Folio-written account: Historical empathy
Winter, 1916.
A great deal has changed in Russia. The war has raged for two years now, and with every passing
day it weakens our nation. Yet change is coming. I felt it first, many years ago, when my family and
I moved to Moscow for a better life. At the time, I had thought that we were lucky to have left - to
have survived the outbreak of cholera that killed a near 400,000. 1891 was a bad year, with the
sickness, and the crop failure. Our home, Bartsylovo, had become a ghost town. There was nothing
left for us to farm, and with Minister Witte’s encouragement, many of us left the towns to join the
factories that were sprouting up all over Russia. Moscow was the Promised Land – full of prosperity
and opportunity. Yet when we arrived, we found that it was not so. Though we found employment in
a factory (fitting out the trains for the new Trans-Siberian Railway, for which construction had begun
that year), many peasants from the towns struggled in the new city. The rapid expansion of industry
had led to an incredible population increase in Moscow, and working and living conditions for my
family and others were appalling. Though some families were housed in barracks around the
factory, my wife, son and I slept next to our workbenches, as we had no money at all, and the
wages were terrible.
It became worse for us some years later, in 1901, when I injured myself badly, and lost the use of
one of my arms for some months. Although I was lucky to survive, I received no wages, and was
close to starvation by the time I was able to go back to work. For years after that, our family was
perpetually living in fear that another injury would occur. Yet after the 1905 revolution, we workers
were blessed with the new injury compensation protection, along with many other gifts from the
Tsar’s October Manifesto. A government official also inspected our factory, and conditions did
improve somewhat. However, workers paid a terrible price for this. The riots at Bloody Sunday in
January 1905, although springing the nation into revolutionary action, cost our fellow workers in St
Petersburg (or should I say Petrograd) dearly. Led by the righteous Father Gapon, workers
marched to the Winter Palace, to deliver their petition to the Tsar himself. Had I had the opportunity
to sign my name along with the other 135,000 on that petition, I would have. Even knowing what I
know now, I would have marched to the palace, carrying our demands for the Duma, freedom of
speech and of association, for the guarantee of fair trials, and an amnesty for political prisoners. I
would have marched, and pleaded with the Tsar, to grant my family and eight hour working day,
Knowledge and
Understanding
Demonstrates
comprehensive and
relevant knowledge
about prerevolutionary
Russia by using
precise and
accurate factual
examples (e.g. with
the use of many
dates, names and
statistics).
Reflection and
Evaluation
Provides evidence
of perceptive
reflection on the
short term impacts
of events such as
cholera, famine,
Witte’s reforms, the
impact of
industrialisation
and the impact of
Bloody Sunday
from the
perspective of a
worker from St
Petersburg.
Communication
Demonstrates
consistent, clear
and highly
appropriate use of
subject specific
language and
conventions.
and to relieve us of our taxes. I am sure all of our demands could have been met, had Russia not
been at war with Japan, for it is certain that war sucks all of the life out of our great nation.
Page 1 of 3
Stage 2 Modern History annotated student response for use in 2011
533559672 (revised July 2010)
© SACE Board of South Australia 2010
Yet when those brave and hopeful workers reached the palace, the Tsar was not there, and waiting
Cossacks cut down the crowd. The government told us that less than 100 were killed; yet there
were publications circulating, saying that over 4,000 of the peaceful crowd were murdered. It was
clear then that our Tsar had lost his love for his people.
All year, severe unrest troubled our nation. I was one of the 3 million workers who went on strike,
demanding Gapon’s requests for the workers be met. I recall that many of the other social groups
revolted also, and although some were contented when the Tsar promised a Duma, we workers did
not give in. We were not granted any of our demands, and this new Duma would not have allowed a
worker’s vote.
Reflection and
Evaluation
Provides strong
evidence of
comprehensive and
insightful evaluation
of why individuals,
such as the
workers, acted in
the ways they did,
e.g. in reacting to
the outrage of
Bloody Sunday by
joining the newly
formed Soviet.
Later that year, just before the general strike broke out on September 30th, I was elected by my
factory to our area’s Soviet. I felt greatly empowered by this, as we organized strike after strike, to
paralyze Russia, and make the Tsar hear our prayers. Finally, after one month of general strike, on
October 30th, the Tsar signed the October Manifesto, granting all of Russia the civil and political
liberties we had fought for. The Duma became more than an advisory board, with the power to
make legislation. It was a very exciting time. Yet it was too good to be true.
