Task

Complete Activity on p.122

The costs of the arms race

By 1980’s, a quarter of the Soviet economy was devoted to military.

Under Brezhnev, USSR had become the greatest nuclear power.

Whilst USSR was poorer than the USA, wt was spending over twice as much of its wealth on defence – the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1963 had been a humiliating defeat for USSR and they did not want a similar occurrence.

However, the USSR was in serious danger of overstretching its economy.

Task

Examine how there was prospects for greater peace under Brezhnev using p.122

Examine how defence remained a high priority for USSR using 1st paragraph on p.123.

Assessment of Brezhnev (negative)

Most interpretations of Brezhnev’s rule tend to be negative.

Russians in particular have little respect for him.

Dmitri Volkogonov says Brezhnev symbolises the decline of USSR because he was incapable of giving the ideology any meaning.

Task

Read through the negative assessment of Brezhnev using the bullet points on p.123-124.

Decide in their order of importance and summarise them.

Assessment of Brezhnev (positive)

The problems with the economy were embedded within the system.

Many Western and Soviet observers during the 1970’s did not believe there was an imminent crisis.

Therefore even would-be reformers within the USSR did not want to overhaul the whole sustem. Gorbachev, the most liberal of

Communist leaders, believed reform could be implemented while the Party maintained a monopoly on power.Gorbachev

Task

Read through 1st paragraph under bullet points on p.124.

List all the positive changes under Brezhnev.

Summarise the final paragraph into your own words on p.124.

Developed Socialism

This is am important concept when examining Brezhnev rule.This is particularly true when asked such

questions as, “Brezhnev’s regime was merely Stalinism with a human face”.

Whilst the aspirations of developed Socialism were very different to Stalinism, often the realities were quite similar.

Task

Create a table of “Realities” and “Aspirations” of Developed Socialism.

Use p.125-126 to complete he table.

Evaluation of the regime under Brezhnev

Task

Explain the significance of the following: The change in Soviet military and defence policy

following Khrushchev's fall – the causes and results. The motivation, and results of, arms control initiatives

like SALT. The impact of major foreign policy issues such as

Afghanistan. The success or failure of Brezhnev’s relations with the

satellite states.

Debate - “Brezhnev’s regime was simply Stalinism with a human face”

Write down your discussion points for BOTH sides of the argument for and against the above statement.

Essay – “Neither Brezhnev nor Khrushchev successfully addressed the fundamental economic problems which increasingly doffed the USSR after the Second World War”

Write an essay plan for the above question. You can use the following points to help you:

Agree Target based system – quantity over quality. No manager

initiative. Lack of consumer goods – emphasis on capital goods and

military. Technologically backward and labour intensive. Corruption, dishonesty, bottle neck of resources. Lack of opportunity to discuss alternatives.

Disagree Did improve agriculture. Did improve housing.

Debate