Cold War: Soviet Policy 1945-48 Return to the case study menu
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Comprehension
1a What does the report mean by the Soviet physical presence?
1b Why has this presence made the West impotent?
1c List all the Soviet actions mentioned in this source.
1d List all the West's actions mentioned in this source.

Analysis and Interpretation
1e Write a summary of the attitude of this source towards the USSR and Stalin.
1f Relations between the USSR and Britain were not good in 1983. Is there any evidence that this has affected the writer of the report?
1g If you were a teacher, would you let your students use this report:
a) like a textbook
b) like an historical source?
Explain your answer.
1h "Clear evidence that Stalin began the Cold War"
"An attempt to make aggressive acts by the West look like a response to Soviet threats"
Do either of these descriptions fit this source well?

Case Study Question
Fill out the relevant line of your Case Study Worksheet.

The Big Question
Look at your answers to the questions on source 1.
  • Has this source given you any ideas about awkward questions to ask the leaders?
  • What evidence have you found which you think they will find hard to explain?
    		•  Source 1Source 2Source 3Source 4Source 5Source 6Source 7

    Extract from a document published by the Foreign Office in 1983. It analyses Soviet policy in Eastern Europe since 1945

    Extract from a document published by the Foreign Office in 1983. It analyses Soviet policy in Eastern Europe since 1945