Module manager: Professor James Harris
Email: j.r.harris@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semester 1 (Sep to Jan) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
This module is not approved as a discovery module
In 1917, the Romanov dynasty collapsed and the Bolsheviks, a small band of revolutionaries, seized power. Against colossal odds, the Bolsheviks turned a fringe group of underground revolutionaries into a mass movement, survived a foreign intervention and civil war, brought the economy back from utter collapse, and transformed backward Russia into the first socialist society and a military superpower. While the rise of the Soviet Union was dramatic, the collapse was breathtaking. In the middle of the 1980s, few questioned the status of the Soviet Union as a superpower. The regime appeared to enjoy considerable support domestically and abroad. Countries from Latin America and the Caribbean through Europe, Africa and Asia supported Soviet Communism and counted themselves in the Soviet half of a world divided between Communism and Capitalism. It was a world leader, not only politically, ideologically and militarily, but also in terms of scientific research (e.g. space exploration) and economic output (e.g. the production of oil, metals and minerals). In the autumn of 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and with it, the Soviet model. What happened? Why did so few people see it coming? Did Gorbachev’s reforms (“Glasnost’” and “Perestroika”) trigger the collapse? Or was it the inevitable result of fundamental flaws in the Soviet system? Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
In the course of this module, you will develop your skills of historical enquiry, interpretation and synthesis. The module enables you to develop your skills in searching out information from a wide variety of sources and subjecting it to critical analysis and interpretation.
The module also aims to help you appreciate the complexity, diversity and dynamism of a society in revolutionary change.
The learning activities include attendance at lectures; preparation for, and participation in, seminars; the research and writing of short formative essays in advance of at least 4 of the seminars. The lectures introduce major themes in the module, and the seminars explore them in greater depth, focusing on how perspectives have changed over time, how historians disagree with one another or have different perspectives on the underlying events. The seminars and essays examine these perspectives and prepare you to make analytically sound, nuanced and independent positions on the issues covered.
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:
1. Critically assess the social, political and economic history of the Soviet Union from 1917-1993.
2. Evaluate in a nuanced way how the USSR became a superpower, and why the system collapsed in 1991.
3. Reflect critically on the nature of the writing of Soviet history, the variety of approaches and perspectives.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module you will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Critically analyse historical perspectives and make judgments about their quality and validity.
5. Write concisely, backing up argument with appropriate evidence.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supervision | 2 | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Lecture | 11 | 1 | 11 |
| Seminar | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Private study hours | 179.6 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 20.4 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
You will be invited to write short essays in preparation for seminars. You can read your peers’ work in advance of the seminars. You will be offered a one-on-one meeting with the tutor prior to the submission of the essay to discuss your intended argument, essay plan, and bibliography.
You will get feedback on OTLA preparation activities conducted in class.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Essay | 40 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 40 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
| Exam type | Exam duration | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Online Time-Limited assessment | 48.0 Hrs 0 Mins | 60 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Exams) | 60 | |
Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated
The reading list is available from the Library website
Last updated: 29/04/2025
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