Our Tsar betrayed us, just one month after the Duma. The leaders of my Soviet were arrested,
along with the leaders of all the soviets from Moscow to St. Petersburg. The Duma was stripped of
its powers with the issuing of the Fundamental Laws, and since the electoral laws were altered to
favoured the landed gentry and privileged classes we workers have been deprived of the
representation we had so craved. Perhaps this is why the Duma has almost completely ignored our
desires in the intervening years. Apart from we being granted a Sickness and Accident Insurance
policy and the provision of factory inspectors our needs have been ignored. Although Stolypin’s
necktie was able to keep us subdued for a few years, since 1911 we workers have begun to
reassert ourselves and have increasingly used strikes as our weapon, notwithstanding the severe
Reflection and
Evaluation
Perceptive
reflection on the
long term impacts
of Bloody Sunday
and the 1905
Revolution.
consequences of such action
Now it is the winter of 1916, and Russia is once again fighting a war that is not our own. The factory
no longer produces furniture and train parts, but armaments for the front. We are starving once
more, as we did in 1891. Little has changed.
946 words
Page 2 of 3
Stage 2 Modern History annotated student response for use in 2011
533559672 (revised July 2010)
© SACE Board of South Australia 2010
Performance Standards for Stage 2 Modern History
A
B
C
D
E
Knowledge and
Understanding
Inquiry and Analysis
Reflection and Evaluation
Communication
Comprehensive and relevant knowledge
and understanding of people, places,
events, and ideas in history.
Perceptive application of the
skills of historical inquiry,
including critical analysis.
Well-structured and coherent
communication of well-informed and
relevant arguments.
Astute formulation of hypotheses and/or
focusing questions, and their application
in explaining historical concepts.
Astute and thorough
construction of reasoned
historical arguments based on
a critical understanding of
evidence from sources.
Perceptive reflection on the shortterm and long-term impacts of
individuals, events, and
phenomena.
Well-considered and relevant knowledge
and understanding of people, places,
events, and ideas in history.
Well-considered application of
the skills of historical inquiry,
including critical analysis.
Clear and effective formulation of
hypotheses and/or focusing questions,
and their application in explaining
historical concepts.
Well-conceived and welldeveloped construction of
reasoned historical arguments
based on a critical
understanding of evidence from
sources.
Considered and relevant knowledge and
understanding of people, places, events,
and ideas in history.
Considered application of the
skills of historical inquiry,
including some critical analysis.
Mostly clear formulation of hypotheses
and/or focusing questions, and their
application in explaining historical
concepts.
Organised construction of
reasoned historical arguments
based on a critical
understanding of evidence from
sources.
Recognition and basic understanding of
people, places, events, and ideas in
history.
Basic application of some skills
of historical inquiry, including
some superficial analysis.
Formulation of one or more focusing
questions and description of one or more
related historical concepts.
Some basic construction of a
historical argument based on
some understanding of
evidence from sources.
Limited awareness of people, places,
events, or ideas in history.
Limited application of one or
more skills of historical inquiry.
Attempted formulation of one or more
focusing questions and attempted
description of a related historical
concept.
Attempted description of a
historical event based on a
limited understanding of
evidence from sources.
Page 3 of 3
Comprehensive and insightful
evaluation of why individuals and
groups acted in certain ways at
particular times.
Well-informed reflection on the
short-term and long-term impacts
of individuals, events, and
phenomena.
Well-considered evaluation of why
individuals and groups acted in
certain ways at particular times.
Informed reflection on the shortterm and long-term impacts of
individuals, events, and
phenomena.
Consistent, clear, and appropriate
use of subject-specific language and
conventions.
Structured and mostly coherent
communication of informed and
relevant arguments.
Clear and appropriate use of subjectspecific language and conventions.
Generally coherent communication of
informed and relevant arguments.
Mostly appropriate use of subjectspecific language and conventions.
Considered evaluation of why
individuals and groups acted in
certain ways at particular times.
Some superficial reflection on one
or more short-term or long-term
impacts of individuals, events,
and/or phenomena.
Superficial consideration of why
individuals and groups acted in
certain ways at particular times.
Limited description of a short-term
or long-term impact of an
individual, event, and/or
phenomenon.
Description of the actions of
individuals and groups at
particular times.
Some basic communication of
aspects of an argument.
Some appropriate use of subjectspecific language and conventions,
with inaccuracies.
Attempted communication of one or
more aspects of an argument.
Limited use of any appropriate
subject-specific language and
conventions.
Stage 2 Modern History annotated student response for use in 2011
533559672 (revised July 2010)
© SACE Board of South Australia 2010