Which of the following statement is/are incorrect about the Soviet System?

(A) People had the freedom of speech in the Soviet Union

(B) The Communist Party had complete control over all the institutions

(C) Land and productive assets were in the hands of the private owners

(D) The Soviet system became autocratic and authoritarian

(E) There was no unemployment

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

(A) and (C) Only

The correct answer is option (3) - (A) and (C) Only

Correct statement A- The lack of democracy and the absence of freedom of speech stifled people who often expressed their dissent in jokes and cartoons.

Correct statement C- Land and productive assets were owned and controlled by the Soviet state.

The Soviet Union became a great power after the Second World War. The Soviet economy was then more developed than the rest of the world except for the US. It had a complex communications network, vast energy resources including oil, iron and steel, machinery production, and a transport sector that connected its remotest areas with efficiency. It had a domestic consumer industry that produced everything from pins to cars, though their quality did not match that of the Western capitalist countries. The Soviet state ensured a minimum standard of living for all citizens, and the government subsidised basic necessities including health, education, childcare and other welfare schemes. There was no unemployment. State ownership was the dominant form of ownership: land and productive assets were owned and controlled by the Soviet state.

The USSR came into being after the socialist revolution in Russia in 1917.  The revolution inspired the ideals of socialism as opposed to capitalism, and the need for an egalitarian society. This was perhaps the biggest attempt in human history to abolish the institution of private property and consciously design a society based on principles of equality. The Soviet political system centre around the communist party and no other political party or opposition was allowed. The Soviet system, however, became very bureaucratic and authoritarian, making life very difficult for its citizens. The lack of democracy and the absence of freedom of speech stifled people who often expressed their dissent in jokes and cartoons. Most of the institutions of the Soviet state needed reform: the one-party system represented by the communist party of the Soviet Union had tight control over all institutions and was unaccountable to the people. The party refused to recognize the urge of people in the fifteen different republics that formed the Soviet Union to manage their own affairs including their cultural affairs. Although, on Paper, Russia was only one of the fifteen republics that together constituted the USSR.