Deck 31: Collapse and Reemergence in Communist Europe

Question 1

What was the major hallmark of Leonid Brezhnev's foreign policy in the 1960s and 1970s?

A)He pushed for and openly advocated international anti-Semitism.
B)He implemented a foreign policy to retain worldwide communist gains.
C)He wanted to loosen the controls on the Soviet satellites.
D)He was determined to "humanize" the Party bureaucracy.
E)He led the reformation of the command economy to end stagnation.

Answer 1

He implemented a foreign policy to retain worldwide communist gains.

Question 2

Which of the communist Eastern European satellite states was the first to break loose from Stalinist domination?

A)Czechoslovakia under Havel
B)Yugoslavia under Tito
C)Poland under Gomulka
D)Romania under Ceausescu
E)Austria under Walesa

Answer 2

Yugoslavia under Tito

Question 3

In what way did Nikita Khrushchev change the structure of Soviet Russia?

A)The Communist Party would stop intervention in communist nations abroad.
B)The Communist Party controlled the power not the KGB.
C)The Communist Party was drawn from the educated elite.
D)The Communist Party needed to undergo purges of the Stalinists.
E)The Communist Party supported the plan of peaceful coexistence.

Answer 3

The Communist Party controlled the power not the KGB.

Question 4

What was considered the most significant domestic reform initiated by Gorbachev?

A)Terminating the use of the KGB to investigate citizens.
B)Establishing a true multi-party democracy.
C)Abolishing censorship of the press and dissidents.
D)Re-establishing religion as a key component of the state.
E)Pressuring the Soviet state to invest in education for women.

Question 5

Which of the following nations was considered to be the largest of the Soviet satellite states?

A)Yugoslavia
B)Poland
C)Albania
D)Greece
E)Georgia

Question 6

How did the Soviet puppet government leaders in post-World War II Eastern Europe differ from Stalin?

A)They were not true Marxist leaders.
B)They were never able to develop nationalistic feelings in their people.
C)The majority of the leaders were more adaptable than Stalin.
D)They did not try to rule as dictators.
E)They were considered hybrid socialist-capitalist leaders.

Question 7

After being deposed in 1989, what was generally the fate of the old discredited leaders of various Eastern European Communist parties?

A)They were hunted down and accused of crimes against their people.
B)They were seized, imprisoned, and then executed without a trial.
C)They were allowed, all too often, to retain their government posts.
D)They were sent into retirement without being accused of crime.
E)They fled their countries and sought political asylum overseas.

Question 8

All of the following were initiatives under Gorbachev to deescalate the Cold War EXCEPT

A)Signed agreements with the US on arms control and troop reductions.
B)Made gestures to China to bring about reconciliation.
C)Imposed martial law in Poland to control the resistance movement.
D)Reduced the costly arms race with the US.
E)Withdrew troops from the unpopular war in Afghanistan.

Question 9

Who is considered the last president of the Soviet Union?

A)Mikhail Gorbachev
B)Leonid Brezhnev
C)Boris Yeltsin
D)Yuri Andropov
E)Nikita Khrushchev

Question 10

After Stalin, who was the longest serving Soviet leader?

A)Khrushchev
B)Gorbachev
C)Dubcek
D)Brezhnev
E)Yeltsin

Question 11

All of these were features of the Khrushchev era EXCEPT

A)the denunciation of Stalin.
B)the Velvet Revolution.
C)peaceful coexistence.
D)the Berlin Wall's construction.
E)tension with Maoist China.

Question 12

Which English word best describes the Russian term  glasnost ?

A)restructuring
B)freedom
C)independence
D)solidarity
E)openness

Question 13

After World War II, how did the Soviet Union gain control of Poland?

A)By sending in the Russian air force on nightly raids to bomb Poland into submission.
B)By using a pro-Soviet group backed by the Red Army to disrupt their political opponents.
C)By intimidating the Polish anti-communists in the country to accept satellite status from Russia.
D)By aligning with the Polish Nazi resistance movements to overthrow Poland's government.
E)By threatening to go to war with Poland if they refused to accept occupation by the Soviets.

