Name:
ALPS Target:
AS Grade:
Based on your AS performance:
what is your most important
skills and study targets for
studying this essay based topic
next year.
A2 ALPS target:
Personal target:
SKILL TARGET:
STUDY TARGET:
Russia Skills
AO1a: I can use a wide range of
accurate and relevant evidence.
AO1a: I can accurately and
confidently use appropriate
historical terminology.
AO1a: I can create clearly
structured and coherent answers
to questions.
AO1a: I can communicate
accurately and legibly.
AO1b: I understand how to
analyse key concepts (continuity/
change/ causation/ significance)
within their historical context.
AO1b: I can produce excellent
synthesis (drawing links between
different rulers across a time
period).
AO1b: I can produce a thorough
synoptic assessment (a judgement
over a whole time period).
AO1b: I understand different
interrelationships across different
areas and can support these
connections.
Study skills: I can take
responsibility for my own
learning, seek information and
clarification independently and
know when to ask for help.
Study skills: I can keep up to date
with deadlines and stay organised.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neither
Agree nor
disagree
Disagree
Strongly
disagree
Autocracy
Marxism
Proletariat
Capitalism
Communist
Dictatorship of
the Proletariat
Historical
Materialism
Historical
Determinism
MarxismLeninism
Dialectical
Bolsheviks
Mensheviks
Command
Economy
Cult of Personality
Labour Theory of
Value
Bloody Sunday
Polish Question
Vyborg Manifesto
Kadets
Labourists
Octobrists
Justices of the
Peace
Land Captains
Article 87
Democractic
Centralism
Revolutionary
Defensism
Nomenklatura
Soviet
During the course of this theme,
you will be using a learning
technique called Building Learning
Power which is all about helping
you learn better.
It works by developing your ability
to learn through exercising four
different learning muscles. This
booklet is designed to help you
identify your four learning
muscles and work with them.
The four different learning
muscles seen in the brain opposite
will have an image to help you
identify them throughout the booklet.
Resilience: Engaging with the learning, absorption in the task; managing distractions,
persevering; being prepared to get it wrong and learn from mistakes and sticking at it; even
when it is hard.
Resourcefulness: Questioning; making links; imagining; reasoning; capitalising on the
resources you have available and using them well.
Reflectiveness: Planning your learning; revising, monitoring and adapting; distilling (drawing
out lessons from experience) and meta-learning (understanding learning and how you learn).
Reciprocity: Being ready, willing and able to learn alone and with others; balancing
self reliance and sociability; collaborating; recognising and improving skills such as
empathy and listening; imitation (picking up others’ skills, habits and values).
Learning Objective
To understand the nature of autocracy in Russia .
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To understand and explain why autocracy was seen as the only way to rule Russia .
2. Ao1a: To be able to understand how the three Tsars approached autocracy .
3. Ao1b: To be able to assess change and continuity across the three Tsars .
Task 1: What is autocracy?
Autocracy is absolute power. The Tsars were said to have been ordained by God, and all
Russians had to obey the will of the Tsar or suffer punishment, including the wrath of God.
What questions can you think of that will help you understand how autocracy worked in Russia.
Write them down in the space below. Leave a space fill in the answers.
Any questions that you do not manage to get the answer to we will open to the class at the end
of the lesson, and see if we can get them answered. We will put a selection of questions (and
any unanswered questions) up on the working wall.
Task 2: How did autocracy work in Russia?
Using page 16 of Access to History, Russia and its Rulers, complete the following diagram explaining
how autocracy worked in Russia.
Task 3: Change and continuity across the Tsars when considering autocracy.
Put the following actions of the Tsars (you may need to remind yourself from your first booklet) onto
the autocracy scale, based on how autocratic you think they are. The actions are: a)the
emancipation of the Serfs, b) Russification, c) Fundamental Laws, d) October Manifesto, e) the
Reaction, f) the Duma.
Task 4: What was affecting Russian autocracy?
Use pages 17-19 of your Access to History, Russia and its Rulers textbook to help you complete the
following table, discussing the impact of events on autocracy. This should include Ao1b concepts
such as identifying change and continuity, identifying the extent to which these events have caused
change etc.
Event
Impact on autocracy
Orthodoxy, Autocracy and
Nationality
The Crimean War (1854-6)
The Russo-Japanese War
(1905)
The 1905 Revolution
The Assassination of
Alexander II by the People’s
Will
The Liberal Democracies and
Industrialised Nations of
Western Europe
Pobedonostsev
The First World War
Task 5: Essay Skills
An exam question might ask you to compare how autocratic the different regimes are. Distill
all your knowledge to write a complete definition of autocracy with examples from all three
Tsars below.
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Learning Objective
To understand the theory of Marxism and how it was implemented by our three Communist leaders
(Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev) .
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To create an explanation of key areas of Marxist theory .
2. Ao1a: To be able to explain how Marxism led to Marxism-Leninism and to Marxism-LeninismStalinism .
3. Ao1b: To be able to suggest reasons why Marxism might have resonated in Russia .
Task 1: Understanding Marxism
Pay attention to the PowerPoint Ideologies of Ruling Russia-Marxism and your teacher’s
subsequent explanation of Marxism. Use the box below to create some notes that seem
important from that PowerPoint. You will use them later. It is also a good idea to
keep an eye on your key terms list, and complete some of the key words as they
come up.
Building Learning Power note: This is practising your listening skills and your resourcefulness.
Use your teacher as an expert and the tools they are providing you with well.
During this task, ask questions, make comments and links out loud if you can, or scribble them down
if you prefer. Try to listen ACTIVELY not just passively.
Task 2: Demonstrating your understanding of Marxist theory
Using your handout, page 20-21 of Access to History Russia and its Rulers, and the
PowerPoint slides, create a poster explaining how Marx and Engels believed that society
would arrive at a Communist state.
