Despite rising discontent in the years up to 1905, the Tsarist regime survived.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2024). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [4] There was a mutiny.
2. [4] The sailors were given meat which was rotten.
3. [4] The captain ordered the sailors to be executed.
4. [4] The firing squad refused to carry out the order.
5. [4] Officers were thrown overboard.
6. [4] A committee supporting revolutionary ideas took over the ship.
7. [6] Social and economic distress was the main reason. Many people were suffering badly because of increased taxes. These were being increased on everyday items that people needed to live. The government wanted the money to invest in developing industry. At the same time workers' wages were kept low. When there was an industrial slump in 1902 and thousands of people lost their jobs, strikes and demonstrations broke out across the country. Then there was a poor harvest which made things worse. By 1905 Russia was suffering from demonstrations and the situation was ripe for revolution.
8. [2-3] Russia had been defeated by Japan.
9. [2-3] Working conditions had deteriorated.
10. [2-3] Workers were paid low wages.
11. [2-3] There was a trade slump which led to unemployment.
12. [2-3] Taxes were high and there was inflation.
13. [2-3] Poor farming techniques meant there were food shortages and famines.
14. [2-3] The workers living in towns resented their lack of political rights.
15. [2-3] A new Minister of the Interior seemed to favour liberal ideas and this encouraged demands for reform.
16. [1] Father Gapon led a protest march in January 1905.
17. [10] Repression was more important than the October Manifesto which was introduced to stop the rioting and strikes only in the autumn of 1905. When the Tsar introduced the Fundamental Laws in 1906, he made it clear that the Duma would have no power. This shows the October Manifesto was only for show, and the real reason the Tsar stayed in power was repression by the army and the secret police.
18. [4-6] The October Manifesto was important because it showed that the Tsar had been listening to the people and wanted to bring an end to the disturbances across Russia in a peaceful way. Through the Manifesto he gave people an elected Duma, free speech and the right to form political parties. These were some of the things that middle class liberals had been calling for, so this shows the Tsar was responding to their demands and this helped the regime to survive.
19. [4-6] Repression was more important than the October Manifesto in ensuring the survival of the Tsarist regime. After the Tsar made peace with Japan, he used his returning army to crush the revolution. Leaders of St Petersburg and Moscow Soviets were arrested and exiled to Siberia. Further demonstrations were then crushed and by 1906 all the leaders of the revolution were either dead or in exile. He then made sure that the Duma he had promised had important limits placed on its powers. The Duma turned out to be ineffective because whenever it started to criticise the government, the Tsar closed it down.
20. [2-3] The Tsar used the army to crush any trouble.
21. [2-3] The leaders of the 1905 revolution were killed or exiled.
22. [2-3] The Tsar made sure the Duma had no real power.
23. [2-3] The Tsar passed the Fundamental Laws.
24. [2-3] The Tsar gave them an elected Duma as a concession.
25. [2-3] The Tsar issued the October Manifesto which gave the people free speech.
26. [1] Strikes and demonstrations stopped when the Manifesto was issued.