this post was submitted on 19 Jun 2025
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El Chisme
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I honestly think you'd be hard-pressed to find more nuanced analysis of the failures of the Soviet Union than in tankie communities like Hexbear because, you know, people actually do their reading here.
You can simultaneously understand the shortcomings of a socialist project (poor education in socialism/anti-imperialism and poorly directed nationalism, less than ideal development equality in different regions, excessive repression of religion, macroeconomic stagnation after the 70s...) and praise it as one of, if not the most successful, emancipatory, anti-imperialist and morally consistent socialist projects in history.
If the criticism feels short, you should feel free to open up some criticism in some socialist-topic community. The best way to do so, in my opinion, is to be open-minded and to open criticism towards one specific topic at a time. This encourages reading, discussion of that topic, and it's a valuable learning tool for me at least.
Thanks for your answer, I appreciate it. I also focus on my history. I'm a Spaniard.
The history of my country basically starts with Roman imperialism, it goes on with feudalism, it pioneers colonialism in the Americas and the murder of hundreds of millions, it slowly wanes, and when there's hope for a proper socialist/anarchist government in the country, the fascists destroyed all hope of that in a coup and civil war, and after 40 years of fascism, now it's back to capitalism and western Imperialism.
Believe me, I would love to be able to say I have studied deeply the century of socialism in my country, but sadly, I can't. I focus on Cuba, I focus on the Soviet Union, because those are examples for me to learn from, to criticise and to discuss. Hell, during the fascist coup in Spain and the ensuing civil war, which country was the only one providing support to the antifascists in Spain? It was the Soviet Union, and its citizens have my eternal gratitude for that and for ultimately defeating Nazism in Europe.
The Soviet Union wasn't exclusively an inwards country, it was the beacon of socialism and anti-imperialism in the previous century. It's impossible for me to analyse socialism and anti-imperialism without considering the role of your country.
Furthermore, I'd be happy to hear discussion and criticism of Fascist Spain, the Spanish Empire, or contemporary capitalist Spain. Why do you feel negative towards analysis, praise and criticism of your country? I'm being honest BTW, not trying to be belligerent or telling you how to feel, it's an honest question.