History PP1 B

Question 1

1.(a) What was Bloody Sunday? [5]

Answer 1

It was when Father Gapon led a peaceful demonstration in support of reform.

In 1905, demonstrators marched through St Petersburg to deliver a petition to the Tsar

Protestors demanded better wages and shorter working hours.

Soldiers opened fire on demonstrators in front of the Winter Palace.

The events of Bloody Sunday made the Tsar very unpopular.

Question 2

1 b) Why was the Tsar’s decision in 1915 to take personal command of the Russian army important? [7]

Answer 2

This meant he got the blame for everything that went wrong in the war against Germany.

Millions of Russian soldiers were killed

by 1917 the war affected the Russian economy with food shortages, strikes and demonstrations

Duma later appointed a Provisional Government to replace the Tsar.

This left the Tsarina to run the government, and she was unpopular.

She ignored the Duma took advice from Rasputin, who was very unpopular

She was a huge autocrat and persuaded Nicholas that he must never relinquish his absolute power as Emperor

Question 3

1c1 How did The 1905 Revolution led to a period of significant reform. [4]

Answer 3

There were reforms in agriculture, industry and education

Stolypin created a peasants’ land bank so that they could buy more land and make bigger farms, leading to an increase in agricultural productivity

increase in industrial output

the introduction of the Duma. This was an elected body to help the Tsar run the country.

Question 4

1c2 How did the 1905 revolution not lead to reform [4]

Answer 4

The Tsar issued the ‘Fundamental Laws’.

These gave the Tsar a veto over laws, the power to appoint and dismiss ministers, and to dissolve the Duma when he saw fit

meant that the two Dumas which met before 1914 achieved very little

He also had over 1000 critics hanged and he exiled 20 000

Question 5

2(a) What were the ‘gulags’? [4]

Answer 5

labour camps.

They were where criminals and political opponents were sent.

The conditions were very harsh and many prisoners died.

They were where kulaks were sent under Stalin

Question 6

2(b) Why did Stalin introduce the Great Purges in the mid-1930s? [7]

Answer 6

To get rid of rivals in the Communist party.

Stalin was paranoid and saw enemies and rivals everywhere, especially within the party

Most of the senior party leaders like Zinoviev and Kamenev were given show trials and then executed

Stalin wanted to make sure there was nobody powerful enough to threaten his position as leader

The show trials were used to turn the people against Stalin’s enemies

People would be tortured and threatened into confessing their crimes

People would confess treason or working to restore capitalism

Question 7

2(c)1 How did Stalin’s policy ideas explain why he, and not Trotsky, emerged as leader of the USSR in the mid-1920s [4]

Answer 7

He wanted ‘Socialism in one country’, which meant that Russia should focus on completing the revolution in Russia, this included firmly establishing communist control

Trotsky wanted to focus on spreading the revolution around the world.

Stalin’s ideas were much more popular among the communists who wanted to establish their power in the Soviet Union first.

helped him beat Trotsky to the leadership.

Question 8

2c2, what other than Stalin’s policy ideas explain why he, and not Trotsky, emerged as leader of the USSR in the mid-1920s [4]

Answer 8

Trotsky assumed he would become leader after Lenin and did not do much to win the leadership.

He was arrogant and this made many in the party dislike and mistrust him

Stalin worked quietly within the party and hid his ambitions to be leader.

Trotsky was tricked by Stalin into missing Lenin’s funeral.

Question 9

3(a) In what ways were official culture and censorship used to maintain Stalin’s control over the Soviet Union? [5]

Answer 9

All forms of media were strictly censored

Books, films, art and plays were only allowed if they matched Stalinist beliefs

Statues and pictures of Stalin increased and made Stalin appear god-like

Only approved newspapers and magazines could be published.

Stalin believed that all of the arts should portray the working man’s struggle to achieve communism.

