Newly Revised History of the Soviet Union formerley Rise and fall of Soviet..DSST

[flashcards]

Has anyone seen any revised study material for this exam, I am currently using Instant Cert and Mometrix Test Prep, which has been a useful combination for Cleps and DSST's alike in the past.

I am planning on taking the exam at the end of the month but was hoping to get some feedback before then. I read the new DSST fact sheet and it doesn't appear that any drastic changes were made but its the subtle ones I am weary of. Has anyone taken a newly revised DSST in the past, how much did it detract from previous study material, or was old study material still enough to get you the pass?

Warm Regards,

-Josh

[bees.in.fl]

I'm studying now and planning to take next week.

I'm creating a study guide using the new fact sheet as a base to cover everything. I'll incorporate the only study guide posted to the forum, IC flash card info, as well links to videos I found useful. So far I've found:

Epic History: Russia Part 1 (Length 8:38). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TU1N8KTxIJU

Study.com The Russian Revolution. (7:39). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmKPLvctdaA

Unfortunately, Epic History hasn't completed Part 2 and Part 3 :\

At any rate, I thought the videos were decent enough to kick start my brain. There is a bit of time gap between the Epic and Study.com videos. But, easily filled in with IC Flash Cards.

Please post in the forum when you've completed it, as I will do the same.

[bees.in.fl]

Is anyone currently studying for this exam?

I've been studying on and off for a couple of weeks. Going back through the IC Flashcards again, praying for some helpful information.

I fear the Word document I'm creating will be way too large. My goal is sometime this week for me taking the exam - but don't let that stop you from taking it first!

Hoping to take this Thursday May 19, or Friday May 20.

Brad

[bees.in.fl]

Passed today with a 410. Highlighting my study guide. Will post in exam specific feedback some time this weekend. Hopefully tonight, but no promises.

[ajora08861]

I plan to take this exam this week. I studied for it intensively months ago and the test became unavailable for review. Look forward to your post about what was on the test or what to study.

[bees.in.fl]

Yeah, I work on updating my notes, and then I get side tracked. I wanted to have a really nice project. It was a tough test for sure. One name, which I'll post later, I have still yet to find out who he really is. Crazy.

What date do you intend to take?

Brad

[wii-man]

Hey bees.in.fl, could I get a copy of your notes? I'm trying to take the History of the Soviet Union DSST at the end of the month and really could use any advice/study guides. I have taken (and passed) every UL DSST test with the exception of this, Money and Banking, Cyber security, and Finance. I am currently using IC, Bucknell Unversity's Russian Studies site at: https://www.bucknell.edu/x17601.xml, and have been watching CNN's 24 part series "The Cold War" to help fill on the gaps for new material such as Afghanistan, the Arms Race, but not sure about the Pope John Paul stuff. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hope this helps someone else. My wife and I put it together yesterday:


DSST Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union (OLD TEST)
Exam Content and Percentages Outline

I. Russia Under the Old Regime – 12%
a. Governing Institutions
b. Economics
c. Culture and society
d. The empire
e. Revolutionary movements
II. The Revolutionary Period 1914-1921 – 14%
a. The first world war
b. February/march revolution
c. Interim
d. Bolshevik revolution
e. Civil war
III. New Economic Policy (NEP) – 10%
a. Economics
b. Struggle for power
c. Foreign relations
d. Cultural experimentation
IV. Prewar Stalinism – 12%
a. Collectivization
b. Industrialization
c. Reign of terror
d. Cultural regimentation
e. Nationalities
V. The Second World War – 11%
a. Prewar foreign relations
b. The war
VI. Postwar Stalinism – 7%
a. Domestic affairs
b. Foreign affairs
VII. The Khrushchev Years – 7%
a. Succession struggle
b. De-Stalinization
c. Foreign affairs
VIII. The Brezhnev Era – 8%
a. Growth and stagnation
b. Political scene: stability, corruption, dissent
IX. Reform and Collapse – 14%
a. Perestroika and glasnost
b. Reemergence of the nationalities issue
c. Retreat from eastern Europe
d. End of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

History of the Soviet Union (NEW TEST)
Exam Content and Percentages Outline


I. Russia Under the Old Regime – 10%
a. Governing institutions
b. Economics
c. Culture and society
d. Foreign affairs
e. Revolutionary movements
II. The Revolutionary Period 1914-1921 – 12%
a. The first world war
b. February/March revolution
c. Interim
d. Bolshevik revolution
e. Civil war
f. New Economic Policy (NEP)
III. Pre-War Stalinism – 13%
a. Collectivization
b. Industrialization
c. Reign of terror
d. Culture
e. Nationalities
IV. The Second World War – 14%
a. Pre-war foreign relations
b. The course of the war
c. The impact of the war
d. Settlements of WWII and the origins of the Cold War
V. Postwar Stalinism – 11%
a. Reconstruction
b. Nationalism
c. Arms race
d. Cold War in Europe
e. Cold War in Asia
VI. The Khrushchev Years – 10%
a. Succession struggle
b. De-Stalinization
c. Soviet relations with US under Khrushchev
d. Rift with China
e. Proxy Wars
VII. The Brezhnev – 10%
a. Growth and stagnation
b. Ideological dissent
c. DÃtente
d. Proxy wars in the Third World

e. War in Afghanistan
VIII. Reform and Collapse – 20%

a. Global challengers (Thatcher, Reagan, Pope John Paul II)

b. External factors (Afghanistan, Islam)
c. Perestroika and glasnost
d. Reemergence of the nationalities issue
e. Revolutions in eastern Europe
f. End of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
g. Gorbachev’s legacy

*Differences are marked in red…. some is a restructuring of old material, some is new material/information

