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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4 ©2016 Ser3HISRU34EA Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. VCE HISTORY: Revolutions Practice Examination Reading time: 15 minutes Writing time: 2 hours QUESTION BOOK Section Number of Number of Number of questions questions to be answered marks A 3 3 40 B 2 2 40 Total 80 Students are permitted to bring into the examination room: pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers, sharpeners and rulers. Students are NOT permitted to bring into the examination room: blank sheets of paper and/or whiteout liquid/tape. No calculator is allowed in this examination. Materials supplied Question book of 17 pages. Answer book of 18 pages. Additional space is available at the end of the book if you need extra paper to complete an answer. Instructions Write your student name in the space provided on the front cover of the answer book. Indicate the revolution you have chosen for Section A and the revolution you have chosen for Section B in the spaces provided. You must not choose the same revolution for both sections. All written responses must be in English. Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic devices into the examination room.

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Page 1: VCE HISTORY: Revolutions - Weebly · Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789 Use the following sources to answer Question 1. Madame de la Tour du

QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

©2016 Ser3HISRU34EA

Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only.

VCE HISTORY: Revolutions

Practice Examination

Reading time: 15 minutes

Writing time: 2 hours

QUESTION BOOK

Section Number of Number of Number of

questions questions to be answered marks

A 3 3 40

B 2 2 40

Total 80

Students are permitted to bring into the examination room: pens, pencils, highlighters, erasers,

sharpeners and rulers.

Students are NOT permitted to bring into the examination room: blank sheets of paper and/or

whiteout liquid/tape.

No calculator is allowed in this examination.

Materials supplied

Question book of 17 pages.

Answer book of 18 pages.

Additional space is available at the end of the book if you need extra paper to complete an

answer.

Instructions

Write your student name in the space provided on the front cover of the answer book.

Indicate the revolution you have chosen for Section A and the revolution you have chosen for

Section B in the spaces provided. You must not choose the same revolution for both sections.

All written responses must be in English.

Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised electronic

devices into the examination room.

Page 2: VCE HISTORY: Revolutions - Weebly · Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789 Use the following sources to answer Question 1. Madame de la Tour du

QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

©2016 Ser3HISRU34EA

Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 2

SECTION A – Revolution 1

Instructions for Section A Indicate in the answer book the revolution you have chosen for Section A by shading the relevant box on

page * of the answer book.

Answer all questions for this revolution in Section A of the answer book.

You must not choose the same revolution for Section A and Section B.

Write using blue or black pen.

Revolution Page

France....................................................................................................................................................3

Russia ...................................................................................................................................................5

China ....................................................................................................................................................8

Page 3: VCE HISTORY: Revolutions - Weebly · Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789 Use the following sources to answer Question 1. Madame de la Tour du

QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

©2016 Ser3HISRU34EA

Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 3

France

Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789

Use the following sources to answer Question 1.

Madame de la Tour du Pin, lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette, writing about the impact of the harvest

crisis on the people of Paris.

Madame de la Tour du Pin, Escape from Terror, p.79

Source 2

Arthur Young writing about the food crisis in France on the 10th June 1789.

Arthur Young, Travels in France during the years 1787, 1788 and 1789, p135

At the beginning of the spring of 1789, which followed a terrible winter that had been very hard

upon the poor, the Duc d'Orleans (Egalite) was very popular in Paris. He had sold, the previous

year, a large part of the pictures of the splendid gallery of his palace, and it was generally stated that

the eight million francs received from this sale had been devoted to relieving the misery of the

people during the rigorous winter which had just ended. On the other hand, nothing was said,

rightly or wrongly, of the charities of the Princes of the Royal family and of the King and Queen….

The King also never appeared in public. Shut up at Versailles, or hunting in the surrounding woods,

he suspected nothing, foresaw nothing, believed nothing.

The 10th. Everything conspires to render the present period in France critical: the want of bread is

terrible: accounts arrive every moment from the provinces of riots and disturbances, and calling in

the military, to preserve the peace of the markets. The prices reported are the same as I found at

Abbeville and Amiens 5f. (2½.) a pound for white bread, and 3½f. to 4f. for the common sort, eaten

by the poor: these rates are beyond their faculties, and occasion great misery. At Meudon, the

police, that is to say the intendant, ordered that no wheat should be sold on the market without the

person taking at the same time an equal quantity of barley. What a stupid and ridiculous regulation,

to lay obstacles on the supply, in order to be better supplied; and to shew the people the fears and

apprehensions of government, creating thereby an alarm, and raising the price at the very moment

they wish to sink it. I have had some conversation on this topic with well-informed persons, who

have assured me that the price is, as usual, much higher than the proportion of the crop demanded…

Page 4: VCE HISTORY: Revolutions - Weebly · Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789 Use the following sources to answer Question 1. Madame de la Tour du

QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

©2016 Ser3HISRU34EA

Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 4

Question 1 (20 marks)

a. Describe how the food shortage created problems in France in 1789 In your response, refer to the

sources provided and your own knowledge. 5 marks

b. Using the sources provided and your own knowledge, explain how the government’s response to

the food shortage created further tension. 5 marks

c. Analyse the significance of the views expressed in these sources as a cause of the French

Revolution in 1789. In your response, refer to the sources provided and other views.

10 marks

Consequences of revolution – The French Revolution from October 1789 to 1795

Question 2 (10 marks)

Explain how the power of the Catholic Church was reduced in the new society. Use evidence to support

your response.

Question 3 (10 marks)

Explain the contribution of Georges Danton in changing French society during the years, 1792-4. Use

evidence to support your response.

Page 5: VCE HISTORY: Revolutions - Weebly · Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789 Use the following sources to answer Question 1. Madame de la Tour du

QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

©2016 Ser3HISRU34EA

Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 5

Russia

Causes of revolution – The Russian Revolution from 1896 to October 1917

Use the following sources to answer Question 1.

Source 1

Taken from the ‘Bloody Sunday’ Petition by Father Gapon (January 1905)

…Sovereign, there are thousands of us here; outwardly we are human beings, but in reality

neither we nor the Russian people as a whole are provided with any human rights, even the right

to speak, to think, to assemble, to discuss our needs, or to take measure to improve our

conditions. They have enslaved us and they did so under the protection of your officials, with

their aid and with their cooperation. They imprison and send into exile any one of us who has the

courage to speak on behalf of the interests of the working class and of the people. They punish us

for a good heart and a responsive spirit as if for a crime. To pity a down-trodden and tormented

person with no rights is to commit a grave crime….

Source: Alpha History Russian Revolution

http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution

Source 2

Internal Discontent cartoon (1905)

Source: Alpha History Russian Revolution

http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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Source 3

The Bear and the Hornet's Nest, political cartoon from The Duluth News-Tribune Newspaper, Minnesota,

USA (1904)

Source: Alpha History Russian Revolution

http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 7

Question 1 (20 marks)

a. Using Source 1 and your own knowledge, outline the discontent of the urban workers that led to

Bloody Sunday.

5 marks

b. Using the sources and your own knowledge, explain the challenges faced by the Tsarist regime in

1905.

5 marks

c. Analyse the significance of the Revolution of 1905. In your response, refer to the sources

provided and other views.

10 marks

Consequences of revolution – The Russian Revolution from October 1917 to 1927

Question 2 (10 marks)

Explain the impact of the Tenth Party Congress on the new society. Use evidence to support your answer.

Question 3 (10 marks)

Explain the impact of the Civil War on the peasants. Use evidence to support your answer.

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 8

China

Causes of revolution – The Chinese Revolution from 1912 to 1949

Use the following sources to answer Question 1.

Source 1

John King Fairbank. (2006) China: A New History, 2nd

edition. Cambridge MA: Harvard University

Press. pp. 310

Mao had discovered the key to power in the Chinese countryside. This lay in his feeling for the mentality,

needs, and interests of the common people. The “mass line” which he advocated was genuinely concerned

to have the revolution guided and supported by the common people. Imported doctrines1 must be

secondary. The people must be carefully listened to, the better to recruit, mobilize2, and control them…

1 Doctrines – Political beliefs

2 Mobilize – Organise and rouse to action

Source 2

Jack Gray. (2003) Rebellions and Revolutions: China from the 1800s to 2000. Oxford: Oxford UP. p. 275

The Japanese had neither the means nor the desire to establish power throughout the rural areas where the

Communists were established; these areas were subject to only occasional attacks… Thus although the

Nationalist armies bore almost the whole brunt of the attacks, it was the Communist armies which

impressed the Chinese public.

Source 3

Maurice Meisner. Mao’s China and After 3rd

Edition. New York: The Free Press. p. 50

Victory [for the Communists] came on the basis of a massive popular social revolution that involved the

active and meaningful support and participation of tens of millions of peasants.

Page 9: VCE HISTORY: Revolutions - Weebly · Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789 Use the following sources to answer Question 1. Madame de la Tour du

QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

©2016 Ser3HISRU34EA

Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only.

Question 1 (20 marks)

a. By referring to Source 1 and your own knowledge, explain the importance of the Yan'an (Yenan)

Soviet in the development of the Chinese Revolution. 5 marks

b. By referring to the sources and your own knowledge, explain how the Chinese Communist Party

responded to the Japanese invasion in 1937. 5 marks

c. Evaluate the reasons for the Communist victory in 1949. In your response, refer to the sources

provided and to other views. 10 marks

Consequences of revolution – The Chinese Revolution from 1949 to 1971

Question 2 (10 marks)

Explain how the Chinese Communist Party used fear and terror to consolidate its power during the first

decade of its rule in China. Use evidence to support your response.

Question 3 (10 marks)

Explain the main reasons for the great famine of 1959-61. Use evidence to support your response.

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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SECTION B – Revolution 2

Instructions for Section B

Indicate the revolution you have chosen for Section B by shading the relevant box of the

answer book.

Answer all questions for this revolution in Section B of the answer book.

You must not choose the same revolution for Section A and Section B.

Write using blue or black pen.

Revolution Page

France ................................................................................................................................11

Russia................................................................................................................................13

China..................................................................................................................................16

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 11

France

Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789

Question 1 – Essay (20 marks)

How significant was the leadership of Louis XVI as a cause of the French Revolution?

Consequences of revolution – The French Revolution from October 1789 to 1795

Use the following sources to answer Question 2.

Source 1

Antoine-Claire Thibadeau, writing on the impact of the Terror on the deputies of the National

Convention.

Antoine-Claire Thibadeau, Memoires sur la Convention et le directoire, p.79

Source 2

Albert Soboul on the need for Terror.

Albert Soboul, The French Revolution, p.340

Anyone who spoke of order was dishonoured as a royalist, anyone who spoke of laws was ridiculed

as a statesman, an honourable name which became harmful and a reason for exclusion. It began

with mutual abuse and ended with prohibition. The Gironde was the final limit between light and

darkness. When it was overthrown, we fell into chaos…

The Terror isolated and stupefied the deputies as it did the ordinary citizens. On entering the

Assembly, the mistrustful members watched their words and actions, fearful that they might be

made a crime. In fact, everything mattered – the place where they sat, a gesture, a look, a murmur, a

smile.

The result of the popular upsurge had been to make terror the order of the day, organised in political matters

through the Law of Suspects and in economic affairs by the Law of the General Maximum. The September

crisis had given a powerful stimulus to the creation of revolutionary government, and the Committee of Public

Safety had in the end emerged from it with its authority increased. The primacy of the Committee was now

established in fact….

Now that it [the Committee of Public safety] had been declared to be revolutionary until peace was signed, the

government gradually got down to the task of organising itself. All its efforts were concentrated on gaining

victory on the frontiers and on crushing the counter-revolutionaries at home. In political matters it was the

desire of the Committee of Public Safety to place repression on a regular footing, to keep terror within its legal

framework, and to control the activities of the popular movement.

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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Question 2 (20 marks)

a. Using Source 1 and your own knowledge, explain the impact of the policy of ‘terror until peace’

upon the National Convention. 5 marks

b. Using Source 2 and your own knowledge explain the impact of the Terror upon the people of

France in the revolution. 5 marks

c. Evaluate the way in which the sources provided explain the compromise of revolutionary ideals

that the policy of Terror created. In your response, refer to the sources and other views of the

revolution.

10 marks

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 13

Russia

Causes of revolution – The Russian Revolution from 1896 to October 1917

Question 1 – Essay (20 marks)

How significant were the Bolsheviks in causing the revolutionary year of 1917?

Consequences of revolution – The Russian Revolution from October 1917 to 1927

Use the following sources to answer Question 2.

Source 1

Trotsky the Saviour (1920)

Text: ‘Counter-Revolutionary’

Source: Alpha History Russian Revolution

http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution

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Source 2

The White leaders—and this applies to Siberia as much as it does to the South—failed to adapt to the new

revolutionary world in which the civil war had to be fought. They made no real effort to develop policies

that might appeal to the peasants of the national minorities, although the support of both was essential.

They were too firmly rooted in the old Russia. The vital importance of propaganda and local political

structures passed them by almost completely: dominated by the narrow outlook of the army they could

not understand the need for mass mobilization in a civil war.

Source: Orland Figes, A People's Tragedy, the Russian Revolution 891-1924

(London: Pimlico, 1997), 569.

Source 3

Lenin’s Instructions Regarding Kulaks (August 1918)

Comrades! The uprising of the five kulak districts should be mercilessly suppressed… We need to set an

example.

1. Hang (hang without fail, so the people see) no fewer than one hundred known kulaks, rich

men, bloodsuckers.

2. Publish their names.

3. Take from them all their grain.

4. Designate hostages…

Do it in such a way that for hundreds of [kilometres] around, the people will see, tremble, know, shout:

they are strangling and will strangle to death the bloodsucker kulaks.

Telegraph receipt and implementation.

Yours, Lenin.

P.S. Find some truly hard people

Source: Lenin as quoted in Richard Pipes, The Unknown Lenin: From the Secret Archive

(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), 50.

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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Question 2 (20 marks)

a. Using the sources provided and your own knowledge, outline the strengths of the Red Army in

the Civil War.

5 marks

b. Using the sources provided and your own knowledge, explain the use of terror in Russia from

1917 to 1922.

5 marks

c. Evaluate the impact of the impact of the Civil War on the people of Russia. In your response,

refer to the sources provided and other views.

