This mini-lesson covers CCEA Unit AS 2, Option 5 — Russia 1914–41: the Revolutions of February and October 1917, Lenin's Russia 1917–24, Stalin's rise to power and dictatorship 1924–41, and the Soviet economy 1924–41.
Where this sits: Option 5 is one of six options in Unit AS 2 (Historical Conflict and Change). You study one.
Answer the questions as you go and collect ⭐ stars. Press Start when you're ready.
Revolutions of 1917
Russia at war, 1914
By 1914 Tsar Nicholas II ruled a vast, mostly peasant empire with little real reform since 1905. The First World War exposed the regime's weaknesses:
Military defeats, huge casualties and poor supply undermined confidence in the Tsar, who took personal command of the army in 1915.
Food shortages, inflation and strikes gripped the cities.
Government was discredited by the influence of the Tsarina and Rasputin at court.
Revolutions of 1917
The February Revolution
In February/March 1917 strikes and mutinies in Petrograd forced Nicholas II to abdicate, ending Romanov rule. Power was shared uneasily:
The Provisional Government claimed authority but chose to continue the war.
The Petrograd Soviet of workers and soldiers held real influence — a situation known as dual power.
Quick check
February 1917
?What was the key outcome of the February Revolution of 1917?
Revolutions of 1917
The October Revolution
Returning in 1917, Lenin demanded 'Peace, Bread, Land' and 'All Power to the Soviets' in his April Theses. The Provisional Government weakened over the summer, and in October 1917 (November in the Western calendar) the Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd, with Trotsky organising the takeover through the Military Revolutionary Committee.
Quick check
October 1917
?Who organised the practical seizure of power in Petrograd in October 1917?
Lenin's Russia 1917–24
Consolidating Bolshevik rule
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) — a harsh peace with Germany that took Russia out of the war.
Civil War (1918–21) — the Reds defeated the Whites; the economic policy of War Communism requisitioned grain and militarised industry.
The Kronstadt rebellion (1921) and economic collapse pushed Lenin to launch the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921, allowing limited private trade.
The USSR was formed in 1922; Lenin died on 21 January 1924.
Sort it
Which regime?
Tap a card, then tap the regime it belongs to.
🏛️ Provisional Govt 1917
☭ Lenin 1917–24
★ Stalin 1924–41
Quick check
The New Economic Policy
?What did Lenin's New Economic Policy (1921) allow?
Stalin's rise 1924–29
Stalin outmanoeuvres his rivals
As General Secretary, Stalin used patronage and shifting alliances to defeat his rivals after Lenin's death. He sided first against the Left (Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev) and then the Right (Bukharin). Trotsky was expelled from the Party in 1927 and exiled from the USSR in 1929 — by which point Stalin was dominant.
Order it
Put the events in order
Tap the events from earliest to latest.
The economy 1924–41
Collectivisation and industrialisation
Collectivisation (from 1929) merged peasant farms into collectives; resistance was crushed and 'kulaks' were persecuted (dekulakisation).
Disruption and grain seizures contributed to a devastating famine in 1932–33, worst in Ukraine.
The Five-Year Plans (the first, 1928–32) drove rapid heavy industry — steel, coal and new cities such as Magnitogorsk — at great human cost.
Quick check
Stalin's agricultural policy
?What was the main aim of collectivisation from 1929?
Stalin's dictatorship 1924–41
Terror and dictatorship
After the murder of Kirov in 1934, Stalin unleashed the Great Terror (1936–38): purges, the show trials of former Bolshevik leaders (Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1936, Bukharin in 1938), mass arrests and the Gulag labour-camp system. A pervasive cult of personality presented Stalin as the infallible leader. The option ends in 1941, on the eve of the German invasion.
Match it
Match each policy to its description
Tap a policy on the left, then its description on the right.
Policy
Description
Quick check
The Great Terror
?The 'show trials' of 1936–38 were used by Stalin mainly to do what?
Recap
The big ideas to know
1917: February Revolution → Tsar abdicates → dual power; October Revolution → Bolsheviks seize power (Lenin, Trotsky).
Lenin 1917–24: Brest-Litovsk 1918; Civil War & War Communism; Kronstadt 1921 → NEP; USSR 1922; Lenin dies 1924.
Stalin's rise: outmanoeuvres Left then Right; Trotsky exiled 1929.
Economy: collectivisation from 1929, famine 1932–33; Five-Year Plans drive industrialisation.
Dictatorship: Kirov 1934; Great Terror 1936–38; show trials, Gulag, cult of personality.