UPSC World History – Chapter 16: The End of the Cold War and the Post-Soviet World (20 MCQs)

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UPSC World History – Chapter 16: The End of the Cold War and the Post-Soviet World (20 MCQs) – 20 questions, subject: History. Every question has the correct answer with a one-line explanation; tap "Show Answer". Free practice for TNPSC, UPSC, SSC, Bank and RRB exams – Shanmugam IAS Academy, Coimbatore.

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1.  

Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union in:

Correct Answer: A [1985]

Explanation:

March 1985.

2.  

"Glasnost" means:

Correct Answer: B [openness]

Explanation:

Glasnost, Russian for 'openness', meant freer press and speech, release of political prisoners and open discussion of the Soviet past.

3.  

The Berlin Wall was opened on:

Correct Answer: B [9 November 1989]

Explanation:

After mass protests in East Germany, the border crossings in the Berlin Wall were opened on the night of 9 November 1989.

4.  

The trade union that won the 1989 elections in Poland was led by:

Correct Answer: C [Lech Wałęsa]

Explanation:

Solidarity.

5.  

The INF Treaty (1987) between the US and the USSR abolished:

Correct Answer: A [intermediate-range nuclear missiles]

Explanation:

The 1987 Reagan–Gorbachev INF Treaty eliminated all US and Soviet ground-launched intermediate-range nuclear and conventional missiles.

6.  

The Commonwealth of Independent States was first formed in December 1991 by:

Correct Answer: B [Russia, Ukraine and Belarus]

Explanation:

The leaders of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus signed the Belavezha Accords near Minsk on 8 December 1991, founding the CIS.

7.  

Germany was reunified on:

Correct Answer: D [3 October 1990]

Explanation:

East Germany acceded to the Federal Republic on 3 October 1990, after the Two Plus Four Treaty settled Germany's status.

8.  

The "Velvet Revolution" of 1989 took place in:

Correct Answer: B [Czechoslovakia]

Explanation:

Czechoslovakia's peaceful November–December 1989 protests, led by Civic Forum, ended communist rule and made Václav Havel President.

9.  

The European Union was created by the:

Correct Answer: C [Maastricht Treaty]

Explanation:

1992.

10.  

Consider the following statements:

1. Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989.
2. The August coup of 1991 against Gorbachev failed.
3. The USSR was dissolved before Germany was reunified.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: B [1 and 2 only]

Explanation:

Soviet troops left Afghanistan in February 1989 and the August 1991 coup collapsed; Germany reunified (1990) before the USSR ended (1991).

11.  

Assertion (A): The collapse of the USSR added to India's economic difficulties in 1991.

Reason (R): The USSR had been a major trading and defence partner of India under the rupee–rouble arrangement.

Correct Answer: A [Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A]

Explanation:

Loss of Soviet rupee–rouble trade and defence supplies hit India's exports and reserves, so R explains why A happened in 1991.

12.  

The Dayton Agreement (1995) ended the war in:

Correct Answer: C [Bosnia and Herzegovina]

Explanation:

The Dayton Agreement, initialled in Ohio in November 1995 and signed in Paris in December, ended the 1992–95 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

13.  

The Chinese leader who began market reforms in 1978 was:

Correct Answer: D [Deng Xiaoping]

Explanation:

Deng Xiaoping launched 'reform and opening up' in December 1978, introducing market reforms while keeping Communist Party rule.

14.  

India and Israel established full diplomatic relations in:

Correct Answer: D [1992]

Explanation:

India, which had recognised Israel in 1950, established full diplomatic relations with it in January 1992.

15.  

Who led the resistance in Moscow against the August coup of 1991?

Correct Answer: A [Boris Yeltsin]

Explanation:

Boris Yeltsin, elected Russian President in June 1991, rallied resistance from the Russian Parliament building, defeating the August coup.

16.  

Arrange the following in chronological order:

1. Dissolution of the USSR
2. Reunification of Germany
3. Gorbachev comes to power
4. Fall of the Berlin Wall

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

Correct Answer: C [3-4-2-1]

Explanation:

1985, 1989, 1990, 1991.

17.  

The World Trade Organization came into being in:

Correct Answer: D [1995]

Explanation:

The WTO began functioning on 1 January 1995, replacing GATT after the Uruguay Round's Marrakesh Agreement of 1994.

18.  

Tiananmen Square protests (1989) took place in:

Correct Answer: B [China]

Explanation:

Tiananmen Square is in Beijing; China's government crushed the student-led democracy protests there on 3–4 June 1989.

19.  

Which of these countries split peacefully into two States on 1 January 1993?

Correct Answer: A [Czechoslovakia]

Explanation:

Czechoslovakia divided peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993 – the 'Velvet Divorce'.

20.  

The agreement for the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project was first signed in 1988 between India and:

Correct Answer: A [the Soviet Union]

Explanation:

Rajiv Gandhi and Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Kudankulam inter-governmental agreement in November 1988; Russia took it forward after 1991.

➤ Full notes, maps, tables, a reason for every option and Mains PYQs – U05 · World History (UPSC book, ₹249): www.shanmugamiasacademy.in/study-materials/upsc-world-history

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