RUSSIA AND THE
USSR, 18551991
Russia and the USSR, 18551991 explores all the key aspects of this extremely important period in Russian history. Stephen J. Lee examines and compares the ideologies of Tsarist autocracy and Soviet Communism and the opposition to these regimes. The 1917 Revolution, the use of repression and terror by these regimes and the impact of the First and Second World Wars on Russia are also analysed. A major feature of the book is the guidance provided for students preparing for the synoptic module of A2 exams.
Stephen J. Lee is Head of History at Bromsgrove School. His many publications include European Dictatorships (2nd edition, 2000) and, in this series, Gladstone and Disraeli (2005) and Lenin and Revolutionary Russia (2003).
QUESTIONS AND ANALYSIS IN HISTORY
Edited by Stephen J. Lee, Sean Lang and Jocelyn Hunt
Other titles in this series:
Modern History
Imperial Germany, 18711918
Stephen J. Lee
The Weimar Republic
Stephen J. Lee
Hitler and Nazi Germany
Stephen J. Lee
The Spanish Civil War
Andrew Forrest
The Cold War
Bradley Lightbody
Stalin and the Soviet Union
Stephen J. Lee
Parliamentary Reform, 17851928
Sean Lang
British Foreign and Imperial Policy, 18651919
Graham D. Goodlad
The French Revolution
Jocelyn Hunt
The First World War
Ian C. Cawood and David McKinnon-Bell
Anglo-Irish Relations, 17981922
Nick Pelling
Churchill
Samantha Heywood
Mussolini and Fascism
Patricia Knight
Lenin and Revolutionary Russia
Stephen J. Lee
Gladstone and Disraeli
Stephen J. Lee
Early Modern History
The English Wars and Republic, 16361660
Graham E. Seel
The Renaissance
Jocelyn Hunt
Tudor Government
T. A. Morris
Spain, 14741598
Jocelyn Hunt
The Early Stuart Kings, 16031642
Graham E. Seel and David L. Smith
First published 2006
by Routledge
24 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
2006 Stephen J. Lee
Typeset in Akzidenz Grotesk and Perpetua by
Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Lee, Stephen J., 1945
Russia and the USSR, 18551991: autocracy and dictatorship/
Stephen J. Lee.
p. cm. (Questions and analysis in history)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Russia Politics and government 18011917. 2. Soviet Union
Politics and government. 3. Despotism Russia. 4. Dictatorship Soviet
Union. 5. Authoritarianism Soviet Union. 6. Totalitarianism History
20th century. I. Title. II. Series.
DK61.L42 2005
947.08 dc22 2005020925
ISBN10: 0-415-33576-0 | ISBN13: 978-0-415-33576-8 (hbk) |
ISBN10: 0-415-33577-9 | ISBN13: 978-0-415-33577-5 (pbk) |
CONTENTS
List of illustrations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Outline chronology
List of abbreviations
Ideologies and regimes
Analysis 1: What were the main features of the ideologies of Tsarist autocracy and Soviet Communism?
Analysis 2: Their rule was conditioned by a fundamental ideology on which their power depended. To what extent would you agree with this assessment of either Nicholas II or Stalin?
Analysis 3: Compare autocracy and Marxism-Leninism as ideologies within the context of Tsarist and Soviet Russia.
Sources:
1. The theory and practice of autocracy in late-Tsarist Russia
2. Marxism, Marxism-Leninism and Stalinism
Constitutional development
Analysis 1: Outline the development of Russias constitutional structure between 1855 and 1991.
Analysis 2: Explain why, and with what degree of success, new constitutional structures were introduced in either the late-Tsarist or Soviet periods.
Analysis 3: Discuss the similarities and differences between the constitutions introduced during the late-Tsarist and Soviet periods.
Sources:
1. The Imperial Constitution of 1906
2. The Constitutions of the USSR
Political parties
Analysis 1: Examine the meaning and development of political parties between 1855 and 1991.
Analysis 2: How successful were either Alexander III and Nicholas II or Lenin and Stalin in controlling the power of political parties?
Analysis 3: The meaning of political party differed profoundly between the Tsarist and Soviet regimes. Do you agree?
Sources:
1. Political parties in Tsarist Russia
2. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union under the leadership of Stalin
Repression and terror
Analysis 1: Explain the development of the secret police in Russia between 1826 and 1991.
Analysis 2: Ruthless but effective. Assess this view of the secret police either in Tsarist Russia under Nicholas II or in the Soviet Union under Stalin.
Analysis 3: Compare the use of repression and terror by the Tsarist and Soviet regimes between 1855 and 1991.
Sources:
1. Terror, moderation and the secret police under Nicholas II
2. Historians and Stalins Terror
The nationalities
Analysis 1: Examine the development of nationalities within Russia and the Soviet Union between 1800 and 1991.
Analysis 2: The most repressive of their policies, in response to the greatest of their threats. To what extent do you agree with this assessment of the treatment of the nationalities either by Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II or by Lenin and Stalin?
Analysis 3: Compare the treatment of the nationalities by the Tsarist and Soviet regimes between 1855 and 1991. How effective were their policies?
Sources:
1. The policies of Alexander III and Nicholas II towards the nationalities
2. Different perspectives on the nationalities under the Tsarist and Soviet regimes
The impact of war
Analysis 1: Explain the impact of war on Russias internal development between 1854 and 1991.
Analysis 2: A turning point in the fortunes of the Russian regime. Discuss this view in relation to either the First World War or the Second World War.