Activity 1 - Why was the economy suffering?

  1. Think/Pair/Share - How does a communist ‘command’ economy differ from a capitalist economy? Think about this question with a partner before sharing your ideas with the class.
  2. Read - Read the following article about Soviet economic problems and complete the three tasks.
  3. Discuss - How serious were the economic problems facing the Soviet economy?

Activity 2 - Was Brezhnev to blame?

  1. Watch - Watch the first six minutes of this video about the rule of Leonid Brezhnev and answer these questions:
    1. What was Brezhnev's attitude towards many of Khrushchev's reforms?
    2. What did he mean by 'a quiet life' for the Soviet people?
    3. What was his attitude towards international relations?
  2. Investigate - Read through this article about Brezhnev’s leadership of the USSR and complete tasks 1-3.
  3. Discuss - What was the main reason for Soviet stagnation under Brezhnev - political factors, economic problems, ideological obstacles, or the legacy of Stalin?

Activity 3 - How had society decayed?

  1. Watch - Watch this documentary from 3m30s. What can you learn about life in the 1970s in the Soviet Union and the satellite states? What were the positives and what were the negatives?
  2. Research - Read pages 3-5 of this worksheet on life in Brezhnev’s USSR and complete tasks 4 and 5.
  3. Discuss - What do you think life was like for people living in the USSR under Brezhnev? Make a list of the pros and cons before discussing with the class.

Activity 4 - Life behind the iron curtain

  1. Read - Read pages 189-193 of Mamaux, A. (2015). Oxford IBDP Programme - The Cold War. Make notes on the different forms of dissent found in both Czechoslovakia and Poland.
  2. Discuss - From what you’ve found out so far, what do you think life was like for someone living behind the iron curtain in Czechoslovakia and Poland in the early 1980s?
  3. Select - Select one of the governments below to research that existed in the eastern satellite states by the 1980s: 
    1. Poland under Stanisław Kania and Wojciech Jaruzelski
    2. Hungary under János Kádár
    3. East Germany under Erich Honecker
    4. Romania under Ceaușescu
    5. Czechoslovakia under Husak
  4. Research - In groups, find out about the economic situation, standards of living, and methods of control over the lives of the citizens. 
  5. Present - Prepare a 3-5 presentation to give to the rest of the class about life behind the iron curtain.

Further Reading

obligatory reading
  1. Mamaux, A. (2015). Oxford IBDP Programme - The Cold War, pp. 189-193
recommended reading
  1. Rogers, K., & Thomas, J. (2015). Pearson Baccalaureate: History the Cold War, pp. 215-216
supplemental reading
  1. Williamson, D.G. (2015). Access to History - The Cold War, pp. 253-256 (Poland), 259-260 (Economics)
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