and its Impact · Part 6

gave all out support to them. Debates over key issues, land reforms, social welfare, workers’ rights, gender equality started taking place in a global context. The rapid progress made by the Soviet Union in the decades after the revolution inspired backward countries across the world, and provided an alternative to capitalism. Illiteracy and poverty were eliminated in record time. Industry and agriculture developed remarkably, and the Great Depression which affected the entire world made no impact on the USSR. Women were given equal rights. Industries and banks were nationalised. Land was declared as social property and distributed among poor peasants. Imperialism and its Onslaught