OCR A-Level History A H505
Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016Unit group 1
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107Unit group 1
Y103: England 1199–1272Unit group 1
Y104: England 1377–1455Unit group 1
Y105: England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VIIUnit group 1
Y106: England 1485–1558: The Early TudorsUnit group 1
Y107: England 1547–1603: The Later TudorsUnit group 1
Y108: The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660Unit group 1
Y109: The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760Unit group 1
Y110: From Pitt to Peel 1783–1853Unit group 1
Y111: Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1918Unit group 1
Y112: Britain 1900–1951Unit group 1
Y113: Britain 1930–1997Unit group 1
Y201: The Rise of Islam c.550–750Unit group 2
Y202: Charlemagne 768–814Unit group 2
Y203: The Crusades and the Crusader States 1095–1192Unit group 2
Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes c.1167–1405Unit group 2
Y205: Exploration, Encounters and Empire 1445–1570Unit group 2
Y206: Spain 1469–1556Unit group 2
Y207: The German Reformation and the Rule of Charles v 1500–1559Unit group 2
Y208: Philip II 1556–1598Unit group 2
Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case StudiesUnit group 2
Y210: Russia 1645–1741Unit group 2
Y211: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739Unit group 2
Y212: The American Revolution 1740–1796Unit group 2
Y213: The French Revolution and the Rule of Napoleon 1774–1815Unit group 2
Y214: France 1814–1870Unit group 2
Y215: Italy and Unification 1789–1896Unit group 2
Y216: The USA in the 19th Century: Westward Expansion and Civil War 1803–c.1890Unit group 2
Y217: Japan 1853–1937Unit group 2
Y218: International Relations 1890–1941Unit group 2
Y219: Russia 1894–1941Unit group 2
Y220: Italy 1896–1943Unit group 2
Y221: Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963Unit group 2
Y222: The Cold War in Asia 1945–1993Unit group 2
Y223: The Cold War in Europe 1941–1995Unit group 2
Y224: Apartheid and Reconciliation: South African Politics 1948–1999Unit group 2
Y301: The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800Unit group 3
Y302: The Viking Age c.790–1066Unit group 3
Y303: English Government and the Church 1066–1216Unit group 3
Y304: The Church and Medieval Heresy c.1100–1437Unit group 3
Y305: The Renaissance c.1400–c.1600Unit group 3
Y306: Rebellion and Disorder Under the Tudors 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y307: Tudor Foreign Policy 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y308: The Catholic Reformation 1492–1610Unit group 3
Y309: The Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453–1606Unit group 3
Y310: The Development of the Nation State: France 1498–1610Unit group 3
Y311: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1558–1783Unit group 3
Y312: Popular Culture and the Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th CenturiesUnit group 3
Y313: The Ascendancy of France 1610–1715Unit group 3
Y314: The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789–1919Unit group 3
Y315: The Changing Nature of Warfare 1792–1945Unit group 3
Y316: Britain and Ireland 1791–1921Unit group 3
Y317: China and Its Rulers 1839–1989Unit group 3
Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964Unit group 3
Y319: Civil Rights in the USA 1865–1992Unit group 3
Y320: From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965Unit group 3
Y321: The Middle East 1908–2011: Ottomans to Arab SpringUnit group 3
Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964
- 11 subtopics
- 31 things to know
- Unit group 3
- Thematic study and interpretations, one unit of twenty-one
What Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964 covers
Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964 is unit Y318 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-one options in unit group 3, the thematic study and historical interpretations; a student sits one of them. Its four key topics and three depth studies are the nature of government, the impact of dictatorial regimes on the economy and society of Russia and the USSR, impact of war and revolution on the development of Russia and the USSR, the impact of Russia and the USSR on nationalities and satellite states, Alexander II’s domestic reforms, the Provisional Government, Khrushchev in power 1956–1964. 387 recall questions across 11 subtopics.
Where it is assessed
Unit group 3
Thematic study and historical interpretations, one unit of twenty-one.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 11 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- The nature of government: Autocracy, methods of repression and enforcementRecall questions on Autocracy, dictatorship and totalitarianism, developments in central administration, methods of repression and enforcement.Open →
- The nature of government: extent and impact of reform, attitude of the Tsars, extent of political changeRecall questions on the extent and impact of reform, the nature, extent and effectiveness of opposition both before and after 1917, changes in local government, attitude of the Tsars, Provisional Government and Communists to political change, the extent of political change.Open →
- The impact of dictatorial regimes on the economy and society of Russia and the USSRRecall questions on changes to living and working conditions of urban and rural people including the impact on the peasants of Emancipation, limitations on personal, political and religious freedom, reasons for and extent of economic and social changes.Open →
- Impact of war and revolution on the development of Russia and the USSRRecall questions on the effects of the following wars on government, society, nationalities and the economy.Open →
- The impact of Russia and the USSR on nationalities and satellite states: Poland, Asia, Russification and the JewsRecall questions on the empire’s mixed population, the causes and consequences of the Polish Revolt of 1863, Russian expansion in Asia and its problems, Russification and its effects, and the position of Jews.Open →
- The impact of Russia and the USSR on nationalities and satellite states: Finland, the Baltic, Soviet nationalities and satellitesRecall questions on Finland and the Baltic provinces, the borderlands in the First World War, Bolshevik promises, Brest-Litovsk, the Russo-Polish War, Stalin’s treatment of nationalities, communism in Europe after 1945, Yugoslavia and control of the satellites.Open →
- Depth study: Alexander II’s domestic reforms — the Crimean War, the great reforms and their limitsRecall questions on the Crimean War and Alexander II’s aims, emancipation and its limits, the zemstva, judicial, military, education, press and urban reform, surviving restrictions, opposition, Loris-Melikov and interpretations of the reign.Open →
- Depth study: The Provisional Government — formation, reforms and living conditions in 1917Recall questions on the formation and insecure authority of the Provisional Government, Order Number One, its liberal reforms, policy on nationalities and land, and conditions in the cities in 1917.Open →
- Depth study: The Provisional Government — the crises of 1917 and the government’s fallRecall questions on food supply, the delayed Constituent Assembly, the war, the April Crisis and July Days, repression, the Kornilov affair, opposition, the overthrow of the government and interpretations of it.Open →
- Depth study: Khrushchev in power 1956–1964 — aims, de-Stalinisation and reformRecall questions on the Secret Speech, Khrushchev’s aims and government, de-Stalinisation and the Thaw, the Anti-Party Group, repression, the satellites, religious policy, agriculture and the Virgin Lands, and industrial reorganisation.Open →
- Depth study: Khrushchev in power 1956–1964 — opposition and Khrushchev’s fallRecall questions on opposition, methods and enforcement of repression in Russia and its satellites, changes in urban and rural living and working conditions, limitations on personal, political and religious freedom, the impact of the Cold War, Khrushchev’s fall.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Describe central administration under the tsars.
