Tsarist & Communist Russia

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to the reasons why Alexander II carried out a programme of domestic reforms.

‘The collapse of the Tsarist state in 1917 was due to the personal inadequacies of Tsar Nicholas II in the years after 1894.’

Assess the validity of this view.

To what extent were the Leninist and Stalinist regimes, in the years 1917 to 1945, dependent on fear and terror?

‘Life was much easier for the Soviet people under Khrushchev, in the years 1953 to 1964, than it had been under Stalin, in the years 1945 to 1953.’

Assess the validity of this view.

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to social change in Communist Russia in the years 1917 to 1941.

‘In the years 1855 to 1881, the Russian economy remained weak and underdeveloped.’

Assess the validity of this view.

How successful was Nicholas II in maintaining tsarist autocracy in Russia in the years 1894 to 1914?

‘The years from 1941 to 1964 were a time of political uncertainty and social hardship for the people of the Soviet Union.’

Assess the validity of this view.

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to the reasons for the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.

‘Alexander II’s attempts at reform, in the years 1855 to 1881, were half-hearted and ineffective.’

Assess the validity of this view.

‘Lenin’s and Stalin’s agricultural policies, in the years 1917 to 1941, were an economic success but a social failure.’

Assess the validity of this view.

In the years 1945 to 1964, to what extent was internal opposition to both Stalin and Khrushchev a threat to their authority?

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to the development of the Soviet economy in the years 1921 to 1941.

‘By 1881, the emancipation of the serfs had brought profound social change in Russia.’

Assess the validity of this view.

How effective was the opposition of radical and liberal groups in challenging the authority of the Tsar in the years 1894 to 1914?

‘There were more similarities than differences between Stalin and Khrushchev as Soviet leaders.’

Assess the validity of this view of the years 1941 to 1964.

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to the changes brought about by industrialisation in Russia in the years c1890 to 1914.

How effective were tsarist policies towards ethnic minorities and Jews in strengthening the Russian Empire in the years 1855 to 1894?

‘Personal ambition outweighed all other considerations in Stalin’s rise to, and consolidation of, power in the years 1921 to 1941.’

Assess the validity of this view.

‘Attempts to modernise the Soviet economy and raise living standards, in the years 1945 to 1964, were a complete failure.’

Assess the validity of this view.

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to the extent of cultural change in the USSR in the years 1941 to 1964.

How significant were socialist and Marxist ideas in the growth of opposition to tsarist rule in Russia in the years 1855 to 1894?

‘Government under Lenin, in the years 1917 to 1924, was little different from government under Tsar Nicholas II in the years 1894 to 1905.’

Assess the validity of this view.

To what extent were purges and terror, in the years 1918 to 1941, a response to real threats to the Leninist and Stalinist regimes?

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to attitudes to autocracy during the reigns of the Tsars Alexander II and Alexander III.

How significant was the growth of towns, in the years 1894 to 1914, in changing Russian society?

‘The transformation of Russian industry, in the years 1917 to 1941, was achieved through the application of socialist/Marxist principles.’

Assess the validity of this view.

‘The years 1941 to 1964 were a time of political stagnation in the USSR.’

Assess the validity of this view.

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to tsarist political authority in Russia before 1917.

How significant was the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 to Russia’s economic growth in the years up to 1894?

To what extent were the lives of women and young people changed as a result of Communist rule in the years 1917 to 1941?

‘Opposition from within the Communist Party posed a greater threat to Soviet leaders than that from opponents and cultural dissidents outside it.’

Assess the validity of this view of the years 1941 to 1964.

Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to the impact of Soviet industrial policy between 1921 and 1941.

‘The main aim of Alexander III was to reverse his father’s policies.’

Assess the validity of this view with reference to the years 1855 to 1894.

‘Peasant discontent posed a major threat to the tsarist regime between 1894 and 1917.’

Assess the validity of this view.

To what extent were the key features of post-Second World War Stalinism still in place at the time of Khrushchev’s overthrow in 1964?