History 345. Final Test
Write a comprehensive essay in response to Part A and one essay in response to
Part B:
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Part A. In your opinion, was the collapse of the USSR precipitated by the
malfunction of the entire system or by the failures of Gorbachev? Support your
assertions with specific examples and cite page numbers (Dziewanowski and
Kalashnikov).
Part B Analyze the following statements:
1) In the end, Khrushchev’s reforms antagonized his friends and frightened his
enemies. Support your arguments with specific examples and cite page
numbers (Dziewanowski).
2) Brezhnev’s tenure in office is conventionally referred to as the “era of
stagnation,” implying its regressive character. At the same time, it was the
rare period of domestic tranquility for the Soviet people. How do you reconcile
the two viewpoints? Support your arguments with specific examples and cite
page numbers (Dziewanowski).
3) The two decades after the fall of the USSR have demonstrated that Western
ideas of liberalism, constitutionalism, human rights, free market, and
democracy have little resonance in Russian culture. Support your arguments
with specific examples and cite page numbers (Dziewanowski).
History 345. Film review.
Write a comprehensive (1 single-spaced) essay in response to the
following. See the sample of film review in guidelines.
Film critics have argued that the “Fate of a Man” tells us as
much about the Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War as
about Khrushchev’s cultural “Thaw.”
In your opinion, how accurate is such assertion? Support
your arguments with specific examples and cite 2 sources
(including the assigned article “Thaw at Home”).
Main
characters:
Andrei
Sokolov
Irina – his wife
Anatoly -- his son (an artillery captain, who dies at the end of the war)
Ivan Timofeyevich – the accordion player
Vania – the orphan boy (adopted by Sokolov)
Driver – (listened to Sokolov’s story at the river-crossing)
History 345. Book review.
Write a single-spaced 1 page comprehensive essay in response to
the following:
Some specialists in Soviet history call One Day in the
Life of Ivan Denisovich the very microcosm of the Stalinist
society – in reference to its gigantic and unwieldy
economic system, and ethnically and socially diverse
population.
In your opinion, how accurate is such assertion?
Support your arguments with specific examples and cite 2
sources (including One Day).
Test 2. Write a comprehensive essay in response to the following:
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1. In your opinion, was Stalin’s regime the logical
culmination of Leninism, or did the Stalinist state represent
a breach with Lenin’s ideals and practices? Support your
assertions with specific examples (cite page numbers).
2. The film “Stalin” strongly suggests that repression and
massive purges were the two dominant factors in Stalin’s
rule. Some historians, however, suggest Stalin turned
Russia into a powerful industrial nation and that
outweighed or at least counter-balanced his rule of terror.
In your opinion, which of these arguments sounds more
convincing? Support your assertions with specific examples
(cite page numbers).
3. In your opinion, what were the major factors that
ultimately contributed to Soviet victory over Nazi
Germany? Support your assertions with specific examples
(cite page numbers).
Test 2. Write an essay in response to the following:
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1. “Totalitarian” historians argue that the October 1917
revolution was a coup, carried out by a handful of political
radicals. “Revisionist” historians hold that the Bolsheviks
enjoyed considerable popular support and therefore it was
a revolution. In your opinion, which of these arguments
sounds more convincing? Support your assertions with
specific examples (cite page numbers).
2. “Totalitarian” historians argue that the Bolsheviks won
the Civil War by terrorizing Russia’s population into
submission. “Revisionist” historians hold that terror was
but one factor which contributed to the Bolshevik victory.
In your opinion, which of these arguments sounds more
convincing? Support your assertions with specific examples
(cite page numbers).
3. Historians have often referred to NEP as the “BrestLitovsk Treaty in peacetime.” In your opinion, how
accurate is such description? Support your assertions with
specific examples (cite page numbers).
Map quiz
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Locate 15 republics that used to make up the Soviet
Union
Identify their modern capitals (you don’t have to
locate them)
Identify the religious denomination practiced by the
majority in a given republic. Be specific identifying a
particular branch of Christianity or Islam
(“Orthodox,” “Catholics,” “Sunni,” etc.). The terms
“Christians” or “Muslims” will not be counted as
correct. If currently, a majority of population is
identified as “agnostic,” identify what religious
denomination it practiced traditionally.
History 345. Response Paper 1
Write an analytical response essay on one of the following questions
(see the guidelines and a sample):
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A) In your opinion, was the collapse of the
Russian Empire precipitated by the
malfunction of the entire system or by the
failure of the Tsar? Support your assertions
with specific examples.
B) In your opinion, did the Great War destroy
the Russian empire or merely expose its
intrinsic weaknesses? Support your
assertions with specific examples.
Response Paper 2. Write an analytical essay (1 typed, singlespaced page) on one of the following:
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1. In regards to the “totalitarian” vs. “revisionist”
interpretations of the Bolshevik revolution, which of these
seems more plausible to you? Support your assertions with
specific examples.
2. It was almost a miracle that the Bolsheviks won the civil
wars. Support your assertions with specific examples.
3. By 1922 ‘War Communism’ had so drastically altered
Russia’s political and socio-economic landscape that it
became unrecognizable. Support your assertions with
specific examples.
