levo

The Making of Modern Russia, 1855–1991

Gorbachev and the impetus to reform

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 3

Overview

Recall questions on the state of the economy in 1985, the alcohol campaign, the Afghan war, Chernobyl, falling oil prices, uskorenie, and early nationalist unrest.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Numbers

Which foreign war weakened the USSR before Gorbachev's reforms?

Numbers

Which 1986 disaster damaged the regime's credibility?

Key term

What was the state of the Soviet economy when Gorbachev took power?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Which 1986 disaster damaged the regime's credibility?

    Model answer

    The Chernobyl nuclear accident in April 1986.

  2. 2

    Which foreign war weakened the USSR before Gorbachev's reforms?

    Model answer

    The war in Afghanistan (from 1979), which drained resources and morale.

  3. 3

    What was the state of the Soviet economy when Gorbachev took power?

    Model answer

    Growth near zero, technology far behind the West outside the military, agriculture requiring vast grain imports, and revenue dependent on falling oil prices.

  4. 4

    What was the alcohol problem?

    Model answer

    Consumption had roughly doubled since the 1950s with severe effects on health, life expectancy and productivity, prompting Gorbachev's 1985 anti-alcohol campaign.

  5. 5

    What were the consequences of the anti-alcohol campaign?

    Model answer

    Some improvement in health and productivity, but a collapse in state revenue from alcohol duty and a boom in illegal distilling, so it was abandoned.

  6. 6

    How did the Afghan war weaken the USSR?

    Model answer

    Nine years of inconclusive fighting cost around 15,000 Soviet lives and vast sums, damaged the army's prestige, and produced a disillusioned generation of veterans.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

The Crusades, c1095–1204
England, 1509–1603: Authority, Nation and Religion
Britain, 1625–1701: Conflict, Revolution and Settlement
Britain, c1785–c1870: Democracy, Protest and Reform

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Luis de .
RequesensAlbaGranvelle

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe government admitted 96 dead and 333 wounded.
BOther estimates run to several hundred dead.
COpponents claimed thousands.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Robert Aske led the Pilgrimage of Grace.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in The Making of Modern Russia, 1855–1991, on a schedule.

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.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.