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Russian revolution! PLEASE HELP A CONFUSED IB KID!


Jemima

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I have to "analyze the causes and effects of the 1905 revolution".

Does anyone who does history HL know how I should go about this? Do they just expect me to analyze the significance of each event that caused/effected the revolution? Or..? I'm pretty confused, so help of any kind would be appreciated!!

Thanks :)

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The question is a straightforward, though very broad one. Teacher's like to give these out as review questions.

If the purpose is indeed to write on material as a form of review, then just go ahead an list a number of perceived causes, but choose one that you think is the 'real', or genuine, cause. Jared Diamond uses the terms "proximate" and "distant" (I think it was another word, actually) causes, but you might like to think of it in terms of "conditions" of revolution and "cause(s)" if it is easier to think of it this way. The cause would be the necessary "trigger" to actual upheaval. Different historians say different things. So it is up to you to argue your case.

Effects -- again you can find this just about anywhere, wiki included. What were the effects of the revolution on political structure, social organization, ideals of the revolution etc.?

Only the first part of the question demands analysis -- the second part is up to you and depends on your teacher's aims for setting this question.

Edited by Blackcurrant
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Actually, there are questions like that on past exams. I did a practise essay on the causes and consequences on the 1905 revolution. The best way, I think, to go about answering this question is to write 4 body paragraphs- 2 causes and 2 consequences. Don't analyse every cause! Pick two and argue why they're the most significant causes. That way you create a thesis and will therefore be able to argue rather than just narrate. Like Blackcurrant said, you could talk about 'conditions' and 'triggers'. For example, the Russo-Japanese war led to social and economic depression (included lots of statistics, quotes and historiography to support/evaluate this) and Bloody Sunday exacerbated the already volatile situation and led to an increased number of strikes and active opposition to the regime etc. Again be sure to include lots of evidence to support your claims.

For the 'effects' you could split this into long term and short term or positive and negative and evaluate the effects. For example, if you were talking about the October Manifesto (short term, positive) you could evaluate its effectiveness in dealing with the problems in Russia and whether it angered or appeased the people. You should also talk about the repression the followed not long after and the Tsar's crack down on revolutionaries. For each consequence try to come up with your own thesis to argue. It'll give your essay structure and marks!

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