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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who at the Central Committee's ideology office was behind the March 13 letter in Sovetskaya Rossiya?

2. What textbook did Stalin supervise and have fifty million copies published?

3. Who was Bukharian's wife?

4. In 1968, what was Alexander Dubcek's attempt to create "socialism with a human face" called?

5. When was Gorbachev born?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What happened in the 1940s in the woods outside Kalinin?

3. Why is life in the mines not fit for human beings?

4. What central fact of Gorbachev's early life did he keep to himself until 1990?

5. What was the Doctors' Plot?

6. Who was the most flamboyant mafia figure in the Soviet Union?

7. Who is Lydia Chukovskaya?

8. Why was Andropov important to Gorbachev?

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

10. What was the homeless situation in Moscow in 1988?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

The first piece of writing to appear in the Soviet Union by Solzhenitsyn in three decades was a piece titled "How Can We Revitalize Russia." Explain how Solzhenitsyn wanted to solve the problems in the Soviet Union and why the Party felt so threatened by his views.

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)

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