Source A
Petrograd
at the beginning of 1917
The
industrial workers are very discontented because of
the impossibility of obtaining goods, the endless
queuing, the poor housing and the lack of
fuel. All these conditions have created a
desperate situation in which savage hunger riots are
likely to break out.
from
a Tsarist police report (early 1917)
|
Question
1a
Why
was there widespread discontent in Petrograd at the
beginning of 1917? Explain your answer
using Source A and your own knowledge.
(6 marks)
|
Source A
Petrograd
at the beginning of 1917
The
industrial workers are very discontented because of
the impossibility of obtaining goods, the endless
queuing, the poor housing and the lack of
fuel. All these conditions have created a
desperate situation in which savage hunger riots are
likely to break out.
from
a Tsarist police report (early 1917)
|
Source
B
A
cartoon published in 1916.
the
words in the cartoon mean 'The Russian Royal House'.
|
Question
1b
Is
Source B more useful than Source A to an
historian studying discontent in Russia at the
beginning of 1917? Explain
your answer using Sources A and B and your own
knowledge.
(7 marks)
|
Source
C
Discontent
in Petrograd
This
is a hooligan movement. Young people run
around and shout that there is no bread, simply to
create excitement. If the weather were
very cold they would all probably stay at
home. All this will pass and become calm,
if only the Duma will behave itself.
from
a letter sent by Tsarina
Alexandra
to Tsar Nicholas II on 26 February (11 March) 1917.
Duma
means Parliament.
|
Question
1c
Is
Source C reliable as evidence about discontent
in Petrograd in early 1917?
Explain
your answer using Source C and your own knowledge.
(6 marks)
|
Source
D
Trotsky's
interpretation of the February (March) Revolution
Who
led the February Revolution? We can answer
easily enough. It was the workers educated
for the most part by the party of Lenin.
Petrograd achieved the Revolution. The
rest of the country simply followed its
lead. There was no struggle anywhere
except in Petrograd..
from
History of the Russian Revolution (1936) by Leon
Trotsky.
Source
E
Another
interpretation of the February (March) Revolution
Most
historians have concluded that the February Revolution
was not planned. the Tsarist government
collapsed because of its own weakness and the problems
caused by the First World War. The
Bolsheviks were not very active in the
Revolution. At the time, the Bolsheviks
only had 25,000 members and their leader, Lenin was
far away in exile. He was completely taken
by surprise by the news from Petrograd.
from
Russia and the USSR 1905-1991 (1997) by Philip
Ingram.
This
book was written for use in British schools.
|
Question
1d
Sources
D and E give different reasons for the success of
the February (March) Revolution of 1917.
Why do you think their interpretations differ? Explain
your answer using Sources D and E and your own
knowledge. (7 marks)
|
Question
1e
"The
February (March) Revolution was caused by the defeat
of Russia in the First World War." Do
you agree or disagree with this interpretation?
Explain your answer using the Sources and your own
knowledge. (10 marks)
|
|
