Referring to the Ellis and Esler Modern World History Textbook

1. The Soviet Union Declines
Perestroika and glasnost
Failed reformation
Changes Transform Eastern Europe
Communism Declines Around the World

2.  Signs of weakness had been
clear from the beginning.
The Russian people had long
been subjugated by their leaders.
 Few personal or individual
benefits were ever received by
Russian citizens. Punishments
were more common and more
severe than rewards.

3.  Stalin’s successor
 Greater political expression and freedom
 Freed critics from prisons and labor camps
 Shifted the economy away from heavy
industry and toward consumer goods.
 Still supported a command economy.
 Enforced obedience of satellite states with
tanks and aggressive action. Wanted the
Soviet Union to remain united.

4.  Collectivized agriculture was so
unproductive that grain had to be
imported to prevent people from
starving.
 Consumer goods like shoes or television could not compete in
terms of quality with countries with
market-based economies.
 Led to inefficiency and waste. Central powers who tried to
control the market were unaware of local needs and concerns.
 Workers had lifetime job security so were not incentivized to
produce quality products.
 Standard of living did not improve over the generations.

5.  From what you experienced during the Soviet
economy exercise when you sold cars in
exchanged for rubles…why do you think a
command economy proved ineffectual in the
long run?
 Explain your c
reasoning.
(Five points)

6.  Mikhail Gorbachev came to power
with the Soviet economy already in
bad shape.
 He was eager to introduce reforms
and avoided further Cold War
confrontations with the
United States.
 Established glasnost or “openness”
and encouraged people to discuss
the country’s problem openly.

7.  Gorbachev’s reforms also included perestroika or
restructuring of the government and the economy.
 He allowed limited private enterprise, allowed farmers to sell
on the free market and made local managers (not central
planners) responsible for decision making.
 The reforms, however, brought chaos. Shortages grew,
prices soared and unemployment was high.
 People who were at risk of now losing their jobs denounced
the reforms.
 The spirit of glasnost inspired people from the satellite
countries to speak out and lobby for independence.

8.  The Baltic States of Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania were the
first to receive full
independence in the
beginning of 1991.
 Large Slavic states such as
Ukraine, Kazakhstan and
Russia also moved toward
independence in 1991 and
maps of Europe and Asia
had to be redrawn.
 After nearly 70 years, the Soviet
Union ceased to exist.

9.  When Gorbachev introduced
glasnost and perestroika in the
Soviet Union, eastern
Europeans began to seek
greater freedom in their own
countries.
 Resistance groups erupted in
Poland, led by Lech Walesa, as
well as in Hungary and
Czechoslovakia.

10.  In 1988, East Germany banned Soviet glasnost
publications because they considered it to be
subversive.
 East Germans knew that great prosperity and political
freedom lay on the other side of the Berlin Wall.
 Thousands of East Berliners held demonstrations and
protests across East Germany, demanding change.

13.  What did the fall of the Berlin Wall mean to
West and East Berliners?
 What did the fall of the Berlin Wall mean to the
rest of the world?
 Be specific. (Five points).

14.  Gorbachev inspired other leaders
to consider economic and
political changes.
 Command economies were
suffering all around the world
and free-markets were being
re-examined by leaders.
 China and Vietnam made
changes to their economy but
North Korea and Cuba stayed
firm within their economic
ideologies.

15.  With the collapse of its rival, the
U.S. was widely recognized as the
only remaining superpower.
 Americans and others around the
world had mixed reactions. When
the Soviet state had seemed
threatening, the U.S. was
welcomed as a counterweight.
 However, now the U.S. had no
one to compete with and would
have much more influence.

16.  Decide which analogy you think is most fitting when
discussing what role the United States played during the
Cold War.
1) A police officer on a school campus
2) A bully on the playground
3) A referee in a basketball game
4) A gunfighter in the Wild West
 Cite specific historical events to support your position.
(10 points)