Tsarist Russia
Who was the last Tsar of Russia
Nicholas II
What year did the first Russian Revolution occur?
1905
In what year did the February Revolution occur?
1917
Who was the leader of the Bolsheviks in 1917?
Lenin
In what year did the Bolsheviks seize power?
1917
What event in January 1905 saw peaceful protesters fired upon in St Petersburg?
Bloody Sunday
What major war contributed to unrest in Russia in 1905?
Russo-Japanese War
What happened to Nicholas II as a result of the February Revolution?
He abdicated
What were Lenin's April Theses?
A program calling for an end to support for the Provisional Government, an end to the war and transfer of power to the Soviets.
Who commanded the Red Guards during the October Revolution?
Leon Trotsky
What promised civil liberties and representation, temporarily reducing revolutionary pressure?
The October Manifesto
Which mass strike paralysed much of Russia and pressured Nicholas II into making concessions?
The October General Strike
What was Dual Power?
The coexistence of the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet as competing sources of authority.
What did Lenin mean by "All Power to the Soviets"?
Political authority should be transferred from the Provisional Government to the Soviets.
Why was the October Revolution sometimes described as a coup?
The Bolsheviks seized key institutions through a relatively organised and limited military operation rather than a spontaneous mass uprising.
Why did the Tsarist regime survive the 1905 Revolution but collapse in 1917?
The regime made concessions in 1905 and retained military support, whereas war, economic crisis and military failure undermined these supports by 1917.
Why did the 1905 Revolution fail to overthrow Nicholas II?
The government retained enough military support, while the revolutionary opposition was divided and concessions weakened the movement.
Why did the Provisional Government struggle to maintain popular support?
It continued the war, failed to resolve land shortages and faced competition from the Soviets.
Why did Lenin's leadership matter to the Bolshevik seizure of power?
He provided clear political objectives, adapted Bolshevik strategy to changing circumstances and pushed the party towards revolution.
How did Trotsky contribute to Bolshevik victory?
He organised the Military Revolutionary Committee and coordinated the seizure of strategic points in Petrograd.
To what extent was Nicholas II personally responsible for the collapse of Tsarism?
Moderate; we should weigh his commitment to autocracy and poor decisions against structural problems such as war, economic hardship and social tensions.
How did the events of 1905 foreshadow the revolutions of 1917?
They exposed the weakness of Tsarist authority, established precedents such as Soviets and revealed the potential for mass strikes and popular mobilisation.
Why did the Provisional Government fail to consolidate power between February and October 1917?
Its commitment to continuing WWI, failure to resolve land and economic problems, and rivalry with the Soviets allowed the Bolsheviks to increase their support.
Was Lenin primarily an ideological revolutionary or a pragmatic politician?
We should recognise both: his Marxist ideological commitment shaped his goals, but he repeatedly adapted strategy to circumstances.
Why was October 1917 possible when February 1917 had not produced a stable democratic government?
The Provisional Government failed to address war, land and economic problems, while the Bolsheviks became increasingly effective at exploiting these failures.