Themes

Question 1

How did the army help repression under the Communists?

Answer 1

The Red Army crushed peasant revolts during collectivisation and helped enforce Stalin’s policies.

Question 2

How did local justice work under the Communists?

Answer 2

Courts followed party orders, but Khrushchev’s “Thaw” slightly reduced repression in the 1950s.

Question 3

How did political parties challenge the Tsars?

Answer 3

Kadets and Socialist Revolutionaries pressured Nicholas II into issuing the October Manifesto in 1905.

Question 4

How did Communists shape society through living standards and welfare?

Answer 4

Khrushchev’s Thaw improved housing and schooling but life was still marked by basic shortages.

Question 5

How did Communist rule affect living standards and welfare?

Answer 5

In the 1950s–60s Khrushchev built cheap flats (Khrushchyovkas) and improved education

Question 6

How did structure shape government under the Tsars?

Answer 6

Highly centralised rule, reinforced by Witte’s industrial projects like the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Question 7

How did political factors cause opposition under the Communists?

Answer 7

Stalin rejected Lenin’s NEP, prompting the Ryutin Platform to call for his removal in 1932.

Question 8

How did economic factors cause opposition under the Communists?

Answer 8

Collectivisation created famine (e.g. Holodomor), provoking peasant resistance and sabotage.

Question 9

How did the pace of industrialisation change under the Tsars?

Answer 9

In the 1880s Alexander III accelerated growth in coal and steel

Question 10

How did secret police help repression under the Tsars?

Answer 10

Okhrana spied on radicals and suppressed revolutionary groups, especially after 1905.

Question 11

How did ideology shape government under the Communists?

Answer 11

Stalin focused on “Socialism in One Country” to strengthen the USSR, leading to Five-Year Plans.

Question 12

How did nationalist factors cause opposition under the Communists?

Answer 12

Polish forces fought and won against the Red Army in the Russian Civil War.

Question 13

How did workers challenge the Communists?

Answer 13

Kronstadt uprising in 1921 saw workers and sailors demand reforms, but it was brutally suppressed.

Question 14

How did local justice work under the Tsars?

Answer 14

Justices of the peace were introduced in 1864 but often controlled by central authority.

Question 15

How did political parties challenge the Communists?

Answer 15

All other parties were banned by 1921.

Question 16

How did structure shape government under the Communists?

Answer 16

Stalin ran a centralised command economy with projects like Magnitogorsk to control production and people.

Question 17

How did ideology shape government under the Tsars?

Answer 17

Due to the belief in the divine right, Nicholas II passed the Fundamental Laws to retain his power.

Question 18

How did Tsars change society through industry?

Answer 18

Witte’s 1890s growth expanded the working class but sparked unrest in overcrowded cities.

Question 19

How did methods of control shape government under the Tsars?

Answer 19

Okhrana spied on and arrested opponents after 1905.

Question 20

How did Communist leadership shape industry?

Answer 20

Stalin’s Five-Year Plans built Soviet strength but forced labour and purges devastated workers.

Question 21

How did Russia’s industrialisation compare to the West under the Tsars?

Answer 21

In the early 1900s Russian output and technology remained far behind Britain and Germany.

Question 22

How did public services shape local government under the Communists?

Answer 22

Khrushchev expanded rural schools and clinics, but services were limited by shortages and poor planning.

Question 23

How did Communist leadership shape agriculture?

Answer 23

Stalin’s 1930s collectivisation modernised farming but caused deadly famines like the 1932–33 Holodomor.

Question 24

How did Tsarist leadership shape agriculture?

Answer 24

Alexander II’s 1861 Emancipation freed serfs but high redemption payments trapped peasants in poverty.

Question 25

How did Tsars shape society through living standards and welfare?

Answer 25

Under Alexander III harsh policies and the 1891 famine revealed deep peasant suffering.

Question 26

How did peasants challenge the Tsars?

Answer 26

In 1905, peasants seized land across Russia; Stolypin’s land reforms (1906–1911) reduced unrest.

Question 27

How did Tsarist leadership shape industry?

Answer 27

Witte’s 1890s reforms modernised transport and factories but triggered unrest and the 1905 Revolution.

Question 28

How did Russia’s industrialisation compare to the West under the Communists?

Answer 28

In the 1950s Khrushchev's industry grew quickly

Question 29

How far did industrialisation go under the Tsars?

Answer 29

Witte’s 1890s railway boom spurred growth yet most Russians still worked the land.

Question 30

How did secret police help repression under the Communists?

Answer 30

The NKVD arrested, tortured, and executed millions during Stalin’s purges.

Question 31

How did peasants challenge the Communists?

Answer 31

Forced grain seizures led to peasant revolts; Lenin responded with repression, but the NEP later eased tensions.

Question 32

How did structure shape local government under the Communists?

Answer 32

Khrushchev’s 1957 Sovnarkhozy decentralised power but led to confusion and inefficiency.

Question 33

How did censorship help repression under the Communists?

Answer 33

Stalin’s Glavlit censored books, newspapers, and art to maintain total control over information.

Question 34

How did Communists change society through agriculture?

Answer 34

From 1929 collectivisation uprooted millions

Question 35

How did Tsars change society through agriculture?

Answer 35

Stolypin’s 1906–11 reforms aimed to create kulaks but most peasants stayed poor and land-hungry.

Question 36

How did Communists change society through industry?

Answer 36

Stalin grew the urban workforce but mass terror and purges spread fear and instability.

Question 37

How did structure shape local government under the Tsars?

Answer 37

Zemstvos set up in 1864 gave limited local self-rule but were still under Tsarist control.

Question 38

How did the pace of industrialisation change under the Communists?

Answer 38

From 1928 Stalin’s First Five-Year Plan drove rapid expansion (e.g. Magnitogorsk)

Question 39

How did political factors cause opposition under the Tsars?

Answer 39

Political groups unhappy with progress; People's Will killed Alexander II.

Question 40

How did nationalist factors cause opposition under the Tsars?

Answer 40

Russification policies angered minorities like Poles and Jews, leading to unrest and pogroms.

Question 41

How did public services shape local government under the Tsars?

Answer 41

Zemstvos provided basic education and healthcare but were underfunded and restricted.

Question 42

How did censorship help repression under the Tsars?

Answer 42

Nicholas II used censorship to ban anti-government publications and control dissent.

Question 43

How did methods of control shape government under the Communists?

Answer 43

NKVD used terror during the Great Purge (1936–1938) to eliminate real and imagined threats.

Question 44

How did economic factors cause opposition under the Tsars?

Answer 44

Rapid industrialisation under Witte led to poor working conditions, helping cause the 1905 Revolution.

Question 45

How did Tsarist rule affect living standards and welfare?

Answer 45

In the 1890s workers crowded into slums and peasants suffered famines under Nicholas II.

Question 46

How far did industrialisation go under the Communists?

Answer 46

By 1941 Stalin’s plans had transformed the USSR into an industrial power

Question 47

How did the army help repression under the Tsars?

Answer 47

The army fired on protestors during Bloody Sunday in 1905, killing hundreds.

Question 48

How did workers challenge the Tsars?

Answer 48

1905 saw mass strikes and the formation of the Petrograd Soviet, but they were shut down by force.