Nicholas II survived as Tsar in 1905, but not in 1917.

Mark scheme

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

1. [1-4] e.g. 'Russia was a vast empire.'
2. [1-4] 'It was difficult to rule with 20 different nationalities.'
3. [1-4] '80% of the population were peasants.'
4. [1-4] 'The peasants lived and worked in poor conditions.'
5. [1-4] 'There were regular famines, and starvation was common.'
6. [1-4] 'Russian peasants still used ancient farming techniques.'
7. [1-4] 'There was resentment that the aristocracy, the Church and the Tsar owned most of the land.'
8. [1-4] 'Industrial workers suffered wretched living conditions and atrocious working conditions.'
9. [1-4] 'There were no government regulations on child labour, hours, safety or education.'
10. [1-4] 'Opposition groups were growing.'
11. [1-4] 'The opposition groups were a threat to the Tsar and the aristocracy.'
12. [1-4] 'The rising middle classes wanted greater democracy in Russia.'
13. [1-4] 'The Social Revolutionaries believed a revolution was an answer to the peoples' troubles.'
14. [1-4] 'Opposition groups wanted the end of the tsardom.'
15. [1-4] 'They wanted the nobles' estates handed over to the people.'
16. [1-4] 'The Social Democratic Party regularly discussed the possibility of a revolution.'
17. [1-4] 'There were increasing waves of strikes, demonstrations and protests causing unrest.'
18. [4-5] e.g. 'The Tsar abdicated because the war was going so badly for Russia. This was made worse by the fact that in 1915 the Tsar had taken personal control of the army on the Eastern Front. This meant that when the Russian army suffered defeats and enormous numbers of casualties (millions), the Tsar was blamed because he was in charge. He had no ability as a general, and morale and desertions in the army got worse, leading to demonstrations and strikes in Russia.'
19. [2-3] e.g. 'His handling of the war was disastrous.'
20. [2-3] 'There were food shortages and high prices in Russian cities.'
21. [2-3] 'Thousands of workers were out on strike and the army fired on them.'
22. [2-3] 'Some soldiers began to join the demonstrators.'
23. [2-3] 'When he went to lead the army, the Tsar left his wife and Rasputin in charge. They were very unpopular and disastrous.'
24. [2-3] 'The Russian army high command suggested that he abdicate because the situation was so bad.'
25. [4-6] e.g. 'I disagree with this statement. The reason why the Tsar survived was because he calmed everybody down by passing reforms. He issued the October Manifesto. This set up an elected Parliament called a Duma and gave the Russian people freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the right to vote for all men. This satisfied the liberals and moderates and ended the strikes and the violence. It enabled the Tsar to survive for the time being.'
26. [4-6] OR e.g. 'I agree. The October Manifesto did not convince many groups, including the Marxists and revolutionaries. Soon after the Manifesto, strikes and violence began again. The real way the Tsar survived was by returning to repression. He used the Black Hundreds to attack those protesting. Opponents were arrested and executed in their hundreds and political parties were supressed. Martial law was also introduced.'
27. [2-3] e.g. 'He survived by introducing martial law.'
28. [2-3] 'The Tsar survived by supressing political parties.'
29. [2-3] 'Many considered the October Manifesto to be a trick.'
30. [2-3] 'He used the Black Hundreds to attack his opponents.'
31. [2-3] 'Stolypin sent the army to execute thousands of peasants.'
32. [2-3] 'Troops arrested the St Petersburg Soviet and crushed a Bolshevik uprising.'
33. [2-3] 'The Okhrana was used for killing revolutionary leaders.'
34. [2-3] 'He survived by issuing reforms in the October Manifesto.'
35. [2-3] 'He won the peasants over by cutting their redemption payments in half.'
36. [2-3] 'He survived the revolution by ending the war with Japan.'
37. [2-3] 'The October Manifesto set up an elected Duma.'
38. [2-3] 'He promised freedom of assembly and speech.'