THE RISE AND FALL OF THE COMMUNIST STATE;
1 THE SOVIET UNION UNDER STALIN 1928-53
Introduction
After Lenin’s death in 1924 Stalin used his position as General Secretary and
Commissar for the Nationalities to destroy his rivals. Firstly he dealt with the
Left (Trotsky/Kamenev/Zinoviev) who believed in Collectivisation. Then he dealt
with the Right ( Bukharin/Tomsky/Rykov) who believed in continuing the New
Economic Policy. He was aided by the fact that his rivals underestimated him
and Lenin’s Testament which stated he should be sacked from his positions was
never published. By 1928 Stalin was able to establish his dictatorship although he
continued to strengthen it throughout his lifetime.
Stalin believed in Socialism in One Country. Russia must be turned into a strong
industrial and military power otherwise the West who hated communism would
be able to invade and destroy everything the revolution had achieved.
Stalin said “ We are 50 to 100 years behind the advanced countries. We must
catch up this distance in ten years. Either we do this or we go under.”
This Great Turn would involve
1 Abandoning The New Economic Policy (NEP)
2 Adopting a Command Economy whereby the Government would own all
business and make all economic decisions using the Five Year Plans.
3 Modernising agriculture (Collectivisation) so that more food was produced
4 Expanding Heavy Industry
Ultimately Stalin was successful as Russia became
A One of the top industrial nations in the world with only countries like the USA
out producing them.
B More importantly Russia won World War II. Historians do not believe this
would have been the case if the NEP had continued.
C However the human cost of the Great Turn was immense. Millions were killed
either deliberately, in the Gulags (work camps) or from starvation.
Was the Great Turn Justified ?
Write 2 arguments one agreeing with the question and one disagreeing
Yes the ends justified the means
No the price was too high
COLLECTIVISATION 1928-40
i) What was Collectivisation?
Draw 4 cartoons showing the key features of the old system The New Economic
Policy
Surplus Produce could be sold for profit
NEPMEN acted as traders or business
men buying up goods to take to market
The Army no longer requisitioned produce but
farmers had to give a fixed amount of grain to the
Governnment
Farming was old fashioned
Draw 4 cartoons showing the key features of Collectivisation
State Ownership
Huge collective farms were created
Mechanised farming
Peasants were released to work in factories
The KOLKHOZ Match up the correct heads and tails
All livestock, animals and land
from around 50+ households
and used them to boost their income
The MTS Stations were
received a share of any profits made
(which were very small)
Workers received no wages but
tractor stations which supplied 2500
tractors and other machinery to help the
Collective Farms.
Workers were allowed small plots
of land
were collected together and run by a
Committee
The SOVKHOZ were different from Kolkhoz as peasants were treated like
workers and received a regular wage. Sovkhoz were run by the State.
I would prefer to work in a Sovkhoz/ Kolkhoz (delete one) as........
WHY WAS COLLECTISATION INTRODUCED ?
Imagine you are Stalin. Write a letter to the people of Russia explaining why you
are abandoning The New Economic Policy and introducing Collectivisation.
Mention the small farms and old fashioned methods
the need for the towns to be fed
the need for more workers in the towns
the need for hard currency ( $ and £ etc)
the desire to eliminate the Kulaks (richer peasants)
Comrades of the Soviet Union
We must embark on a Great Turn in order to catch up with the West
HOW WAS COLLECTIVISATION CARRIED OUT ?
Complete this table
STAGE
DATE
1
192728
2
-----
3
193034
ACTION TAKEN
EFFECTS
---------------------------------------
Food shortages in towns
--------------------------------------
Stalin sends the police
squads into the countryside
to seize food
Compulsory Collectivisation
Communist activists plus the
--------------- and -----------enforce the policy.
