Cambridge IGCSE World History: Depth Study C, Russia 1905-41 (0470)

Depth Study C follows Russia from the 1905 Revolution to the eve of the German invasion in 1941. For Cambridge IGCSE History (0470) you need to explain why the Tsarist regime collapsed in 1917, how the Bolsheviks took and kept power, how Stalin rose and held on to power, and what his economic policies did to the Soviet people. Answers should weigh causes and judge success, using dates and named evidence.

Where this fits in 0470

Depth Study C is one of five Depth Studies; every candidate studies at least one. It is examined in Paper 1, Section B (two questions per Depth Study, answer one, parts (a), (b) and (c)), and can be used for Component 3 Coursework or Paper 4. Related pages: Depth Studies revision notes, Depth Studies practice questions and the companion guide to Depth Study B, Germany 1918-45.

Syllabus coverage

CAMBRIDGE IGCSE HISTORY (0470), 2024-2026 – DEPTH STUDY C: RUSSIA, 1905-41

• Key question 1: Why did the Tsarist regime collapse in 1917? Ruling Russia up to 1914; surviving the 1905 Revolution; the impact of the First World War; why the March 1917 revolution succeeded.
• Key question 2: How did the Bolsheviks gain power, and how did they consolidate their rule? The Provisional Government; the November 1917 seizure of power; victory in the Civil War; the New Economic Policy.
• Key question 3: How did Stalin gain and hold on to power? Why Stalin, not Trotsky, succeeded Lenin; the Purges; methods of control; how complete control was by 1941.
• Key question 4: What was the impact of Stalin’s economic policies? The Five-Year Plans; collectivisation; their success; their effect on the Soviet people.

A note on dates: Russia used the older Julian calendar until February 1918, so the “February” and “October” revolutions fell in March and November by the Western calendar. The 0470 syllabus uses the March/November form, and this guide does too.

How well did the Tsarist regime rule Russia up to 1914?

Nicholas II ruled as an autocrat over a huge empire in which most people were peasants and many were not ethnic Russians. The secret police (Okhrana), censorship and a policy of Russification held the system together, while rapid industrial growth in the 1890s created a small, crowded urban working class. Opposition came from liberals, the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Marxist Social Democrats, who split in 1903 into Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) and Mensheviks.

How did the Tsar survive the 1905 Revolution?

Defeat by Japan in 1904-05 and the shooting of peaceful marchers led by Father Gapon on Bloody Sunday (January 1905) set off strikes, peasant risings, the mutiny on the battleship Potemkin and the creation of the St Petersburg Soviet. Nicholas survived because he divided his opponents: the October Manifesto promised a parliament (the Duma) and civil rights, which satisfied many liberals, while loyal troops crushed the Soviet and the remaining risings once peace with Japan was signed.

The aftermath showed limited reform. The Fundamental Laws of 1906 kept the Tsar’s power to dissolve the Duma, and the first two Dumas were dismissed. Pyotr Stolypin, chief minister from 1906 until his assassination in 1911, combined harsh repression with land reforms that let peasants own consolidated farms. The shooting of strikers at the Lena goldfields in 1912 showed unrest returning before the war.

How far was the Tsar weakened by the First World War?

Heavy defeats such as Tannenberg (August 1914), shortages of rifles and shells, and millions of casualties damaged the army’s loyalty. In September 1915 Nicholas took personal command, so he was blamed for every defeat, and he left government to the Tsarina, whose reliance on Rasputin discredited the monarchy until Rasputin was murdered in December 1916. Inflation, and food and fuel shortages in the cities, hit workers hardest.

Why was the March 1917 revolution successful?

Strikes and bread queues in Petrograd turned into mass demonstrations in March 1917. The decisive moment came when soldiers of the Petrograd garrison refused to fire and joined the crowds. Generals and Duma politicians advised abdication, and Nicholas abdicated on 15 March 1917. Power passed to a Provisional Government formed by Duma members, sharing authority in practice with the Petrograd Soviet, whose Order No. 1 gave it control over the soldiers.

Why were the Bolsheviks able to seize power in November 1917?

Factor	Evidence
Provisional Government’s mistakes	Continued the war (the failed July offensive); delayed land reform and elections to a Constituent Assembly
Lenin’s leadership	April Theses on his return in April 1917; slogans “Peace, Bread, Land” and “All power to the Soviets”
The Kornilov affair (September 1917)	Kerensky armed the Bolshevik Red Guards to defend Petrograd; Bolsheviks gained majorities in the Soviets
Trotsky’s organisation	Led the Military Revolutionary Committee that took key points in Petrograd on 6-7 November and the Winter Palace

Why did the Bolsheviks win the Civil War, and was the NEP a success?

