Everything we have studied so far...

Question 1

What was the full name of the Tsar of Russia?

Answer 1

Nicholas Romanov II

Question 2

What was the Tsar’s nickname at the start of his rule?

Answer 2

The ‘Little Father of Russia’

Question 3

What word beginning with ‘a’ described the Tsar’s style of leadership?

Answer 3

Autocracy/autocracy

Question 4

Write a definition of the Tsar’s style of leadership.

Answer 4

. He didn’t listen to others and believed he was ruling by divine right; he was a dictator/autocrat who ruled without a government.

Question 5

What did the Tsar set up in 1906?

Answer 5

The Duma

Question 6

What was the approximate population of Russia by 1917?

Answer 6

170 million

Question 7

What percentage of the population could speak Russian?

Answer 7

40%

Question 8

List three of the largest ethnic minorities within Russia by 1917

Answer 8

Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Byelorussians, Jews

Question 9

What was the name of the railway that crossed Russia from West to East?

Answer 9

Trans-Siberian Railway

Question 10

When did the Tsar take control of the Russian army?

Answer 10

1915

Question 11

Name two battles in 1914 that the Russians lost badly in the war.

Answer 11

Tannenburg and Massurian Lakes

Question 12

Who did the Tsar leave in charge of Russia?

Answer 12

Tsarina

Question 13

Give three reasons why this was a bad decision by the Tsar.

Answer 13

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 14

What percentage of the population were peasants?

Answer 14

80%

Question 15

Which group in the hierarchy of Russia (the word starts with an ‘a’), were only 1.5% of the population but owned 25% of the land?

Answer 15

aristocracy

Question 16

What word, beginning with ‘p’ describes the industrial working class?

Answer 16

Proletariat

Question 17

Describe why the quality of life was low for industrial workers in Moscow and Petrograd. Give three reasons.

Answer 17

1. Low pay, 2. Exploitation by employers, 3. No protection from e.g. unions, 4. Dangerous and filthy working conditions, 5. Overcrowded accommodation

Question 18

Name at least one of the Tsar’s closest advisers (not Rasputin).

Answer 18

Stolypin, Rodzianko or Witte

Question 19

Name the Tsar’s secret police

Answer 19

Okhrana

Question 20

Give at least one reason, apart from the Tsar’s leadership, why Russia did so badly in World War One

Answer 20

. Bad decisions by generals who competed with each other rather than supporting each other. Also, soldiers were ordered to use bayonettes vs. machine guns. Lack of basic equipment such as boots and bullets for guns.

Question 21

Give one policy/belief of the SRs.

Answer 21

To educate the peasants to enable a revolution.

Question 22

Describe the SRs main support base.

Answer 22

Peasants

Question 23

Name three leaders of the Bolsheviks

Answer 23

Lenin, Trotsky and Zinoviev. Also: Kamenev, Kirov

Question 24

Describe the Bolsheviks main support base.

Answer 24

Proletariat

Question 25

Give one policy/belief of the Mensheviks

Answer 25

Russia was not ready for a revolution as it needed a period of capitalism. They would not cooperate with other parties.

Question 26

Give one policy/belief of the Oktobrists.

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Describe the Oktobrists main support base.

Answer 27

Professionals, middle and upper classes, aristocracy

Question 28

Was the February Revolution planned?

Answer 28

No – it was spontaneous

Question 29

Describe ‘Order No. 1’

Answer 29

No laws are valid unless ratified by the Petrograd Soviet

Question 30

What did the two competing authorities (the Duma and the Soviet) set up on 3rd March?

Answer 30

The Provisional Government

Question 31

Give three facts about the Provisional Government

Answer 31

Leaders were Kerensky and Prince Lvov, it only had de jure power – the Petrograd Soviet had de facto power, It failed to provide peace, land for the people or bread. It promised to hold an election but then failed to do so.

Question 32

What was the Petrograd Soviet?

Answer 32

A worker’s council dominated by the Bolsheviks

Question 33

Write down the 4 main points of the April Theses.

