USSR INTRODUCTION

First impressions! When you hear the word “Russia:” What do you think of? Write down two things that come to mind yTY&feature=related yTY&feature=related

Geography Is Square kilometres in size Covers more than a ninth of the earth’s land area Spans over 9 different time zones

General History From the earliest beginnings of the Russian State, Russia was ruled by Tsars. Tsars had absolute power, which meant they did not have to answer to anybody Under this strong rule, Russia grew into a large empire but was very backward compared to the rest of Western Europe. There was a vast disparity between rich and poor.

Task: Read the worksheet on Peasants and Factory workers. Condense the information into concise notes in the form of a T chart On page 12 of the Text book, draw the diagram showing society in Tsarist Russia

Nicholas II was the last Tsar of Russia. He did not care for politics and was oblivious to the plight of his people. His son, Alexei the Tsarevich (heir to the throne) had the disorder called haemophilia (this means your blood doesn’t clot, so the smallest cut could kill) Nicholas turned to a Siberian ‘healer’ called Gregori Rasputin to help. Rasputin soon became a regular visitor to the Royal household, and his influence in political affairs started to show

When World War One broke out in 1914, the country was united with the Tsar to fight Germany. Soldiers were badly trained and poorly equipped. Russia was not industrialised enough to win a modern war. The Russian army suffered horrendous defeats. Tsar Nicholas decided to go to the front and lead the army. This was one of his worst decisions, as this made him responsible for the defeats AND the shortages

While Nicholas was away at the front, his wife Alexandria took over running Russia, with disastrous consequences Alexandria had been born in Germany, so the Russian people became uneasy at her power She relied heavily on advice from Rasputin, who was a serial alcoholic and womaniser. The Russian people did not trust Alexandria or Rasputin, and rumours began to circulate that they were seeing each other

In 1916, a group of nobles decided to kill Rasputin, to help Russia’s cause They lured him to one of their homes, and served him cakes and red wine laced with enough cyanide to kill 5 men. Rasputin was completely unaffected! The nobles then shot him, and he still didn’t die, so they shot him 3 more times, bound him up and threw him in the River Neva The autopsy showed that Rasputin had died from drowning, not his injuries!!!

By 1917, there had been more than 6 million Russian Casualties. The cities were starving, and in February 1917 bread riots in Petrograd led to a general strike. The Tsar’s troops refused to shoot the rioters, and Nicholas realised that there was no one to keep him on the throne, so he abdicated….

8-4o&feature=related 8-4o&feature=related e1 e1