10 marks

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

©2016 Ser3HISRU34EA

Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 16

China

Causes of revolution – The Chinese Revolution from 1912 to 1949

Question 1 – Essay (20 marks)

How significant was Japanese expansion and aggression as a cause of the Chinese Revolution?

Consequences of revolution – The Chinese Revolution from 1949 to 1971

Use the following sources to answer Question 2.

Source 1 Wen Zhong ‘New China Under Leadership of Wise Chairman Mao’ (1951)

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 17

Source 2

Source: John King Fairbank. (2006) China: A New History 2nd edition. London: Harvard UP. p. 359

The initial phase of public sentiment in the cities after 1949 was one of euphoria1… Here was a dedicated

government that really cleaned things up – not only the drains and streets, but also the beggars, prostitutes

and petty criminals, all of whom were rounded up. Here was a new China that one could be proud of, one

that controlled inflation, stamped out opium smoking and corruption generally… Only later did they see

that the Promised Land was based on systematic control and manipulation. Gradually the CCP

organisation would penetrate society, set model roles of conduct, prescribe2 thought, and suppress

individual deviations.

euphoria¹ - great happiness

prescribe² - commands; require

Question 2 (20 marks)

a. By referring to the sources and your own knowledge, describe the main reforms implemented by

the Communists immediately after seizing power. 5 marks

b. By referring to the sources and your own knowledge, explain why there was a wide degree of

acceptance of Communist rule between 1949 and 1957. 5 marks

c. Evaluate the way these sources present the consequences of the Chinese Revolution. In your

response, refer to the sources provided and other views. 10 marks

END OF QUESTION BOOK

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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Published by QATs. Permission for copying in purchasing school only. 18

NAME: ________________________

VCE HISTORY: Revolutions

Practice written examination

ANSWER BOOK

Number of answer Number of

books used this book

Read these instructions carefully

1. Ensure that you have read all the information on the front cover of the question book.

2. Write your student name in the space provided above.

3. Write in blue or black pen.

4. Complete each of the following sections in the correct part of this answer book:

– Section A – Revolution 1

– Section B – Revolution 2

5. Indicate the revolution that you have chosen for Section A and the revolution you have chosen for

Section B.

You must not choose the same revolution for both sections.

6. Do not remove any pages from the answer book.

7. You may ask the supervisor for additional answer books. Complete all details on any additional answer

books used.

8. Enclose any additional answer books inside the front cover of the first answer book used.Enclose any

extra answer books inside the front cover of this answer book.

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QATs VCE HISTORY: REVOLUTIONS Practice Examination Units 3 and 4

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SECTION A – Revolution one

Answer all questions for your chosen revolution for Section A in the spaces provided.

Extra space for responses to Section A is provided on pages 24 to 26.

Indicate the revolution you have chosen for Section A by shading the relevant box.

You must NOT choose the same revolution for Section A and Section B.

France

Russia

China

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SECTION A: BEGIN ON THIS PAGE

Causes of revolution

Question 1

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c.___________________________________________________________________________________

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SECTION A

Consequences of revolution

Question 2

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SECTION A

Question 3

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Extra space for responses to Section A

Clearly number all responses in this space.

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SECTION A

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SECTION A- LAST PAGE

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SECTION B – Revolution two

Answer all questions for your chosen revolution for Section B in the spaces provided.

Extra space for responses to Section B is provided on pages 33 to 35.

Indicate the revolution you have chosen for Section B by shading the relevant box.

You must NOT choose the same revolution for Section A and Section B.

France

Russia

China

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SECTION B: BEGIN ON THIS PAGE

Causes of revolution

Question 1- Essay

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SECTION B

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SECTION B

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SECTION B

Consequences of revolution

Question

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SECTION B

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SECTION B

Extra space for responses to Section B

Clearly number all responses in this space.

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SECTION B

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SECTION B – LAST PAGE

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Solution Pathway

Please note some responses are beyond the length expected by even a high level response, but are provide

to outline a full range of points.

SECTION A – Revolution 1

France

Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789

Question 1 (20 marks)

Responses to Questions 1a and 1b should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2 marks A response which shows only basic knowledge. The response may transcribe features of the

source and will show little or no original knowledge.

3 marks A response which shows sound knowledge and draws upon the sources. The response

includes evidence, but may be limited as it transcribes from the source, generalises, or

wanders from the question.

4 marks A focused and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources, and includes

relevant factual information. Specific facts are used.

5 marks A focused, knowledgeable and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources,

and includes a range of relevant factual information. Precise and specific facts are used.

Responses to Question 1c should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark

Any relevant comment.

2-3 marks A response which shows only basic comprehension and no real skill. The student may

transcribe from the sources without any insight or purpose. The student may develop a

simple narrative which shows only very limited understanding. No real attempt is made to

supply evidence.

4-5 marks A response which shows limited skill but a good level of comprehension. The student may

focus on developing a factual narrative instead of meaningfully evaluating different factors,

or else they may focus on evaluating the sources rather than broader historical questions.

The student makes some attempt to support their claims and/or refer to other views, but

tends to rely on generalisations.

6-7 marks A response which shows a confident understanding a sound level of skill. The student either

show limited evaluation, or else fails to support their evaluation effectively with evidence.

Factual evidence is included, although it may not always be precise, and there are

references to other views.

8-9 marks A response which shows a strong level of skill and insight. The student develops a focused

evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual evidence from the

student’s own knowledge, and other views. Specific facts and direct quotes are used

throughout. There may be minor problems which do not indicate a lack of knowledge.

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10 marks A response which shows an exemplary level of skill and insight. The student develops a

confident and nuanced evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual

evidence from the student’s own knowledge, and other views. The student uses precise and

accurate quotes and facts. All discussion is focused, relevant and of high quality.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 1a:

The shortage of food catalysed the grievances of the poor people in France. As source one illustrates the

shortage occurred over a sustained period of time lasting from the middle of 1788 right through until

spring of 1789 and into the summer (as source 2 points out). Indeed, the period of want was much longer

as poor harvests had afflicted France for the better part of five years. The dearth of food also contributed

to an inflation of bread and grain prices. The result of this was community anger and an excess of ‘riots

and disturbances’ across the country. Unscrupulous or insensitive market controls also resulted from the

food shortage which further added to the ‘great misery’ as prices were well outside expectation and

‘beyond the faculty of most people’. The shortage forced many people to migrate to the cities

(exacerbating the crisis) and Paris struggled under the weight of its growing population which had

increased to almost 650 000 people by 1789. The food crisis provided the perfect tinder for a

revolutionary outbreak.

Relevant discussion points for Question 1a include:

Both sources provide a clear example of how the food crisis was linked to growing resentment

from the poorer classes – riots, rising prices and dearth of food were the result;

The sources argue that the situation was so severe that it affected not just Paris but was apparent

across the country;

Students could illustrate their own knowledge by mentioning the series of poor harvests that had

beset France over the previous 4-5 summers possibly linked to the volcanic eruption in Iceland in

1784 which blanketed the skies of North-Western Europe for a sustained period;

A particularly savage storm hit France in the summer of 1788 at the peak of the growing season

and left the harvest bereft in comparison to previous years;

Population growth in general and urban population growth in particular could also be mentioned

in this response;

It would be pertinent to mention that the price of bread had reached a peak in 1789 and was at a

level not seen in the previous decade;

Students could comment that as a part of growing revolutionary angst, the food crisis was critical.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 1b:

France’s government was in equal parts incompetent and indifferent to the suffering caused by the food

shortage which significantly exacerbated the displeasure of the people. As source one points out many

began to question the legitimacy of King Louis XVI’s right to rule them as he offered no solution to their

suffering. Indeed, the people were forced to rely on public handouts from affluent individuals like the Duc

d’Orleans to alleviate their plight. The Duc d’Orleans used his substantial landholdings in central Paris,

the Palais Royale to ferment anger and undermine his cousin; his generosity contrasts markedly with the

King and Queen allowing them to become the target of revolutionary anger. This was reflected in many

street libels and pamphlets which decried the government’s abilities. Further to this, the government’s

inaction over regulating prices and controls as is seen in Source 2 where corrupt intendants robbed the

poor of their meagre earnings by inflating the price of the French staple food, bread.

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Relevant discussion points for Question 1b include:

Both sources comment on the apathy and/or venality of the government. Specifically, Source one

illustrates that Egalite manipulated the situation to suit his agenda and Source two discusses the

corruption of the intendants;

Both sources indirectly reveal the apathy of the King by showing his lack of involvement and

control – source one illustrates how he pales in comparison to his civic-minded cousin;

Students could illustrate their own knowledge by mentioning further examples of government

apathy – the fact that government control was so scarce that there was a proliferation of

pamphlets/street libels attacking the ancien regime and the Royal Family in particular;

Other examples of Royal incompetence – Louis’ treatment of the Parlements or the hiring/firing

of comptroller-generals – all of these added to the clamouring for change.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 1c:

Both these sources highlight two important causes of the French Revolution of 1789: the suffering felt by

the people of France and the inability and/or indifference of the King to fix their plight. Source one in

particular, is critical of the King’s detachment, ‘he suspected nothing, foresaw nothing, believed

nothing’. This source brings the Royal family’s actions into sharp relief against the charity of the Duc

d’Orleans. The author perhaps in an attempt to distance herself from the royal family, paints a heroic

picture of Egalite and simultaneously disparages the Royal family. Source 2 in pointing out the extortion

that the people were experiencing, illustrates their ‘misery’ and, in being highly condemnatory of their

‘stupid and ridiculous regulations’, Young emphasises the incompetence of the French government.

Many historians would agree with the inference in these sources that famine and government

incompetence incited ordinary people to revolt against their condition and the aristocracy. These

accounts would suit the argument that the Revolution was ‘a struggle for equal rights’ as claimed by

Georges Lefebvre. Lefebvre goes on to suggest that there was desire ‘to reform France’s social order’.

While Albert Soboul contends that many ‘despised the nobility’. The sources most certainly add weight to

the idea that the outbreak of revolution was an act of ‘class conflict’ that Lefebvre and Soboul assert

where the people are held ransom by dearth and aristocratic oppression.

Other historians would point out that previous French kings were as guilty (if not more so) of this yet did

not experience a revolution. They would point out that France in 1789 was facing other factors which

propelled revolution. The massive debt, the impact of the American War of Independence and not the

least of these was the growth of a radical ‘liberal’ nobility who challenged the power of the King. They

were driven by enlightenment and revolutionary ideals far more obviously than the people and they would

point to people like Lafayette, Mirabeau and the aforementioned, Duc d’Orleans who worked to aid the

Third Estate and promote liberal political reform, part of the Enlightenment ideas that ‘were the

foundation for the ideals of the Revolution’ according to Francois Furet. These historians would assert

that tension and conflict was not so much a product of a class struggle but rather reformists opposing

non-reformists, regardless of social structure. William Doyle suggests that ‘nobility was not a closed sect,

anyone could buy their way into this privileged order’, thereby disproving the Marxist theory that the

Third Estate would have desired to extinguish the Second Estate altogether.

Relevant discussion points for Question 1c include:

Source one is a unique insight to the life of the royal family being penned by the Queen’s lady-in-

waiting, Her position and survival of the revolution betray the potential bias of this piece –

perhaps she wants to paint the Royal Family in a negative light to distance herself from them and

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connect to the plight of the people; perhaps she has written this account to exaggerate her own

influence/station.

Source two from the oft-quoted Arthur Young purports to be a first-hand account of the growing

angst but Young was writing for a British audience and perhaps he wishes to criticise the French

system in contrast to the presumably more humane British system of constitutional monarchy.

Both sources, nevertheless, are significant for their emphasis on social discontent.

Many historians like Lefebvre and Soboul would concur with this latter point that social

discontent was a driving force of the revolution.

Others historians would not entirely subscribe to these views, and would isolate aspects of these

sources that illustrate the fight between reformers and non-reformers for them the revolution had

a myriad of causes and class conflict or social discontent was just one aspect.

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Consequences of revolution – The French Revolution from October 1789 to 1795

Both of Questions 2 and 3 should be marked on a scale.

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-3 marks Shows limited knowledge. Inaccurate or incomplete information is provided.

4-5 marks Shows a basic level of knowledge and limited skill. Generalisations are common, but some

facts are included.

6-7 marks Shows a confident level of knowledge and skill. Discussion points are well-organised and

the argument is developed logically, in steps. Evidence is provided.

8-9 marks Shows an excellent level of knowledge and skill. Precise and accurate evidence is provided.

10 marks Shows an exemplary level of knowledge and skill. A wide range of precise and accurate

evidence is provided.

Question 2 (10 marks)

Explain how the power of the Catholic Church was reduced in the new society. Use evidence to support

your response.

The Gallican Church as the Catholic Church was known in France (due to the privileges it had hitherto

enjoyed under the ancien regime) found their powers dramatically abrogated in the new society. From

the new society’s inception in 1789 where the primacy of the church as sanctifier of national interests was

rescinded by the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen which was sworn before the Supreme

Being and not the Catholic or Christian God, the church became to be seen as a relic. Specifically, the

church’s power was reduced by decree as early as 2 November 1789 in the new society where church

lands were confiscated by the state and sold at auction. This was known as the biens nationaux. Further

to this the power of the church to select its own clergy and elders was removed in two stages during 1790.

The civil constitution of the clergy issued on 12 July 1790 subordinated the church to the interests of the

State. It destroyed some of the clerical orders and forbad monastic vows. This subordination was further

entrenched by the decree of 27 November 1790 which insisted that members of the clergy declared their

loyalty to the State over the church. Priests who refused were labelled non-juring or refractory priests

and were increasingly vilified over the following years. The inability of the church to collect tithes had

removed their economic power and their cultural influence was diminished in the face of these decrees.

These early legal attacks on the church were followed by acts of violence in the ensuing years as the

church’s power was removed. Priests who had not sworn allegiance to the state were attacked in their

home parishes and most significantly these priests were the primary targets in the abhorrent September

massacres of 1792. Finally, the cultural power of the Church was reduced by the State’s adoption of the

Cult of the Supreme Being particularly under the Committee of Public Safety in 1793-4. Churches lost

their titles and became known as Temples of Reason. Street names with Catholic connotations were re-

titled to emphasise Republican (and often anti-clerical) views. Indeed, the new society attempted to

destroy the very fabric of Christian time-keeping by replacing the bible-ordained seven day week with a

new calendar that turned weeks into 10 day stretches and removed the holy day of rest previously known

as Sunday! While this was not entirely successful to suggest a new way of marking time by resetting the

calendar to Year 1 of the Republic (in fact removing the idea of A.D. or the year of our lord) was a none-

too-subtle attempt at removing the Church from daily affairs and clearly illustrated the total subjugation

of the Catholic Church.