Question 14

How many of the former Soviet republics opted to join the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991?

A)9
B)11
C)15
D)4
E)13

Question 15

Which of the following best describes the Commonwealth of Independent States?

A)A forceful, tightly-knit body consisting of Russia and its former republics.
B)A group of Russian republics dominated by predominantly Muslim states.
C)A body consisting of all of the former members of the Soviet Union.
D)A body of republics that orchestrated a series of bilateral agreements among its members for mutual security.
E)A weak confederation of most former Soviet republics dominated by the Russian republic.

Question 16

In the area of consumer goods, what was the situation for Soviet citizens in the era following World War II?

A)Production slowed to such a small scale that Zimbabwe had a larger gross domestic product (GDP).
B)The Soviet consumers benefited from free trade with Eastern European countries.
C)The Soviets were in worse shape after World War II than during the years of the Depression.
D)The Soviet citizens were allowed to use the black market to improve their lives.
E)The availability of consumer goods had improved but the Soviet Union lagged in heavy industry.

Question 17

What was the only feature of Khrushchev's system that Brezhnev preserved?

A)Allowing greater leeway on freedom of the press and of speech.
B)Entering into aggressive, risk-taking confrontations with the United States.
C)Raising consumption and living standards.
D)The permitting of debate within the CPSU on the future of Marxist socialism.
E)The easing of restrictions on religious worship.

Question 18

Who was considered Putin's temporary successor in order for him to retain control of Russia?

A)Yuri Andropov
B)Alexander Dubcek
C)Vaclav Havel
D)Dmitry Medvedev
E)Boris Yeltsin

Question 19

Under the terms of the Yalta Agreement, what did the Russians agree to do?

A)Pull out of occupied Poland at the end of the war.
B)Carry out free elections in Eastern Europe within three months of the end of the war.
C)Receive control of the Eastern European countries that were on their border.
D)Oversee elections in Eastern European countries as soon as reasonably possible.
E)Join the United States in the Pacific theater within three months.

Question 20

What led to the downfall of Khrushchev in the eyes of the Communist Party?

A)An attempt to gain military superiority over the United States.
B)The denunciation of Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Party.
C)The emphasis on producing heavy industrial products.
D)The policy of allowing some free speech and eliminating censorship.
E)An attempt to maintain control over the satellites that were communist.

Question 21

Which of the following was NOT a result of the end of communism in Russia?

A)A higher crime rate and the appearance of a business elite.
B)A very clear division between the haves and have nots.
C)Short term stability of the economy, with Western investments.
D)Rapid economic inflation and endemic government corruption.
E)Rising unemployment because of bankrupt companies.

Question 22

____________________ led a group of reformers in 1991 that prevented the Russian hardliners' attempted coup of Russia.

Question 23

The Soviet Union and the United States fought the last surrogate war in what region?

A)Korea
B)Cuba
C)Afghanistan
D)Poland
E)Chechnya

Question 24

In a highly significant speech at the 20th  Communist Party Congress in 1956, ____________________ revealed many of the crimes and atrocities committed under Stalin.

Question 25

In 1968, Brezhnev quelled the attempt by ____________________ to separate itself from Soviet domination.

Question 26

What was true of Soviet Russia under the Brezhnev regime?​

A)​It became a leader in technological and scientific advancements.
B)​It subscribed to a policy of peaceful coexistence with non-communist nations.
C)​It saw a rise in production of consumer goods and a better standard of living.
D)​It became a Third World country in all aspects except military technology.
E)​It allowed satellite nations to break away from mother Russia.

Question 27

Which of the following is the most accurate description of Nikita Khrushchev?

