Why did revolution come to Russia in 1917, and how did the Bolsheviks create the first communist state?
Apply social science skills to understand the Russian Revolution: the causes including the hardships of World War I and the weakness of the czarist government, the 1917 revolutions, the Bolshevik seizure of power under Lenin, and the creation of the Soviet Union as the first communist state (WHII.14).
A standards-level answer on the Russian Revolution for the Virginia World History SOL: the causes including World War I and czarist weakness, the 1917 revolutions, Lenin and the Bolsheviks, and the creation of the Soviet Union as the first communist state, with worked exam questions.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this topic is asking
Standard WHII.14 includes the Russian Revolution of 1917, one of the most consequential events of the twentieth century, when Russia overthrew its monarchy and became the world's first communist state. The standard asks you to explain the causes (the hardships of World War I and the weakness of the czarist government), the events of 1917, the Bolshevik seizure of power under Lenin, and the creation of the Soviet Union. The revolution applied Marx's ideas of communism to a real state and created a power that would shape the rest of the century, including the Cold War.
The causes of the revolution
The revolutions of 1917
In 1917, revolution swept Russia in two stages. First, popular unrest and strikes forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate, ending centuries of monarchy, and a temporary (provisional) government took over. But that government made the fateful decision to continue the war, which remained deeply unpopular. Later in 1917, the Bolsheviks, a communist party led by Vladimir Lenin, seized power in a second revolution, promising the people "peace, land, and bread", an end to the war, land for peasants, and food for the hungry. This Bolshevik (or October) Revolution put the communists in control.
Lenin, the Bolsheviks, and the Soviet Union
Try this
Q1. Give two causes of the Russian Revolution of 1917. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Any two of: long-standing poverty and inequality; the weak, repressive rule of the czar (an autocracy); and the disasters of World War I (casualties, food shortages, economic collapse).
Q2. Explain the significance of the Bolshevik Revolution. [Short explanation]
- Cue. Led by Lenin, the Bolsheviks created the world's first communist state, the Soviet Union, in which the government controlled the economy in the name of the workers; it became a major power and shaped the later Cold War.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of VDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
VA SOL WHII (MC)1 marksWhich factor most contributed to the Russian Revolution of 1917? (A) Russia's victory and prosperity in World War I; (B) the hardships of World War I combined with poverty and the weakness of the czarist government; (C) the success of Russian democracy; (D) the unification of Germany.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (B). The Russian Revolution grew from the hardships of World War I (huge casualties, food shortages, and economic collapse) combined with long-standing poverty, inequality, and the weak, repressive rule of the czar (Nicholas II). These pressures destroyed support for the government.
Why the others are wrong: (A) Russia suffered terribly in the war, it did not prosper; (C) Russia was an autocracy, not a democracy; (D) German unification is unrelated. Markers reward linking war hardships and czarist weakness to the revolution.
VA SOL WHII (MC)1 marksThe Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, led by Lenin, resulted in (A) the restoration of the czar; (B) the creation of the world's first communist state, later the Soviet Union; (C) a constitutional monarchy; (D) the spread of capitalism in Russia.Show worked answer →
The correct answer is (B). In the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Lenin and the Bolsheviks (communists) seized power, promising "peace, land, and bread", and created the world's first communist state, which became the Soviet Union (USSR).
Why the others are wrong: (A) the revolution overthrew, and did not restore, the czar; (C) it created a communist state, not a constitutional monarchy; (D) it established communism, the opposite of capitalism. Markers reward identifying the creation of the first communist state under Lenin.
Related dot points
- Apply social science skills to understand the causes and effects of World War I: the long-term causes of militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism (MAIN) and the immediate cause of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the new technology of total war, and the consequences including the collapse of empires, the Treaty of Versailles, and the League of Nations (WHII.13).
A standards-level answer on World War I for the Virginia World History SOL: the long-term causes (militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism) and the immediate cause, the new technology of total war, and the consequences including the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations, with worked exam questions.
- Apply social science skills to understand the interwar period: the economic and political instability after World War I, the Great Depression, and the rise of totalitarian regimes under Hitler in Germany, Mussolini in Italy, Stalin in the Soviet Union, and the militarists in Japan (WHII.14).
A standards-level answer on the interwar period for the Virginia World History SOL: the instability after World War I, the Great Depression, and the rise of totalitarian regimes under Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and the Japanese militarists, with worked exam questions.
- Apply social science skills to understand the Industrial Revolution: its origins in Britain, the new technologies and the factory system, the social and economic effects including urbanization, child labor, and the rise of the middle class, and the responses including labor unions and the ideas of capitalism and socialism (WHII.9 and WHII.10).
A standards-level answer on the Industrial Revolution for the Virginia World History SOL: its origins in Britain, the factory system and new technology, the social and economic effects such as urbanization and child labor, and the responses including labor unions, capitalism, and socialism, with worked exam questions.
- Apply social science skills to understand the Cold War: its origins in the ideological conflict between the democratic, capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union, the major events and alliances (NATO and the Warsaw Pact, the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War), and the nuclear arms race (WHII.16).
A standards-level answer on the Cold War for the Virginia World History SOL: its origins in the conflict between the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union, the major events and alliances such as NATO and the Warsaw Pact, key crises, and the nuclear arms race, with worked exam questions.
- Apply social science skills to understand nineteenth-century nationalism and the unification of Italy and Germany: the Congress of Vienna and the spread of nationalism, the unification of Italy under leaders such as Cavour and Garibaldi, and the unification of Germany under Bismarck through realpolitik and war (WHII.11).
A standards-level answer on nineteenth-century nationalism for the Virginia World History SOL: the Congress of Vienna, the rise of nationalism, and the unification of Italy (Cavour, Garibaldi) and Germany (Bismarck) through realpolitik and war, with worked exam questions.