Edexcel A Level History Paper 1 option: Russia, 1917-91: from Lenin to Yeltsin November 2021 question paper 9HI0/1E

How accurate is it to say that the Bolsheviks’ poor handling of the economy was the main reason for the difficulties faced by the Soviet regime in the years 1917–28?

How far do you agree that the successes of Soviet industrial policy outweighed the failures in the years 1953–85?

How accurate is it to say that the personality cult of Stalin was markedly different from the personality cults of Khrushchev and Brezhnev?

How significant was Soviet educational policy for the population of the USSR in the years 1917–85?

Study Extracts 1 and 2 in the Extracts Booklet before you answer this question.

In the light of differing interpretations, how convincing do you find the view that the USSR collapsed in 1991 because Soviet economic reform ‘faced formidable obstacles’ (Extract 1, lines 1–2)?

To explain your answer, analyse and evaluate the material in both extracts, using your own knowledge of the issues.