Ensure that you use these key words:
 Proletariat, capitalist, bourgeoisie
This is a tricky theory to understand- if you
 Antagonism
don’t immediately understand it then be
 Substructure and superstructure
resilient! Don’t allow yourself to get
 Means of production
distracted by others on this independent
 Dictatorship of the proletariat
task.
 Historical Determinism
Tag your poster into your booklet.
Task 3: Marxism to Marxist-Leninism to Marxist Leninism- Stalinism
Take a sheet of A4 plain paper and divide it into half.
1. Marxism-Leninism
2. Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism
Create a method of demonstrating how Lenin and Stalin adapted Marxism on each half of
your A4 sheet. Consider how you worked through Marxism and try to learn and plan out a
system that improves on what worked for you last time. Use pages 22-24 of Access to History
Russian and its Rulers.
NOTE: Khrushchev did not get his own Marxist theory, as he developed destalinisation instead which
was supposed to be a return to Marxism or at least Marxism-Leninism. We will look more at
destalinisation later in the booklet.
Task 4: Why did Marxism take over in Russia and not in more industrial nations?
From what you know of Russian history so far, consider:
 What makes Marxism more likely to take over in Russia?
 What makes it less likely to take over in Russia?
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Complete the learning journey section “Key Concept Mountain”.
Learning Objective
To be able to apply your knowledge of Alexander II to the idea of whether he is an autocrat or a
reformer .
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To understand what Alexander II’s reforms were and how it could be used to support
the idea that he was an autocrat/ reformer .
2. Ao1b: To be able to create a judgement on which one Alexander II was .
Task 1: Evidence gathering
Read the following information and take two highlighter pens/ coloured pencils. Highlight any
information that either a) proves Alexander II is a genuine liberator or b) proves that his actions
were all about reform for the people of Russia. CHALLENGE: What dangers can you see for Russia
in these reforms? Note: All information taken from Access to History: Russia 1815-81 (by Russell
Sherman).
NOTE: There is a lot of reading to do in today’s lesson. Practise managing your distractions.
Local Government; The Zemstva (singular Zemstvo)
The Zemstva were local elected councils. The powers given to them reflect the nature of the struggle which
was taking place between the liberals and the more reactionary elements in Russia. The liberals wanted the
councils to have real power and in part they succeeded. The zemstva were given responsibility for public
education, public health, local economic development, road building and the provision of services such as
water and fire prevention. The liberals also wanted them to be given power over the disposal of imperial
taxes, but in this they failed. This failure shows the division which existed between the desire for reform and
the equally strong desire to maintain autocratic control.
Alexander wanted reform, he wanted to devolve some power from the centre, but he also wished to remain
in firm control and to maintain stability. It was felt that giving the zemstva control over imperial finance would
undermine those aims.
The membership of the zemstva also reflected the desire of the conservative elements and the Tsar to retain
the nobility as a bulwark against undue radicalism. The zemstva were two tiered: district and provincial. The
seats for the district were divided amongst the three classes: 45% to the nobility, 40% to the peasants and
15% to the townsmen and the clergy. These district zemstva then elected representatives to the provincial
level. Local taxation continued to favour the nobility rather than the peasantry, but by virtue of their local
knowledge, the zemstva did improve local administration in the areas in which they were allowed to operate.
Legal Reform
There were numerous different types of court, and officials were often ill-trained and illiterate. The accused
rarely saw the judges and the written evidence of the nobility was given more credence than that from any
other group. Corruption was rife. The reform of 1864 was intended to sweep away all the old abuses and to
set up a system which was not only fair and just but was seen to be so. To avoid bribery, salaries were set
deliberately high. Trials became public, trial by jury was introduced and appeal courts were set up. Justices of
the Peace were elected by the district zemstva for a period of three years and Judges were nominated to the
regular courts by the Tsar. Once they were appointed they were virtually guaranteed independence as it was
very difficult to remove them. However, the case of Vera Zasulich, where an admitted revolutionary who had
shot a general was found not guilty against all the evidence and the express wishes of the Minister of Justice
meant that terrorist activities would never again go through regular open courts as juries had a tendency to
act as they thought they should rather than according to evidence. Another consequence that had not been
anticipated was that open and efficient courts needed trained lawyers and judges. The Tsar agreed to the
setting up of an independent bar. This led to the growth of a body of people, trained in the art of persuasion,
fully conversant with officialdom and the law and generally disposed towards liberal ideas. It proved to be the
ideal breeding ground for reformers, some of whom were to become prominent revolutionaries in the future.
Military Reform
The Crimean War had shown all too clearly the shortcomings of the Russian military system; it had failed to defeat
inferior numbers of foreign troops on Russian territory. Though this was partly due to transportation it was also
due to the command structure and the administration being inflexible and inefficient. Punishment was often
severe and barbaric. The period of service for conscripts was 25 years (often viewed as a life sentence), and those
who could avoided military service in any way possible.
In 1861, the Tsar appointed Miliutin as Minister of War, with the explicit task of reforming the military. Miliutin
held office for the next 20 years. He was an able administrator who took a keen interest in all affairs of state and
generally took a liberal stance on most issues. He sought to humanise the military and improve its efficiency in all
aspects. He set about his task with considerable vigour. In 1862 regional commands were set up in four areas. The
aim was to improve efficiency by decentralising administration and supply. In 1864, six further regional commands
were established. In 1863 the more extreme forms of corporal punishment were ended and the Military Code was
revised. Miliutin also set about reducing the influence of the old cadet corps, which until now had produced the
officers of the army. He set up special army schools (Junker schools) which were open to all. This was a significant
step forward, and by 1871 12% of the Junker students were not from the nobility. This was an important advance
away from privilege and patronage, and towards promotion and selection on merit. The compulsory length of
service for conscripts had already been reduced from 25 to 16 years in 1859. Plans were laid to further reduce the
length of service. This was intended to make the army a less fearsome prospect and to prevent people avoiding
military service. In 1874, the Manifesto and Statute on Universal Military Service was published. It became law in
1875. Liability to military service and conscription were extended to all classes. Service in the army was no longer
an optional punishment for criminals. All males upon reaching 21 years of age had to register and about ¼ were
chosen by lot to serve. Only those unfit for service were exempted- though in practice, deferments on
compassionate grounds were obtainable for all classes. Service was limited to 15 years, with normally only seven
spent on active service. Length of service was significantly reduced for those who volunteered and those with an
education (even those who only had a primary education only needed to serve four years). Though these
reductions obviously favoured the educated (and therefore the rich and nobility) it was still a major step forward
in social as well as military terms. In the area of conscription at least, the son of the lowest peasant was now
theoretically treated in exactly the same manner as the son of the highest noble.
