Question 1

The Stalinist purges were distinct from other mass persecutions of the 20th century because of which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A) There were legitimate trials before sentencing. 
B) They occurred only in urban areas. 
C) Members of the military were immune. 
D) They were motivated by class rather than race. 
E) Virtually anyone in the Soviet Union could be a target.

Question 2

Which of the following describes the Red Terror?

Accepted Answer

A) The West's irrational fear of Communism 
B) It was a nickname of the Communist army 
C) The assassination of Lenin 
D) The execution of thousands in the midst of civil war 
E) A plague-like disease that swept through the Russian countryside

Question 3

The goal of the Soviet Union's first Five Year Plan was which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A) Purging all political dissenters 
B) Industrializing the Soviet Union 
C) Eliminating all foreign influence 
D) Improving the conditions of peasants 
E) Using experts from other nations to build infrastructure

Question 4

Which of the following is true of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

Accepted Answer

A) It was never enacted. 
B) Poland joined the Allies. 
C) Russia lost significant territory. 
D) The Turks agreed to end persecution of the Armenians. 
E) Germany promised to stop sinking American ships.

Question 5

Which of the following explains why Hitler wanted to conquer Russia?

Accepted Answer

A) As a defensive move against Russian invasion 
B) To claim all of continental Europe and acquire Lebensraum 
C) To restore the German territory lost in World War I 
D) He did not, but Stalin forced his hand 
E) Once Russia fell, Japan would be accessible

Question 6

Which the following describes Russia on the eve of the Russian revolution?

Accepted Answer

A) Overwhelmingly agricultural 
B) Predominantly industrial 
C) Evenly split between industry and agriculture 
D) More similar to feudal society than Western democracy 
E) Modernized and compatible with Western Europe

Question 7

After World War II, reconstruction of Europe was greatly facilitated by which of the following?

Accepted Answer

A) The Treaty of Ghent 
B) The SALT talks 
C) The Marshall Plan 
D) The Warsaw pact 
E) The Truman Doctrine

Question 8

What ended the alliance between Hitler and Stalin?

Accepted Answer

A) The British 
B) Hitler's dislike of Communism 
C) Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union 
D) Stalin's claiming Alsace-Lorraine 
E) The Munich Crisis

Question 9

The New Economic Policy developed in the Soviet Union between 1921 and 1927 had what net effect on the economy?

Accepted Answer

A) It was a period of unprecedented growth. 
B) There was no discernible change from the war-era economy. 
C) It resolved some issues from the war but failed to make significant progress. 
D) It became the model for Soviet economics throughout the 20th century. 
E) It required too much foreign capital to be successful.

Question 10

Which of the following explains Stalin's justification for bringing the "Iron Curtain" down on Eastern Europe?

Accepted Answer

A) The instability after World War I showed self-rule was not viable. 
B) Historically, the land had been part of the Russian empire. 
C) The territory compensated for damage done by the Germans in the war. 
D) The occupied Eastern European nations had strong Communist movements. 
E) The Soviet Union needed a buffer zone in the face of German aggression.

Exam 6: Soviet Union