Russia

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Russia Exam Part A

• Or, how to succeed in analysis by really trying

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• Glenn Matthews
• Melbourne
• Grammar School

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• The examination is worth 50 of total study score
• School study scores (SAC marks) are worth 50 and
  are moderated against the examination and the GAT
• The examination is 2 hours in duration
• PLUS
• 15 minutes reading time

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SECTION A Revolution 1 Part 1 AOS 1 2
extended responses of 12 lines each worth 10
marks Q. 1 Q. 2 10 10 20 Part 2 AOS
2 Analysis of short document, commentary or
interpretation Q. 3 a, b, c, d, e 2 2 6
10 20 SECTION B Revolution 2 Part 1 AOS
1 Extended response to a document, image or
commentary Q. 4 a, b, c, d, e, 2 2 6 10
20 Part 2 AOS 2 Essay question One
question for each revolution (they are a bit
different this year) (69 lines or less) 20
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Area of Study One

• Revolutionary Ideas, Leaders, Movement and
  Events.
• When
• The period for this area of study is
• Russian Revolution 1905 to October 1917 (Bloody
  Sunday to the Bolshevik Revolution)

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What?

• The collapse of the old regime in the following
  terms
• Political
• Economic
• Social
• Cultural
• Institutional
• Everyday
• Values
• (PESCIEV)

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Why?

• Historians have put forward different theories
  about the causes of revolution for example,
• inadequate response to structural change,
• political divisions,
• the failure of rising expectations
• the loss of authority
• the erosion of confidence in the old order.

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More Why

• Why did social tensions and ideological conflicts
  increase in the pre-revolutionary period?
• Why could social tensions and ideological
  conflicts not be contained within the traditional
  order?
• What events or circumstances eroded confidence in
  the government or weakened capacity of the ruling
  class to meet challenges to its authority?
• How important were ideas, leaders or movements in
  explaining why the revolution happened? Think
  about Marxism and Leninism versus Liberalism in
  the Russian Rev.
• How important was Lenin in bringing about the
  success of the revolution?
• Why do some historians focus more on
  circumstances and longer term developments as the
  main contributors to revolution and determinants
  of the course it would take?

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Key Knowledge

• The chronology of key events and factors which
  contributed to the revolution.
• The causes of tensions and conflicts generated in
  the old regime that many historians see as
  contributing to the revolution for example
• rising and unfulfilled class expectations
• fluctuations in economic activity
• failed attempts at economic, social or political
  reform
• perceived social or economic inequality or lack
  of political voice
• the impact of war or economic crisis that
  contributed to revolution
• the social and economic impact of WWI on Tsarist
  Russia
• The ideas and ideologies utilised in
  revolutionary struggle Marxist ideas in the
  Russian Revolution
• The role of revolutionary individuals and groups
  in bringing about change, for example in Russia
  Kerensky, Trotsky, Lenin and the Socialist
  Revolutionaries, Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.

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Key Skills

• Document the chronological events that
  contributed to the revolution.
• analyse information about the causes of tension
  and conflict in the Old Regime that contributed
  to revolution
• Analyse the ideas that were utilised in the
  revolutionary struggle
• Analyse a range of historical evidence to
  evaluate the role of revolutionary individuals
  and groups in bringing about change.
• Synthesise evidence to develop a coherent
  argument about the role of revolutionary ideas,
  leaders movements and events in the development
  of the revolution.
• Consider a range of historians interpretations

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For success you need

• Good knowledge of both areas of study of both
  revolutions
• Understanding of what the examiners are looking
  for (examination criteria)
• Clear, succinct writing style including accurate
  spelling (especially of specific terms and
  terminology of study guide) and punctuation
• Legible writing
• Lots of practice at analysis of graphics and
  texts and writing of short essays
• Lots of practice at doing sample papers and
  questions in time limit

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The Criteria

• The examination paper will address all the
  criteria. All students will be examined against
  each criterion.
• Understanding and appropriate use of historical
  terms, concepts, commentaries and interpretations
• Application of evidence to support arguments and
  conclusions
• Knowledge of the commencement, ongoing
  development and/or consolidation of the
  revolution
• Knowledge of key events, factors, individuals
  and/or groups influencing the revolution and its
  consolidation
• Analysis of the revolutionary struggle and the
  creation of a new society
• Evaluation of change in the revolution

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Historical terms

• political, social, economic, institution,
  ideology, every day values, cultural, traditional
  order, new order, rising expectations tension,
  crises, conflict, consensus, stability,
  radicalisation, foreign intervention,
  consolidation of revolution,

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Concepts

• Class, equality, freedom, poverty, change,
  continuity, autocracy, democracy, socialism,
  communism, anarcho-syndicalism, dictatorship of
  the proletariat, Dialectical Materialism
  totalitarianism, Marxist Leninism, Leadership,
  psychopath, violence, criminality, Revolution!

