic stagnation and bureaucratization across the 1960s-1980s. These all resulted into its ultimate downfall in 1991.

Established by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in the aftermath of the Russian Civil War, the USSR was led by Vladimir Lenin until his death in 1924. This period set a precedent for Leninism as a tradition and model for how socialist states should function. Joseph Stalin came to power after Lenin and began a process of mass industrialization, which was pivotal for the USSR's victory in the Great Patriotic War against fascism in 1941-1945. It was under Stalin that Marxism-Leninism completed its synthesization with Russian civilization and tradition. During Stalin's era, religion was reconciled with communism, and the precedent of socialist patriotism was reaffirmed. Stalin's death in 1953 led to a usurpation of the country by Nikita Khrushchev, who altered the class character of the CPSU and the Soviet state by replacing the dictatorship of the proletariat for a social-democratic All-People's State in 1956. These revisions turned the country towards social imperialism. The Khrushchev era ultimately contributed to the death of the country in 1991 due to the a wave of historical nihilism, foreign ideological infiltration, covert color revolutions and final capitulation to the West by Mikhail Gorbachev.

The USSR continues to have a strong legacy among the post-Soviet states. To this day, the USSR is remembered as the greatest time in history according to 75% of Russians, 54% of Belarusians, and an uncalculated majority of Kazakhs. Vladimir Lenin has a 56% approval rating in Russia today. Even higher, Joseph Stalin has a 70% approval rating in modern Russia. Stalin's approval in Georgia and Armenia also remains relatively high, at 45% and 38% respectively.

Stalinist era (1924-1956)

Stalin continued the model of Lenin, applying dialectical materialism to the Soviet situation.

Nowhere is it said that I am a pupil of Lenin... In fact I considered myself, and still consider myself, a pupil of Lenin. I said this clearly in the well-known conversation with Ludwig... I am a pupil of Lenin’s, Lenin taught me, not the other way around. He laid out the road, and we are proceeding along this cleared road.

- Stalin

Using Marxism, Stalin turned the Soviet Union from a backwater of poor peasants to an industrial superpower capable of steamrolling Western Europe (even able to defeat the British Empire after WWII). This industrialization did not require sacrificing lives, unlike the industrialization of America or Britain. It was done to make the working people richer, rather than the bourgeois owning class.

The USSR invited foreign capital, then copied their production techniques. (China used the same method with Deng Xiaoping's Reform and Opening Up, where foreign companies had to surrender IPs in order to come to China.) However, Western countries soon placed embargoes on the USSR, trying to stop its development.

Internally, the USSR initially used private enterprise to develop, under the New Economic Policy (NEP). But major companies were placed under state control.

Labor discipline was strict, and labor became intensified. But unlike in capitalist countries, the benefits went to the people. Therefore, the workers created the Stakhanovite movement, volunteering to work extra hard for the people's profit. Stalin encouraged this movement, and made sure workers were rewarded for their hard work, by expanding the piece-wage system (paying people for product, not time). Workers also got good bonuses for overtime.

Thanks to communism, working hours were cut in half. Under tsarism, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week was normal. Communism mandated that 7 hours a day, 6 days a week become standard. Stalin consistently fought for raising wages and lowering prices, saying that it was necessary to reach higher-stage communism.

Collectivization

Soviet collectivization has been portrayed as forced and unproductive. In reality, it was mostly voluntary and productive, since it was based on farms collectively using tractors, and therefore being collectively owned. It empowered and enriched peasants, ending the concentration of wealth by the kulak class.

The bourgeois claim collectivization caused famine. In reality, Russia etc never saw a drought-caused famine after collectivization. (See Soviet Union#Famines.) Before collectivization, droughts caused famine up to 3 times every decade, such as 1902, 1906, 1908, and 1911. Collectivization prevented famines by allowing grain to be stockpiled.

Collectivization was more efficient. Grain output temporarily fell because of terrorist sabotage, but rose afterwards.

Background

While state-owned industry dominated the cities, the free market countryside saw rising inequality. The best farm equipment (means of production) was being accumulated by a few kulaks, rich peasants. More and more middle peasants, who owned their own land, were turned into poor peasants, who owned nothing (maybe a shack) and worked on kulaks' land. Kulaks often controlled corrupt local leaders.

Poor and middle peasants wrote to Stalin asking for help. Collectivization and later dekulakization were fundamentally a bottom-up movement.

Stalin answered them in 1928 by providing free tractors to peasants who formed collective farms. (The function of the Machine Tractor Stations.) This libertarian solution relied on the people's initiative combined with the centrally planned industry.

Stalin believed that collectivization must be voluntary. The tractors were the material basis for collectivization, as they were used collectively, and therefore the ownership also should be collective.

In 1930, 25,000 workers from the cities volunteered to go to the countryside to explain and support collectivization, and check on local bureaucrats.

