Whatever its faults, it was a counter-balance to United States of America and Western imperialism.

The greatest tragedy of the latter half of the 20th Century was the break-up of the Soviet Union.


Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known by his alias Lenin, led the 1917 October Revolution, founding what became the Soviet Union. Without any blue print, a new socialist society was formed.  The aim would be for all the means of production would be commonly owned – communism.


Stalin’s name meant “man of steel”.  Following Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin led the USSR through a series of five year plans.  These developed the Soviet economy, turning the nation into a successful modern industrialised country. The USSR was subsequently able to help bring about victory against Nazi Germany and end the Second World War.