After the revolution and death of the Russian Czar in 1917, Vladimir Lenin overthrew the short-lived democratic government that followed the end of Nicholas II, replacing it with a Bolshevik communist regime. (Background essay) His teachings were inspired by Karl Marx who was a German philosopher that believed society goes through certain stages: Capitalism, socialism, and finally communism. Lenin would then go on to establish the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922 which slowly led to the rise of the USSR as one of the superpowers of the world. In today’s society, many mysteries about the Soviet Union lurk among the world and textbooks should emphasize three certain things to bring light to the subject of the Soviet Union. Textbooks should emphasize their cultural achievements, economy, and their leadership. To begin with, textbooks should emphasize the cultural achievements of the Soviet Union in order to display …show more content…
After the passing of Lenin, Joseph Stalin took over and took control of the Soviets with an iron fist. He stopped any opposition to his rule and took part in mass arrests, imprisonment, forced labor, showing trials, and executions. (Doc. C) During 1937 and 1938, the secret police of Stalin (the NKVD) detained 1,548,366 victims of whom 681,692 were shot. (Doc. C) Another repressive method leaders used was the fake voting system in place which was just an illusion to satisfy the people. Leaders such as Leonid Brezhnev in 1979, made the voting extremely unfair, Brezhnev had 99.99% of the votes while other parties only had 0.01% (Doc D.) An emphasis textbooks should have is the type of leaders that helped shape the legacy of the Soviet Union. From the great terror to political repression, the Soviet Union had a different kind of relationship between the people and the leaders. They wanted absolute power and wanted everything to go their