AQA History A Level Summary Sheets for Russia (option 2N)
84 views 4 purchases
Course
Depth Study (2N)
Institution
AQA
Book
Oxford AQA History for A Level
Contains a double-sided summary sheet for each of the six sections in the component: dissent and revolution, Bolshevik consolidation, Stalin's rise to power, economy and society, Stalinism, politics and control, and the Great Patriotic War and Stalin's dictatorship. Designed to provide a quick and ...
AQA A Level History Russia Revolution and Dictatorship Notes Chapter 1-24
AQA summary timeline of Stalin's purges in the 1920's
AQA summary timeline of Stalin's rise to power in the Bolshevik party and government
All for this textbook (40)
Written for
A/AS Level
AQA
History
Depth Study (2N)
All documents for this subject (402)
Seller
Follow
baronj136
Reviews received
Content preview
Dissent and Revolution, 1917
Pre-revolution Russia
● Bloody Sunday, 1905: tsarist army shoots on crowd demanding reforms → October Manifesto established Duma.
● Nicholas: awkward in public, stubborn, over-cautious, pitted ministers against each other to keep authority.
● 1913 (Romanov tercentenary) = last year of peace.
● Battle of Tannenburg, 1914: Russian defeat, 300k casualties. Battle of Masurian Lakes, 1914: Russian defeat.
● Issues in the military: lack of warm clothing, suitable weaponry etc.
○ Fall in morale, Brusilov offensive → 1.5m desertions by 1916.
● Nicholas’ mistakes:
○ He refused the chance the Progressive Bloc gave him to institute political reform in August 1915. Denied
Witte’s plans for economic reforms??
○ September 1915: took the role of Commander of the Russian Army → lack of military experience, made
him responsible for military disasters.
○ Left Alexandra and Rasputin in charge → rumours of affairs, suspicions around her German heritage.
● Economic and social state of Russia:
○ War credits → massive inflation. Conscription → shortage of men in the countryside → food shortages.
○ Naval blockades in the Baltic → halted Russian trade. Railway production halved between 1913 and 1916.
○ Unemployment, 300% rise in cost of living, 145k workers on strike in Petrograd.
● Discontent in Russia:
○ Riots against landlords and employers. -35C temperatures in the winter of 1916 → near mutiny in armies.
○ Guchkov considered a coup to force Nicholas to abdicate in 1917. Lvov indirectly asked Nicholas’ uncle if
he would replace the Tsar.
○ Urban proletariat = potential threat; 57.8% literacy rate + structure of factories = able to articulate
grievances and organise strikes. Peasants = 77% of population.
February/March Revolution
● 14th-28th February, 1917:
○ 14th: 100k workers on strike in Petrograd.
○ 23rd: International Women's Day → 90k workers joined IWD march = 240k in total.
○ 24th: 200k on strike, knocking down tsarist statues and waving red flags.
○ 25th: over half of the city’s workforce on strike. Factories closed, no news/public transport. Chief of
mounted police murdered. Many authority members refused to shoot, themselves being of worker
backgrounds.
○ 27th: Tsar ordered military control. Mutiny in the Volynskii regiment. Provisional Government set up by
Duma, and the Petrograd Soviet set up by revolutionaries.
○ 28th: Tsar offered to share power with the Duma, but was too late.
● Major Bolshevik leaders = absent during this time.
● Order No. 1 produced on 1 March: all units to elect a deputy to the Soviet, no honorific titles for officers, Duma to
be obeyed only if it agreed with the Soviet’s orders.
● Petrograd Soviet accumulated 3,000 members by 10 March.
● Nicholas agreed to abdicate on 2 March, naming Grand Duke Mikhail as his heir, but he refused → Romanovs
placed under house arrest.
● Revolutionary disturbances occurred outside of Petrograd: Kronstadt naval base, national minorities declared
independence, All-Russian Congress of Soviets June 1917.
● Provisional Government: headed by Prince Lvov, accepted as legitimate, consisted of liberals, moderate socialists
and Kadets, intended as temporary.
● Petrograd Soviet: regarded PG as tainted by associations to tsarism, consisted of radical socialists, Mensheviks,
Bolsheviks and SRs, lacked confidence to assume direct control.
● New government gave freedom of religion/press, abolished death penalty, replaced tsarist police with ‘people’s
militia’ etc.
● PG tried to ensure order vs. PS encouraged peasants and workers to defy authority. PG believed in war effort vs.
PS wanted an end to war.
