Pre-Revolutionary Russia Markscheme May 20, 2013

Now that those Pre-Revolutionary Russia Prompts have been mostly completed and the semester is over, the IB Markscheme is provided below.  I hope this helps give you a clearer understanding of how you might have best answered this particular question.

MARKSCHEME: Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century.

This question covers the end of the reign of Nicholas I (1825–1855), Alexander II (1855–1881),
Alexander III (1881–1894), and the first few years of Nicholas II (1894–1917). It is hoped that in
order to avoid an answer based only on Alexander II and his reforms, candidates will structure their
answer thematically, focusing on strengths and weaknesses. They will probably emphasize
weaknesses, and may well start with them.
For strengths: the size of Russia and her population; traditional status as a Great Power; the
reforms of Alexander II, which were aimed at modernization and catching up with other European
powers in areas such as the emancipation of serfs, education, the economy, the army, justice, and to
a lesser extent politics; the industrial policies of Witte in the 1890s.
For weaknesses: the size of Russia and the difficulties of governing such a large and inaccessible
country; autocracy; repressive policies of Nicholas I; backwardness (especially serfdom); defeat in
the Crimean War; unpopularity and failure of some of Alexander II’s reforms; very small middle
class; uneducated and untrained population so foreign expertise needed; repressive policies of
Alexander III; opposition and terrorism; nature and policies of Nicholas II.
Do not expect or demand all the above (especially comments on Nicholas I and Nicholas II) but the
question demands more than Alexander II’s reforms.