9781422278895

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sickle. However, communism in practicewasquitedifferent fromthe ideal society thatMarx andEngels had imagined. In Lenin’s system, the state controlledall propertyand determined all prices and wages. Two years later, dictator Joseph Stalin came into power. Though he transformed theUSSR into aworld superpower, he did so through a reign of terror that included send- ing millions of people to forced labor camps. His actions led to the deaths of tens of millions of his own people. As World War II was breaking out in 1939, WinstonChurchill, the primeminister of England, said, “I cannot forecast to you the actionof

Under Josef Stalin, the Soviet Union became a world power, at the cost of millions of its citizens’ lives.

Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” He didn’t know what role Russia would play during the war. In fact, World War II started with Hitler, the leader of Germany, and Stalin signing a nonag- gression pact. Neither country really trusted the other, but they knew they wouldn’t be able to win a war against each other and the rest of the world. However, Germany broke that agreement and invaded Russia in 1941. After that, the USSR joined the Allied powers. After the war ended, though, tensions between the United States and the USSR grew, escalating into the Cold War, which lasted from 1948 through 1991. As the USSR promoted communism throughout the world,

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