Alexander put his full weight behind these reforms (that were not popular amongst the nobility). He felt strongly
that defence of ‘the fatherland’ was a common concern to all his subjects. He saw it as a sacred task and the
sacred task of all Russians to ensure that Russia was able to defend herself.
Education Reform
Until 1861, strict and repressive control was maintained over education. Then Alexander appointed the liberal
Golvonin as Minister of Education. He set out at once to reform the education system. It was decided to develop
primary education in the villages. The task was soon handed over to the zemstva. Between 1861-1881 the number
of primary and secondary schools increased fourfold. In 1862 new schools were placed under the jurisdiction of
the Ministry of Education rather than under the control of the Church. This was intended to free them from the
traditionally stifling influence of the Church. Significant progress was made in terms of both the quality of the
education provided and pupil numbers.
The University Regulations of 1863 were Golvonin’s most famous contribution to the education system. They
allowed a freedom of expression which had certainly not been seen for 50 years. The universities were given
virtual autonomy in administrative matters and, although the curriculum was prescribed by the Ministry, much
greater freedom was allowed in terms of presentation and treatment. The regulations also allowed deferments of
payment of fees, reductions or cancelling debts and universities could import texts from abroad without
censorship. However, an incident in 1866 prevented this atmosphere from continuing to develop unchecked. A
former student of Kazan University attempted to assassinate the Tsar. The opponents of Golvonin’s reforms
blamed him and he was replaced by the conservative Dmitri Tolstoy. Although Tolstoy restricted entry to the
universities and placed some disciplinary powers in the hands of the police rather than the university authorities,
he did not seriously interfere with the foundation laid down by Golvonin. In 1871 he introduced a new ‘classical’
curriculum into the gymnasia (higher secondary schools). In 1872 Tolstoy took similar powers over the modern
technical schools (realschule), whilst at the same time increasing their number. He also made it a condition of
entry to the universities that students had graduated from a gymnasium. At the same time new technical
institutes were set up for students from the realschule. This meant that they could continue their studies without
being exposed to the possibly corrupting influence of the universities. The Tsar had appointed a liberal to change
the education system and then a conservative to keep the effects of those changes in check.
Censorship Reform
Censorship relaxed under Alexander II for a time, but in 1863, responsibility for censorship was passed to Valuev,
the Minister of the interior and the system again became tighter. The Press Laws published in 1865 stated that
government, academic and classical (as in Greek and Latin texts- including those who wrote about democracy and
philosophy) publications were free from censorship, however also that the minister of internal affairs could issue
warnings to periodical publications. A third warning would suspend publication for a period of time but not
exceeding six months. In 1866, the radical journal, the Contemporary was prohibited which occurred in the wake of
the attempt on the Tsar’s life. Censorship was strict by modern British standards, but in comparison to what had
gone before in Russia it represented a considerable increase in freedom of both ideas and expression.
Task 2: Alexander II was a Reformer! No, Alexander II was an Autocrat!
Use a blank piece of paper to design your own method of explaining your view of
Alexander II. Use page 18-19 of your Access to History to help you. Also read the
following article The Problem of Reform in Imperial Russia.
If you wish to work with others, feel free to, although both of you will need a copy.
The Problem of Reform in Imperial Russia
Many members of the ruling class
accepted that major reforms were
needed for Russia to overcome its
social and economic backwardness.
However, a major block in the way of
reform was a basic disagreement
within the governmental elite
concerning Russia’s true character as
a nation. Since the days of Peter the
Great there had been serious
differences between ‘Westerners’ and
‘Slavophiles’. The ‘Westerners’
believed that if Russia wished to
remain a great nation it would have to
adopt the best features of the political
and ecnoomic systems of the
advanced countries to western
Europe. The ‘Slavophiles’ regarded
western values as corrupting and
urged that the nation should preserve
itself as ‘holy Russia’, glorying in its Slav
culture and its separate historical
tradition.
Another barrier to planned reform was
the autocratic structure of Russia itself.
Change could only come from the
top. There were no representative
institutions, such as a parliament, with
the power to alter things. The only
possible source of change was the
tsar. From time to time there were
progressive tsars who accepted the
need for reform, but it was hardly to
be expected that any tsar, no matter
how enlightened, would go so far as to
introduce measures that might
weaken his authority. The
consequence was that reform in Russia
tended to be sporadic, depending on
the inclinations of the individual tsar,
rather than a systematic programme
of modernisation. It is notable that the
significant periods of reform in Russia
were invariably a response to some
form of national crisis or humiliation.
This was certainly true of the reforms
introduced in Alexander II’s reign
introduced after the Crimean War.
Alexander II was not a supporter of
reform simply for its own sake. He saw it
as a way of lessening opposition to the
tsarist system. He said that his intention
was to introduce reform from above in
order to prevent revolution from
below. His hope was that his reforms
would attract the intelligentsia to side
of tsardom as natural allies. The early
signs were that he had succeeded.