A)A Stalinist to the core − until he made the secret speech.
B)An ardent communist who had a knack for pulling disparate groups together.
C)A close personal friend of both Stalin and Castro.
D)A strong believer in Russia's secret police state.
E)A volatile personality in foreign and domestic affairs who infuriated the Communist party.

Question 28

The ____________________  was the period when the Eastern European countries rid themselves of communism and communists.

Question 29

____________________ was the territory annexed by Russia in March 2014.

Question 30

____________________ was the Czech Communist Party leader who attempted to give Czechoslovakia socialism with a face .

Question 31

Perestroika is a Russian term that may very simply be defined in English as ____________________.

Question 32

Which of these has NOT been an issue with which Russia's President Vladimir Putin has had to deal?

A)The breakaway republic of Chechnya and its terrorists.
B)The weakness of the Russian agriculture sector.
C)The tension in the relationship with the United States.
D)The difficulty of trying to repress democracy and his political opponents.
E)The interference in former states and government corruption.

Question 33

Russia supported the ____________________ in the Syrian Civil War that started in 2011.

Question 34

What was the primary cause of the fall of communism in Eastern Europe?

A)The failure of communism to deliver economic progress.
B)The reinforced nationalist resistance to Russian dominance.
C)The Communist party attempted to retain support by allowing free elections.
D)The transition from state-owned businesses to a business elite running private companies.
E)The weakness of the agricultural sector in the economy.

Question 35

What was considered the ultimate symbol of the Cold War between the East and West?

A)the Velvet Revolution
B)the Kremlin
C)the Cuban Missile Crisis
D)the Berlin Wall
E)perestroika and glasnost

Question 36

Which of the following Soviet leaders acted to end the Cold War in the most peaceful and significant way?

A)Stalin
B)Gorbachev
C)Khrushchev
D)Brezhnev
E)Chernenko

Question 37

____________________ was the electrician who led the nationwide peaceful protest called Solidarity.

Question 38

In the ____________________, Soviet Russia agreed to allow free democratic elections in Eastern Europe as soon as conditions permitted.

Question 39

What was the purpose of the Brezhnev Doctrine?

A)It put the world on notice that the Soviet Union was preparing an invasion.
B)It demonstrated that the Soviet Union intended to remain the leader in world Marxism.
C)It forced Eastern European states to choose between communism and capitalism.
D)It was to allow no existing satellite states to become independent.
E)It claimed all Eastern European countries must continue under communism.

Question 40

What best describes Tito's brand of communism in Yugoslavia?

A)A hybrid of Marxist-Leninist beliefs.
B)A prickly neutrality.
C)A Marxist stronghold.
D)An unquestioning support of the Soviet Union.
E)Social engineering with communist overtones.

Question 41

Term for identification: command economy

Question 42

Term for identification: perestroika

Question 43

Term for identification: Nikita Khrushchev

Question 44

With the end of Communist rule in Russia and Eastern Europe, what major challenges do these areas face in the 21st  century including political, economic, and social issues?

Question 45

Term for identification: Mikhail Gorbachev

Question 46

Describe the end of communist rule and the breakup of the Soviet Union. During this time, which ruler was more significant: Gorbachev or Yeltsin? Defend your answer with examples.

Question 47

Term for identification: glasnost

Question 48

Term for identification: apparatchik

Question 49

Describe the issues facing Eastern Europe in 1989. Was Eastern Europe successful in solving these issues? Support your answer with examples.

Question 50

Term for identification: Solidarity movement

Question 51

Term for identification: Revolution of 1989

Question 52

Explain how and why the Soviet Union was allowed to create a sphere of control in Eastern Europe between 1945 and 1950?

Question 53

Term for identification: Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

Question 54

Compare and contrast Soviet premiers Khrushchev and Brezhnev. In what ways did Khrushchev deviate from Stalin's methods? How did Brezhnev differ from his predecessor?

Question 55

Term for identification: peaceful coexistence

Question 56

Describe the structure of the Stalinist system from 1945 to 1953. How would you assess its successes and failures? Defend your answer with examples.