Edexcel IGCSE History: Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905–24 — Revision Notes

Quick-recall notes for Historical Investigation A2 of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History 4HI1 Paper 2, “Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905–24”. Full explanations are in the A2 study guide; practise the source questions with the A2 practice questions. Dates are old style (Julian) until February 1918.

Syllabus coverage (4HI1, Investigation A2)

Key topic	Core content
1. Tsarist rule, 1905–14	Discontent, Potemkin, soviets, October Manifesto, Dumas, Stolypin, Lena Goldfields
2. War and February 1917	Effects of war, Rasputin, Petrograd, army mutiny, abdication, Provisional Government
3. Provisional Government and October	Weaknesses, Soviet, April Theses, July Days, Kornilov, takeover, Lenin and Trotsky
4. Consolidation and Civil War	Decrees, Constituent Assembly, Brest-Litovsk, Reds v Whites
5. War Communism and NEP	War Communism, Kronstadt, NEP, opposition, Lenin’s achievements

Timeline

Date	Event
Jan 1905	Bloody Sunday
June 1905	Potemkin mutiny
Oct 1905	St Petersburg Soviet; October Manifesto
Dec 1905	Soviet arrested; Moscow rising crushed
1906	Fundamental Laws; first Duma dissolved; Stolypin PM
1907	Second Duma dissolved; electoral law changed; third Duma
1911	Stolypin assassinated
1912	Lena Goldfields shootings; fourth Duma
Aug 1914	War; defeat at Tannenberg
Sept 1915	Nicholas takes personal command
Dec 1916	Rasputin murdered
Feb 1917	Petrograd strikes and mutiny; Nicholas abdicates (2 March)
Apr 1917	Lenin returns; April Theses
July 1917	July Days; Kerensky becomes Prime Minister
Aug 1917	Kornilov Revolt
25 Oct 1917	Bolshevik seizure of power; Decrees on Peace and Land
Dec 1917	Cheka founded
Jan 1918	Constituent Assembly closed
Mar 1918	Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
1918–21	Civil War and War Communism
July 1918	Tsar and family shot at Ekaterinburg
Mar 1921	Kronstadt Mutiny; NEP announced
Dec 1922	USSR formed
Jan 1924	Death of Lenin

1905 compared with February 1917

	1905	February 1917
Trigger	Bloody Sunday; war with Japan	Bread shortages and strikes in wartime Petrograd
Army	Mostly loyal; crushed revolts	Petrograd garrison mutinied
Opposition	Split by the October Manifesto	Duma and Soviet both turned against the Tsar
Outcome	Nicholas survived	Nicholas abdicated

Reds v Whites

Reds	Whites
Central area, industry, railways	Scattered on the edges of Russia
United leadership (Lenin, Trotsky)	Rival generals with different aims
Disciplined Red Army; ex-tsarist officers watched by commissars	Brutal, feared by peasants as landlords’ allies
War Communism, Cheka, propaganda	Limited, inconsistent foreign help

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Autocracy	Rule by one person with unlimited power
Soviet	Elected council of workers and soldiers
Duma	Elected Russian parliament (from 1906)
Dual power	Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet sharing authority in 1917
April Theses	Lenin’s programme of April 1917
Red Guards	Armed Bolshevik workers
Cheka	Bolshevik secret police
War Communism	State control of the economy, 1918–21
NEP	New Economic Policy, from 1921
Nepmen	Private traders who profited under the NEP

War Communism v NEP

	War Communism	NEP
Grain	Requisitioned by force	Tax in kind; surplus sold
Trade	Private trade banned	Small private trade allowed
Industry	All nationalised	State kept heavy industry; small firms private
Effects	Army supplied; famine and revolts	Recovery; ideological opposition from the Left

Worked example: describe two features

Describe two features of the Kornilov Revolt (1917). (6 marks)

1. General Kornilov, the army commander, sent troops towards Petrograd in August 1917, apparently to restore order and crush the Soviet.
2. Kerensky armed the Bolshevik Red Guards to defend the city; railway workers and agitators stopped Kornilov’s troops, and the episode boosted Bolshevik support.

Common mistakes and exam traps

• Mixing calendars. Stick to one system, and know why “October” was November in the West.
• Merging the two 1917 revolutions. February was largely spontaneous; October was planned.
• Assuming the Constituent Assembly was Bolshevik. The SRs won the most seats.
• Ignoring provenance. Soviet sources after 1917 glorify Lenin; White or émigré sources do the opposite — use this in cross-referencing.
• Treating the NEP as a success for everyone. It revived the economy but divided the party.

Frequently asked questions

What was Rasputin’s significance? He symbolised the corruption of the court and damaged the monarchy’s reputation while Nicholas was at the front.

Why did the Provisional Government fail? It continued the war, delayed land reform and elections, shared power with the Soviet and lost the army’s support after Kornilov.

What did Brest-Litovsk cost Russia? Ukraine, Poland, Finland and the Baltic lands, with much of its population, farmland and industry.

Source

Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) specification, Issue 5, February 2026, Paper 2, Historical Investigation A2.