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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. What color were the battalions many POWs joined in exchange for food?

2. What color were the patches worn on the shoulders of the Russian soldiers?

3. What is the name of the assassinated Soviet ambassador who had a draft named after him?

4. Where did most arrests happen during the time the Gulag prison systems were in use?

5. Why did the Russian government kill and imprison its people, according to Solzhenitsyn?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways did interrogators try to intimidate prisoners in the early 1920s?

2. What happened to Solzhenitsyn during his third year of University study at the NKVD?

3. What happened in the 1960s when 70 judges were brought before the Supreme Court to justify their actions in the Gulag trials?

4. What was the Section 11 paperwork that Solzhenitsyn signed during his interrogation?

5. Where was Solzhenitsyn arrested, and what was his reaction?

6. What was the hygienic purge?

7. How did Chulpenyev react to the charges brought against him in Mongolia in 1941?

8. What made the first two hours of the day the most difficult for Solzhenitsyn?

9. While imprisoned, what did Solzhenitsyn feel about his Motherland?

10. What reason does Solzhenitsyn give for the mass arrests that were sweeping through Russia during the time of Gulag's height?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Before arriving at Gulag prison, many prisoners, including Solzhenitsyn, spent time in local prisons training for their time at hard labor. Describe life for the prisoners in the local prisons, and compare/contrast their living conditions to those in Gulag. Explain how life for Solzhenitsyn, specifically, changed as he was moved from prison to prison.

Essay Topic 2

When Stalin took over government power from Lenin in 1929, the definition of government criminals changed drastically. Explain how Lenin had defined his criminals while in power, and compare/contrast the definition to Stalin's. Explaom what constituted being labeled a "counter-revolutionist" under Stalin's rule, and what his punishment for these crimes was.

Essay Topic 3

In his memoir, Solzhenitsyn gives very specific descriptions about the soldiers who were a part of the mass arrests leading to the overflow of prisoners in Gulag. What types of men were typically arresting soldiers during this time? What was specific about the arresting soldiers' uniforms? What does Solzhenitsyn remember most about the guards who arrested him?

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