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Commentaries

• memoirs (memories of the events recorded at a
  later time), observations about events made at
  the time by people who did not see everything
  that they wrote about e.g.
• John Reed Ten Days that Shook the World
• Emma Goldmans writings.

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Historians interpretations.

• There is a large range of these.
• Keep it simple and concentrate on Soviet view
  versus other views.
• In this Stalinist view the Bolsheviks led the
  masses to glorious revolution, and everything
  they did was right.
• It takes the Bolshevik view to the next level of
  propaganda and does some serious editing of the
  historical record.
• Anti Soviet views cover the whole spectrum from
  Trotsky to Pipes.
• Dont get too worried about the differences
  just hammer the soviet view.

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The Stalinist, Soviet View
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Leon Trotsky Bolshevik View

• Young Trotsky
• A four of a kind son of a bitch, but the
  greatest Jew since Jesus Christ
• The American Ambassador

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E. H. Carr

• Pro Bolshevik View

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The Exam

• Examiners report and exams from 2005 onwards are
  available in full on the VCAA website.
• Just Alta Vista Victorian Curriculum Assessment
  Authority Revolutions

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Dos and Donts

• Look at old exam papers so that you are familiar
  with them, the layout, the requirements. Find
  them at the VCAA website
• Know what you have to do in Part A and Part B
  (what do you have to do?)
• How many marks do you get if you do the same rev
  twice?
• What happens when you do two revs per section?
• Do write in black pen dont write in pencil -
  this can be difficult for assessors to read.

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Dos and Donts

• Strategy dont necessarily do first question
  first. I would start with the documents and then
  go back to the 10 mark questions.
• Reading comprehension, gets the intellectual
  juices flowing, gives you something concrete to
  get underway with,
• can come straight out of reading to answering the
  questions
• Dont have to reread.
• Think about what you are going to write and jot
  some points down
• Problem is not filling the page but not filling
  it too quickly with words that lack concision and
  sentences that simply dont say enough.
• You have plenty to say you really need to plan
  a response so that you answer the question
  properly

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The Exam

• Section A Part 1

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Examiners Report

• GENERAL COMMENTS
• In 2008 assessors found a significant reduction
  in students factual knowledge and skill in
  working with documents and visual representations
  as evidence of the period.
• Poor handwriting and control of expression was
  prevalent it would be useful for students to
  practise writing neatly in defined spaces and to
  learn to spell terms accurately.
• Teachers should also remind students that pencil
  is not to be used in examinations.
• There were still a number of answers in dot point
  format students cannot obtain full marks when
  answers are presented in this way.

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2008 Examiners report

• Quite a number of students still made errors in
  their selection of options and wrote on the same
  revolution in both parts of the paper. This
  mistake meant students lost marks for one of the
  sections.
• As in the past the discriminating part of the
  paper was the response to the document and visual
  representation questions.
• Some students seemed unaware that they needed to
  use the extract or visual representation by
  direct reference to it and also use both their
  own knowledge and knowledge of historians views.

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Examiners Report

• Russia
• Knowledge of the October Manifesto was very good.
  Most students showed knowledge of the fundamental
  laws, and detailed knowledge of the failure of
  the Dumas and how this contributed to growing
  frustration.
• Question 2 on the actions of the Provisional
  Government was also handled well and students
  showed very good ability in explaining a sequence
  of events in the development of the revolution.

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The opening salvoes

• These first questions are relatively short, but
  tricky because you have to squeeze in a heck of a
  lot.
• Use relevant information dont use irrelevant
  information.
• The chief examiner is interested in language use
  in this section.
• She wants to see that you are using language
  properly to show us that you understand the
  sequence of events that contributed to the
  revolution.

