AQA A Level History Breadth Study: Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682-1796 (A-level only) June 2025 question paper 7042/1E

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to Catherine the Great and the Enlightenment.

How important were Peter the Great’s military reforms to his foreign policy success?

To what extent did Russian society change during Peter the Great’s reign?

‘Catherine’s greatest foreign policy success was the partition of Poland.’

Assess the validity of this view.