Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917-41 | Edexcel GCSE History (1HI0)

Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917-41

171 questions
16 subtopics
Paper 3
Paper 3

Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–41 is examined in Paper 3, Modern depth study.

It covers the growth of opposition to the tsar in early 1917, the February Revolution, the Provisional Government, the Bolshevik Revolution, early consolidation of power, 1917–18, the Civil War, 1918–21, moves towards totalitarianism, 1917–24, economic and social change, 1918–24, the struggle for power, 1924–28, the use of terror in the 1930s, propaganda and censorship, 1924–41, the Cult of Stalin, agriculture and collectivisation, 1924–41, changes in industry, 1924–41, life in the Soviet Union and the position of women and ethnic minorities.

Sample questions from Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917-41

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The growth of opposition to the tsar in early 1917

What effect did wartime inflation have on workers' wages?

Show the answer
Prices rose far faster than pay, so real earnings fell and many workers could no longer afford bread or fuel.
The Provisional Government

What was the Petrograd Soviet?

Show the answer
A council of elected representatives of the workers and soldiers of the capital, which spoke for the factories and the garrison.
Early consolidation of power, 1917–18

What did the early decrees do to titles and ranks?

Show the answer
Aristocratic titles and army ranks were swept away, and everyone was to be addressed simply as citizen or comrade.
Moves towards totalitarianism, 1917–24

Why was a mutiny at Kronstadt such a shock to the Bolsheviks?

Show the answer
The sailors of the island fortress guarding Petrograd had been among their most loyal supporters in 1917.
The struggle for power, 1924–28

What were Trotsky's weaknesses?

Show the answer
He was arrogant and made enemies easily, had joined the Bolsheviks late, and his command of the army and talk of world revolution alarmed the other leaders.
Propaganda and censorship, 1924–41

How was history taught in Soviet schools?

Show the answer
It was rewritten to glorify Stalin and the revolution, and anyone who fell from favour was cut out of the textbooks and even out of photographs.
Agriculture and collectivisation, 1924–41

What was a kolkhoz?

Show the answer
A collective farm on which villagers pooled their land, animals and tools, worked them together and handed the state a fixed quota before sharing what was left.
Life in the Soviet Union

What was daily life like on a collective farm?

Show the answer
Peasants worked to quotas for very little, lived in poor cottages without electricity, and relied on the vegetables and animals of their private plots.

The 16 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The growth of opposition to the tsar in early 1917	Peasant land hunger, workers' slums, the bread shortage of 1916–17, inflation and wages, the socialist parties, Tannenberg, Nicholas II at the front, the war economy, the suspended Duma and conscription's effect on the countryside.	10
The February Revolution	The strikes of February 1917, the Putilov lockout, the crowds' demands, the Tsar's order to fire, the garrison's mutiny and what followed, Nicholas at Mogilev, his train halted at Pskov and his abdication.	10
The Provisional Government	Prince Lvov's temporary government and the promised Constituent Assembly, Dual Control and the Petrograd Soviet, Soviet Order Number 1 and its effect, Kerensky's posts, the failed June offensive, peasant land seizures, and the Kornilov Revolt and why it helped the Bolsheviks.	11
The Bolshevik Revolution	Lenin's return in the sealed train, the April Theses, 'Peace, Bread, Land', rising Bolshevik membership, the July Days and their aftermath, the Red Guards' seizure of Petrograd, Trotsky's Military Revolutionary Committee, the Winter Palace, Lenin's part in the October rising and why it succeeded.	11
Early consolidation of power, 1917–18	The Decrees on Land and Peace, promises to workers, nationalised banks, the end of titles, the Constituent Assembly and its closure, the banning of rival parties, the Romanovs' deaths and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.	13
The Civil War, 1918–21	The Reds and the Whites, why civil war broke out in 1918, foreign intervention, the Czech Legion, the White commanders Kolchak, Denikin and Yudenich, the effects on ordinary Russians, Trotsky's contribution, the Bolsheviks' territorial advantages, White weaknesses and how intervention helped the Reds.	10
Moves towards totalitarianism, 1917–24	The Cheka, the Red Terror and its victims, what terror achieved and cost, the Kronstadt Mutiny of 1921 and its crushing, the Politburo, the ban on factions and the creation of the USSR.	10
Economic and social change, 1918–24	Why War Communism was introduced, state-run industry and grain requisitioning, why it was hated, Lenin's change of course, the New Economic Policy and its critics and results, and policy on women, education and religion.	13
The struggle for power, 1924–28	Stalin's post as General Secretary and his weaknesses, Trotsky's strengths and weaknesses, Kamenev and Zinoviev, Bukharin and the New Economic Policy, Socialism in One Country, Lenin's funeral, how Stalin defeated his rivals one at a time and where they stood by 1928.	10
The use of terror in the 1930s	The murder of Kirov in 1934, why Stalin purged the party and who was caught up, the purge of the armed forces and its cost, the wider consequences, the NKVD and night-time arrests, the gulags and their conditions, and the show trials of 1936–1938 and why they were held in public.	12
Propaganda and censorship, 1924–41	Socialist realism and the fate of artists who ignored it, rewritten history, obedience taught in schools and youth movements, the attack on religion, control of the press and Pravda, and the 1936 Constitution's promises.	10
The Cult of Stalin	What the cult was and why Stalin wanted it, how it shielded him from blame and justified the terror, portraits, faked links to Lenin, renamed cities, writers and film-makers, Pravda and the plain tunic.	10
Agriculture and collectivisation, 1924–41	The grain problem under the New Economic Policy, why industry needed farming changed, the kolkhoz and the state farm, Machine Tractor Stations, the kulaks, peasant resistance, the Ukrainian famine, and what collectivisation achieved and cost.	11
Changes in industry, 1924–41	Why Stalin wanted speed, industry under the New Economic Policy, Gosplan, the first Five-Year Plan and Magnitogorsk, the later plans, failing managers, Stakhanov and his movement, and the achievements and failures of industrialisation.	10
Life in the Soviet Union	Crowded town housing, harsh factory work and what workers gained, life on a collective farm, internal passports, rationing and queues, the groups who did best and those who suffered most, the gap between skilled and unskilled wages, and new chances for able young people from poor homes.	10
The position of women and ethnic minorities	Stalin's family policy and why earlier freedoms were reversed, women's double burden of work and home, the jobs women took, help for working mothers, women's political position, early policy towards the nationalities, Russification under Stalin, the deportation of frontier peoples and the suppression of minority religions and customs.	10

Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917-41 is 171 of the 2,881 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £7

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.