The Collapse of the Soviet Union Quiz
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Questions and Answers

What was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) also known as?

  • Star Wars (correct)
  • Space Shield Initiative
  • Galactic Defense Initiative
  • Cosmic Protection Program

    • What was Gorbachev's main concern about the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)?

  • It would lead to the militarization of space
  • It would give the United States an advantage in nuclear conflict (correct)
  • It would threaten world stability
  • It would weaken the Soviet economy

    • What was the outcome of the meeting in Reykjavik regarding arms reduction?

  • The United States agreed to stop the SDI project
  • Both sides agreed to completely eliminate nuclear weapons
  • The Soviets agreed to reduce their nuclear arsenals
  • No agreement was reached (correct)

    • What was the significance of the Washington Summit towards the end of 1987?

    <p>Both sides agreed for the first time to reduce their nuclear arsenals</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did Gorbachev announce at the United Nations a year after the Washington Summit?

    <p>Reduction of Soviet Armed Forces by 500,000 men</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the American perception of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)?

    <p>They knew it was a pipe dream but used it to pressure the Soviets</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was Gorbachev's main goal in reducing nuclear weapons?

    <p>To strengthen the weakened Soviet economy</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What event signaled the end of the Cold War between the USA and the Soviet Union?

    <p>The meeting between George Bush Senior and Mikhail Gorbachev off the coast of Malta</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the name of the movement that emerged from the strike at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdansk?

    <p>Solidarity</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who was the leader of the Soviet Union during the meeting off the coast of Malta in 1989?

    <p>Mikhail Gorbachev</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the response of the communist government to the workers' protests in Poland in the 1970s?

    <p>Brutally silenced the protests</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which leader tried to create a more open and democratic society in Czechoslovakia but was arrested and replaced by a Soviet-backed leader?

    <p>Alexander Dubcek</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did Gorbachev announce during the news conference after his meeting with George Bush Senior off the coast of Malta?

    <p>He wanted the Soviet Union to be accepted as part of the world community</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the outcome of the introduction of Glastnost and Perestroika in the USSR?

    <p>It led to a relaxation of communist control in Eastern Europe</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the result of the sit-in at the Gdansk Shipyard in the 1980s?

    <p>The birth of the Solidarity movement</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the response of the USSR to the growth of Solidarity's membership?

    <p>Sending troops to the Polish borders as a threat</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did Gorbachev advise the Polish government to do?

    <p>Sit down with Solidarity and eventually agree to free elections</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the significance of Solidarity winning the elections?

    <p>Leading to the first non-communist government in the Soviet Bloc since 1948</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the impact of Poland's success on other communist satellite states?

    <p>Influenced change, notably leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall in East Germany</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the fall of the Berlin Wall symbolize?

    <p>The division between the capitalist West and the Communist East</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the protest against increased food prices in Poland turn into?

    <p>An attempt to overthrow the communist Elite</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the communist government try to do to address crises?

    <p>Buy its way out of crises</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What was the result of Solidarity's demands?

    <p>The government agreeing to negotiate, a move unprecedented in any communist country</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who aimed to reform communism from within to prevent its collapse?

    <p>Mikhail Gorbachev</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What were the reforms implemented by Gorbachev to loosen the party's grip on the economy and allow people to question the past?

    <p>Glasnost and Perestroika</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who was the last leader of the USSR?

    <p>Mikhail Gorbachev</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Who criticized party members and sought to make his mark by sacking corrupt officials?

    <p>Boris Yeltsin</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did Gorbachev propose to give the people a say in how the country was run?

    <p>A new Congress of people's deputies</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did Gorbachev and Reagan mark the beginning of in 1985?

    <p>Efforts to forge a new relationship with the United States</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What did the KGB enforce, leading to repression and fear among the Soviet people?

    <p>Communist Party's control and silenced dissent</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    The Fall of the Soviet Union

    • The USSR was a superpower formed after the 1917 Revolution led by Lenin, aiming to create a communist society based on Karl Marx's ideas.
    • Joseph Stalin pushed through an industrial revolution to fulfill Lenin's promises, but by 1991, the Soviet people rejected communism and the USSR collapsed.
    • The last leader of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, aimed to reform communism from within to prevent its collapse.
    • Gorbachev faced challenges from the entrenched nomenclature, a class of privileged Communist Party officials who controlled the economy and society.
    • Gorbachev implemented glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) to loosen the party's grip on the economy and allow people to question the past.
    • Boris Yeltsin, appointed by Gorbachev, criticized party members and sought to make his mark by sacking corrupt officials.
    • Yeltsin's popularity with the people led to his sacking by the party hardliners, showing the resistance to Gorbachev's reforms.
    • Gorbachev proposed a new Congress of people's deputies, directly elected by the people, to give them a say in how the country was run.
    • Gorbachev sought a new relationship with the West, aiming to reduce military spending and halt the nuclear arms race.
    • The Soviet Union and America faced each other in a nuclear arms race, which the USSR could no longer afford, leading to Gorbachev's attempts to build trust with Western leaders.
    • Gorbachev and Reagan met in Geneva in 1985, marking the beginning of Gorbachev's efforts to forge a new relationship with the United States.
    • The KGB, the Soviet secret police, enforced the Communist Party's control and silenced dissent, leading to repression and fear among the Soviet people.

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    Description

    Test your knowledge of the collapse of the Soviet Union with this quiz. Explore key events and figures such as Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and the impact of reforms like glasnost and perestroika.

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