A practice essay that was awarded a 14/15 by 3 teachers from my school's history department. This essay will show you the structure you should be following and the content you should be including in your essays in order to be scoring 7s. Writing essays this way helped me achieve a Level 7 in HL his...
Discuss political and economic developments in the Soviet
Union between 1945 and 1953 - November 2018 [15]
Body paragraph 1 Political - Policies regarding red army
- Leaders sent far from Moscow (Eg.
Zhukov sent to Odessa)
- Regarded returning soldiers with
suspicion, especially those captured
(Order 270 - they are traitors)
Body paragraph 2 Political - Russian nationalism + superiority
- “Among all the peoples in our country it
is the leading people”
- Used as means to control non-Russian
republics (Russian put in key posts in
non-Russian republics, like Khruschev in
Ukraine)
Body paragraph 3 Economic - Agriculture and industry
- Agriculture - Lysenkoism and forced
crop rotations forced on farmers + 70%
requisitioning rate. By 1952, grain
production still not above 1940
(pre -war level)
- Industry - Fourth five year plan -
attempted to rebuild USSR -
With the surrender of Nazi Germany in May 1945, the Great Patriotic war had ended. Though the
Soviet Union had emerged victorious, it was left in ruins - grain production had been slashed by half
as a result of the destruction of nearly 100,000 collective farms, and the loss of approximately 70% of
the western USSRs industrial production was devastating to the nation’s economy. However, more
concerning to Stalin were potential threats to his leadership, from two specific groups - The red army,
which had become increasingly popular following its victory in the war, and ethnic minorities,
especially those in Non-Russian republics, whose distinct cultures made them less likely to embrace
Soviet ideals and accept Stalin’s leadership. Between 1945-53, Stalin took measures to eliminate
threats from the red army, embraced Russian nationalism which inherently denigrated non-Russian
Soviet ethnicities and implemented policies which aimed to revitalise Soviet agriculture and industry.
Between 1945-53, a notable political development was Stalin’s hostility towards red army
commanders and returning soldiers alike. The Soviet army, understandably popular after their victory
over Nazi Germany, came to be seen by Stalin as a faction that could challenge him for power. As a
result, he sidelined top commanders who he believed could side against him in a power struggle. The
most notable example of this was when Zhukov, the supreme military commander of the Soviet
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