Unit 18: Paper 3 (HL) — History of Europe
Topic 18.16: The Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia (1924–2000) Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History Topic 18.16. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Choose1 mark
2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.1 - Q14
Choose the correct answer: Who headed the NKVD during the peak of the Great Terror (1936-1938) before being arrested and shot himself?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q11
Choose the correct description of Khrushchev's "Secret Speech" of February 1956.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q15
Choose the correct description of the October 1993 constitutional crisis in Russia.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q3
Discuss the impact of de-Stalinisation on the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q1
Examine the causes of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q7
Evaluate the impact of a named foreign war on an authoritarian state's domestic stability, with reference to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan (1979).
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q4
To what extent was Brezhnev's foreign policy responsible for weakening the Soviet Union's international position?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q8
Discuss the role of nationalism in the disintegration of a one-party state, with reference to the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1991.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q10
Analyse the reasons for the removal of Nikita Khrushchev from power in October 1964.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q9
To what extent did economic factors explain the survival or collapse of authoritarian one-party rule in the Soviet Union between 1953 and 1991?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q5
Compare and contrast the domestic policies of two authoritarian leaders from different regions, each responsible for major economic restructuring: Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union and Deng Xiaoping of China.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q2
Evaluate the extent to which Gorbachev succeeded in achieving his aims between 1985 and 1991.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.1 - Q13
Choose the correct answer: What term was used to label peasants who resisted collectivization, regardless of their actual wealth?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q12
Choose the event that led directly to the Soviet Union authorising the invasion of Afghanistan.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.1 - Q11
Choose the correct answer: What position gave Stalin the institutional power base he used to defeat his rivals after 1924?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.1 - Q12
Choose the correct answer: Which event in December 1934 is generally seen as the trigger for the Great Terror?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q13
Choose the correct pair of Gorbachev's core reform policies from 1985.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.1 - Q15
Choose the correct answer: Approximately how many people are estimated to have died in the Soviet famine of 1932-1933, known as the Holodomor?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q6
Examine the reasons for the political and economic instability in Russia under Yeltsin (1991–1999).
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 18.16.2 - Q14
Choose the correct date on which the Soviet Union formally ceased to exist.
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