something is communist if it relates to the belief that wealth should be shared equally and people should be treated as equals

something is capitalist if it relates to a system where some people own industry privately and make profit for themselves

the bourgeoisie are members of the middle classes

the proletariat are members of the industrial working classes

the aristocracy are the highest social class, usually in countries that have a royal family

Karl Marx and communism

History

Tsarist Russia

The Bolsheviks

The Russian Civil War, 1918-21

Soviet Russia in the 1920s and 1930s

The extent to which communism changed Russia

In this unit, pupils examine the profound societal changes brought about by communism following the Russian Revolution. This sets the stage for the next unit, ‘Post-war Britain: for whom did the United Kingdom become a ‘New Jerusalem’?’, where they will contrast the effects of communism with the democratic socialism that influenced British society in the post-war era.

In ‘The French Revolution: How did Europe respond to the French Revolution?’, pupils studied how France's eighteenth century revolution influenced people's lives. Building on that, this unit explores how the radical ideas of the Russian Revolution transformed Russian society under communism, demonstrating the power of revolutionary ideologies.

In this unit, pupils learn about Karl Marx's theories regarding communism and the conduct and impact of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. They examine the Russian Civil War and Russian society in the 1920s and 30s, allowing them to judge the extent to which communism changed Russia.

The Russian Revolution: did communism completely transform Russian society? 

the Duma was a Russian parliament set up in 1906

a ruler has absolute power if they can act as they wish without any restrictions

exile involves being sent or kept away from your own country, usually for political reasons

something is provisional if it is only temporary

something is seized if it is taken suddenly and by force

a secret police force is used to make opposition to a government weaker, often using illegal and violent methods

a civil war is a conflict between people from the same country

minorities are small groups of people within a country who differ from the main population in race, religion, culture or language

requisitioning is an act which involves officials taking something from others

a dictatorship is a country where the leaders have absolute power

a purge involves getting rid of people who do not agree with you

a gulag was part of a system of work prisons set up in the USSR

the process of developing a country's manufacturing industries is known as industrialisation

collectivisation was a policy which reorganised Soviet agriculture to work as a system of large, modernised farms

differences in how many valuable things people own, such as land or businesses, can be described as wealth inequality

members of the most powerful group in a society can be described as elites

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The Russian Revolution: did communism completely transform Russian society?

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