Gorbachev's New Thinking: Glasnost, Perestroika and Reform in the USSR - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

17 original exam-style questions - 5 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

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This topic is chapter 10 of GCSE History: Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 Practice Book.

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4.10 Gorbachev's New Thinking: Glasnost, Perestroika and Reform in the USSR

EDEXCEL 1HI0 · about 60 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Write in full sentences for Questions 15, 16 and 17. You are advised to spend about 65 minutes on this pack.

Give the year in which Mikhail Gorbachev became General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party.

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

Give the name of the policy associated with greater openness in public discussion and the media that Gorbachev promoted from 1985.

(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)

Give the name of the policy aimed at economic restructuring introduced by Gorbachev.

(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)

State one economic problem faced by the Soviet Union in the early 1980s that helped persuade Gorbachev to introduce reform.

(Total for Question 4 is 2 marks)

Give one military or strategic pressure that increased the strain on the Soviet economy in the early 1980s.

(Total for Question 5 is 1 mark)

Name the Soviet leader who died in March 1985, shortly before Gorbachev took power.

(Total for Question 6 is 1 mark)

Name one reform Gorbachev introduced to increase openness in the Soviet media or public debate under glasnost.

(Total for Question 7 is 1 mark)

Give one economic measure Gorbachev used to try to improve Soviet agriculture during perestroika.

(Total for Question 8 is 1 mark)

Give the name of the Communist Party institution in the USSR that Gorbachev sought to reform to allow more internal debate and renewal.

(Total for Question 9 is 1 mark)

State two aims of perestroika introduced by Gorbachev in the USSR after 1985.

(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)

Give the phrase Gorbachev used to describe his overall change in approach to foreign and security policy, stressing diplomacy and cooperation over confrontation.

(Total for Question 11 is 1 mark)

State two domestic consequences within the USSR of Gorbachev allowing more openness under glasnost.

(Total for Question 12 is 2 marks)

State two reasons why Gorbachev was prepared to allow more independence for Eastern European satellite states after 1985.

(Total for Question 13 is 2 marks)

State two economic difficulties that limited how successful perestroika was in the late 1980s.

(Total for Question 14 is 2 marks)

Explain two consequences of Gorbachev introducing glasnost and perestroika in the USSR after 1985.

(Total for Question 15 is 8 marks)

Write a narrative account analysing how Gorbachev's 'New Thinking' altered Soviet domestic and foreign policy between 1985 and 1991.

You may use the following information in your answer:
- how glasnost changed political debate and public expectations within the USSR
- how New Thinking affected relations with Eastern European satellite states

You should also use information of your own.

(Total for Question 16 is 8 marks)

Explain two of the following:
(a) the importance of glasnost for the political changes in the Soviet Union between 1985 and 1991
(b) the importance of perestroika for attempts to revive the Soviet economy
(c) the importance of Gorbachev's willingness to relax control over Eastern Europe for the decline of Soviet influence

You must answer on TWO parts.

(Total for Question 17 is 16 marks)

Mark scheme · 4.10 Gorbachev's New Thinking: Glasnost, Perestroika and Reform in the USSR

Question 1

B1 1985
Answer: 1985

Question 2

B1 Glasnost
Answer: Glasnost

Question 3

B1 Perestroika
Answer: Perestroika

Question 4

B1 identifies an economic problem, e.g. stagnating industrial growth or low productivity
B1 supporting detail, e.g. failure to modernise factories and poor incentives for workers reduced output
Answer: E.g. stagnating industrial growth and low productivity because state factories lacked modern investment and incentives.

Question 5

B1 the high cost of the arms race with the United States
Answer: The high cost of the arms race with the United States.

Question 6

B1 Konstantin Chernenko
Answer: Konstantin Chernenko

Question 7

B1 greater freedom for newspapers and journals to report previously suppressed issues
Answer: Allowing newspapers and journals greater freedom to report previously suppressed issues.

Question 8

B1 allow some private plots or cooperatives greater freedom to sell produce
Answer: Allowing collective farms greater freedom to operate and sell produce, and supporting private plots or cooperatives.

Question 9

B1 the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and its central structures, including the Politburo
Answer: The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU), including reforms to the Politburo and Party structures.

Question 10

B1 introduce some market-type incentives or decentralise economic decision-making
B1 improve efficiency and modernisation of industry and agriculture
Answer: E.g. to introduce limited market incentives and decentralise economic decisions, and to modernise industry and agriculture to raise efficiency.

Question 11

B1 New Thinking
Answer: New Thinking

Question 12

B1 increased public criticism of the Communist Party and state institutions
B1 a rise in nationalist movements and calls for greater autonomy in some Soviet republics
Answer: More open criticism of the Party and state, and growth of nationalist movements demanding autonomy in republics.

