Topics+of+Study

Introduction to Russia, basic geography key cities, characteristics of population. Brief outline of social structure, government structure, role of the Church and army. Industrialisation and peasants economy, causes of tension, Bloody Sunday and outcomes of 1905. Effects of the Russo-Japanese war. Success or failure of attempted reforms. October Manifesto and the Fundamental Laws 1906. The Dumas. Stolypin and his attempts at reform. Tsar Nicholas, Alexandra, Rasputin. World War I and how it reflected tension and crisis. Key personalities and parties. Key aspects of ideologies such as Marxism. Role of leadership of Lenin and the Bolsheviks and ideas in February 1917, abdication of Nicholas II, establishment of the Provisional government. Establishment of the Petrograd Soviet, Order No. 1, dual government and its weakness. April Theses, role of Lenin and others, July days, Kornilov. Bolshevik takeover. The Second Congress of Soviets. The Storming of the Winter Palace. Factors which allowed the Bolsheviks to take control. Role of Lenin, Trotsky. Problems facing the new government such as how to end involvement in World War I. The treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the land question, the Constituent Assembly. Initial reforms. Key individuals such as Trotsky and Lenin and parties such as the SRs. The Civil War, War Communism, the Cheka. The role of Trotsky and the Red Army. Increasing centralisation and control. ‘On Party Unity’, the 10th Party Congress. The Kronstadt Rebellion. The NEP, impact and results. The death of Lenin and ensuing leadership style.
 * Unit 4: Russia 1905 to 1924 **