○ Milyukov, Guchkov and Lvov replaced by socialists in April.
● Paralysis: PG put off elections because it was clear the SRs/Bolsheviks would win → policy changes halted.
, Developments between the revolutions
● Lenin arrived in Petrograd with German help, and was greeted by cheering crowds.
● Lenin didn’t believe in a ‘bourgeois revolution’; would hold the proletariat revolution back; ‘permanent revolution’.
● April Theses: end war, power to the soviets, land to the state then re-allocated to peasants
○ ‘Peace, bread and land’.
● Opposition to Lenin: allegations of Lenin paid by German, Mensheviks feared he would undermine their work by
provoking a right-wing reaction, some thought him unrealistic/too radical.
● Lenin won over the Bolshevik Party with his personality:
○ Abandoned call for an immediate overthrow of PG → won over those who feared civil war.
○ Claimed credit for Russia’s state and anti-war demonstration → Milyukov + Guchkov resigned in May.
● All- Russian Congress of Soviets, 3 June: vote of confidence in PG.
● July Days, 3-5 July.
○ Doubled grain prices, closure of >500 factories, loss of 100k jobs → 20k armed Kronstadt sailors rioted.
○ Bolsheviks helped force suppress the riot but were blamed for its bloodshed → Lenin fled (reputation fell),
Trotsky and Kamenev imprisoned.
○ 8 July: Kerensky replaced Lvov as Prime Minister.
● Situation in summer 1917 benefited Bolsheviks:
○ Failed Brusilov offensive, falling wages and rising prices, failure to redistribute land lost peasant support.
● Kornilov coup, August: failed due to Kerensky releasing imprisoned Bolsheviks to halt it → coup leaders arrested.
○ Bolsheviks benefited: more efficient Red Guard, poured scorn on Kerensky’s government.
■ 23k → 200k membership by October.
○ Kerensky sent radical army units out of the city → Bol. claimed he was allowing Petr. to fall to Germans.
● Lenin (hiding in Finland in Sep.) demanded preparation for revolution, but was voted against by the Committee.
○ Kamenev + Zinoviev wanted to wait for elections, Trotsky wanted to wait til Congress of Soviets 26/10.
○ Lenin finally persuaded the committee on 10 Oct, slipping into Russia in disguise.
● Trotsky organised most of the revolution: sent speakers to raise support in factories, massed troops at the SMolny
Institute, MRC set up, 15/18 garrison units declared allegiance. In total: 200k Red Guards, 60k sailors etc.
October/November Revolution
● Causes: weaknesses of PG, political manoeuvres under Lenin/Trotsky, deteriorating economy.
○ Kerensky’ attempt to take action on Oct 23 gave the Bolsheviks an excuse to act.
● 24th: Red Guards took over key government buildings.
● 25th: Winter Palace surrounded, shot by battleship Aurora. 2nd Congress of Soviets convened.
● 26th: Winter Palace captured. Lenin’s Decree on Peace passed.
● 27th: Lenin’s Decree on Land passed. Sovnarkom created.
● A relatively small affair: 30k involved = 5% of workforce, 15k outside Winter Palace = mostly bystanders, <5
deaths, Petrograd remained unaffected → public transport etc. ran as normal.
○ Idea of a ‘popular’ revolution suited Bolshevik propaganda. ‘Coup’ theory born out of Cold War.
● Sovnarkom = exclusively Bolshevik, Lenin as Chairman, ruled by decree without Soviet approval.
○ Moderates walked out of Congress in protest of socialist majority, leaving Bolshevik/SR coalition.
● Bolshevik needed to consolidate their power outside of Petr. and combat Kerensky:
○ Oct 31: Bol. took control of 17 provincial capitals.
○ Nov 2: Kerensky’s forces defeated. Declaration of Rights of the Peoples of Russia = min. Independence.
○ Nov 3: Kremlin taken. Lenin issued ultimatum to end Bol. division.
○ Nov 5: victory proclaimed.
○ Lenin = hostile to power-sharing, reluctantly agreed for 7 SRs to join Sovnarkom.
● Lenin’s decrease included: workers, social insurance, press, peace, land, nationality, workers’ control of factories,
judicial, outlaw sex discrimination, bank, military, church.
● Lenin believed in going through a stage of state capitalism → private markets remained. Veshenka established.
● To combat opposition: campaign against class enemies, anti-Bol. newspapers closed down, Cheka established,
opposition imprisoned.
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller baronj136. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.74. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
