Russia & the Soviet Union

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the leadership struggle in the years 1924 to 1929.

To what extent had Bolshevik authority been established in Russia by the end of 1917?

‘In the 1930s, Stalin’s Five Year Plans were a failure.’

Assess the validity of this view.

‘Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War was entirely due to Stalin’s wartime leadership.’

Assess the validity of this view.

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the impact of the Great Patriotic War on the Soviet people.

How significant was Lenin’s leadership in bringing about the October/November 1917 revolution in Russia?

‘In the years 1918 to 1924 Communist Russia was completely isolated in Europe.’

Assess the validity of this view.

How extensively did Stalinism change Soviet society and culture in the 1930s?

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the problems of having a Dual Authority in Russia in the months March to May 1917.

To what extent was Stalin’s success in the power struggle after Lenin’s death due to Trotsky’s errors of judgement?

‘The quality of life for both workers and peasants suffered as a result of Stalin’s economic policies in the 1930s.’

Assess the validity of this view.

‘When Stalin died in 1953, the Soviet Union was in a very strong international position.’

Assess the validity of this view.

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the impact of Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP).

‘From the revolution of October/November 1917 to the new constitution of July 1918, Lenin’s only aim was to establish a one-party state.’

Assess the validity of this view.

To what extent were the purges and terror of 1937–38 due to Stalin’s determination to eliminate potential political rivals?

How successful were attempts to rebuild the Soviet economy in the years 1945 to 1953?

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the Stakhanovite movement in the USSR.

‘The two revolutions of February/March 1917 and October/November 1917 were the result of Russia’s involvement in the First World War.’

Assess the validity of this view.

‘Stalin’s foreign policies were inconsistent and contradictory in the years 1924 to 1934.’

Assess the validity of this view.

How far was Stalin personally responsible for the mass terror and purges of the Yezhovshchina in the years 1936 to 1938?

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying life in the USSR in the immediate post-war years.

How significant were the actions of the army in the revolution of February/March 1917?

‘Ideology was of little importance to Stalin in his determination to win the power struggle in the years 1924 to 1929.’

Assess the validity of this view.

‘Stalin’s foreign policy, in the years 1929 to 1939, was driven solely by the need to protect Soviet borders.’

Assess the validity of this view.

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying state terror in the USSR in the 1930s.

‘Trotsky’s contribution to the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917 was greater than that of Lenin.’

Assess the validity of this view.

How important were unity and organisation to the Red victory in the Civil War in the years 1918 to 1921?

To what extent was the destruction of the kulaks the most important outcome of Stalin’s campaign of forced collectivisation?

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the Kronstadt Rising of 1921.

To what extent was the First Five-Year Plan more successful than the New Economic Policy in improving Soviet industrial performance?

‘The USSR experienced a social revolution during Stalin’s regime in the 1930s.’

Assess the validity of this view.

How far was Stalin’s creation of a Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe after the Second World War the result of his obsession with ensuring international security for the USSR?