A F T E R T H E F A L L :

T H E W E S T E R N W O R L D I N A G L O B A L A G E ( S I N C E 1 9 8 5 )

C O M M O N W E A L T H O F I N D E P E N D E N T S T A T E S

The Revolutionary Era in the Soviet Union

RussiaCIS Member StatesAssociate StatesFormer Socialist Republics uninvolved in CIS

The Gorbachev Era (1985-1991)

When Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 he began to institute a series of reform programs that were designed to save an empire that was declining. He felt that if the USSR was to compete with the US and the West, it had to change and be more realistic about its shortcomings.Growth of nationalist movements within USSR.

The End of the Soviet Union (1991)

Gorbachev struggled to please conservatives and liberals.Failed right-wing coup in August 1991.The USSR dissolved in December 1991 after Ukraine voted for independence, and leaders of the republics announced it “ceased to exist”Replaced by a less powerful, voluntary Commonwealth of Independent StatesGorbachev resigned and Boris Yeltsin became President

The New Russia (1991-1999)

Marred by a poor economy, social disorder, organized crime.Yeltsin fought against communists and nationalists over the role of president and the structure of governmentFinancially burdening war in Chechnya, a Muslim region seeking independence.

The Putin Era (1999-present)

Yeltsin resigned in 1999 and was replaced by Vladimir Putin (ex-KGB).Strengthened powers of the central government.Escalated the war in Chechnya.Growth of the economy overall, but vast income disparitiesSilencing of media dissent

The ruling policies of Mikhail Gorbachev in the Soviet Union

a) included the forcible exportation of Russian Communism to Central and South America.

b) evoked a "New Thinking" about world affairs and the balance of power leading to new arms limitation treaties and greater autonomy for Communist regimes in Eastern Europe.

c) increased political repression in Russia and in Eastern Europe.

d) grew out of Russian misperceptions of United States strengths and failed to appreciate that American military spending and tax reductions under Ronald Reagan had greatly increased American budget deficits.

e) led to a reform of Soviet Communism and the permanent strengthening of the Soviet regime.

Question 1

Mikhail Gorbachev's radical reforms included all of the following except

a) the creation of a new Soviet Parliament.

b) the creation of a market economy with limited free enterprise and private property.

c) to open discussion of Soviet weaknesses in public.

d) to initiate policies of perestroika and glasnost.

e) the termination of the office of president of the Soviet Union.

Question 2

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the leader of Russia became

a) Boris Yeltsin.

b) Andrei Sakharov.

c) Leonid Brezhnev.

d) Josif Venediktov.

e) Vladimir Putin.

Question 3

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia struggled with all of the following except:

a) a renewed Communist Party majority which took over the government.

b) organized crime.

c) an uprising in largely Muslim Chechnya.

d) economic hardships.

e) a president who was often ill.

Question 4

Under Vladimir Putin's presidency, all of the following have occurred except:

a) power was centralized in the federal government.

b) Russia ended its involvement in Chechnya.

c) as many as 40 percent of the population lived in poverty.

d) the economy grew significantly and the government had a budget surplus.

e) the economy significantly depended upon exports of oil and natural gas.

Question 5

The first and most successful independence movements among the Soviet republics during Gorbachev's rule occurred in the Baltic area of

a) Afghanistan.

b) Azerbaijan.

c) Lithuania.

d) Georgia.

e) Chechnya.

Question 6

Boris Yeltsin was succeeded as president of Russia by

a) Lech Walesa.

b) Mikhail Gorbachev.

c) Vladimir Putin.

d) Yuri Andropov.

e) Andrei Sakharov.

Question 7

E A S T E R N E U R O P E : A F T E R T H E F A L L

Eastern Europe: The Revolutions of 1989 and the Collapse of

Communist Order

Former Soviet UnionFormerly Under Soviet InfluenceFormer CzechoslovakiaFormer YugoslaviaOther Nations

The Fall

Under Gorbachev, the USSR was no longer going to interfere in the internal affairs of the Eastern bloc nations. This signaled the end of communist regimes.Each former satellite had a slightly different transition to a world without Russian control . Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary’s transformation was relatively peaceful.Romania’s army no longer obeyed Ceausescu’s orders and in fact, turned on him.

Cutting holes in flags was common

After the Fall

Once the initial euphoria of a post-Soviet world set in many East European nations faced daunting problems including a lack of democratic tradition and weak economies. Ethnic squabbling emerged particularly in Czechoslovakia.

Many nations applied for inclusion into the European Union or NATO.

Some worried about West Europe’s dominance.

The Reunification of Germany

Germany reunited in 1990. The former East Germany was absorbed by West Germany and Berlin became the capital once more.

The Christian Democrats were the major party engineering the re-unification.

The Disintegration of Yugoslavia

The change sweeping through East Europe affected Yugoslavia and without strongman Marshal Tito the situation turned violent.

Croatia and Slovenia tried to leave the federation and the largely Serbian Yugoslav army battled them. Eventually Slovenia and Croatia gained independence.

Bosnia was to be a different story.

Oh, the horror

War in Bosnia

In Bosnia a four year war drug on with the Serbs attempting to drive non-Serbs from the areas under their control in a policy of ethnic cleansing.

The US and NATO began a bombing campaign that forced the Serbs to sign a peace treaty called the Dayton Accords.

Bosnia was split into a loose union and NATO peacekeepers have been there since 1995.

War in Kosovo

Fighting then erupted in the province of Kosovo which was inhabited by Albanians and Serbs.The Serbs, under the leadership of Slobodan Milosevic, a Serb nationalist, attempted to do in Kosovo what they had done in Bosnia. Again, under NATO pressure, the Serbs had to back down.

The Aftermath

From 1991 to 2000 Yugoslavia was torn apart by war and ethnic strife. All six republics that had formed Yugoslavia after WWI are once again separate republics but it is an uneasy peace.Slobodan Milosevic was put on trial for crimes against humanity but he died while in prison.

The Solidarity movement in Poland

a) was temporarily crushed by General Lech Walesa in 1981.

b) failed to gain massive support due to stiff opposition from the conservative Polish Catholic church.

c) was formed by Wladyslaw Gomulka in 1956.

d) lacked solidarity and quickly disintegrated and disappeared in 1980.

e) ended the Communist monopoly of power in 1988-1989.

Question 8

In 1988, the first free parliamentary elections to occur in Eastern Europe for forty years took place in

a) Hungary.

b) Austria.

c) Poland.

d) Estonia.

e) Lithuania.

Question 9

The leader of Czechoslovakia in 1990 who replaced the Communist government was the former dissident writer and philosopher

a) Kádár.

b) Husák.

c) Dubcek.

d) Havel.

e) Dubrovnik.

Question 10

The brutal dictatorial Communist government of Nicolae Ceausecu came to an end 1989 in

a) Czechoslovakia.

b) Bulgaria.

c) East Germany.

d) Romania.

e) Yugoslavia.

Question 11

An Eastern European republic that, fueled by ethnic rivalries, came into existence in 1993 with the breakup of a previously existing state is

a) Lithuania.

b) Estonia.

c) Albania.

d) Lichtenstein.

e) Slovakia.

Question 12

Probably the most symbolic events ending the Cold War was

a) the death of Mao.

b) the Helsinki Accords.

c) Russia's defeat in the Afghan war.

d) the fall of the Berlin Wall.

e) the election of Boris Yeltsin as president of the Soviet Union.

Question 13

The politician who kept the fractious state of Yugoslavia together for decades after World War II was

a) Marshall Tito.

b) General Filopovic.

c) President Milosevic.

d) Prime Minister Kostunica.

e) Marshall Petain.

Question 14

Yugoslavia was divided into warring factions because of

a) demands for ethnic separatism.

b) differences of political goals.

c) support of the Serbs.

d) lack of cultural diversity.

e) religious uniformity.

Question 15

The Dayton Accords of November 1995

a) recognized the recreation of a unified Yugoslavia.

b) brought an end to the war in Bosnia with a peace plan acceptable to Bosnian Muslims, Croatians, and Serbs.

c) were achieved despite the opposition of the United States.

d) did not require the use of military force by NATO for their achievement.

e) failed due to intervention by the European Community.

Question 16

The tactic of "ethnic cleansing," murdering or forcibly removing ethnic minorities from their lands in the former Yugoslavia, is a savage strategy of modern political terror practiced most brutally by

a) Serbs.

b) Croatians.

c) Bosnians.

d) Herzgovenians.

e) Slovenes.

Question 17

The Yugoslavian president ousted from power in 2000 and who was subsequently put on trial for war crimes against humanity was

a) Vojislav Kostunica.

b) Nicolae Ceausescu.

c) Wladyslaw Gomulka.

d) Todor Zhivkov.

e) Slobodan Milosevic.

Question 18

Western Europe and the Search for Unity

European Union Member

Germany Restored

Reuniting the two Germanies proved harder than first thought. Integrating the East’s command economy was expensive and the Christian Democrats were punished in subsequent elections. The Social Democrats were not any more successful.

Post-Thatcher Britain

As Thatcher’s post-Falkland War popularity waned her conservative economics caused her to lose her post.She was replaced by John Major and then Labourmade a comeback with the charismatic and Christian Tony Blair.The UK’s economy under Blair was strong but his foray into Iraq with George Bush in 2003 cost him politically.

France: A Move to the Right

France was attempting to deal with high unemployment exacerbated by immigration from her former colonies in Africa.As her politics shifted to the right, riots broke out in many of the Moslem ghettoes surrounding the urban centers. Nicolas Sarkozy was elected as a reformer.

Corruption in Italy

Since WWII Italy has been plagued by government instability brought on by weak coalition governments

Corruption and the resulting public cynicism have also troubled the peninsula

Voters have turned to the left in recent elections

The Unification of Europe

The European Union (EU) is a huge economic and monetary market but it is not a United States of Europe especially in regard to national politics and foreign policy.13 nations are using the Euro as a common currency, travel restrictions have been easedProblems include the inclusion of southeastern Europe, immigration from those poorer regions and ethnic identity versus being a “citizen of Europe.”

The reunification of Germany was accomplished under the leadership of

a) Willy Brandt.

b) Conrad Adenauer.

c) Helmut Schmidt.

d) Gunter Grass.

e) Helmut Kohl.

Question 19

The issue that fatally weakened Margaret Thatcher's government and which eventually brought the Labour Party to power was

a) the Falklands War.

b) race riots in London.

c) the proposal for a flat-rate poll tax.

d) a drastic increase in air and water pollution.

e) the nationalization of Britain's railroads.

Question 20

The individual who succeeded Tony Blair as Britain's prime minister in 2007 was

a) Gordon Brown.

b) John Major.

c) Clement Attlee.

d) Nicolas Sarkozy.

e) James Callaghan.

Question 21

The British prime minister who gave support to the United States in the war on terror and in the Iraq War was

a) Margaret Thatcher.

b) James Callaghan.

c) John Major.

d) Tony Blair.

e) Ramsey McDonald.

Question 22

By 1995, a major issue in French society was

a) whether to support America's "war on terror."

b) to rejoin NATO, which France had left in the 1960s.

c) to leave the Common Market in protest to high subsidies to agriculture.

d) resentment against immigrants.

e) massive inflation.

Question 23

The new French president elected in 2007 was

a) Jacques Chirac.

b) Francois Mitterrand.

c) Jacques Le Pen.

d) Yves Montand.

e) Nicolas Sarkozy.

Question 24

The major issue that troubled Italian society in recent decades has been

a) Islamic terrorism.

b) Catholic fundamentalism

c) political corruption.

d) a significant increase in the birth rate.

e) economic collapse, with high unemployment and bankruptcies.

Question 25

The common currency that was initially adopted by eleven member states of the European Union is the

a) continental.

b) euro.

c) maastricht.

d) francmark.

e) freipence.

Question 26

Challenges facing the Economic Union in the early twenty-first century include

a) the lack of a common currency.

b) the lack of any military force.

c) many Europeans remain committed to a national identify and do not see themselves as "Europeans."

d) lack of economic assistance to Europe's farming community.

e) the failure to create a truly single internal market.

Question 27

By 2004, the population of the European Union was

a) 455 million.

b) 355 million.

c) 295 million.

d) 245 million.

e) 550 million.

Question 28