History 12Readings and Questions from: Global Forces of the Twentieth Century: Chapter 16

The Gorbachev Revolution1991-2000

Gorbachev’s Reform Program1. Briefly describe Mikhail Gorbachev’s background2. Name the four points of the reform program proposed by Gorbachev, and briefly explain

each one.3. Explain the Enterprise Law of 1987. Evaluate its success4. Compare and contrast the challenges to Gorbachev’s leadership from those challenges

faced by Boris Yeltsin and Yegor Ligachev.Perestroika and Glasnost

5. Explain how Glasnost and Perestroika negatively affected the Soviet Union.6. What political changes were announced at the Nineteenth Party Conference?

1989 Revolution7. Choose three Eastern European countries that underwent revolution in 1989. Compare

and contrast the causes and outcomes of these revolutions.The Aftermath of the Revolution: Eastern Europe

8. Explain the political affects of the Revolution in the Soviet Union, how did the abandonment of the Brezhnev Doctrine affect the balance of power in Eastern Europe? Describe German Reunification. What was the significance of reunification?Case Study: The Reunification of Germany

9. What factors account for the differences in living conditions between East and West Germany?

10. Should the reunification have been carried out behind closed doors, or should it have been a more public process? What are the possible negative consequences of keeping the elements of this decision secret, what are the possible benefits?Case Study the Nationalities Issue

11. What was the result of Gorbachev’s liberalization policy toward ethnic minorities?12. Why did the policy of Russification fail? Examine the consequences of the failure of

Russification.Case Study Chernobyl Disaster

13. Should nuclear power be promoted as an energy source? What are the potential benefits and draw backs of using nuclear power as an energy source?

14. What appears to be the cause of the Chernobyl disaster? How might it have been avoided? What were the results of the Chernobyl accident?

Chapter 16 Vocabulary

1. Perestroika2. Demokratizatsiya3. Market Economy4. Pravda5. Andrie Sakharov, Yelena Bonner6. The Baltic States7. The Berlin Wall8. Baclav Havel9. Pluralism10. Council for Mutual Economic 11. Ostpolitik12. Freedom Trains13. Five hundred Day Plan