What traumatic event does Zitkala-Sa describe at the school?

The forcible cutting of her long hair

Why was the cutting of her hair so humiliating to Zitkala-Sa?

Among her people, shingled hair was worn by cowards and mourners

What was the Soviet system?

A political and economic order centred on the Communist Party, with a state-planned economy, state ownership of resources and no opposition party, established after the 1917 revolution.

Name two features that distinguished the Soviet economy from a capitalist economy.

State ownership of land and productive assets, and a centrally planned economy controlled by the state rather than by markets.

What were perestroika and glasnost?

Gorbachev's reform policies — perestroika meant economic restructuring and glasnost meant political openness — aimed at modernising the Soviet Union.

Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate?

Internal economic stagnation, an arms-race burden, an unaccountable party, awareness of Western prosperity, Gorbachev's reforms, and the rise of nationalism in the republics together caused the collapse.

What was shock therapy?

The painful, abrupt model of transition from a planned economy to capitalism in the 1990s, involving rapid privatisation, free trade and currency convertibility, guided by the World Bank and IMF.

Mention two consequences of shock therapy.

It ruined large state industries (the 'largest garage sale in history'), caused high inflation, mass unemployment and poverty, and destroyed the old social welfare and trading systems.

What were the major consequences of the disintegration of the USSR?

The end of the Cold War and arms race, the US becoming the sole superpower, the spread of capitalism and liberal democracy, and the emergence of many new independent countries.

How did the end of the Cold War affect the balance of power in the world?

It ended the ideological contest, dissolved the Soviet bloc, and left a unipolar order dominated by the US, with capitalism as the dominant economic system.

Describe the special relationship between India and the USSR during the Cold War.

It was multidimensional — economic aid for public-sector plants, political support on Kashmir and in 1971, military hardware supply, and cultural exchange.

Why are Indo-Russian relations important to India today?

They rest on trust and shared interests, with cooperation on defence supplies, energy, space, nuclear power, and a common vision of a multipolar world order.

The End of Bipolarity

Class 12 Political Science · Contemporary World Politics · Chapter 1

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CBSE Class 12 · Political Science

End of Bipolarity: asked in all 4 papers

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CBSE Class 12 · Political Science

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Summary

This chapter explains how the bipolar world order, dominated by the two superpowers after the Second World War, came to an end. The Soviet Union (USSR), born of the 1917 socialist revolution, built a planned, state-owned economy and led the 'second world' or socialist bloc, held together by the Warsaw Pact. Over time the system became bureaucratic, authoritarian and economically stagnant; it overspent on its military and satellite states while citizens grew aware of Western prosperity. Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms (perestroika and glasnost) to modernise the system, but loosening control unleashed forces he could not contain. East European communist regimes collapsed, the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, and a failed 1991 coup hastened the breakup. Boris Yeltsin emerged as Russia's leader, and in December 1991 Russia, Ukraine and Belarus dissolved the USSR, forming the Commonwealth of Independent States. The collapse ended the Cold War, left the US as the sole superpower, spread liberal democracy and capitalism, and created many new countries. Most post-communist states adopted 'shock therapy' guided by the IMF and World Bank, which caused deep economic ruin. India maintained warm ties, especially with Russia, sharing a vision of a multipolar world.

Key terms

Bipolarity

A world order dominated by two rival superpower blocs, the US-led and the Soviet-led camps.

Perestroika and Glasnost

Gorbachev's policies of economic restructuring and political openness in the Soviet Union.

Shock therapy

The abrupt IMF/World Bank-guided shift from a planned economy to capitalism in post-communist states.

Commonwealth of Independent States

The grouping of former Soviet republics formed in December 1991 after the USSR dissolved.

Second World

The bloc of socialist, communist-ruled countries led by the USSR during the Cold War.

Unipolar world

An international order in which a single power, the US, dominates without a serious rival.

Extra questions & answers

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The Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War, was finally broken by the people in:

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