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Section A Part 1

• Generally students used factual information well
  but the cues in the question to make judgements
  (how did explain the importance of
  contribute to a revolutionary situation in
  the development of the revolution) were often
  overlooked by students.
• Many students tended to just list or narrate
  whatever they knew about the topic.
• The better answers showed an ability to link the
  evidence to the question and respond to the cue
  of how did.
• Correct and specific historical terminology was
  evident in the best answers.

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Section A Part 1

• The best answers delivered an argument, as was
  required by the wording of the question, and
  delivered points chronologically.
• Overall, successful responses identified three or
  four clear points about the event or actions and
  developed an argument using precise factual
  information such as names, dates and statistics
  that were linked to the question, often using
  specific terms to indicate a relationship between
  points rather than merely implying a connection.

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Section A Part 1

• Better students demonstrated an understanding
  that revolution is a developing process.
• Medium level responses tended to have some
  accuracy, perhaps showing the students ability
  to use one piece of statistical information or
  other form of factual knowledge. They were
  general in content and loosely controlled. There
  may have been only two main ideas, which were
  described in loose terms, and other ideas were
  less relevant or of lower significance. These
  responses sometimes wandered from the timeframe
  or lacked relevance.
• Less successful answers often used only one or
  two points and expanded on them, while others
  simply developed a narrative.

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2007 Exam

• Russia 1905.October 1917
• Using three or four points, explain how Russias
  involvement in World War I contributed to the
  abdication of Tsar Nicholas II by January 1917.
  Provide evidence to support your answer.

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Section A Part 1 Russia

• Knowledge of the effect of WWI on Russia was
  generally well evidenced.
• Students mainly included three main factors
  leading to the abdication of the Tsar
• He took charge of the army
• Alexandra was left in charge of Russia
• The influence of Rasputin.
• The degree of precise factual detail often
  differentiated between those students who
  received a high score and those who received a
  medium score. Other information that could have
  been used included economic factors related to
  the war ie problems of supply
• Demoralisation and lack of belief in the current
  system
• The following is an example of a medium level
  response to Question 1.

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2007 Student Response - Medium

• Once Tsar Nicholas II involved Russia in World
  War 1 his country was plagued by problems, many
  of which lead to his abdication in January 1917.
  Firstly, by assuming command of his own army, any
  defeats at the front would hold him directly
  responsible and easy prey to Bolshevik
  propaganda. Secondly, by leaving the capital in
  the hands of Tsarina Alexandra and the mysterious
  Rasputin he was gambling Tsarist Russias future
  in the face of revolutionists such as Lenin and
  Kerensky. Not only this, but the resources poured
  into the war was astronomically considering many
  peasants were still awaiting peace, bread,
  land three things Lenin would later offer.
  Seeing the Tsar had engaged Russia in a foreign
  war and had literally (and symbolically) left
  Petrograd many of the proletariat saw this as a
  time for radical change. And seeing they made up
  82 of the population, once Nicholas didnt have
  your support he was forced to abdicate and finish
  the 300 year old Romonov dynasty.

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Part 1 Second Question 2008

• c. Russia 1905October 1917
• Using three or four points, explain how the
  formation of the Provisional Government in
  February 1917 contributed to the development of
  the Russian Revolution. Provide evidence to
  support your answer.

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High Ranking Answer 2008

• In February 1917 leaders of the fourth Duma
  formed the Provisional Government and forced the
  Tsar to abdicate. Under the leadership of Prince
  Lvov, they issued liberal democratic reforms
  which included freedom of speech and the release
  of all revolutionaries. This amnesty was a
  mistake as it allowed revolutionaries like Lenin
  to return from exile and to resume contributing
  to the revolutionary situation. Their second
  mistake was the continuance of the war, which was
  extremely unpopular among the people and resulted
  in a loss of support for the new regime. They
  instead turned to the Soviets, resulting in a
  period of Dual Government, where the
  Provisional Government held authority but no
  power and the Soviets, power but no authority.

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High Ranking Answer 2008

• This was evident in the Kornilov attack in August
  where Kerensky armed the Soviets so they could
  protect Petrograd from Kornilovs soldiers. This
  Dual Government created great political
  instability as it allowed the Bolsheviks to build
  support during September with a majority in the
  Moscow Soviet. Now armed, courtesy of Kerensky,
  Trotsky formed the Red Guard and Military
  Revolutionary Committee in preparation for armed
  insurrection. After gaining confidence in the
  Provisional governments weakness and their own
  popularity, the Bolsheviks seized power in the
  name of the Soviets on the 25th of October 1917.
  The formation of the Provisional Government in
  February 1917 was to be followed by a series of
  mistakes made, which contributed to the
  development of the revolution by all other
  parties being able to exploit these weaknesses.
  The Bolsheviks would eventually be able to
  exploit these weaknesses and successfully stage
  the October Revolution in 1917.

