What exactly are we talking about here and which measurements do we use? GDP? PPP? Per Capita Income? Industrial Output? It's hard to compare the Soviet economy to the US economy because the structures were so different, and the goals and metrics of success are very different.

For example, one of the most important economic indicators in the US is Consumer Spending. Another is non-farm Payrolls. These would be meaningless in the USSR, where Agricultural output would be mostly ignored in the US.

You are right, that there was massive growth in GDP throughout the late 1920, 1930s, and up to the start of WW2. WW2 was, of course, completely ruinous to the Soviet Economy. There was also very strong growth for the 20-25 years after WW2, and a lot of that growth was rebuilding infrastructure.

During Brezhnev's tenure, the Soviet economy entered a period of Stagnation that lasted roughly from 1970 to 1986. This was marked by low economic growth. One possible explanation is the focus on defense and planned manufacturing, and not consumer goods. There was a constant state of supply deficit in the 1970s and 1980s: (Спиридонова Н. В. Теоретический анализ экономических систем; http://www.kp.ru/daily/26264.5/3142485/) Everyone remembers the footage of long lines and the hysteria over jeans and other Western goods.

The War in Afghanistan was also very costly. Beyond that, we're leaving history and entering the wonderful world of economics. There are plenty or papers on the inadequacies of a centrally planned economy, one of the biggest being that goods and services are not distributed according to supply and demand, which creates inefficiencies and stifles growth. A planned economy is great when you want lots of the same thing, like one kind of car, or a whole lot of grain harvesters. It's also great when you want to throw resources at something really expensive, like a space program. It doesn't work as well in a global economy where you are forced to compete.

I’ll stop rambling now so you can ask a more specific question.

Did Soviet Union citizens enjoy all benefits protrayed in a communist utopia like free health care.