Describe any six features of the erstwhile Soviet System.

OR

Describe briefly the Cuban Missile Crisis.

the erstwhile Soviet system was a socialist form of the government, with the following features:

a) SINGLE-PARTY: The system was designed with the Communist Party at its epicentre, and all other parties were deemed illegal.

b) WELFARE STATE: The government ensured minimum standards of living for their citizens, and provided subsidies on healthcare, education etc.

c) UNEMPLOYMENT: There was no unemployment.

d) OWNERSHIP: The state-owned the majority of enterprise and industry in the country.

e) AUTHORITARIAN: Freedom of Speech was restricted, and democracy was absent. It often silenced dissent and arrested satirists.

f) IMPOSING: Russia often imposed its powers on the 15 republics that constituted the USSR. The republics were not given enough sovereignty to manage their own affairs.

OR

The Cuban Missile Crises was the highest point of the Cold War between the USA and USSR.

a) In 1961, USSR felt that the USA was plotting to overthrow Fidel Castro and capture Cuba-a soviet ally.

b) Fearing the consequences of the overthrow, Khrushchev ordered the installation of Russian nuclear missiles in Cuba. This drastically increased the area of the American mainland that could be attacked by the Soviet Union.

c) When Kennedy came to know of these missiles, he decided to send ships to intercept any incoming Russian vessels.

d) At the same time, he decided to call on Khrushchev to inform him that the USA had no desire to overthrow Castro or attack Cuba.

e) It was only after such re-assurance was received that the Soviet Union disbanded their idea, and their ships which carried the missiles turned back.

f) The Cuban Missile Crises led to great nervousness and tensions around the world, as a nuclear war seemed imminent.