A-level history (Russia)

Hi,
I know this is highly ironic given my username on the TSR (haha) but I'm really struggling to understand Russian history (Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia 1917-1953).

I really enjoy history and I guess it's just stressing me out that other people in my class seem to know all this terminology and stuff when I'm usually (not to toot my own horn) naturally good at history. My teacher was off school ill for a week so I guess that didn't help me. I am in year 12 and have only been studying the Russian revolution for like 4 weeks or something now (we've just finished up the February 1917 revolution). I guess my question is if anybody can recommend any documentaries/videos/books to help me get a better understanding of the topic. Thanks!

Hello.
I am in a similar position to you, also 4 weeks or so into my Russia module. I can't offer much knowledge but I can suggest some studying methods!

Designate a few pages in your notes (or word document, however you work) to a glossary. This can be very useful when you're dealing with new terminology. Any words that you find tricky or don't yet know, make sure you take a note of them and their definition for you to refer to until you don't need to anymore. I recommend you keep this list at the back of your book/available on your desktop. This has really helped me as I naturally tend to skim over words that confuse me, oops! It is better to confront them and work on using them.
Something I struggled with initially was comprehending all the various events that accumulated surrounding the revolution events, if you find you also struggle with this then I suggest making a timeline (or printing one out) for you to use. This can put the events into perspective and also help when cross referencing events/years in essay work.
As for further sources...

Here is a video thoroughly covering the 1917 revolution:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV9G1QUIm7w&t=473s

Searching "Russia 1917" on Youtube pulls up several great clips to watch, although they'll more or less all say the same thing.

I was fortunate enough for the history department to provide a list of further reading and research prior to beginning the A-level. I will include some links from the list below.


Websites...

 https://warwick.ac.uk/services/library/mrc/explorefurther/digital/russia/
Warwick university resources – lots on here!

https://www.bl.uk/russian-revolution
The British Library

https://www.britannica.com/event/Russian-Revolution
Encyclopaedia – good for fact checking


If you're more of an auditory learner, here are a couple of Podcasts...

http://historyhub.ie/judith-devlin-the-russian-revolution
30 mins

http://smarthistories.com/podcasts-3/
There are lots – scroll down to find relevant ones eg Nicholas II, Bloody Sunday etc.


Youtube and other video sources...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRIzW7A9lhs
Lecture on Russian Revolution by Professor Catherine Merridale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Wmc8C0Eq0
A whizz through the history of Russia from early times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whdt5xCzwHQ
Lecture on the February 1917 revolution by Professor Lieven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYo8SEvnsrM&list=PL3H6z037pboFwKREwWrf4ELNDdiTLyhAN
BBC documentary about the last Tsar

https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/history-ks3-gcse-andrew-marr-history-of-the-world/zd6yd6f
A short documentary on the abolition of serfdom in 1861


-- Hope this helps, good luck in your studies