1932-3 Soviet famine

Main article: 1932-3 Soviet famine

Great Patriotic War

Main article: Great Patriotic War

Stalin's prescient industrialization saved the Soviet Union from Nazi genocide. The Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War began a new era for communism, where masses of the third world rose up against imperialism with the support of the prosperous USSR. Most importantly, China was liberated by communism. None of this would have been possible without Stalin.

Myths

Main article: List of myths about Stalin

Health and food

An FAO study starting in 1960 found that the Soviets ate more calories than Americans.

Bread lines did not exist until the Gorbachev era, according to testimonies of former Soviet citizens.

A CIA report in 1989 found that the Soviets were eating healthier than Americans, although they were eating less (under Gorbachev).

The Soviet Union raised life expectancy tremendously from the Tsarist era, which saw regular malnutrition and high infant mortality.

Famines

The Soviet era saw three major famines, all man-made combined with a drought:

• 1921 famine caused by the Civil War (technically before the creation of the USSR)
• 1932-3 Soviet famine caused by kulak rebellion
• 1946-7 Soviet famine caused by the Nazi invasion depleting grain stocks

Under tsarism, starvation was a normal part of life. Despite Red Cross aid (which the Soviets never got), both rural peasants and urban workers were malnourished. Minor drought-caused famines continued in the early USSR until collectivization ended them.

The US estimated famines in Russia happened once every 10 years. In fact, there were famines in 1901-1902, 1906-1908, 1911-12, 1918-1920 (the Civil War), 1920-1921, 1924, and 1928. All were due to drought or bad weather.

Collectivization ended drought-caused famines by allowing grain to be stockpiled well. After collectivization, drought struck again in 1936, 1939, 1946, 1948, and 1984. Besides 1946, none of these were famines.

After collectivization, there were two famines made by fascists.

1946 was the last famine in the USSR, due to the Nazis destroying Soviet grain stockpiles for 4 years. (The Nazis tried to starve the USSR, and the USA expected the USSR to starve during the war, but it lasted until after.)

1991 was the last famine in Russia (post USSR). It was due to capitalism taking over.

Trotskyism and the Purges

Main article: Purges in the Soviet Union

Khrushchevite rule (1956-1964)

Main article: Nikita Khrushchev

In his disastrous 8 years, Khrushchev promoted the seeds of corruption that would destroy the USSR, promoting his protege Mikhail Gorbachev. However, strong Marxist-Leninists moved history forward and limited the wrecking of Khrushchevite revisionists.

Brezhnevite era (1964-1985)

Brezhnev saw a return to Stalinism compared to the Khrushchevite era. Liberal reforms and anti-Stalin propaganda were largely abandoned and Soviet power grew stronger, with the economy still growing faster than the US, although revisionists promoted corruption and stagnation.

After Brezhnev died in 1982, Yuri Andropov took over as General Secretary.

After Yuri Andropov's death in 1984, Konstantin Chernenko briefly took over. He had plans to fully rehabilitate Stalin on May 9 (Victory Day), 1985, and restore ties with China and Albania. Volgograd's name would be reverted to Stalingrad. But he fell ill and died.

Capitulation and destruction

Mikhail Gorbachev capitulated to the West and destroyed the Soviet Union under the slogans of perestroika and glasnost.

Perestroika, the "restructuring" of the Soviet economy, was supposed to reduce corruption. In reality, it transferred state-owned enterprises directly into the hands of corrupt officials. The corrupt nomenklatura no longer had to pretend to be communist and win over the people, but had full control of their businesses under this regime of private ownership.

Glasnost, the "openness" of the media, was supposed to expose corruption. In reality, it meant that Western news outlets could flood the Soviet information sphere. Journalists could make more money promoting a Western narrative, becoming puppets of the CIA through Operation Mockingbird. The masses were deceived by a flood of anti-Soviet lies coming from supposed "Soviet" sources. Historical nihilism was used to denigrate Stalin, Lenin and the entire USSR.

After the XX Congress, in an ultra-narrow circle of our closest friends and associates, we often discussed the problems of democratization of the country and society. We chose a simple - like a sledgehammer - method of propagating the "ideas" of late Lenin. A group of true, not imaginary reformers developed (of course, orally) the following plan: to strike with the authority of Lenin at Stalin, at Stalinism. And then, if successful, - to strike with Plekhanov and Social Democracy - at Lenin, and then – with liberalism and "moral socialism" - at revolutionarism in general... The Soviet totalitarian regime could be destroyed only through glasnost and totalitarian party discipline, while hiding behind the interests of improving socialism. ... Looking back, I can proudly say that a clever, but very simple tactic - the mechanisms of totalitarianism against the system of totalitarianism – has worked.

- Alexander Yakovlev, senior advisor to Gorbachev

The new private owners made profitable deals with Western globalist banks, selling out the Soviet economy.

Under the regime of private property, mass bread lines, unemployment and prostitution were seen for the first time in the Soviet Union. It would only get worse after the collapse of the USSR.