The Crisis of Communism: The USSR & the Soviet Empire

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying unrest in Poland in 1980/81.

To what extent did Khrushchev achieve peaceful co-existence with the West in the years 1958 to 1962?

‘In the years 1953 to 1968, Communist regimes controlled the Church effectively in all satellite states.’

Assess the validity of this view.

To what extent did Andropov and Chernenko reform the USSR in the years 1982 to 1985?

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying Soviet foreign and international policy in the years 1973 to 1983.

‘The GDR (East Germany) was politically and economically weak in the years 1953 to 1963.’

Assess the validity of this view.

How significant was the influence of Solidarity in the collapse of Communism in the satellite states in 1989?

To what extent did Russia and its people benefit from Yeltsin’s presidency, in the years 1991 to 1999?

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the USSR’s involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis.

‘Western influence was the most significant challenge to Soviet control of the satellite states in the years 1968 to 1980.’

Assess the validity of this view.

‘Opposition to the Communist regime in Hungary, in the years 1980 to 1989, was mainly the result of economic difficulties.’

Assess the validity of this view.

To what extent was Gorbachev’s attempt at political reform the main reason for his downfall in 1991?

With reference to these sources and your understanding of the historical context, assess the value of these three sources to an historian studying the political leadership of the satellite states in c1971.

To what extent did the risings of 1953–56 threaten the stability of the East German, Polish and Hungarian Soviet satellite states?

How effectively did Khrushchev ‘de-Stalinise’ the USSR in the years 1956 to 1964?

‘The collapse of the USSR in 1991 was due to Gorbachev’s failure to carry through a successful programme of reforms within the Soviet Union.’

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 life in the Soviet satellite states in the years 1956 to 1961.

‘There was no improvement in the lives of ordinary people in the USSR under Brezhnev.’

Assess the validity of this view.

How successful was Gorbachev as leader of the USSR in the years 1985 to 1988?

‘The problems in Romania and Bulgaria in the years 1980 to 1989 were mainly caused by a lack of political reform.’

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 economy of the GDR in the years 1970 to 1980.

To what extent did Khrushchev bring about social and cultural change within the Soviet Union in the years 1956 to 1964?

To what extent was Yeltsin’s resignation due to his economic policies?

‘‘Shock therapy’ was more effective than the ‘gradualist’ approach in restoring capitalism in the former Soviet satellite states in the years 1989 to 1997.’

Assess the validity of this view.