Socialist and Capitalist States.

Map   Questions.

1. Examine the political map and show the European states bor­dering on the Soviet Union.
2. Compare the political map with the ethnographical map of
   Europe. In what countries of Europe do the Slavonic peoples live?

There are 26 large and small states in Europe (the smallest exclud­ed). They are divided into two large groups of states—socialist and capitalist.
The Soviet Union. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is the first socialist state in the world. The power of the capitalists and landlords has been overthrown in the Soviet Union and in its stead the power of the proletariat with the working class at its head has been established.
All the land and its mineral wealth, the mills and factories, banks and commercial enterprises, railways and other means of com­munication are state property—the property of the people. State farms (sovkhozes) have been established, cultivating vast areas of land. The peasants are united into big collective farms (kolkhozes), which receive their lands from the State for use in perpetuity. Socia­lism has won a great victory in the Soviet Union, and now the country has entered a new phase of its history, the phase of large-scale build­ing of a communist society.
The U.S.S.R. has set up a powerful industry. In accordance with its economic plan, it has constructed and continues to construct up-to-date factories, plants and large power-dams. The Soviet Union ranks second in industrial output among the countries of the world and is rapidly gaining on the United States of America, the most powerful among the capitalist states. More and more of the na­tural resources of the Soviet Union are being exploited each year. Much attention is given to the preservation and transformation of nature: state reserves for the protection of wild animals are being established, forests planted, marshes drained, vast areas of virgin land cultivated, enormous water reservoirs and canals for the irriga­tion of fields built. All this is being done with a view to improving the life of the Soviet people, increasing the output of food-stuffs and goods and bettering conditions for cultural growth. The peoples of the Soviet Union are engaged in peaceful construction work and are struggling for peace throughout the world.
The Soviet Union occupies the entire eastern half of Europe. Of a population of over 230,000,000 people in 1965, over two-thirds are concentrated in the European part of the country.
M o s c o w, the capital of the Soviet Union, has a population of over 6,000,000 people. It is the seat of the Soviet Government and of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The historic centre of Moscow is the Kremlin.
Moscow is also the most prominent industrial centre of the Soviet Union. In and around Moscow are many factories and plants producing complicated machines, automobiles, various fabrics, clothing, foot-wear and food-stuffs. Moscow is the home of the Aca­demy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. and of the State University named after M. V. Lomonosov, the country's largest university. There are many other schools of higher learning, theatres, museums, libraries and public schools in the city.
Other Socialist States, After World War II (1939—1945), a num­ber of Balkan and Central European states broke away from the capitalist camp. People's Democracies (from the ancient Greek word «democratia» = people's rule) were established in them. In these countries the power belongs to the people headed by the working class.
All large plants, factories and banks were declared state proper­ty—the property of the people. In the name of the power of the people the estates of the landlords were given over to the peasants, who united into agricultural co-operative societies, similar to the kolkho­zes of the Soviet Union.
In the People's Democracies there is a planned development of the national economy. Many new plants, factories, power-stations, water reservoirs and canals are being constructed. More and more goods are being produced to satisfy the wants of the people. The People's Democracies, under the guidance of their Communist Par­ties and in close collaboration with each other, are firmly following the path of Socialist development. In this they rely on the help of the Soviet Union.
All these countries are republics. The supreme power in each be­longs to an assembly of deputies, freely elected by the entire popula­tion by ballot. In these republics all citizens have equal rights, ir­respective of nationality.
The Polish People's Republic is the largest among the Socialist countries of Europe, both in territory and population. The German Democratic Republic and the Socialist Republic of Czechoslovakia are the most developed economically. Like the U.S.S.R., they con­tribute to the economic development of other Socialist countries. Moreover, they render help to many developing countries who stand in need of machinery and equipment. The Hungarian People's Repub­lic, the Rumanian People's Republic, the People's Republics of Bulga­ria and Albania as well as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ;ire successfully developing their national economies too. Together with the U.S.S.R. the peoples of these countries strive for one great objective—the building of a socialist and then a communist society, the best and most just society on earth. Their unbreakable friendship rests on the mutual struggle for the cause of Socialism, for the cause of peace.
The Capitalist Countries. The capitalist countries occupy a little over one-third of the territory of Europe. The power in these countries rests in the hands of a small group of capitalists and land­lords, powerful men of property. The banks, mines, mills and facto­ries belong to these parasites, who grow fat on the exploitation

Fig. 4.5. The world: Distribution of population.

of the working masses (exploitation—the selfish usage and appropri­ation of another man's labour).
The greater part of the land belongs to rich farmers and landlords. The rich in the cities and towns live in luxurious houses in wide, clean and green streets, while the poor are cooped up in small dirty shanties in the outskirts. The working people are waging a desperate struggle against their exploiters.
In the past, some of the capitalist countries of Europe, Great Bri­tain and France in particular, took possession of a number of backward countries in other parts of the world and turned them into their colonies.
A colony is a country which has been seized by some foreign state and whose population is oppressed and deprived of all rights. The exploitation of the resources and the population of the colonies brings the capitalists enormous profits. The peoples of the colonies are waging a stubborn struggle for their freedom. Most of them have thrown off the yoke of colonialism and won their independence (Fig. 45). The socialist countries support the struggle against colonial slavery. During the post-war years about fifty newly independent countries have appeared in Asia, Africa and America— the so-called young national states. The breakdown of colonialism is inevitable.
Questions and Assignments.

• Trace the border lines of the U.S.S.R. and of its neighbouring
  countries on the outline map of Europe. Mark the position of Moscow,
  Ihe capital of the U.S.S.R.
• Consider the principal differences between the socialist and
  capitalist countries.