All you need to know for an A

Question 1

Describe how Russia was ruled under the Tsar before the February Revolution 1917

Answer 1

Russia was an autocracy- Tsar had complete power. He could appoint or sack ministers or make any other decisions without telling anyone else.
A weak Parliament (Duma) that failed to represent the people’s views.
The Tsar used his secret police (Okhrana) to get rid of anybody who went against him. These people were usually exiled to Siberia.

Question 2

Explain why the Tsar was a weak leader

Answer 2

He avoided making important decisions.
In a country as huge as Russia where tasks had to be delegated (shared out) this was a problem because the Tsar tried to getting involved in everything!
The system of autocracy (unlimited rule by one person) worked only if the Tsar was strong but Nicholas was not a strong character.
He showed little understanding of in politics and how to run a country. For example, he appointed family members and friends to important positions. Many where incompetent and corrupt and accepted bribes.

Question 3

What were the key features of Bloody Sunday?

Answer 3

200,000 people protested outside the Tsar’s Winter Palace. The demonstrators wanted the war with Japan to end, better working conditions and a higher wage.
The Tsar’s soldiers fired on the crowd without warning and killed hundreds and wounded thousands.

Question 4

What were the effects of Bloody Sunday and the 1905 revolution?

Answer 4

Chaos spread throughout the country- There were Strikes, riots and mutiny (revolt) in the navy.
Strikers formed Soviets- worker’s council to organise strikes.
Tsar issued the October Manifesto (1905) to stop further chaos. He promised: freedom of speech, a national parliament (Duma), an end to censorship, the right to form other political parties.

Question 5

Describe the problems of ruling Russia in 1917

Answer 5

Russian empire in 1917 was HUGE! (92 times as big as Britain). Its size made it hard to rule. Communications were difficult. Roads were unpaved and slow. Even the new railways only connected a fraction of the country.
Farming methods were old-fashioned and slow.
Population was rising so more food was needed and food shortages were common.

Question 6

Describe the key features of political parties in Russia before World War I

Answer 6

Constitutionalists (Cadets)- Wanted a democratic style government. They wanted the Tsar’s power LIMITED by a constitution and an elected parliament.
Revolutionaries believed in the OVERTHROW of the Tsar. The largest group was the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs), who believed in a revolution by the peasants.
The Social Democrats believed in a revolution led by the workers in towns. Split into two groups.
Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) - wanted a small party who would organise the revolution.
Mensheviks - wanted a mass party and were prepared for slow change.

Question 7

Explain the effects of the First World War on Russia in 1917.

Answer 7

In 1915 the Tsar took personal command of the army. The Tsar became unpopular as Russia faced many humiliating defeats.
The Tsar left the Tsarina in charge of Russia. Many didn’t trust her (she was German) and did not like the influence Rasputin had. This made the Tsar MORE UNPOPULAR.
There were shortages of fuel and food because workers and Farmers were sent to fight the war. This made it harder to grow enough food and keep factory production up. The army also took horses from farms which made it hard to plough the land.

Question 8

Explain the effects of the Kornilov Affair.

Answer 8

Kerensky (leader of PG) had to give weapons to the Bolsheviks to save his government from a military takeover. These weapons were later used by the Red Army against the Provisional Government in the October revolution.
The PG had lost support of the army and the Bolsheviks were now the real power in Russia.
Lenin encouraged Trotsky to prepare plans for seizing power.

Question 9

Give three reasons why it was a bad decision by the Tsar to leave the Tsarina in charge of Russia.

Answer 9

1. Tsarina wasn’t trusted as she was German, 2. She fell under the influence of Rasputin, 3. She was also autocratic and didn’t listen to the people and gave the Tsar bad advice.

Question 10

What was the ‘Progressive Bloc’?

Answer 10

A coalition of moderate conservatives and liberals in the fourth Russian Duma (elected legislative body) that tried to pressure the imperial government into adopting a series of reforms aimed at inspiring public confidence in the government and at improving the management of Russia’s effort in World War I.

Question 11

Give one policy/belief of the SRs.

Answer 11

To educate the peasants to enable a revolution.

Question 12

Describe the SRs main support base.

Answer 12

Peasants.

Question 13

Give one policy/belief of the Oktobrists.

Answer 13

Keep the Tsar – use him as a figurehead for a constitutional monarchy like the one in Great Britain.

Question 14

What problems did the Provisional Government have in giving people what they wanted?

Answer 14

Firstly, they didn’t have complete control. The Provisional Government needed the help of the Petrograd Soviet to get laws passed and acted on.

Secondly, local landowners still controlled most of the countryside and would not agree to give their land away.

Thirdly, the Provisional Government always saw itself as a temporary organisation - so big changes like taking Russia out of the war should be left to the new, elected government once it came to be.