**Percentages have changed for each section.

***Changes and new information summary:

I. “the empire” is now “foreign affairs”
II. only percentage change
III. New Economic Policy is now included under the Revolutionary Period.
IV. “Cultural Regimentation” is now “culture”
V. “the war” now encompasses war more in-depth to include “course of the war, impact of the war, settlements of WWII and origins of the cold war”
VI. Postwar Stalinism has been completely overhauled and includes more info, also includes info on Cold War in Europe and Asia
VII. “foreign affairs” is now focused on the relationship between Soviet and US directly under Khrushchev. Also included are the rift with China and Proxy Wars
VIII. More information is included under the Brezhnev Era….”political scene” is broken down to “dissent, dÃtente, proxy wars, and war in Afghanistan”
IX. Now includes “Global challengers, external factors, and Gorbachev’s legacy”. “Retreat from eastern Europe” now focuses on the “revolutions in eastern Europe.”

Areas of Focus for new material:

*The Second World War – course of the war, impact of the war, WWII settlements, and origins of the Cold War

*Post-war Stalinism: reconstruction, nationalism, arms race, Cold War in Europe, and Cold War in Asia

*the relationship between the Soviets and US under Khrushchev, rift with China (Khrushchev years), and the Proxy Wars

* Brezhnev Era: ideological dissent, dÃtente, proxy wars in the third world, and the war in Afghanistan.

* During the Reform and Collapse: the global challengers to include Thatcher, Reagan, PJPII; external factors (Afghanistan and Islam); Gorbachev’s legacy. Also, rather than just the retreat from eastern Europe….the REVOLUTIONS in eastern Europe.

[25BangBang]

I didn't see a thread in the Exam Specific Feedback category for the updated exam. I read the Soviet Colossus by Michael Kort (1990) a two months ago but then life got in the way and now I am planning on taking it at the end of October. My plan is to watch the Epic History 3 part series multiple times and write down pertinent information. Then, to skim over Michael Kort's latest writings "A Brief History of Russia" (2008). That combined with IC's old flash cards on the Rise and Fall should be enough but I would be interested in hearing some input from those who have passed.

[ManUtd33]

Just passed this yesterday. I've been using InstantCert and the forum for a few months now and it's time I finally pay it forward a bit on the feedback section. This test was not easy but I managed to pass after studying (and praying) pretty intently for a week. To help you judge my review I love US history so I can't fully compare this to the Civil War or Vietnam tests, it was harder for me but take that with a grain of salt. Judging by the type of people that would be drawn to take this I would guess most people were into history or at least specifically need this UL for some reason.

To prepare for this I used mostly IC flashcards multiple times. This was enough to get a good background and working knowledge of whats on the test. IC alone may be enough to pass but you probably won't feel comfortable throughout the test. Definitely gave me enough questions that I knew 100%. I always use scratch paper to keep track of which questions I've narrowed down and which were complete guesses. I had more scribbled ?'s on my page than any other test. A lot of these I thought I made a pretty good guess on and either I was right or this test has a nice curve. In addition to the flashcards I bought "Soviet Colossus" - The book seemed informative but for me it was like Ambien. I watched a couple Crash Course episodes and some other videos on YouTube, none of which really related. WWII documentary on Netflix - 2 episodes about Russia's role in the war. I also did whatever Quizlet's I could find and checked out a book of Practice Questions from my library which was from the previous test.

Things I Saw

I had a few questions with Gregorian Calendar Dates - These were very specific dates that you couldn't narrow just by month.
Soviet influence in other countries ( Africa, Middle East, Central and South America )
Specific casualty numbers of WWII and Afghanistan, also specific battles and sieges both Civilian and Military and $ amounts of damages
Lots of Gorbachev and Yeltsin
About 5 pre-revolution questions Nicholas II and older
China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam all very generic but
George H.W. Bush (Kiev Chicken), Reagan, Eisenhower
Know the different Conferences and Treaties from IC Flashcards, Places, Dates, People, Things discussed and Not discussed
The big Authors, Musicians, Artists etc. most of these were "gimme" questions - Tolstoy, Tchaikovsky, Pasternak, etc.
When certain regions joined and left the USSR

Those were some of the topics that stood out and not sure how specific I can be with topics. There will of course be the obvious questions about Lenin, Stalin, Gulag, Bolsheviks, other political parties, Brezhnev, Khrushchev, Industrialization, Collectivization and so forth. As I said - Know the IC flashcards inside and out and really grasp the events and concepts behind them, couldn't hurt to read through some Wikipedia pages about the major events from the 'cards. This is definitely a very attainable test and you will have no problem knocking out another 3 credits.

[russellfugitt]

Just took this test and got a 434 on it. I used the IC Flashcards till I was 95 percent confident with the subject. Then I took the Free Clep Prep practice test and got a 69% on it. The Free Clep Prep test is a little short on the Collapse which is 20% of the new DSST test. I also spent some time reading wikipedia on many of the subjects in the flashcards. I wish I could remember more of the questions on the test. The IC flashcards covered many of the events and people, but many of the questions on the test required different information about the event. If I had to do it again, I would wikipedia the key words from the flashcards and pay attention to the things that were happening other than just the answer to the flashcard. Pretty tough overall. I kept a tally of questions that I was sure about from my studying. I was confident about 21 questions from what I learned in the flashcards. My wikipedia reading made me guess well on enough of the other ones to pass. The good news is you only have to get 42% on the test to pass. Know how many soldiers died in WWII not including civilians. 11 Million. Know how many Soldiers died in Afganistan. 15 Thousand. Know the peak years of the great purge. 36-37. Who called the Soviet Union the Evil Empire? Ronald Reagan. Know that Finland helped during the siege on Leningrad.
Good Luck.