HIST 327: The Soviet Union and Russia Since World War II

HIST 327-DL1: Soviet Union/Russia since World War II
(Fall 2025)

10:30 AM to 11:45 AM W

Online

View the schedule of classes

Section Information for Fall 2025

From 1945-1991, the Soviet Union was one of two major world superpowers, the U.S. “enemy” in the Cold War. Since 1991, Russia collapsed and reemerged as a powerful player in world politics. Fourteen other independent states appeared on world maps with the Soviet collapse. They have followed similar but not identical trajectories since that time. In order to understand the fifteen countries that were once part of the Soviet Union and to understand the post-Cold War world, we must understand late Soviet history. This course explores the history of the Soviet Union from the end of Joseph Stalin's bloody rule upon his death through the collapse of communism in 1991, and studies the Russia that emerged through its difficult "transition" to capitalism and the rise of Vladimir Putin. The course asks many questions about the causes and consequences of the collapse of a distinctive and violent form of state and society called Stalinism. How did the attempts to reform the system through the renunciation of mass terror and a turn toward satisfying consumer desires under Nikita Khrushchev, the stagnation/stability under Leonid Brezhnev, and the renewed efforts to reform the system under Mikhail Gorbachev lead to the destruction of the Soviet Union? What was life like under the post-Stalinist communist regime? Why did the post-Soviet years see not economic revival but the continuation of economic collapse? How did the democratic promises of communism's collapse lead to the reemergence of authoritarian rule? How did the post-Soviet experience differ in non-Russian parts of the former Soviet Union? 

HIST 327 DL1 is a section with online live video meetings and asynchronous online coursework.

Tags:

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Analyzes the Soviet Union, the Cold War "enemy" of the United States, from victory in World War II under Joseph Stalin through collapse in 1991. Studies the fifteen independent countries that emerged from the Soviet collapse, including Russia, the Baltic States, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Central Asia, and the Caucasus, which continue to influence world politics and culture today. Offered by History & Art History. Limited to three attempts.
Specialized Designation: Non-Western Culture
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.