After decades of problems in parts of Eastern Europe, Soviet control finally collapsed.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] e.g. 'Soviet tanks guarded the Parliament building and soldiers guarded bridges and crossroads.'
2. [1-4] 'At the end of October, Khrushchev withdrew Russian troops.'
3. [1-4] 'Khrushchev declined Nagy's plan to leave the Warsaw Pact.'
4. [1-4] 'In November, Soviet tanks and soldiers moved into Budapest.'
5. [1-4] 'In fierce fighting the Soviet troops defeated the protestors and the Hungarian army.'
6. [1-4] 'It killed many Hungarian civilians.'
7. [1-4] 'It suppressed all public opposition.'
8. [1-4] 'It arrested and executed the Hungarian leader.'
9. [1-4] 'It appointed a new communist leader to head the Hungarian government to strictly follow the communist regime of the USSR.'
10. [4-5] e.g. 'It was important for the Soviets to stop Dubček because they were afraid that his ideas would spread to other communist countries in Eastern Europe. His reforms included a free press, freedom of speech and reducing government control over industry. If these reforms were allowed in Czechoslovakia, there was a worry that people in other communist countries would demand the same freedoms. This would put at danger the Soviet Union's control over the whole of Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union introduced the Brezhnev Doctrine which stated that the USSR would use troops to establish control in countries that wandered from communism.'
11. [2-3] e.g. 'It was worried that these ideas would spread to other Eastern European countries.'
12. [2-3] 'It saw his reforms as an attack on communism.'
13. [2-3] 'It was worried that this would weaken the Communist Bloc in the Cold War against the USA.'
14. [2-3] 'Leaders of other communist countries were worried for their own positions and wanted the Soviet Union to take decisive action.'
15. [2-3] 'The Soviets were worried that unless they took decisive action, countries in Eastern Europe would think they were weak.'
16. [2-3] 'Czechoslovakia was one of the most important countries behind the Iron Curtain with a strong industrial base.'
17. [4-6] e.g. 'I am not surprised Gorbachev did not defend Soviet power in Eastern Europe because he realised that the Soviet Union was in dire economic trouble. He introduced perestroika to reform Soviet industry and its economy. Because of its economic problems, he knew that the Soviet Union could no longer afford to keep troops in Eastern Europe and keep on putting down protests. This is the reason he did little when Communism began to disintegrate in Eastern European countries.'
18. [4-6] OR e.g. 'I am very surprised. The Soviet Union saw the Eastern European countries as a protective barrier for itself against the West. It had been invaded by Germany twice in the twentieth century and Stalin had been determined this would not happen again. This had been the basis of Soviet policy for decades and explains why the Soviet Union had put down risings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia. It is surprising that when communist regimes began to collapse and the Berlin Wall fell, Gorbachev did nothing.'
19. [2-3] e.g. 'I am surprised because the Soviets had put down lots of risings in Eastern European countries.'
20. [2-3] 'I am surprised. If Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe, then the Soviet Union might be under threat.'
21. [2-3] 'I am surprised. The Brezhnev Doctrine said that the Soviet Union would intervene.'
22. [2-3] 'I am not surprised. The Soviet Union could not afford to send troops to Eastern Europe.'
23. [2-3] 'I am not surprised. Gorbachev was a new kind of leader in the Soviet Union and he realised that reforms were needed.'
24. [2-3] 'I am not surprised. Gorbachev believed in different policies such as Glasnost and Perestroika.'
25. [2-3] 'I am not surprised. Gorbachev thought the USSR spent too much on defence.'
26. [2-3] 'I am not surprised. He thought too much money had been spent on Afghanistan.'
27. [2-3] 'I am not surprised. He saw a higher standard of living in the West.'
28. [2-3] 'I am not surprised. He saw citizens resenting their lives being totally controlled.'
29. [2-3] 'I am not surprised. Gorbachev was interested in saving the Soviet Union, so he was less interested in Eastern Europe than other Soviet leaders had been.'