Edexcel IGCSE History: Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905–24 (4HI1)

Historical Investigation A2, “Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905–24”, is one of five investigation options in Section A of Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History (4HI1) Paper 2. It follows Russia from the 1905 Revolution, through the collapse of tsarism in February 1917 and the Bolshevik seizure of power in October, to Bolshevik victory in the Civil War, War Communism, the New Economic Policy and Lenin’s death in 1924. The exam tests source skills: describing features, cross-referencing sources and evaluating an interpretation.

Related: Revision notes | Practice questions | Paper 2 overview

Dates below are given in the old-style (Julian) calendar used in Russia until February 1918, which ran 13 days behind the Western calendar — hence the “October” Revolution of 25 October, which was 7 November in the West.

Syllabus coverage

The 4HI1 specification (Issue 5, February 2026) sets five key topics for A2:

1. Tsarist rule in Russia, 1905–14 — tsarist rule and discontent in 1905, the Potemkin mutiny and the soviets, the 1905 Revolution, the October Manifesto and why Nicholas survived, Nicholas and the first four Dumas, opposition groups, Stolypin’s repression and land reform, the Lena Goldfields strike.
2. Opposition to tsarist rule, 1914–17 — the war’s economic, social and political effects, Rasputin, the causes of the February Revolution in Petrograd, the army mutiny, the abdication and the Provisional Government.
3. The Provisional Government and the Bolshevik Revolution — its weaknesses, the Petrograd Soviet, Lenin and the Bolsheviks, the April Theses, the July Days, the Kornilov Revolt, the takeover, and the roles of Lenin and Trotsky.
4. Bolshevik consolidation and the Civil War — the 1917 decrees, the closure of the Constituent Assembly, Brest-Litovsk, the two sides and the reasons for Bolshevik victory.
5. War Communism and the NEP — causes, nature and effects of War Communism, the Kronstadt Mutiny, the NEP and opposition to it, and Lenin’s achievements to 1924.

Why was there a revolution in 1905, and why did Nicholas survive?

Nicholas II ruled as an autocrat, backed by the army, the Orthodox Church and the secret police. Peasants wanted land, workers in fast-growing cities faced long hours and slums, national minorities resented Russification, and liberals wanted a parliament. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) exposed government incompetence. On Bloody Sunday (January 1905), troops fired on a peaceful march led by Father Gapon. Strikes, peasant risings and the Potemkin mutiny (June 1905) followed, and workers set up soviets (councils), notably in St Petersburg.

The October Manifesto promised civil rights and an elected Duma. Nicholas survived because the Manifesto split the opposition (liberals accepted it), peace with Japan freed loyal troops, a large French loan restored finances, and the army crushed the St Petersburg Soviet and the Moscow rising in December 1905. The Fundamental Laws (1906) then reasserted his supreme power.

How did Nicholas govern between 1906 and 1914?

Nicholas dissolved the first and second Dumas quickly when they demanded reform. Stolypin (Prime Minister 1906–11) changed the electoral law to produce a more conservative third Duma, which ran its full term, as did the fourth (from 1912). Stolypin combined repression — field courts martial and so many hangings that the noose became known as “Stolypin’s necktie” — with land reform that let peasants leave the commune and buy land, aiming to create a loyal class of prosperous farmers. He was assassinated in 1911. Opposition groups grew: the Socialist Revolutionaries, the Social Democrats (split in 1903 into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks), and liberal Kadets and Octobrists. At the Lena Goldfields (1912) troops shot striking miners, sparking a new wave of strikes.

Why did tsarism collapse in February 1917?

The First World War brought heavy defeats (Tannenberg, 1914) and millions of casualties. Railways could not supply both the army and the cities, so food and fuel ran short and prices soared. In 1915 Nicholas took personal command, making himself responsible for defeats and leaving the government to Alexandra, who was influenced by Rasputin. Rasputin’s power over appointments discredited the monarchy; he was murdered by aristocrats in December 1916.

In February 1917 strikes and bread queues in Petrograd turned into mass demonstrations. When soldiers of the garrison mutinied and joined the crowds, the government had no force left. Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government, while workers and soldiers formed the Petrograd Soviet. Generals advised Nicholas to go, and he abdicated on 2 March 1917.

Why did the Bolsheviks seize power in October 1917?

The Provisional Government was unelected and shared power with the Soviet, whose Order Number 1 said soldiers need obey only orders the Soviet approved. It kept fighting the war (the June offensive failed), delayed land reform and postponed elections to a Constituent Assembly. Lenin returned in April and issued the April Theses: no support for the Provisional Government, “Peace, Bread and Land” and “All power to the Soviets”. After the July Days, Bolsheviks were blamed and Lenin fled to Finland. But in the Kornilov Revolt (August) Kerensky armed the Red Guards to defend Petrograd, restoring the Bolsheviks’ standing. By September they had majorities in the Petrograd and Moscow soviets. Trotsky, chairman of the Petrograd Soviet, organised the Military Revolutionary Committee, which seized key points on 24–25 October; the Winter Palace fell with little resistance. Lenin’s determination and Trotsky’s organisation, the government’s weakness and popular slogans explain the success.

How did the Bolsheviks keep power, 1917–21?

The Decree on Peace and Decree on Land won support, and the Cheka (secret police) was set up in December 1917. The Constituent Assembly, in which the Socialist Revolutionaries had won the most seats, was closed after one day in January 1918. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) ended the war with Germany at the cost of huge territories, including Ukraine, Poland and the Baltic lands.

In the Civil War (1918–21) the Reds faced the Whites — monarchists, liberals and generals such as Kolchak, Denikin and Yudenich — supported by foreign intervention. The Reds won because they held the central industrial area and railways, Trotsky built a disciplined Red Army, War Communism and the Cheka kept supplies and order, and propaganda presented them as defenders of Russia. The Whites were divided, geographically scattered and feared by peasants who thought they would take back land.

What were War Communism and the NEP?

War Communism (1918–21) nationalised industry, requisitioned grain, banned private trade and imposed labour discipline. It supplied the Red Army but caused peasant revolts and contributed to the famine of 1921. When sailors at Kronstadt, once Bolshevik heroes, mutinied in March 1921 demanding free soviets, the Red Army crushed them. Lenin then introduced the New Economic Policy (1921): a tax in kind replaced requisitioning, peasants could sell surpluses, and small businesses reopened, while the state kept the “commanding heights” of heavy industry and banking. Production recovered, but many communists saw the NEP as a retreat to capitalism. By Lenin’s death in January 1924 the Bolsheviks had won the Civil War, created the USSR (1922) and established a one-party state.

Frequently asked questions

Why did the 1905 revolution fail but February 1917 succeed? In 1905 the army stayed loyal and the opposition split; in 1917 the Petrograd garrison mutinied and the elite abandoned Nicholas.

Was the October Revolution a popular rising or a coup? A classic interpretation debate: weigh mass support for Bolshevik slogans against the small-scale seizure organised by the Military Revolutionary Committee.

Why did Lenin introduce the NEP? Famine, peasant revolts and the Kronstadt Mutiny showed War Communism could not continue.

Official syllabus

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