12 History

Revolution(s) in Russia Pub Quiz

1. Decide on a team name (3-5 people).2. Select a ‘scribe’ for your team.3. You will need 9 pieces of notebook paper.4. Your team’s scribe writes the team name and

numbers 1-10 on all 9 pieces of paper.

How to Play

8 Rounds, 100 points, 1 bonus question:

Read the instructions on the bottom of the Rounds handout.

• Round 1: Timeline

You will be able to answer this round’s questions at the start, and also during round two.

At the end of round two, hand in both Round 1 and Round 2 answers.

Round 2Key Historical Figures &

Setting the Scene

Round 2Key Historical Figures & Setting the Scene

1. This key figure was simple, direct, and effective. His policies were in his slogans “Peace! Bread! Land!” and “All Power to the Soviets!”

2. This key figure became Prime Minister of the Provisional Government after the July Days incident.3. This key figure was the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and was a counter-revolutionary. He

wanted to overthrow the Provisional Government. His failed coup showed how weak Kerensky’s hold on power was.

4. This key figure spent some time in exile in the US. He built and led the Red Army and appointed a Communist Party member to each fighting unit to promote Communism and to watch for anyone who criticised the government.

5. Lenin didn’t want this key figure to lead the party after his death. He hated Trotsky. He would later become the Soviet Union’s leader for years.

6. After the October Manifesto, the Tsar started a counter-revolution. Some fanatical supporters of the Tsar made the army’s job easier by murdering revolutionaries and causing pogroms around the countryside. These supporters were called ____.

7. This key figure took over Petrograd as unrest was growing and revolutionaries were gaining more and more supporters. Russia became even more unstable.

8. What percentage of the population owned most of Russia’s land and resources in the early 1900s, creating a huge gap between wealth and poverty?

9. The most feared soldiers were the ________. They broke up strikes and riots and terrified protesters.10. In 1903, the followers of Karl Marx split into two groups, the Bolsheviks and _________________.

Round 1 Answers

1. 19142. 19173. 18834. October 19055. April 19066. July 19187. 25 February 19178. 18619. 9 January 190510.1 March 1917

Round 2 answers

1. Lenin2. Kerensky3. General Kornilov4. Trotsky5. Stalin6. Black Hundreds7. Alexandra8. 1.5%9. Cossacks10.Mensheviks

Round 3Nicholas the Bloody

Round 3Nicholas the Bloody

1. Tsar Nicholas II built huge factories. He wanted to catch Russia up to Western European countries in the process of ________.

2. He didn’t like or trust his non-Russian subjects and believed they should adopt the Russian way of life. This policy is called __________.

3. Nicholas was an _____________. He believed he had been given his power by God.4. Nicholas was firmly supported by _____________.5. Soon after he came to the throne, Nicholas expanded the ____________.6. There were 3 main causes of discontent among most people in Russia: poverty & harsh living and working

conditions, Russification, and _____________.7. Nicholas II was the last Tsar of Russia. He inherited the throne from his father, Alexander III in ________.8. Who was the Tsar’s strongest supporter?9. The Tsar’s uncle, Grand Duke Sergei, was a victim of terrorism: he was blown to pieces by a bomb. Who

was responsible?10. During the Tsar’s reign, there were how many Dumas?

Round 3 answers

1. Industrialisation2. Russification3. Autocrat4. Russian Orthodox Church5. Okhrana6. Autocracy / no voice in government7. 18948. Alexandra, his German wife9. SRs (Socialist Revolutionaries)10.4 Dumas

Round 4Oh, that dreadful Sunday…&

WW1: men without guns

Round 4Oh, that dreadful Sunday…& WW1: men without

guns1. Bloody Sunday was in what year? 2. It started with a huge strike. 100,000 people marched with a petition asking for 4 things. What were the 4 things?3. How many people died on the next day?4. Who led the 200,000 people who marched peacefully?5. The leader of the march, after the shooting, said, “This is the work of our ________. There is no longer any _ for us.”6. After Bloody Sunday, there were many protests and uprisings. Even sailors refused to obey their officers on the battleship

_________.7. Liberals formed an organisation for middle class people called the Union of Unions. Revolutionaries set up ________to run

the towns and cities.8. One consequence of Bloody Sunday and the massive strike that stopped the whole country in September 1905, was the

October Manifesto. Trotsky was critical of it, saying “Today they have issued it, tomorrow they will take it away, and tear it into pieces, just as I am now tearing up this ______ before your eyes.”