Relevant discussion points for Question 2 include:

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The church more than any other institution of the ancien regime bears the brunt of change in the

initial stages of the revolution. From the very outset and with the approval of some of the

members of the church itself, the church is subjugated to the state. This initial challenge grows in

size and complexity over the revolution. Initially an economic attack it later becomes a physical

and cultural assault driven by desires of anti-clericalism of an almost pathological ardour.

Students could mention:

o The position of the church in the doctrines that guided the revolution – eg the DORMAC;

o The selling of Church lands in November 1789 and at other times throughout the new

society;

o The imposition of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy in legal and actual terms in July

1790 and November 1790 respectively;

o The attacks on the Church from clubs and journalists – eg Marat;

o The violence on churchmen and women who refused to swear the oath culminating in the

atrocities of the September Massacres of 1792;

o Finally students should mention the cultural assault on the Catholic Church – through the

proliferation of the Cult of the Supreme Being which was imposed on the people in

gradual ways over the period, from a mention of swearing before the Supreme Being in

the DORMAC to ultimately changing the very manner in which Christian time was

recorded – the calendar.

Question 3 (10 marks)

Explain the contribution of Georges Danton in changing French society during the years, 1792-4. Use

evidence to support your response.

Danton’s popularity and oratory skills had made him an icon of the sans-culottes by 1792. As a member

of both the Jacobin and more importantly, Cordeliers club, he was a man of the people. His bourgeois

background did not impinge upon his popularity rather his skills as a lawyer endeared him to the sans-

culottes who saw him as an advocate for their cause. This popularity transferred into the radical actions

in the Paris Sections in August 1792, Danton at the head of the Insurrectionary Committee replaced the

Paris Commune as they stormed the Tuileries Palace which housed the Royal Family on the 10 August

1792. Danton articulated the demands of the people which demanded the deposition of the King. This

action quickly expedited the downfall of the monarchy and Danton was a minister in the Republic that

was instituted in September 1792. Danton was horrified by the events of the September Massacres (2-6

September 1792) and recognised that the Convention (he was Minister of Justice) needed ‘to embody

terror so the people do not’. He orchestrated a rational response to the threat of war and counter-

revolution, as he was the architect behind the Committee of General Security, the Revolutionary

Tribunals and the Committee of Public Safety which he sat on in their first meeting on 6 April 1793.

Danton still led this meeting through the Girondist expulsion of May-June 1793 but was excluded from

the Committee in July. Danton had facilitated the reign of terror that began in September of 1793

although his influence waned and by April 1794 he found himself victim to the mechanisms of justice that

he had help institute. Nonetheless, his oratory and example inspired many to challenge the structure of

the society they had inherited and his plea that ‘we need audacity, and yet more audacity, and always

audacity!’ radicalised the Convention and allowed them to survive both the international war and the

counter-revolution.

Relevant discussion points for Question 3 include:

Students would be wise to begin their answer with a discussion of Danton’s personality and

background – his popularity, origins and oratory skills drew people to his side.

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The response should then move to the specifics of the question, 1792-1794. As the revolution

changed from liberal to radical, Danton was a critical member of the process. While not as radical

as others in the Cordeliers or Jacobins club he was significantly responsible for the shift to the

left.

Students should specifically mention:

o Danton’s role in the Paris Commune in 1792 – particularly his lead of the Insurrectionary

Committee and the events of 10 August 1792;

o His leadership in the Convention in creating the regulatory legislation and bodies of

1792-93 which helped curtail the excesses of the Mob but later validated the machinery

of the Terror;

o His role as Minister of Justice in both overseeing the execution of the King and the war;

o His declining power in 1793-94 which showed the direction of the revolution – his

removal from the Committee of Public Safety and his lack of action after the Girondin

expulsion;

o Finally students should mention the execution of Danton and his fellow ‘indulgents’

which both illustrated his importance and the radicalisation of the revolution which

ironically, he had instituted.

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Russia

Causes of revolution – The Russian Revolution from 1896 to October 1917

Question 1 (20 marks)

Responses to Questions 1a and 1b should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2 marks A response which shows only basic knowledge. The response may transcribe features of the

source and will show little or no original knowledge.

3 marks A response which shows sound knowledge and draws upon the sources. The response

includes evidence, but may be limited as it transcribes from the source, generalises, or

wanders from the question.

4 marks A focused and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources, and includes

relevant factual information. Specific facts are used.

5 marks A focused, knowledgeable and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources,

and includes a range of relevant factual information. Precise and specific facts are used.

Responses to Question 1c should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-3 marks A response which shows only basic comprehension and no real skill. The student may

transcribe from the sources without any insight or purpose. The student may develop a

simple narrative which shows only very limited understanding. No real attempt is made

to supply evidence.

4-5 marks A response which shows limited skill but a good level of comprehension. The student

may focus on developing a factual narrative instead of meaningfully evaluating different

factors, or else they may focus on evaluating the sources rather than broader historical

questions. The student makes some attempt to support their claims and/or refer to other

views, but tends to rely on generalisations.

6-7 marks A response which shows a confident understanding a sound level of skill. The student

either show limited evaluation, or else fails to support their evaluation effectively with

evidence. Factual evidence is included, although it may not always be precise, and there

are references to other views.

8-9 marks A response which shows a strong level of skill and insight. The student develops a

focused evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual evidence from

the student’s own knowledge, and other views. Specific facts and direct quotes are used

throughout. There may be minor problems which do not indicate a lack of knowledge.

10 marks A response which shows an exemplary level of skill and insight. The student develops a

confident and nuanced evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual

evidence from the student’s own knowledge, and other views. The student uses precise

and accurate quotes and facts. All discussion is focused, relevant and of high quality.

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Below is an exemplar response to Question 1a:

The events that occurred with 'the thousands' at Bloody Sunday (9 January, 1905 O.S.) were

fundamentally caused by poor conditions of the workers which resulted from a rigid tsarist system and

rapid industrialisation of the Great Spurt (1893-1902). Under tsarism at the turn of the century, workers'

rights were restricted with neither representation at a national level nor freedom of political parties or

union, basically without 'any human rights'. With the burgeoning social movements of Social

Revolutionaries (both radical and moderate) and the Social Democrats (splitting into Mensheviks and

Bolsheviks), workers began to see a need for a voice. With the rapid industrialisation from Count Sergei

Witte's Great Spurt affecting the key cities of capital Saint Petersburg and Moscow and building the

Trans-Siberian railway, workers were at the mercy of their employers. In order to modernise Russia and

increase its military standing, Witte put forth policies to Tsar Nicholai II that boosted industrial output

but relied on foreign loans thus putting pressure on the economy with heavy taxes and inflated prices of

imported goods and led to massive overcrowding in the cities. Real wages decreased up to one quarter

the year before. The 'enslaved' had heightened expectations when coming to the cities and after four

workers were dismissed at the Putilov steel works In December 1904, Father Gapon, the head of the

Assembly of Russian Factory Workers, led over 120,000 men, women and children to peacefully protest

to the Tsar, but according to Pipes, 200 were killed and 800 injured, thus sparking the Revolution of 1905

and the loss of faith in Russia's 'Little Father'.

It is important that students use the sources required. In addition, students must mention the conditions

that affected the workers such as the Great Spurt and burgeoning political parties. Statistics about the

situation provide useful evidence. Key points about Bloody Sunday itself as well as its catalyst are vital.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 1b:

Nicholas II was faced with multiples crises in 1905 with a humiliating loss in the Russo-Japanese War

(1904-5), uprisings and general strikes. Source C notes the devastating effects of Russia (as portrayed by

the bumbling bear) in striking the buzzing hive of Japan, resulting in the greatest military sting of the turn

of the century. In its attempt for military prowess in Europe and a greater sphere of influence in Asia In

Manchuria, Russia's ageing military was exposed as ineffective in catastrophic defeats at Port Arthur

(January 1905), Mukden (February 1905) and the naval Battle of Tsushima (May 1905). Furthermore,

the entry in the war had resulted in the assassination of Plehve by left Social Revolutionaries leading to

more progressive policies of easing of censorship and zemstvos reform. The lit fuse of nihilism (as noted

in Source 2) was ready to destroy an unsuspecting Tsarist regime. Terrorism from the likes of the

Narodniks was on the rise, following Plehve's assassination in 1904, sailors on the Battleship Potemkin

mutinied in June, gaining support in the wealthy port city of Odessa, and military personnel rebelled on

the Trans-Siberian line. The support of the military was vital for the survival of the regime. In addition,

industrial strikes flared up, strengthened by the creation of the Saint Petersburg and Moscow soviets and

the Union of Unions. In the countryside, peasants lashed out against officials and landlords, seizing

property. Minority groups stepped in Nationalism demonstrated against the harsh policies of

Russification. By October 1905, the soviets and unions, supported by new leaders such as Trotsky and

Milyukov, led the workers to general strikes that brought the nation to a standstill. The Tsar had to react

by releasing the October Manifesto (17 October 1905 O.S.), bowing to mounting pressure for

representation in the form of a duma.

Students must note different forms of crises affecting society and remain fixed on 1905 itself. Students

must refer to the Russo-Japanese War and note the source. The second source allows for an excellent

discussion of the terrorism and strikes of the year. Students should mention the key revolts of the military

and must discuss the general strikes of October.

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Below is an exemplar response to Question 1c:

‘…Tsarism came out of the experience of 1905 alive and strong enough’ (Trotsky), but it also provided an

open forum for opposition for the first time in Russian history .Source 1presents some of the concerns of

the works of Saint Petersburg but not even all of their request for change from their ‘Little Father’. The

threat of nihilism (Source 2) was apparent even after the October Manifesto was signed. The Tsar

managed to supress the final threats to his rule at the end of 1905 by putting down the December

uprisings by arresting 264 deputies in Saint Petersburg (3 December O.S.) and crushing the strike in

Moscow (18 December O.S.) with over 1,000 losing their lives. Sheila Fitzpatrick maintains that the

consequences of the Revolution of 1905 were ‘ambiguous’ and ‘…unsatisfactory to all concerned’;

however, Pipes notes that the year allowed for the government to consolidate its power even if it ‘gained

nothing more than a breathing spell’ and persuaded most moderate groups into the fold. Perhaps the

greatest consequence of the Revolution of 1905 was not the creation of duma itself (which had its power

greatly reduced by the Fundamental Laws of 1906 in April) but in the acknowledgement that some degree

of change was attainable. The events of the year were mostly influenced by events or groups but lacked

the leadership of key individuals, except perhaps Trotsky rising in fame in the Saint Petersburg Soviet.

Trotsky noted that ‘all revolutionary forces were then going into action for the first time, lacking

experience and confidence’ and that ‘the events of 1905 were a prologue to the two revolutions of 1905’.

In addition, Figes contends that ‘1905 had changed society for good’ and that the revolutionary leaders

of 1917 ‘were inspired by its memory and instructed by its lessons.’ This year could be viewed as a

revolutionary training ground. With the October Manifesto, civil liberties and universal manhood

suffrage ushered in a time when political parties could now meet legally, spreading their ideas. Whilst not

a revolution with a change of power at the top, the Revolution of 1905 was a revolutionary training

ground that offered a blueprint for future action when the Tsarist bear (Source 3) would be stung by more

than the Russo-Japanese War.

It is critical that students not only discuss elements of the sources but differing points of view. Students

should note key elements of change. Stronger students will be able to quote from viewpoints of those

present as well as historians. The critical change is representation in the form of the duma (provided by

the October Manifesto) as well as various liberal reforms. The idea of 1905 as being a ‘training ground’ is

fundamental in understanding the area of study. Best responses will not only integrate quotations but also

supply dates and movements, individuals, ideas and events.

Consequences of revolution – The Russian Revolution from October 1917 to 1927

Question 2 (10 marks)

The Tenth Party Congress (8 to 16 March 1921) effectively ensured Bolshevik survival by ending War

Communism, enacting the New Economic Policy and consolidating authority with the decree 'On Party

Unity'. First, the Tenth Party Congress was instigated to consolidate power and ensure the survival of the

new society. After the brutal suppression of the Tambov Revolt (1920), the Kronstadt Rebellion saw

14,000 of the ‘reddest of the red’ (Fitzpatrick) brutally put down by the Bolsheviks after they demanded

change in authority in their manifesto and actions. Lenin himself allowed for ‘a breathing spell’ at the

Tenth Party Conference by implementing the New Economic Policy, abandoning requisitioning, rationing

and militarisation of the workplace, thus ensuing stability and optimism in the Party and in the nation.

This was an almost direct reaction to the Kronstadt Rebellion which Lenin noted was ' the flash which lit

up reality, better than anything else’. With the loss of up to 12 million people from the Civil War and

famine, Russia needed to break with the strict ideology and its enforcement under War Communism (1918

to 1921 as Volkognov claims, 'dogma deprived the Bolsheviks of common sense'. According to the History

of the CPSU, 'Lenin proposed to retire a little to retreat for a while nearer to the base….to gather

strength and resume the offensive'. The NEP allowed for the further alliance of the peasants and the

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workers as well as the strengthening of the dictatorship of the proletariat. By ridding the kulaks of their

extra gains, a more equitable society had been established. The government still controlled the ‘key

positions in the economic field’, thereby, still adhering to its defined ideology. Lastly, the Workers

Opposition Party, led by notable Bolsheviks such as Alexandra Kollontai noted that the Party had

abandoned its base. Lenin ensured that everyone toed the line of the Communist Party with his

declaration of ‘On Party Unity’. This, along with the consolidation of power and revolutionary drive of

the Civil War, unified the party and all its mechanisms, thus preserving the new society, albeit with a

compromised ideology. With the Tenth Party Congress, Lenin ensured the legacy of the Bolsheviks by

creating the New Economic Policy (1921 to 1927) and proclaiming the doctrine ‘On Party Unity’.

