1917 brought great changes to Russia.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2021). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1-4] e.g. 'It acted like a city council.'
2. [1-4] 'It set up soldiers' committees throughout the armed forces.'
3. [1-4] 'It started to take control of food supplies into Petrograd.'
4. [1-4] 'It acted as an alternative government to the Provisional Government.'
5. [1-4] 'It co-ordinated the activities of the national soviet movement.'
6. [1-4] 'It worked with the Provisional Government during the crisis months of the spring of 1917.'
7. [1-4] ‘It became increasingly hostile to the Provisional Government as it fell under the influence of the Bolsheviks.'
8. [2-3] ‘They wanted the release of political prisoners.'
9. [2-3] 'They wanted freedom of speech.'
10. [2-3] ‘They wanted the end of food requisitioning.'
11. [2-3] 'They wanted peasants to be able to own land.'
12. [2-3] 'They thought the Bolsheviks had betrayed the revolution.'
13. [2-3] 'The sailors wanted an end to dictatorship.'
14. [2-3] 'They wanted freedom for trade unions.'
15. [4-5] e.g. 'The sailors had played vital roles in the November Revolution and the Civil War. They thought they had fought against repression and dictatorship which the Soviet government now seemed to be showing. They thought the Soviet government had taken away the freedoms from the workers and peasants which they had fought for in 1917.’
16. [2-3] 'The Whites were corrupt and lacked popular support.'
17. [2-3] 'The Bolsheviks had a clear aim to set up the first communist government in the world.'
18. [2-3] 'Trotsky's leadership of the Red Army was crucial.'
19. [2-3] 'The communists had a single unified command structure.'
20. [2-3] 'The Whites were not united in their aims.'
21. [2-3] ‘There was great indiscipline and corruption in the White armies.'
22. [2-3] 'The Communists held the central area, including Petrograd and Moscow.'
23. [2-3] 'The Bolsheviks had control over the railways and industrial areas.'
24. [4-6] e.g. 'Bolshevik strength was important. Trotsky's leadership of the Red Army was vital to Communist success. He enforced strict discipline, but he was also able to inspire and rally his men. He was personally brave, taking his special forces to places where the fighting was fiercest. The Bolsheviks were united and fought for a common cause, unlike the White armies.'
25. [4-6] OR e.g. 'However, the Whites had weaknesses and lost the war because they lacked unity. White armies were geographically separated by large distances. This made communications difficult, especially moving men and weapons and co-ordinating the attacks of the different White armies. They could not agree on co-ordinating a plan for attack, and this worked in favour of the Bolsheviks.'