Russian Revolution

Question 1

Examine the challenges faced by Tsarist government between mid 1800s and 1905. How did Tsarism
respond to the challenges?

Question 2

Discuss the relationship between Tsarist Russia, the nobility and the landowning classes. How did the
actions of these groups contribute to revolutionary sentiment?

Question 3

Compare Russia’s economic and political development with Britain, France and Germany in the late
`1800s. How did this contribute to the challenges Russia faced in the early 20 th century?

Question 4

Examine how autocracy and the tsars themselves were responsible for the coming of the Russian
Revolution. What weaknesses existed with this system by 1917?

Question 5

To what extent did the leadership and policies of Alexander III and Nicholas II lay the groundwork for
revolutionary activity in 1905 and 1917?

Question 6

Many writers considered Russia’s peasantry to be the most logical source of revolutionary energy. To
what extent was this true? What obstacles were there to a ‘peasant revolution’ in Russia?

Question 7

Describe the ideas and methods adopted by Russian revolutionary movements in the 50 years prior to
1905. How and in what ways did they attempt to address the grievances in society?

Question 8

With reference to three specific groups, explain why early 20th-century Russian revolutionary groups
were unable to overthrow, reform or moderate tsarism.

Question 9

TWE was the Great War the single most important factor in the coming of the Russian Revolution?

Question 10

Discuss how the Bolshevik and Menshevik parties each attempted to foment change between 1905 and
February 1917. Which group was more successful and why?

Question 11

How did the formation, expansion and treatment of Russia’s industrial workforce contribute to a growth
in revolutionary sentiment?

Question 12

Evaluate the role played by the Bolshevik party and its individual members in both the 1905 and
February 1917 revolutions. Why were they successful in 1917 unlike 1905?

Question 13

To what extent do you agree that the downfall of the Tsar was due to popular discontent?

Question 14

Examine the effectiveness and popularity of the tsarist government between 1912 and 1914. How and
why did the outbreak of World War I impact tsarist authority?

Question 15

To what extent was Russia’s entry into World War I a product of tsarist mismanagement? Did Nicholas II
contribute to his own doom – or was he a victim of circumstance?

Question 16

Evaluate the argument that the tsar’s decision to take personal command of the army in 1915 marked
the beginning of the end for his regime.

Question 17

Describe the political, economic and social impact that World War I had on Russia and its people. To
what extent did it bring an end to the Tsar?

Question 18

Explain how errors of judgement and mismanagement by the tsar and tsarina in February 1917
contributed to the overthrow of tsarism.

Question 19

Give reasons for the political instability of the Provisional Government through the middle of 1917.
What were the eventual outcomes of this instability?

Question 20

Referring to specific conditions, policies and events, explain Kerensky’s statement thatthe Provisional
Government had “authority without power” while the Petrograd Soviet had “power without authority”.

Question 21

Describe the Bolshevik policy of war communism. To what extent would you agree that the policy was a
necessity for the state?

Question 22

Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional
Government. Why did the latter ultimately lose popularity with the people?

Question 23

The Bolsheviks were successful revolutionaries but failures at political leadership and economic
management.” Discuss the validity of this statement.

Question 24

Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional
Government. Why did the latter ultimately lose popularity with the people?

Question 25

In what ways were Tsarist Russia and Lenin’s Soviet Union (under War Communism) similar? What were
some of the differences?

Question 26

To what extent had the Bolsheviks created a communist state in Russia by 1924?