How was central administration organised after the Bolshevik seizure of power?
How extensive was reform under the tsars?
Describe the main forms of opposition before 1917.
Contrast the attitudes of the tsars, the Provisional Government and the Communists to political change.
Why did emancipation disappoint the peasants?
How did the New Economic Policy affect industrial workers?
What effect did the Second World War have on living and working conditions?
What military reform followed the Crimean War?
How did the First World War damage the Russian economy?
How did the Second World War reshape the Soviet economy?
How did the First World War affect the borderland nationalities?
Describe the judicial reform of 1864.
Summarise the military reforms.
What form did opposition to Alexander II take?
What happened during the July Days?
What did de-Stalinisation actually involve?
How was opposition repressed under Khrushchev?
How did Khrushchev deal with unrest in the satellites?
How successful were his economic reforms?
How did urban living conditions change under Khrushchev?
How did the Cold War affect Khrushchev's position?
How did the Russo-Polish War end?
Why did the delay to the Constituent Assembly matter so much?
How mixed was the population of the Russian Empire?
What caused the Polish Revolt of 1863?
What were living and working conditions like in the cities in 1917?
What was Russification?
What did the Bolsheviks promise the nationalities in 1917?
What was the effect of continuing the war?
Take Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964 further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Zemstva vs Nomenklatura
Zemstva: the elected local councils created in 1864 for roads, schools and public health. Nomenklatura: the list of posts filled only with party approval, and the privileged group who held them.
Russification vs Virgin Lands scheme
Russification: the policy of imposing Russian language, law and religion on the non-Russian peoples. Virgin Lands scheme: the campaign to bring the grasslands of Kazakhstan and Siberia under grain.
Loris-Melikov plan vs Peasant Land Bank
Loris-Melikov plan: the proposal to bring elected representatives into the drafting of legislation. Peasant Land Bank: the institution created to lend peasants money to buy land.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Define autocracy as the tsars practised it.
Model answer
Rule in which the tsar held unlimited sovereign power by divine right, unchecked by constitution, parliament or law and answerable only to God.
- 2
What did the Fundamental Laws of 1906 establish?
Model answer
They created an elected Duma but restated that the tsar was autocrat, kept ministers, the armed forces and foreign policy under his sole control, and allowed him to legislate by decree when the Duma was not sitting.
- 3
How far did the Duma limit the tsar's power?
Model answer
Very little: the first two Dumas were dissolved within months, the franchise was altered in 1907 to guarantee a conservative majority, and ministers remained answerable to the tsar alone.
- 4
Describe central administration under the tsars.
Model answer
Government was carried on by appointed ministers, the Committee of Ministers and the advisory State Council, with no prime minister co-ordinating policy until 1905 and no body the tsar could not bypass.
- 5
Distinguish between dictatorship and totalitarianism.
Model answer
A dictatorship concentrates political power in one leader or party, while a totalitarian regime goes further and attempts to control the economy, culture, belief and private life as well.
- 6
How was central administration organised after the Bolshevik seizure of power?
Model answer
Sovnarkom, the council of people's commissars, was the formal government, but real authority lay with the Party's Politburo and Secretariat, so state bodies executed decisions already taken inside the Party.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964 revision questions
- What does Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964 cover in OCR A-Level History A?
- 11 subtopics: the nature of government: autocracy, methods of repression and enforcement, the nature of government: extent and impact of reform, attitude of the tsars, extent of political change, the impact of dictatorial regimes on the economy and society of russia and the ussr, impact of war and revolution on the development of russia and the ussr, the impact of russia and the ussr on nationalities and satellite states: poland, asia, russification and the jews, the impact of russia and the ussr on nationalities and satellite states: finland, the baltic, soviet nationalities and satellites, depth study: alexander ii’s domestic reforms — the crimean war, the great reforms and their limits, depth study: the provisional government — formation, reforms and living conditions in 1917, depth study: the provisional government — the crises of 1917 and the government’s fall, depth study: khrushchev in power 1956–1964 — aims, de-stalinisation and reform and depth study: khrushchev in power 1956–1964 — opposition and khrushchev’s fall. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964 organised?
- By the OCR H505 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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