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Di explains it for yuz

• Typically, the medium range responses had some
  accuracy, showing the ability to identify perhaps
  one or two pieces of information. They were
  general in content and loosely controlled. There
  might have been only two main ideas, which were
  described in loose terms and other ideas might
  have been less relevant or of lower significance.
  They sometimes wandered from the time frame or
  slipped in relevance. There was little
  demonstration of the pathway to revolution.

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Section A Part Two Creating a New Society

• Document Analysis -though it could be a graphic
  or a commentary now.

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What students did last year

• Students demonstrated good ability to read and
  comprehend basic information in the documents.
  There was less skill in analysing the views
  expressed.
• Students may benefit from practise writing short
  summaries of the viewpoint contained in the
  extracts.
• Students do not need to know the school to which
  a historian belongs, rather they should know what
  the historian is saying about the revolution.

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• The majority of students were able to identify
  the relevant information directly from the
  document to answer the two questions. However, it
  was clear that students were not using the
  document by quoting from it to frame their answer
  in Questions 3c-d. It is a requirement to quote
  from the extract.
• Question 3c. was accessible to most students.
  Weaker answers told a story of events rather than
  explaining in the context of the document, using
  it, as well as including several pieces of
  additional information. Improvement is needed in
  reading the question and identifying what to
  focus on.

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Gettin it Rong

• Question 3d. was poorly done. Students seemed to
  either repeat knowledge already presented or
  compare historians.
• They did not tackle the strengths and
  limitations of the document as evidence and at
  times referred to the strengths and weaknesses of
  the event itself. There was a lot of dumping of
  learned quotes that lacked relevance to the
  context of the document and question. A typical
  weak statement was, for example, this is written
  by a historian and not someone who experienced
  the event first hand and therefore it is bias.
• Students should also learn how to use the terms
  bias and biased correctly.

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• High-scoring responses used outside factual
  knowledge to illuminate ideas presented in the
  document. Medium and weak responses either did
  not move beyond information contained in the
  document and did little more than describe or
  paraphrase the content, or on the other hand,
  they ignored the document and simply expressed
  their own knowledge.
• Most students made a generalised attempt to
  analyse the view but they must identify specific
  words in the document that provide clues to the
  position held by the author. The best approach is
  one where a historians viewpoint is explained
  and the response shows how it differs from, or
  confirms, the ideas expressed in the extract.

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Russia 1917 to 1924 Death of Lenin

• Figes, Orlando, A Peoples Tragedy, pp. 613614
• What about the argument that War Communism was a
  response to the exigencies of the civil war?
  To be sure, the Bolsheviks, like all the wartime
  governments in Europe at this time, were trying
  to control the economy in the military interests
  of the state . . . But War Communism was not just
  a response to the civil war it was also a means
  of making civil war. The civil war was not fought
  only on the battlefields. It was a fundamental
  aspect of the Bolsheviks revolutionary strategy,
  and was also fought on what they called the
  internal front, in society and the economy,
  through the policies of War Communism. Unless one
  acknowledges this fundamental fact that the
  policies of War Communism were seen by the
  Bolsheviks as an instrument of struggle against
  their social or internal enemies it is
  impossible to explain why these policies were
  kept in place for more than a year after the
  White armies had been defeated. The case for War
  Communism as inspired by ideology is also
  insufficient. Certainly, the Bolsheviks were all
  united by a fundamental belief in the possibility
  of using state coercion to effect the transition
  to socialism in a backward peasant country such
  as Russia. This was the essence of their
  ideology. They also shared a deeply ingrained
  mistrust of the market which could be defined as
  ideological. Foreign socialists were shocked by
  the violence of the Bolsheviks hatred of free
  trade. The Bolsheviks did not just want to
  regulate the market as did the socialists and
  most of the wartime governments of Europe they
  wanted to abolish it.
• urgent demands

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The questions

• a. Identify the two Bolshevik goals of War
  Communism as stated in the extract.
• i.
• ii.
• 2 marks
• b. Identify from the extract two internal types
  of battle necessary for the victory of the
  Revolution within Russia.
• i.
• ii.
• 2 marks

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The Questions

• c. Using your own knowledge and the extract,
  explain how the policy of War Communism operated
  in practice 6 Marks
• d. Explain the strengths and limitations of this
  extract as evidence to explain the Bolshevik
  victory in the Civil War from 1918 to 1921. In
  your response refer to different views of War
  Communism.

