Soviet communist membership book

Man's hands are leafing through a Soviet communist party membership card. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the founding and ruling political party of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Membership of the party was not open. To become a party member, one had to be approved by various committees and one's past was closely scrutinized. As generations grew up having known nothing before the USSR, party membership became something one generally achieved after passing a series of stages. The video footage is suitable to illustrate history of communism in the Soviet Union, Russia etc