Deck 42: The Soviet Experiment to World War II

Question 1

What was one of the major problems in the cities in Russia by the spring of 1917?

A) The overpopulation of cities due to dislocations associated with the war.
B) A lack of effective governmental oversight of the cities.
C) Bread riots due to a lack of availability of food.
D) The military declared martial law and tried to run the cities.
E) Foreigners provided free food so the Russians saw no reason to work.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Toward the end of his life, Lenin had come to view Stalin as

A) reliable.
B) religious.
C) righteous.
D) reprehensible.
E) rude.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

Stalin's dictatorship over the population of the Soviet Union included

A) a large increase in communist party membership.
B) two five-year plans that were designed to purge the communist party of Russia.
C) an increase of about 400 percent in the growth of heavy industry and the infrastructure.
D) dragging the Russian people, kicking and screaming, into the 20th century.
E) promoting communist party membership for the majority of the population.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

After the abdication of the Tsar and the formation of the Provisional Government, the new government made a fatal mistake.What was that mistake?

A) The new government told the farmers to stop sending food to the rebellious cities.
B) The Provisional Government tried to establish a separate peace with Germany.
C) The Provisional Government attacked the nobility and aristocracy.
D) The Provisional Government tried to continue the unpopular war effort.
E) The Provisional Government provided free food and basic necessities to all citizens.

Question 5

The main purpose of collectivization under Stalin was

A) to provide more industrial workers.
B) to gain governmental control over Russia's millions of peasants.
C) to cut down on overpopulation by creating a false famine that killed about a million people.
D) to help Russia to industrialize in a very short time.
E) to become industrially competitive with Germany

Question 6

Under Lenin and Stalin, Russia was fast becoming a

A) true republic.
B) strong democracy.
C) definite economic oligarchy.
D) totalitarian government.
E) None of the options are correct.

Question 7

Overall, it would appear that regarding crime during Stalin's early years,

A) theft increased while concern about committing theft decreased.
B) embezzlement and fraud didn't happen very often, because people in a position to commit those acts had no need to do so.
C) violent crimes decreased because of the oversight of the KGB.
D) prostitution was rare because few had the funds to purchase such services.
E) the Soviet Union statistics showing a sharp decline in robberies and other theft were completely fabricated.

Question 8

Peasants in Russian villages believed that they had carried out their revolution after they

A) took control of local governments.
B) seized land from the nobles and the church, and redistributed it themselves.
C) had served their term in the Marxist army, so they returned to their farms.
D) sent monetary help to the resistance in St.Petersburg.
E) fought off the royal army and thus retained their sovereignty.

Question 9

The outside intervention by Western governments in Russia's civil war resulted in

A) Bolshevik indignation at outside interference in a purely domestic issue.
B) victory for the Bolsheviks.
C) increased support at home for the White army.
D) a partnership of convenience between Trotsky and Kerensky.
E) no real change because it came too late to help the White army.

Question 10

What was the essence of Lenin's New Economic Policy (NEP)?

A) The NEP was designed to consolidate all economic activity into state enterprises run by economic bureaucrats.
B) The NEP banned any economic activity not under the direct supervision of Lenin and his Politburo.
C) The NEP encouraged small-scale capitalist business and profit seekers while maintaining firm control by the Bolsheviks.
D) The NEP wanted to build on the economic momentum of the war and push Russia to the commanding heights of economic prosperity.
E) The NEP put the means of industrial production and health care under the control of central government planners.

Question 11

In the 1920s, what form of government was Russia evolving toward under Lenin and Stalin?

A) Totalitarian.
B) A republic.
C) A democracy.
D) A monarchy.
E) An aristocracy.

Question 12

What was the crucial factor in the collapse of the Tsarist government in Russia?

A) A popular desire for liberation of the Russians by the Germans.
B) An eagerness by the peasants to be more aggressive in the war.
C) The disastrous and unpopular conduct of the war.
D) The refusal of the Americans to provide enough foreign aid.
E) The convincing argument by the communists that they could do better.

Question 13

What was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that was signed in March 1918?

A) The friendship treaty between Russia and the U.S.for mutual aid.
B) The treaty between Russian and the Central Powers that removed Russia from the war.
C) The treaty between the Red and White Russians for partition of the country.
D) A treaty among the communists to agree to work together for the betterment of Russia.
E) A treaty between England and France to continue the war against Russia.

Question 14

Stalin's collectivization and industrialization efforts in the 1930s

A) succeeded in helping the Soviet Union weather the post-war period without much inflation.
B) made it possible for the Soviet Union to turn out large amounts of consumer goods that could be exported.
C) resulted in the scarcity of automobiles and clothing, as well as rationing of food at times.
D) were so harsh that even the stoic Russian people finally began to complain.
E) None of the options are correct.

Question 15

Which revolutionary leader used slogans like "All power to the Soviets" and "Land, bread, and peace" to appeal to the peasant majority?

A) Karl Marx.
B) Vladimir I.Lenin.
C) Joseph Stalin.
D) Leon Trotsky.
E) Alexander Kerensky.

Question 16

During Stalin's years of leadership, the Soviet Union experienced many social changes, including

A) a sharp decline in alcoholism.
B) a small decline in divorce and abortion rates.
C) the opening of many more medical clinics but not much improvement in treatment.
D) an increasing acceptance of prostitution.
E) an easing of moral restrictions.

Question 17

What was the fundamental difference between international communism under Stalin and national socialism under Hitler?

