AQA A-level History · 1E

Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682–1796 (A-level only)

Exam-style questions with answers for 1E Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682–1796 (A-level only) in AQA A-level History (spec 7042). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 1E, Part one
State two features of Russian society in 1682. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: most people were serfs tied to the land (1); the boyars and service nobility dominated (1); the Orthodox Church was very powerful (1); the economy was backward and agrarian (1).
Question 2 · Spec 1E, Part one
Who were the Streltsy? [1 mark]
Answer:
Musketeer regiments in Moscow with political influence.
Question 3 · Spec 1E, Part one
What happened in the Streltsy revolt of 1682? [2 marks]
Answer:
The Streltsy rose in Moscow and massacred members of the Naryshkin family (1); Ivan V and Peter became joint tsars with Sophia as regent (1).
Question 4 · Spec 1E, Part one
How did Peter establish sole rule? [2 marks]
Answer:
He overthrew Sophia in 1689 and sent her to a convent (1); Ivan V died in 1696, leaving Peter as sole tsar (1).
Question 5 · Spec 1E, Part one
What was the Great Embassy (1697–1698)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Peter travelled incognito through western Europe, including Holland and England (1); he studied shipbuilding and recruited foreign experts (1).
Question 6 · Spec 1E, Part one
How did Peter crush the Streltsy in 1698? [1 mark]
Answer:
He returned from the Great Embassy and had more than a thousand rebels executed, then disbanded the Streltsy.
Question 7 · Spec 1E, Part one
Explain why St Petersburg was founded in 1703. [2 marks]
Answer:
It gave Russia a port on the Baltic and a ‘window on the West’ (1); it symbolised a new, modern Russia away from traditional Moscow (1).
Question 8 · Spec 1E, Part one
State two of Peter’s early Westernising reforms. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: beard tax (1); Western dress for nobles (1); the Julian calendar from 1700 (1); schools of navigation and mathematics (1).
Question 9 · Spec 1E, Part one
What happened at Azov in 1695–1696? [1 mark]
Answer:
Peter failed to take the Turkish fortress in 1695, then captured it in 1696 using a new fleet.
Question 10 · Spec 1E, Part one
What happened at Narva (1700)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Charles XII of Sweden defeated Peter’s army at the start of the Great Northern War.
Question 11 · Spec 1E, Part one
State two reasons for opposition to Peter from the Church. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: dislike of Westernisation (1); the Old Believers rejected reform (1); loss of Church wealth and power (1); Peter mocked the Church (the Drunken Synod) (1).
Question 12 · Spec 1E, Part one
What happened at Poltava (1709)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Peter decisively defeated Charles XII of Sweden.
Question 13 · Spec 1E, Part one
What was the Holy Synod (1721)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A state committee replacing the Patriarch, putting the Church under the Tsar’s control.
Question 14 · Spec 1E, Part one
What was the Senate (1711)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A governing council set up to run the state, especially when Peter was absent.
Question 15 · Spec 1E, Part one
What were the colleges? [1 mark]
Answer:
Government departments set up from 1718, modelled on Sweden, each run by a board.
Question 16 · Spec 1E, Part one
What was the Table of Ranks (1722)? [2 marks]
Answer:
A system of 14 ranks in the army, navy and civil service (1); promotion was by merit, and reaching certain ranks gave noble status (1).
Question 17 · Spec 1E, Part one
Define the term ‘Service State’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The system in which nobles owed lifelong service to the state in return for land and serfs.
Question 18 · Spec 1E, Part one
What was the poll tax (1724)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A tax on every male peasant, replacing the household tax, which raised revenue but tied serfs further to the land.
Question 19 · Spec 1E, Part one
State two revolts against Peter. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Astrakhan (1705) (1); Bashkir (1705–1711) (1); the Don Cossack Bulavin revolt (1707–1708) (1).
Question 20 · Spec 1E, Part one
What happened to Tsarevich Alexis? [1 mark]
Answer:
Peter’s son fled abroad, was brought back, tried for treason and died under torture in 1718.
Question 21 · Spec 1E, Part one
What did the Treaty of Nystad (1721) give Russia? [1 mark]
Answer:
Livonia, Estonia, Ingria and part of Karelia, making Russia the dominant Baltic power.
Question 22 · Spec 1E, Part one
What title did Peter take in 1721? [1 mark]
Answer:
Emperor of All Russia.
Question 23 · Spec 1E, Part one
What was the Great Northern War (1700–1721)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Russia’s long war with Sweden for control of the Baltic.
Question 24 · Spec 1E, Part one
What was the Prut campaign (1711)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Peter’s failed campaign against the Turks, which forced him to return Azov.
Question 25 · Spec 1E, Part two
