The Russian Federation — what caused the transition
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All 12 Flashcards — The Russian Federation — what caused the transition
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Question
What does glasnost mean and when did Gorbachev launch it?
Answer
'Openness' — loosened censorship from 1985, letting citizens and the press criticise Party failures openly.
Question
What does perestroika mean and when was it launched?
Answer
'Restructuring' — economic reform from 1987 allowing small private cooperatives and more factory control over production.
Question
Why is the Soviet Union before 1985 called a one-party state?
Answer
Only the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was legally allowed to hold power — no opposition parties or free elections existed.
Question
What is the nomenklatura?
Answer
The privileged class of Communist Party officials who received better jobs, housing, and access to goods than ordinary Soviet citizens.
Question
What is 'the era of stagnation'?
Answer
The period of slowing Soviet economic growth under Brezhnev, roughly 1964–1982, which Gorbachev inherited in 1985.
Question
What was the Brezhnev Doctrine, and what changed in 1989?
Answer
The old policy of using Soviet force to keep Eastern Europe communist; Gorbachev ended it in 1989 by refusing to intervene.
Question
List three Eastern European countries that left communism in 1989.
Answer
Any three of: Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Romania — all left communist rule in 1989.
Question
When did the Berlin Wall fall, and why does it matter?
Answer
9 November 1989 — the most symbolic single moment showing communism's visible collapse in Eastern Europe.
Question
What is the key irony of Gorbachev's reforms?
Answer
Glasnost and perestroika were meant to save communism by fixing its problems, but instead they exposed failures and accelerated collapse.
Question
Compare glasnost and perestroika.
Answer
Glasnost opened political/media freedom (1985); perestroika restructured the economy (1987) — together they revealed problems faster than they solved them.
Question
For Paper 1 Q1, what should you do with source content?
Answer
State specific details from the source and explicitly link them to the inquiry question, not just describe the source generally.
Question
Which country's 1989 transition was the only violent one, and what happened?
Answer
Romania — communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu was overthrown and executed in December 1989.
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Topic 3.2 hub
The Russian Federation (1985–1999)
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