[AbominableSnowman]

(Original post by ABCstudent)
also what were the main factors in causing the october revolution?
Like would you say-
The War and the hardships it brought
Social conditions before the war and during the war
like what else?
thanks

-Role of Lenin/Bolsheviks in general; "Peace Bread Land", "All Power to the Soviets", "Land To The Peasants", April Theses, kept the Bolsheviks out of the PG so that they weren't tarred with the same brush as the other socialist parties who "sold out" to join the coalition. Lenin persuading Trotsky to defect and join the Bolsheviks; establishment of the MRC. Lenin manipulating the Marxist dialectic to suggest that the time was right for a socialist revolution, despite the Bourgeois revolution only just occurring.

-Bring in the Kornilov affair, and the Milyukov letter.

-Mention the fact that Soviet order number 1 undermined the coalition government from the very outset. Plus, the fact that thePG wasn't elected meant that the Russian people had no constitutional obligation to follow its orders.

-The fact that the PG postponed the "land question" until after a constituent assembly was formed; thus leading to a disgruntled peasantry.

[ABCstudent]

(Original post by AbominableSnowman)
-Role of Lenin/Bolsheviks in general; "Peace Bread Land", "All Power to the Soviets", "Land To The Peasants", April Theses, kept the Bolsheviks out of the PG so that they weren't tarred with the same brush as the other socialist parties who "sold out" to join the coalition. Lenin persuading Trotsky to defect and join the Bolsheviks; establishment of the MRC. Lenin manipulating the Marxist dialectic to suggest that the time was right for a socialist revolution, despite the Bourgeois revolution only just occurring.

-Bring in the Kornilov affair, and the Milyukov letter.

-Mention the fact that Soviet order number 1 undermined the coalition government from the very outset. Plus, the fact that thePG wasn't elected meant that the Russian people had no constitutional obligation to follow its orders.

-The fact that the PG postponed the "land question" until after a constituent assembly was formed; thus leading to a disgruntled peasantry.

Thank you so so much
so is that similar to the causes of the february revolution?

[AbominableSnowman]

(Original post by ABCstudent)
Thank you so so much
so is that similar to the causes of the february revolution?

Not exactly, when you're thinking February revolution, don't bring in the Bolsheviks, focus on the negative aspects of the war, inflation, food shortages etc. and Nicholas' weak leadership e.g assuming the role as Commander in Chief of the armed forces and travelling to the front line, and dismissing the Duma, and ignoring the call for a "Government of national confidence". You can talk about Rasputin also, he had an unairing degree of influence in the government and their affairs whilst tales of his sexual debauchery angered many Russians. Many also thought that the Tsarina was sabotaging the war effort due to her Germanic origin, all in all; the combination of a German and the mad monk running the country in the Tsar's absence was always going to be a recipe for disaster.

[Mr Paranoid]

I'm nervous now, kinda feel like i'm going to screw up again

Think i might be forced into question 1 and 2 since i'm not that confident on the later period, although it depends entirely on what it is i guess, i've seen some really nice questions 3's with Stolypin's reforms and whatnot.

[ABCstudent]

THANK YOU snowman!!


ah don't worry "Mr paranoid" I'm sure you will do great
i hope they ask about the october revolution and witte. i haven't revised anything else properly

[shaminn]

Good luck all! It's going to be hell on earth.

[shaminn]

How did everyone find the exam? We are allowed to discuss it because its an AQA exam so it's all good.

[ABCstudent]

(Original post by shaminn)
How did everyone find the exam? We are allowed to discuss it because its an AQA exam so it's all good.

i thought the twelve mark questions were quite hard
i did question 1 and question 3, i liked the lenin question but not the others
you?

[Mr Paranoid]

I did question 1 and question 2. Found the 12 mark one in questions 1 ok but the one in questions two i found kinda hard, couldnt think of many reasons so i probably won't get a great mark for that. Think i did realitively well on the two 24 mark questions though, had a good number of points on both sides of the argument for both of them some hopefully i get a fairly decent mark.

