Effects of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan on Superpower Relations - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

15 original exam-style questions - 4 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

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This topic is chapter 9 of GCSE History: Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941-91 Practice Book.

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4.9 Effects of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan on Superpower Relations

EDEXCEL 1HI0 · about 55 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Write in full sentences for Questions 13, 14 and 15. You are advised to spend about 65 minutes on this pack.

Give the year the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

Name the US president in office when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan.

(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)

State one measure, announced by the Carter administration, taken against the USSR in response to the invasion.

(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)

Give one other form of economic restriction the United States used against the Soviet Union after the invasion.

(Total for Question 4 is 1 mark)

Name the major international sporting event the Soviet Union led a boycott of in 1984.

(Total for Question 5 is 1 mark)

State one political consequence for US Soviet rhetoric after the invasion of Afghanistan.

(Total for Question 6 is 1 mark)

Give one way NATO countries responded in military terms to the worsening East West relations after 1979.

(Total for Question 7 is 1 mark)

Name one Western ally that joined the United States in the 1980 Olympic boycott.

(Total for Question 8 is 1 mark)

State two effects the US led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics had on international sport diplomacy (one mark for the effect, one mark for supporting detail).

(Total for Question 9 is 2 marks)

State two domestic political consequences in the United States of taking a hard line after the Soviet invasion (one mark for a consequence and one mark for supporting detail).

(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)

State two items the US grain and technology embargo sought to restrict to the Soviet Union (one mark for an item and one mark for a supporting detail).

(Total for Question 11 is 2 marks)

State two ways the Soviet led boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics affected the USSR's international reputation (one mark for a way and one mark for supporting detail).

(Total for Question 12 is 2 marks)

Explain two consequences of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan for superpower relations between 1979 and 1984.

(Total for Question 13 is 8 marks)

Write a narrative account analysing how the United States used political and economic measures, including the grain and technology embargo and the 1980 Olympic boycott, to respond to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan between 1979 and 1981.

You may use the following information in your answer:
- the announcement of the US grain and technology embargo
- the decision to lead a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics

You should also use information of your own.

(Total for Question 14 is 8 marks)

Explain two of the following:
(a) the importance of the US grain and technology embargo for relations between the superpowers
(b) the importance of the 1980 Moscow Olympics boycott for East West cultural and diplomatic contacts
(c) the importance of the Soviet led boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics for the pattern of Cold War retaliation

You must answer on TWO parts.

(Total for Question 15 is 16 marks)

Mark scheme · 4.9 Effects of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan on Superpower Relations

Question 1

B1 1979
Answer: 1979

Question 2

B1 Jimmy Carter
Answer: Jimmy Carter

Question 3

B1 the US-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics
Answer: The US-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics

Question 4

B1 a grain and technology embargo
Answer: A grain and technology embargo

Question 5

B1 the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics
Answer: The 1984 Los Angeles Olympics

Question 6

B1 rhetoric hardened, with increased accusations of aggression and denunciations from both sides
Answer: A hardening of rhetoric, with the US and USSR making stronger public accusations of aggression

Question 7

B1 increased defence spending or rearmament in several NATO states
Answer: Increased defence spending or rearmament in several NATO states

Question 8

B1 an appropriate example, e.g. West Germany or Canada or Japan
Answer: West Germany (other acceptable answers include Canada or Japan)

Question 9

B1 identifies an effect, e.g. politicisation of the Olympics
B1 supporting detail, e.g. leading to reduced East West sporting contact and setting a precedent for reciprocal boycotts
Answer: E.g. it politicised the Olympics, reducing East West sporting contact and creating a precedent for reciprocal boycotts.

Question 10

B1 identifies a consequence, e.g. increased public support for stronger defence posture
B1 supporting detail, e.g. bolstered calls for higher military spending and tougher Cold War policies
Answer: E.g. increased support for a stronger defence posture, leading to pressure for higher military spending and tougher US policy on the USSR.

Question 11

B1 identifies an item, e.g. grain shipments
B1 supporting detail, e.g. to reduce Soviet access to agricultural imports and apply economic pressure
Answer: E.g. grain shipments were restricted, intended to limit Soviet food imports and apply economic pressure.

