Evaluate the impact of Gorbachev’s policies on the Soviet Union.

The question requires that candidates make an appraisal of the impact of Gorbachev’s policies on the Soviet Union. Candidates may refer to the restructuring of the economy (perestroika) and the democratization of the regime (glasnost). Candidates may consider the impact of the reduction on military spending, the abandonment of the arms race, the introduction of new technologies and the changes in the notion of market and private property. Candidates may evaluate the impact of these policies on the improvement or deterioration in the rate of employment, salaries, and the standard of living. Candidates may also evaluate the impact on the Soviet Union of Gorbachev’s new relations with other communist countries, the improvement in the diplomacy with US, and the disarmament treaties of Geneva, Reykjavik, Washington and Moscow. Candidates’ opinions or conclusions will be presented clearly and supported by appropriate evidence.

The question required that candidates make an appraisal of the impact of Gorbachev's policies on the Soviet Union. Relatively few responses were seen to this question. Weaker candidates tended to lose focus on the impact on the Soviet Union and move into general descriptions of events in Eastern Europe in 1989 with limited links to the question.