Matthias Wasser
Wasn't it growing faster than the US until the late 60s/early 70s? (Not a fair comparison, since the West was more developed, but...)
^^^^^^^ CB: And it grew faster than the capitalist West had when it first grew. And after the Nazis-destruction, they had to "start over" , almost. The Nazis didn't just kill people. They destroyed the economy.
So , the Soviet socialist republic , Stalinism even, was a very powerful development model. Just think if they hadn't had to fight off and defend against the biggest war attacks and war threats in the history of humanity.