Question 12

B1 identifies an effect, e.g. portrayed the USSR as retaliatory and unwilling to separate sport from politics
B1 supporting detail, e.g. reduced chances for cultural exchange and reinforced Western narratives of Soviet hostility
Answer: E.g. it made the USSR seem retaliatory and unwilling to separate sport from politics, reducing cultural exchange and reinforcing Western views of Soviet hostility.

Question 13

Level 1 (1-2): Identifies one or two simple consequences with little or no supporting detail.
Level 2 (3-4): Identifies and begins to explain one consequence, supported by some accurate detail.
Level 3 (5-6): Explains two consequences, each supported by accurate and relevant detail showing how they affected superpower relations.
Level 4 (7-8): Explains two consequences in a well-developed and linked way, with precise and accurate supporting detail showing their impact on the relationship between the superpowers.
Indicative content:
- The US led grain and technology embargo increased economic pressure on the USSR, signalling a move away from detente and reducing trade ties that had been built up in the 1970s, undermining efforts at economic cooperation.
- The US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics reduced cultural and sporting contact, increasing mutual hostility and demonstrating that political disputes now extended into international cultural arenas.
- The Soviet boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, largely seen as retaliation, deepened the spiral of tit for tat measures and highlighted the breakdown of trust between the blocs, making diplomatic rapprochement more difficult.
- Hardening rhetoric from both capitals, with more frequent public denunciations, made negotiation harder and increased the domestic political cost of compromise for leaders on both sides.
- Increased rearmament and higher defence spending in NATO countries and the Soviet Union followed, reducing the policy space for detente and increasing the risk of military confrontation or proxy escalation.

Question 14

Level 1 (1-2): Simple, generalised statements with little organisation or sense of sequence or analysis.
Level 2 (3-4): Some accurate knowledge deployed and a basic sequence of events, but limited analysis of connections between them.
Level 3 (5-6): Organised and mostly coherent narrative, showing some analysis of how actions were connected and why they mattered, supported by accurate detail.
Level 4 (7-8): A coherent, well-organised narrative that analyses connections between events and explains clearly how and why US political and economic measures were used, fully supported by precise and accurate detail.
Indicative content:
- Carter initially pursued diplomatic protest but then announced economic measures, including restrictions on grain exports and controls on high technology sales to the USSR, aiming to hurt the Soviet economy and deter further aggression.
- The grain and technology embargo was intended both to apply direct economic pressure and to send a strong political signal that the US would not tolerate a major Soviet military intervention.
- Faced with domestic and international pressure to act, the US also led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, encouraging allies to stay away to increase diplomatic isolation of the Soviet Union and to show moral condemnation.
- These measures were connected: economic sanctions limited material support and trade, while the Olympic boycott aimed to undermine Soviet prestige and rally allied opinion, together representing a coordinated political response that moved US policy away from detente.
- The narrative can include the mixed effectiveness of these measures, such as how some US allies refused full participation in the embargo or how the boycott did not force a Soviet withdrawal, but did harden Cold War divisions and encouraged reciprocal Soviet measures later.

Question 15

Level 1 (1-4): For each part answered, identifies a basic point of importance with little or no supporting detail.
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 with accurate and relevant detail and 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 and showing clearly why the factor mattered for the superpower relationship.
Indicative content:
- (a) The embargo was important because it signalled the end of the relaxed trade relations of detente, applied economic pressure on the USSR and made cooperation in areas such as technology transfer more difficult, increasing mistrust between East and West.
- (b) The 1980 boycott was important because it politicised international sport, reduced East West cultural contact at a high profile level and demonstrated that political disagreements would affect people to people and cultural exchanges, worsening diplomatic atmosphere.
- (c) The Soviet led boycott of 1984 was important because it completed a cycle of reciprocal punishment, showed that the USSR would retaliate in kind to Western measures, and further reduced the possibility of cultural diplomacy as a route to improved relations.
- High scoring answers will compare the relative weight of each factor and consider wider consequences, for example how economic measures and cultural boycotts together limited both material cooperation and informal channels of contact, reinforcing the Cold War division.

Effects of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan on Superpower Relations - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

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4.9 Effects of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan on Superpower Relations

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