this post was submitted on 28 Sep 2026
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I've read a good number of books on soviet history, I am a communist and a core part of that is understanding what went right and what went wrong in existing socialist societies. The Soviet Union was the world's first socialist state, so there's an enormous wealth of information to be learned from it. I stand by the simple assertion that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was an immense tragedy for the working classes around the world.
The problem is that you've identified any book that says anything bad about the USSR as "western propaganda" and any book that literally lies about the USSR as the one and only truth.
The Soviet Union was the world's first socialist state. And then Lenin came along, and put an end to that. And that's what gave us Stalin.
It's incredibly easy to project a complete reductionist take onto me, then make a vague and catchy statement without backing it. No, not all books that say "bad things" about the USSR are "western propaganda." Many of the books I link, such as Socialism in Power: On the History and Theory of Socialist Governance are actually quite critical of Soviet democracy, while still providing an actually useful critique based on concrete reality. As for the vague statement hurling, how did Lenin end socialism, when Lenin and the Bolsheviks created the first socialist state, where workers controlled the government and social ownership was the principal aspect of the economy?
Again, this is all utterly baseless and devoid of any meaningful substance by which to even respond.