The measures of the 1860s,
Emancipation and the granting of
greater press and university freedoms,
were greeted with enthusiasm. The
intelligentsia welcomed the reforms as
the basis of a genuinie restructuring of
Russian politics and society. However,
no matter how progressive Alexander II
may have appeared, he was still an
autocrat. It was unthinkable that he
would continue with a process that
might compromise his power as Tsar.
Fearful that he had gone too far, he
had largely abandoned his reformist
policies by the 1870s. Many of the
intelligentsia felt betrayed. Despairing
of tsardom as a force for change, a
significant number of them turned to
thoughts of revolution.
Learning Objective
To be able to reflect on Alexander III’s actions and compare them to Alexander II’s.
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To be able to explain Alexander III’s reputation as a reactionary, recalling previous
knowledge .
Task 1: Reflection and Judgement, Did Alexander II and Alexander III have the same approach
to ruling Russia?
You already have completed some work on the ‘Reaction’ of Alexander III. Go back to this work
and use the information below to create your judgement in whatever way works best for you.
You can also use page 19 of Access to History, Russia and its Rulers.
From My Revision notes, A2 OCR History Russia and its Rulers 1855-1964, Andrew Holland
Alexander II’s (Tsar 1855-1881) stuck closely to autocratic principles especially after the first
attempt to assassinate him in 1866. Although Alexander II was a willing reformer, his policies were
still carried out with the need to preserve autocracy in mind. For example, he maintained
respect for his authority by compensating serf owners after the 1861 Emancipation Edict was put
into operation.
Alexander III’s (Tsar 1881-1894) reign is often seen as a period of more intense authoritarian rule.
It is often referred to as ‘the Reaction’, that is to say a response against the more reforming
period of his father’s rule. Alexander strongly believed that the Slav peoples lacked the
intelligence to participate responsibly in a democratic political system. Besides, they were
viewed as displaying ‘inertness and laziness’ and were therefore undeserving of greater
freedoms. Nevertheless, like his father, he was willing to reform if it benefited Russia as a whole.
To what extent did Alexander II and Alexander III have the same approach to ruling Russia?
Learning Objective
To be able to explain how and why Nicholas II changed government structures and institutions .
To be able to evaluate what kind of ruler Nicholas II was in comparison to the other Tsars .
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To be able to describe the changes to government structures made under Nicholas II.
2. Ao1a: To be able to explain why those changes were made .
3. Ao1b: To be able to compare the three Tsars in order to reach a judgement on the nature of
their governments .
Task 1: Changing Government Structures before 1905.
a) Distil the information on page 29 of your textbook into these tiny boxes explaining what the
government institutions did; ensure that you highlight any changes so that they stand out.
Make sure that you also identify where the power in these institutions lie.
The Personal Chancellery of
his Imperial Majesty
The Imperial Council of State
Council of Ministers
The Tsar
The Senate
The Committee of Ministers (established in 1861)
b) From what you know of events during Nicholas II’s reign (up to 1905), what might put pressures
on these institutions? (Hint: You may want to think of movements outside of Russia as well as
inside).
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This is a tricky question (looking beyond obvious events in Russia around 1905). You may want to
find some help from a classmate.
Task 2: Changing Government Structures before 1917.
a) Using page 30 of your textbook, read the changes to government after the 1905 revolution and
create your own hierarchy of where the power lay in the last few years of Imperial Russia. Create
your diagram in whatever the best way for you is, but ensure that changes are highlighted.
b) To what extent is there actual change in the balance of power in Government Institutions? During
the next task, keep a note in this table.
Information that you already know
Information that you found out during the next task
Task 3: The Dumas. You’ve already looked briefly at the Dumas in the previous booklet. You are now going to do a more detailed analysis of the Dumas below.
Include what has happened in each Duma, using section 31-33 of the booklet.
The First Duma
The Second Duma
The Third Duma
The Fourth Duma
Task 4: What kind of Ruler was Nicholas II?
a) This view of Nicholas II could be supported or argued with from what you have looked at so far.
Argue with this statement on the basis of what you now know!
Barbara Tuchman: an American Historian
The Russian Empire was ruled from the top by a sovereign who had but one idea
of government—to preserve intact the absolute monarchy bequeathed to him by
his father—and who, lacking the intellect, energy or training for his job, fell back
on personal favorites, whim, simple mulishness, and other devices of the emptyheaded autocrat... the impression of imperturbability he conveyed was in reality
apathy—the indifference of a mind so shallow as to be all surface. When a
telegram was brought to him announcing the annihilation of the Russian fleet at
Tsushima, he read it, stuffed it in his pocket, and went on playing tennis.
b) Create a cartoon image of Tsar Nicholas II as an autocrat.
c) Create a cartoon image of Tsar Alexander III as an autocrat. Think about how you’ve represented
Nicholas II. How can you develop a comparison?
d) Create a cartoon image of Tsar Alexander II as an autocrat. Think about how you’ve represented
your previous two Tsars. How can you develop a comparison?
Learning Objective
To be able to explain to what extent the Provisional Government achieved a change in the nature of
government. .
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To be able to describe the circumstances in which the Provisional Government took
over in February 1917 .
2. Ao1a: To be able to describe what the Provisional Government a) did and b) intended to do
to the nature of Government .
3. Ao1b: To be able to evaluate whether what they put in place actually led to their downfall .
4. Ao1b: To be able to explain the issues that prevented the Provisional Government from
achieving what they wished to .
Task 1: Understanding the Fall of Tsarism
a) Why did Nicholas II fall? On lined/ plain paper create a timeline of the events from the
outbreak of the First World War in 1914.
b) Which reasons are economic, due to Nicholas’s mistakes, a growing liberal opposition, the
impact of the First World War or a combination of them? Find a way of showing them on
your timeline.
