Why did Tsarism collapse in 1917, and how did the Bolsheviks seize and hold power by 1921?
The weaknesses of Tsarist rule and the 1905 revolution, the impact of the First World War, the February and October Revolutions of 1917, and the Bolshevik consolidation of power through the Civil War to 1921.
An SQA Higher History answer on the Russian Revolution 1881 to 1921, covering the weaknesses of Tsarist rule, the 1905 revolution, the impact of the First World War, the February and October Revolutions of 1917, and the Bolshevik consolidation of power through the Civil War to 1921.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
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What this key area is asking
The SQA wants you to explain why Tsarist Russia collapsed in 1917 and how the Bolsheviks seized power and held it through the Civil War by 1921. This is a European and World option assessed by extended-response (essay) questions, so you must weigh long-term weaknesses against short-term triggers and reach a judgement.
The weaknesses of Tsarist rule and the 1905 revolution
- Structural weaknesses. Rural poverty (the land hunger of around 80 per cent of the population who were peasants), harsh industrial conditions in fast-growing cities, ethnic tensions across a vast multi-national empire, and the autocracy's resistance to reform all undermined the regime.
- The 1905 revolution. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904 to 1905) and Bloody Sunday (January 1905), when troops fired on Father Gapon's peaceful petitioners, sparked strikes, mutiny (the battleship Potemkin) and the first soviets. The Tsar conceded the October Manifesto and an elected parliament (the Duma), but the Fundamental Laws (1906) kept his autocratic power and he soon dissolved hostile Dumas, so the autocracy survived.
The impact of the First World War
With Nicholas II away at the front, government fell to the Tsarina and the discredited figure of Rasputin (murdered December 1916), damaging the monarchy's prestige. By early 1917 transport breakdown, bread queues, strikes (including at the Putilov works) and mutinous soldiers of the Petrograd garrison made the regime untenable.
The February and October Revolutions of 1917
- February Revolution. Strikes and the mutiny of the Petrograd garrison forced Nicholas II to abdicate on 2 March 1917 (Old Style), ending Tsarism. A Provisional Government took power, sharing authority uneasily with the Petrograd Soviet (the situation of "Dual Power").
- The Provisional Government's failure. It continued the unpopular war (the failed June Offensive), delayed land reform, and faced the July Days and the Kornilov affair (August 1917), losing support amid worsening conditions.
- October Revolution. The Bolsheviks under Lenin (returned in April with the April Theses), promising "Peace, Bread and Land" and "All Power to the Soviets", and organised militarily by Trotsky and the Military Revolutionary Committee, seized power in Petrograd on 25 October 1917 (Old Style).
Bolshevik consolidation and the Civil War to 1921
- Ending the war. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) ended fighting with Germany at a heavy cost (Russia lost around a third of its population and much industry and farmland), freeing the Bolsheviks to fight at home.
- Winning the Civil War. The Reds defeated the divided Whites (Denikin, Kolchak, Yudenich) thanks to central control of the industrial heartland and railways, Trotsky's leadership of the Red Army (around five million by 1920), the Cheka and Red Terror, and the Whites' lack of unity, common aim and popular support, and their association with foreign intervention and the return of landlords.
- War Communism, including grain requisitioning and nationalised industry, kept the cities and army fed but caused famine, the Tambov revolt and the Kronstadt mutiny (1921), leading Lenin to the New Economic Policy.
Examples in context
A strong analytical paragraph weighing the war might run: "The First World War did not create Russia's problems but it brought them to a head. The army's defeats and the two million casualties by 1917 shattered military morale, while the diversion of trains to the front left Petrograd short of bread by February 1917. Crucially, the Tsar's choice to lead the army in 1915 meant he was personally blamed for failure and left government in incapable hands. The strikes and the garrison mutiny of late February therefore grew directly out of wartime collapse, even though the underlying grievances, land hunger and autocratic repression, were decades old." This makes a point, supports it with precise detail, and analyses the war's importance, which is what SQA rewards.
Try this
Q1. Which 1905 event triggered that year's revolution? [1 mark]
- Cue. Bloody Sunday.
Q2. What slogan summed up the Bolshevik appeal in 1917? [1 mark]
- Cue. "Peace, Bread and Land".
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher 201920 marksHow important was the First World War in causing the fall of Tsarism in February 1917?Show worked answer →
SQA marks the essay out of 20 across structure, an introduction with a line of argument, knowledge, analysis and a supported conclusion. The named factor is the First World War.
Argue its importance: military defeats (Tannenberg 1914, the 1915 retreats), the Tsar taking personal command in 1915 (so he was blamed for failure), economic dislocation, inflation, food and fuel shortages, and the discrediting of the monarchy through Rasputin's influence all turned Petrograd against the regime, producing the strikes and mutiny of February 1917.
Then balance the long-term weaknesses: autocracy, peasant poverty, an angry urban working class, repression, and the survival of discontent after 1905. SQA rewards a judgement that the war was the decisive trigger acting on deep structural weaknesses.
SQA Higher 202220 marksTo what extent did the Bolsheviks hold onto power after October 1917 because of the weaknesses of their opponents?Show worked answer →
A "to what extent" essay needs a weighed judgement. Explain the Whites' weaknesses: geographical division, no common aim beyond anti-Bolshevism, poor coordination, association with foreign intervention and landlords, and lack of popular support.
Then weigh the Bolshevik strengths: central control of the industrial heartland and railways, Trotsky's Red Army, the Cheka and Red Terror, War Communism feeding the army, and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 1918) ending the German war. SQA rewards a conclusion ranking the factors, for example that White weakness helped but Bolshevik organisation and ruthlessness were decisive in winning the Civil War by 1921.
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Sources & how we know this
- SQA Higher History Course Specification — SQA (2018)