I was quite happy in fairness, think i've done much better then the last two times i did it

[shaminn]

(Original post by ABCstudent)
i thought the twelve mark questions were quite hard
i did question 1 and question 3, i liked the lenin question but not the others
you?

Yeah I know what you mean, the 12 mark questions were harder than the 24 by a mile. But it think I just about pulled through it and made enough points on them.

(Original post by Mr Paranoid)
I did question 1 and question 2. Found the 12 mark one in questions 1 ok but the one in questions two i found kinda hard, couldnt think of many reasons so i probably won't get a great mark for that. Think i did realitively well on the two 24 mark questions though, had a good number of points on both sides of the argument for both of them some hopefully i get a fairly decent mark.

I was quite happy in fairness, think i've done much better then the last two times i did it

That's good to hear, hopefully the grade boundary isn't too harsh on us.

For the second 12 mark on the fundemental laws and why Nicholas II implemented, what points did you make. I think I was clutching at straws with the whole idea of reinstating autocratic rule...

[Jadb]

Definitely agree with the 12 markers being pretty hard. I did question 2 and 3, but I struggled a bit with both 12 markers.

For the Fundamental Laws I said:

Reaffirming supreme power of autocracy
Giving himself power to dissolve Duma at any time
Granting himself Emergency Powers to allow him to bypass the Duma

Second and third reasons were very similar but I was really unsure so just decided to wing it.

For the 12 marker on question 3 I said:

Loyalty to the allies
Thought they'd get some land out of the victory of war
Government was right-wing mostly so were unlikely to disagree with war.

I thought the Lenin question was a gift, could easily have got 20 upwards on that, could've written all day!

[shaminn]

(Original post by Jadb)
Definitely agree with the 12 markers being pretty hard. I did question 2 and 3, but I struggled a bit with both 12 markers.

For the Fundamental Laws I said:

Reaffirming supreme power of autocracy
Giving himself power to dissolve Duma at any time
Granting himself Emergency Powers to allow him to bypass the Duma

Second and third reasons were very similar but I was really unsure so just decided to wing it.

For the 12 marker on question 3 I said:

Loyalty to the allies
Thought they'd get some land out of the victory of war
Government was right-wing mostly so were unlikely to disagree with war.

I thought the Lenin question was a gift, could easily have got 20 upwards on that, could've written all day!

Ahh you're points for Q2 12 mark looks brilliant. Nicely done. I avoided the third question because i hadnt gone over the last section of the book, so it was perfectly played out for me to avoid it and do the sections i remembered.

Good luck with everything else

[Jadb]

Thanks, I was a bit worried about those! You too, maybe I'll see you on here on Results Day

[shaminn]

(Original post by Jadb)
Thanks, I was a bit worried about those! You too, maybe I'll see you on here on Results Day

You probably will! If not, just know that i havent opened them, or im digging myself a hole haha

[Kidioteque]

(Original post by shaminn)
How did everyone find the exam? We are allowed to discuss it because its an AQA exam so it's all good.

Bit late to the party, but I did questions 1 and 3 - found 1a a bit unusual but okay, whilst 3a was a total mare! In my textbook all it says is that they were financially reliant on tax credits, supplies and capital investment from the Allies, and therefore couldn't afford to back out. I was pretty stumped for another two points, but what I eventually went for was

- Economy - as mentioned above
- Loyalty to the Allies - it was in their best interests to maintain solid relations with Britain and France
- Fear of defeat - they didn't want to be the ones who lost the war, particularly so soon after taking power.

Annoyingly, a friend of mine from a different college said that they had been taught specifically about this, and that the more 'textbook' reasons were to do with reparations and the 8 million soldiers who would have to fit back into already overcrowded cities if they left the war.


Aside from this, I thought the two 24 mark questions were oaky, although I feel like I should have nailed them more than I did. Think some of my points for "how successful were Alexander II's reforms in strengthening the tsarist regime in the year 1855-1881" were:

Successful:
- Little concerted opposition until his assassination (failure of Populism etc)
- The autocracy carried on for 36 years after his death
- Successful reforms (think I focused on the economy here) created more support for the Tsar

Failure:
- He actually went back on a number of his reforms, so any stability that he achieved might have actually been the result of other measures
- Ultimately he was assassinated which showed that although the opposition was at this point fragmented, it was present
- Perhaps the implications of his reforms actually created resent (amongst peasants for example) and in the long run set Russia down a slippery slope towards revolution

Okay, I'm looking back on my points now and thinking they're pretty **** haha.


