Russia - Exam Style Questions

Inference Questions 

1a) What can you learn from the source about the effects of the Russian offensive of July 1917 on the Russian soldiers?

our offensive against the Germans, which began on 6 July, is turning into a massive catastrophe. It could bring down the government. A sudden and disastrous change has occurred in the attitude of the troops. Authority and obedience no longer exist. For hundreds of miles one can see deserters, armed and unarmed, in good health and in high spirits. They are making their way home and they know that they will no be punished 

I can learn from the source that the July offensive caused a huge change in the attitude of Russian soldiers. The source suggest that this change was 'sudden and disastrous' and had made them so unwilling to go on with the fighting that it might 'bring down the government'. I can also learn that many of the soldiers were deserting the army and returning home in a dangerously energetic mood ('good health and high spirits') 

1b) Describe the key features of the July Days. 

The July Days were an attempt by the Bolsheviks in July 1917 to take over power from the Provisional Government. The bolsheviks successfully stirred up trouble for the PG by drawing attention to the failures of the war, bread rationing and the lack of reform. 

During the July Days, the PG sent troops to clear the streets. Trotsky and several other Bolshevik leaders were arrested. Lenin had to go into exile. This meant that the PG stayed in charge and that the Bolsheviks were seen as troublemakers. 

1c) Explain the effects of Stalin's policy of collectivisation on the Soviet Union. 

One effect of Collectivisation was to change the way peasants lived and worked. By 1935 over 90% of farmland had been collectivised, meaning that the vast majority of peasant now worked on state-controlled Sovkozy or Kolkhozy. Their working methods had been changed so that they were involved in more efficient production of grain using tractors and other mechanised technology. 

A further effect was the death of over 3 million people, most of these in the Ukraine, who had resisted collectivisation. This had led o Stalin deciding that the region should be punished when famine struck in 1932-33. Moverover, the kulaks had been destroyed as a class because of their opposition to collectivisation and because they were convenient to blame for the slow progess of the policy. 

Thirdly, collectivisation had led by 1935 to grain production and the number of animals beginning to return to their pre-war levels. This helped the state to feed workers in the city and sell surplus abroad, which meant that the industrialisation programme benefited and the Soviet Union became economically stronger. 

A link between these effects of collectivisation is that it led to Stalin gaining more control over the soviet union. He was able to force the vast majority of peasants onto collective farms, punishing those who resisted, and he was therefore able to push ahead the plans to use collectivisation to modernise the nation.

1d) Explain why Stalin became the leader of the…