This subunit on totalitarianism in the USSR is part of an eleventh grade course on area studies. Following an introduction with suggested teaching strategies, the objectives for the subunit are listed as to generalizations, skills, and attitudes. A double-page format relates objectives with pertinent content, teaching procedures, and instructional materials. The political, economic, and social systems which are studied in this subunit are designed to help pupils understand the relationships among them and the extent to which the government influences all aspects of life. The materials promote an understanding that the system is not static and that to label countries totalitarian or democratic really involves the use of ideal types. Students decide where they would place the USSR and the United States in terms of a continuum from democracy to totalitarianism. A teacher's guide to the entire course is SO 006 320. A teacher's supplement to the USSR unit is SO 006 324; other subunits on the USSR are SO 006 325; SO 006 326, and SO 006 328. (Author/KSM)