Students can approach this response thematically or chronologically. It is essential that they note when

Tenth Party Congress occurred and what policies occurred. Context for the great change would be the

drastic effects of War Communism and the Civil War as well as the rebellions of Tambov and critically

Kronstadt. Students should be able to identify key points of the NEP. Stronger students should be able to

identify On Party Unity, providing both context for its creation as well as its effects. It is important to

note key individuals, movements, ideas and events as well as cause and effect in this section. Further

elaboration on the NEP in the 1920s with NEPmen and the Scissors Crisis would be welcomed.

Question 3 (10 marks)

The Russian Civil War (1918 to 1920) had an almost cataclysmic effect on the peasants with grain

requisitioning, famine and disease and efforts of the Whites and Reds to force their authority on them.

The war raged between the Reds led by Commissar of War Trotsky’ and political threats from numerous

ideologies: the Whites (armed forced of South Russia, Kolchak’s Siberian forces and the north-western

armies) who were backed by foreign powers, the Green peasant armies and the Black Guard, a group of

anarchists from the South. With villages seeing issues from petty family rivalries to starvation flaring

tensions and forcing people to choose sides to a wider world that often did not mean anything to them. In

the summer of 1918, Lenin abruptly abandoned State Capitalism and implemented a series of harshly

restrictive economic measures known as War Communism, implemented under the Decree on

Nationalisation (28 June 1918). Betraying the ideal of creating a ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’, it was

the call to get ‘everything to the front’ (Trotsky). Thus, War Communism alienated peasants by grain

requisitioning, using Kombedy (Committees of the Poor) to achieve this; class warfare came to

countryside. Whilst this was Lenin’s plan, the kombedy sometimes unified groups against the Bolsheviks

or took the goods for themselves and not the state. The Bolsheviks wanted to eradicate kulaks (by Lenin’s

‘Handing Order’, 11 August 1917) and also succeeded in creating famine and poverty (Pravda admitted

that one out of five people were starving). Requisitioning squads doing the work for ‘Iron Felix’

Dzerzhinsky’s Cheka led peasants to a life where there was no incentive for food production. From 1917

to 1921, the amount of Russian cultivated land dropped by around 40%. From the 10 million deaths, 9.5

million were due to famine (Oxley), so the American Association was implemented, spending $60 million

to help the 10 million starving Russians. The White Terror unleashed horror itself, killing upwards of

100,000 Jews in reactionary pogroms. As the threat from Civil War subsided as well as the end of the

Soviet-Polish War combined with the Kronstadt uprising, Lenin understood that a lot had to change to get

the peasants on side. He announced at the Tenth Party Congress (March 1921) an end to War

Communism, an opportunity for peasants to once again sell surplus goods, a year of waived tax payments

in famine ravaged areas and the opportunity to pay tax in kind until 1924.

Students can approach this response thematically or chronologically. It is essential that they note when

Russian Civil War occurred and who was fighting. It is critical for the students to identify key concerns

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for the peasants and not to focus on the cities or how the army fought. Stronger students should be able to

identify key policies and documents, such as Lenin’s Hanging Order. It is important to note key

individuals, movements, ideas and events as well as cause and effect in this section. Further elaboration

on the famine and disease that caused great pressure and hardship is necessary. Pressure for change at the

Tenth Party Congress with the creation of the NEP would be needed at the end of a high response.

China

Causes of revolution – The Chinese Revolution from 1912 to 1949

Question 1 (20 marks)

Responses to Questions 1a and 1b should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2 marks A response which shows only basic knowledge. The response may transcribe features of

the source and will show little or no original knowledge.

3 marks A response which shows sound knowledge and draws upon the sources. The response

includes evidence, but may be limited as it transcribes from the source, generalises, or

wanders from the question.

4 marks A focused and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources, and includes

relevant factual information. Specific facts are used.

5 marks A focused, knowledgeable and skilful response. The student makes reference to the

sources, and includes a range of relevant factual information. Precise and specific facts

are used.

Responses to Question 1c should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-3 marks A response which shows only basic comprehension and no real skill. The student may

transcribe from the sources without any insight or purpose. The student may develop a

simple narrative which shows only very limited understanding. No real attempt is made

to supply evidence.

4-5 marks A response which shows limited skill but a good level of comprehension. The student

may focus on developing a factual narrative instead of meaningfully evaluating different

factors, or else they may focus on evaluating the sources rather than broader historical

questions. The student makes some attempt to support their claims and/or refer to other

views, but tends to rely on generalisations.

6-7 marks A response which shows a confident understanding and a sound level of skill. The

student either shows limited evaluation, or else fails to support their evaluation

effectively with evidence. Factual evidence is included, although it may not always be

precise, and there are references to other views.

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8-9 marks A response which shows a strong level of skill and insight. The student develops a

focused evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual evidence from

the student’s own knowledge, and other views. Specific facts and direct quotes are used

throughout. There may be minor problems which do not indicate a lack of knowledge.

10 marks A response which shows an exemplary level of skill and insight. The student develops a

confident and nuanced evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual

evidence from the student’s own knowledge, and other views. The student uses precise

and accurate quotes and facts. All discussion is focused, relevant and of high quality.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 1a:

The Yan'an Soviet was pivotal to the development of the CCP. As Source 1 argues, Mao found the 'key to

power in the Chinese countryside' by mobilising the peasantry around Yan'an through the promise of land

reform and social justice. At Yan'an, Mao became unchallenged leader of the CCP, and was able to

implement his theory of the 'mass line', while rejecting what Source 1 calls the 'imported doctrines' of

Orthodox Marxism-Leninism. As a result, between 1937 and 1945, the CCP grew from just 7,000

survivors of the Long March into a dynamic political force with over 1.2 million members. Mao also

cemented his control over the party at Yan'an with the 1942 Rectification Campaign, which used

indoctrination and terror to eliminate dissent and unite the party behind Mao's vision of a popular,

nationalist, peasant-based revolution.

Relevant discussion points for Question 1a include:

Source 1 provides students with an opportunity to discuss the development of Maoist ideology at

Yan'an, with its emphasis on the peasantry and mass line. It also alludes to the problem of

methods of 'control', which strong students may use as a launching point for discussion of

propaganda, indoctrination and social control methods.

The Yan'an Soviet was established in 1937, shortly after the CCP's near destruction on the Long

March. Therefore, the Yan'an Soviet represents survival and regrowth after GMD attacks.

The Yan'an Soviet developed during the period of the Japanese invasion and occupation (1937-

45), and therefore came to be associated with the CCP's shifting emphasis to nationalist goals.

From Yan'an, the Red Army launched a guerrilla resistance campaign across northern China.

Yan'an became symbolic of determined resistance to foreign imperialism.

During the Yan'an Period, Mao achieved undisputed control over the CCP. He discredited his

rivals for their failures during the Long March, and claimed credit for 'saving' the CCP. In

addition, he launched the Rectification campaign (1942), which used indoctrination classes and

struggle sessions to instil the correct 'Maoist' ideology in the party, and eliminate rivals and

dissenters like Wang Ming.

During the Yan'an Period, Mao had the time and freedom to study and refine his understanding of

Marxist theory, and this led to the development of Mao Zedong Thought - the 'sinification of

Marxism'. In particular, Mao endorsed the concepts of the 'mass line' (taking ideas 'from the

masses, to the masses' instead of having purely top-down party leadership) and 'new democracy'

(a nationalist alliance of patriotic classes to peacefully create a revolution, instead of stimulating

violent class warfare between the proletariat and bourgeoisie).

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b Below is an exemplar response to Question 1b:

The Chinese Communist Party responded to the Japanese invasion in three ways. Firstly, it sought to

repair its relationship with the Guomindang (GMD) by forming the Second United Front (September

1937). Both sides committed not to fight one another, and instead to resist the Japanese invaders.

Secondly, recognising that 'the Japanese had neither the means nor the desire to establish power

throughout…rural areas', the CCP took advantage of the opportunity to spread out across the Northern

Chinese countryside, training peasant militias, conducting land reform campaigns, and spreading

Communist propaganda. Thirdly, the CCP maintained a campaign of guerrilla resistance to the Japanese

occupation force. Therefore, as Source 2 notes, 'the Communist armies…impressed the public' despite

their limited contribution to the war effort.

Relevant discussion points for Question 1b include:

Source 2 provides students with an opportunity to discuss the fact that the CCP faced few threats

from the Japanese.

The CCP denounced the Japanese invasion as imperialist aggression, and restated their

commitment to opposing it.

After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937, the CCP opened negotiations with the GMD

government to form an anti-Japanese alliance. The terms of the alliance were finalised in

September 1937 as the 'Second United Front'. In theory, the CCP subordinated the Red Army to

the GMD (as the 'Eighth Route Army' and 'New Fourth Army'), but in practice, both sides

recognised one another's spheres of influence and independence and simply agreed to suspend

hostilities until the war was over.

Official CCP policy endorsed low-level guerrilla resistance against the Japanese throughout

Northern China, and rejected direct assaults or confrontations. Only a single conventional attack

was launched against the Japanese: the disastrous Hundred Regiments Offensive (Aug-Dec 1940)

which resulted in 22,000 Red Army casualties while inflicting just 3,000 Japanese casualties.

The 'Second United Front' collapsed in January 1941, after GMD forces attacked and killed 7,000

Communists in the 'New Fourth Army Incident'. This incident appears to have convinced the CCP

of the futility of cooperating with the GMD and defeating the Japanese.

Due to hostility from the GMD, the lack of Japanese interest in the countryside, and the CCP's

own inability to fight the Japanese, the CCP's main response to the Japanese invasion was

therefore to simply spread across the countryside, recruiting peasant supporters, and preparing for

the upcoming Civil War with the GMD.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 1c:

The principal reason for the Communist victory was clearly the Japanese invasion, which is explored in

Source 2, as it fatally undermined the GMD. However, Mao Zedong's dynamic leadership was clearly of

similar importance in bringing about this victory, and sources 1 and 3 both allude to Mao's crucial role

in mobilising and unleashing peasant anger against the GMD.

Historian Immanuel Hsu cynically argues that the Communists regarded the Japanese invasion as

'nothing more than a means…to be freed from Nationalist attacks' and to therefore expand. This reflects

the claim made in source 2 that it was 'the Japanese had neither the means nor the desire' to eradicate the

Communists, and instead focused on fighting the GMD. Mao himself reportedly claimed that 'Our fixed

policy should be 70% expansion, 20% dealings with the GMD and 10% resisting the Japanese.' This can

be corroborated by the fact that the CCP launched only a single offensive on the Japanese during the 8-

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year war, and the Red Army grew from just 20,000 soldiers in 1937 to 800,000 in 1945. Therefore, the

invasion provided the CCP with an essential chance to recover, adapt and grow, placing it in a position

of strength when the final Civil War with the GMD broke out in 1946.

However, while the Japanese invasion created the 'preconditions of Communist success' as historian

Maurice Meisner argues, it was what historian Jean Chesneaux calls 'explosions of peasant anger' during

the Civil War that brought about Communist victory. The GMD regime failed to deliver on

Dr Sun Yat-sen's promise of 'land to the tiller', and this promise was instead adopted by the CCP. The

Communist Outline Land Reform Law of 1947 launched a violent campaign of peasant uprisings, land

seizures and attacks on the gentry throughout northern China. It also generated a high degree of support

for the Communists, who were thus able to recruit millions of volunteers at the same time that the GMD

armies suffered mass desertions and demoralisation. This view is reflected in Source 3, which correctly

states that 'victory came on the basis of a massive social revolution' and the Communist promise of land

and justice. Where other Communist leaders had emphasised an orthodox focus on the urban proletariat,

it was Mao Zedong alone who can be credited for this 'discover[y]' of 'the key to power in the Chinese

countryside', and Mao's emphasis on peasant-oriented doctrines like the mass line and land reform

helped win the support needed to take control of China in 1949.

Relevant discussion points for Question 1c include:

Source 1 provides students with an opportunity to discuss how Maoist ideology was central in

generating mass support for the CCP, and thus the popular support needed for victory.

Source 2 provides students with an opportunity to discuss how the Japanese invasion

simultaneously weakened the GMD while giving the CCP a chance to expand and gain public

prestige.

Source 3 provides students with an opportunity to discuss the promise of social justice and

economic reform that the Communists offered to the peasantry, and may provide a launching

point for the discussion of the Land Reform campaign of 1947-49.

Strong students should be able to supply a range of examples of different views of the Communist

victory.

Students could draw factual evidence from any of the following:

o Chiang Kai-shek's GMD was fatally undermined by its reliance on warlords - this

produced a corrupt, unresponsive government that failed to provide any meaningful

social reforms;

o The Long March elevated Mao to CCP leadership and gave him legendary qualities

which he exploited to reshape the CCP from an orthodox Marxist-Leninist party into a

dynamic, nationalist-populist organisation that could gain the support of hundreds of

millions of peasants;

o The Yan'an Soviet provided a safe base for the rebuilding of the CCP after the Long

March, the testing and refinement of new policies, and the growth of both the party and

Red Army;

o The Japanese invasion exposed and highlighted the weaknesses of the GMD, whilst

giving the CCP a chance to adapt, respond and grow to the changed situation;

o During the Civil War (1946-49), the CCP launched a massive land reform campaign

which won the support of the tens of millions of peasants across Northern China;

o The demoralised, corrupt and poorly-led GMD forces suffered mass surrenders during the

Civil War, whilst the Communist armies grew rapidly and moved quickly.

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Consequences of revolution – The Chinese Revolution from 1949 to 1971

Both of Questions 2 and 3 should be marked on a scale.

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-3 marks Shows limited knowledge. Inaccurate or incomplete information is provided.

4-5 marks Shows a basic level of knowledge and limited skill. Generalisations are common, but some

facts are included.

6-7 marks Shows a confident level of knowledge and skill. Discussion points are well-organised and

the argument is developed logically, in steps. Evidence is provided.

8-9 marks Shows an excellent level of knowledge and skill. Precise and accurate evidence is provided.

10 marks Shows an exemplary level of knowledge and skill. A wide range of precise and accurate

evidence is provided.

Question 2 (10 marks)

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) cemented its control over China through a series of mass

campaigns, each targeting specific 'class enemies' or opponents of the state, between 1949 and 1957.

