Cross-curricular extension unit 1

History: The Soviet Union

1 Look at the map. Then match items 13 in the key to descriptions ac about the former Soviet Union.
a Former communist countries that had a military alliance with the Soviet Union after the Second World War
b Former communist country in no military alliance with the Soviet Union after the Second World War
c Countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union

2 Complete the texts with capitalist or

communist.
1 A _________________ government controls
everything in a country, including all industry.
Nothing is owned privately. The government
believes that all members of the population
should have an equal lifestyle.
2 A _________________ government allows people
to own businesses and industries privately and to
keep the money that they earn from them.
3 Read the text on the right about two important
factors of communism. Then complete the
sentences with four of the words in the box.
agriculture collectivization
industrialization jobs factories
1 _______________ made _______________ more
modern.
2 Large factories created more _______________
through _______________.
Collectivization and industrialization were two
important parts of the communist system in the
Soviet Union and were introduced to bring wealth to
the state.
Collectivization meant joining small farms
together to make larger ones. Larger farms could
use more modern farming methods. More food
was grown and it was collected more quickly. The
more modern methods needed fewer workers.
More people from rural areas were free to look for
work in the cities.
Industrialization meant building large factories in
cities. Larger factories could make more
products. They could make them more quickly,
too. Farm workers found work in these factories.
Because collectivization and industrialization
increased productivity, they made more money.

 PHOTOCOPIABLE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 1

4 Read the text. Then choose the correct words.
1 The Soviet Union had one government /
fourteen governments.
2 During collectivization, the Soviet Unions
government treated its people badly / well.
3 The Soviet Union broke up because its members
wanted communism / independence.
The rise and fall of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was created in 1922. Over
two decades, it brought Russia and fourteen
republics under the control of one communist
government. At first the union was far behind
western Europe, with little industry and small,
old-fashioned farms. But communism created
wealth through industrialization and
collectivization and the Soviet Union became
recognized as a superpower.
On the surface, communism was a success,
but there was a darker side. The government
took so much food from the farms to feed the
growing cities and to export to other countries
that it caused a famine and many people died.
Anyone who disagreed with collectivization
was killed or sent to labour camps. Also, there
were no elections. In the 1930s, there were
terrible punishments for anyone who fought
against the government.
Despite the problems inside the Soviet Union,
after the Second World War, it entered into a
military alliance with several countries that
Germany had invaded. The Soviet
government had strong control over these
countries. At that time, life under the Soviets
seemed better than life under the Germans.
However, the USA disagreed with communism
and became an enemy of the Soviet Union.
The two countries began the arms race: they
stocked nuclear weapons to use against each
other. This cost the Soviet economy too much
money and by the 1980s it was in serious
trouble financially.
To improve relations with the USA, the Soviet
Union slowed the arms race and allowed
elections. But the fifteen members were
moving towards becoming independent states.
The Soviet Union was falling apart and with
little support for communism inside or out, it
had no future. By December 31st, 1991, the
fifteen members had their independence and
the Soviet Union ceased to exist.
 PHOTOCOPIABLE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
5 Find words in the text that mean
1 a country with a very strong economy and military
defence. s____________________
2 a long period of time when there isnt enough
food in a region. f____________________
3 prisons where people have to do hard physical
work. l________________ c________________
4 the treatment people receive because theyve
done something wrong. p____________________
6 Read the text again. Then write True or False for
sentences 16. Correct the false sentences.
1 The Soviet Union existed for about 70 years.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
2 Industrialization and collectivization created
money for the country.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
3 People were sent to labour camps because they
were unemployed.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
4 The Soviets didnt spend much money on
nuclear weapons.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
5 Elections were introduced, but the Soviet
republics wanted independence.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
6 When the Soviet Union ended, the Soviet
republics lost their independence.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
7 Today, twelve of the former fifteen members of the
Soviet Union have reunited as the CIS: the
Commonwealth of Independent States. Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania did not join the CIS. Research
one of these countries and answer the questions.
1 Why is it not a member of the CIS?
2 How has it changed politically since it became
independent?
3 Is its economy doing well? In what way?
2