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Section A Part Two Analysis of a document

• Content
• It is important to identify relevant information
  from the document in this section.
• Questions a and b
• Keep in mind that these are meant to be easy
  questions. That is important. If they are meant
  to be easy, then the answer should be easy to
  find, not tricky or puzzling. The simplest
  response will be the right one here so dont make
  things too complex.

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Section A Part Two

• Questions c. and d. were more difficult and
  distinguished the high-performing students. In
  order to be successful in these questions,
  students needed to, firstly, use the extract by
  directly referring to parts of it to explain your
  answer and, secondly, use your own knowledge in
  part c. and d and evidence from historians in
  part d.

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Cfor Context

• Overall, students should start by referring to
  the document, noting its date, who produced it
  and the reasons why it was produced.
• Placing it against a historical background is
  necessary in order to develop and explain the
  rest of the answer.
• High-scoring responses used outside factual
  knowledge and combined this with ideas presented
  by the document.
• Medium and weaker responses either did not move
  beyond information contained in the document,
  doing little more than describing or paraphrasing
  the content, or ignored the document and just
  expressed the students own knowledge.

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More C

• Most students made a generalised attempt to
  analyse the view presented but they must identify
  specific words in the document, which are clues
  to the experiences or difficulties in the
  historical period, and use these clues for a
  focussed explanation.
• They must also provide specific factual
  information.

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Function

• The question on historiography, d., was attempted
  by most students and most students were at least
  able to refer to historiographical schools.
  Many students adopted an approach that showed
  good scaffolding of their answers.
• They addressed the question, demonstrated an
  understanding of the context and timeframe by
  referring to events and factual information,
  identified and explained strengths and historians
  that may agree and then explained limitations and
  which historians might agree.
• Providing contrasting historical viewpoints was a
  strength of such answers.
• Students are strongly discouraged from merely
  producing an outline of the perspective of
  particular historical schools without referring
  to the document material. Better answers do not
  need to label historians, and labels such as
  liberal, soviet, libertarian etc., are to
  be discouraged because they do not demonstrate
  real understanding of a particular view.

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Pipes and Bush

• Pipes is a right-wing liberal historian.
• Bush is history.

52
Orlando Figes

• Orlando Figes liberal, revisionist but dont
  worry about that stuff too much. It is what he
  says rather than the label that matters.

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Sheila Fitzpatrick

• Sheila Fitzpatrick Social Historian, but dont
  worry too much about that. Concentrate on what
  she says rather than concerning yourself too much
  with the finer points of historiographical
  perspective.

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• This is also Sheila Fitzpatrick

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Another Sheila F.

• Do not trust the views of this particular Sheila
  Fitzpatrick.

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Historiography

• It is much better to know what a historian said
  about an event, incident, person, period of
  history and the evidence they use to support your
  view.
• Therefore students need to practise measuring
  views expressed in documents against historians
  or contemporaries views of particular events.

57
How the questions were answered

• Students had little difficulty with the short
  questions. Responses to Question 3c. showed that
  most students had good knowledge of the way War
  Communism functioned, although surprisingly, many
  answers did not show precise knowledge of the use
  of terror.

58
The Tricky Stuff

• It appeared that Question 3d. presented many
  students with problems because they did not
  answer the question aboutBolshevik victory in
  the Civil War. Instead students wrote again
  about War Communism or Civil War but did not
  write about alternative reasons for victory
  outside of Bolshevik actions. Many students
  simply delivered a comparison of views about War
  Communism. Students must pay attention to the
  question and break it down. A surprising number
  of students claimed that the limitation of the
  piece was that the historian ignored the violence
  of the Cheka. Students should be aware of the
  historians work as a whole since Figes devotes
  much space to discussion of the brutality of the
  Cheka. Students should have been able to grasp
  that Figes argues the duality of the policies
  surrounding War Communism, which he says were not
  only a means of fighting the war against external
  enemies but also a means of targeting
  counter-revolutionaries. Following is an example
  of a high level answer to Question 3c. The
  response does both things required by the
  question it quotes from the extract and uses
  additional knowledge to discuss how War Communism
  operated.

