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Website
AllRefer

All Refer Reference: Russia: Declining Health Care in the 70s and 80s

For Students 9th - 10th
A great article depicting the declining standard of living in the Soviet Union. Research showed rising infant mortality, falling life expectancy, among other grim statistics painting a bad picture of state of health in the Soviet Union....
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Primary
Yale University

Avalon Project: Soviet Japanese Neutrality Pact

For Students 9th - 10th
Original document which stated that the "neutrality pact between Japan and the Soviet Union was concluded on April 13, 1941" when Germany attacked the Soviet Union.
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Website
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Soviet Sports Wars

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Explore the history of athletic competition in the former Soviet Union and describe Soviet athletes' attempts to reconcile their achievements as unique individuals with the Soviet ideology of being equal to all. Research women's role in...
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Primary
Yale University

Avalon Project: Soviet Japanese Neutrality and Denunciation

For Students 9th - 10th
Site consisting of four documents between the Soviet Union and Japan. Articles outlined mutual respect of territorial boundaries during World War II and Soviet denunciation of the pacts in 1945.
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: The Cold War for Kids: Soviet Afghanistan War

For Students 1st - 9th
Kids learn about the history of the Soviet Afghanistan War during the Cold War. A hard fought war with no winner.
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Primary
The History Place

The History Place: The Nazi Soviet Pact

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from The History Place provides a photo and caption of the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. Includes a text copy of the agreement, with links to additional information.
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Handout
Other

The Origins of the Korean War: From the Soviet Archives

For Students 9th - 10th
Three conclusions brought on by newly unclassified documents from the Soviet archives. Offers new interpretations on the beginning of the Korean War, including Stalin's opposition to war.
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Primary
Other

Hellenic Resources Network: Helsinki Final Act 1975

For Students 9th - 10th
This primary document is a copy of the Helsinki Agreements of 1975 which recognized the borders in central and Eastern Europe that were set up since the end of WWII. They show the acceptance of the Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. and...
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Website
US Department of State

Office of the Historian: The Cuban Missile Crisis, October 1962

For Students 9th - 10th
This site gives a clear, succinct look at the Cuban Missile Crisis, its causes, and the results. See how direct and indirect communication between President Kennedy and Soviet leader, Nikita Khruschev, resolved this potentially horrific...
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Website
Other

The Space Race

For Students 9th - 10th
Although the space race was originally a competition between two Cold War foes,it ultimately resulted in many benefits for the people of the Earth. Find information on the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo, and Soviet space programs,...
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Primary
Yale University

Avalon Project: The U2 Incident 1960

For Students 9th - 10th
Collection of primary documents released by Soviet and American governments regarding the downing of an American military spy plane flown by Gary Powers over the USSR.
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Article
Council of Foreign Relations

Foreign Affairs: The Cold War Reopened

For Students 9th - 10th
In his article entitled "Inside Enemy Archives: The Cold War Reopened," Melvyn Leffler discusses the ramifications of archival documents from the Russians on the Cold War era. Can Soviet actions during that time be viewed in a different...
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Handout
Central Intelligence Agency

Cia: World Factbook: Belarus

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the CIA World Factbook connects to "The World Factbook" page of the country Belarus, former Soviet state. Students must first click on "Country Listing" and then scroll down to Belarus.
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Website
Other

Hoover Institution: Documents From the Terror

For Students 9th - 10th
Documents from the Hoover Institution detailing the gruesome details of the "reign of terror" that Stalin instituted against the Soviet people from 1936 to 1938 with some earlier and later accounts.
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Primary
ibiblio

Ibiblio: World War Ii Wartime Alliance

For Students 9th - 10th
History article describes the fragile relationship between the Soviet Union and the Allies during World War II.
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Website
Steven Kreis, PhD

The History Guide: Perestroika Defined (1987)

For Students 9th - 10th
Perestroika, as defined by Mikhail Gorbachev. This excerpt includes the many definitions and applications of the concept of perestroika when used to describe the internal reforms of the Soviet Union that occurred during the 1980s.
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: Early Cooperation: Economic Cooperation

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource from the Library of Congress details the early economic cooperative arrangements between the former Soviet Union and the United States. The site links to other information regarding this topic.
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Portrait Gallery: The Presidency and the Cold War: George H. W. Bush

For Students 9th - 10th
The National Portrait Gallery presents a look at the several presidents and their actions in regard to the Cold War. Click on George Bush to see and hear his speech about the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Cold War ends.
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Handout
Middlebury College

Middlebury College: Master & Margarita Housing Shortage

For Students 9th - 10th
This site provides insight into the shortage of housing that occurred in the Soviet Union during Stalin's reign.
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Website
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: Joseph Stalin, (1879 1953)

For Students 9th - 10th
Biographical sketch of Joseph Stalin and his tyrannical, brutal reign of the Soviet Union during WWII until his death in 1953.
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Handout
Wikimedia

Wikipedia: Evil Empire

For Students 9th - 10th
Brief article on the "Evil Empire," a term used by Ronald Reagan to describe the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: The Cold War for Kids: Arms Race

For Students 4th - 8th
Kids learn about the history of the Arms Race during the Cold War. The United States and the Soviet Union building nuclear weapons stockpiles.
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Website
Ducksters

Ducksters: The Cold War for Kids: Space Race

For Students 1st - 9th
Kids learn the history of the Space Race during the Cold War. A race between the United States and the Soviet Union to put a man on the Moon.
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Activity
Shmoop University

Shmoop: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

For Students 9th - 10th
Published in 1962 in the Soviet Union/Russia, this book although a work of fiction, discusses in detail the gulag system, a type of prison that existed in Russia. In this carefully researched site find out more about the prison and the...

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