Your information can be found on page 33-34 of your Access to History, Russia and its Rulers
textbook and in the reading you have been given for this lesson (from Russia, 1855-1964 by
Derrick Murphy and Terry Moss, published by Collins). You also have some information in the
PowerPoint accompanying this section of work and you will also have the benefit of your
teacher’s expertise. Pick whichever resource or combination of resources will help you most.
c) Which of these reasons do you think is most significant for the fall of Tsarism?
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Compare your answer with another pair- does this change how you view the fall of Tsarism?
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Task 2: The Problems that the Provisional Government had.
In pairs, discuss this issue and develop your conclusions (note: it may well be worth switching
partners for a change- see what working with new ideas does for you). Complete them on the
diagram on the next page.
a) What problems does the Provisional Government have to solve after the abdication of Tsar
Nicholas II.
b) Consider short, medium and long term problems.
c) Consider small, medium and large problems.
d) Consider also what the Provisional Government has stated in how it will rule (you will need
to read the Public announcement of the formation of the Provisional Government which you
can find on the next page in the box.

The asterixed themes will all be covered in more detail in later themes.
Public announcement of the formation of the Provisional Government
Published in Izvestia, 3rd March 1917. The announcement stated the declaration of government:
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Full and immediate amnesty on all issues political and religious, including: terrorist acts, military
uprisings, and agrarian crimes etc.
Freedom of word, press, unions, assemblies, and strikes with spread of political freedoms to military
servicemen within the restrictions allowed by military-technical conditions.
Abolition of all hereditary, religious, and national class restrictions.
Immediate preparations for the convocation on basis of universal, equal, secret, and direct vote for the
Constituent Assembly which will determine the form of government and the constitution.
Replacement of the police with a public militsiya and its elected chairmanship subordinated to the local
authorities.
Elections to the authorities of local self-government on basis of universal, direct, equal, and secret vote.
Non-disarmament and non-withdrawal out of Petrograd the military units participating in the revolution
movement.
Under preservation of strict discipline in ranks and performing a military service - elimination of all
restrictions for soldiers in the use of public rights granted to all other citizens.
The provisional government feels obliged to add that it is not intended to take advantage of military
circumstances for any delay in implementing the above reforms and measures.
Task 3: The Dual Authority (Use the chapter from Reactions and Revolutions by Michael Lynch on
the Provisional Government to complete this section.
Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet
Provisional Government
Soviet
Who were its
members?
How was this body
formed?
What powers did it
have?
Why did the Soviet not take power when it had the opportunity?
Why did the Soviet cooperate with the Provisional Government?
What was the impact of Soviet Order No. 1 on the end of the Provisional Government?
Soviet Order No. 1:
1. Committees to be elected immediately from the ranks of all military and naval units
2. One delegate from each company to be elected to the Petrograd Soviet
3. Armed forces are subordinate to the Petrograd Soviet in all their political actions
4. Orders of Military Commission of the Duma are to be carried out only if they do not conflict with the orders of
the Petrograd Soviet
5. All weapons to remain under the control of company and battalion committees, and in no circumstances to be
handed over to officers
6. While on duty soldiers must observe strict military discipline, but off-duty soldiers enjoy the same rights as other
citizens; saluting off-duty is abolished
7. Honorific titles of officers are abolished (Your Excellency)
8. All coarse conduct by officers towards soldiers (use of the familiar ty) is abolished, and cases of it must be
reported to the committee
Task 4: Why did the Provisional Government fail?
Put together these reasons together to explain the reasons why the Provisional Government failed. In the centre: you have the main categories of reasons, the outside
should be the details of those categories (they are on a separate sheet). Throughout your reading, adding extra detail to your notes will help develop your understanding of
this topic.
Which Russian leader during this period was responsible for the most significant change in the nature of their government?
In this type of question, the examiner is looking for you to compare at least four or five of the seven leaders across the time period (so at least two before 1917 and two
after), in depth. Mentioning all is good practise, but you won’t have time to thoroughly compare them all in detail in an exam. For the purposes of this exercise though you
will need to compare all of the Tsars and the Provisional Government.
Task: Answer this question, bearing in mind the assessment objectives and the explanation here. You are pulling together all of the information from
this booklet and the tasks you have completed so far.
During this unit, you have been building your learning power and building your knowledge of the nature of
Russian governments under the Tsars. You should have learned something about how you learn and how
you can improve your learning. The halfway point seems like an appropriate time to review your work.
Resilience- How well are you:
Resourcefulness- How well are you:
Managing distractions?
Finding solutions from past work?
Engaging with the work?
Working with the books/ web/ reading you have
available?
Dealing with mistakes or work you’ve found difficult?
Asking questions to help you understand more?
Target for improvement:
Target for improvement:
Reflectiveness- How well are you:
Reciprocity- How well are you:
Looking at your own performance, working out what
works and doesn’t work about how you learn?
Collaborating with others?
Using each other to understand the work?
Revising the topic over, thinking about it differently?
Adapting the work you are doing to fit in best with
how you work?
Target for improvement:
Overall Building Learning Power target:
Recognising what works for other students and seeing
how you can adapt that to suit you??
Target for improvement:
How do you best like to learn?
Over the course of this unit (and your education as a whole) you will have used a variety of different
techniques to help you learn the content, most of which a teacher will have asked you to use.
Which of those do you feel works best for you?
Technique
Reading texts
Reading and highlighting texts
Making notes from texts
Responding to questions
Using diagrams/ graphs/ images
Representing information as something else
(e.g. creating a cartoon)
Working individually
Working in pairs
Working in groups
Turning information into a dramatic scene (e.g.
role play, writing a script)
Creating posters/ leaflets
Checking own work
Checking another’s work
Getting ideas from other people
Listening to teacher’s explanations
Watching a film (documentary or otherwise)
Listening to class discussion
Participating in class discussion
Quizzes
Choosing your own activities
Other (please explain)
Other (please explain)
Other (please explain)
Like it a
lot
Like it
Indifferent
to it
Don’t like
it much
Hate it
Learning Objective
To be able to explain to what extent Lenin and the October Revolution of 1917 achieved a change in the nature of
government. .
