GRADE 11 HISTORY CAPS NOTES
Comprehensive In-Depth Study & Exam Guide
TOPIC 1: Communism in Russia (1900–1940)
1.1 The Collapse of the Tsarist Autocracy
By 1900, Russia was ruled by an absolute monarch, Tsar Nicholas II. The empire faced severe social,
economic, and political structural flaws:
• Social Discontent: Peasantry made up over 80% of the population, suffering under crushing poverty, high
taxes, and archaic feudal remnants. The industrial working class (proletariat) in cities like Petrograd endured
hazardous conditions, long hours, and poverty wages.
• Political Suppressions: No democratic representation existed until the 1905 Revolution forced the creation
of a weak Duma (parliament), which the Tsar routinely ignored and dissolved.
• Impact of World War I: The war devastated Russia. Severe food and fuel shortages plagued major cities
due to a collapsed railway system. Inflation skyrocketed, military defeats mounted (e.g., Tannenberg), and
millions of peasant soldiers were slaughtered, completely undermining the Tsar's authority.
• The February Revolution (1917): Spontaneous protests in Petrograd over bread shortages escalated. The
military mutinied and sided with the crowds, forcing Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate, ending 300 years of
Romanov rule.
1.2 The Provisional Government vs. The Bolsheviks
Following the abdication, a Dual Authority emerged: the liberal Provisional Government and the socialist
Petrograd Soviet.
• Weakness of the Provisional Government: Led initially by Prince Lvov and later Alexander Kerensky, they
made the fatal mistake of continuing WWI to honour international alliances, postponing vital agrarian land
redistribution.
• Lenin's Return and April Theses: Vladimir Lenin returned from exile in April 1917 with clear slogans:
'Peace, Land, and Bread' and 'All Power to the Soviets'. This simple, revolutionary message directly
appealed to the desperate and war-weary masses.
• The October Revolution (1917): Orchestrated by Leon Trotsky, the Red Guards systematically seized
strategic infrastructure in Petrograd. They stormed the Winter Palace, overthrew the Provisional
Government, and established a Bolshevik-led regime.
Confidential - South African CAPS Curriculum Support Page 1 of 7
, Grade 11 History CAPS Study Notes
1.3 Lenin's Economic Policies
Lenin had to adapt economic theory to survive a brutal Civil War (1918–1922) between the Red Army
(Bolsheviks) and the White Army (Monarchists, Capitalists, and Foreign interventionists):
• War Communism (1918–1921): An extreme emergency economic policy designed to supply the Red Army.
It featured nationalisation of all industries, total abolition of private trade, strict rationing, and violent, forced
requisitioning of grain from peasants. While it successfully won the war, it caused a horrific famine in 1921
killing millions, and triggered the Kronstadt naval mutiny.
• New Economic Policy / NEP (1921–1928): A tactical retreat to tactical capitalism to save the economy. It
reintroduced a partial free market: peasants could sell surplus grain for profit, small private businesses were
allowed, and a new stable currency was launched. Heavy industry, banks, and transport remained
state-controlled ('the commanding heights'). The NEP revived the economy but created a class of wealthy
peasants (Kulaks) and merchants (Nepmen).
1.4 Stalin's Dictatorship and Economic Modernisation
Following Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin outmanoeuvred rivals like Trotsky by advocating 'Socialism
in One Country' rather than global revolution. By 1928, he seized total control and abandoned the NEP for
rapid, forced modernisation:
• Collectivisation: Consolidating individual peasant farms into massive state-run collective farms (Kolkhozy).
The goal was to boost food production, fund industrialisation via grain exports, and eliminate the capitalist
Kulak class. Kulaks resisted fiercely by slaughtering livestock and burning crops. Stalin retaliated brutally
with dekulakisation, deporting millions to Gulags and orchestrating the artificial Holodomor famine in Ukraine
(1932-1933), killing millions.
• The Five-Year Plans: Rapid state-directed industrialisation targeting heavy industries (coal, steel, oil,
electricity). State targets were set by Gosplan. Cities like Magnitogorsk were built from scratch. While
achieving monumental growth making the USSR a global superpower, it caused extreme worker exploitation
and hazardous conditions.
• The Totalitarian State & Great Purge (1936–1938): Stalin eliminated any perceived opposition through the
NKVD (secret police). Show trials forced false confessions out of old Bolshevik leaders, military officers, and
intellectuals, executing or sending millions to the Gulag network.