9. Why did the Tsar change the name of St Petersburg to Petrograd?10. World War I went awfully for Russia and the Tsar. Morale was low, soldiers refused to fight and people at home were

starving because of it . By 1917, 8 million Russian soldiers were wounded, 2.5 taken prisoner, and ____ had been killed.

Round 4 answers1. 19052. 4 things: a) better working conditions

b) right to join unionsc) end to the Russo-Japanese ward) right to vote for a parliament

3. Hundreds (exact number unknown)4. Father Gapon5. Little Father, our Tsar. Tsar.6. Potemkin7. Soviets8. Paper freedom9. Sounded too German10. 1.7 million

Round 51917, What a Year

Round 51917, What a Year

1. The year started off freezing, hungry, and miserable. Working class women would have to queue for ____________for their families and riots became common.

2. 23 February: What happened? (intl women’s day)3. 25 February: what happened? (250,000 strikers & protests)4. Nicholas, sending a telegram from the battlefront, ordered soldiers to bring back law & order to the streets

of Petrograd. What did the soldiers do?5. 27 February: what happened? (Kerensky set up PG)6. 2 March: what happened? (tsar abdicates)7. 3 March: what happened? (hint: PG reforms)8. From 3-6 July, the sailors at the Kronstadt Naval Base attempted to overthrow the Provisional Government.

They supported the Bolsheviks. Kerensky, the war minister and then prime minister of the PG, crushed it but it showed that not everyone in Russia agreed with him. This event is called the ___.

9. The Bolshevik Revolution took place on the night of ____.10. Lenin & the Bolsheviks declared they would form a new government in the name of the Workers’ and

Soldiers’ Soviets. This is a significant moment in world history because _____.

Round 5 answers1. Bread2. International women’s Day protests3. 250,000 strikers & protesters4. Refused to fight or shoot the protestors5. Kerensky set up the Provisional Government6. Tsar is forced to abdicate the throne7. Provisional government makes reforms (like releasing political prisoners,

freedom of speech, freedom to form unions, abolition of the Okhrana, voting rights for men and women)

8. July Days9. 24-25 October10.First communist revolution in history, in the world

Round 6 Communist Changes

Round 6 Communist Changes

1. The Bolsheviks planned to change the way of life for the Russian people. Once in power, they changed their name to _____.2. Lenin thought that German workers and soldiers would be inspired by the Communist revolution in Russia and the war

would end with no loss of ______.3. In a communist society, is there private property? 4. What did Lenin allow the peasants to keep immediately after the October Revolution?5. With the idea of creating a free and equal communist society, people were declared equal regardless of wealth, gender or

race. To show this equality, people got rid of titles and what did they call each other?6. Yay or Nay: the army was disbanded.7. Yay or Nay: the old Russian Empire stayed the same.8. Trotsky negotiated peace with Germany but it was the worst deal for Russia in 300 years. They lost a lot of rich territory,

with its industry, people, and good land. They had to pay damages to Germany. It was disastrous, and many people blamed Lenin’s new government for it. However, the Bolsheviks felt they had no choice because the German army was advancing. What was the name of this peace deal?

9. When was this peace deal signed (month and year)10. Marx wrote in his communist theory that after a revolution happened, a temporary government would take charge to

prevent the old rulers and to set up the new society. What is this temporary government called in communist theory?

Round 6 answers

1. Communist Party2. Land/territory3. No – the government owns property4. Land – only because the Communists needed the support of

the peasants.5. Comrade6. Yay7. Nay8. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk9. March 191810.Dictatorship of the working class/proletariat

Round 7 Civil war &

War communism

Round 7 Civil war & War communism

1. Elections (from the Provisional Government before the revolution) were held on 25 November 1917. The people thought they were electing a Constituent Assembly (parties in a parliament). The Communists gained a majority in the elections. True or false?

