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2T The Crisis of Communism: The USSR and the Soviet Empire, 1953–2000

Romania's Revolution and the Collapse of Communism

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 2

Overview

Recall questions on why Romania's revolution turned violent, the Securitate, the end of the Brezhnev Doctrine, economic decline and the demonstration effect, and the elections, market reforms, end of the Warsaw Pact and Western expansion that followed.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

What role did the Securitate play in Romania's violent revolution?

Key term

What was the 'demonstration effect' in the context of 1989?

Key term

What economic transition occurred in the former satellite states after 1989?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How did Ceaușescu's personal stance contribute to the violent nature of Romania's revolution?

    Model answer

    His refusal to reform meant there was no peaceful path to change.

  2. 2

    What role did the Securitate play in Romania's violent revolution?

    Model answer

    The Securitate secret police were used violently against demonstrators, escalating the conflict.

  3. 3

    Why was there no internal pressure for reform within Romania's Communist Party?

    Model answer

    There was an absence of reformist elements within the ruling party, unlike in other Eastern Bloc countries.

  4. 4

    What was the Brezhnev Doctrine, and what happened to it under Gorbachev?

    Model answer

    The Brezhnev Doctrine justified Soviet military intervention to preserve communist regimes in satellite states; Gorbachev abandoned it, removing the ultimate guarantee of communist power.

  5. 5

    How did economic conditions across Eastern Europe undermine communist governments?

    Model answer

    Shortages of consumer goods, declining living standards, and visible contrast with Western prosperity undermined the legitimacy of communist rule.

  6. 6

    What was the 'demonstration effect' in the context of 1989?

    Model answer

    Successful protests in one country encouraged similar movements elsewhere, creating a rapid domino effect across Eastern Europe.

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Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

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