The main target is the -------as ----
Only 5% of farms are
collectivised
The Kulaks and many
other peasants resist by ---
-------------------------------------
---------------------------------
--------------------------------------
---------------------------------
Compulsory Collectivisation
continues
By 1932 around 60% of
farms are collectivised
Peasants on the -------------farms are allowed small plots of
land and these become more
profitable than the collective
farms
Between 1932-34 there is a
massive f-------------. The
amount of livestock has
halved or worse since
1928.Grain production also
-------.
--------------------------------
K--------------- continue to resist
and are killed or deported to the Even people in the U-------Gulags or poor farming land.
the bread basket of the
USSR starved to death as
Huge propaganda campaign to
peasants resisted and the
persuade of the benefits of
Government continued to
Collectivisation and the evils of set high targets for the
the K----------amount of grain produced.
Stalin continues to export grain
to gain --------- currency
Harsh sentences such as the
d------------ sentence or 10 years
in jail were introduced for
stealing grain
Many peasants fled to the
t---------- forcing the
Government to introduce
internal passports .
WHAT WERE THE EFFECTS OF COLLECTIVISATION?
THE SHORT TERM
Here are five crafty answers on the short term effects of collectivisation.
Write down a possible question for each one. The first one has been done for you.
1 They were sent to labour camps or even shot
What happened to the most hostile Kulaks ? ( Question)
2 They were sent to land with poor soil even in their own region or to
inhospitable areas such as Siberia.
3 Around 17 million moved to the towns and became workers.
4 Around 7 million died between 1932-34.
5 Peasants found it hard to adjust to new methods of farming , people in charge
of collective farms were often communists and chose the wrong crops for the
soil and there was not enough fertilisers and machinery.
THE LONG TERM
By World War II most farms were collectivised and production had started to
rise again. However millions had died from starvation or deportation or had
been shot.
The Last word
What might the following people have written as a slogan about Collectivisation?
kulak
communist official
peasant
INDUSTRIALISATION
Match the key terms with the correct meaning
GOSPLAN
This is an economy controlled by the
Government. For example they would set
the prices and the supply of goods.
Five Year Plans
These were labour camps where people who
had been purged or were considered
undesirable were forced to work on projects in
the worst areas eg Baltic-White Sea Canal.
Heavy Industry
Goods that improve the quality of life for
individuals such as radios/ shoes/vacuum
cleaners
Command Economy
Inspired by the Miner Alexei Stakhanovite who
cut around 16x the normal amount of coal in a
shift. The movement encouraged people to work
harder and adopt new production methods
Consumer goods
This is raw materials (coal/iron etc) and
machinery needed in order to industrialise
Stakhanovite Movement
These were the plans needed to achieve the
Great Turn and industrialise Russia. Targets
were set for each industry, factory and worker.
Gulags
This was the state planning agency who set the
targets for the Five Year Plans.
THE FIRST PLAN 1928-32- complete the table
EMPHASIS
This plan
concentrated on
heavy industry
such as
electricity, coal,
iron and steel
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
There was a lack of
skilled workers and
people kept changing
jobs.
Consumer industries
such as textiles, food
processing and house
building did badly.
Many targets were not
met such as the chemical
targets.
THE SECOND PLAN 1933-37
EMPHASIS
STRENGTHS
Heavy industry continued to
grow benefiting from the new
machinery and work from the
First Five Year Plan.
WEAKNESSES
Electricity grew rapidly
Chemical and mineral
industry were developed
The USSR were self sufficient
in metal working and
machine- making.
The Transport and
Communication system grew
rapidly.
There was some growth in
consumer industries such as
shoe making and food
processing.
1934-36 were known as the
three good years as there was
less rationing and more money
for people
THE THIRD PLAN 1938- June 41 ( cut short by German invasion)
EMPHASIS
Heavy
industry
was
emphasised
as the USSR
rearmed in
preparation
for war
STRENGTHS
WEAKNESSES
The Purges caused shortages of
engineers, managers and
officials which damaged
industry.
Many factories suffered
shortages of materials partly due
to production concentrated on
armaments.
Consumer industries did badly
again.