Answer 33

Peace, Land, Bread, All power to the soviets.

Question 34

What happened during the July Days?

Answer 34

Spontaneous peasant uprisings across Russia, Bolshevik-led protests turned into a rebellion. Kerensky produced evidence that Lenin had been helped by the Germans and so Lenin went into exile again.

Question 35

What caused the Kornilov Affair?

Answer 35

Kornilov attempted to go to Petrograd with his army to stop the Petrograd Soviet taking over. Kerensky panicked and released Bolshevik Leaders and gave Trotsky’s Red Guard guns because he thought Kornilov was coming to take power for himself. The Bolsheviks used their de facto power (control over railways, telegraph offices etc) to prevent Kornilov from reaching Petrograd.

Question 36

What were the main effects/outcomes of the Kornilov Affair?

Answer 36

This meant the Bolsheviks now had real military power.

Question 37

What was the date of the October Revolution?

Answer 37

25th October 1917

Question 38

Give three reasons why the Bolsheviks were able to seize power so easily.

Answer 38

The Provisional Government had given in – the Winter Palace was empty when the Red Guard took power. The Provisional Government was deeply unpopular. The Bolsheviks were a disciplined party dedicated to revolution. At least half the army supported them.

Question 39

Give two reasons why the October Revolution did not go exactly as planned by the Bolsheviks.

Answer 39

Because there was no ‘glorious’ fighting at all, also guns on the Battleship Aurora failed to work, red signal lights also failed to work.

Question 40

What was Lenin’s role in the October Revolution?

Answer 40

Firstly, he came back! He had fled after the failure to take power during the July Days, but he used the time to write a book (called ‘State and Revolution’) and then returned.

Secondly, he was the main leader - he set the date for the revolution and forced it through, despite some opposition from other leading Bolsheviks, notable Kamenev and Zinoviev.

Question 41

What was Trotsky’s role in the October Revolution?

Answer 41

He was a brilliant organiser - he led the Red Guard, managed to get support from a large part of the Russian army and made sure everybody was in the right place at the right time to seize power.

Question 42

What happened immediately after the October Revolution?

Answer 42

The Bolsheviks started delivering on some of their promises - and also introducing some unpopular measures, such as secret police.

Question 43

What were the early Bolshevik decrees?

Answer 43

These were the public announcements of their policies. They included:
PEACE - surrendering to Germany at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk;
LAND - peasants were to divide up rural land among themselves;
WORK - minimum wage, limitations on workers’ hours, and the running of factories by elected workers’ committees.
ELECTIONS - voting for the new Constituent Assembly started in November

Question 44

What early Bolshevik decrees were unpopular?

Answer 44

The Bolsheviks created a totalitarian state:
The CHEKA (secret police) arrested, tortured and killed all opponents.
All newspapers were censored.
Lenin called this ‘the dictatorship of the proletariat’ (a dictatorship was needed until Russia was changed into a Communist country).

Question 45

What was the civil war from 1918 - 1921?

Answer 45

Lenin negotiated peace with Germany and therefore an end to Russia’s role in World War I. He could not, however, avoid a civil war in Russia. The Bolsheviks were made to fight for control of the country.

Question 46

Who were the Bolshevik’s enemies in the civil war?

Answer 46

the White Armies, led by former officers of the Tsarist state, and also from intervention by former allies in World War One who were furious that Lenin and Trotsky had surrendered to Germany and left World War One.

Question 47

What was War Communism?

Answer 47

Lenin and Trotsky needed a policy that would allow them to give priority to the Red Army and win the civil war. War Communism meant that:
The Bolsheviks took control of factories, 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 48

What advantages did the Reds have in the civil war from 1918-1921?

Answer 48

The Reds controlled the cities and central areas with good communications.
War Communism supplied the Red Army which meant that all necessary resources
were poured into the army.
Trotsky was a very successful leader of the Red Army. He made inspiring speeches,
gave out tobacco and other luxuries. He executed men whose loyalty he doubted.

