Note: I wrote this essay in class, then made changes to it to make it better.

When the Provisional Government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in 1917, a Communist system of government began to establish itself. This new form of government was meant to make life better for the citizens of Russia (known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from 1922-92.) Unfortunately, it did not, for a while. While I dislike both the tsarist system and communism, I believe that communism eventually changed the U.S.S.R. for the better. To support my opinion, a comparison between the tsarist system and communism will be made, the qualities of communism will be stressed, and the U.S.S.R.’s technological prosperity, such as industrial development, will also be stressed. Without communism, what would the citizens of the U.S.S.R. do?

Had Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks not overthrown the tsarist system and the Provisional Government of Russia, the citizens would be stricken with anger and helplessness. Tsar Nicholas II was not able to run the country, nor did he want to run the country. He made promises that he could but did not keep. For example, after the tragic incident of Blood Sunday, Nicholas II attempted to regain the confidence of his people by promising freedom of speech, movement, religion and language. He also promised an established democracy with "dumas," which were democratic national law-making bodies. The dumas were set up, but had little or no power. By contrast, when Lenin and the Bolsheviks took over, Lenin proposed to remove Russia from World War I. There were many losses during the war, and the peasants blamed the tsar. By March 1918, Lenin had signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, ending Russia’s part in World War I. That is just one example of how communism is better than the tsarist system: the leaders of Communist parties can keep promises.

Another quality of the Communist government is the great industrial development. When Joseph Stalin came to power in 1927, he created a series of five ear plans that would later immensely increase industrial development. Ideas of the Five Year Plans included the introduction of new industries, such as energy and military weapons. New cities and factories were built, the factories with much industrial machinery. The Five Year Plans also created an ample production of steel, coal, copper, and other resources. The outcome was that the Soviet Union worked it’s way up to the second largest industrial power in the world, trailing behind the United States by only a little. In the span of 27 ears, Stalin’s plans brought the Soviet Union’s industrial production percentage from 2.7% to 16%. So, despite Stalin’s brutality to his citizens, he did quite a lot to improve the Soviet Union’s name.

When the next leader of the Soviet Union, Nikita Krushchev, came along in 1953, he introduced the country to the space age. Under his rule, the Soviet Union was able to launch a satellite, the Sputnik I. The Sputnik I was the first artificial satellite to circle the earth. This accomplishment of Krushchev’s rule was, in my opinion, the most significant achievement of all in the Soviet Union. Krushchev also managed many other space accomplishments during his ruling period. These included satellites sent to circle the sun, the first man to circle the earth, the first woman to be sent into space, and in 1966, the Soviet Union landed a ship on the moon, making them the first country to do so. Many people used Krushchev’s space ideas to argue for communism. After all, Krushchev’s Space Age helped the common good by providing more jobs, starting awareness of other countries, and bringing the U.S.S.R. further ahead in technology.

This new Space Age was continued with Leonid Brezhnev. Though the United States was the first country to land on the moon, Brezhnev’s feelings against them were not hard. Using the policy of "détente," which aimed to make relations with the U.S.A. better, Brezhnev became a friend of the United States’ President Carter. As "friends," the Soviet Union and United States worked together on space technology. I believe that this may have enhanced the image of communism in a way that made it seem friendlier than it had in the past.

I believe that the Centrally Planned Economy of communism was good for the Soviet Union citizens. This is because the citizens had very few wants. This signifies to me that the citizens were not very strong. I think that if they had not been freed from the tsarist rule, the would not have been strong enough to free themselves. And, were it not for the Centrally Planned Economy, I do not believe the citizens of the Soviet Union would have been able to run the economy well enough to keep it going. Bonuses for workers give the workers reason to work. In the "old days," the only real incentive people had to work was that they would be killed or exiled. I also believe that under a democracy, the citizens would dot have the slightest idea who to vote for. Communism gives them direction and guidance.

Although I do not totally agree with communism, I believe that the citizens of the Soviet Union would have been lost without it. Communism guides the people under it. During Brezhnev and Krushchev’s rule, they increased the Soviet Union’s popularity, providing the world with great technological production that would later be used to build off of with innovations. Under communism, industrial production has greatly increased, creating jobs for the people. Under communism, the Soviet Union was able to prosper. (Instead of peasants having to slave away on little farms, like during the tsarist rule!)