Steel and oil did not meet targets
THE GREATEST PROBLEMS
Explanation & examples
Targets were
unrealistic
Slave and foreign
labour was
needed
Explanations and examples
Thousands of people were in the Gulags where
they were used as cheap labour on dangerous
and unpleasant projects such as Belomar Canal
and Moscow Metro or in the frozen North
getting timber for industry.
Engineers and skilled workers were employed
using capitalist wages. These people provided
vital expertise to modernise industry. Henry
Ford helped establish the Soviet motor industry
and the production line.
All this could be criticised for not being true
communism.
Explanations and examples
The Government
used harsh
discipline in the
workplace
Explanations and examples
Workers’ living
standards did not
really improve
THE GREATEST SUCCESSES
Explanation and examples
Soviet industry
expanded greatly
Explanations and examples
Women were
able to gain
good education
and careers
A new elite
of educated
and skilled
workers
was created
Explanations and examples
During the 1920’s education had been neglected and this had created a skills
shortage. Stalin reversed this and invested a lot in education and training in
both schools and colleges.
A new elite ( a middle class) was created . People who were skilled workers or
had a profession were paid more, had better housing and had the right to buy a
wider range of goods in special shops. Teachers, engineers, managers and
ballet dancers were included. This was not communism sharing out the wealth
but it did provide an incentive to get on.
JUDGMENT DAY
Give marks out of ten and a brief explanation for the success of Industrialisation
for
The workers point of view
The Country’s point of view
STRENGTHENING THE DICTATORSHIP 1934-40
Complete the brainstorm- try for 6-8 factors
Censorship
WHAT YOU
NEED TO BE
A DICTATOR
PURGING THE OPPOSITION
1930
1931
1932
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
1939
1940
Place the following events in the right year on the timeline
Purge of the Red Army begins
Murder of Kirov
Purges of the Kulaks begin
First Show trial (The Left Kamenev
Seventeenth Party Conference
& Zinoviev)
The Second Show Trial
The New Constitution adopted
Secret police renamed as NKVD
Purge of the Party starts
Eighteenth Party Conference
Third Show Trial (The Right
The Mass Terror
Bukharin & Rykov)
THE ROLE OF OFFICIALS
TORTURE, GULAGS & MURDER
HOW DID THE PURGES
HAPPEN?
SHOW TRIALS OF OLD BOLSHEVIKS
THE ROLE OF THE SECRET
POLICE
WHY DID THE PURGES HAPPEN ?
Complete the table and give each reason a mark out of 10 depending how
important it is as a cause
REASON
EXPLANATION
Stalin’s
personality
Economic
Reasons
Stalin wanted to find scapegoats to explain why The
Five Year Plan was behind schedule,
He needed slave labour to work in dangerous jobs
or regions such as S---------------- logging or gold
mining.
Problems
with the
Party
& the
People
The Old Bolsheviks were a threat as
Kirov was a threat as at the Seventeenth Party
Conference many had called for him to replace
Stalin as General Secretary.
The Army Generals and other senior officers in the
armed forces were thought by Stalin to be a threat
as they were tough enough to stand up to him and
he said were plotting to overthrow him
The Position
of the Secret
Police
Stalin needed to terrorise the people to stop them
criticising all the changes Collectivisation and
industrialisation had brought.
The purges gave the NKVD more power and they
wish to be important so finding more class enemies
and dealing with them helped them to become a key
part of the Government structure.
MARKS
OUT OF 10
I believe the main reason for the purges was
because
THE PURGES; CONCLUSION
The exact numbers of victim has never been determined. Some historians
estimate it may be as high as 20 million. Some of the victims included
 Kulaks
 Leading Party Member ( 70% of the Central Committee of 1934 were shot)
 Leading Army officers ( 35k were shot or imprisoned)
 Managers/ Engineers/ Scientists
 Historians
 Regional and State Party Leaders (in Georgia 2 Prime Ministers were shot)
 NKVD( 20K + )
STALIN REFLECTS ON THE PURGES 1940
The purges were good for me as
However I might have let it a little too far as in some ways Russia is weaker because
LIFE IN STALIN’S RUSSIA
Match up the key terms with their correct examples
Censorship
Promotion of family life and marriage.
