[billy.dupee]

Im now sitting the Russian soviet paper and just thought id ask again if you could highlight some key areas which i should look into in response to the exam. The help you gave me with the British paper was really good, and i just want to say thanks again. Ive been revising the Russian period and know some general background info on all the main leaders, however, im not sure on some of the main key themes which i should know about and how to structure my response to the questions. If you could help me out it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Bill

[MrJohnDClare]

Same drill as before, Bill:

1. Suss out what it says in the specification.
In fact the specification is remarkably coy about the content:

Quote

A2 Module 6
Option 6W: The End of the
Soviet Union, c1968-1991
Candidates will study the debates on a number of issues relating to the
internal decline and collapse of the Soviet system.
‘Developed Socialism’ under Brezhnev and the causes and nature of
Soviet economic stagnation; Mikhail Gorbachev and the motives for,
and impact of, glasnost and perestroika; the coup of 1991, the growth of
nationalism and the break-up of the USSR.

Candidates will be required to be familiar with the following resources:
J Laver Stagnation and Reform: the USSR 1964-91, Hodder and Stoughton, 1997 ISBN – 0340664134
R Sakwa The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union 1917-1991, Routledge, 1999 chapters 9 and 10 ISBN – 0415121604
J Keep Last of the Empires, OUP 1996, chapters 9-18ISBN – 0192803190
P Kenez A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End, CUP 1999, chapters 9 and 10 ISBN – 0521311985
M McCauley Gorbachev, Longman 1998 ISBN – 0582215986

Next, you need to look at last year's question paper (2007) and markscheme (2007).


It will also be useful for you to look at the Teacher Guidance materials for this unit, which give you exemplar answers and the marks they were awarded and why.

You might also read the examiner's reports, which will tell you where pupils went wrong and went right last year (2007).


When you have had a look at these materials, I am sure that you will still have many questions.
We can't promise to answer them all to your satisfaction, but if you post them on this thread we will try.