The BBC has been blasted for presenting a "dishonest" view of communism in a video aimed at educating children. The broadcaster's BBC Bitesize video, intended to inform viewers of the history and ideological underpinnings of communism, is said to gloss over the mass murder committed by the Soviet Union.

The clip, designed for 11 to 14-year-olds, sketches the central tenets of Marxism and the start of the Soviet era in Russia. However, it makes no mention of Joseph Stalin or the tens of millions killed in the communist regimes around the world. The narrator in the BBC video concedes that anti-communist voices believe the ideology places “too many limits on individual freedom” and may be “too centralised”.

However, after that, no other criticism of communism is presented. The famines and mass killings in Soviet Russia, Mao Zedong’s murderous regime in China, and Pol Pot’s killing fields in Cambodia are not mentioned.

In the corresponding video on capitalism, the BBC narrator outlines several common criticisms of the economic system. One of the arguments set out against free markets is the concentration of power in a minority “capitalist class”.

Viewers are told that critics of capitalism argue that it generates “profits from the exploitation of workers” and seeks profit “over what’s best for society, sustainability, and the environment”.

Fascism is also looked at in a Bitesize video. Pupils are told that the political system involves “eroding democratic institutions” and an “authoritarian regime in which many aspects of life are tightly controlled”.

It adds that fascist states are “usually ruled by one party” and the state “violence and oppression are used to crack down on opposition”. Despite all of those characteristics applying to communist countries, the BBC makes no mention of it.

Prof Robert Tombs, a Cambridge historian, told The Telegraph: “To teach the history of communism as if it was just another political theory with a few minor downsides, rather than the basis of many of the most inhuman forms of totalitarianism in history, is utterly dishonest and makes it impossible for children to understand the modern world.”

A BBC spokesman said: “This is a Bitesize for Teachers resource and clearly labelled for use by teachers, not for direct use by students. It is designed to be used alongside other resources and therefore is not a comprehensive summary of the curriculum area. There are other resources for teachers which cover the oppression and murder by communist regimes.”