World history: Stalin, the Cold War and the fall of the USSR

Under Stalin the USSR became an industrial superpower at a terrible human cost. It helped defeat Hitler, then faced the USA in the Cold War, before collapsing in 1991.

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Stalin's USSR

After Lenin's death, Joseph Stalin became leader by the late 1920s.
Five-Year Plans (from 1928) set huge targets for coal, steel and factories.
Collectivisation forced peasants into large state farms. It led to a terrible famine in 1932 to 1933 in which millions died, especially in Ukraine.
In the Great Terror (1936 to 1938) hundreds of thousands were executed and many more sent to labour camps called the Gulag.

War and the Cold War

Germany invaded the USSR on 22 June 1941. The Soviet victory at Stalingrad (ended February 1943) was a turning point. Around 27 million Soviet people died in the war.
After 1945 the USSR controlled Eastern Europe. The Cold War with the USA was a rivalry without direct fighting between them.
Key moments: the USSR's first atomic bomb (1949), Sputnik, the first satellite (1957), Yuri Gagarin, the first person in space (1961), the Berlin Wall (built 1961) and the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962).

The end of the USSR

Mikhail Gorbachev became leader in 1985. He brought in glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) to fix a struggling economy.
People in Eastern Europe demanded freedom. The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989.
The USSR broke up into 15 separate countries in December 1991, ending the Cold War.
DateEvent
1928First Five-Year Plan
1932 to 1933Famine
1941Germany invades
1957Sputnik
1961Gagarin; Berlin Wall built
1989Berlin Wall falls
1991USSR breaks up
Worked example

Was Stalin's rule a success for the USSR?

  1. Success: industry grew quickly, which helped the USSR build the weapons that defeated Germany.
  2. Failure: collectivisation caused famine, and the Terror killed hundreds of thousands and filled the Gulag.
  3. A judgement depends on whose point of view you take; for millions of ordinary people it was a disaster.

Answer: It built industrial and military power, but at a huge human cost.

Key idea

Stalin: Five-Year Plans (from 1928), collectivisation and famine (1932 to 1933, especially Ukraine), the Great Terror and Gulag. Germany invaded 22 June 1941; Stalingrad (1943); around 27 million Soviet deaths. Cold War: atomic bomb 1949, Sputnik 1957, Gagarin and the Berlin Wall 1961, Cuba 1962. Gorbachev (1985): glasnost and perestroika. Wall fell 9 November 1989; USSR ended December 1991.

Key words
1928
Women get the vote on the same terms as men, at 21.
1933
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany, 30 January.
1938
Kristallnacht, 9 to 10 November.
1945
Auschwitz liberated, 27 January. VE Day, 8 May.

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  1. When did Stalin's first Five-Year Plan begin?

    1. 1917
    2. 1945
    3. 1928
    4. 1961
    Show the answer

    Answer: 1928

    The first plan began in 1928.

  2. What happened as a result of collectivisation?

    1. Food became plentiful
    2. Peasants grew richer
    3. Farms were given to peasants
    4. Famine in 1932 to 1933
    Show the answer

    Answer: Famine in 1932 to 1933

    Collectivisation disrupted farming.

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Checked by the GCSE-ready editorial team, 17 October 2026. Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.

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