Русское испытание темы виткаn

Suggested Answers

Russian Revolution Topic Test

1. Write the definition of ‘autocrat’.

-Leader in total control of the state and people

2. What was ‘russification’?

-forced attempt to make non-Russians adopt Russian language and culture

3.What did Marx mean by these words:

bourgeoisie - middle class

Proletariat – working class

means of production - ownership of assets enabling people to produce goods

class war - struggle and conflict between the rich and the poor

Socialism - sharing the wealth and the opportunities of the state

4. Why, according to Marx, was Russia unlikely to experience a revolution?

- Not enough discontented factory workers – too many peasants

5. What event in Lenin’s early life influenced him to become a revolutionary?

- His older brother was hanged for being a revolutionary

6. What was the main difference in the philosophy of the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks?

- Mensheviks believed that a period if bourgeoisie dominance was necessary and that the stages predicted by Marx were essential and inevitable – led by Leon Trotsky. Bolsheviks believed that revolution could take place if led by small groups of dedicated revolutionaries using violence – led by Lenin.

7. Why did Lenin think that a revolutionary newspaper was necessary?

- To reach other revolutionaries and

spread his ideas to a wider audience

8. Why did the birth of the Tsarevich make the royal family vulnerable?

- He had haemophilia which reduced his chances of survival to the throne and it made his mother dependent on Rasputin

9. What were the names of the Tsar’s children?

-Olga, Maria, Tatiana, Anastasia, Alexis

10. Why did Russia come into conflict with Japan in 1904?

- Russia wanted to expand in the East which conflicted with Japanese ambitions of expansion in the same area

11. Why did Russia fail in its war with Japan?

- Russia was ill-equipped, ill-prepared and severely underestimated the newly industrialised Japan

12. What were the 5 key points that Father Gapon wanted to present to the Tsar?

-8 hour day-improved working conditions-election of a constituent assembly-freedom of speech-end to the war with Japan

13. What evidence was there that the Bloody Sunday march was intended to be peaceful?

- Family groups, religious icons, led by religious leaders

14. What did the Tsar promise in the October Manifesto?

- Freedom of speech, promise of a trial if charged, a Duma to approve all new laws, voting qualifications to be lowered

15. What were the ‘Black Hundreds’?

- Gangs of conservative supporters of the Tsar’s counter revolution who murdered opponents of the Tsar

16. Was the 1905 Revolution a failure or not? Why?

-Over all it was a failure – nothing really changed- the Tsar remained in power

17. What was a ‘soviet’?

- A committee, set up spontaneously by supporters of the revolution

18. What were the main difficulties that the Duma faced?

-the Tsar retained ultimate power and sole right to dissolve the Duma, he did not enact their recommendations, he resented them

19. What were Stolypin’s land reforms supposed to achieve?

-he believed that by allowing land to be bought by the peasants they would increase productivity and a new class of peasant landowners would develop-there were some good effects but it needed a longer time to show positive results

20. How did Stolypin deal with civil disorder?

- He ruthlessly put down civil disruption by hanging- the noose came to be known as ‘Stolypin’s necktie’

21. What event was celebrated by the aristocracy in 1913?

- 300 years of Romanov rule

22. Why did Russia enter WWl?

- Russia had an alliance with France and stepped in to defend the Balkan nations

23. Why was the name of St Petersburg changed?

- It was changed to Petrograd in 1915- Russians felt it was too ‘German’ sounding

24. What sort of problems did the ordinary soldier face in WWl?

- Lack of; supplies,food, munitions and training and competent leadership

25. What were the consequences of the Tsar becoming Commander-in-Chief in 1915?

- He left the country in control of his wife who was German born and under complete control of Rasputin, if the war was lost then the Tsar alone could be blamed

26. What did the Tsaritsa consider as her main duty as ruler during WWl?

- Preserve the autocracy

27. Why was the Russian army so demoralised in 1917?

- Troops were short of food, war was unpopular, lack of faith in the command, soldiers felt they were missing out on land distribution at home

28. What was the first major event of the 1917 February Revolution?

- Peasants began to seize land

29. How did the Duma respond to the revolution?

- It formed the Provisional Government which issued decrees

30. What were the immediate consequences for the Tsar of the February Revolution?

- His abdication

31. Which two forms of government operated out of the Tauride Palace during most of 1917?

-Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet

32. Why were the German’s keen to help Lenin return to Russia in 1917?

- Beginning a revolution would take Russia out of the war

33. What were the four main points of Lenin’s April Thesis?

- The Provisional Government was not to be supported, soldiers at the front were to fraternize, all land was to be nationalised, capitalism in Russia was to be abolished

34. Why might Soviet Order Number One have a revolutionary effect on the army?

-authority was removed from the officers, desertions increased, war weariness

35. Why might the Bolsheviks be pleased about the growing unrest in Russia in 1917?

-it gave them the opportunity to recruit support and publicise their aims

36. What were the ‘July Days’?

- Regiments of soldiers refused to go back to the front, there was civil unrest in Petrograd, the Bolsheviks were unprepared to take control, the government falsified reports that Lenin was working for the Germans, Lenin fled to Finland, many Bolsheviks were arrested

37. Why did Kornilov attempt to send troops into Petrograd?

-PM Kerensky tried to restore order but his measures did not go far enough for some conservative army officers. General Kornilov decided to march on Petrograd and arrest Kerensky. Kerensky denounced Kornilov and asked the Soviet for help. Trotsky organised the Red Guard to protect the Provisional Government and gained a degree of legitimacy for their actions.

38. Why did the Provisional Government ultimately fail?

-it failed to end an unpopular war, it failed to transfer land to the peasants fast enough, it failed to alleviate food shortages in the cities, it failed to prevent the collapse of industrial production

39. Why was the Bolshevik Revolution successful?

- The army wanted decisive leadership, peasants were looking for faster changes to their lives and conditions, ordinary people wanted changes in the political system, Lenin was organised

40. Why did the Russians sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

-the Russian army was in disarray, Russia’s allies did not recognise the Soviet regime and did not support Russia withdrawing from the war, Ukraine declared itself independent and signed a separate peace

41. What was the function of the Cheka?

-to prevent a counter-revolution, arrest counter-revolutionaries, seek out enemies of the party

42. What was the Red Terror?

- A period following the revolution where perceived enemies of the state were destroyed

43. Which three countries sent money to help Lenin’s cause before 1917?

- Japan, Germany , USA

44. Which foreign countries supported the White Armies and why?

- Britain, France, USA and Japan. They wanted to preserve the supplies they had already invested in Russia, to keep any willing Russians fighting in the war, to challenge the Bolshevik regime, prevent Bolshevism from spreading

45. Why were the White Armies defeated?

-they were not united, their morale was low, foreign support was disillusioned with helping Russian Whites, the Red Army was well equipped and organised

46. How did War Communism impact upon ordinary people in Russia?

-food was taken for the Red Army, an expensive black market developed, fuel was short, transport stopped

47. Why was NEP an attempt at stimulating the economy?

-food requisitioning was stopped, private enterprise was allowed, compulsory labour ceased, bonuses introduced for extra work, currency was stabilised

48. Who did Lenin not want to be his ‘heir’?

-Stalin – Lenin thought he was a ‘monster’

49. Which of the Tsar’s children was rumoured to have survived the revolution?

-Anastasia and sometimes Alexis as well

50. What characteristics made Lenin a leader?

- determined, single minded, educated, orator, dedicated, ruthless