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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who became the new KGB chief in 1988?

2. Who wrote the saga of Rome's decline and fall?

3. Who did the people elect as president in June 1991?

4. What was the radical opposition faction called that Sakharov, Yeltsin, and Popov put together in the legislature?

5. In what city did the Party cancel the May Day parade in 1990?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who was the free man Remnick met on Sakhalin island?

2. How did Yeltsin win his first battle inside the "horror house" of the Soviet system?

3. What were three omens that occurred in September 1990?

4. What did the designer of the Chernobyl reactor say about the nuclear accident?

5. Describe Shcharansky's celebration of Hanukkah in Perm-35.

6. What happened when Gorbachev withdrew his support for the 500 Days plan?

7. Why during World War II did Aleksandr Yakovlev survive after being wounded?

8. What was the Baltic strategy to achieve independence?

9. What happened when the tanks were sent to Lithuania in January 1991?

10. In 1991, why were the Kremlin hard-liners terrified of the strikes?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The first piece of writing to appear in the Soviet Union by Solzhenitsyn in three decades was a piece titled "How Can We Revitalize Russia." Explain how Solzhenitsyn wanted to solve the problems in the Soviet Union and why the Party felt so threatened by his views.

Essay Topic 2

Some have said that the under socialism in the Soviet Union everyone was equal, equally poor. Argue that socialism caused the extreme poverty that the Soviet People endured using specific examples from the book to support your opinions.

Essay Topic 3

The hard-liners began a coup in August 1991. Explain how and why the actions of the conspirators, the military, the secret police, the people, the media (television, radio, and press), and the reform politicians caused the coup to fail.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,145 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample