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Want help with Russian History essays? :)

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Reply 80
Hi - this is an awesome thread :smile:

Could you help me with the essay title 'Assess the view that the urban working classes of Russia were treated worse by the communist rulers than by the Tsars in the period from 1855 to 1964.'

Any help would be great

Cheers :smile:
Reply 81
short term impact of teh emancipation on russia
Reply 82
help me say why Russia is responsible for the Great war? a thesis would be extremely helpful
Original post by crocker710
Right; back home from Uni for New Years and so I thought I'd try help a few people out with their Russia essays,

Post any Questions you have here; I'll try get back to you ASAP, It'll prob. be quicker if you quote me, or quicker still if you inbox me,

fire away!


WHAT WAS THE IMPACT OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR ON RUSSIAN SOCIETY AND POLITICS?

Any help would be appreciated :smile:
Reply 84
Just wondering if someone can read over this essay I have just done and give me some advice on how I could further improve it. As a class we haven't really gone through Khrushchev in enough detail to use him in our essays yet.


"How far do you agree that the establishment of Stalin in power was the most important turning point in the development of the Russian government in the period from 1855-1956."
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 85
Original post by HKDSP
Just wondering if someone can read over this essay I have just done and give me some advice on how I could further improve it. As a class we haven't really gone through Khrushchev in enough detail to use him in our essays yet.


"How far do you agree that the establishment of Stalin in power was the most important turning point in the development of the Russian government in the period from 1855-1956."


Hiya I've just read over your essay, and there's a few points I think which will help you improve it.

With a turning points question, the best thing to do is address the named (if present) theme first. Point out where it agrees with the statement and give a couple of examples which illustrate your point, these don't need to be too detailed for this essay, just illustrative. If apporpriate, look at the long or short term effects, after all the event doesn't have to have any affect at the time it was conceived but could still be considered 'the most important'. Not as appropriate in this scenario, but very helpful in other turning point questions assess the themes for their impact on society, the economy and politics, this should help you compare themes for significance. Secondly try find a reason why the named theme could go against the quotation. This will allow you to find a path to introduce a other themes which could be conceived to be the biggest turning point. Try to find a theme which trumps the named theme for impact, for example if the named theme changed the economy, try find another theme which changed the economy more, or on a complete reverse, if it didnt change the economy at all, find one which changed it extensively. Repeat this until you've gone over three or four themes and conclude.



That was quite generic, more specifically with this essay:

Stalin's power struggle between 1924-8 and subsequent repressive style of government was significant in the long term as it set the tone for the whole of the CCCP's time in power. Secondly it put in place large government which was, again, the theme of the USSR. As you can probably tell by my clutching at straws, I don't think it's the most significant.

Other key areas to the change of Government could be

1905 'Revolution' - creation of the Duma
1917 Feb - new hope, liberal government
1917 Oct - complete change of ideological approach - would be my strongest theme

could possibly include the Emancipation of the Surfs to get Alexander II into the essay, and Alexander III with the way he was attempting to take the country down the constitutional monarchy path until he was assassinated


I hope this is a bit of help, if you need anymore advise, quote me or PM me,

Tom
Reply 86
So basically topic sentences to set each theme up and find more impacting theme against the initial quotation?
Reply 87
Original post by HKDSP
So basically topic sentences to set each theme up and find more impacting theme against the initial quotation?


basic layout
(Theme / Event are interchangeable)
-Intro

-Para 1
Theme A (named theme) is significant because of X
Theme A is significant because of Y
Theme B is more significant because of Z

-Para 2
Theme B could be considered a significant event because it affected P
Theme B could be considered a significant event because it affected Q
Theme C affected P and X more and therefore is more significant

-Para 3
Theme C affected P and X and therefore is significant because it affected both
Theme C also affected I, J , K which Theme A and B didn't, therefore It's the most significant

Conclusion

Sorry for the confusing nature of this layout, but I boiled it down to its bare bones, if you still need a bit of help quote me,

Tom
Reply 88
Thanks a lot, this is a great help! Now to get this A :biggrin:
Reply 89
Original post by HKDSP
Thanks a lot, this is a great help! Now to get this A :biggrin:


Best of luck, if you want me to have a look at anymore essays just post them up, or if you've got anymore questions feel free to ask,

Tom
Reply 90
wondering if you could help me on the style of essay i should do for my exam next month and any other general tips
i'm doing the edexcel course for stalin 1924-53 at as-level (GCE)
any help would be greatly appreciated :smile:
Reply 91
Original post by crocker710
If you've stuck with a Russian History essay here's the place for you! Post up what you're stuck with and I'll give you a hand where I can. Quote me or inbox me for a quick(er) response, oh, and positive rep is always welcomed :wink:

Tom


Hello please could you help me with this essay?

‘The Russian People have never been free’. How far do you agree with this view of the Russian people in the period from 1855 to 1964?

I'm pretty sorted with the ususal themed essays, but these ones (the ones where it's mainly economic, social and political) really confuse me! How do I go about starting it?
Reply 92
Original post by ClaudMc
Hello please could you help me with this essay?

‘The Russian People have never been free’. How far do you agree with this view of the Russian people in the period from 1855 to 1964?

I'm pretty sorted with the ususal themed essays, but these ones (the ones where it's mainly economic, social and political) really confuse me! How do I go about starting it?


That's a question that seems so vast that you can't find a starting point, it took me 5 mins to find one haha! However when you get down to working out what it wants it's quite a nice question which allows you to be thematic and synoptic.

Start with the three themes political social economical

Political Freedom (AII, NII, Prov. Govt.)
- political parties only officially allowed in Russia from 1905 - 1921 so not very free
- constitutional government was considered under Alexander II but he was assassinated before it was implemented
-counter this with the provisional government granting political freedom to political exiles ect. ect.

Economical Freedom (KH, Lenin, Stalin)
- Stalin's Five Year Plans
- War communism
- NEP
- Counter this with Khrushchev attempted to create a consumer economy giving more freedom / choice

Social Freedom (AII, AIII, Lenin)
- The Third Section/Cheka/ KGB were all in place to stop complete social/ political freedom (Use this as a link with the political freedom)
- Emancipation of the Surfs allowed social mobility as peasants were not tied to the land (Use this as a link to Economic freedom)

Conclusion
I would probably go with Russian people were never free in Russia, they were offered glimpses of freedom which were swiftly removed. The only time they came close between Feb 1917 and Oct 1917 the Russian people revolted as they had lived in repressive regimes for centuries.

Sorry the social freedom's got the paragraph links but if you go political --> social --> economical you should be sorted. The plan I've outlined above is brief, if you need more help or want me to read through your essay to help you feel free to post again,

Tom
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 93
Hi.
Could you help me with a basic structure for:
"Was Stalinism really all that bad?"
I can't decide whether to do it chronologically or split it into economic, political, social etc...
Any key points you could think of would also be of help :smile:
Also, since I had to think of this essay title myself, do you have any suggestions for re-phrasing it to make it sound better?
Thanks :smile:
Reply 94
Original post by emily2406
Hi.
Could you help me with a basic structure for:
"Was Stalinism really all that bad?"
I can't decide whether to do it chronologically or split it into economic, political, social etc...
Any key points you could think of would also be of help :smile:
Also, since I had to think of this essay title myself, do you have any suggestions for re-phrasing it to make it sound better?
Thanks :smile:


Hiya Emily, I think the title could do with a bit of rewording / redirecting, what were your perimeters for coming up with the title? I suppose if you want to stick exactly with the title in hand, you could get a historians quote which suggested that stalinism was good Russia and then argue for and against in different themes (political social economical),

Tom
Reply 95
Original post by crocker710
Hiya Emily, I think the title could do with a bit of rewording / redirecting, what were your perimeters for coming up with the title? I suppose if you want to stick exactly with the title in hand, you could get a historians quote which suggested that stalinism was good Russia and then argue for and against in different themes (political social economical),

Tom


Thanks for the quick reply.
Yeah I agree with the need for rewording/redirecting. There were no perimeters basically, it just has to be a 4,500 word essay on Russia after 1881. I really struggle with this module so was stuck when thinking of a essay title.

The quote idea is good, any suggestions for historians possibly?

How about - Evaluate the view that Stalinism produced positive changes for the Soviet Union?

What are your opinions on this topic as an essay, do you think it's a suitable topic or not?
Thanks
:biggrin:
(edited 12 years ago)
Reply 96
Original post by emily2406
Thanks for the quick reply.
Yeah I agree with the need for rewording/redirecting. There were no perimeters basically, it just has to be a 4,500 word essay on Russia after 1881. I really struggle with this module so was stuck when thinking of a essay title.

The quote idea is good, any suggestions for historians possibly?

How about - Evaluate the view that Stalinism produced positive changes for the Soviet Union?

What are your opinions on this topic as an essay, do you think it's a suitable topic or not?
Thanks
:biggrin:


Hmm, if you've got 4500 words that's about 10 pages of standard size text so you need a good topic with a lot of documentation and literature about it. Although Stalin is a huge and potentially significant area of Russian history I would suggest looking at possibly 1917 as a whole (both 'revolutions').

What level is this essay targeted at? (AS A2 or Undergrad?)

You could try find a quote which went along the lines of
'Revolutions in Russia were the most significant turning point in it's modern history, It affect every aspect of Russian life'. Discuss.

I would try help you with a quote but as a lot of my books are at my Uni I can't until the end of next week sorry.

If you went with something like this you can get a nice view of over 100 years under the last 2 Tsars and all of the soviet leaders. It should provide you with enough material to get your word count, because the worst thing is writing a great essay but being too far under the word count.

Possible areas of exploration are

-Political
-Ideological
-Style of government
-democracy/autocracy?

-Social
-Live/conditions of peasants
-Live/conditions of working class
-Role of women in society

-Economic
-General living standards compared to the rest of the economically developed world / income / average GDP
-Production figures in raw materials

each of these would provide you with a good 400 words of comparing the change the revolutions brought to russia with other turning points.

I've written quite extensively about how to do a decent turning points question with examples, but if you need any help feel free to get back to me I'll be able to give you some good tips on how to get a firm essay,

Tom
Reply 97
Original post by crocker710
If you've stuck with a Russian History essay here's the place for you! Post up what you're stuck with and I'll give you a hand where I can. Quote me or inbox me for a quick(er) response, oh, and positive rep is always welcomed :wink:

Tom


Hi,

I'm doing the OCR Course 'Russia and it's Rulers 1855 - 1964' and was wondering if you could please help me with the content and how to structure the following two essays synoptically.

- 'Communist and Tsars ruled Russia in the same way.' How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964?

- Assess the view that Russia's rulers were opposed to change during the period from 1855 to 1964.

Thanks :smile:
Reply 98
Original post by meg162
Hi,

I'm doing the OCR Course 'Russia and it's Rulers 1855 - 1964' and was wondering if you could please help me with the content and how to structure the following two essays synoptically.

- 'Communist and Tsars ruled Russia in the same way.' How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964?

- Assess the view that Russia's rulers were opposed to change during the period from 1855 to 1964.

Thanks :smile:


for the first essay about style of government your themes could be, size of government, repression, democracy, ideology ect. ect. find the general status quo of Tsarist rule in each and contrast that with the communist leaders, try use a different Tsar to illustrate different points, but make sure it's the general typical view of the Tsars. Contrast this with Stalin Lenin and Khrushchev and see if anything did change, bare in mind it does not ask you about the prov. Govt. but might be worth using that as a good conclusion of how Russia had the potential to change in Feb 1917 but that road was blocked by the october revolution.

The second essay is a simple political social economical style essay. Go through each showing where there was reluctance to change or a need for change. Good examples are the Emancipation of the Surfs which showed dramatic change but was curbed with the mir, the october manifesto which promised huge change for Russia but didn't happen as the Tsar flooded the parliament with pro-Tsarist supporters and the Five Year Plans of Stalin he knew he needed to industrialise before Germany attacked. there's an example for each where change occurred, give examples where Tsars/Communists didn't allow for change, such as Alexander III de-liberalising after AII was assassinated, the huge increase in political repression under communists ect. ect. I would probably conclude that Russian leaders were reluctant to change, but their arm was forced as if they did not they would crumble.

Anymore help just quote me, hope this helped,

Tom
Reply 99
Hi, just wondering if i could get a hand with the structure and possible themes of the following;

Opposition to the government was ineffective in the the period 1855-1964, how far do you agree?


and


asses the view that the communist did less then the tsars to improve the lives of the the working class


PS does anyone know the weightings for the coursework and the exam at A2? because i got two As in the coursework and want to know how much of my grade this is worth at A2, thanks in advance.

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