Explain why Peter’s law on succession (1722) caused instability. [2 marks]
Answer:
It let the ruler choose any successor (1); Peter died without naming one, leading to palace coups (1).
Question 26 · Spec 1E, Part two
Define the term ‘palace coup’. [1 mark]
Answer:
A seizure of power by a faction at court, usually with Guards regiment support.
Question 27 · Spec 1E, Part two
What was the Supreme Privy Council? [2 marks]
Answer:
A council of leading nobles set up in 1726 (1); it tried to limit Anna’s powers in 1730 with ‘conditions’, which she tore up (1).
Question 28 · Spec 1E, Part two
Why were the Guards regiments important after 1725? [1 mark]
Answer:
Regiments such as the Preobrazhensky decided several successions by backing candidates.
Question 29 · Spec 1E, Part two
How did Elizabeth become Empress in 1741? [1 mark]
Answer:
She seized power in a coup supported by the Preobrazhensky Guards.
Question 30 · Spec 1E, Part two
State two achievements of Elizabeth’s reign. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: Moscow University founded (1755) (1); abolition of internal customs duties (1); the Academy of Arts (1); suspension of the death penalty (1).
Question 31 · Spec 1E, Part two
How did nobles’ obligations change under Anna? [1 mark]
Answer:
Lifetime service was reduced to 25 years in 1736.
Question 32 · Spec 1E, Part two
What was the Manifesto on the Freedom of the Nobility (1762)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Peter III’s decree freeing nobles from compulsory state service.
Question 33 · Spec 1E, Part two
State one foreign policy success under Elizabeth. [1 mark]
Answer:
Russian victories over Prussia in the Seven Years War, including the occupation of Berlin in 1760.
Question 34 · Spec 1E, Part two
How did Catherine II become Empress in 1762? [1 mark]
Answer:
She overthrew her husband Peter III in a coup backed by the Guards.
Question 35 · Spec 1E, Part two
State two Enlightenment influences on Catherine. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: correspondence with Voltaire and Diderot (1); Montesquieu’s ideas on law (1); Beccaria on punishment (1).
Question 36 · Spec 1E, Part two
What was the Great Commission (1767)? [2 marks]
Answer:
An assembly elected to codify Russian law, guided by Catherine’s Nakaz (Instruction) (1); it produced no new code and was suspended in 1768 (1).
Question 37 · Spec 1E, Part two
What was the Provincial Reform (1775)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Russia was reorganised into smaller provinces and districts with more local administration and courts.
Question 38 · Spec 1E, Part two
What was the Charter to the Nobility (1785)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It confirmed nobles’ rights, freedom from service and corporal punishment, and their control of serfs.
Question 39 · Spec 1E, Part two
State one way Catherine extended education. [1 mark]
Answer:
Any one from: Smolny Institute for girls (1); the Statute of National Education (1786) (1).
Question 40 · Spec 1E, Part two
How did Catherine change the Church’s position? [1 mark]
Answer:
She secularised Church lands in 1764, bringing them under state control.
Question 41 · Spec 1E, Part two
Explain why serfdom persisted under Catherine. [2 marks]
Answer:
She depended on noble support, which rested on serf ownership (1); she extended serfdom to Ukraine and gave state peasants to favourites (1).
Question 42 · Spec 1E, Part two
What was the Pugachev Revolt (1773–1775)? [2 marks]
Answer:
A huge Cossack and peasant rising led by Pugachev, who claimed to be Peter III (1); it was crushed and he was executed in 1775 (1).
Question 43 · Spec 1E, Part two
State one consequence of the Pugachev Revolt. [1 mark]
Answer:
Any one from: the Provincial Reform of 1775 (1); Catherine moved closer to the nobility (1).
Question 44 · Spec 1E, Part two
How did the French Revolution affect Catherine? [1 mark]
Answer:
She became more conservative, censoring writers such as Radishchev (exiled 1790).
Question 45 · Spec 1E, Part two
What did the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainardji (1774) give Russia? [1 mark]
Answer:
Access to the Black Sea and the right to protect Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire.
Question 46 · Spec 1E, Part two
When was Crimea annexed? [1 mark]
Answer:
1783.
Question 47 · Spec 1E, Part two
How many partitions of Poland took place under Catherine? [1 mark]
Answer:
Three: 1772, 1793 and 1795.
Question 48 · Spec 1E, Part two
Who was Grigory Potemkin? [1 mark]
Answer:
Catherine’s favourite and adviser who governed New Russia and annexed Crimea.
Question 49 · Spec 1E, Part two
What was the Free Economic Society (1765)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A society Catherine founded to promote agricultural improvement.
Question 50 · Spec 1E, Part two
Explain the extent to which Petrine reforms survived by 1762. [2 marks]
Answer:
The Table of Ranks, Senate, Holy Synod and St Petersburg survived (1); but nobles were freed from compulsory service in 1762, weakening the Service State (1).

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Russia in the Age of Absolutism and Enlightenment, 1682–1796 (A-level only)

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