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High Level Response for C

• War Communism was introduced in 1918 to keep the
  army supplied during Civil War 1918-1921. It did
  so by placing Russia under a command economy
  where the state directly influenced the economy
  as Figes states, in the military interests of
  the state. This was achieved by the
  nationalisation of all banks, businesses and
  factories and grain requisitions. These grain
  requisitions were carried out by the cheka, who
  used force to collect the grain from peasants.
  Due to food shortage peasants were hoarding their
  grain, however due to War Communisms
  requisitions over 7 million died due to
  starvation. Through the use of violence the
  Bolsheviks succeeded in keeping the army supplied
  but this was done at the expense of their
  popularity among the people.

60
2007 Part D

• The following is a medium level response to
  Question d. This answer starts strongly with the
  extract and the student attempts to
  contextualise however, the response then falls
  into a discussion of historians views without
  linking them to the extract.

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Medium Level Response for d.

• The extract displays Lenins passion and desire
  to strive for his goals. This extract can provide
  some insight into the extreme lengths taken, such
  as the violent role of the Cheka or the extreme
  reaction to Kronstadt. Figes and Pipes both
  describe the Terror as a tragedy, as Figes book
  title says A Peoples Tragedy although Pipes
  takes a much more conservative viewpoint and far
  more anti Bolshevik and therefore anti Terror,
  whereas Figes accepts the socialist views, but
  condemns the terror. Pipes is more influenced by
  the American conservatism or reds under the
  bed. There are few weaknesses in this extract to
  explain the terror, it is an extreme and in a way
  of lexicon, violent extract, with the emphasis on
  parasites.

62
Appendix - Earlier Examples

• 2005 Exam

63
2005 Richard Pipes

• Russia November 19171924 death of Lenin
• Pipes on Lenins attitude to the Russian civil
  war
• To Lenin it the civil war meant the global
  class conflict between his party, the vanguard of
  the proletariat, and the international
  bourgeoisie class war in the most
  comprehensive sense of the term, of which the
  military conflict was only one dimension. He not
  only expected civil war to break out immediately
  after his taking power, but took power in order
  to unleash it. For him the October coup détat
  would have been a futile adventure if it did not
  lead to a global class conflict. Ten years before
  the revolution, analysing the lessons of the
  Paris Commune, Lenin agreed with Marx that its
  collapse was caused by its failure to launch a
  civil war. From the moment the World War broke
  out, Lenin denounced pacifistic socialists who
  called for an end to the fighting. True
  revolutionaries did not want peace This is a
  slogan of philistines and priests. The
  proletarian slogan must be civil war. Civil
  war is the expression of revolution . . . wrote
  Bukharin and Preobrazhenskii in a widely read
  manual of Communism. Trotsky put it even more
  bluntly Soviet authority is organised civil
• war. From such pronouncements it should be
  evident that the civil war was not forced on the
  Communist leaders by the foreign and domestic
  bourgeoisie it lay at the heart of their
  political program.
• Reference Richard Pipes, Russia Under the
  Bolshevik Regime, 19191924, pp. 56

64
QandA

• a. Name two things civil war meant to Lenin
  according to Pipes.
• the beginning of global class conflict between
  his party, the vanguard of the proletariat, and
  the international bourgeoisie
• ii. class war in the most comprehensive sense
  of the term, of which the military conflict was
  only one dimension.
• 2 marks

65
QandA

• b. What two reasons are given by Pipes that Lenin
  regarded the October coup détat as futile
  without civil war?
• i. The survival of the revolution - analysing the
  lessons of the Paris Commune, Lenin agreed with
  Marx that its collapse was caused by its failure
  to launch a civil war.
• ii. Took power in order to unleash it civil
  war.
• 2 marks

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The responses

• Strangely, weaker students sometimes did better
  on these questions. They knew little so relied on
  the document entirely and often got it right. It
  is after all just reading comprehension.
• Stronger students were sometimes inclined to
  write from their own knowledge and ended up with
  less well directed answers.

