The focus question of the sixth unit in the CiE Option B Core Content is 'How secure was the USSR's control over eastern Europe 1948 - c1989?'. This unit investigates Soviet power in eastern Europe, and the relationship between the USSR and other communist countries in the area.

This unit focuses on international relations and the way in which different nation states interacted, and the change, continuity and significance of their relationships over time. You will study their priorities, agreements, disagreements and the key events that affected them.

This unit gives you the information that you need to understand the following:

• ❖ Why there was opposition to Soviet control in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968, and how the USSR responded.
• ❖ Similarities and differences between events in Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
• ❖ Why the Berlin Wall was built in 1961.
• ❖ The significance of 'Solidarity' in the decline of Soviet influence in eastern Europe.
• ❖ How far Gorbachev was responsible for the collapse of Soviet power in eastern Europe.

Topics covered in this course include:

• ❖ The nature of Soviet control in eastern Europe.
• ❖ De-Stalinisation, 1956.
• ❖ The Hungarian Uprising, 1956.
• ❖ The Prague Spring of 1958.
• ❖ The Berlin Crisis and Berlin Wall.
• ❖ The rise of 'Solidarity' in Poland in the 1980s.
• ❖ The leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev.
• ❖ The collapse of Soviet control in eastern Europe.
• ❖ The collapse of the USSR.

Key individuals studied in this course include:

• ❖ Nikola Khrushchev.
• ❖ Imre Nagy.
• ❖ Leonid Brezhnev.
• ❖ Alexander Dubček.
• ❖ Lech Walesa.
• ❖ Mikhail Gorbachev.

This unit usually appears as one of four possible questions in Option B Core Content International Relations Since 1919 on the Paper 1 exam, of which you must complete two. Therefore, you will answer one question on the causes of the Cold War, if this appears as an option on your exam paper. The question is comprised of 3 sections; a), b), and c). However, check with your teacher to find out whether this unit will appear on the Paper 2 source paper in your exam.

• ❖ On the Paper 1 exam, you may choose to complete a three-part question on this topic, which will be divided into sections a), b) and c).
• ❖ Question a is worth 4 marks. This question will require you to describe key features of the time period. You will be asked to recall 2 relevant points and support them with details or provide at least four relevant points without supporting detail.
• ❖ Question b is worth 6 marks. This question will require you to explain a key event or development. You will need to identify two reasons, support those reasons with relevant factual detail and then explain how the reasons made the event occur.
• ❖ Question c is worth 10 marks. This question will require you to construct an argument to support and challenge an interpretation stated in the question. You will need to have a minimum of three explanations (two on one side and one on the other) in total, fully evaluate the argument and come to a justified conclusion. You will have the opportunity to show your ability to explain and analyse historical events using 2nd order concepts such as causation, consequence, change, continuity, similarity and difference.
• ❖ If this topic appears on Paper 2, you will answer six questions on a range of source material about this topic. Check with your teacher to find out your Paper 2 topic.