Firstly, the Campaign to Suppress Counter-Revolutionaries (1950-52) sought to eradicate remnants of

the Guomindang armies and party left over from the Civil War. Gun ownership was illegalised, remnant

forces ordered to surrender to the People's Liberation Army, and citizens were encouraged to denounce

GMD party members to the authorities. 800,000 'counter-revolutionaries' were killed in People's

Liberation Army operations against the GMD armies, or executed after public trials establishing their

guilt. This campaign consolidated the CCP's single-party dictatorship by generating public fear of any

association with the GMD.

Secondly, the CCP launched campaigns to eradicate their 'class enemies'. During the Land Reform

Campaign (1950-52), millions of landlords were denounced by the peasants in 'Speak Bitterness'

meetings, and put on trial by People's Courts. 1 million were executed. A similar but less violent process

occurred in the cities, when citizens were encouraged to denounce the bourgeoisie during the Five Antis

campaign (1952). 370,000 business owners were found guilty of crimes such as bribery and theft of state

property. Punitive fines forced these capitalists to sell their businesses to the government. The effect of

these two governments was to destroy the property-owning classes, and generate a fear of being

perceived as a member of the gentry or bourgeoisie.

Finally, after public criticism of the party surfaced during the Hundred Flowers Campaign of 1957, the

CCP launched the Anti-Rightist Campaign. Those who criticised the party were denounced as 'right

deviationists', and 400,000 were purged. This sent a powerful message that obedience to the party was

paramount, and thus generated mass compliance.

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Relevant discussion points for Question 2 include:

The 'Campaign to Suppress Counter-Revolutionaries' spanned the period 1950-52 and sought to

eradicate any remaining opponents of the regime and restore law and order.

o The campaign involved both military methods (the People's Liberation Army conducted

search-and-destroy missions for GMD army remnants and bandit forces) and political

methods (the CCP encouraged the population to denounce GMD collaborators and

members);

o An estimated 800,000 were executed during this campaign - mostly GMD remnant forces

killed by the PLA;

The Land Reform Campaign of 1950-52 was accompanied by a wave of violence targeting

landlords.

o This violence was tacitly encouraged by Communist cadres through the practice of

holding 'Speak Bitterness' meetings. Cadres encouraged peasants to denounce the

landlords for past abuses - such as exploitative interest rates, high rents, intimidation,

rape, etc. By mobilising peasant anger, the CCP implicitly approved of this being

expressed as violence;

o An estimated 1 million landlords were executed by 'People's Courts', which were often

little more than mob trials or lynchings. An estimated 10 million other landlords were

subject to torture, humiliation and abuse and had their property expropriated and

redistributed;

The Three Antis ('Sanfan') Campaign of 1950 sought to terrorise corrupt and self-serving

bureaucrats and party members, and establish a culture of loyalty and obedience within the

government and party.

o The public were encouraged government employees and party cadres who were guilty of

corruption, waste and bureaucracy;

o Two leading party cadres, Tianjin Party Secretaries Liu Qingshan and Zhang Zishan,

were executed after being found guilty of embezzlement. Mao justified this by saying “if

we execute two of them, can we prevent 20,000 corrupt officials from committing

various crimes”;

o Many other party officials were fined, demoted or fired;

o The campaign established a culture of obedience and ascetic honesty within the CCP.

The Five Antis ('Wufan') Campaign of 1952 sought to terrorise the bourgeoisie and capitalists

into giving up their property and accepting state control of the economy.

o The public were encouraged to denounce business owners for the crimes of bribery, theft

of state property, tax evasion, cheating, stealing economic information;

o 450,000 business owners were investigated, and 370,000 were found guilty and given

punishments. The most common punishments were punitive fines which forced the owner

to sell their business to the government.

The Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957 sought to terrorise Chinese intellectuals and establish a

culture of obedience to the party.

o The campaign was a response to growing public criticism during the Hundred Flowers

campaign of 1957, which was seen as threatening the party's dictatorship;

o All party and government organisations were exhorted to denounce 5% of their

membership as 'rightists' who opposed the party or were too conservative in their

thinking’

o Approximately 400,000 were punished - many were sentenced to laogai ('reform through

labour') and purged.

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Question 3 (10 marks)

The Great Famine of 1959-61 was caused by the unrealistic expectations and untested methods of the

Great Leap Forward.

Firstly, while it sought to improve grain production, the Great Leap Forward relied on untested and

pseudoscientific ideas that had the opposite effect. For example, the 'Four Pests' campaign exhorted

peasants to kill sparrows under the assumption that they ate seed grain. In reality, sparrows played an

important role in eating insect pests, and the campaign led to locust plagues that attacked wheat crops in

northern China. Similarly, Trofim Lysenko's method of 'close planting' actually accelerated crop failures,

as it caused plants to develop small root systems that stunted their development. Campaigns like these led

to a 30% decline in grain production from 1958 to 1960.

Secondly, agricultural labour was wasted as a consequence of the massive industrial projects. 100

million peasants were forced to work on backyard furnaces instead of in the fields, and 30 million

peasants were recruited away from their farms to work in mines and factories. Women were mobilised to

take the place of men in the fields. Labour shortages and exhausting work conditions contributed to a

15% decline in sown acreage during the GLF, as well as problems harvesting and storing grain.

Finally, severe pressure to conform resulted in Communist cadres falsifying production figures and then

permitting the government to requisition excessive amounts of grain. This pressure mainly came from the

1957 Anti-Rightist Campaign, which saw 400,000 intellectuals purged for their conservative, anti-party

views. The purge of Peng Dehuai in 1959 after he criticised the GLF sent a fresh message that dissent

would not be tolerated. Therefore, grassroots cadres misled the party leadership into believing the GLF

was working, when in reality, the population was starving.

Relevant discussion points for Question 3 include:

The mass campaigns of the Great Leap Forward relied on untested and misguided ideas which

either wasted resources or contributed to crop failures:

o The 'Four Pests' campaign exhorted peasants to kill sparrows under the assumption that

they ate seed grain. However, sparrows helped suppress insect pests like locusts. As a

result of the Four Pests campaign, insect pests multiplied and attacked crops;

o The 'Backyard Furnaces' campaign encouraged peasants to use their spare time to smelt

scrap metal into steel in homemade furnaces. 100 million peasants worked on 750,000

smelters, which produced worthless slag. This program diverted urgently needed

agricultural labour, contributing to shortages and harvest problems;

o The 'Going up to Heaven' campaign encouraged communes and production brigades to

compete to meet ever-escalating production targets. This led to systematic lying and

falsification of production figures - creating a false image of success.

The pseudoscientific methods of Soviet agronomist Trofim Lysenko were endorsed by Mao and

implemented without testing. These contributed to mass crop failure.

o 'Close planting' aimed to make greater use of limited field space. Overcrowding

prevented healthy root systems from developing, and caused crop failures;

o 'Deep ploughing' aimed to promote more rigorous root system development. However,

seeds contained limited nutrients, were unable to sprout, and crops failed;

o Imported crop breeds were endorsed - even when these were unsuited to climate or soil.

This led to crop failures;

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There was extreme pressure on party cadres to conform with the Great Leap Forward, especially

after the Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957 saw the purging of 400,000 'rightist' intellectuals and

cadres. Therefore, party officials disguised or denied the failures of the Great Leap Forward, and

permitted excessive grain requisitioning from peasants under their authority;

In 1959, Mao Zedong purged Marshal Peng Dehuai at the Lushan Conference, after Peng

criticised the Great Leap Forward. This reinforced the pressure to conform, and triggered a fresh

purge of another 350,000 'rightists' within the CCP. This paralysed the CCP and made it unable to

respond to the growing crisis for fear of being purged.

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SECTION B – Revolution 2

France

Causes of revolution – The French Revolution from 1774 to October 1789

Question 1 – Essay (20 marks)

Responses to Question 1 should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-5 marks A response which shows limited knowledge and has significant problems. There is no

attempt to organise arguments into an essay format.

6-10 marks A response which shows basic knowledge and has significant problems.

11-14 marks A response which shows a sound level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are organised into

paragraphs. The response shows knowledge, although it may be generalised or narrative.

A simple or pedestrian argument is developed in response to the question.

15-17 marks A response which shows a strong level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are well-organised

into paragraphs, and the essay has a clear introduction and conclusion. A coherent

argument is developed which is substantiated with evidence throughout.

18-19 marks A response which shows an excellent level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are well-

structured and highly coherent. Argument is originally and well-supported. A wide

range of precise and specific evidence is used. Originality of thinking is evident. There

may be problems of relevance or precision which indicate a lack of knowledge or skill.

20 marks A response which shows an exemplary level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are well-

structured and highly coherent. Argument is original and well-supported. A wide range

of precise and specific evidence is used. All points are accurate and relevant to the

question.

The ancien regime of pre-revolutionary France could well have survived had King Louis XVI been of

stronger character and more intellectually competent to take the reins of the struggling French nation.

Having succeeded two strong, influential Kings, Louis XVI inherited a nation in 1774 used to firm

governance. He also inherited a country sorely lacking in equality, in terms of finance and opportunity,

and with an enormous national debt. While these obstacles would have been a blight for any king, Louis

XVI was so fundamentally unsuited to leadership that his character exacerbated the already dangerous

situation that he inherited. As one member of the Paris Parlement stated, ‘timidity and mistrust of himself

are at the centre of his character’, indeed Louis’s indecision and timorousness made him a significant

cause of the Revolution.

France yearned for massive internal restructuring of its society, government, and economic system

following the ravages of extravagant spending and the expense of war inflicted by its Kings.

Notwithstanding the 1200 million livres debt incurred by King Louis XVI’s own decision to involve

France in the American War of Independence. These preconditions that sowed the seeds for the French

Revolution may never have germinated had King Louis been prepared to exercise his dynastic power. Yet

Louis was described as a ‘laughing stock’ at Versailles, and Georges Lefebvre claimed ‘he did not have

enough intelligence to run the country properly’. It was widely recognised that Louis was not emotionally

suited to command, Christopher Hibbert exemplifies this when he attests that Louis made the following

pathetic query of a retiring minister, ‘Why can’t I resign too?’

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Alongside his personal inadequacies, Louis XVI was surrounded by the trappings of royal largesse that

distanced him from his subjects. With his wife, Marie-Antoinette, he indulged in the excess that privileged

Bourbon kings had enjoyed for centuries. None of this would have sparked revolution, were it not for

Louis’s injudicious decision to allow Jacques Necker in February 1781 to complete a ‘Compte de Rendu

a Roi’ (a Complete Account to the King) which publically outlined the extent of national and royal

expenses. While this document revealed that the royal expenses accounted for only 6.1% of national

expenses, it was more than public works (2.9%) and charities (1.7%) combined. The public awareness of

royal expense was never more apparent. His wife’s alleged (and actual) profligacy also added to the

belief that France’s royal family had little regard for the poverty endured by their subjects.

With the nation spiralling towards bankruptcy, Louis XVI made the decision in 1783 to appoint Calonne

as Controller-General in an effort to arrest the economic disaster and approved Calonne’s ‘Plan to

improve the finances of the nation’ in 1786. Calonne’s plan required an ‘Assembly of Notables’ to ratify

his revenue raising strategies. This proved disastrous for the monarchy as the Assembly when it met in

February 1787 turned out to be anything but pliable and catalysed a revolutionary attitude. The Notables

did not endorse Calonne’s ideas and publically counteracted the wishes of the King, it led to Calonne’s

dismissal but also ignited a ‘pamphlet war’ that continuously questioned the position of the monarchy.

Louis XVI’s next strategy further denigrated his standing: Calonne’s replacement, Brienne tried to use

the power of the Parlement to approve economic reform. Brienne was almost successful in his quest but

in overseeing the ‘Lit de Justice’ on the 19th November 1787, Louis XVI revealed an authoritarian side to

himself that had hitherto been absent from his reign. His inflexible response to the Paris Parlement’s

stature snowballed into significant revolutionary angst. This Royal Session of the Paris Parlement was a

public-relations disaster for the King – revealing either his incompetence or authoritarian nature – when

he decreed that ‘it is so because I wish it’ he disenfranchised both the Parlement and the people. This led

to public outcry across France in more pamphlets and also in violent outburst like the ‘Day of Tiles’ in

Grenoble in June of 1788.

Louis XVI’s incompetence at the Assembly of Notables and the Paris Parlement forced his hand into

calling one final forum, the Estates-General which had not been used since 1614. Once again, this was

played out in front of a fascinated and energised public who were given (by Louis) the opportunity to vote

for delegates and list their grievances in the cahiers de doleances. This was the final fuel for a

revolutionary situation as the Estates-General (May 1789) developed into a platform for revolutionary

ideology and actions. Firstly, the structure and ritual of the formation of the Estates-General – dress,

position of the Third Estate, voting rights – all served to alienate the 600 deputies of the Third Estate. The

lack of interest shown by the King in the initial proceedings, his censure of his cousin for marching with

the Third Estate in the opening procession, his later withdrawal due to the illness and sadly, death of the

dauphin on the 4th of June were all perceived to be evidence of a King who lacked the inclination or

wherewithal for reform.

Most damning, however, was King Louis XVI’s response to the formation of a National Assembly by the

Third Estate (17th June, 1789) through his calling of a Royal Session (23

rd June, 1789) as a show of

absolute power. This would not only ratify the assembly but inspire further acts towards revolution. The

Royal Session of the 23rd

June proved disastrous for Louis XVI; led by Mirabeau who claimed that the

Assembly was above the law of the monarchy, subject to the nation and not the king and that they would

driven out of the chambers only by ‘bayonets’ or by force. The King’s retreat to authoritarianism after

such a period of incompetence emboldened the people rendering him and perhaps the ancien regime as a

pathetic relic. This found its physical incarnation in the events that followed, Desmoulins’ call to arms

the moment after Necker’s dismissal on the 11th July, the subsequent Storming of the Bastille on the 14

th

July and the Great Fear (20th July-4

th August). It found its spiritual or ideological incarnation in the Night

of Patriotic Delirium on the 4th of August and in the Declaration on the Rights of Man and the Citizen on

26th August.

