FDR's Legacy

Former US President Bill Clinton considers the legacy of his illustrious predecessor here.

20 Years Ago....

'Time' magazine has an excellent 1989 anniversary issue out at the moment, reviewing that crucial year. You can see the articles online here; 1989 was the year that the wall came down, communism collapsed into the sand, Francis Fukuyama proclaimed the "end of history", Ayatollah Khomeini died, the Chinese massacred protestors in Tiananmen Square. Much of this happened over one June weekend, with the repercussions carrying on throughout the year, ending with the Christmas Day execution of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu and his wife. No-one doubts the significance of 1989, the consequences of which we are living with today, and the 'Time' articles provide a fascinating early overview.

Y13 Russia Background

Gents,

Below is a link to a series on You Tube called Land of the Tsars. You only really need to watch from episode 16 onwards but feel free to delve into the history of Ivan the Terrible etc if you want.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXPP1j1yahg&feature=related

In the P Drive/History/A Level History folder I have posted a reading list for next year's Russia course, the three I think might be of most use are highlighted.

I would also recommend getting a copy of A Very Short Introduction to The Russian Revolution, link to amazon page below.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0192853953/ref=s9_simp_gw_s0_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=003J9PMPX2Y4VAZN5BGW&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467198433&pf_rd_i=468294

Hope this is useful.


Mr Shergold

GCSE Weimar Revision Session

For GCSE students, there will be a revision session on the Weimar Republic on Friday at school - period 3, Room 46 with Mr. Marshall.

Historic Anniversaries

A-level history students in both Lower and Upper Sixth will this year be writing about the events of eastern Europe and China in their exams almost twenty years to the day from when they occurred. It was on June 4th. 1989 that the Solidarity movement in Poland won the first free elections held in that country, a victory which eventually catapulted the whole of eastern Europe towards freedom from communism. Yet in China, on that same day, troops bloodily cleared Tiananmen Square of its pro-democracy demonstrators. Two communist systems, but with very different approaches to the 'year of democracy'.

Cultural Revolution

A session on the Cultural Revolution will run at 3.30 today in school for anyone interested. Check the blog later today for any further advice on the China AS paper tomorrow or extra powerpoint stuff.

UPDATE: A short power-point outlining origins and consequences of the Cultural Revolution can be accessed here. Please note a correction for the first slide - in the fourth point, Mao was obviously seeking 'immortality' rather than 'mortality', as stated on the slide!

Also, do remember that the examiners are keen on an evaluation which involves assessing the relative importance of different factors in an answer. Check their comments on the above linked page again.