How to Revise The Development of the USSR, 1924-1991 — WJEC GCSE History
The Development of the USSR, 1924-1991 is a topic in the WJEC GCSE History specification. This guide covers learning objectives, examiner tips, common mistakes, and key terminology to help you revise effectively.
Examiner Tips for The Development of the USSR, 1924-1991
- Focus on second order historical concepts such as continuity, change, cause, consequence, significance, similarity, and difference.
- Ensure understanding of the complexity of the society and historical situation over the long timescale.
- Construct balanced, reasoned, and well-substantiated extended responses.
- Demonstrate chronological grasp and the ability to make connections between different aspects of the period.
Key Marking Points
- Stalin's achievement and maintenance of power (1924-1953)
- The leadership contest, 'Cult of Stalin', propaganda, censorship, and terror
- Impact of Stalin's rule: Collectivisation, de-kulakisation, Five Year Plans, industrial modernisation, and the role of women
- Impact of the Second World War (1939-1945): preparations, Operation Barbarossa, Leningrad, Stalingrad, and post-war reconstruction
- Cold War relations (1945-1991): post-war tensions, Warsaw Pact vs NATO, arms race, 'hot-spots' (Berlin, Cuba, Afghanistan), and the 'Second Cold War' in the 1980s
- Political developments (1953-1985): Khrushchev and de-Stalinisation, industrial/agricultural reform, the Brezhnev years, and leadership changes (1982-1985)