Question 10

3(b) Why were the Purges an effective way for Stalin to control the Soviet people? [7]

Answer 10

The Purges removed supporters of Trotsky

Trotsky had been Stalin’s main rival

even though he had fled abroad, he still continued to denounce Stalin

Members of the left wing opposition, like Zinoviev and Kamenev, were thought to be agents for Trotsky

Stalin purged the kulaks and the Nepmen to enforce his policies

They had large amounts of personal wealth

Were against socialism and collectivisation

Question 11

4(a) Describe Russification. [4]

Answer 11

Stalin discouraged differing national identities within Russia.

Stalin wanted people to see themselves as ‘Soviets’ not Latvian or Ukrainian.

Teaching the Russian language in all schools became compulsory.

In 1932, citizens had to carry identity booklets which included their nationality

Question 12

4(b) Why was there resistance to collectivisation? [7]

Answer 12

The kulaks did not want to hand over their land and produce

Under Stolypin and under Lenin’s NEP, wealthier peasants had been encouraged to buy more land to produce more crops and to earn a profit on their surpluses.

These wealthier peasants or kulaks were expected to hand over their land and produce under collectivisation

The peasants did not like the idea of the farms being under the control of the local Communist leader.

little economic freedom and farmers had no choice in joining

There were also many rumours going around rural villages that collectivisation would cause famine and loss of livestock and crops

The peasants wanted to grow grain to feed their own families

Question 13

4c1 How were the changes Stalin made to agriculture more important than the changes he made to industry. [3]

Answer 13

Stalin’s collectivisation policy did attempt to modernise agriculture

increased grain exports

The foreign currency earned did help the modernisation of industry.

Question 14

4c2 How were the changes Stalin made to industry more important than the changes he made to agriculture? [7]

Answer 14

collectivisation was at a terrible cost with 5 million dying from famine in 1933

Stalin’s establishment of GOSPLAN and the tough targets it set in heavy industry were very successful.

Coal and steel increased 500% between 1928 and 1940, while oil production doubled

It meant Russia was strong militarily and enabled it not to lose the war against the Nazis

The First Five Year Plan concentrated on heavy industry and hit its targets

The Second Five Year Plan increased chemicals and improved transport

The Third Five Year Plan concentrated on re-armament as war approached

Question 15

5(a) At the turn of the century, what were the most serious problems facing the Tsar?[5]

Answer 15

Russia was a vast empire.

It had 20 different nationalities.

Peasants’ living and working conditions were poor

There were regular famines, and starvation was common

There was resentment that the aristocracy, the Church and the Tsar owned most of the land.

Question 16

5(b) Why was the Tsar able to remain in power during 1905 despite the Revolution? [6]

Answer 16

Nicholas needed to reform Russia and satisfy some of the discontented groups to prevent another revolution

In his October Manifesto, the Tsar offered the people a Duma (an elected parliament), the right to free speech and the right to form political parties.

This divided his opponents. The middle-class liberals were delighted that their voices would now be heard.

Leaders of the St. Petersburg and Moscow soviets were arrested and exiled.

Nicholas’ troops returned from the war in Japan and crushed the revolt in western Russia.

The rebellions in the countryside were ruthlessly put down.

Question 17

5(c)1 how did the Tsarist regime deal ineffectively with the difficulties of ruling Russia between 1906 and 1914? [5]

Answer 17

Stolypin hanged over 1000 people and exiled 20 000 and kept control.

The Tsar issued ‘Fundamental Laws’.

These gave the Tsar a veto over laws, the power to appoint and dismiss ministers and to dissolve the Duma when he saw fit.

This meant that the two Dumas which met before 1914 achieved very little and it seemed that Russia was heading back towards its undemocratic past.

The influence of Rasputin at court created difficulties.

Question 18

5(c)2 how did the Tsarist regime deal effectively with the difficulties of ruling Russia between 1906 and 1914? [5]

Answer 18

The work of Stolypin dealt with many difficulties.

For most of this period, Stolypin was the Tsar’s chief minister

He wanted moderate reform in agriculture, industry and education, but he believed that the power should still rest with the Tsar

He adopted a ‘carrot and stick’ approach.