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Therefore it was the personality of the King, the perception of his decadent lifestyle, his injudicious

appointments and decisions and, most fatefully, his retreat to authoritarianism when consensus was

needed that allowed France to revolt in the summer of 1789.

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Consequences of revolution – The French Revolution from October 1789 to 1795

Question 2 (20 marks)

Responses to Questions 2a and Question 2b should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2 marks A response which shows only basic knowledge. The response may transcribe features of the

source and will show little or no original knowledge.

3 marks A response which shows sound knowledge and draws upon the sources. The response

includes evidence, but may be limited as it transcribes from the source, generalises, or

wanders from the question.

4 marks A focused and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources, and includes

relevant factual information. Specific facts are used.

5 marks A focused, knowledgeable and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources,

and includes a range of relevant factual information. Precise and specific facts are used.

Responses to Question 2c should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-3 marks A response which shows only basic comprehension and no real skill. The student may

transcribe from the sources without any insight or purpose. The student may develop a

simple narrative which shows only very limited understanding. No real attempt is made to

supply evidence.

4-5 marks A response which shows limited skill but a good level of comprehension. The student may

focus on developing a factual narrative instead of meaningfully evaluating different factors,

or else they may focus on evaluating the sources rather than broader historical questions.

The student makes some attempt to support their claims and/or refer to other views, but

tends to rely on generalisations.

6-7 marks A response which shows a confident understanding and a sound level of skill. The student

either show limited evaluation, or else fails to support their evaluation effectively with

evidence. Factual evidence is included, although it may not always be precise, and there are

references to other views.

8-9 marks A response which shows a strong level of skill and insight. The student develops a focused

evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual evidence from the

student’s own knowledge, and other views. Specific facts and direct quotes are used

throughout. There may be minor problems which do not indicate a lack of knowledge.

10 marks A response which shows an exemplary level of skill and insight. The student develops a

confident and nuanced evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual

evidence from the student’s own knowledge, and other views. The student uses precise and

accurate quotes and facts. All discussion is focused, relevant and of high quality.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 2a:

Source 1 adamantly emphasises the manner in which the threat of the Terror paralysed the previously

liberal and boisterous Convention. Thibaudeau who was a deputy to the National Convention and a

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member of the Mountain illustrates how the Terror ‘stupefied’ the Assembly and prohibited the free

exchange of ideas that the revolutionaries had initially demanded. The Terror made a prisoner of free

speech and caused all members to second-guess their interjections, for fear of being labelled a royalist or

sarcastically, ‘a statesman, an honourable name which became harmful and a reason for exclusion’.

Thibaudeau points out that after the expulsion of the Girondins in May-June of 1793, the deputies ‘fell

into chaos’ and when the policy of Terror until peace was instituted in September of that year, deputies

and citizens were equally silenced. The policy countered every ambition of the men of 1789 and the

National Convention guillotined liberty and fraternity when in March and April of 1794, the Hebertists

and Indulgents were victims of the Terror.

Relevant discussion points for Question 2a include:

This source provides an insight from one of the participants of the culture and tone of the

National Convention.

Thibaudeau paints a picture of a Convention being held ransom to terror. He points out that the

fear of not looking revolutionary enough was significant yet the fear of acting incorrectly

(whatever that meant) was even greater so the Convention was paralysed.

He comments on the expulsion of the Girondins and this is where students can bring in their own

knowledge and illustrate the events of May 31-June 2nd

1793 and the Convention’s role in it;

Students could also talk about how the Convention began to be subjugated to the whims of the

Committees who seemed to wield greater power than them in the Summer of 1793.

This power was further abrogated in the following year and right up to the Convention’s demise

in the Thermidorean Reaction.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 2b:

Albert Soboul claims in Source 2 that the Terror was something that the people desired, he asserts that

the ‘popular upsurge’ created the demand for Terror – in essence, the Terror was something that satisfied

the temperament of the people whilst curtailing their excesses. In this vein, he accurately summarises one

of the impacts of the Terror, it sated the more radical elements of the populace but more than this, it gave

the ‘mob’ the belief that they could exact change. Many aspects of the Terror, the Law of Maximum is a

good example, where demands from the sans-culottes and the impact was one that made the people feel

empowered. But for many French citizens, the Terror was incapacitating and oppressive. Some 16000

citizens experienced the National Razor as a result of the Terror, prison populations in Paris tripled

during the latter part of 1793 after the Law of Suspects was issued. Hundreds more were beaten or even

killed by mob violence and the tone of anti-clericalism alienated vast numbers of the French population.

Relevant discussion points for Question 2b include:

Soboul’s opinion of the Terror is that whilst it was terrible it was something desired and

necessary for the progression of the revolution. The people were indeed terrorised but only those

who were in combat with the popular upsurge.

The Terror therefore was a source of empowerment for many of the people of France and created

the strength that the government needed to combat the war and control the people. The terror

allowed the government the ability to govern.

Students could illustrate their own knowledge by referring to some of the acts of empowerment

that the terror gave the people:

o The Terror it could be reasonably argued ‘saved’ the revolution;

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o The growth and strength of the sans-culottes movement and the various changes they

encouraged the Convention to perform – the expulsion of the Girondins for example;

o The Law of Maximum in September 1793 was also an act that showed how the Terror

could bring price control to the people;

Students could then discuss the horrors of the terror and how the people of France were its

greatest victims – some sources state that 80% of the Terror’s victims were of the Third Estate.

16000 Parisians were killed and thousands more in the rest of France – some figures reach

300,000.

Indeed, many Frenchmen and women were ostracised by the Terror in their own country and a

sense of paralysis captured the country.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 2c:

These sources differ in their understanding of the policy of Terror, for Thibaudeau, the Terror was a

massive compromise. It destroyed the liberty and fraternity created by the gains of 1789; he describes an

Assembly who were frozen in fear of their very words and gestures. It made everyone a potential criminal

and ‘stupefied the deputies’. These were the very deputies who had secured revolution in the first place

and hence the Terror shattered the revolutionary gains. For Soboul, the Terror was not so much a

compromise but an extension of revolutionary behaviour. He sees no compromise rather a consequence

of action, ‘the result of the popular upsurge had been to make terror the order of the day’. Soboul does

not have a dramatic tone like in Source 1, it’s reasonable and matter of fact. He calmly points out that the

Committee of Public Safety was faced with a war at home and abroad and acted out of necessity ‘to place

repression on a regular footing, to keep terror within its legal limits’. In other works, Soboul similarly

states that the Terror was not a compromise but was needed to finally destroy the ancien regime. He

argues that ‘it was out of sheer necessity that it did so; the public welfare demanded it. J. M. Thompson

agrees with this view that the Terror was not that terrible, he argues that ‘there is, in fact, little evidence

that Paris as a whole was either shocked or frightened by the Terror. It seemed the natural outcome of

the Revolution’. William Doyle and Alfred Cobban would not agree with this view of the Terror, both

would lean toward Thibaudeau’s account. Indeed, Doyle sounds very much like the extract as he stated

‘to criticise the Terror was to risk suspicion of sympathizing with its victims, and thereby become one of

them. Yet many deputies, probably most, were deeply uneasy about terror as a basis for government from

the state’. Similarly, Cobban argued that the Terror was not a product of the people, it was rather an

indiscriminate attack on them, ‘a mindless, reasonless machine’, it fell increasingly and indiscriminately

on all sections of the community’ a complete departure from the goals of the revolution, he asserts.

Relevant discussion points for Question 2c include:

These sources differ in their opinion on the outcome of the Terror, for Thibaudeau the Terror was

a negative – it destroyed the gains of the Revolution and revoked the liberty that he and many of

the deputies had fought for in 1789.

For Soboul, the Terror was an extension of a natural process, the revolution was under threat and

the Terror stabilised and rescued it from failure. For him there is no compromise rather a

consequence of action. Note how his assured logical tone contrasts with Thibeadeau’s tone of

dejection and disaster.

Thibaudeau’s position within the Convention makes him a valuable source but it also betrays his

bias – perhaps he wishes to distance himself from the excesses of the Terror, given he clearly

survives the revolution we view his evidence with a discerning eye.

Soboul also reveals his bias within his account – as a Marxist historian, he endorses the act of

revolution especially one that sees (as he claims) the rise of one class at the expense of a previous

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ruling class – it is in his (ideological) interest to suggest that the Terror was not an act of a

revolution derailed but the fundamental process of keeping a revolution intact.

Some historians would agree with the view of Soboul (although not for the same ideological

reasons) for J M Thompson, the Terror has been exaggerated and he would see it as something

which did not impact upon the people as hindsight alleges – he claims it was the ‘natural outcome

of the revolution’.

Other historians would radically disagree with Soboul and prefer to use Thibaudeau’s account to

illustrate that the Terror broke away from the goals of the revolution, destroyed the harmony of

the new society and was an act of revolution in itself – with the people being the victims of

misguided and self-interested men interested in securing power for their own gain. William

Doyle, Simon Schama and Alfred Cobban (in varying degrees) best represent this type of

commentary.

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Russia

Causes of revolution – The Russian Revolution from 1896 to October 1917

Question 1 – Essay (20 marks)

Responses to Question 1 should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-5 marks A response which shows limited knowledge and has significant problems. There is no

attempt to organise arguments into an essay format.

6-10 marks A response which shows basic knowledge and has significant problems.

11-14 marks A response which shows a sound level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are organised into

paragraphs. The response shows knowledge, although it may be generalised or narrative.

A simple or pedestrian argument is developed in response to the question.

15-17 marks A response which shows a strong level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are well-organised

into paragraphs, and the essay has a clear introduction and conclusion. A coherent

argument is developed which is substantiated with evidence throughout.

18-19 marks A response which shows an excellent level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are well-

structured and highly coherent. Argument is original and well-supported. A wide range

of precise and specific evidence is used. Originality of thinking is evident. There may be

problems of relevance or precision which do not indicate a lack of knowledge or skill.

20 marks A response which shows an exemplary level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are well-

structured and highly coherent. Argument is original and well-supported. A wide range

of precise and specific evidence is used. All points are accurate and relevant to the

question.

The October Revolution of 1917 is one of the most celebrated events in history and was the result of years

of crises facing the Russian people. The Bolsheviks were merely the catalyst for change in the October

Revolution of 1917 as years of oppression under Tsarism and the failed policies under the Provisional

Government allowed for the eventual siege of power after two previous revolutions that both had only a

small amount of discernible support for Bolsheviks.

The long term causes of revolution were felt for years before the Bolshevik Revolution with a lack of

political, economic and cultural power for the vast majority of Russians, initially erupting in the

Revolution of 1905. Power had rested in the divinely-appointed Tsar who was failed to introduce reforms

to appease the productive classes, national minorities and alienated liberal intelligentsia. The Tsar

promoted reactionary policies to maintain power oppressing self-determination through ‘Russification’

and pogroms. Economic policies in ‘the Great Spurt’ under Witte (1892 to 1903) promoted modernisation

in order to improve military strength but were too dependent on foreign loans. Urban centres rife with

overpopulation saw political parties such as the Narodniks, peasant-minded Social Revolutionaries and

Social Democrats began to secretly meet whilst demanding better working conditions and civil liberties.

With the prospect of losing the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) and the catalyst of ‘Bloody Sunday’ (9

January 1905 O.S.) military mutinies (June through September 1905), peasant uprisings, and general

strikes in Saint Petersburg and Moscow (September through November 1905), paralysed the Russian

economy and forced Nicholas’s hand in the creation of the October Manifesto (17 October 1905 OS). The

Petrograd Soviet, led by then Menshevik Trotsky, showed some strength but revolutionaries were late in

gathering mass support. Assassinations by extremist SRs displaying their populist goals and Marxist-

Leninist were clearly unsuccessful. Nicholas’ October Manifesto introduced the ‘essential foundations of

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civil freedom’ and established the legislative authority of the Duma. However, Trotsky noted that Russia

had ‘…been given a constitution, but absolutism [remained]…everything [was] given and nothing [was]

given’ especially after the Fundamental Laws of 1906. Therefore, long term needs were critically not met

with long term solutions and the Bolsheviks had no part in providing key reform as the Party’s leader was

in exile.

From the Revolution of 1905 until February 1917, key long term issues simmered and were joined by

catastrophic issues of war and lack of authority, all of which were not remedied by the Bosheviks. Service

notes that Nicholas II upheld authority due to ‘the unsparing use of the army, and its last-ditch promise of

political concessions in the October Manifesto….’ With reactionary election reform, the use of ‘Stolypin’s

necktie’ and the Lena Massacre (1912) revealed a brutality which led to an annual exponential growth in

demonstrations. Pipes believes that ‘no package of political reforms could ever resolve the profound

social crisis that had caused the first crack in the system in 1905’. However, the most powerful short term

cause of the fall of Tsarism was the Great War. Pipes contends that ‘Tsarism’s unresolved political crises

lay at the bottom of its military defeat’, inferring that the system was already burdened by political

ineptitude, substantiating that government failed to offset an enclosing economic and social crisis. The

war also had dire economic implications with military expenditure exceeding 1.5 billion roubles which

led to substantial inflation, unemployment, starvation and critical fuel shortages. Critically, Nicholas’

foolish choice to become Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces (August 1915) meant subsequent

military losses were attributed to the Tsar. The reviled German Tsarina Alexandra and her rumoured

love Rasputin were left in control of the State, which helped lead to the spontaneous February Revolution

of 1917, ending in the Tsar’s abdication (2 March 1917 OS) and the formation of the Provisional

Government. Read maintains that ‘Russia’s disastrous performance in WWI brought about the final

destruction of power’ whilst Figes goes on to declare ‘Nicholas was the source of all the problems. If

there was a vacuum of power at the centre of the ruling system, then he was the empty space’. The nature

of the February Revolution was spontaneous, with no radical group—most certainly not the Bolsheviks—

able to claim victory even if the history of the CPSU claims that ‘the tempered workers educated for the

most part by the party of Lenin’ were responsible. In the defeat of Tsarism, Bolshevism did not have a

critical part to play.

