'This section examines the consolidation of the Soviet state from 1924 and the methods applied to ensure its survival, growth and expansion inside and outside the borders of the Soviet Union. It explores the rise and nature of the rule of Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and their policies. East–West relations post-1945 in relation to Soviet aims and leadership should also be considered. Finally, the decline and collapse of the Soviet Union should be considered, as well as political and economic developments in post-Soviet Russia.'

Soviet Union (1924–1941): Stalin and the struggle for power (1924–1929); defeat of Trotsky; Stalin’s policies of collectivization and the Five-Year Plans; government and propaganda under Stalin; the purges and the Great Terror
The impact of the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945); post-war Soviet Union (1945–1953): political and economic developments

(Source: IB History Guide/ Paper 3, Topic 16: The Soviet Union and Post-Soviet Russia, 1924-2000)