Reforms aimed at reducing shortages took time to happen and were slowed down by the continued participation in the war.

Question 15

Did the Provisional Government give the people ANYTHING they wanted?

Answer 15

By April 1917, the Provisional Government had:

introduced the 8-hour working day
made it legal for people to form political parties and hold public meetings
released political prisoners

Unfortunately - these reforms only made it easier to criticise the Provisional Government for all the other changes they had failed to make!

Question 16

Why did support for the Bolsheviks grow from April 1917?

Answer 16

Initially, the April Theses were not popular, even with many Bolsheviks. However, as the Provisional Government started to fall apart, support for the Bolsheviks grew.

Eventually, only the Bolsheviks were excluded from taking part in the Provisional Government. Combined with ongoing terrible losses in the war, they became known as the only revolutionary group that stood for real change and an end to the war and their membership shot up.

Question 17

What was the June Offensive?

Answer 17

This was the last gasp of the Russian Army in World War I. Enough troops were scraped together for an offensive but, almost inevitably, the result was a disastrous failure. The morale of the army declined further and there were huge increases in the level of desertions. The soldiers became more receptive to Bolshevik propaganda and the loyalty of a number of units to the Provisional Government was now uncertain.

Question 18

What were the July Days?

Answer 18

Following the failure of the offensive in June, there were more spontaneous protests in Petrograd but now people were chanting Bolshevik slogans like: ‘Peace, Land and Bread’.

The Bolsheviks made an attempt to seize power in Petrograd in July. Here, Lenin made a serious misjudgement which could have led to disaster for the Bolsheviks. Only small numbers of soldiers and sailors actively supported the Bolsheviks and the uprising was suppressed by loyal troops. A number of Bolshevik leaders were arrested and Lenin fled to Finland.

Question 19

What were the effects of the Kornilov Revolt?

Answer 19

1. Kerensky’s government looked weak;
2. The Bolsheviks took control of the Petrograd Soviet and, with Trotsky as chairman, were now the most popular revolutionary group in Russia - there was a feeling that their time had come to be in control;
3. The Bolsheviks were now armed and had their leaders back out of prison (they had been imprisoned after the July Days);
4. The military was now too weak to attempt to set up a military dictatorship.

Question 20

Why did the October Revolution happen when it did?

Answer 20

The Bolsheviks were now in control of the Petrograd Soviet and in a much stronger position to realise their goal of bringing about the revolution they desired.

In November 1917, a Russian Congress of Soviets was due to meet in Petrograd. By seizing power before then, the Bolsheviks could claim to be acting in the name of the Soviets. Delay would be dangerous.

In December, the Constituent Assembly would be elected - the first real and official Russian Parliament. Once it met, it could challenge the authority of the Soviets - and the power of the Bolsheviks. Also, Lenin was genuinely worried about another attempt at a military takeover, this time by a general who was more intelligent and better organised than Kornilov had been.

Question 21

When was the Kornilov Affair/Revolt?

Answer 21

August 22nd - 27th 1917

Question 22

21st October 1917

Answer 22

Most army units in Petrograd promise loyalty to Trotsky and the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC).

Question 23

23rd October 1917

Answer 23

Soldiers in Petrograd fort join the MRC.

Question 24

24th October (night) 1917

Answer 24

Kerensky shuts Bolshevik news offices and orders the arrest of the MRC. The MRC take over the offices, the main river and canal bridges, the army headquarters and the telegraph station.

A large warship that was sympathetic to the Bolsheviks, the “Aurora”, steamed up the river Neva and trained its guns on the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was located.

Question 25

25th/26th October 1917

Answer 25

On the night of the 25th/26th October, the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government.

Lenin now proclaimed a new government of Russia, by the Soviets. The Congress of Soviets met and endorsed the action of the Bolsheviks. The Bolshevik Revolution was now a fact.

Question 26

Why did the Bolsheviks win?

Answer 26

Lenin pressed the Bolsheviks to lead a revolution in October and made sure it was just the Bolsheviks - not sharing power with other revolutionary parties.

The Provisional Government failed to disarm and disband the Red Guard after the Kornilov Revolt.

The Provisional Government did not act against the threat in time - maybe they thought rumours of a revolt were not real.

The Provisional Government had become so unpopular that most soldiers switched sides so it could not gather any troops at the last moment.

The takeover was well planned by Trotsky - He organised the Red Guard and volunteers from the army, navy and factories to work together to a careful plan.

Question 27

Did the October Revolution go exactly according to Trotsky’s careful plan?

Answer 27

Not exactly - there were moments of confusion and disorder, such as when the guns on the battleship Aurora jammed. However, overall the main parts of the plan were carried out well.

Question 28

What was the Red Terror?