Divorce and abortion made more difficult .
Socialist Realism
Communist Party did not believe in God
and saw religion as irrelevant and a threat.
Churches and Mosques were closed down &
their leaders arrested
Cult of the Personality
These were the Soviet youth movements and
were used to indoctrinate the young to love
Stalin and communism.
Traditional values
This was the style of art, music and literature
that people had to follow. It was realistic & often
told a story. It praised socialism and Stalin.
Books and pictures often showed scenes of work
at the factory or collective farm. Music was
meant to be happy and in a major key.
Komsomel and Pioneers
There was no freedom of speech. Everyone had
to follow the Party line. Writers, musicians and
artists also had to submit their work to the
Government in order to get it published or put
on display. For ordinary people criticism of the
Government could result in a visit from the
Secret Police (NKVD).
Atheism
This was the promotion of Stalin as a superman,
an almost godlike figure. Paintings, sculture and
poems are used to praise Stalin and show him as
the successor of Lenin and to reassure the people
they have a caring and strong leader. History is
rewritten to promote Stalin’s role .
Draw or write in the Socialist Realism style
The position of women ; The Great Retreat?
For the following statements say whether it is a good or bad change

Abortion was outlawed except if the Mother’s life/ health was threatened

Laws were passed against prostitution

Divorce was made harder and more expensive

Have children outside marriage was frowned on

Many husbands deserted their wives

Women who had 6+ children received a lot of child benefits.

Women could become doctors and engineers

Most work places had a creche

Women found it difficult to get promotion
In your opinion did Women’s lives get better or worse and why?
LIFE AFTER STALIN; KHRUSHSCHEV AND DESTALINISATION
When Stalin died in 1953 he left a country










Which was still recovering from World War II ( The Great Patriotic War)
Around 25 million people had been killed or died during the war years.
Agriculture had only started to reach the pre war production figures
Industry was still recovering as a third of industry mainly in Western Russia
had been destroyed during the war.
The Fourth Five Year Plan (1946-50) and Fifth Five Year Plan (1950+) both
emphasised heavy industry and weapons.
There was a shortage of housing and consumer goods
There was a massive secret police force (NKVD) led by the very powerful
Beria
The Cult of the Personality of Stalin was at its height with Stalin almost
worshipped and thousands in Gulags.
There was a Cold War with the USA which could result in Nuclear War if
not carefully handled.
USSR had the largest army in the world and controlled Eastern Europe.
1 How might people judge Stalin ? Choose 2 or 3 words to describe him and
explain why
The West’s view
Russia ‘s biggest problems were ( explain why)
1
2
Russia’s view
HOW DID KHRUSHCHEV GAIN POWER?
There were 4 contenders for Stalin’s position
Beria , Molotov, Malenkov and Khrushchev
Complete this table showing the reasons why Khrushchev was able to gain power
FACTOR
Khrushchev ‘s
Role as General
Secretary
EXPLANATION
Just like Stalin in the 1920’s Khrushchev used this position
to influence those in the party to support him and to play off
his rivals one against the other.
Arrest and
execution of Beria
Support of the
Army
Khrushchev had helped in the defence of Stalingrad in
WWII and this had helped to gain the support of Zhukov
( in charge of the armed forces) and a lot of the army. This
was important as...
Promise of
reforms
particularly those
concerning
people’s living
standards
Attack on Stalin
in 1956 ( secret
speech at the
Twentieth Party
Conference
This was crucial as Khrushchev attacked
This gave him an advantage over his rivals and cleared the
way for his economic reforms. It also helped him to look
different from Stalin although he had supported his
dictatorship and had even carried ou purges in the Ukraine.
