Help me refute these 3 "arguments"?

[Finn]

I'm learning about the Cold War in history and my teacher as you would expect in the UK is massively against the USSR, the first lesson we were receiving anecdotes about how horrible the USSR and Stalin (below is not hyperbole, I am paraphrasing) were, here are some points below that I want peel to contribute to (as I already have a few of my own arguments but it's always good to have more!).

1) Stalin was ineffective in WW2 because he had killed most/all of his leading officers as he believed they were plotting against him, he proceeded to 'purge them' and then crushed their skulls.

2) The state owned everything and if a person refused to contribute to the war effort they would be killed instantly (extra note: is there anything similar to this in the UK? How can the state own everything if the USSR was split up into different Soviet's? My knowledge is light here).

3) The state was repressive and people had no freedom or political freedom (should be easy enough).

4) EXTRA: The a Soviet army was so poorly fed and equipped many soldiers were forced to fight with bare hands.

if you can contribute at all that would be great, providing sources would be even better!

[TheMaroon]

1.)Stalin beat the Allies to Berlin, so that alone should be a testament to his effectiveness as a leader.

2.)Yes, the USSR was a Communist state so of course the state "owned everything" but they also provided top notch healthcare and education to its citizenry. The USSR was like the US, as in it was a federal government, a "Soviet" is a state/province. The USSR owned everything within its border because a.) it was a sovereign nation and b.) In a communism all resources are shared.
2b.) They were either killed or jailed for treason my boy. The USSR was a Communist state and as a citizen you were its back bone, the production of the nation was decided by citizen participation, so without its citizens there would be no way for the USSR to produce the things necessary to fight a war against an enemy who was better equipped, furthermore the nation was at war with a genocidal maniac who would done to the slovs as he had done to the Jews, Gypsies, and Homosexuals.
2c.) The UK is so borderline big-brother state it's hard not to find instances where the UK is MORE oppressive than the USSR.

3.) Talk to anybody from the Party for Communists USA or even your own local Communist party as many of the older folks visited the Soviet Union at its Height and can attest against that claim.

4.) The soviet army was poorly fed and equipped as they were not expecting to have to war. Russia has never been known for rapid mobilization, so when the blitz came their way they had to move fast. By the end of the war they were better off.

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of course mine is overly simplified though, so you should also seek more answers before using mine.

[General Winter]

Stalin was ineffective in WW2 because he had killed most/all of his leading officers

In the Second World War

1) Denmark was able to hold out against Germany for 6 hours;
2) Netherland for 5 days;
3) Yougoslavia for 11 days;
4) Belgium for 18 days;
5) Greece for 24 days;
6) Poland for 27 days;
7) France with British help - for 40 days;

Ask you teachers - were this countries effective and if not,was it because their leading officers were killed by their regimes too?

And feel the difference:

the USSR HELD OUT FOR 4 YEARS AND HAS TOTALLY DEFEATED GERMANY.

The state was repressive and people had no freedom or political freedom

"There were Draconian punisments for British too.On 17 July 1940 a man was sent to prison for a month after saying that Britain has no chance to win the war.A man who adviced two New Sealanders 'You don't want to be killed in this bloody war' got three months.A woman who said 'Hitler was a good ruler;a better than Mr. Churchill' was sentenced to five years of prison" - Len Deighton. 'Blood,Tears, and Folly'.

Remind also your teachers that "democratic" Britain and France were greatest colonial empires. What about democracy in colonies? I think the life of the aboriginal people was not much better than the life of people under the Nazi occupation.

The Soviet army was so poorly fed and equipped many soldiers were forced to fight with bare hands.

Just one example:

Production of tanks and self-propelled guns in the USSR in comparison with Germany in 1941 - 1945

THE USSR:
1941 - 6590
1942 - 24445
1943 - 30100
1944 - 33274
the first half of 1945 - 15450

Germany:
1941 - 3805
1942 - 6189
1943 - 10700
1944 - 18300