He created a peasants’ land bank so that they could buy more land and make bigger units

Question 19

6(a) What were Stalin’s objections to Trotsky’s idea of ‘permanent revolution’? [5]

Answer 19

It was not seen as a priority for the USSR.

Stalin saw that Trotsky’s idea worried many ordinary Russians.

He realised Trotsky’s ideas could involve the USSR in new conflicts

Stalin believed in ‘Socialism in One Country’

The people were weary of years of war and revolution.

Question 20

6(b) Why did Stalin create a cult of personality? [7]

Answer 20

Stalin wanted to be worshipped as a great leader

‘Stalin wanted to be considered to be central to everything in Russia and to be perceived as the embodiment of everything good in the country.

He wanted pictures and statues of himself everywhere and places named after him.

Artists and musicians were expected to produce works which praised Stalin’s rule and achievements

‘The ‘Cult of Personality’ made it more difficult for opposition to Stalin’s rule.

The state could tell people what to think

It would distract from some of the horrors of his rule.

Question 21

6(c)1 How was Stalin’s dictatorship over the Soviet Union not as total as it appeared?[4]

Answer 21

Stalin found it difficult to control people’s personal lives

Petty crime and hooliganism were common in the cities; divorce and abortions were rising fast.

There is plenty of evidence that people in their private lives behaved as they wanted rather than as the government wished.

Although open opposition was rare, local officials and managers would often fail to cooperate with orders that they did not like.

Question 22

6(c)2 How was Stalin’s dictatorship over the Soviet Union super total?[5]

Answer 22

Over 500 000 party members were arrested on charges of anti-Soviet activities and were either executed or sent to gulags.

Over 25 000 army officers were removed from office

Stalin made sure no-one became too powerful and, therefore, did not undermine his authority.

Stalin gained control by his ‘purges’.

The new constitution gave total power to Stalin.

Question 23

7(a) Describe the work of Stolypin. [5]

Answer 23

Stolypin attempted to reform agriculture.’

Stolypin allowed wealthier peasants, the kulaks, to buy more land

The Peasant Land Bank was established to give loans to help develop farming.

He came down hard on strikers, protesters and revolutionaries.

20 000 were exiled and over 1000 hanged

Question 24

7(b) Why was there discontent with the Russian government by 1905?[8]

Answer 24

Revolutionary ideas were spreading in the new industrial cities.

The industrial workers had been peasants but now they lived and worked in the cities.

Living and working conditions were appalling.

There were few controls on child labour, industrial injuries were common, and employers paid starvation wages

In 1905, demonstrators marched through St Petersburg to deliver a petition to the Tsar

Protestors demanded better wages and shorter working hours.

Soldiers opened fire on demonstrators in front of the Winter Palace.

The events of Bloody Sunday made the Tsar very unpopular.

Question 25

7(c)1 How is it surprising that the Tsar fell from power in 1917? [4]

Answer 25

When war broke out in 1914, the Tsar had been popular and there were demonstrations in support of him.

He could always rely on loyalty from his government, armed forces and secret police.

The events of February 1917 started due to a bread strike and not because of a demand for revolution.

It was surprising for the Tsar that the army refused to fire on the demonstrators.

Question 26

7(c)2 How is it unsurprising that the Tsar fell from power in 1917? [4]

Answer 26

In 1915 he assumed supreme command of the Russian Army fighting on the Eastern Front.

This meant that he was held responsible for the country’s military failures and the country’s huge loss of life

which, by the end of 1916, was estimated at nearly five million dead, missing or as prisoners.

There was anger over food shortages and forced grain requisition.

Question 27

8(a) How did life in the countryside change under Stalin? [5]

Answer 27

Farms were taken over by the state.

Peasants had to put their lands together to form large joint farms.

There was some mechanisation such as tractors.

There was a famine.

Many people left to work in the new industries.

Question 28

8(b) Why was industry brought under government control? [6]

Answer 28

To increase the USSR’s military & economic strength

If the Soviet Union was threatened by a foreign power, it would need strong defences to survive.

It was essential to develop heavy industries such as coal and steel production and chemicals so that armaments could be built

To rival the economies of the USA and the capitalist countries.

