Found some 2008 vintage National Geographic "Countries of the World" books being tossed at the Middle School in my district. Let's see what they have to say about Russian history:

From the intro:

For most of the last century, Russia was governed by a non-elected government with policies that cost the lives of many millions of people. They died of starvation or in cruel prison camps. That was the price Russia had to pay to be a superpower equipped with nuclear weapons and home to the largest army in the world. Despite its great achevements in space exploration, the communist system failed to build an efficient economy. In the 1980s Russia finally lost its competetion with the Western world. The Soviet Union was dismantled after the last communist leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, opened the way to reform and democratcy.

From the history section:

"When Lenin died in 1924, Russia's new leader, Joseph Stalin, tried to industrialize Russia, but his methods were brutal. Tens of millions of people starved when Stalin's plans for agriculture failed to produce enough food. Others were executed for opposing him. Millions more were sent to prison camps in Siberia, where many died."

"in the early years of World War II (1939 - 1945), the Soviets invaded the Baltic states. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania became part of the USSR. Stalin had agreed to share territory in eastern Europe with Nazi Germany. However, in 1941 the German leader Adolf Hitler turned on his ally and invaded the Sovet Union. German troops reached Moscow, but were driven back by the Red Army. Losses were huge on both sides. The soviet Union lost 9 million soldiers and 18 million civilians.

A war in Afghanistan in the 1980s put even more pressure on the Soviet economy. The country began to collapse. In 1986 an explosion at a nuclear plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine, released a radioactive cloud so large it could be seen from space. The soviets could no longer hide their problems.

So Long, Soviets

The Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, tried to modernize the country, although he meant it to stay communist. He remained in control of the Sovet Union, but he allowed Russia and the other republics to hold elections. In June 1991, Boris Yeltsin won the first free election since 1917, and became president of Russia.

Russian communists tried to seize power in August 1991. They failed, but their attempted coup weakened Gorbachev, who could no longer hold the Soviet Union together. It broke apart. Russia was once more a sperate country--known as the Russian Federation--and a democracy.

You can find a copy of the book on Anna's Archive using its ISBN: 978-1-4263-0259-6