The Bolsheviks closed the Constituent Assembly in January 1918 after the Socialist Revolutionaries won the most seats, created the Cheka secret police and accepted the harsh Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) to leave the war. In the Civil War (1918-21) the Reds won because they held the central industrial heartland and railways, Trotsky built a disciplined Red Army, War Communism requisitioned grain for the army, and the Whites – under commanders such as Kolchak, Denikin and Yudenich – were divided, spread around the edges and tainted by foreign intervention.

War Communism caused famine and the Kronstadt Rising of sailors in March 1921. Lenin responded with the New Economic Policy (NEP): grain requisitioning was replaced by a tax, and small private trade was allowed. Agriculture and light industry recovered by the mid-1920s, but critics in the party saw it as a retreat from socialism, and NEP traders (Nepmen) were resented.

Why did Stalin, not Trotsky, succeed Lenin?

Lenin died in January 1924. His “Testament” warned against Stalin, but it was not published. Stalin’s post as General Secretary (from 1922) let him appoint loyal officials; he presented himself as Lenin’s faithful follower, backed “Socialism in One Country” against Trotsky’s “Permanent Revolution”, and allied first with Zinoviev and Kamenev against Trotsky, then with Bukharin against them. Trotsky, seen as arrogant, missed Lenin’s funeral, was expelled from the party in 1927 and exiled in 1929. By 1928 Stalin was dominant.

Why did Stalin launch the Purges, and how did he control the USSR?

After the murder of Kirov in December 1934, the NKVD arrested millions. Show trials of old Bolsheviks (Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1936, Bukharin in 1938), the purge of Red Army commanders including Marshal Tukhachevsky (1937) and mass arrests sent people to execution or the Gulag labour camps. Explanations include Stalin’s paranoia, the removal of any possible rival, and the use of fear to force through rapid change. Alongside terror, the cult of personality, censorship, rewritten history and socialist realism in the arts built loyalty. By 1941 opposition inside the USSR had been eliminated, but the purges had weakened the army and economy.

What was the impact of Stalin’s economic policies?

Five-Year Plans (from 1928), set by Gosplan, poured investment into heavy industry – coal, steel, oil, electricity – to modernise the USSR and prepare for war. New industrial centres such as Magnitogorsk and the Dnieper dam were built; the miner Alexei Stakhanov’s record shift in 1935 became propaganda for higher output. Output of heavy industry rose very fast, but consumer goods were scarce, targets encouraged false figures, and workers faced harsh discipline.

Collectivisation (from 1929) forced peasants into collective farms to supply grain for the cities and exports. Better-off peasants labelled kulaks were deported or killed, and many peasants slaughtered their livestock rather than hand it over. The famine of 1932-33, worst in Ukraine, killed millions. Women were drawn into industry in large numbers, while ethnic minorities faced Russification and, in some cases, deportation.

Worked example: a (b) answer

Explain why the Provisional Government lost support in 1917. [6]

Strong answers explain two or three reasons, each linked to loss of support: continuing the war meant more deaths and shortages, angering soldiers and workers; delaying land reform drove peasants to seize land and turn to parties promising it; and the Kornilov affair made Kerensky look weak and dependent on the Bolsheviks he had armed.

Common mistakes

• Merging the March and November revolutions into one event.
• Treating 1905 as a failure with no consequences for the Tsar.
• Describing the Five-Year Plans without separating industrial success from human cost.
• Saying Trotsky lost only because of Stalin’s cunning, ignoring Trotsky’s own mistakes.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Old Style dates? No. Know that the revolutions are often called “February” and “October” in books, but the 0470 syllabus uses March and November 1917.

Which key question gives the most (c) questions? Any can. Prepare a two-sided argument for each focus point, such as whether the war or the Tsar’s own failings mattered most in 1917.

Was the NEP a success? Economically, largely yes by 1926-27; politically it divided the party and was abandoned by Stalin in 1928-29.

Official syllabus

Cambridge IGCSE History (0470) syllabus for examination in 2024, 2025 and 2026 – cambridgeinternational.org (Depth study C, focus points and specified content). Always check the current syllabus before an exam.