RUSSIA AND THE SOVIET UNION 1917-1941: TOPICS
The Bolshevik consolidation of power
· Social and political reforms of the Bolshevik government
· Significance of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
· The Civil War and aims, nature and impact of War Communism
· The New Economic Policy (NEP)
To what extent did practice triumph over Communist theory in the Bolshevik consolidation of power? (2012)
To what extent was Lenin responsible for the Bolshevik consolidation of power? (2011)
To what extent was the New Economic Policy (NEP) essential to the Bolshevik consolidation of power? (2010)
How significant was Lenin’s leadership in the Bolshevik consolidation of power in the period to 1924? (2004)
How significant was military victory in the Civil War for the Bolshevik consolidation of power in the period up to 1924? (2006)
Assess the effectiveness of the Bolshevik government in creating changes in society in the period 1917-1928. (2006 sample paper)
Evaluate the view that Bolshevik power was consolidated only because Lenin modified Communist ideology in the period 1917-1924. (2005)
Account for the success of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) in consolidating the Bolshevik Revolution in the period 1917-1928. (2003)
Assess the impact of War Communism and the New Economic Policy (NEP) on both the peasantry and proletariat in Russian society between 1918 and 1928. (2002)
Why were the Bolsheviks able to overcome counter-revolution in the period from 1918 to 1924? (1998)
How important was the role of Lenin in the survival of the Bolshevik government in the period from 1918 to 1924? (1997)
Why did the Bolsheviks succeed in maintaining power when the provisional government had failed to do so? Support your arguments with evidence from the period up to 1921? (1994)
What obstacles did Lenin experience in implementing his ideas after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution? (1992)
Why was there a change from War Communism to the New Economic Policy during the early 1920s? (1996)
To what extent did the New Economic Policy (NEP) compromise the Communist Party’s ideology? (1995)
How effectively did the Communist Party deal with the challenges it faced in the period from the end of the Civil War until 1928? (1994)
Stalin’s rise to power:
· Leadership conflict and differing visions for the USSR
· The debate on modernisation within the Bolshevik Party and its outcomes.
· reasons for the triumph of Stalin as leader of the USSR
To what extent did leadership conflict and differing visions for the USSR shape the history of the Soviet Union in the period 1917-1941? (2008)
Evaluate the impact of Lenin’s death on party leadership and the debate over modernisation within the Bolshevik Party. (2004)
Why did Stalin win the struggle for power in the Soviet Union in the period up to 1929? (1991)
Introduction of collectivisation and industrialisation
Analyse the purpose and impact of Stalin’s Five Year Plans. (2008)
Explain how Russia and the Soviet Union modernised from the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 until 1945. (2001)
How did Stalin use industrialisation and collectivisation to consolidate his power in the 1930s? (2000)
How did collectivisation and industrialisation affect the lives of people in the Soviet Union during the 1930s? (1998)
To what extent did collectivisation and industrialisation change Soviet society by the end of the 1930s? (1995)
Stalinism as totalitarianism
To what extent can Stalinism be considered totalitarianism in the period to 1941? (2009)
Account for the development of totalitarianism under Stalin between 1928 and 1945. (2001)
Many Soviet citizens benefited from Stalin’s authoritarian rule. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Give evidence from the period from 1927 to 1941. (1997)
In what ways did Stalin consolidate his totalitarian rule up to 1939? (1996)
Impact of the purges, show trials and ‘the Terror’ on the Communist Party and Soviet society. The impact of Stalinism on society, culture and the economy
Assess the impact of Stalinism on the Soviet state until 1941. (2011)
Assess the impact of the purges on the development of Stalinism during the 1930s. (2010)
Evaluate the view that Stalinism produced positive changes for Soviet society. (2006)
To what extent was Soviet economic and social life transformed under Stalin in the period 1928-1941? (2005)
Assess the role of the cult of personality in the creation and maintenance of a totalitarian society in the USSR in the period 1928-1945. (2003)
To what extent was the Soviet Union a totalitarian state by 1939? (1994)
How did Stalin achieve and retain absolute power in the Soviet Union in the period before 1940? (1993)
Concentration on Stalin’s totalitarian terror ignores the achievements of his regime. To what extent do you agree with this statement? Support your arguments with evidence from the period 1928 to 1945. (1992)
The changing nature of Soviet foreign policy: aims and strategies 1917–1941. The impact of changing ideology on Soviet foreign policy 1917–1941
How successful was Soviet foreign policy in achieving its aims from 1917 to 1941? (2012)
Assess the impact of Stalinism on Soviet foreign policy in the period 1929-1941. (2007)
Evaluate the view that Soviet foreign policy was dominated by practical rather than ideological concerns in the period 1928-1941. (2006: sample paper)
Bolshevik ideology and its implementation
To what extent was communist theory put into practice in Russia in the period 1917-1941? (2007)
1