The Provisional Government was ineffective in reform and authority which in turn led to the Bolshevik

Revolution in October. Lynch argues that ‘the Provisional Government [was] in an

impossible…situation’ as by February ‘traditional authority had been smashed beyond repair’

(Wildman). After assuming power (28 February 1917 OS) the Government was left to heal a broken

country dealing with war, political oppression, and an irreparable economy. The Provisional

Government was vying for power with the Petrograd Soviet who had declared ‘Soviet Order Number

One’, ensuring that the government’s legitimacy was questionable, as were its military forces. Lenin’s

return from exile and his April Thesis (April 1917), ‘providing the party and the proletariat with a clear

revolutionary line’ (CPSU) was the first significant challenge of the Bolsheviks. By labelling the

Provisional Government as ‘parliamentary-bourgeois’ and demanding ‘Peace! Land! Bread!’, Lenin

undermined authority. The dependence on foreign credit doomed the Provisional Government to remain

in the unpopular war. The ‘June Offensive’ saw the desertion of 170,000 men (Malone) and loss in

territory, initiated the collapse of the Soviet-Provisional Government coalition. Additionally, Kerensky’s

efforts to deploy the Petrograd garrison was believed to be an attempt to consolidate power and resulted

in ‘the July Days’, another critical attempt by Bolsheviks to take authority. This failed rebellion was

followed by Supreme Commander Kornilov’s attempt to overthrow the Provisional Government in August

1917. Kerensky assumed dictatorial powers, imposed martial law and released the Bolsheviks from

prison for support. Kerensky’s mismanagement of Kornilov ‘boosted the fortunes’ of the Bolsheviks’

(Acton) and led to Trotsky’s formation of the Red Guard ‘which set the scene for the October Revolution’

(Read). The call for peace among the soldiers, workers and peasants was one of the Bolsheviks’ main

paths to power as they offered change. Many soldiers ‘believed that February was an explicit promise

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that the war would soon end’ (Fitzpatrick) only to be dashed by the Provisional Government. Lenin was

able to ‘berate the Government for having created a discourse in class’ (Smith). Ultimately, the Kornilov

Affair strengthened the position of the Bolsheviks, which in turn, led to their majority in the Moscow and

Petrograd Soviets (September 1917), and the formation of Milrevcom (October 1917) and with planning

by Trotsky, led to the overthrow of the Provisional Government (25 October OS). Whilst Obichkin claims

that ‘Lenin’s genius as a leader of the masses’ saw the Bolsheviks take control, Pipes firmly believes

‘October was a class coup d’état [with] the capture of governmental authority by a small band.’. Ulam

stipulates that the ‘Bolsheviks did not seize power; they picked it up.’ Acton contests this, noting that it

was ‘very much more than a conspiratorial coup d’état. By then the central political issue was that of

soviet power’. Lenin, Trotsky and the Bolsheviks had cultivated support in key bases and had finally been

able to enact change after they were unable to assume any authority in the two previous revolutions, with

their significance coming at the very end.

The Bolsheviks were significant in the fact that they usurped power at the very end of a long chain of

events of a troubled land. The long term causes of the revolution saw Russians oppressed by an

unknowing leader eventually erupting into the Revolution of 1905. The short term causes of the

Revolution were the pressures faced by the Great War and ultimate breakdown of Tsarism. The

Bolsheviks indeed capitalised on these issues; however, they were only significant at the end of a long

fight.

It is important for students to discuss the nature of the key elements of the first area of study. Whilst the

question notes the Revolution, an understanding of the different phases of the area of study should be

displayed. Key elements of Tsarism and Nicholas II’s part in the downfall should be discussed. The

nature of the prompt ‘the revolutionary year of 1917’ is different from ‘the October Revolution’ or even

‘the Russian Revolution’.

The Revolution of 1905 resulted in key compromises and a blueprint for future revolutionaries. The

nature of the first two revolutions should be examined as well as the disputed nature of the October

Revolution.

This essay could also focus primarily on the actions of 1917 but it would have to more specific and link

more to ideology and the breakdown of the Provisional Government’s authority.

Key movements, individuals, ideas and events should be analysed and evaluated. Different historical

interpretations can be used to display differing perspectives on the nature of events and motivations of its

participants. Best responses will note key statistics and evaluate the most critical elements of argument.

The length will vary but the reliance on the prompt is critical.

Consequences of revolution – The Russian Revolution from October 1917 to 1927

Question 2 (20 marks)

Responses to Questions 2a and Question 2b should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2 marks A response which shows only basic knowledge. The response may transcribe features of the

source and will show little or no original knowledge.

3 marks A response which shows sound knowledge and draws upon the sources. The response

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includes evidence, but may be limited as it transcribes from the source, generalises, or

wanders from the question.

4 marks A focused and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources, and includes

relevant factual information. Specific facts are used.

5 marks A focused, knowledgeable and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources,

and includes a range of relevant factual information. Precise and specific facts are used.

Responses to Question 2c should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-3 marks A response which shows only basic comprehension and no real skill. The student may

transcribe from the sources without any insight or purpose. The student may develop a

simple narrative which shows only very limited understanding. No real attempt is made to

supply evidence.

4-5 marks A response which shows limited skill but a good level of comprehension. The student may

focus on developing a factual narrative instead of meaningfully evaluating different factors,

or else they may focus on evaluating the sources rather than broader historical questions.

The student makes some attempt to support their claims and/or refer to other views, but

tends to rely on generalisations.

6-7 marks A response which shows a confident understanding a sound level of skill. The student either

shows limited evaluation, or else fails to support their evaluation effectively with evidence.

Factual evidence is included, although it may not always be precise, and there are

references to other views.

8-9 marks A response which shows a strong level of skill and insight. The student develops a focused

evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual evidence from the

student’s own knowledge, and other views. Specific facts and direct quotes are used

throughout. There may be minor problems which do not indicate a lack of knowledge.

10 marks A response which shows an exemplary level of skill and insight. The student develops a

confident and nuanced evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual

evidence from the student’s own knowledge, and other views. The student uses precise and

accurate quotes and facts. All discussion is focused, relevant and of high quality.

a. The Red Army was successful due to the area the Reds controlled, the extraordinary military

leadership of ‘Trotsky the Saviour’ (Source 1), the 'fight to the death' mentality of the revolutionary

struggle and the non-aligned nature of its opponents. First, the Bolsheviks managed to control the

economic and political heartland of European Russia. Petrograd and Moscow's factories were used for

munitions and control of the best railway lines allowed for goods and troops to be easily moved to the

front lines. Contrastingly, the Whites had no unified base from which to operate. Secondly, Trotsky’s Red

Army (established February 1918) of 500,000 at the end of 1918 grew into a professional army of 5

million by 1920. His hard-line approach to the military saw severe punishments (often death) for those

who broke their military oaths and used former tsarist army officials against their will for expert advice.

Using decisive leadership, Trotsky raced to all fronts on the trains, rallying the support of the troops.

Thirdly, his brilliant use of agitprop ignited the spirit of the army while heightening the fervour of

revolutionary righteousness as shown in Source 1 by the military leader slaying the snake of ‘counter-

revolution’. By displaying the war as a historic struggle and support of the Motherland, support was

garnered by displaying the civil war as an epic class war. Lastly, the opposition was ill defined. The

Whites were a conglomeration of forces ranging from Social Revolutionaries to the most reactionary

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supporters of the Tsar whilst the Greens were leaderless peasant armies and the Blacks of the Don and

the Crimea were anarchists who did not have centralised authority. The Whites lost support of the

national groups (like the Ukrainians and Georgians) with their sometimes reactionary ideals. Without

key leaders and a unified vision for the future of Russia they ‘failed to adapt to the new revolutionary

world’ (Source 2), these groups were doomed to fail as international intervention provided little support

following the monumental Great War. With geography, leadership, ideology and ineffective opposition,

the Reds were able to secure victory.

In this response students should present the key points about the Red victory using the sources provided.

Trotsky’s role should be noted as well as geographical benefits and disunity amongst the opposition.

Stronger students would note key statistics displaying this information as well as noting the different

groups that fought the Reds, rather them just labelling them the Whites.

b. Terror was implemented by both the Reds and the Whites to ensure victory by consolidating power,

seeking out opponents and bringing critical supplies to the warfront. Following the October Revolution

and the initial decrees of Sovnarkom, the Bolsheviks were keen to stamp out any resistance to their aims.

Railway strikes (November 1917), the elections for the Constituent Assembly (November 1917) and the

first glimpses of revolt in the Don (December 1917) revealed a strong resistance to the new authority.

Felix Dzerzhinsky set up the Cheka (December 1917) to combat ‘the enemy within’. In March 1918, the

Cheka, employed 1000 staff who targeted the privileged classes in order to enforce class warfare. Latsis

noted to ‘first ask to which class he belongs, what his social origin is… [which] must determine the fate

of the accused. That is the meaning of the Red Terror’. The Whites on the other hand organised pogroms,

killing up to 100,000 Jews to use the agency of the people to unite them under one banner. With the

implementation of War Communism (July 1918) and following Lenin’s assassination attempt by Fanny

Kaplan (August 1918), the Red Terror became increasingly centralised and powerful. The execution of

the royal family (17 July 1918) demonstrated the forceful intent of the Reds from the beginning. The

Hanging Order (Source 3) further revealed the objective ‘to set an example’ with their actions that ‘the

people [would] see, tremble, know, shout’what the Reds wanted enforced, and much of this was

ideological with the target often being kulaks.Other undesireables were those who were guilty of being

‘burzhooi’ or counter-revolutionary, with estimates according to Corin and Fiehn reaching up to

300,000. The Terror allowed for consolidation of power which left key geographical areas, transport and

communication in the hands of the Bolsheviks, thus helping to ensure goods went to the frontlines, feeding

and supplying the army. Trotksy the Saviour (Source 1) and Lenin wanted to ensure the survival of the

revolutionary Reds at any cost, requistioning grain and supplies for the military. With Terror, Russia was

faced with devasation, destruction and disease in order to consolidate power, pursue adversaries and win

the war.’

This response should be centred on the Terror and not delve too deeply into either the War or War

Communism. In addition, this response should focus on the growing consolidation of power of the Cheka

and should note Dzerzhinsky by name. Stronger students will note the White Terror as well. ‘The

Hanging Order’ should be noted as it effectively displays the key class warfare ideology (expecially

against the named kulaks).

c. The Russian Civil War (1918 to 1922) had a devastating impact on all the people of Russia which not

only resulted in great famine and deaths, but also the consolidation of power of the Bolsheviks and

ultimately the compromise of ideology. Source 1 portrays Trotsky as a saviour to the people of Russia;

however, White propaganda frequently portrayed him as a red devil. These conflicting images underpin

the reality of life under the Russian Civil War with 10 million dead, 9.5 million from starvation and

disease (Oxley). According to Lincoln, in 1920 most wages were less than a fiftieth of levels in 1914.

Smith goes on to note that Petrograd and Moscow’s populations dropped 70% and 50% respectively,

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displaying a critical loss of food supply and stability for urban workers. Industrial output fell to 13% of

pre-war levels, needing a significant change. The intent behind Source 3 displays the intensity of these

actions whereas the devastated peasants, mercilessly victims of the Whites, the Reds and even the Greens

had basic concerns. One peasant (noted by Lincoln) pleaded with the government, ‘We welcome Soviet

power, but give us ploughs, harrows and machines and stop seizing our grain, mild, eggs and meat’ while

another one noted that ‘the land belongs to us but the bread belongs to you…’. Whilst the History of the

CPSU simply discusses how ‘the sabotage of the officials of the old Ministries engineered by the

Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks was smashed and overcome’. Sheila Fitzpatrick maintains that

the Civil War was a ‘baptism of fire’ in which the Bolsheviks developed their strict and consolidated core.

Whereas Shapiro goes further, maintaining that ‘Bolshevism proved less than a doctrine than a technique

for of action for the seizing and holding of power’. Clearly a survival mentality as well as a politically

adept hierarchy was developed during the Civil War and with the remaining opposition neither foreign

nor domestic enemies at the beginning of 1921, the last voices of opposition came from the party itself

with the Kronstadt Uprising (February-March 1921) and the Workers Opposition Party (including such

notables as Alexandra Kollontai). In March 1921, the Tenth Party Congress and Lenin’s ‘Decree on

Party Unity’ declared an end to War Communism with the introduction of the New Economic Policy

(1921-1927), in order to gain support from those suffering by liberalising the economy and the end of any

element of dissent within the party by forbidding it. These ideals, twinned with the brutal suppression of

the once loyal 16,000 Kronstadt sailors, displayed the Bolshevik elite as men who had compromised their

ideology for the sake of power and remaining in charge.

With this response it is critical to note how the Bolsheviks capitalise on power and maintain it. The

sources provide a range of views on the time period, so it is important for students to provide context to

this. Key statistics are important to present the catastrophic effects of the war. Presenting cause and effect

as well as change and continuity is vital here. Students should consider how the Bolsheviks began to

consolidate power and what key laws or policies were introduced as a consequence of the Civil War.

Again, key dates, individuals and groups are important. Historical interpretations provide further contest

to the argument.

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China

Question 1 – Essay (20 marks)

Responses to Question 1 should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-5 marks A response which shows limited knowledge and has significant problems. There is no

attempt to organise arguments into an essay format.

6-10 marks A response which shows basic knowledge and has significant problems.

11-14 marks A response which shows a sound level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are organised into

paragraphs. The response shows knowledge, although it may be generalised or narrative.

A simple or pedestrian argument is developed in response to the question.

15-17 marks A response which shows a strong level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are well-organised

into paragraphs, and the essay has a clear introduction and conclusion. A coherent

argument is developed which is substantiated with evidence throughout.

18-19 marks A response which shows an excellent level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are well-

structured and highly coherent. Argument is originally and well-supported. A wide

range of precise and specific evidence is used. Originality of thinking is evident. There

may be problems of relevance or precision which indicate a lack of knowledge or skill.

20 marks A response which shows an exemplary level of knowledge and skill. Ideas are well-

structured and highly coherent. Argument is original and well-supported. A wide range

of precise and specific evidence is used. All points are accurate and relevant to the

question.

The threat posed by Japan was extremely significant in the Chinese Revolution. The relationship between

China and Japan during the period 1912-1945 was characterised by the Japanese Empire’s attempts to

extract territorial and trade concessions from China, mostly by force or the threat of it. Japanese

pressure helped expose the hypocritical and self-serving nature of the Republic of China’s first President,

Yuan Shikai. Japanese invasion of Manchuria and China in the 1930s exposed the weaknesses of the

Guomindang regime, and provided the opportunity for Mao Zedong to reinvent the Communist Party as a

popular, nationalist organisation. By the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Communists were

poised to take over China.

