The Soviet Union as a «Totalitarian» State: Assessments and Conclusions

In this article, the authors explore the essence of totalitarianism applied to the Soviet Union, give the generally accepted concepts of totalitarianism and point out that the restriction of individual rights is the basis of the totalitarian regime. Further, the authors come to the conclusion that, according to its formal features, the USSR has the features of totalitarianism, but it cannot be said that the legal status and actual well‐being of a Soviet citizen was the same throughout the entire period of the existence of the USSR. The authors come to the conclusion that rethinking the experience of the USSR history will allow building a balanced system of governance of the modern state.