For "To what extent was Lenin the reason for the overthrow of the Provisional Government?" (or whatever the wording of it was)

Importance of Lenin:
- Powerful, inspiring leader - 23000-26000 members before he arrived
- Redirected the party away from co-operation and towards their fundamental goals
- "Peace, bread and land" targetted the issues brought on by the war - opportunistic
- Used the Soviet as a power base
- However (to back up my argument), some people said he was out of touch after being away for so long, as well as scepticism about his affiliations with Germany

Other factors:
- Continuation of the war - argued this was most important factor
- Other mistakes and problems of the Provisional Government - dual authority, Kornilov affair, Kerensky summer offensive, self-elected, and so on


Was running out of time for this one so I feel it probably came across as a bit rushed.


I think I may have scraped an A, but I'm fairly sure I can kiss the 90%+ that I was aiming for goodbye.


Hope it went well for everybody else!

[shaminn]

(Original post by Kidioteque)
Bit late to the party, but I did questions 1 and 3 - found 1a a bit unusual but okay, whilst 3a was a total mare! In my textbook all it says is that they were financially reliant on tax credits, supplies and capital investment from the Allies, and therefore couldn't afford to back out. I was pretty stumped for another two points, but what I eventually went for was

- Economy - as mentioned above
- Loyalty to the Allies - it was in their best interests to maintain solid relations with Britain and France
- Fear of defeat - they didn't want to be the ones who lost the war, particularly so soon after taking power.

Annoyingly, a friend of mine from a different college said that they had been taught specifically about this, and that the more 'textbook' reasons were to do with reparations and the 8 million soldiers who would have to fit back into already overcrowded cities if they left the war.


Aside from this, I thought the two 24 mark questions were oaky, although I feel like I should have nailed them more than I did. Think some of my points for "how successful were Alexander II's reforms in strengthening the tsarist regime in the year 1855-1881" were:

Successful:
- Little concerted opposition until his assassination (failure of Populism etc)
- The autocracy carried on for 36 years after his death
- Successful reforms (think I focused on the economy here) created more support for the Tsar

Failure:
- He actually went back on a number of his reforms, so any stability that he achieved might have actually been the result of other measures
- Ultimately he was assassinated which showed that although the opposition was at this point fragmented, it was present
- Perhaps the implications of his reforms actually created resent (amongst peasants for example) and in the long run set Russia down a slippery slope towards revolution

Okay, I'm looking back on my points now and thinking they're pretty **** haha.


For "To what extent was Lenin the reason for the overthrow of the Provisional Government?" (or whatever the wording of it was)

Importance of Lenin:
- Powerful, inspiring leader - 23000-26000 members before he arrived
- Redirected the party away from co-operation and towards their fundamental goals
- "Peace, bread and land" targetted the issues brought on by the war - opportunistic
- Used the Soviet as a power base
- However (to back up my argument), some people said he was out of touch after being away for so long, as well as scepticism about his affiliations with Germany

Other factors:
- Continuation of the war - argued this was most important factor
- Other mistakes and problems of the Provisional Government - dual authority, Kornilov affair, Kerensky summer offensive, self-elected, and so on


Was running out of time for this one so I feel it probably came across as a bit rushed.


I think I may have scraped an A, but I'm fairly sure I can kiss the 90%+ that I was aiming for goodbye.


Hope it went well for everybody else!

Having read your answer for Q1b, i feel like i've done so s***. Yours looks like a solid answer and I think i did really badly in that question.

I started with the emancipation which freed a huge amount of peasants which would have created a large base of support for the regime which would strengthen it, but countered with limitations

Then i wrote about how military reforms strengthened the regimes power but then countered by looking at its problems which meant that the army was not very powerful and lacked modern military training and ability.

