Consequences of the Break-up of the Soviet Union

High School

Tennessee Geographic Alliance One Day Geography Workshop

InstructorKristi Neuroth

Ravenwood High SchoolBrentwood, TN

Overview of Session•1. Optional homework assignment

•2. Jigsaw activity instructions

•3. Jigsaw activity information

•4. Exit Slip

•5. Additional resources

Tennessee Standards•W.82 Evaluate the consequences of the Soviet Union’s breakup, including the development of market economies, political and social instability, ethnic struggles, oil and gas politics, and the dangers of the spread of weapons and technologies of mass destruction to rogue states and terrorist organizations. (C, E, G, P)

Connections to Common Core Standards

•CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.9-10.7Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.

Optional Homework Assignment

• In preparation for this assignment, students can read the following article which outlines the break-up of the Soviet Union: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/soviet_end_01.shtml

Jigsaw Activity Instructions

1. Number students off from 1-4. Each student will be responsible for exploring one consequence of the break-up of the Soviet Union (detailed on following slides).

2. Students will use the online articles (printed, if necessary) to gather 5-10 pieces of information relating to their specific element (i.e. oil and gas policies).

3. After students read and take notes from their particular article they will gather together in a “Jigsaw” format to share information and complete their chart (see “Student Jigsaw Chart” document).

Element #1: Effects of the Break-up on Population

• Consequences for Population (Harvard College Lectures) “Understanding population health: lessons from the former Soviet Union”: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/inequality/Seminar/Papers/McKee081.pdf

Element #2: Political and Social Instability

• After the Soviet Collapse: A Globe Redrawn http://www.economist.com/node/14793737

Element #3: Oil and Gas Policies

• Center for Energy Economies: Soviet Legacy on Russian Petroleum Policies http://www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon/new-era/case_studies/Soviet_Legacy_on_Russian_Petroleum_Industry.pdf

Element #4: Ethnic Conflict

The Atlantic: How Stalin Created Some of the Post-Soviet World's Worst Ethnic Conflicts http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/03/how-stalin-created-some-of-the-post-soviet-worlds-worst-ethnic-conflicts/273649/

Investigators and security personnel work at a scene of suicide blast near a police camp in the Dagestani town of Khasavyurt, October 24, 2010. A policeman was killed, and seven people were injured in the attack. (Reuters)

Investigators and security personnel work at a scene of suicide blast near a police camp in the Dagestani town of Khasavyurt, October 24, 2010. A policeman was killed, and seven

people were injured in the attack. (Reuters)

Exit Slip

In your opinion, what do you think was the most devastating consequence of the collapse of the Soviet Union. Why? Support your answer with detailed evidence.

Additional Resources – The Breakup

• Cold War Museum: http://www.coldwar.org/articles/90s/fall_of_the_soviet_union.asp

• US Department of State Office of the Historian: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1989-1992/collapse-soviet-union

• BBC History: “Reform, Coup and Collapse: The End of the Soviet State”: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/coldwar/soviet_end_01.shtml

• NY Times “The Soviet State, Born of a Dream, Dies”: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/26/world/end-of-the-soviet-union-the-soviet-state-born-of-a-dream-dies.html

• Washington Post “The Long Breakup”: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/fall-of-the-soviet-union/

Additional Resources – After the Breakup

• The Economist “A Globe Redrawn”: http://www.economist.com/node/14793737

• Consequences for Population (Harvard College Lectures) “Understanding population health: lessons from the former Soviet Union”: http://www.hks.harvard.edu/inequality/Seminar/Papers/McKee081.pdf