Unit 2 option 1C: Russia, 1917–91: From Lenin to Yeltsin: Practice Questions

In 1957, as part of his attempt to decentralise the Soviet economy, Nikita Khrushchev established which of the following organisations to replace the central industrial ministries in Moscow?

After taking control of the secret police in 1938, how did Lavrentiy Beria significantly change the administrative focus of the Gulag system?

By the 1970s, the Soviet government adopted increasingly pro-natalist policies. Which factor most influenced this change in social policy?

The Agitprop department, established by the Bolshevik government in 1920, was primarily responsible for which of the following activities?

The Kosygin reforms, introduced in 1965, sought to address economic stagnation by implementing which of the following measures?

State one significant way in which the Soviet government attempted to reduce illiteracy during the 1920s and 1930s.

Explain how the Decree on Land issued in 1917 helped the Bolsheviks consolidate their political control over the Russian peasantry.

Explain how Gorbachev’s policy of Glasnost unintentionally accelerated the collapse of the USSR by allowing for the public expression of long-suppressed nationalist grievances.

Describe the objectives of Nikita Khrushchev's Virgin Lands Scheme introduced in 1954. Identify two factors that contributed to the eventual failure of this agricultural initiative to provide a long-term solution to Soviet food shortages.

Explain the mechanisms of social control used by the Soviet state between 1953 and 1985.
a) How did Brezhnev attempt to tighten controls over mass media and religious expression following the Khrushchev era?
b) Analyze the significance of Andropov in the suppression of dissidents and the monitoring of popular discontent.