Russia in Revolution
Unit 1, Study guides
The making of the Revolution
Study guide one
Section one – Russia before 1881
a. Read p5-8 and complete a table similar to the one below:
Russia’s
rulers and
government
Geography
Economy
Society
Ethnic
minorities
b. Write a paragraph (100 words) summarising why Russia was difficult to
govern.
c. Read p.8-9 on Alexander II and note down the reforms passed during his
reign
d. Study the timeline on p. 6 and the information on p.9-10 on the main
themes in Russian history. Link the events within the timeline to the themes.
 Extension task: imagine you are the British ambassador to Moscow. Write
a letter back to your government explaining what Russian society was like
under the Tsars and any potential problems facing its government. Feel free
to illustrate your letter with labelled maps, charts or images from your own
research.
Section two – The triumph of reaction – the reign of Alexander III, 188194
a. Read p.11-17 and produce two lists of evidence the problems Alexander III
faced and they policies he made to resolve them. Try to draw links between
the two lists.
b. List the problems that Alexander III created
c. Study the table on p.17 and make a list of the similarities and differences
between Russia at the start and end of Alexander’s reign.
 Extension task: imagine you are a policy adviser to the new Tsar Nicholas
II. Draw up a short report giving him some advice on how to tackle the
problems he will inherit from his father.
Section three – Economic and social change, the age of Witte
a. Read p.19 and create a scales chart recording the successes and problems
arising from the emancipation of the serfs
b. Read p.20 and list the main features of the ‘Great Spurt’
c. Note down the effects of Witte’s economic reforms using the information on
p. 20-1. How successful were his policies? Write a judgement paragraph.
 Extension tasks: produce factoids on Russia’s Finance Ministers in this
period, Ivan Vyshnegradsky (1887-92) and Sergei Witte (1892-1903),
recording details of their earlier lives, personalities and policy aims.
Section four – Radical parties
a. Read p.23-8 and complete a table similar to the one below on the
opposition groups in Russia at this time:
Aims & ideas
Populists
Support
Methods
How radical
Social
Democrats
(Bolsheviks)
Social
Democrats
(Mensheviks)
Social
Revolutionaries
Liberals
(Octobrists)
Liberals
(Kadets)
 Extension task. Read about the ideas of Karl Marx. Imagine you have
been asked to produce an introduction to Karl Marx for a Key Stage 3 class.
Produce a poster which simplifies the life of Marx and his key ideas on the
four stages of revolution
Section five – 1905, a failed Revolution?
a. Read p.29-30 and create a spider diagram recording the
Social, economic & political of the 1905 Revolution
b. Read p.31 and identify as many different immediate causes of the 1905
revolution as you can. Can you link them to the broader long-term causes
above?
c. Read p.32-5 and list the reasons why the revolution failed.
d. Create a scales chart highlighting the achievements and failures of the
1905 Revolution. On balance did the failures outweigh the achievements?
 Essay practice: ‘How far was the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5
responsible for the 1905 Revolution?’
The Downfall of the Romanovs
Study guide two
Section one – Stolypin – repression and reform
a. Read p.38 and list the measures used by Stolypin to restore order in
Russia after the 1905 Revolution
b. List the evidence to suggest Stolypin was a reformer
c. Read p.40-41 and complete a table similar to the one below:
1st Duma (1906)
2nd Duma (1907)
3rd & 4th Duma
(1907-12 & 1912-14)
Political makeup,
e.g. liberal or
mainly
conservative
Government
interference with
elections
Key reforms
Section two – What impact did WWI have on the government?
a. Study the information on p.43-4 of Murphy and construct a timeline from
1914 to Christmas 1916 identifying Russian successes and defeats on either
side of the timeline.
b. Read Murphy, p.44-45 and note the ways in which WWI affected the
Russian economy.
c. Read p.45-6 in Murphy and list the reasons why political opposition to the
Tsar’s government developed between August 1914 and December 1916.
