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AQA GCSE History Russia Questions Questions
and Correct Answers/ Latest Update / Already Graded
What name is given to the political system that existed in Russia before the
February revolution?
Ans: Autocracy
What was the status of peasants in Russia before 1861?
Ans: Serfs
Who was Tsar of Russia between 1894 and 1917?
Ans: Nicholas II
Which political opposition group received growing support from the peasants for
their proposals of large scale land reform and redistribution?
Ans: Social Revolutionaries
Which social classes supported the Kadets in their campaign for political change
and liberal freedoms without radical social change or revolution?
Ans: Middle and Upper
Which revolutionary socialist party split over tactical differences in 1903?
Ans: Social Democrats
Name both parties that emerged from this split, one believing that change would
take a long time but should be achieved democratically and via workers' trade
unions, and the other willing to seize power at the first opportunity as a vanguard
movement before transforming Russia by forceful action?
© 2025/ 2026 | ® All rights reserved
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Ans: Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
Who was the leader of the latter 'majority' faction?
Ans: Vladimir Illyich Ulyanov Lenin
Whose revolutionary ideas formed the inspiration for both parties, promising the
future triumph of communism following armed revolution led by the proletariat
(working class)?
Ans: Karl Marx
Which country defeated Russia in a war fought over territorial claims in China in
1904, humiliatingly defeating the Russian navy at the Battle of Tsushima?
Ans: Japan
What name is given to the occasion in 1905 where a peaceful demonstration led
by the priest Father Gapon in St. Petersburg was fired on by soldiers loyal to the
Tsar, sparking a series of uprisings across Russia that lasted for months?
Ans: Bloody Sunday
What was the only part of the armed forces to mutiny in 1905, the loyalty of the
rest effectively keeping the Tsar in power?
Ans: Navy (Black Sea Fleet)
What was the name of workers' councils set up to take over and run factories in
the name of the workers?
Ans: Soviets
© 2025/ 2026 | ® All rights reserved
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As a result of the 1905 Revolution, what new political body was created in
October 1905 as a concession by the Tsar to give Russia its first real taste of
democracy and representative government?
Ans: The Duma
At the same time, what did the Tsar agree to sign, assuring liberal moderates that
their rights to free speech, a free press and the right to form political parties
would now be respected, effectively dividing the revolutionary movement?
Ans: October Manifesto
With the revolution now divided and leaderless and the war over, which ultra
loyal soldiers did the Tsar use to crush the soviets in St. Petersburg and Moscow
in December and remaining peasant resistance in the countryside over the next
few months?
Ans: Cossaks
Named after the tough interior minister who was later assassinated in 1912, what
ironic name was given to the ropes which hanged hundreds of peasants in order
to brutally restore order?
Ans: Stolypin Neckties
Even so, the Duma continued to demand real change including the right to strike,
free education and more land for the peasants. How did the Tsar respond in 1906
and again in 1907?
Ans: He dissolved the Duma
How did Stolypin also ensure that the Duma, which only had advisory powers,
would not be too critical of the Tsar or demand further change in future?
© 2025/ 2026 | ® All rights reserved
AQA GCSE History Russia Questions Questions
and Correct Answers/ Latest Update / Already Graded
What name is given to the political system that existed in Russia before the
February revolution?
Ans: Autocracy
What was the status of peasants in Russia before 1861?
Ans: Serfs
Who was Tsar of Russia between 1894 and 1917?
Ans: Nicholas II
Which political opposition group received growing support from the peasants for
their proposals of large scale land reform and redistribution?
Ans: Social Revolutionaries
Which social classes supported the Kadets in their campaign for political change
and liberal freedoms without radical social change or revolution?
Ans: Middle and Upper
Which revolutionary socialist party split over tactical differences in 1903?
Ans: Social Democrats
Name both parties that emerged from this split, one believing that change would
take a long time but should be achieved democratically and via workers' trade
unions, and the other willing to seize power at the first opportunity as a vanguard
movement before transforming Russia by forceful action?
© 2025/ 2026 | ® All rights reserved
, 2 | Page
Ans: Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
Who was the leader of the latter 'majority' faction?
Ans: Vladimir Illyich Ulyanov Lenin
Whose revolutionary ideas formed the inspiration for both parties, promising the
future triumph of communism following armed revolution led by the proletariat
(working class)?
Ans: Karl Marx
Which country defeated Russia in a war fought over territorial claims in China in
1904, humiliatingly defeating the Russian navy at the Battle of Tsushima?
Ans: Japan
What name is given to the occasion in 1905 where a peaceful demonstration led
by the priest Father Gapon in St. Petersburg was fired on by soldiers loyal to the
Tsar, sparking a series of uprisings across Russia that lasted for months?
Ans: Bloody Sunday
What was the only part of the armed forces to mutiny in 1905, the loyalty of the
rest effectively keeping the Tsar in power?
Ans: Navy (Black Sea Fleet)
What was the name of workers' councils set up to take over and run factories in
the name of the workers?
Ans: Soviets
© 2025/ 2026 | ® All rights reserved
, 3 | Page
As a result of the 1905 Revolution, what new political body was created in
October 1905 as a concession by the Tsar to give Russia its first real taste of
democracy and representative government?
Ans: The Duma
At the same time, what did the Tsar agree to sign, assuring liberal moderates that
their rights to free speech, a free press and the right to form political parties
would now be respected, effectively dividing the revolutionary movement?
Ans: October Manifesto
With the revolution now divided and leaderless and the war over, which ultra
loyal soldiers did the Tsar use to crush the soviets in St. Petersburg and Moscow
in December and remaining peasant resistance in the countryside over the next
few months?
Ans: Cossaks
Named after the tough interior minister who was later assassinated in 1912, what
ironic name was given to the ropes which hanged hundreds of peasants in order
to brutally restore order?
Ans: Stolypin Neckties
Even so, the Duma continued to demand real change including the right to strike,
free education and more land for the peasants. How did the Tsar respond in 1906
and again in 1907?
Ans: He dissolved the Duma
How did Stolypin also ensure that the Duma, which only had advisory powers,
would not be too critical of the Tsar or demand further change in future?
© 2025/ 2026 | ® All rights reserved
