In our introductory lecture, Michael Malice begins our journey into the Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union by describing the tumultuous history of anarchism and communism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on key figures such as Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and Vladimir Lenin. The lecture traces the rise of revolutionary fervor, the suppression of dissent, and the ultimate disillusionment experienced by Goldman and Berkman upon witnessing the realities of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

In lecture two, we study the rise of Joseph Stalin and the devastating consequences of his rule in the Soviet Union, focusing on the mass starvation in Ukraine known as the Holodomor and the Great Terror that followed. The lecture examines the role of Western journalists, particularly Walter Duranty of the New York Times, in downplaying the severity of the famine and the efforts of journalists like Gareth Jones and Malcolm Muggeridge to expose the truth. It concludes by discussing the impact of Stalin's paranoia and the Soviet system's flaws on various aspects of society, from industry and the arts to the very nature of reality itself.

In lecture three, Michael Malice walks us through the Soviet Union's Great Purge under Joseph Stalin, detailing the widespread arrests, torture, and executions of individuals across various sectors of society, including the secret police, military, government, and intelligentsia. The lecture highlights the paranoia, fear, and societal breakdown that characterized this period, as well as the complicity of Western intellectuals in justifying and supporting Stalin's actions.