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To be able to describe the circumstances in which Lenin and the Bolsheviks took over in Oct. 1917 .
2. Ao1a: To be able to explain the changes made to the nature of Government .
3. Ao1b: To be able to evaluate the level of difference that the October 1917 Revolution made to the nature of
the Tsarist government.
4. Study Skills: To be able to plan your own method of learning about the October Revolution of 1917 and
Lenin’s changes to the nature of government .
Task 1: Using Your Review and Your People
Decide how you want to work. You have two lessons and a homework (so in total, four hours) to ensure that you
have learned all about the October Revolution and the changes that were made to the nature of Russian
Government. You have all of the resources available in the classroom at your disposal, as well as your textbook.
Begin by taking five/ ten minutes to plan.
Your learning will be checked by:
a. A knowledge test (this is designed to show any gaps in your knowledge, and will give you the opportunity to
improve on anything you may have missed).
b. Producing a judgement on the level of difference between the nature of Lenin’s government and the Tsarist
government and having a resource to explain that to the group.
Who am I going to work with?
(make sure you include the names)
Individually 
How are you going to find out all of
the knowledge? (Where will you
start? How will you divide your time
in the two lessons and homework)
What kind of method will you use to
explain your judgement to the rest
of your group?
Evaluation of performance
How well did you plan your activities?
How well did you do on the knowledge
test?
How good was your explanatory
resource?
What could you do to improve the next
time you have a task like this?
Pairs 
Group 
Learning Objective
To be able to explain to what extent Stalin achieved a change in the nature of government. .
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To be able to describe the circumstances in which Stalin took power .
2. Ao1a: To be able to explain the changes made to the nature of Government .
3. Ao1b: To be able to evaluate whether Stalin was a Red Tsar or not.
4. Ao1b: To produce a comparison between all of the different rulers .
Task 1: Stalin’s Rise to Power
Use the following information to explain how Stalin became leader of the Soviet Union.
“Stalin, Josef Vissarionovich (1879-1953)”, The
New Penguin Dictionary of Modern History 17891945, 2001 ed.
Stalin, Josef Vissarionovich (1879-1953). Stalin,
‘man of steel’, was the name he adopted in 1912. He
was born Dzhugashvili, the son of a Georgian shoemaker, and was one of the few Bolshevik leaders to
come from the working class. After a brutal
upbringing, in which he was regularly beaten by his
drunken father, he grew up cruel and vindictive,
trusting no one. He was expelled from the Tiflis
(Tbilisi) Orthodox seminary in 1899 for his Marxist
activities and became a full-time revolutionary in
1901. He was arrested six times between 1902 and
1913 and twice escaped from internal exile. He was in
exile in Siberia from 1913-1917 and returned to
Petrograd after the February Revolution. After the
October Revolution he joined the Politburo when it
was formed in 1919 and helped to defend Tsaritsyn
(later Stalingrad and now Volgograd) in the Russian
Civil War. He was given jobs by Lenin which his more
voluble and able colleagues did not want and which
called for diligence rather than imagination. One such
post, which was to be crucial in his rise to power, was
that of General Secretary of the Communist Party, to
which he was appointed in 1922. In this position he
chose secretaries who headed local Party
organizations: they elected delegates to Party
conferences, who in turn elected the Party's Central
Committee, Politburo and Secretariat. As General
Secretary Stalin came to control all these bodies. Lenin
regretted Stalin's accretion of power and in a secret
memorandum of 4 January 1923 suggested that Stalin
should be removed as General Secretary. He planned
to work with Trotsky to oust Stalin at the Party
Congress, which was to meet in April, but on 9 March
Lenin had his third stroke, from which he never
recovered. This and the unpopularity of Trotsky, who
was Lenin's obvious successor, saved Stalin. On
Lenin's death in January 1924 Kamenev and Zinoviev
persuaded the Bolshevik Central Committee to
suppress Lenin's memorandum and supported Stalin
against Trotsky. Stalin was a superb tactician, with a
sharp eye for the weaknesses of others. He used his
position of General Secretary first to isolate his rivals
and then to secure their dismissal. He allied with
Bukharin to force Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev out
of office and then turned against Bukharin. From 1929,
when Trotsky was forced to leave Russia, Stalin was in
a dominant position, though this did not become
unassailable till the murder of Kirov in 1934. (There
was a mystery behind this- Kirov was possibly
murdered on Stalin’s orders).
The one-sided power struggle
In 1924 many people expected Trotsky to take over
from Lenin. Trotsky had played a major part in the
Bolshevik revolution and, as commissar for war, had
been responsible for the success of the Red Army
during the Civil War. Lenin wrote that Trotsky had
‘outstanding ability’ but was overconfident and that
Stalin was rude and excessively ambitious.
Stalin understood the importance of image. He
organized Lenin's funeral, presenting himself to the
people as the guardian of Lenin's ideas. Trotsky was
far from Moscow, ill with malaria, at the time of the
funeral. Trotsky and Stalin spoke by telephone.
Trotsky claimed that Stalin had told him the wrong
date for the funeral, on purpose. This is possible,
because Stalin's later career showed that he would do
anything to get his way.
Stalin used his position to organize support in the
central committee and put his supporters in key
positions. At first, Stalin was helped by two other
leading Politburo members, Zinoviev and Kamenev.
They made sure that Trotsky did not become leader
and that Lenin's criticisms of Stalin were not made
public. Trotsky believed that the only way to save the
Bolshevik state was to encourage an international
world revolution against capitalism. Stalin and his
allies argued for an alternative, communism in the
Soviet Union. They said that Russia should be
transformed into a modern state that could protect
itself from outside threats. As Stalin's influence grew
he was able to force Trotsky from the Politburo, then
the Communist Party. In 1928 the fallen hero was
deported to Asia, and in 1929 he was exiled. Stalin
never forgot or forgave. In 1940 a Stalinist agent found
Trotsky in Mexico, and killed him with an ice axe.