2. Lenin disbanded the Constituent Assembly in January 1918. He silenced all opposition to the Communist Party by doing 4 things: taken over the Soviets (councils), outlawed all political parties, created the Cheka (Extraordinary Commission for Fighting Revolution and Sabotage) and ______.

3. By mid-1918, the Communists had 3 enemies: the British/French/US governments, the SRs and the Mensheviks, and ______.

4. The Red Army were now in civil war with the White army. Why were the anti-communist armies called the White armies?5. The Civil war lasted from mid-1918 to ______.6. Name one way Trotsky led the Red Army.7. Lenin ordered the Cheka to kill anyone suspected of being critical of the communist government, a small group who now

ran the country. Even the Tsar and his family was executed. This horrible situation lasted from 1918-1922, and thousands of people were killed. What is this time period called?

8. The economy was very bad during the Civil war, so Lenin introduced the economic policy called War Communism. There were 6 aspects of how the government took control of people’s lives. Name one aspect.

9. The peasants of Russia were not allowed to sell the produce of their farms for profit – they had to give most of it to the government. How did the peasants respond to this War Communism policy?

10. In November 1917, Lenin had announced that any nation of the old Russian Empire could break away if it wanted to. Poland, Finland, Ukraine and Georgia did break away, to their surprise. Who was the Commissar for Nationalities who then declared that only communist nations were allowed to be independent?

Round 7 answers1. False2. Abolishing freedom of the press3. Landowners/factory owners/ army generals4. Traditional colour of the Tsar5. Mid-19216. Re-instated badges, saluting, ranks, conscription. Added a Communist Party member to each

unit to spread communist thoughts and watch for complaints7. Red Terror8. A) All businesses taken over by government

b) people not allowed to buy & sell for profitc) workers conditions: longer hours/harsh discipline/ not allowed to striked) food rationede) inflation high, money lost value/ exchange goods for foodf) peasants can’t sell produce for profit – give rest to government.

9. Rebelled/uprising10. Stalin

Round 8Kronstadt and Famine

and NEP….oh my!

Round 8Kronstadt and Famine and

NEP….oh my!1. Russia was in a terrible state in 1921. Between 1917-1921, how many people had died from either disease, battle, or executions?

2. The population of Petrograd fell from 2.5 million people in 1917 to only 600,000 in 1920. They were fleeing the city to go to the countryside because there were food shortages. Why was this bad for the communists?

3. Who won the Civil War?4. Lenin crushed and punished anyone who complained about the Communist Party and its communist

policies. The way he governed Russia was starting to look very similar to the Tsar. What way of governing is this called?

5. Sailors on the naval base Kronstadt rebelled against the Communist government. They made a list of demands that included free speech, elected government, condemned the Cheka and War Communism. They wanted the promises of Communism from 1917. Trotsky led the Red Army to fight the sailors, and 15,000 sailors died. The communists won Kronstadt. What was the month and year this Kronstadt Mutiny took place?

6. How many people died in the famine of 1921-1922?7. What did some people do during the Famine to survive?8. Lenin decided the policy of War Communism had to be eased, and started a new one. What does NEP

stand for?9. Who were ‘kulaks’?10. There were 5 features of NEP, including peasants allowed to sell produce for profit. What’s one of the

other 4 features of NEP?

Round 8 answers1. 10 million2. Workers were supporters of Communist Party3. Reds / Red Army4. Autocracy5. March 19216. 5 million7. Kill all animals to eat/ eat people8. New Economic Policy9. Successful peasants who made a little more money with a good harvest10.A) ordinary people were allowed to open small businesses

b) workers conditions better c) money was re-introducedd) government controlled most of economy. It decided taxes, wages, and working hours.

Bonus Question

• List the immediate changes the Bolsheviks made when they got into power in November 1917.

Bonus Question answer• All old injustices were to be gone:Equality – comradeFactories owned by workers’ committees & decisions voted onSocial security system – injury, old age, illness, unemploymentWomen’s rights – own property, divorce easier, abortion legalised, childcareChurch – destroyed & religious teaching bannedSchools – run by student committees, no uniforms or examsRussian Empire- nations could break away if they wanted toArmy disbanded.

Tie-Breaker Question

• When did Lenin die?

Tie-breaker answer

• 21 January 1924