View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Dinmukhamed Kunayev's wife want her husband to get for her?

2. How did young Soviet reporters learn how to interview members of the political establishment?

3. Why did Arnold Yeryomenko come to Moscow in June 1988?

4. Who was Bukharian's wife?

5. What kept the Soviet economy going for awhile?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was Andropov important to Gorbachev?

2. Why did Shakhnazarov say that Gorbachev, himself, and all the others who surrounded Gorbachev were double-thinkers?

3. How did the revolution from below begin in July of 1989?

4. What was the Doctors' Plot?

5. Who is Lydia Chukovskaya?

6. Why did the salmon catch rot on Sakhalin Island?

7. Why was the Communist Party doomed to failure after they lost control of history?

8. What did filmmaker Tofik Shakhverdiyev say it meant in 1988 to be a Stalinist?

9. Why did Natasha Rapoport not emigrate to Israel?

10. What did Gorbachev do about the letter published March 13 in the Sovetskaya Rossiya?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In the book, Remnick states that "Chernobyl...was a kind of run of the Soviet system, a horrible metaphor for the era that began with the Revolution in 1917 and was now ending." Using examples from the book, explain Chernobyl's metaphor for the Soviet system.

Essay Topic 2

In writing, bias is a preconceived opinion about a subject. Whereas a slant is to interpret or present ideas based on a special interest or opinion. Argue whether David Remnick used either bias or slant when he was writing Lenin's Tomb. Use specific examples from the book to support your opinion.

Essay Topic 3

The poem "Requiem" by Anna Akhmatova became a voice for the organization Memorial. Explain how the poem and the experiences of the poet made this poem a suitable voice and a credo for remembering the victims of the Soviet regime.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 934 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample