Fall of the Czars through the Cold War
1. When Alexander II came to the throne, what did he want to see for Russia?
He wanted Russia to be more like European nations.
2. What did Alexander II feel that czars and the wealthy should do?
He believed they should give up some of their power.
3. List two things Alexander II did to try and accomplish he goal?
Freed the serfs, and gave towns more control over their own affairs.
4. After Bloody Sunday, Nicholas II was forced to establish the Duma. What was the Duma?
A type of congress with members elected by the people.
5. Vladimir Lenin was thrown out of Russia, but on April 16 1917 he was sent back to Russia by whom? Why?
The Germans sent him back. Because they felt his ideas could cause a revolution.
6. What did Lenin do in Russia in November of 1917?
Lenin and his supporters pushed the weak government aside.
7. What type of government did Lenin envision for Russia?
A communist government.
8. After Lenin and the communists won the civil war in Russia, what did Lenin create?
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (U.S.S.R.)
9. Who was Joseph Stalin?
He was a dictator who took over after Lenin died.
10. The Soviet troops pushing the Germans back and capturing the city of Berlin led to what?
The Cold War
11. With little growth in the Soviet economy, by the early 1980s what happened?
People began losing faith in the communist system.
12. Who responded to the Soviet peoples’ dissatisfaction?
Mikhail Gorbachev
13. What did Mikhail Gorbachev do?
He allowed more personal freedom and reduced government control of the economy.
14. By the late 1980s Eastern European countries did what?
Eastern European countries abandoned communism, and demanded their independence.
15. At the end of 1991 what happened to the Soviet Union and most of the former Soviet republics?
They became independent nations.