WHAT WAS DESTALINISATION AND HOW DID THINGS CHANGE?
Read the following statement about DeStalinisation and delete one of the words
in italics which is not correct.
Khrushchev made his ‘secret speech’ to the Twentieth Party Congress. In it he
praised / attacked Stalin. He said that Stalin was a cruel / effective dictator who
abused his powers and had followed/ ignored the rules of the Communist Party.
His rule had resulted in the deaths of thousands / millions of innocent people in
the purges during the 30’s. Stalin had made no mistakes/ many mistakes during
World War II. Finally the cult of the personality was a bad thing/ good thing.
This was the first time Stalin had been criticised for 25 years and had a major
impact. It helped Khrushchev to become more popular. By 1958-64 Khrushchev
was the sole leader of the USSR.
END OF THE CULT OF PERSONALITY
CENSORSHIP LAWS WERE RELAXED
WHAT CHANGES WERE
MADE UNDER
DESTALINISATION?
LESSENING OF THE POLICE STATE
GREATER AUTONOMY FOR EASTERN
EUROPE
Although the worst excesses of Stalin’s dictatorship were removed Khrushchev
had no intention of allowing any form of democracy within Russia or Eastern
Europe. Some people misinterpreted his intention and started to criticise the
regime. This led to the re-introduction of the death penalty in 1961. In Eastern
Europe the disturbances were more dramatic and widespread. In Poland and
Hungary the people rose up against their communist leaders. Both movements
were squashed . In Hungary the Red Army was actually sent in to restore
Communist rule. It became clear that Khrushchev might be less ruthless than
Stalin but he was still a dictator.
HOW DID KHRUSHCHEV ATTEMPT TO MODERNISE THE SOVIET
UNION?
Match the terms with the correct answer
The Great Thaw
State farms where the workers received wages.
These were the farms Khrushchev preferred &
he merged all Kolkhozes into super large state
farms.
Reform Communism
Part of the Cold War in which the USA & USSR
attempted to dominate. The USSR was ahead
with the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the first
man in space Gararin in 1961.
Peaceful Co-existence
These regional organisations or Sovnarkhozys
were meant to give local areas more say in what
was produced industrially
Virgin Land Scheme
This policy was meant to give communism a more
human face and to improve people’s lifestyle
Sovkhozes
These were the products that were meant to
improve the lifestyle of the people and in the
Seventh Five Year Plan were supposed to be
produced in greater numbers.
Regional Economic
Councils
Space Race
Consumer Goods
This referred to a relaxation in censorship in the Arts
& Society. Music and writing was less restrictive and
some Russians even travelled abroad on cultural
exchanges eg Kirov Ballet . Western influences in
dress and music developed
An Area the size of France in Western Siberia /Kazakhstan
was farmed for the first time by young communists.
This was an attempt to lower the tension created by
the Cold War by saying Communism and Capitalism
could exist side by side.
Khrushchev’s aims
He said ‘ If after 40 years of Communism a person cannot have a glass of milk or
a pair of shoes, he will not believe that Communism is a good thing, no matter
what you tell him’
 He realised that the high military spending on The Second World War and
The Cold War had been a drain on the economy.
 Living standards were behind the West and he wished to make more
consumer goods available to the people.
 He wanted to provide more houses or flats.
 He considered himself an expert on Agriculture and wished to increase
production and allow the State Farms ( Sovkhozes) greater control over what
they did instead of being told what to do by the Government (
Decentralisation).
 He wanted Industry to have a greater say about what was produced and how
it was produced and so introduced The Regional Economic Councils.
 He was hoping that by moving away from a Command economy people
would show more initiative, produce more and better quality goods.
 He wanted to increase production of chemicals , fertilisers, oil, gas, man made
fibres and plastics.
 He wished to dominate the Space Race so to demonstrate that the USSR was
winning the Cold War.
How could these policies be summed up as slogans for the people?