Confidential - South African CAPS Curriculum Support Page 2 of 7
Comprehensive In-Depth Study & Exam Guide
TOPIC 1: Communism in Russia (1900–1940)
1.1 The Collapse of the Tsarist Autocracy
By 1900, Russia was ruled by an absolute monarch, Tsar Nicholas II. The empire faced severe social,
economic, and political structural flaws:
• Social Discontent: Peasantry made up over 80% of the population, suffering under crushing poverty, high
taxes, and archaic feudal remnants. The industrial working class (proletariat) in cities like Petrograd endured
hazardous conditions, long hours, and poverty wages.
• Political Suppressions: No democratic representation existed until the 1905 Revolution forced the creation
of a weak Duma (parliament), which the Tsar routinely ignored and dissolved.
• Impact of World War I: The war devastated Russia. Severe food and fuel shortages plagued major cities
due to a collapsed railway system. Inflation skyrocketed, military defeats mounted (e.g., Tannenberg), and
millions of peasant soldiers were slaughtered, completely undermining the Tsar's authority.
• The February Revolution (1917): Spontaneous protests in Petrograd over bread shortages escalated. The
military mutinied and sided with the crowds, forcing Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate, ending 300 years of
Romanov rule.
1.2 The Provisional Government vs. The Bolsheviks
Following the abdication, a Dual Authority emerged: the liberal Provisional Government and the socialist
Petrograd Soviet.
• Weakness of the Provisional Government: Led initially by Prince Lvov and later Alexander Kerensky, they
made the fatal mistake of continuing WWI to honour international alliances, postponing vital agrarian land
redistribution.
• Lenin's Return and April Theses: Vladimir Lenin returned from exile in April 1917 with clear slogans:
'Peace, Land, and Bread' and 'All Power to the Soviets'. This simple, revolutionary message directly
appealed to the desperate and war-weary masses.
• The October Revolution (1917): Orchestrated by Leon Trotsky, the Red Guards systematically seized
strategic infrastructure in Petrograd. They stormed the Winter Palace, overthrew the Provisional
Government, and established a Bolshevik-led regime.
Confidential - South African CAPS Curriculum Support Page 1 of 7
, Grade 11 History CAPS Study Notes
1.3 Lenin's Economic Policies
Lenin had to adapt economic theory to survive a brutal Civil War (1918–1922) between the Red Army
(Bolsheviks) and the White Army (Monarchists, Capitalists, and Foreign interventionists):
• War Communism (1918–1921): An extreme emergency economic policy designed to supply the Red Army.
It featured nationalisation of all industries, total abolition of private trade, strict rationing, and violent, forced
requisitioning of grain from peasants. While it successfully won the war, it caused a horrific famine in 1921
killing millions, and triggered the Kronstadt naval mutiny.
• New Economic Policy / NEP (1921–1928): A tactical retreat to tactical capitalism to save the economy. It
reintroduced a partial free market: peasants could sell surplus grain for profit, small private businesses were
allowed, and a new stable currency was launched. Heavy industry, banks, and transport remained
state-controlled ('the commanding heights'). The NEP revived the economy but created a class of wealthy
peasants (Kulaks) and merchants (Nepmen).
1.4 Stalin's Dictatorship and Economic Modernisation
Following Lenin's death in 1924, Joseph Stalin outmanoeuvred rivals like Trotsky by advocating 'Socialism
in One Country' rather than global revolution. By 1928, he seized total control and abandoned the NEP for
rapid, forced modernisation:
• Collectivisation: Consolidating individual peasant farms into massive state-run collective farms (Kolkhozy).
The goal was to boost food production, fund industrialisation via grain exports, and eliminate the capitalist
Kulak class. Kulaks resisted fiercely by slaughtering livestock and burning crops. Stalin retaliated brutally
with dekulakisation, deporting millions to Gulags and orchestrating the artificial Holodomor famine in Ukraine
(1932-1933), killing millions.
• The Five-Year Plans: Rapid state-directed industrialisation targeting heavy industries (coal, steel, oil,
electricity). State targets were set by Gosplan. Cities like Magnitogorsk were built from scratch. While
achieving monumental growth making the USSR a global superpower, it caused extreme worker exploitation
and hazardous conditions.
• The Totalitarian State & Great Purge (1936–1938): Stalin eliminated any perceived opposition through the
NKVD (secret police). Show trials forced false confessions out of old Bolshevik leaders, military officers, and
intellectuals, executing or sending millions to the Gulag network.
Confidential - South African CAPS Curriculum Support Page 2 of 7