Answer 28

The Cheka, under its leader Dzerzhinsky, had unlimited powers to target any potential ‘enemies of the state’, ‘class enemies’ or ‘counter-revolutionaries’.

Following an attempt to assassinate Lenin in August 1918, Dzerzhinsky began the ‘Red Terror’ - by the end of 1918, the Cheka had removed over 50,000 people - creating a climate of fear and terror across Russia and even within the Bolshevik Party.

The Cheka was unpopular and some people dared to criticise Lenin and Trotsky for allowing the Red Terror, but they realised that it was necessary for them to keep power at this point.

Question 29

What were the key features of War Communism?

Answer 29

Factories with more than ten workers were nationalised.
The Bolsheviks took control of mines, workshops and railways.
Workers were forced to work in factories.
Grain was taken from the peasants using force.
The Bolsheviks took control of the banks.
Private trade was not allowed.
Food was rationed.

Question 30

What were the effects of War Communism?

Answer 30

The Reds were able to prioritise the army and this probably enabled them to win the civil war.

Productivity fell - because peasants had all surplus taken away - there was no incentive for them to produce more grain than they needed or breed more animals.

The total output of mines and factories fell in 1921 to 20% of the pre-World War I level.

The resulting food shortages in 1920 led to a famine in 1921 that caused the deaths of approximately 7 million people.

It was so unpopular that it triggered open opposition to the Communists - in 1921, there was open mutiny of thousands of Kronstadt sailers, who had been the Bolsheviks’ most loyal supporters.

Question 31

What were the key features of the Kronstadt Mutiny?

Answer 31

Kronstadt had been at the ‘vanguard’ of the socialist revolution in 1917. Kronstadt is a naval fortress in Finland.

In March, the crews of the battleships Petropavlovsk and Sevastopol mutinied and declared a Provisional Revolutionary Committee. They were angry at the effects of War Communism and the way the Communists were taking power away from the soviets.

Trotsky had to use the Red Army to put down the rebellion and 20,000 men were killed or wounded in the fighting. The surviving rebels were either executed by the Cheka or sent to gulags.

Question 32

What were the key features of the NEP?

Answer 32

Money was re-introduced, with a new coinage. Workers were paid wages again and there was a new state bank.

The state stopped taking crops from peasants - if they grew more than they needed, they could sell it at a profit for themselves but then give the state 10% of that profit in tax.

The state kept control of big industries, but factories with fewer than 20 employees could be privately run and make a profit.

The state brought in ‘experts’ from other countries to run the factories. These experts were paid more than the workers - which was against communist theory - but they got the factories working again.

Anyone could open a shop or hire out goods for a profit - these people became known as ‘NEPmen’.

Question 33

What were the effects of the NEP?

Answer 33

Agricultural production went up: from roughly 80 million hectares of grain in 1922 to 100 million hectares in 1924.

Factory production went up: the overall value of factory output more than tripled between 1921 and 1925 to reach 7,739 million roubles.

The economy was strengthened by the return of money, wages and small-scale profit making.

Question 34

What was the NEP?

Answer 34

The NEP was Lenin’s response to the unpopularity of War Communism. It was a step back from communism, towards capitalism.

Question 35

What were the key features of the NEP?

Answer 35

Money was re-introduced, with a new coinage. Workers were paid wages again and there was a new state bank.

Question 36

How did Stalin establish the most effective and ruthless dictatorship of the twentieth century?

Answer 36

He combined a systematic programme of propaganda, culminating in the ‘Cult of Stalin’ with a systematic use of terror to remove any potential threats to his position. This led to the deaths of millions of people in the Soviet Union.

Question 37

What were the Purges?

Answer 37

In the 1930s, Stalin embarked on series of purges, which led to the death and imprisonment of millions of Soviet people. No one was immune.

Stalin purged anyone who delayed, criticised or opposed his plans for collectivisation and industrialisation. Most of the accused were deported or imprisoned. Some were shot.

The Purges can be interpreted as including the Show Trials of senior Communist Party members.

Question 38

How did the Purges start in 1928?

Answer 38

The first purge was of 55 engineers from the Shakhty mines in Donbas. They were put on trial accused of sabotaging the first 5-Year plan. Five were shot and the rest imprisoned.

Question 39

When was Kirov murdered?

Answer 39

In 1934, after giving a speech that criticised Stalin’s policy of industrialisation. The speech was warmly applauded and there was even talk of Kirov replacing Stalin as leader. It is quite likely that Stalin had him shot.

Question 40

How did Stalin use the murder of Kirov in his Purges from 1934 to 1936?

Answer 40

Stalin used it as an excuse to arrest thousands of Communist Party members in 1934 - 40,000 members in Leningrad alone.