A) Stalin promoted the ideal of promoting a better world for all the world's downtrodden while Hitler only championed the Germans.
B) Stalin was in favor of centralized economic government control and Hitler preferred economic liberty.
C) Stalin wanted freedom for the peasants and Hitler was in favor of freedom only for the upper classes.
D) Stalin crushed all political opposition while Hitler allowed opposition parties to exist in Germany.
E) Stalin opened up membership in the Communist Party to all citizens while Hitler preferred to keep the National Socialist to a ruling elite.

Question 18

When Russia's more prosperous peasant farmers held back part of their crops in 1928, Stalin did all of the following EXCEPT

A) had them tried for treason and executed.
B) began to collectivize farms.
C) started a push for major industrialization.
D) viewed their actions as a betrayal.
E) None of the options are correct.

Question 19

Leon Trotsky was forced into exile by Stalin and was finally murdered in which of the following nations?

A) United States
B) Germany
C) Mexico
D) China
E) Italy

Question 20

In the 1920s and 1930s many well-meaning people endured the drawbacks of the Stalinists dictatorship such as lack of political freedom, terror and lawlessness, and a low standard of living because they accepted the premise of one of Stalin's famous quotes.What was that quote?

A) "Pay me now or pay me later."
B) "We shall overcome some day."
C) "I want to fundamentally change Russia."
D) "You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs."
E) Work smarter, not harder."

Question 21

Stalin's show-trials during the last half of the 1930s

A) led to his eventual ouster.
B) proved his popularity with the Russian people.
C) left Stalin an isolated, disliked figure.
D) illustrated the length to which his enemies would go to defeat him.
E) led to the imprisonment of millions.

Question 22

Stalin's ____________________ called for heavy industrialization and ____________________ of farms.

Question 23

The ____________________ were wealthier peasants whose estates were broken up by Soviet collectivization.

Question 24

The March Revolution in Russia took place without real opposition after

A) Alexander Kerensky spoke in Moscow and called for the people to rebel.
B) Tsar Nicholas II abdicated his throne.
C) Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia.
D) Leon Trotsky took control of the military.
E) Russia and Germany signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

Question 25

It is estimated that during Stalin's collectivization drive, perhaps 10 million peasants died, mostly due to

A) homelessness and starvation.
B) hunger strikes in opposition of his plan.
C) artificially induced famine.
D) brutal banishment to Siberia.
E) state-sponsored seizure of crops.

Question 26

Stalin's Five Year Plans were aimed primarily against

A) Orthodox priests.
B) Trotsky's party supporters.
C) peasants and landowners.
D) former aristocrats.
E) church officials.

Question 27

One of the chief rewards for the workers in the new Soviet Union of the 1930s was

A) improved and expanded housing.
B) mass educational facilities.
C) a decisive voice in public affairs.
D) security of life and property against the state.
E) improvements in their working conditions.

Question 28

Lenin had been an exile living in ____________________ and ____________________ before he returned to Russia in 1917.

Question 29

The ____________________ Revolution witnessed the mostly bloodless overthrow of Czar Nicholas II.

Question 30

During the 1930s, the Comintern (Communist International)

A) supported Trotsky.
B) was an organ of Russian foreign policy and manipulated by Stalin.
C) took over control of the Soviet Union.
D) encouraged debate on Marxism.
E) was liquidated by the Cheka.

Question 31

When other countries tried to influence the Russian Revolution, Soviet propaganda used the issue of ____________________ intervention to great advantage during the Russian Civil War.

Question 32

A serious obstacle to labor efficiency and a drain on resources in Russia before, during, and after the revolution is the chronic problem of ____________________.

Question 33

The major goal of the industrial programs in the Five Year Plans was

A) increased production of heavy industry.
B) impressing Western countries.
C) creating higher quality products.
D) concentrating on consumer goods.
E) higher worker wages.

Question 34

In the 1920s through the early 1950s, the only real talent necessary for a successful Communist party career was to be able to pretend to worship ____________________.

Question 35

Stalin's political methods have been described as

A) roughshod.
B) eerily successful.
C) generally a failure.
D) Mafia-like.
E) twisted.

Question 36

The ____________________ armies were massed against the Soviet regime during the Russian Civil War.

Question 37

Lenin's Central Committee, called the ____________________, included his presumed successor, ____________________.

Question 38

Explain the Russian Revolution in 1917 and the role of Lenin specifically.

Question 39

The Great Purge resulted in all of the following EXCEPT

A) anger among the peasants.
B) fear of opposition to Stalin.
C) complete obedience to Stalin.
D) a somewhat terrorized society overall.
E) Both B and C are correct.

Question 40

The ideology of international communism under Stalin differed from Hitler's ideology in Germany by

A) insisting that the Russian people had a special calling to embrace communism in their country only.
B) expounding a racist attitude toward some ethnic groups in the Soviet Union.
C) concentrating on a small minority of Russians as worth "saving."
D) promoting the ideal of a better world for all the world's downtrodden.
E) pushing industrialization for the sole purpose of preparing for war.

Question 41

What did "discipline" mean under Stalinist rule, 1928 to 1941? Describe the apparatus of the personal police state.

Question 42

Evaluate Stalin's agrarian and industrial/economic policies.To what degree did he succeed in achieving his anticipated goals?

Question 43

Describe and explain the emergence of Josef Stalin from the power struggles of 1924 to 1927, as the undisputed master of the Soviet Union and his consistent challenges.

Question 44

Compare and contrast Lenin and Stalin.Which of the two was best for Russia at the time? Be sure to defend your answer.