Stalin was the only one of the Politburo who schemed
for complete power. Stalin trusted no one and expelled
even his former friends and allies, like Kamenev and
Zinoviev, from all positions of power. By 1929 all the
key positions were filled by Stalin's supporters, and
Stalin was supreme.
Stalin realized that the Soviet Union was far behind
her capitalist rivals economically and, as he feared
attack from the Western powers, decided that this gap
would have to be closed quickly. In 1924 he had put
forward the idea of ‘Socialism in one country’*, by
which he meant that Russia could become strong by
her own efforts. He began a period of rapid
industrialization through the Five Year Plans, which
were successful in making the USSR one of the
greatest industrial powers in the world. Without the
planners, scientists, engineers and skilled labourers
produced in the 1930s, the Soviet Union could not
have survived the German invasion of 1941. To
finance this industrialization Stalin abandoned NEP
and introduced the collectivization of agriculture,
though at enormous human cost in the murder or
deportation of the kulaks. Such policies could only be
carried through by centralizing power and by
establishing a dictatorship. One-party rule had been set
up by Lenin but Stalin carried this much further by
establishing personal control of the Party, the
government and the secret police and by using the
latter to remove, not enemies of the regime, but former
Bolsheviks. All who had disagreed with Stalin or
whom he regarded as in any way a threat to his
position were eliminated in the Great Purges. These
did enormous damage to every sector of Soviet society
and especially to the armed forces, whose officer corps
was decimated. This almost led to the Soviet Union's
defeat when Germany invaded in 1941.
The ‘cult of personality’, which involved extravagant
praise for everything the ‘great father’ did, reached its
height. All Soviet achievements were said to be due to
his genius and inspiration. This did not bring any
change in the regime. Stalin was obsessed, more than
before, with both internal and external security. All
those who had been under enemy occupation (and this
included prisoners of war) were automatically
suspected of being anti-Soviet. Consequently, most exprisoners of war ended up in forced labour camps,
whilst hundreds of thousands of people were moved
from their homelands to Siberia. There were further
Five Year Plans (in 1951-1955) which, like those prewar, concentrated on heavy industry, starving
agriculture and consumer industries of funds. The
results were impressive by 1948 the war damage had
been made good and there was rapid expansion after
that but, for the mass of people, the privations of the
1930s and the war continued into the 1950s. In 1949
leading Leningrad Party officials were executed and it
appeared that the purges of the 1930s were about to
begin again. People disappeared, fear and suspicion
returned, not least to Stalin's closest colleagues.
Khrushchev was convinced that only Stalin's
death in 1953 prevented the elimination of
leading Bolsheviks.
* ‘Socialism in one country’
Concept proposed by the Soviet dictator Stalin in
1924. In contrast to Leon Trotsky's theory of
permanent revolution, Stalin suggested that the
emphasis be changed away from promoting
revolutions abroad to the idea of building socialism,
economically and politically, in the USSR without help
from other countries.
Synopticity Question: What differences were there between?
Stalin and Lenin’s rise to power?
How Stalin and Lenin rose to power compared to the Tsars?
Task 2: Stalin’s changes to the nature of Government
Below is the nature of the Bolshevik state under Lenin. Use pages 39-40 to show:
a) any information that isn’t included in this diagram but is included on pages 39-40
b) any illusions of democracy
c) any actual democracy
d) any signs of autocracy
e) any continuity between the Tsarist regime and this new regime
f) Check your work with another student? Have they picked up anything that you haven’t?
Use pages 41-42 to complete this table:
What does Stalin retain?
What does Stalin Change?
Task 3: Were Lenin and Stalin Red Tsars?
Using the reading you will be provided with and your own conclusions create a way (on lined or plain paper,
whichever fits your method best) of showing how Tsarist Lenin and Stalin were?
Task 4: The Different Rulers (so far) as a comparison?
Try distilling all the information you have learned so far to answer the questions that follow.
Which leader is...
... the most
autocratic?
... the most evil?
... the most humane?
... the most
determined to do
what is best for
Russia?
... the most
democratic?
... the one you have
the most sympathy
for?
... the strongest?
... the best?
Answer with explanation and justification.
Learning Objective
To be able to explain to what extent Khrushchev achieved a change in the nature of government. .
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To be able to describe the circumstances in which Khrushchev took power .
2. Ao1a: To be able to explain the changes made to the nature of Government .
3. Ao1b: To produce a comparison between all of the different rulers .
Task 1: Khrushchev takes the reins
Using pages 24-25 of your textbook explain how Khrushchev came to power.
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What is the difference between what Khrushchev did to his rivals and what Stalin did to his? (Use the image below to
help you work it out).
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What does this indicate about possible differences between Khrushchev’s and Stalin’s regimes?
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Task 2: Changes to the Nature of Government
a) Read the extracts from Khrushchev’s Secret Speech and try to identify what changes to the nature of Government
Khrushchev is planning.
Comrades: We must abolish the cult of the individual decisively, once and for all; we must draw the proper
conclusions concerning both ideological-theoretical and practical work.
In this connection we will be forced to do much work in order to examine critically from the Marxist-Leninist
viewpoint and to correct the widely spread erroneous views connected with the cult of the individual in the
sphere of history, philosophy, economy and of other sciences, as well as in literature and the fine arts. It is
especially necessary that in the immediate future we compile a serious textbook of the history of our Party
which will be edited in accordance with scientific Marxist objectivism, a textbook of the history of Soviet
society, a book pertaining to the events of the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War.
Secondly, to continue systematically and consistently the work done by the Party's Central Committee
during the last years, a work characterized by minute observation in all Party organizations, from the
bottom to the top, of the Leninist principles of Party leadership, characterized, above all, by the main
principle of collective leadership, characterized by the observation of the norms of Party life described in the
Statutes of our Party, and finally, characterized by the wide practice of criticism and self-criticism.