In 1935, thousands of Communist Party members who had supported Trotsky were expelled from the party.

In 1936, Stalin got rid of the ‘old Bolsheviks’ by accusing them of Kirov’s murder and also of plotting to assassinate him. Zinoviev, Kamenev and other Left Opposition leaders were tortured by the NKVD and confessed in full view of the world.

Question 41

How did Stalin purge the army in 1937?

Answer 41

The Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army, Tuchachevsky, along with seven other generals, were arrested and shot.

By 1941, 13 of the top 15 generals had been purged.

Question 42

What are the years 1936-1938 known as?

Answer 42

The Great Terror. Millions of people were purged in these years by the OGPU (secret police).

Question 43

How many people were sent to the gulags?

Answer 43

In 1928, there were about 30,000 people in the gulags. By 1938, there were about 7 million.

Question 44

What were the different secret police organisations through this period?

Answer 44

Before the revolution - the Okhrana
1917-1922 - the Chekha
1922-23 - the GPU, part of the NKVD (which included the ordinary police and the prisons)
1923-34 - the OGPU
1934-45 - the GUGB, part of the NKVD

Question 45

What were the Show Trials?

Answer 45

The Moscow Trials were a series of three show trials held in the Soviet Union at the instigation of Joseph Stalin between 1936 and 1938. They included the Trial of the Sixteen, the Trial of the Anti-Soviet Trotskyist Center, and the Trial of the Twenty-One. The defendants included most of the surviving Old Bolsheviks, as well as the former leadership of the Soviet secret police. Most defendants were charged under Article 58 of the RSFSR Penal Code with conspiring with the western powers to assassinate Stalin and other Soviet leaders, dismember the Soviet Union, and restore capitalism. The Moscow Trials led to the execution of many of the defendants, including most of the surviving Old Bolsheviks, and the trials are generally seen as part of Stalin’s Great Purge

Question 46

What did Stalin use propaganda for?

Answer 46

1. To turn people against his enemies;
2. To get people to accept his decisions (such as collectivisation and industrialisation);
3. To get people to put up with hardships;
4. To get people to work harder;
5. To build up a ‘Cult of Stalin’.

Question 47

What was the ‘Cult of Stalin’?

Answer 47

Also known as the ‘Cult of Personality’ - this became a prominent part of Soviet culture in December 1929, after a lavish celebration for Stalin’s 50th birthday. For the rest of Stalin’s rule, the Soviet press presented Stalin as an all-powerful, all-knowing leader, and Stalin’s name and image became omnipresent. From 1936 the Soviet journalism started to refer to Joseph Stalin as the Father of Nations.

Question 48

What types of propaganda did Stalin use?

Answer 48

1. Radio, newspapers, songs, poems and books were all tightly controlled and censored to make sure they were not anti-Stalin.
2. Officials were sent all over the country to promote propaganda films and give talks. They distributed banners and posters to spread different propaganda campaigns. Each new idea, such as the Five-Year Plans, had a specific propaganda campaign. Stalin was often photographed with children or workers from different ethnic minorities to show how widely popular he was.
3. Foreign visitors had to travel under state supervision. They were escorted to factories, collective farms and homes that were made to look better than most people’s real lives.

Question 49

How did Stalin use propaganda to encourage industrialisation?

Answer 49

Stalin began a propaganda campaign based on the miner Alexei Stakhanov, who supposedly shifted 102 tonnes of coal in a single shift - fifteen times the normal amount (it was actually a fix - he had two helpers to remove the coal while he continued to work at the coal face). Other workers were encouraged to follow his example and formed ‘shock brigades’ to copy their hero.

These workers became known as Stakhanovites and they were awarded medals (e.g. the ‘Order of Lenin’).

Question 50

Was the Stakhanovite movement a complete success?

Answer 50

No. Initial success was soon replaced by anger and resentment towards the Stakhanovites and the campaign was quietly dropped in the late 1930s after a number of Stakhanovites were beaten up and killed by fellow workers.

Question 51

How did Stalin influence family life?

Answer 51

He returned to traditional values of encouraging families to stay together (after Lenin had made divorce very easy, which led to many broken homes). To do this, Stalin:

1. payed family allowances for married couples;
2. made divorce much harder;
3. restricted abortion.

Question 52

How did Stalin’s policies affect women?

Answer 52

Women gained much equality with men in terms of pay, voting rights and education, IN THEORY.

However, in reality, women were expected to both raise large families AND hold down full-time jobs. Also, there was much inequality that continued - women were rarely made managers, for example.

Question 53

How many women were working under Stalin?

Answer 53

in 1928, there were just under 3 million women working (mainly in farming or as domestic servants). By 1940, there were over 13 million women working in all types of industry (although mostly at the lower levels)