Khrushchev had good intentions but his solutions were often too simple and did
not take into account the realities of the Soviet Economy.
Policy
Good Points/ Successes
Rural Workers’
Agriculture- The
standard of living rose as
Creation of massive State they received a
Farms ( Sovkhozes) by
guaranteed wage and a
joining together the old
pension. In the old
Collective Farms
Collective farms
(Kolkhozes).
(Kolkhozes) peasants had
to rely on their small plot
of land to survive as
profits from the farm
were so small.
Massive state farms
could buy their own
machinery and were not
reliant on the MTS
Stations.
Agriculture- Maize was
introduced as animal
fodder to replace Wheat
which could be grown for
people.
Agriculture- The Virgin
Land Schemes. This was
a project to.....
Bad Points/Failures
In reality the new State
Farms were not allowed
to make many decisions.
The Communist Party
were generally in control
and they knew little of
Farming.
The result of this and
other policies was that
there were food
shortages, rationing had
to be introduced and
food imported from the
USA.
Industry- The Creation
of Regional Economic
Councils ( Sovnarkhozy)
to allow decision making
at a Regional not Central
Level.
The Number of Consumer
Goods still lagged behind
the West.
it would take at least 7
years to save for a car.
Industry- increase the
number of Consumer
Goods so to give the
people....
The quality of those goods
was often poor. For
example washing machines
were held together with
nails as there was not
enough rivets. Most cars
became scrap after 3 years.
Television and Radio
programmes were censored
and promoted
Communism.
Industry- The Space
Race. To ensure that the
USSR .......
Industry- To provide more
housing as war damage and
emphasise on heavy industry
meant there was much
overcrowding.
Workers- greater welfare
benefits and pensions. A 7
hour day was introduced and
education opportunities in
science and technology
increased.
People’s lifestyle improved.
Russia could not afford
these changes due to the
high cost of the Space Race.
Education still encouraged
obedience rather than
creativity.
KHRUSHCHEV; CONCLUSION
Give marks out of 10 & a brief explanation
Agriculture
Industry
The People’s Lifestyle
Compared with Stalin
WHY KHRUSHCHEV FELL FROM POWER IN 1964
Read the 3 reasons why Khrushchev was forced to resign in 1964 & place them
in order of importance in the Pyramid making sure you offer a reason WHY
Rude Behaviour( Leadership)
He was rude and uncouth even banging his shoe on the table
at the UN. This was embarrassing. He also declined advice.
The Cuban missile Crisis- He was forced to back down to Kennedy removing
(International Politics)
his missiles from Cuba. This made Russia look weak.
He had failed to keep - Wages had not kept up with prices so people were getting
his promises
poorer. Also despite all the agricultural reforms famine
(The economy)
was only avoided by importing grain.
1
2
3
RUSSIA 1964-85
Years after Khrushchev’s resignation he made the point that under Stalin those
who opposed him would have been simply arrested and by the fact that
Khrushchev could simply be outvoted and removed without violenve
demonstrated how far Russia had moved on.
His successor was Leonid Brezhnev who ruled the Soviet Union for 18 years.
During this time the country stagnated ( made no progress) . From 1976-82
Brezhnev was incapable of ruling following a severe stroke but he was not
replaced
For each of the following say how it affected the people and the country.
Factor
Effect
There was much
corruption
amongst Party
leaders and their
families
including
Brezhnev’s
daughter and
son
The Powers of
The new head of the KGB was
the Secret Police
(KGB) were
His aims were 1
increased
2
Freedom of
expression was
limited.
The National
Minorities eg
Ukraine were
repressed
The
Government
spent a lot of
money on the
Arms Race, the
Space Race &
helping other
Communist
countries
There was less violence used towards political prisoners and
more modern ways of capturing spies such as bugs and phone
taps.
People targeted included intellectuals, artists and writers.
Brezhnev did not like modern music, art or literature or any
one criticising the regime. Dissidents ( people who opposed)
could be arrested, imprisoned and even put in mental
institutions.
