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The Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russia RussiaQuest! a WebQuest for
(10th grade Global History and Geography) Introduction | Task | Resources | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion The 20th Century has been a turbulent time period for Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century it was an autocracy under Czar Nicholas II. From 1917-1991, the USSR became the most powerful communist nation in the world. Since the failed coup attempt in 1991 which led to the rise of Boris Yeltsin, Russia is currently a democratic and capitalistic republic. You will be assigned to a task force to investigate how Russia can solve the political, economic, and social ills that face this large nation. You will be presenting to the United Nations General Assembly and the Russian Parliament (Duma) about your findings.
The Task
You will be a member of a task force who will make a presentation to the United Nations General Assembly and to the Russian Duma. You will investigate the strengths and weaknesses of autocracy, totalitarian communism, and democratic capitalism as they pertain to the history of Russia/Soviet Union. Your task force consists of a historian, political scientist, sociologist, and economist. Each of you will investigate Russia in the 20th century from this point of view. Your investigation will start in 1900 to the present day. After your research is complete you will confer with each other on your findings. Your task force will create a presentation to the United Nations and the Russian Duma about the political, economic, and social systems that will best meet Russia's needs going into the new millennium. You want to persuade the audience that your plan will lead to political stability, economic strength, and an end to social ills in Russia today. Your plan should take into account Russia's past successes and failures in each .
The Process
Roles Historian- The historian will look into the past events from 1900-99 and look at the implications of each of the major events in Russian history this century. The historian is responsible for assisting the other task force members and will look at the major events in the 20th century and the impact on Russia today. Given your knowledge of the current situation in Russia, choose the best political, economic, and social system that would best meet the challenges faced by Russia today. Be able to defend your position! Political Scientist- The role of the political scientist is to investigate political systems and how they function. Russia and the USSR have had a variety of political systems throughout the 20th century. In this century, Russia has been an absolute monarchy (autocracy), limited monarchy, communist totalitarian dictatorship, glasnost and perestroika allowed reforms, and finally a democratic republic. It is your job to look at the time periods of each government system and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each system for that time period. Given your knowledge of the current situation in Russia, choose the best political system to meet their needs. Be able to defend your position! Sociologist- A sociologist is an individual who studies how people interact in groups and the social structure of a nation. The issue of social class has played a major role in throughout the history of Russia. It is your job to investigate how Russia's social class structure has changed throughout the 20th Century. Discuss the reasons for these changes and the strengths and weaknesses of each political and economic system and in terms of how they relate to social class and the diverse nationalities within Russia's borders. Given your knowledge of the current situation in Russia, choose the best political and economic system that would best meet the needs of the people in terms of class structure. Be able to defend your position! Economist- An economist studies how a nation produces and distributes goods and services. Russia/USSR has had a variety of economic systems throughout the 20th century. Russia was a feudal society, pre-industrial capitalism, communist, modified communism under perestroika, and capitalism. For each economic system, be able to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each economic system and how it pertains to Russia. Given your knowledge of the current situation in Russia, choose the economic system that would best meet the needs of the people of that nation. Be able to defend your position! Your investigation should include, but is not limited to the following events/eras:
This vast nation of Russia has an uncertain future. The questions you have been struggling with are the same issues that the people living in the boarders of Russia are dealing with at this time. How these critical questions are answered and carried out with have a tremendous impact on the future of Russia and the world.
Based on a template from The Webquest Page.
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