This is one of the best courses that I have taken on Coursera. I really learned a lot! It is very well presented and the system of writing something every week is a great learning tool. Excellent Professor. Very proficient mentor, too. Thank you very much for the opportunity to learn so much about Stalin and Soviet life.

The course it's good, it covers the entire life of Stalin and his political rise to power. However, it lets some details out. Despite of this lectures are easy to understand and arranged in a logical chronology. I will like some more reading materials to follow with the course. Though there is a recommended book which I read.

Thank you professor Irina for sharing your knowledge with the world in this platform. In the United States there used to be a Spanish speaking radio station in which a program promoting socialism will run the voice of a woman saying "Viva Lenin, viva Stalin"(long live Lenin, Long live Stalin) every time they switch topics. I now have a clearer idea on what Stalin did and think the slogan shouldn't promote Stalin at all.

This course was very interesting. I learnt a lot about Russian history and I was happy to read the book recommended.

Lectures were a bit brief. although the lectures had pertinent info. I learned more doing research for the essays. There were around 10 essays of 300 to 400 words each. I enjoy writing so it was not a big deal. The prof. isn't very animated so sometimes it's a bit hard to concentrate on the lectures.

Really good review of the subject

Very interesting course. Well taught and good materials. Note that coursework relies on weekly mini-essays and a final longer essay.

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Very Good course to supplement study of Soviet history!

A very interesting topic not only for Russians as it is important for everyone to know how dictatorships and totalitarian systems emerge and why its citizens put up with such systems and how they become their willing helpers.

A mixture of peer-assessed essays and multiple choice items would have been better though than an assessment solely based on essays.

Excellent!