The first way in which Japan contributed to the Chinese revolution was through highlighting the

hypocrisy of Yuan Shikai and his warlord generals. After the outbreak of World War I in 1915, Japanese

forces invaded and occupied the German concessions in Shandong province, and then presented

President Yuan Shikai with the ’21 Demands’, which exacted additional trade and territorial concessions

from China. Yuan, needing loans from Japanese banks to sustain his government, agreed. After Yuan’s

death in 1916, his successor Duan Qirui agreed to hand over Shandong permanently to the Japanese in

exchange for further loans. Public outrage at these self-serving betrayals of Chinese interests fuelled the

emergence of the May 4th Movement (1919), which protested against warlordism and foreign imperialism.

Historian Immanuel Hsu points out that without the “intellectual revolution” of May 4th, the new

revolutionary parties of the Guomindang and Communists would never have gained mass support. The

new sense of nationalism created by opposition to Japan was harnessed by Chiang Kai-shek and the

Guomindang, which swept to power in Northern Expedition of 1926-28.

The second way that Japan contributed to the Chinese Revolution was through undermining the

government of Chiang Kai-shek, who ruled China from 1927 to 1949. From his first years in power,

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Chiang’s government was undermined by the threat of the Japanese. In 1931, Japanese forces invaded

and occupied Manchuria. However, Chiang dismissed the Japanese as a ‘disease of the skin’, and

focused his attentions instead on his Communist rivals, who he deemed a ‘disease of the soul’. Therefore,

Chiang signed the Tanggu Truce in 1933, recognising Japanese control of Manchuria, and ordering his

armies to focus on rooting out the Communists. Chiang’s refusal to stand up against the Japanese

Imperialists won him mass contempt. Unprepared for all-out war, Chiang fared no better when Japan

invaded China in 1937. His demoralised forces abandoned cities like Beijing and Nanjing, leaving them

defenceless to Japanese atrocities like the ‘Rape of Nanjing’ in which 200,000 civilians were massacred.

Japanese aggression exposed the weakness and short-sighted nature of Chiang’s government, and drove

Chinese nationalists to search for an alternative source of leadership.

Finally, the outbreak of war between China and Japan in 1937 provided Mao Zedong with the chance to

reinvent the Communist Party as a nationalist organisation. At the end of the Long March in 1935, Mao

had just 7,000 followers. However, when Japan invaded, his Guomindang rivals were preoccupied with

fighting for survival, which gave the Communists a chance to rebuild in the isolation of Northern China

at Yan’an. Mao combined his Communist message of social justice and land reform with a nationalist

message of resistance against Japan. He instructed the Red Army to distribute rifles to peasants and train

them to form self-defence militias against the Japanese. He ordered a campaign of low-level guerrilla

resistance, which – while it had limited impact – won great approval and support from the public due to

its defiant symbolism. Mao described this as ‘People’s War’, and as historian Joseph Esherick states, the

CCP ‘seemed to better embody the nationalist rhetoric of GMD propaganda than the GMD itself did’. By

the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945, the CCP had recruited 1.2 million members, 800,000

soldiers, and controlled 100 million people across Northern China. While still militarily inferior to the

Guomindang, it was this mass support and proven skill in organising national resistance which won the

CCP victory in the subsequent Civil War of 1946-49.

Therefore, it is fair to say that Japanese expansionism was one of the most significant causes of the

Chinese Revolution. It highlighted the weaknesses of the Chinese governments of Yuan Shikai, Duan

Qirui and Chiang Kai-shek. It stimulated the development of Chinese nationalism in the May 4th

Movement of 1919, and in Mao Zedong’s regenerated Communist Party at Yan’an. Finally, the war with

Japan of 1937-45 weakened the ruling Guomindang and gave the opportunity for the CCP to expand,

leaving them in a position to seize control of China during the subsequent Civil War.

Consequences of revolution – The Chinese Revolution from 1949 to 1971

Question 2 (20 marks)

Responses to Questions 2a and Question 2b should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2 marks A response which shows only basic knowledge. The response may transcribe features of the

source and will show little or no original knowledge.

3 marks A response which shows sound knowledge and draws upon the sources. The response

includes evidence, but may be limited as it transcribes from the source, generalises, or

wanders from the question.

4 marks A focused and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources, and includes

relevant factual information. Specific facts are used.

5 marks A focused, knowledgeable and skilful response. The student makes reference to the sources,

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and includes a range of relevant factual information. Precise and specific facts are used.

Responses to Question 2c should be marked on the following scale:

1 mark Any relevant comment.

2-3 marks A response which shows only basic comprehension and no real skill. The student may

transcribe from the sources without any insight or purpose. The student may develop a

simple narrative which shows only very limited understanding. No real attempt is made to

supply evidence.

4-5 marks A response which shows limited skill but a good level of comprehension. The student may

focus on developing a factual narrative instead of meaningfully evaluating different factors,

or else they may focus on evaluating the sources rather than broader historical questions.

The student makes some attempt to support their claims and/or refer to other views, but

tends to rely on generalisations.

6-7 marks A response which shows a confident understanding and a sound level of skill. The student

either shows limited evaluation, or else fails to support their evaluation effectively with

evidence. Factual evidence is included, although it may not always be precise, and there are

references to other views.

8-9 marks A response which shows a strong level of skill and insight. The student develops a focused

evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual evidence from the

student’s own knowledge, and other views. Specific facts and direct quotes are used

throughout. There may be minor problems which do not indicate a lack of knowledge.

10 marks A response which shows an exemplary level of skill and insight. The student develops a

confident and nuanced evaluation, and sustains this with reference to the sources, factual

evidence from the student’s own knowledge, and other views. The student uses precise and

accurate quotes and facts. All discussion is focused, relevant and of high quality.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 2a:

Firstly, the CCP sought to stamp out crime and corruption. Street committees kept streets clean and

watched for criminals, while the Three Antis campaign called on the public to denounce corrupt officials.

Secondly, the Agrarian Reform Law (June 1950) saw the redistribution of farmland from the gentry to the

peasants, and resulted in nearly half of China's land changing hands. This is reflected in the top right of

Source 1, where a proud peasant couple are shown holding a new land deed and a sheaf of grain -

symbolising their new wealth. Thirdly, through nationalising industry and collectivising agriculture, the

CCP gradually subjected China to a national economic plan. The First Five-Year Plan (1953-57)

achieved a growth rate of 10% per year, and Mao boasted that the CCP achieved socialism - a goal

which is reflected in the prosperous, modern scenes in Source 1. (144 words).

Relevant discussion points for Question 2a include:

The CCP convened a Chinese People's Consultative Conference to draft a constitution in 1949,

which was implemented in 1954. The new state was guided by Mao's principle of 'Democratic

Dictatorship', under which the CCP exercised power on behalf of a coalition of revolutionary

classes. This new government is represented in Source 1 through the centrality and massive size

of Mao Zedong, the CCP leader, and the proud worker, peasant and intellectual standing united in

the top left.

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The CCP curbed inflation from 1000% per year in 1949 to 15% in 1951 by 1) introducing a new

currency, the renminbi 2) nationalising banks 3) creating a government-guaranteed saving scheme

and 4) fixing wages to the value of a 'commodity basket' (enough money to purchase flour, coal,

rice, cotton and oil at market prices).

Public health campaigns were launched to immunise against typhus, clean streets to prevent

spread of cholera and plague, public educated about STDs, opium trade suppressed

Grassroots organisations were introduced to reorganise society for public good: Street

Committees kept streets clean and functioned as neighbourhood watch against crime, Peasant

Associations formed a new village-level government, while danwei ('work units') organised

housing, childcare, education, healthcare and rations for urban workers.

The New Marriage Law (May 1950) guaranteed equal rights to women under the law, allowed for

no-fault divorce and outlawed traditional practices such as concubineage, child marriage, etc. A

new marriage ceremony is depicted on the right hand side of Source 1.

A greater emphasis was placed on education. Compulsory primary school educated was

introduced, and night classes were made available to adults - shown on the right hand side of

Source 1.

The Agrarian Reform Law (1950) redistributed the landlords' land to the peasantry. A proud

peasant couple can be seen holding a deed to their new land and a sheaf of grain in the top right

of Source 1.

The Five Antis campaign (1952) resulted in the nationalisation of industry, and an industrial

growth rate of 10% per year.

The CCP sought to create a socialist economy, symbolised by the exchange of goods between the

worker and peasant at the top of Source 1, and the background of modern farming and industry.

Key measures included the launch of the First Five-Year Plan (1953), which sought to carry out

state-managed industrialisation, and the collectivisation of agriculture between 1956 and 1957.

Below is an exemplar response to Question 2b:

Chinese largely accepted the new Communist regime due to the combination of successful reforms and

repressive social control techniques. Source 1 reflects the way that the regime portrayed the benefits of a

socialist society: the workers, peasants and intellectuals work together in unity, and reap the benefits of

greater education, improved living standards and national strength after 1949. However, as Source 2

points out, the CCP also used "systematic control and manipulation." The regime "prescribed thought"

through its 'Thought Reform' classes for intellectuals (1951), and gave spectacular punishments to those

who failed to adhere to Communist ideals. For example, the Three Antis campaign of 1951 led to the

demotion, dismissal or even execution of tens of thousands of corrupt officials, while the Five Antis

campaign of 1952 saw 450,000 business owners investigated and hit with massive fines for crimes like tax

evasion.

Relevant discussion points for Question 2b. include:

The CCP's initial reforms (e.g. Land Reform, New Marriage Law, Danwei System) won

widespread popular support from workers and peasants, as they improved the rights and living

standards of the poor. Source 1 and 2 both provide examples of how the CCP promised a better

life to Chinese, and thus garnered popular support.

The CCP placed a heavy emphasis on indoctrination, which ensured a high degree of conformity.

For example, intellectuals were required to attend 'Thought Reform' classes in 1951, and could be

subjected to laogai ('reform through labour') if they failed to grasp the 'correct' Communist ideas.

Source 2 mentions that the CCP would 'prescribe thought' and 'suppress individual deviations'.

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The CCP used violence and terror against 'enemies of the revolution', which created a fear of

resistance and made people eager to conform. Examples include the execution of 800,000 in the

'Campaign to Suppress Counter-Revolutionaries' (1950), the Three Antis Campaign to root out

corruption in the CCP, the 'Speak Bitterness' meetings and trials of landlords during the Land

Reform Campaign (1950-52), and the persecution of the bourgeoisie during the Five Antis

campaign (1952).

Below is an exemplar response to Question 2c:

Source 1 offers some insight into the achievements of the revolution. It depicts the goal of constructing a

socialist society, which was to some extent achieved through the 1950s. The Communists introduced

compulsory primary school education, lifting literacy from 15% to 70% during Mao's rule, they passed

the New Marriage Law (1950) which granted equal rights to women, and undertook economic

modernisation programs that saw an average growth rate of 10% per year. This reflects the view of

historian Maurice Meisner that "these were years of great social and economic accomplishments".

Source 1 also correctly emphasises the centrality of Mao Zedong in the new state, but provides a

misleading impression that his leadership was benevolent in nature. In contrast, Source 2 correctly notes

that Mao's rule was based on 'systematic control and manipulation' and alludes to the negative impacts of

his leadership. Under Mao, the CCP 'prescribed thought' and silenced dissent through programs like the

Anti-Rightist Campaign, which saw 400,000 intellectuals purged in 1957. As Jung Chang argued in her

memoir, "The lesson was harsh and clear: criticism of any kind was not going to be tolerated" in Mao's

China. Similar episodes occurred during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), in which Mao exhorted Red

Guards to persecute teachers, intellectuals and party cadres.

The main deficiency of the sources in understanding the consequences of the Chinese Revolution is that

they do not show what historian Jack Gray calls Mao's "great mistakes": the Great Leap Forward (which

caused 30 million deaths by famine) and Cultural Revolution (which caused 3 million deaths and ruined

the lives of many more through mass violence and struggle sessions). These were both caused by what

Immanuel Hsu describes as Mao's utopian, impatient desire for change.

Relevant discussion points for Question 2c include:

Source 1 is obviously Communist propaganda, and it was produced very shortly after the seizure

of power, and thus offers a problematic and limited view of the consequences of the Chinese

Revolution. It does accurately capture several early achievements of the revolution:

o The military strength at the bottom of Source 1 reflects China's victory over American

imperialism in the Korean War (1950-53), although it disguises the horrific costs

(500,000+ Chinese soldiers killed, war costs consumed 50% of GDP);

o The centrality of Mao Zedong provides an accurate impression of his power and personal

impact on the new society. However, Mao's most dramatic impacts (the Hundred Flowers

Campaign, Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution) turned out to be largely

negative - contradicting the optimistic portrayal in the image;

o The emphasis on education and modernisation of the economy in the poster were both

maintained through the period 1949-71. Compulsory primary school education was

introduced along with voluntary night classes for adults, and this helped lift the literacy

rate from 15% to 70% between 1949 and 1976. Similarly, the economy grew at an

average rate of 7-10% per year during the Maoist period, and while the Great Leap

Forward was disastrous, it is true that the economy was modernised.

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Source 2 is only offering commentary on the initial years after the revolution, but its sentiments

are largely accurate when analysing the entire period studied in this course: the CCP relied on

"systematic control and manipulation" and this had extremely negative consequences for many

Chinese. Students could use Source 2 as a springboard for discussion of the negative or

problematic outcomes of the revolution:

o Class warfare, stimulated through the Land Reform and Five Antis campaigns in the early

1950s saw the destruction of the landlords and bourgeoisie;

o The Anti-Rightist Campaign of 1957 and various campaigns of the Cultural Revolution

saw the mass persecution of intellectuals and dissenters;

o The misguided, short-sighted methods of the Great Leap Forward, combined with Mao

Zedong's utopian impatience for change, resulted in a famine that killed 30+ million;

o Mao's Cultural Revolution failed to achieve its goals of regenerating the CCP and

revolution, and inflicted mass suffering on both its victims (intellectuals, party cadres)

and the perpetrators (Red Guards, who found themselves exiled to the countryside by

1969).