It would put into action Stalin’s ‘Socialism in One Country’.

It focused on Russia and the cementing of Bolshevik control over Russia before thinking of spreading communism everywhere.

Question 29

8(c)1 How did women benefit from Stalin’s rule? [4]

Answer 29

Stalin increased the number of crèches for children of working mothers.

Some factories were encouraged to establish ‘sitting’ services. This was for mothers so that they could work even while caring for children.

Stalin insisted that men and women had equal status and therefore women were encouraged to study to become engineers and doctors

By 1939, 79% of doctors were women and over 40% were involved in the industrial workforce.

Question 30

8(c)2 How didn’t women benefit from Stalin’s rule? [4]

Answer 30

There were no women in senior positions in the state

They often took lower positions in the workplace.

women still had their traditional roles of mother and wife to fulfil and were expected to work in the home as well as in the workplace

Women were subjected to changing laws which took away freedoms, such as easy divorce.

If the workforce was being exploited, then women joining the workforce would be exploited as workers as well as exploited as women

Question 31

9(a) What was the Constituent Assembly? [4]

Answer 31

It was the government which was to take over from the Provisional Government.

It was organised as a result of the Russian Revolution.

It was to be elected democratically / parliament of elected members

It was closed down by the Bolsheviks on 19 January 1918.

Question 32

9(b) Why was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk bad for Russia? [7]

Answer 32

Russia lost valuable resources.

90% of Russia’s coal mines were lost and around 25% of its industrial capacity

This meant the country, already facing economic problems because of the war, became even poorer.

Russia lost large areas of territory

Russia lost Ukraine and Finland.

The land Russia had gained in the Russo-Turkish War was returned to the Ottoman Empire.

Russia lost much of its population.

Question 33

9(c)1 How did the Red Army win the Civil War with War Communism [4]

Answer 33

War Communism was an economy that met the needs of war and was the name given to harsh economic measures the Bolsheviks adopted during the Civil War to help them win.

They aimed to keep the Red Army and the towns supplied with food and weapons.

All large factories were taken over by the government and production was planned and organised so that they could keep their armies well supplied with equipment and arms.

hey ensured that the towns and armies were fed by forcing peasants to hand over surplus food to the government and rationing supplies

Question 34

9(c)2 How did the Red Army win the Civil War other than with War Communism [3]

Answer 34

The weakness of White forces was one of the reasons the Red Army won the Civil War.

They were divided and lacked clear leadership

They also failed to win the support of the people who were more interested in the Bolsheviks’ promise of land.

Question 35

10(a) What was the Young Pioneer movement? [4]

Answer 35

It was a youth organisation.

It was for children between the ages of nine to fifteen.

Pioneers took part in sports events and learned crafts.

Members were taught to love Russia

Question 36

10(b) Why did life get worse for the national minorities under Stalin’s rule? [7]

Answer 36

Ethnic minority groups were encouraged to see themselves as Soviet citizens rather than as separate nationalities

This made life worse for them because Russian became the official language.

If the minority groups could not speak Russian, they were discriminated against and it was hard for them to get work, for instance in the army.

1.5 million ethnic minorities were deported back to Asia

Thousands of Islamic schools, hospitals and mosques were forced to close.

It was due to the policy of Russification.

The Russian language was made a compulsory subject in the school curriculum

Question 37

10(c)1 How was destroying the kulaks part of Stalin’s agricultural policy. [4]

Answer 37

They were often farmers who had done well under the policies of NEP.

Stalin thought this was a capitalist policy and brought in collectivisation instead

The kulaks would not be able to make profits under this system

He thought the kulaks were a possible source of opposition to his policies.

Question 38

10(c)2 what, other than destroying the kulaks, was part of Stalin’s agricultural policy? [4]

Answer 38

Stalin wanted to collectivise agriculture because there were still food shortages in the USSR

Collectivisation would mean that large units of land could be farmed more efficiently through mechanisation, with tractors and other machinery supplied by the state

There would then be much higher food production

Exports of grain would earn foreign currency