Thirdly, to restore completely the Leninist principles of Soviet socialist democracy, expressed in the
Constitution of the Soviet Union, to fight wilfulness of individuals abusing their power. The evil caused by
acts violating revolutionary socialist legality which have accumulated during a long time as a result of the
negative influence of the cult of the individual has to be completely corrected.
b) Using pages 24-28, put the following features of Khrushchev’s regime on this CHANGE LINE with an explanation of why you have placed them there. You
need to place the SECRET SPEECH, COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP, DESTALINISATION, THE SECRET SPEECH, THE ANTI-PARTY GROUP
No changes to
Stalin’s
regime
Huge changes
to Stalin’s
regime
No changes to
Tsarist regime.
Huge changes
to Tsarist
regime.
c) The Impact of Khrushchev’s Changes to the Regime
Use the reading below as a starting point- do you think Khrushchev did have a big effect on the regime?
Assessment of Khrushchev from Contemporary Review, by Margaret Rooke
Do you think this is affair assessment? Consider what you have read in the textbook as well.
Task 3: Final Comparison of all the Leaders
a) If you look at your learning journey at the beginning of the booklet, you will see that each of the leaders has been
given a geographically relevant name.
Try and work out why each one has been given that name.
b) If each of our leaders was an animal, which one would it be? Draw (or find a picture) of the animal you would
represent them as and make sure that you explain how.
Learning Objective
To consolidate the contents of this booklet by creating a number of essay plans in preparation for a timed essay.
Success Criteria
1. Ao1a: To ensure a thorough understanding of this whole theme, ensuring that your knowledge is detailed,
precise and thorough .
2. Ao1b: To practise drawing through comparisons and synoptic judgements across the essays .
3. Study skills: To practise different types of essay planning to hopefully find one that works for you .
The Essays
You will get one of the following essays to do in timed conditions in class. Your homework will be to revise for
this timed essay. In class, you will practise creating essay plans in order to prepare for this timed essay.
You may get one of the following essays:
1. ‘The nature of Russian government was changed more by Stalin than by any other ruler’. How far do you
agree with this view of the period from 1855-1964? (January 2010)
2. How far do you agree that the October Revolution of 1917 was the most important turning point in the
development of Russian government in the period from 1855-1964? (June 2010)
3. ‘There was very little difference between Tsarist autocracy, Lenin’s dictatorship and Stalin’s totalitarianism’.
How far do you agree with this statement? (this is a possible question)
Task 1: What makes a good essay?
In your textbook (pages 47-54) are two sample essays on this theme. Read the essays. Read the commentary on the
essays, and think about your own reactions to these essays. Write down five things you would like to try and imitate
from these essays in your own timed essay.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Task 2: Essay Plan 1, the nature of government was changed more by Stalin than any other ruler.
This essay is asking you to compare the nature of each leaders’ government to the nature of Stalin’s
government. It is important that you focus on that phrase the nature of government.
a) What are the key pieces knowledge you need in this essay? You might consider: events, different types of
ideology, political structures, local government, participation in government, key terms. List them in the boxes below
(feel free to add more on another piece of paper). Swap some with a friend.
The Examiners report for this essay says the following “It has become a regular feature of questions that deal with
Russian governments for candidates to focus too much on anything that occurred and to dismiss the development of
government as incidental. Unfortunately, this session was no different. Candidates must realise that economic
reforms such as emancipation of the peasantry, collectivisation and five-year plans only become relevant when they
are linked to political, administrative and ideological methods and changes in government. Some wanted to include
foreign policy and wars or else failed to show how a concern for the welfare of the people was linked to government;
the same applied to sections on social policies. Several candidates assessed each Russian ruler between 1855 and
1964 (though many stopped in 1956) but without drawing any comparisons with Stalin or making him the reference
point of a synthesis. Those candidates who did discuss repression, the fate of opposition, ideology, political parties,
the absence of democracy, one party state, the 1936 Constitution, and compared developments under Stalin with
changes under other rulers, scored well. 1861, 1881, 1905 and 1917 were seen as alternative pivotal moments”.
(Remember we have not looked at the whole course yet, therefore some of these terms may be unfamiliar to you)
b) What does the examiner’s report suggest were things that candidates should do to score well?
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This is a good technique for looking at essays, if you know what paper your essay has been set from. Otherwise,
looking at the examiner’s reports for any years are good sources for revision, and you can find them on the
OCR website: http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/as-a-level-gce-history-a-h106-h506/
c) Look at the knowledge that you have in your table/ lined paper. Find different ways to group your
knowledge in a way that answers the question. (For example, you may want to consider how much the nature
of government is changed by these events/ leaders etc and rank them in order of significance, or to group
them into areas that are more significant than Stalin or less significant, or simply into change and continuity)
Sometimes, doing this kind of task on Post-It notes is a good technique.
Drawing together your essay:
This is an example of an essay map which you can access on a computer from this web address:
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/essaymap/
Introduction
Idea 1
Idea 2
Idea 3
Supporting evidence for Idea 1
Supporting evidence for idea 2
Supporting evidence for idea 3
Conclusion
Task 3: Essay Plan 2, the October Revolution as a Turning Point
1. Individually, complete your History Burger essay plan on the blank burger plans that are available.
2. Get into a pair, and create (from your burgers) a new burger that uses both of your ideas. Feel free to have extra
components in your burger- e.g. does it have bacon or a pickle on it?)
3. Get into a group, and create your final burger.
Essay Planning Review
Method
Looking at sample essays
How helpful did you find it?
Listing your knowledge
Looking at an examiner’s report
Grouping your ideas and
knowledge in different ways
Filling in a proforma.
Checking your work with
another person.
Task 4: Plan your final essay, using whichever techniques you prefer.