Stalin's First Five-Year Plan (1928-1932) forced rapid Soviet industrialization through collectivization and state control, boosting heavy industry amid famine and purges. Vs. Global Crisis: The Great Depression (1929) devastated capitalist economies, fueling unemployment and extremism. Road to WW2: Economic chaos enabled Hitler's rise in Germany; Stalin's fortified USSR clashed with Axis powers, escalating into global war. #ussr #Stalin #ww2 #EpicHistory | Epic History TV

After the Soviet Union collapsed, Nixon warned that if Russia’s early democratic and economic reforms failed, the country could revert to a nationalist despotism that would threaten global stability. In letters and articles from 1992–1994, he predicted rising aggression, worsening Moscow–Kyiv relations, and the emergence of a hardline leader if freedom did not take root. Credit: @nixonfoundation | History In Pictures