Exercises on Perestroika and Glasnost in the USSR

(PUC-MG - modified) In 1989, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev visits the island of Cuba. In the times of Perestroika, the Russian president aims to:

a) to bring the Cuban leader closer to the US government with the aim of overcoming the economic blockade imposed on the Caribbean island.

b) convince Fidel Castro to open the regime to guarantee Cuba's entry into the new capitalist world order.

c) inform the Cuban leader of the withdrawal of Soviet investments in Cuba, due to the serious economic crisis underway in the USSR.

d) integrate the USSR into the new Latin American Solidarity Organization sponsored by dictator Fidel Castro.

e) develop in Cuba a new ballistic missile system with nuclear warheads.

(PUC-PR) Under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev, "perestroika" sought to create a new economy in the USSR and "Glasnost" sought political opening. The USSR disappeared and the CIS (Community of Independent States) was created. In foreign policy, the most important result of reforms in Eastern Europe was:

a) the increase of American war power with "Star Wars".

b) the militarization of Japan in response to threats from North Korea.

c) the weakening of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

d) the end of the Cold War.

e) the restructuring of the Warsaw Pact.

With the measures of Perestroika and Glasnost, the USSR intended, at the same time:

a) restructure the armed forces and continue the occupation of other regions of Western Europe.

b) reform the ballistic missile system that targeted NATO member countries.

c) solve the economic crisis and end the political-military tension of the Cold War.

d) integrate Cuba into the Warsaw Pact

e) Attach China to your domains.

The expression “Glasnost” means something close to “transparency” and was applied by Gorbachev in the political sphere. The meaning of Glasnost, in the context of the end of the Cold War, indicated:

a) the strengthening of the Politiburo, that is, the political system centered on the Soviet state bureaucracy.

b) strengthening the KGB and Soviet secret policy as a way of ensuring control over the population.

c) the improvement of the Soviet spy system.

d) transparency in the process of political opening, moving from a closed system, centered on the Communist Party, to a system with democratic prominence.

e) the improvement of a political program based on a disciplinary and militarized society.

Letter C

With the economic crisis that took hold in the USSR from the 1970s onwards, the strategic action of “feeding” Cuba as a communist power in the American continent was no longer viable. As of 1989, the Cuban Castro regime had to stop receiving help from the Soviet power.

Letter D

The political and military tension that existed between the powers linked to the Warsaw Pact and those linked to NATO gradually dissolved with the collapse of the USSR. This collapse was largely due to the economic and political reform projects proposed by Mikhail Gorbachev.

Letter C

Perestroika (restructuring) intended to turn the Soviet economy, which was experiencing an extreme crisis, to the free international market. Glasnost (transparency) sought to lead the process of political transition from a closed and authoritarian regime to an open and democratic regime.

Letter D

Glasnost's program was based on transparency in the process of political opening in the USSR. This process eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Republics and opened the door to a new system, in which each of them became independent.