Civics Today Citizenship, Economics, & You

"Types of Economic Systems"

Introduction
In this chapter you read about market and command economies. During the twentieth century, Russia was involved in two world wars, a revolution, and a changing economic system. For many of the Russian people consumer goods were difficult to find. There was no freedom of choice. Today Russia struggles to build a stable, market economy. In this activity you will take a closer look at the changing economy of Russia.

Destination Title: PBS—Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World’s Economy

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Directions
Start at the PBS Web site’s Commanding Heights feature.

• Click on Countries.
• Click on Russia.
• Click on Economic. Explore the time line presented.

1			What type of economic system did Russia have in 1910?
2			What economic mistakes did the tsar make during World War I?
3			When was a command economy imposed? Who imposed it?
4			What was ironic about Russia’s energy situation from 1973 to 1976?
5			Choose what you consider to be the five most important events on the time line. Create your own time line with those five events and add pictures, graphs, or further explanations. Make sure you are able to explain why you feel those five events were the most important.