Question 49

What weaknesses did the Whites have in the civil war from 1918-1921?

Answer 49

The Whites were thousands of miles apart and were disunited. They spent most of
their time arguing and their attacks were never coordinated.
The Whites had trouble getting enough soldiers. They had to conscript peasants, who did not really want the old regime of the Tsar back again.
The Whites did not treat their troops well. When they began to lose, many of their
units deserted and joined the Red Army.
Foreign support was very half-hearted and only increased support for the Communists.

Question 50

What were the effects of War Communism?

Answer 50

War Communism made food shortages in the towns and cities worse because the Red
Army was always given priority for food and often there wasn’t enough for the towns.
BUT - It supplied the Red Army with food and enabled the victory over the Whites.

Peasants did not like the idea of giving up produce to the state, and so grew less and
bred fewer animals. Food shortages got worse.
The Kronstadt Naval Rebellion 1921: Thousands of sailors protested and objected to the way the Communist Party (the Bolsheviks were now called Communists) was taking power away from the Soviets. SO - Lenin realised he had to change policy.

Question 51

What was the NEP?

Answer 51

It was intended by Lenin to mainly meet Russia’s urgent need for food:
Money was re-introduced, with a new coinage. Workers were paid wages again. There
was a new state bank.
The state stopped taking crops from the peasants. If they grew more food than they
needed, they could sell it at a profit for themselves. But they had to pay the state
10% of that profit in tax, paid in crops.
The State kept control of the big industries (coal and steel) but factories of under
20 workers could be privately owned and run to make a profit.
Moved away from communism towards capitalism. Trotsky and others criticised this
policy.

Question 52

What effects did the NEP have?

Answer 52

Agricultural production went up. Peasants began growing more crops.
Factory production went up too. This led to more goods being manufactured.
The return of money for wages and allowing small scale profit helped the economy.

Question 53

How did Stalin become the leader of Russia?

Answer 53

He used cunning and his position as Communist Party Secretary to exclude enemies and promote allies:

He gave Trotsky the wrong date for Lenin’s funeral but made himself Lenin’s chief mourner;
Bukharin was asked to promote the NEP and then Stalin declared the NEP to be un-communist;
Kirov was assassinated (perhaps by Stalin) and then Kamenev and Zinoviev were forced to admit they had done it;
Trotsky was forced out of the Politburo and eventually exiled.

Question 54

What was the ‘Great Terror’ from 1936-38?

Answer 54

Stalin expanded the powers of the OGPU (secret police).
System of labour camps (Gulags) had grown.
Stalin began are series of purges (to get rid of his opponents).Those purged were either executed, exiled to labour camps (the Gulags), or exiled to abroad.
About 7 million people were purged in total.

Question 55

What were the Show Trials?

Answer 55

These were the public trials of key political opponents, such as Kamenev and Zinoviev, who Stalin wanted to get rid of. The trials were staged and his enemies were forced to admit to crimes they had not committed in public. They started in 1936 and are often seen as the start of the Great Terror.

Question 56

How did the role of women change in a positive way under Stalin up to 1941?

Answer 56

EMPLOYMENT - women were encouraged to work in all areas, e.g. in 1928 - under 3 million women working but by 1940 over 13 million women were working.

Women could become top professionals in jobs like medicine and engineering, e.g. by 1941 75% of doctors were female.

RIGHTS - divorce was made easier, women had equal voting rights to men, women had equal pay for equal work and equal educational opportunities.

Question 57

How did the role of women change in a negative way under Stalin up to 1941?

Answer 57

EMPLOYMENT - In reality, women were confined to the lower levels of most jobs - managers were almost always men.

FAMILY LIFE - women were expected to raise large families as well as work - they were paid 2,000 roubles if they had 7 children. In order to make both responsibilities (to work and to raise a family) possible, the state provided free nurseries etc. BUT - these were terribly overcrowded.

RIGHTS - Stalin eventually went back on his policy of making it easier for women to get divorced.