A/A* Student's Essay Plans to Russia 20 mark questions (A-Level History, Unit 2C.2, Russia in revolution , Pearson Edexcel)
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Course
Unit 2C.2 - Russia in revolution, 1894-1924
Institution
PEARSON (PEARSON)
This document provides a set of essay plans for responses to past paper questions (complete with criteria, numerous factors, a line of argument, and detailed evidence) for the Unit 2C.2 'Russia in revolution '. These essay plans can serve as a guide for anyone looking to understand how to write a L...
How far was political unrest the most important consequence of Nicholas II's autocratic rule in the
period 1894-1905?
LoA: yes
Point 1: yes - 1905 revolution and role of St P Soviet in strikes
Point 2: yes - forced to make political concessions
Point 3: no - social and economic impact - peasant grievances of strip farming etc and disorder in
black earth region, pop growth
'Opposition to Tsarism had little impact on Tsarist rule in the period prior to the 1905 revolution.' -
How far do you agree?
LoA: yes
Point 1: no - St P Soviet arranged strikes, liberal banquet campaign, army mutinies etc
Point 2: yes - divisions between liberals and socialists, SRs and Marxists, zemstvo liberals, Bs and Ms
Point 3: yes - social factors and repression (political parties illegal etc…, peasants)
How accurate is it to say that the 1905 revolution was a turning point in Nicholas II's reign 1894-
1914?
LoA: no
Criteria: concessions were weak and undermined by Fundamental Laws, peasants and rural workers
continued to suffer and rebel (Lena Goldfields Massacre 1912)
Para 1 - yes - led to concessions BUT
Jan = announced inquiry into grievances of St P factory workers
Feb = announced an elected assembly be established to be consulted before new laws
(Dumas)
August Manifesto - Duma drawn up by Bulygin = purely consultive, complex electoral system
favours peasants and landowners (minorities, urban workers and intelligentsia didn't get the
vote)
Appeased some ultra-moderate liberals
October manifesto - general strike led to Witte advising military rule or concessions ->
guaranteed basic freedoms, Duma power to approve laws, right to vote to all classes ->
ended strike
Appeased Octobrists and ended strike
Successes of Dumas:
o 1st Duma 1906 - attempted to pass resolution for full democratisation, amnesty for
political prisoners and land reform
o 2nd Duma 1907 - scrapped '05 electoral law (workers, minorities and nobility = 1%
pop but over 50% Duma rep vs peasants = 80% pop but 1/5 Duma rep), violated
fundamental laws
1905 announcement that redemption payments would be halved in 1906 and ended 1907
BUT: inquiry of St P factory never happened, Duma was manipulated to rep gov aims (not big
change), 1906 Fundamental laws hugely limited Dumas, 1st and 2nd Dumas failed (1st = boycotted
by SRs, Ms and Bs, called for gov to resign and was dissolved; 2nd = left wouldn't support Stolypin's
land reforms and was dissolved on pretext of B treason), redemption payment changes had little
impact
, Para 2 - no - concessions were ineffective and undermined
Fundamental laws April 1906:
o Constitution, violated Oct manifesto
o Article 4 = Tsar's autocratic power
o Defense and foreign affairs = outside Duma jurisdiction
o Article 87 = new laws without approval when not in session
o Dissolve whenever and appoint/dismiss ministers
o Unelected counter-weight = Imperial State Council (Tsar picks 1/2)
o Emergencies = suspended all rights
Freedom of political parties still restricted:
o Leaders subject to repression - arrested or driven into exile - Trotsky and St P Soviet
sentenced to lifetime exile in Siberia
o Targeted when 2d Duma dissolved 1907
o Arrest of Bs due to 'incitement of army mutinies'
o B, M, SR activists arrested (2000 in one province)
Union of Russian People and the Black Hundred (gov secretly financed right)
Para 3 - no - nothing changed in the countryside and peasant rebellion continued
Whilst in the original voting system put forward in the October manifesto peasants were
granted 32.3% of the vote weight, in the changes made under the 2nd Duma the peasants
were granted a much smaller percentage of 1/5 of the vote weight (was this due to the tsar
or the political parties? and does this matter in answering the question?
Still issues with national minorities like Poland
Land hunger -> peasant disorder: strikes, and seizures, attacks on manor houses, terrorist
attacks 1905-1907
1906-07 = over 4000 died
1st reaction = force - Dornovo began pacification 1905 and ordered the army to areas of
unrest, killings and beatings - 15,000 deaths and 20,000 wounded and 45,000 exiled to
Siberia
Lena Goldfields Massacre 1912:
o Served rancid horsemeat to workers, harsh environment, poor conditions
o Strike, demand 30% wage increase, 8h day, better medical care
o Unproductive -> troops arrest leaders
o March for release of leaders in April
o 90 soldiers open fire on 3000 - 160 killed and 200 wounded, almost 10,000 leave
o Mass protests across Russia
How accurate is it to say that Nicholas II's reactionary policies weakened the government of Russia
in the years 1884-1905?
LoA: can argue ether way
Point 1: yes - August and October manifestos
Point 2: no - successes of August and October manifestos? (appeased ultra-moderates, Octobrists,
link to Dumas???)
Point 3: yes - Russo-Japanese war
Point 4: no - opposition and lack of tsar's response weakened gov - bloody Sunday and political
opposition
How significant were the Fundamental Laws in the survival of the Tsar's autocracy in the years
1906-14?
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