2024 AQA A-Level HISTORY 7042/1E Component 1E Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682–1796 Verified Question paper and Marking Scheme Attached

2024 AQA A-Level HISTORY 7042/1E Component 1E Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682–1796 Verified Question paper and Marking Scheme Attached A-level HISTORY Component 1E Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682–1796 Thursday 23 May 2024 Materials For this paper you must have: • an AQA 16-page answer book. Instructions • Use black ink or black ball-point pen. Morning Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes • Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is 7042/1E. • Answer three questions. In Section A answer Question 01. In Section B answer two questions. Information • The marks for questions are shown in brackets. • The maximum mark for this paper is 80. • You will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. Advice • You are advised to spend about: – 1 hour on Question 01 from Section A – 45 minutes on each of the two questions answered from Section B. 2 IB/M/Jun24/7042/1E Section A Answer Question 01. Extract A The question of the succession to the Russian throne remained an issue throughout Catherine’s entire adult life. In one form or another it complicated or confused much of her government. It would not go away. It would not be solved. From the moment Catherine seized power, she periodically had to contend with various plots against her authority. These posed two distinct dangers. Firstly, conspiracies among the elite that aimed at a new palace revolution. Secondly, stirrings among frontier communities in defence of local autonomy against the centralising policies of the expansive absolutist state. The worst political nightmare for the Empress, the most threatening prospect, would have combined the two different types of revolt into a regional or mass movement with elite leadership. Behind the gracious, confident façade that Catherine presented in public, she often worried about bizarre plots, strains on society, and speculation about Paul’s political rights. Doubly disturbing was the fact that many incidents invoked the names of Peter III and Paul. Adapted from JT Alexander, Catherine the Great, 1989 5 10 Extract B From her seizure of power, Catherine considered herself to be autocrat of all Russia, whatever the flimsiness of her right to the title. The new Empress quickly set about the task of consolidating her position on the throne. One obstacle was Ivan VI, still alive two decades after his overthrow, but murdered in 1764, with her encouragement. Discontent was reflected in the announcement, on more than 20 occasions, of a return to life of the murdered Peter III. Since his death, Peter III had been transformed into a symbol of justice, most notably by a Don Cossack named Pugachev. By 1774 Pugachev’s name was enough to strike terror in Moscow and the surrounding provinces. This persuaded the government to send its best military leaders to suppress the movement before it could succeed in reversing the natural order of society. Pugachev was executed at the beginning of 1775. However, the name of Pugachev lived on in the songs and legends of the peasants, tribesmen and Cossacks. Adapted from P Dukes, The Making of Russian Absolutism 1603–1801, 1990 5 10 3 Extract C There was, of course, opposition to both Catherine’s usurpation of the throne and to some of her policies. There were those who supported Peter III in 1762 and had never forgiven Catherine for usurping the throne. There were others who had hoped that Catherine would merely be regent for her eight-year-old son, Paul. This was the case above all with Count Nikita Panin, who had hoped to benefit from his position as governor of the young Grand Duke. However, it is essential to realise how little opposition there was to the form of government, absolutism, in Russia. The bulk of the population accepted the legitimacy of the regime, however much some people disagreed with some policies. Government operated largely as a partnership between the nobility, the townspeople and the Crown. Individuals might criticise specific policies, but the Russian political system provided no channels for groups to form with common programmes. Adapted from I de Madariaga, Catherine the Great, 1993 0 1 Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the arguments in these three extracts are in relation to Catherine the Great and opposition. [30 marks] Turn over for Section B 5 10 IB/M/Jun24/7042/1E Turn over ► 4 IB/M/Jun24/7042/1E Section B Answer two questions. 0 2 To what extent did Peter the Great’s domestic reforms westernise Russia? [25 marks] 0 3 How important were financial and economic reforms to the success of Peter the Great’s foreign policy? [25 marks] 0 4 How effectively did the rulers of Russia maintain tsarist authority in the years 1725 to 1762? [25 marks] END OF QUESTIONS A-level HISTORY 7042/1E Component 1E Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682–1796 Mark scheme June 2024 Version: 1.0 Final MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL HISTORY – 7042/1E – JUNE 2024 Mark schemes are prepared by the Lead Assessment Writer and considered, together with the relevant questions, by a panel of subject teachers. This mark scheme includes any amendments made at the standardisation events which all associates participate in and is the scheme which was used by them in this examination. The standardisation process ensures that the mark scheme covers the students’ responses to questions and that every associate understands and applies it in the same correct way. As preparation for standardisation each associate analyses a number of students’ scripts. Alternative answers not already covered by the mark scheme are discussed and legislated for. If, after the standardisation process, associates encounter unusual answers which have not been raised they are required to refer these to the Lead Examiner. It must be stressed that a mark scheme is a working document, in many cases further developed and expanded on the basis of students’ reactions to a particular paper. Assumptions about future mark schemes on the basis of one year’s document should be avoided; whilst the guiding principles of assessment remain constant, details will change, depending on the content of a particular examination paper. No student should be disadvantaged on the basis of their gender identity and/or how they refer to the gender identity of others in their exam responses. A consistent use of ‘they/them’ as a singular and pronouns beyond ‘she/her’ or ‘he/him’ will be credited in exam responses in line with existing mark scheme criteria. Further copies of this mark scheme are available from Copyright information AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered schools/colleges for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to schools/colleges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre. Copyright © 2024 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. 2 MARK SCHEME – A-LEVEL HISTORY – 7042/1E – JUNE 2024 Level of response marking instructions Level of response mark schemes are broken down into levels, each of which has a descriptor. The descriptor for the level shows the average performance for the level. There are marks in each level. Before you apply the mark scheme to a student’s answer read through the answer and annotate it (as instructed) to show the qualities that are being looked for. You can then apply the mark scheme. Step 1 Determine a level Start at the lowest level of the mark scheme and use it as a ladder to see whether the answer meets the descriptor for that level. The descriptor for the level indicates the different qualities that might be seen in the student’s answer for that level. If it meets the lowest level then go to the next one and decide if it meets this level, and so on, until you have a match between the level descriptor and the answer. With practice and familiarity, you will find that for better answers you will be able to quickly skip through the lower levels of the mark scheme. When assigning a level, you should look at the overall quality of the answer and not look to pick holes in small and specific parts of the answer where the student has not performed quite as well as the rest. If the answer covers different aspects of different levels of the mark scheme you should use a best fit approach for defining the level and then use the variability of the response to help decide the mark within the level, ie if the response is predominantly Level 3 with a small amount of Level 4 material it would be placed in Level 3 but be awarded a mark near the top of the level because of the Level 4 content. Step 2 Determine a mark Once you have assigned a level you need to decide on the mark. The descriptors on how to allocate marks can help with this. The exemplar materials used during standardisation will help. There will be an answer in the standardising materials which will correspond with each level of the mark scheme. This answer will have been awarded a mark by the Lead Examiner. You can compare the student’s answer with the example to determine if it is the same standard, better or worse than the example. You can then use this to allocate a mark for the answer based on the Lead Examiner’s mark on the example. You may well need to read back through the answer as you apply the mark scheme to clarify points and assure yourself that the level and the mark are appropriate.