Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905-24 is the historical investigation that studies why and how Russia was transformed from an autocratic tsarist government to a communist dictatorship between 1905 and 1924. You will focus on crucial events during this period and study the different social, cultural, political, economic, military and religious changes that occurred.

This study will help you understand the complexities and challenges that Tsar Nicholas II faced during his rule. You will investigate themes such as power, law and order, government, revolution, communism, dictatorship, religion, and economy and society. It will enable you to develop the historical skills of identifying key features of a time period and encourage you to analyse and compare sources and evaluate interpretations.

Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905-24 is split into 5 key enquiries:

• ❖ Enquiry 1 looks at the tsarist rule in Russia between 1905 and 1914. You will study how the tsars ruled Russia and the reasons for discontent. You will investigate to what extent Nicholas II was able to successfully deal with this in the years before the First World War.
• ❖ Enquiry 2 looks at opposition to Tsar Nicholas II's rule during the First World War. You will investigate the massive social, economic and political impact the war had on Russia which triggered the February Revolution and led to the tsar's abdication.
• ❖ Enquiry 3 looks at events between the February and October Revolutions. You will study the impact of Lenin's return to Russia, the weaknesses and failures of the Provisional Government, and the role played by the Petrograd Soviet. This enquiry culminates with the events of the Bolshevik revolution of October 1917.
• ❖ Enquiry 4 looks at how the Bolsheviks consolidated their power and the Russian Civil War. You will study the actions of the new government from their Decrees of 1917 to the reasons for victory in the Civil War.
• ❖ Enquiry 5 looks at economic changes brought in by the Bolsheviks. You will study why they introduced War Communism, what it was, and its disastrous impact on the people of Russia. You will investigate why the Bolsheviks responded by introducing the New Economic Policy and what opposition that faced. The enquiry finishes by weighing up Lenin's achievements before he died prematurely in 1924.

Some of the key individuals studied on this course include:

• ❖ Tsar Nicholas II.
• ❖ Tsarina Alexandra.
• ❖ Rasputin.
• ❖ Vladimir Lenin.
• ❖ Joseph Stalin.
• ❖ Leon Trotsky.
• ❖ Alexander Kerensky.
• ❖ Pyotr Stolypin.

Some of the key events you will study on this course include:

• ❖ Bloody Sunday, 1905.
• ❖ The Lena Goldfields Strike, 1912.
• ❖ The effect of the First World War on Russia.
• ❖ The February Revolution, 1917.
• ❖ The consolidation of Bolshevik control.
• ❖ The Russian Civil War.
• ❖ The New Economic Policy.

Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905-24 forms part of paper 2 where you have a total of 1 hour and 30 minutes to complete. You should spend 45 minutes on this section of the paper. There will be 1 exam question, broken down into a, b and c, which will assess what you have learned on the Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905-24 course.

• ❖ Question a is worth 6 marks and will require you to describe two key features of one of two events given. You will need to identify two key features and support each with relevant factual detail.
• ❖ Question b is worth 8 marks. This question will require you to cross-reference two sources, explaining how one supports the evidence of the other, supported with evidence from both.
• ❖ Question c is worth 16 marks and requires you to explain how far you agree with an interpretation. In your explanation you must evaluate the interpretations, review alternative views, and use your own knowledge of the historical context as well as two sources to come to your conclusion.