 starter activity
Who are the characters in
this cartoon? What
message is the artist trying
to convey? Clue – focus on
the eyes
Read about the death of
Rasputin – do you think his
death would help or hinder
Nicholas II?
 Key words: desertion
mutiny
zemstva staret
What impact did War
have on the Tsar?
 LOs
TBAT identify and evaluate the
causes of the Feb Revolution
To compare the 1905 & 1917
revolutions
To decide how far the Tsar was
responsible for his own downfall
 Your task

Read about the long-term causes of the February
Revolution on p.48-51 and create a spider
diagram to record the main causes.
Military failures p.43-45
 Political tensions (p.45-6)
 Rasputin (p.46-7)
 Domestic problems (Home front) p.45


Write a judgement paragraph explaining what
you think was the most important at the bottom
Categorise the cards. Rank the categories from most to least
important causes of the February Revolution. Can you see any
similarities with the 1905 revolution?
 Your task

Read p.84-86 in Oxley and p.48-51 in Murphy
and identify no more than 7 short term-reasons
why the Tsar was finally forced to abdicate.
Short-term causes



Strikes - to commemorate ‘Bloody Sunday’, e.g.
9th Jan 1917, 140,000 workers in St P.; protests
over food & working conditions
Food shortages – attacks by Duma, increase in
rationing (50g per day)
Political opposition - International Women’s
Day merged with strike by Putilov engineering
works in St P
Workers and women in St Petersburg, 1917 protesting about food
shortages and working conditions




Soviets – committees of workers,
eventually St P Soviet formed, issuing
Order No. 1
Response of govt – arrrests of leaders of
Workers’ Group, stricter censorship (all
newspapers shut down)
Mutinies – Cossacks refused to fire on
protestors, Volinsky Regiment joined
protestors
Formation of Provisional Government –
following attempts to dissolve Duma
under Mikhail Rodzhianko
Rodzhianko
Map
showing
Pskov,
where
Tsar
Nicholas
II
abdicated
the
throne.
Watch ‘Land of the Tsars’ and around the image of Nicholas & his family note down the
key reasons given for the February Revolution
 Your task


Create a venn diagram similar to the one on p.51
comparing and contrasting the causes & events
of the 1905 and 1917 revolutions.
Explain why the 1917 revolution succeeded
whilst the 1905 one failed
 Your task


Study the cards your are given. Sort them into
two piles, those that suggest Nicholas was
responsible for his own downfall and those
which suggest he wasn’t. Have a third pile for
those you are unsure about.
Try to categorise the problems
This house believes Nicholas II responsible for the downfall of
Tsarism
 Your task

On a sheet of paper draw a line similar to the
one below. Plot the following on the line:
Personality & leadership
 Social & economic problems
 Military situation
 Political reforms


Provide 2 piece of evidence for each factor & be
prepared to explain your choice to the class
How far was Tsar Nicholas to blame?
Top tips on writing introductions:
Work in pairs on this
question and then
peer assess your
progress. Try to write
an intro & 2 topic
paragraphs
How far did the Tsar contribute towards his own downfall?
 Extension task


Could Tsarism have survived? Read the
information from Fiehn, p.70-1 and highlight
evidence for either side of the argument before
writing your own judgement
Produce a factoid on Rasputin assessing his life
and reputation
 Homework



Finish the essay for homework.
Prepare for a timed question on the financial
and political reforms to Russia in the period
1881-1914
Have a good half –term!
 Key words: desertion
mutiny
zemstva staret
What impact did War
have on the Tsar?
 LOs
 Plenary
TBAT identify and evaluate the
causes of the Feb Revolution
To compare the 1905 & 1917
revolutions
To decide how far the Tsar was
responsible for his own downfall