Key People
Which Soviet leader introduced perestroika, glasnost and New Thinking?
Mikhail Gorbachev
Ask the question: This policy promoted greater openness and freedom of information in the USSR.
What is glasnost?
Ask the question: This event in 1989 signalled a huge shift in public attitude and symbolised breaking of barriers.
Why was the Berlin Wall significant?
Bonus points to identify 3 countries
To separate Eastern and Western Blocs.
Put these events into chronological order:Belavezha Accords, August Coup, Berlin Wall opens, Chernobyl
Chernobyl disaster, 1986 → Berlin Wall opens, 1989 → August Coup, August 1991 → Belavezha Accords, December 1991
Which American president announced the SDI in 1983?
Bonus points: What does it stand for and what did it target?
Ronald Reagan.
What was demokratizatsiya?
Gorbachev's policy of democratisation which introduced greater political participation, accountability and competition.
What Polish trade union became a major political challenge to communist rule?
Solidarity
Identify the conflict fought by Soviet Union between 1979 and 1989.
Soviet War in Afghanistan
Explain the connection between New Thinking and the opening of the Berlin Wall.
Gorbachev’s rejection of force and interference meant that the East German government could no longer assume Soviet military protection. This gave citizens greater opportunity to challenge communist control.
This American president imposed restrictions and supported and Olympic boycott following Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Jimmy Carter
Ask the question: Gorbachev introduced these reforms largely to address this major national problem.
What was glasnost and peristroika?
Name the three Baltic republics in which independence movements challenged Soviet authority
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
Acceptable answers include economic sanctions, restrictions on grain and technology exports, reduced diplomatic exchanges and support for the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.
What was the shift from a command economy to a market economy?
After the USSR collapsed, former Soviet republics underwent this economic transition involving privatisation and reduced state control.
This leader led opposition to the August Coup and became an alternative centre of authority.
Boris Yeltsin
What was Article 6 and why was its removal in 1990 important?
Guaranteed the Communist Party's leading position. Removal ended the CPSU constitutional monopoly and legally permitted greater political competition.
What happened during the August Coup?
Bonus Points: Which groups were used to sway the public?
What two developments associated with Ronald Reagan intensified strategic pressure on the Soviet Union during the 1980s?
Reagan’s renewed arms build-up and the Strategic Defense Initiative. Also accept his more confrontational anti-Soviet rhetoric, including the “evil empire” speech.
What was the significance of "Star Wars" and what is it referring to?
nickname for SDI, in particular for nuclear arms race. Significant in escalating tensions despite Gorbachev calling for peace and willing reduction.
Identify/match each person to their main development:
Leonid Brezhnev - Mikhail Gorbachev - Ronald Reagan - Boris Yeltsin - Vladimir Putin
Brezhnev - stagnation and invasion of Afghanistan. Mikhail Gorbachev - perestroika and glasnost. Ronald Reagan - announced SDI. Boris Yeltsin - resisted August Coup, stood on a tank and became President of Russia - Vladimir Putin - Youngest President, collapsed the USSR - still maintaining power.
Freedom of political choice; non interference of USSR states, rejection of force. Practical - reduction/withdrawal of troops and military equipment.
Which three republics signed the Belavezha Accords and what did the agreement declare?
What was the importance of Gorbachev's resignation and the lowering of the Soviet flag over the Kremlin? Bonus points: Provide the date.
On December 25, 1991, this event marked the symbolic end of the Soviet Union.
To what extent did Gorbachev’s reforms cause the collapse of Soviet control? Include at least three developments in your judgement.
Highly significant. glasnost, new thinking, perestroika, removal of Article 6, Berlin Wall, Yeltsin & August Coup