The USSR could not afford to be a Superpower although she
tried to act like one. The economy was not strong enough to
pay for all the weapons which were increasingly high tech, the
Space Race and maintaining the biggest army in the world.
From 1979 they were also fighting an expensive and
unpopular war in Afghanistan.
The result of such spending was Russia was almost bankrupt
and other areas of the economy were damaged as they could
not afford to spend money on them eg housing.
The Cold War
continued & in
1979 they
invaded
Afghanistan
The Black
Market was
commonplace
The black economy made up 30% of the economy .
There was a
shortage of
Consumer goods
Whilst there was cheap housing and transport available, even
televisions and sufficient clothing, basic goods such as food
was scarce and involved queuing. Luxury goods even if you
could afford them were often unreliable. The Lada car took
around 7 years to pay for and was the butt of many jokes eg
as part of the car’s manual was a bus timetable.
The standard of
living was low
compared to the
West & even
other
communist
countries
Soviet Industry
was old
fashioned
The workers did
not work hard,
were often
absent from
work & many
had alcohol
problems
There was
severe food
shortages and
famine was only
avoided by
importing grain
from the West
Workers’ morale was low. They had little incentive to work
hard as consumer goods were either scarce or else on the
Black Market they were expensive. They resented all the
corruption and high living of the Party Leaders. Some people
turned to drink and others worked on the Black Market.
Draw 3 cartoons with slogans showing Brezhnev’s Russia
You may like to divide them into Political Problems
Economic Problems
Social Problems
An Example of a slogan is The Workers’ Paradise
GORBACHEV’S SOVIET UNION 1985- 91
After Brezhnev’s death in 1982 the Head of the KGB Andropov took over but
died of kidney disease after only 15 months in office. His successor was
Chernenko who was terminally ill and died after a year in Office.
His replacement was Mikhail Gorbachev; who at 54 was in complete contrast to
the elderly men who had ruled the USSR for so long. It has been said that
‘If Lenin was the founder of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev was its gravedigger’
McCauley
Gorbachev had 3 major aims
1 Glasnost- openness allowing freedom of expression within the USSR
& better relations with the West
2 Perestroika – Restructuring of the economy
3 End the Cold War
Review Brezhnev’s Russia
Explain why Gorbachev had these 3 aims.
Comrades,
Once more our great country is in danger but this time the
enemy is within our borders.
WHAT ACTIONS DID GORBACHEV TAKE ?
Gorbachev wanted to introduce some elements of Capitalism as he felt the old
ways of Central Planning ( Command economy) did not work to get the economy
going. China has done the same thing in the last ten years or so.
Gorbachev also wanted better relations and more openness with the West as he
felt the Russian economy needed Foreign Investment and the country could not
afford to continue The Cold War.
Study the points below.
Identify whether each ACTION is to do with Glasnost or Perestroika and record
in the table
Factories could set their own prices and wages ( Law on Enterprise)
The press, television and radio as well as the Arts were allowed more freedom of
expression
Free elections were allowed for local government
Prices were no longer subsidised by the state
Dissidents were no longer locked up in mental homes or forced into internal exile
Workers were allowed to set up co-operatives
Russia pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989
The KGB (secret police) had their powers firstly reduced and the whole
organisation was later abolished with its records made available to the public
Small family businesses were encouraged
The Arms Race was reduced as Gorbachev made an agreement with the
American President Reagan to destroy stocks of some types of nuclear weapons.
A more democratic constitution was introduced to give people more freedom and
protection under the law.
Gorbachev said that force ie The Red Army would no longer be an instrument of
Soviet Foreign Policy.
GLASNOST
PERESTROIKA
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF GLASNOST AND
PERESTROIKA ?
Gorbachev tried to do too much and rushed his reforms . The results was the
opposite of what he wanted as his action lead to the collapse of Communism in
Russia and the whole of the Eastern bloc as well as the break up of the Soviet
Union.
