NYJC Prelim 2025 QP

NANYANG JUNIOR COLLEGEYear Two Preliminary Examination 20258838/0115 September 20253 hoursHISTORY Paper 1 The Cold War and the Modern World (1945–2000) No Additional Materials are required.READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRSTWrite your name and civics tutorial group on all the work you hand in.Write in dark blue or black pen on both sides of the paper.You may use an HB pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough working.Do not use staples, paper clips, glue or correction fluid.DO NOT WRITE IN ANY BARCODES.Section AAnswer Question 1.Section BAnswer two questions.The number of marks is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part question.At the end of the examination, slot in any additional answer booklets into the original 12-page booklet.Hand in your answer booklets for each section separately.

This document consists of 5 printed pages. [Turn over Section AYou must answer Question 1.THE COLLAPSE OF THE USSR1Read the sources and then answer the questions which follow.Source AWhen Reagan took office in 1980, the world had existed for decades under the threat of nuclear holocaust between communism and democracy. The two superpowers had steadily growing atomic arsenals of incredible destructive power. Early on in his presidency, Reagan moved to hone the nation's defenses to razor edge. That military buildup, together with spending billions on the so-called "Star Wars" defense program, forced the Soviets into a more heated effort to stay ahead of the United States in the arms race. Reagan's continuing military buildup sowed the seeds of the ultimate end of communism in the Soviet Union and the Cold War. As it turned out, Russia lost, bankrupting itself in the process. The spending exposed the cracks in the Soviet Union's monolithic tyranny and led ultimately to its total collapse. Was it worth it? Of course. Extract from a pro-Reagan newspaper in the USA, August 1992.Source BGorbachev’s reforms – while yet to remedy existing problems – have caused new challenges to surface. Having seen the quality of life stagnate under Gorbachev, Soviet citizens are becoming increasingly skeptical of reform, seeing it more and more as a threat to the secure existence they recall they enjoyed under Brezhnev. Over the past two years, incidents of political unrest in the USSR, ranging from small gatherings to major acts of political violence, have sharply escalated. Under the banner of glasnost, Soviet citizens are organising groups that could form the basis of a political opposition and are advancing a wide range of demands that challenge central authority. The most dangerous of these are the nationalist movements that have blossomed in many republics, unleashing forces that could threaten to tear the sy