Essay questions
are below. The assessment criteria can be found on Moodle.
Each essay should be 1500 words long. The qualities
looked for will be: breadth of reading and use of academic sources, awareness
of the context of the topic, quality and clarity of argument, links with the
wider issues and themes of the module and appropriate referencing. See Moodle
for the Assessment Criteria.
Synoptic Essay Questions
NB. The essay is synoptic. This means it should demonstrate your broader understanding of all the themes studied in the first half
of the module, and your ability to synthesize these with
in-depth knowledge of specific aspects of Soviet politics to formulate a
convincing argument. In other words, ensure you show understanding of the
functioning and contradictions of the Soviet system and the main academic
debates about these.
Essays should be grounded in the academic literature on the subject and fully referenced. The weekly
reading list will provide you with the best starting point. After this has been
exhausted, you should locate other relevant
sources using databases like IBSS and Academic Search Complete (find under
‘Databases’ on the library home page).
Choose
one of the following questions and answer in 1500 words (excluding references):
1.To
what extent and in what respects can the Soviet Union be regarded as a
socialist state 1928-1984. Ensure you compare different time periods within the
date range.
2. ‘If
Leninism placed the Communist party at the heart of the Soviet system, then
Stalinism to a significant extent destroyed it as an institution’. Critically
evaluate this statement in light of the empirical evidence and scholarly
debates.
3. Evaluate the ways and the extent to which Soviet
foreign policy was internationalist, 1917-1939.
4. To what extent should the Soviet Union be considered an empire?
5. Critically evaluate the role of the Soviet
Communist party in Soviet society. How successful was it as maintaining its
hegemony over time?