Volume 19, Number 3, February 2017

Volume 19, Number 3, February 2017

Exam focus

February Revolution: historical interpretations

Roz Hart

The Russian Revolution of February 1917 is a major part of any A-level specification on twentieth-century Russia, and marks a fundamental turning point in the development of Russian history. Like all big historical moments, the revolution and its legacy has been debated and interpreted differently by generations of historians.

A key aspect of the new A-level specifications for both Edexcel and AQA is understanding different historical interpretations. In order to do this, the exam board is looking for you to think about and demonstrate understanding of a number of things, all of which help you to answer the main question of how convincing you find the argument.

Follow these steps

Try going through the steps below to help you reach the end point of making a well-founded judgement on the extract:

1 Do you understand what the extract is saying?

2 Can you identify the main argument within the extract?

3 Can you analyse the argument, taking into account the perspective and approach of the historian?

· Do they focus on an economic, social or political aspect?

· Do they focus on a national or local perspective?

· Do they focus on individuals?

· Do they account for typicality or anomalies?

· Do they over-emphasise a particular aspect?

4 Can you judge the accuracy of the argument based on your own knowledge?

5 Can you reach an overall judgement on how convincing you find the argument?

Use the extract below to practise these steps. Consider this question:

How convincing do you find the argument in relation to the impact of the February Revolution 1917?

Extract

For a few weeks the implications of this dispersal of power were unclear. The overthrow of the Romanovs was very widely welcomed, there were emotional public celebrations all over the country, and expressions of enthusiastic support for the new government poured into the capital. At first most employers showed readiness to come to terms with the new order, the eight-hour day, the establishment of factory committees and the creation of conciliation chambers to adjudicate industrial disputes, and during March and April there was a sharp drop in the number of strikes. Moreover, the initial reforms announced by the Provisional Government were eminently compatible with the surge of political and organisational activity from below. All the classical liberal demands were rapidly decreed: a political amnesty and full freedom of press, speech, association and religion; the abolition of the death penalty and the creation of the fully independent judiciary […] Russia had become, in Lenin’s words, the freest of the belligerent countries. But the honeymoon period of the revolution could not last. The government was committed to liberal principals, to the right of private ownership of land and industry, to the authority of factory management, to the hierarchical organisation of the army. It faced a mounting challenge to the existing social order from workers, soldiers, and the countryside. Lvov and his colleagues hoped to avert confrontation by postponing the resolution of all contentious issues until the meeting of the Constituent Assembly, and ensuring that preparations for the Assembly were none too hasty. It was a vain hope.

Extract taken from Acton, E. (1995) Russia: The Tsarist and Soviet Legacy (2nd edn), Routledge, p. 155

This resource is part of Modern History Review, a magazinewritten for A-level studentsby subjectexperts. To subscribe to the full magazine go to: http://www.hoddereducation.co.uk/historyreview