Section three – The February Revolution (1917)
a. Read p.48-51 and identify the ways in which demonstrations and strikes
developed in St Petersburg.
b. Describe how the events of 25 March to 2 March led to the fall of the Tsar
c. Complete a venn diagram similar to the one in Murphy, p.51 explaining the
similarities and differences between the 1905 and February Revolution.
 Extension task Read p.81-3 and assess the extent to which the Tsar, his
wife & Rasputin were responsible for declining support for the regime using
the questions in the activity box on p.83
 Essay practice - ‘How far was the First World War responsible for the
downfall of the Romanovs in 1917?
The Bolshevik Triumph
Study guide three
Section one – The Provisional Government
Read p.54-8 and complete a table assessing the problems facing the PG
similar to the one below:
Problem
What action did the PG
take?
Success or failure?
Government
Social & economic
problems
Peasants
First World War
 Extension task: produce a factoid on Alexander Kerensky
 Take notes on his early life, political career and his final years
 Include quotes from contemporaries and historians and a photo (and
political cartoons if possible)
 Write a short judgement on whether he had a positive or negative
impact on the PG and post-Revolutionary Russia
Use information in Oxley p.104-105 plus any other evidence you may find.
Section two – What impact did the return of Lenin have?
Read p.59-62 and list the ways in which Lenin’s return changed the course of
the Russian revolution.
Extension task: study Lenin’s April Theses. Create an acronym to help you
remember his 10 points.
Section three – July Days & Kornilov Affair
Read p.63-4 in Murphy and create a timeline of the July Days highlighting the
most important events.
Describe how the failure of the July Days affected Lenin and the Bolsheviks
Note down ways the Kornilov Affair undermined the authority of the
Provisional Government.
Section five – The Bolsheviks seizure of power
Read p.67-9 in Murphy and construct a timeline of events explaining how the
Bolsheviks seized power.
Read Murphy p.70 and list the reasons for Bolshevik success.
Study the sources on p.108 of Oxley. Do you think the October Revolution
was a coup or a popular uprising. Write a short judgement paragraph.
 Extension task: create a factoid on Trotsky making notes on his ideas, his
political career and the part he played in the Revolution and the subsequent
consolidation of power. Include useful quotes and a summary of his
contribution to the Bolshevik Party.
 Essay - ‘To what extent is it true to say the Provisional Government faced
an impossible task?’
The making of a totalitarian state
Study guide four
Section one – The consolidation of power
Read p. 75 and make a note of the problems facing Lenin when he came to
power
List the key changes introduced by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk from the
information on p.75
Read about the Constituent Assembly on p.76-77 and note why it lasted for
only 1 day.
Section two – Why were the Bolsheviks successful in winning the Civil
War?
Read Murphy p.78-9 and list the reasons why the Bolsheviks faced so much
opposition 1918
Did the Reds win by default? Study the information in Murphy p.80-3 and
create a scales chart weighing up the strengths of the Reds against the
weaknesses of the Whites.
Write a summary of your findings (100 words).
Section three – War Communism
Read p. 84 and note the ways in which Lenin attempted to introduce a
communist-style economy between December 1917 and June 1918
Note down the main feature of War Communism on p.84-5
Create a scales chart to evaluate the success or failure of War Communism
using the information and evidence on p.85-6
Section four - The New Economic Policy?
Read p.87-8 and list the main reasons why the Bolsheviks introduced the
NEP.
Read Murphy p.88 and list the main decisions taken by the 10th Party
Congress.
Make a list of the positive and negative impacts of the NEP using the
information on p.89
Section five – The creation of the USSR
Read p. 90 and note ways in which the creation of the USSR changed the
way Russia was governed.
List the main features of Lenin’s dictatorship using the evidence on p.90-91.
Complete a chart similar to the one on p.91
 Extension task: prepare notes for a debate on whether Lenin was little
more than a Red Tsar
 Essay - ‘How far was the Communist dictatorship under Lenin different
from the Tsarist autocracy in the reign of Alexander III?’