The Soviet Union Before the Crisis

This lesson introduces the Soviet Union before the terminal crisis of the 1980s. It explains the political, economic, social, and imperial foundations that made the USSR appear durable, while also creating pressures that would later become difficult to manage.

Rather than beginning with Gorbachev or the dramatic events of 1991, the lesson looks at the system he inherited: one-party rule, central planning, a vast security state, a multinational federation, superpower commitments, and a society shaped by both real achievements and deep constraints.