A Perestroika
Complete the box with explanations
The economy did not recover.
The Two biggest problems for the
Government were
The country continued to have
an enormous budget deficit.
The black market continued to
thrive taking up as much as
30% of total production.
People resented prices going up
(inflation)
.
The West failed to invest
sufficiently in the country as so
there was little modernisation
and new technology
Rationing had to be introduced
From 1989 the USSR lost its
cheap imports from Eastern
bloc countries and these
countries were no longer
buying their goods.
People found it difficult to
innovate and adopt more
flexible work practices
Draw a cartoon to represent
Russia in the 1980’s
The Two biggest problems for the people
were
B Glasnost
Write slogans for the
following opposition
Greater freedom in the Media and
society led to people criticising the
Government
The Coomunists faced a loss of
control for the first time in almost
70 years as now other parties were
allowed. The one Party State was
no longer a reality.
critics forum
The Radicals
Gorbachev faced opposition from
Radical led by Yeltsin who wanted
power to go to the Soviet Republics
( decentralisation) and critised him
for handling the economy badly.
Yeltin became President in 1990
which was a good position to
challenge Gorbachev.
The Hard Liners
Gorbachev was also opposed by
the Hard Liners who hated
Glasnost and Perestroika as they
felt the policies were destroying the
Soviet Union and all the power
they had enjoyed.
There is a rise of Nationalism in
the USSR
The Baltic States (Lithuania,
Estonia and Latvia)
were demanding their
independence. These were states
taken over by the USSR in 1940
and had faced Russification.
Lithuania simply declared
independence in 1990 and
Gorbachev tried to stop this with a
blockade & military force.
However this only made him more
unpopular.
Countries in Eastern Europe
pressed for change and between
1989 – 1991 overthrew the Soviet
backed Governments as they knew
unlike before the Red Army would
not be sent in.
The Baltic states
Gorbachev’s Headache
Draw a cartoon showing the Soviet Leader being overwhelmed or squashed by
all these political problems
THE END OF THE SOVIET UNION AND GORBACHEV ‘S RULE
Complete the flow diagram by describing what happened & its significance
The Hard- Liners stage a coup
The rest of the Baltic States
become independent
Yeltin’s appears a hero
The other 12 Republics declare
independence as The Commonwealth of
Independent states
Gorbachev resigns Dec 1991
THE BIG QUIZ
Complete the A-Z
A This was a major drain on the economy
B Name the powerful head of the Secret Police (NKVD) who was executed in Dec 1953
C This is the name of the policy by which people almost came to worship Stalin
D This is Khrushchev’s political policy after Stalin’s death
E Gorbachev ended the one party state and people were allowed to vote freely in these
F Gosplan used to draw these up to show the tragets for the next few years
G This word means Openness
H Name the leader who attacked Russia in June 1941
I Forced labour, foreign experts, women & the Dnieper Dam were all used to help Russia finish
her ------------------------------ Revolution
J What was Stalin’s first name?
K What word meaning Closed Fist was used by Stalin for the richer peasants?
L Mechanisation of farming allowed the peasants to leave the l------- and go to work in the cities
M This is a major industrial centre beyond the Urals
N Name the political idea which led to the Baltic states to declare independence
O Around 25,000 of these people were purged & so the USSR was in no state for
war in the lat 30’s
P This word means restructuring
Q Due to the failure of Gorbachev’s economic reforms people spent a lot of time doing this in
order to get their food and basic products
R What is the name of the Soviet army?
S Name the style of Art and Music followed under Stalin
T The MTS Stations would supply this to the Collective farms
U This is another name for the Soviet Union
V This was Khrushchev’s idea to cultivate new lands eg Western Siberia
W The Stakhanovite Movement encouraged people to do this better
X People who opposed the government could be sent into eX-----Y Name the President who stood on a tank in 1991 & helped to overthrow the coup?
Z Name the person who was part of the Old Left Opposition who was purged in 1936