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World Cultures 11

Unit II: Russia

Name _______________________________
Date _______
Block ___________

Read the article entitled The Collapse of the Soviet Union and complete the questions below.
Indentify/define each of the following: [remember to answer fully]
a. Politburo the ruling committee of the communist party
b. Soviet hard-liners old members of the government that opposed reforms
c. coup a group of people in a government that work to make a change.
d. CIS a loose federation of former soviet territories.
e. shock therapy- an abrupt shift to free market economics.

1. Identify and define two early changes that Gorbachev made? How were these changes
different from previous Soviet leaders?
- He introduced Glasnost with brought openness to the government. Another thing he
introduced quickly was the idea of perestroika which was economic restructuring.
2. Why would it be ineffective for the central government to decide what should be produced
all over the country?
- It would be ineffective because the central government tells the factories what to do
and what to produce. The amount of products produced and the price that the workers were
being paid all stayed the same so nothing would really improve because the workers have no
motivation to work.
3. Explain Gorbachevs third reform and how it would help to move the country toward
democracy.
- The policy was called democratization. It was made to open up the political party to the
soviets and create a legislative body and improve the foreign policy.
4. What was the INF Treaty? Why did Gorbachev agree to sign it? What effect do you think
this Treaty had on the Cold War?
- The INF was the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces. This treaty banned the use of
nuclear missiles. Gorbachev did not have the money to spend on the war, so he and Ronald
Reagan signed the treaty. This had a good effect on the war because the less weapons used, the
less damage that was made.
5. What effect did Gorbachevs reforms have on Russian ethnic minorities?
- over 100 ethnic groups demanded freedom. Most of them were Russians with 14 other
major ethnic groups.
6. Which satellite nation was first to defy Gorbachev? How did Gorbachev respond?
- Luthiana was the first nation. He sent troops over to the capital to attack unarmed
civilians and also ordered an economic blockade.
7. What was Boris Yeltsins position in Soviet government? Why did he oppose Gorbachev?
8. What name was given to the older communist members in parliament? What opinion did they
have regarding both Gorbachev and Yeltsin? Explain your answer.

9. What was the August Coup? Who orchestrated it?


10. What were the most important reasons for the failure of the Coup?
11. How did the 15 soviet Republics respond to the failed Coup?
12. When Gorbachev stepped down as president, who became the next president?
13. What was the new name of the Soviet Union after this coup?
14. What was Yeltsin attempting to do by forming the CIS? What effect would it have on the
traditional Soviet Union?
15. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Yeltsin was faced with economic issues. What did
he do to attempt to solve these issues? Did it work? Why or why not?
16. When Yeltsin stepped down, a new leader was elected. What are some of the problems
that faced this new leader, Vladimir Putin?
17. What was the Chechnya issue? How did Putin deal with it? Was he able to end this issue
for the new Federation? Explain.
18. In what ways were the policies of Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin similar?

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