Then moved on to the use of Zemstvo in order to explain how the government was able to give powers to the nobles which were not happy with emancipation as they had lost their power in rural areas, but Zemstvo gave this back to them to an extent and it help to gain support and thus strength to the regime. Plus a counter to it.

Thats pretty much what did, and in the conclusion mentioned that the Tsar was killed by Peoples Will but the regime continued under a repressive Tsar.

I don't think my answer was that great in hindsight, but i'm just going to forget about it. I have English Literature tomorrow and i'm certainly not prepared. STRESS.

[Kidioteque]

(Original post by shaminn)
Having read your answer for Q1b, i feel like i've done so s***. Yours looks like a solid answer and I think i did really badly in that question.

I started with the emancipation which freed a huge amount of peasants which would have created a large base of support for the regime which would strengthen it, but countered with limitations

Then i wrote about how military reforms strengthened the regimes power but then countered by looking at its problems which meant that the army was not very powerful and lacked modern military training and ability.

Then moved on to the use of Zemstvo in order to explain how the government was able to give powers to the nobles which were not happy with emancipation as they had lost their power in rural areas, but Zemstvo gave this back to them to an extent and it help to gain support and thus strength to the regime. Plus a counter to it.

Thats pretty much what did, and in the conclusion mentioned that the Tsar was killed by Peoples Will but the regime continued under a repressive Tsar.

I don't think my answer was that great in hindsight, but i'm just going to forget about it. I have English Literature tomorrow and i'm certainly not prepared. STRESS.

No, I wouldn't worry, I think your answer is far better - mine is more of a general answer about how strong the Tsarist regime was, whilst yours is clearly focused on reforms (as the question asked) and their effects. I think you will have done far better than you think you have

Yeah, best not to dwell on it - especially for a subject like History were there are so many possible answers, all equally valid. I too have English Literature tomorrow; which board do you do? I'm AQA Lit A. Absolutely dreading it.

[shaminn]

(Original post by Kidioteque)
No, I wouldn't worry, I think your answer is far better - mine is more of a general answer about how strong the Tsarist regime was, whilst yours is clearly focused on reforms (as the question asked) and their effects. I think you will have done far better than you think you have

Yeah, best not to dwell on it - especially for a subject like History were there are so many possible answers, all equally valid. I too have English Literature tomorrow; which board do you do? I'm AQA Lit A. Absolutely dreading it.

Well for both of our sakes, I hope we have done well it the exam, I have Nazi Germany next tuesday to help out with the marks if anything.

And for English I'm on Edexcel. The English exams are weird, I really can't bring myself to revise the work but for Novel work I think i'm going to just remember page numbers and the quotes that I already remember and poetry is going to be a problem for me. I don't know how it works for AQA but i'm guessing its the same but with different texts etc. Good luck with it all.

[Mr Paranoid]

Both your question 1b's look good, i had some points about emancipation creating a wave of celebrations and so strengthening the regime initially but then went on to say that it created resentment with the peasants due to redemption payments and paying for land they considered their own. I also mentioned the Zemstva as a strength as it improved health and education at local levels and because it gave somewhere for the liberal intelligentsia to voice their opinion whilst not truly having real power.

For the other side of the arguement i said the court reforms created weakness for the regime as it allowed a number of educated liberals to work as lawyers and then voice their anti tsarist message publicly. I also stated there were often sympathetic jurys that acquitted people of obvious guilt who had been anti tsarist in some form, i also mentioned the case of Vera Zasulich. Then i mentioned the negative impact of emancipation like i said earlier. I also mentioned the fact Alexander II was eventually assassinated anyways. Think i said something else which was a relativley good point but i cant remember it now

[Kidioteque]

(Original post by shaminn)
Well for both of our sakes, I hope we have done well it the exam, I have Nazi Germany next tuesday to help out with the marks if anything.

And for English I'm on Edexcel. The English exams are weird, I really can't bring myself to revise the work but for Novel work I think i'm going to just remember page numbers and the quotes that I already remember and poetry is going to be a problem for me. I don't know how it works for AQA but i'm guessing its the same but with different texts etc. Good luck with it all.

Agreed. And yeah, it's pretty similar. Anyway, all the best - hope you get what you want in August!