67
The Context question

• Using your own knowledge and the extract, explain
• why the Bolshevik government supported the civil
  war
• Lenin drew on lessons from Paris Commune which
  collapsed due to lack of Civil War.
• He took power in order to unleash it.
• Provided a chance for Lenin to use Trotsky, the
  Red Army and Dzerzhinskys Cheka to defeat White
  Armies of Denikin, Wrangel, Yudenich, Kolchak and
  other internal opposition and consolidate power.

68
The Context second question

• ii. why Pipes says the Bolshevik governments
  support for the civil war lay at the heart of
  their political
• program.
• For Pipes, violence was all they really
  understood
• Trotskys direct statement that Soviet authority
  is organised civil war.
• For Pipes, the Lenin, Trotsky, Sverdlov and the
  other Bolsheviks were violent thugs, so war is
  just Bolshevism flying its true colours notes
  elsewhere the summary executions, intolerance of
  opposition, concentration camps and generally
  repressive policies and corrupt abuse of power
• Could with some justification argue that their
  political program contained little else, judged
  on the failure of War Communism in political and
  economic terms.
• 3 3 6 marks

69
Historiographical question

• Explain the usefulness of this extract in
  understanding the role of the civil war in
  establishing a new political order and a new
  society up to 1920.
• We now have terms like strengths and weakness, or
  significance in this section.

70
Historiography

• This is an invitation to engage with
  historiography.
• The first 3 or 4 lines should be directed at a
  Pipes versus others line of discussion.
• You must then move on to the things suggested by
  the document and address yourself to the question
  of the New Society and the role of the civil war
  and hence leaders like Lenin, Trotsky, the Red
  Army, War Communism, the Cheka, the White Army
  and assess how useful this document is to helping
  us understand these elements.
• A document should always be partially, never
  wholly useful or useless.
• Show that you have skills in evaluation.Show your
  awareness of its strengths and weaknesses and
  other points of view.

71
Historiography

• Show us some HISTORY. Ie
• Names of the leaders of the White Armies
  Kolchak, Yudenich, Denikin, Wrangel, Kornilov.
• The Foreign Intervention by USA, Britain, Japan
  etc
• An understanding of Trotskys role leading,
  rallying and organising the Red Army from his
  train.
• War Communism, the failure of grain
  requisitioning, the collapse of the economy, the
  antagonism of the population to both sides.
• How Bolsheviks misrepresent themselves as in
  control lurched from crisis to crisis.
• War Communism a retrospective term
• Show the limitations and strengths of the source.
  How Pipes understates Bolshevik support at
  least 25 as a minimum they had mass backing for
  their policies
• Why is the source incomplete?
• Pipes is a committed anti-Bolshevist. Liberal
  Historians tend to concentrate on individual
  decision makers

72
Historiography

• Lenin viewed as weak, lying and bent on violence
  and destruction.
• Whose view (in socioeconomic terms) is reflected.
• We know it shows only one view you must go
  further to indicate what views are not shown.
• Ie The Liberal View of Pipes attacks the Soviet
  view of Lenin and the Bolsheviks, but lacks the
  understanding of the masses of social historians
  like Read, Fitzpatrick or Christian, which means
  that, as Wheatcroft points out, the Bolshevik
  domination of the Soviets and their mass support
  is completely discounted.

73
Sample Response

• This extract is limited in its usefulness, as it
  is written as an interpretation of Lenins psyche
  from a Liberal perspective. Liberal historians
  generally concentrate on the revolution from
  above and tend to ignore the influence of the
  people in establishing the new order. As a
  Liberal historian, Pipes is obviously bised
  against the communist ideas of Lenin and
  therefore focuses on his and the Bolsheviks
  political program and does not acknowledge the
  tactfulness and sheer determination that other
  historians may credit Lenin for. Though Pipes
  points out Lenins apparent agenda for civil
  war, he fails to recognise the underlying
  political factors that influenced the people of
  Russia to deal with threats of counter-revolution
  from royalists and moderates alike.

74
Another Sample

• The extract is useful as it presents key
  Bolshevik leaders views on the role of the civil
  war in consolidating their power. It displays the
  militaristic and violent nature of the party and
  consequently, the new political order. It also
  implies that violence was a key aspect of shaping
  the new society. This extract however, does not
  include factors such as economic pressure and
  social discontent that also played a vital role
  in determining the new society. Although not
  affecting the militaristic nature, it does not
  account for the impact of War Communism that
  undermined the support for a socialist state, nor
  the growing unpopularity of the Bolsheviks that
  pressured for a change from the communist ideals.