Question 13

B1 to reduce the economic and military cost of keeping strict control over satellite states
B1 belief that reform in Eastern Europe should be allowed so long as it reduced tension and avoided direct confrontation
Answer: To lower the economic and military burden of direct control, and because he judged that allowing reform would reduce tensions and avoid confrontation.

Question 14

B1 persistent shortages of consumer goods and failing infrastructure that could not be quickly fixed
B1 resistance from entrenched managers and bureaucracy who resisted decentralisation
Answer: Ongoing shortages and poor infrastructure, and resistance from managers and bureaucracy to decentralisation.

Question 15

Level 1 (1-2): Identifies one or two general consequences of glasnost and perestroika, with little or no supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (3-4): Identifies and begins to explain one consequence, supported by accurate detail.
Level 3 (5-6): Explains two consequences of Gorbachev's reforms, each supported by accurate and relevant detail.
Level 4 (7-8): Explains two consequences in a well-developed, logically structured way, supported throughout by precise and accurate detail, showing how the consequences connect.
Indicative content:
- Political opening, glasnost, led to increased public criticism of the Communist Party and exposure of past abuses, which weakened the Party's authority and encouraged demands for political pluralism.
- Economic restructuring, perestroika, aimed to improve efficiency but often led to disruption and shortages as central controls were loosened and old supply mechanisms broke down, reducing living standards and increasing public dissatisfaction.
- Glasnost encouraged nationalist movements in the Soviet republics by allowing discussion of local grievances and historical injustices, which contributed to pressures for independence in places such as the Baltic states.
- Gorbachev's reforms changed expectations: once open debate and limited market mechanisms were permitted, populations in the USSR and Eastern Europe pressed for faster and more radical change, making controlled reform harder to manage.

Question 16

Level 1 (1-2): Simple, generalised statements with little organisation or sense of change over time.
Level 2 (3-4): Some accurate knowledge is deployed with limited organisation into a sequence; the account may be more a list of events than a developed narrative.
Level 3 (5-6): The account is organised and mostly coherent, and shows some analysis of how the situation changed, with accurate supporting detail.
Level 4 (7-8): Demonstrates a coherent, well-organised narrative that analyses connections between events across the period, showing clearly how the situation changed, fully supported by precise and accurate detail.
Indicative content:
- From 1985 Gorbachev introduced perestroika and glasnost to tackle economic malaise and political stagnation, starting with modest reforms such as allowing more openness in the press and limited enterprise autonomy.
- Glasnost led to more public debate about the Soviet past and present, including criticism of Stalinist crimes and acknowledgement of economic failures, which altered public expectations and eroded unquestioning loyalty to the Party.
- Perestroika attempted to decentralise planning and introduce incentives, but it encountered resistance from managers and the Party, producing economic disruption and shortages that intensified public frustration.
- In foreign policy, New Thinking reduced willingness to use force to keep Eastern Europe in line, so the USSR tolerated greater independence and reform in satellite states, altering the Brezhnev-era norm of intervention.
- By 1991 the combined effect of rising nationalism, economic problems and political openness had transformed the Soviet system: local leaders and republics pushed for autonomy, and the old centralised model found it increasingly hard to hold together.

Question 17

Level 1 (1-4): For each part answered: identifies a general point of importance, with little or no supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (5-8): For each part answered: begins to explain importance, supported by some accurate detail.
Level 3 (9-12): For each part answered: explains importance clearly, supported by accurate and relevant detail, with some analysis of consequences.
Level 4 (13-16): For each part answered: explains importance in a well-developed, analytical way, fully supported by precise and accurate detail, showing clearly why the factor mattered for the outcome named.
Indicative content:
- (a) Glasnost was important because it opened public debate and exposed past abuses and current failures, weakening the Communist Party's legitimacy, encouraging political pluralism and enabling republic-level demands for autonomy, all of which reshaped Soviet politics between 1985 and 1991.
- (b) Perestroika was important because it sought to tackle long-term economic weaknesses by decentralising decision-making and introducing incentives, but its partial measures and resistance from managers limited success and often produced short-term disruption that made economic recovery difficult.
- (c) Gorbachev's willingness to relax control over Eastern Europe was important because it ended the logic of automatic Soviet intervention, allowed reformist movements in satellite states to proceed without Soviet military response, and thereby contributed directly to the rapid reduction of Soviet influence in the region by the late 1980s and 1990.

Gorbachev's New Thinking: Glasnost, Perestroika and Reform in the USSR - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

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