Reddit reviews The Road to Terror: Stalin and the Self-Destruction of the Bolsheviks, 1932-1939 (Annals of Communism Series)

> First, what are your major critiques of the USSR?

My major criticisms would be the Party's inability to stop opportunists to use something like the purges for selfish gain, this is what led to the Great Purges^([1]) (I'm sorry I couldn't find a free version of this publication). My second largest problem would be the revisionism, probably caused by the aforementioned corruption, that took power after Stalin's death.

> And second, in your opinion, what are the biggest misconceptions about the USSR?

There are three I can think of right now.

1. The Soviet Union was undemocratic and totalitarian. The links and statements I made above quoting Robert Thurston's work"Reassessing the History of Soviet Workers^([2])" would be the response to that.
   
2. That Stalin ruled through terror. Works like "The Road to Terror^([1]) " (again, sorry) and "Life and Terror in Stalin's Russia^([2])" show how the purges were a result of corruption outside of Stalin's decision making.
   
3. That the Soviet Union was "State-capitalist". Again, the arguments above quoting Thurston would be my response to that statement.

I've read parts of this and several people here have recommended Getty's books.