4. The NEP was a replica of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty in
peacetime. Support your assertions with specific examples.
History 345
Analyze the novel in the following context:
Some specialists in Soviet history refer to One Day in the Life of
Ivan Denisovich as the microcosm of the entire Soviet society under
Stalin. In your opinion, how accurate is such assertion? Support
your arguments with specific examples.
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1 single-spaced page
3 sources (including the novel and the textbook)
Bibliography list
Quote your sources according to the format (I-36)
History 345. Film response paper (1 single-spaced
page).
Analyze the film Fate of a Man in the context of the
following statement:
“Fate of a Man is as much a story about the Great
Patriotic War as it is about Khrushchev’s ‘Thaw.’”
Support your assertions with specific examples.
Film response paper sample
Battle of Neretva is a 1969 a Yugoslav partisan film. The film was
directed by Veljko Bulajić and depicts a massive Axis offensive against the
Yugoslav Partisans in 1943. The offensive was also known as the “Fourth
Enemy Offensive” and occurred in the area of the Neretva-River in BosniaHerzegovina.
While the film is based on the true events of World War II and the battle
scenes are superb, the producer leaves out several important issues. Thus, the
film conveys the impression that all the partisans as well as their enemies
were ideologically motivated. However, as in many civil wars and revolutions,
the majority of the population in wartime Yugoslavia held no rigid political
loyalties. Instead, they were forced to survive as best they could and their
allegiances shifted according to the situation. For example, the Chetniks, who
are portrayed as the inveterate enemies of the Partisans, were not a single
unified force, but initially fought alongside the Partisans against the Germans
and then joined the Germans against the Partisans (I-132-34).
Bosnia-Herzegovina especially represented a contentious mix of political
ideologies, ethnicities and religious beliefs – including nationalism and
communism, Serb and Croat, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Muslim – and
consequently, the war there was particularly cruel. The film crafts a fascinating
narrative of rival radical ideologies, particularly between the multinational
vision of the Communist Partisans versus the xenophobic nationalism of the
Serbian Chetniks and the Croatian Ustaše. Although the film emphasizes the
battle against the Partisans and the Axis powers (Germany and Italy), for
Bulajić its local dimension – the conflict between the citizens of the former
Yugoslavia is just as, if not more, important (II- 235-36). As Commissar
Stole says “hatred between the same people is the most vicious.’”
The film correctly shows that the Partisans fought for much more than
mere survival – from the beginning Tito envisioned the war against the
Axis powers mutating into a revolutionary struggle and turning Yugoslavia
into a communist state (II- 276). Although most Serbs initially joined the
Partisans to survive the Ustaše genocide, the Partisan leadership from the
beginning emphasized the importance of social revolution that would
change the country’s political and socio-economic landscape. In other
words, the unique conditions of Axis occupation and the bitter ethnic and
ideological conflicts engendered the revolutionary movement united in its
primary objectives (I-57-61).
Regrettably, the film does not stress the background of the Partisan
leadership and in my opinion, this issue is very important. The KPJ’s long
experience as an underground political movement meant years of
recruitment through cultural groups, sports clubs, schools, and unions (I87-9). This fact alone helps explain why the Partisans were much better
organized not only to fight large-scale battles, but also create the socalled “free zones” – the Neretva basin was but one – in which they set
up the small replicas of the future socialist society, later superimposed
upon the entire Yugoslavia (II – 256-59). The Partisans never viewed
the armed struggle against the Axis powers from a purely military
prospective, but were determined to transform this struggle into a
political battle aimed at building a “genuinely multinational socialist
society.” Overall, however, the film does offer a realistic portrayal of the
brutality of warfare in Yugoslavia.
Bibliography:
I. Tomasevich, Jozo. War and Revolution in Yugoslavia,
1941-1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford,
California: Stanford University Press, 2001.
II. Pavlović, Stevan K. Hitler’s New Disorder: The Second
World War in Yugoslavia. London: Hurst & Company, 2008.
Final Test. Write 2 comprehensive essays in response to the following:
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1. “Khrushchev’s main problem was that he initiated only a partial dismantling
of the Great Tyrant’s inhumane system and occasionally relapsed into the old
heavy-handed methods. Such policies eventually antagonized his friends and
frightened his enemies.” Support your arguments with specific examples.
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2. The Brezhnev era is conventionally referred to as the “era of stagnation,”
implying its ossified nature. At the same time, it was the rare period of
domestic tranquility for the Soviet people. How do you reconcile the two
viewpoints? Support your arguments with specific examples.
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3. In your opinion, should Gorbachev be blamed for the collapse of the USSR, or
he just pushed the proverbial “house of cards”? Support your arguments with
specific examples.
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4. The Gorbachev rule is sometimes compared to the Provisional Government
of 1917 as the time of “unfulfilled promises and failed illusions.” In your opinion,
is such comparison justified? Support your assertions with specific examples.
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5. In your opinion, was Boris Yeltsin’s “shock therapy” a partial success or a
complete failure? Who or what should be credited or blamed for its outcome?
Support your assertions with specific examples.
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6. In your opinion, is Vladimir Putin’s Russia a replica of the Soviet Union?
Support your assertions with specific examples.