Study source C
Q3. What evidence is there in this source that the writer is biased in favour of the Revolution?
There is a lot of evidence that the writer is biased in favour of the Revolution using Source C to back up my theory, firstly the writer, John Reed was member of the Bolsheviks who were a fierce group who did anything to stay in control. John talked about how good the Bolsheviks were and what they did when the public said they need something. John Reed emphasises that, ‘ At least twice a year 2000 delegates are elected and make decisions about the country.’ However we know that from knowledge that 2000 delegates cannot meet inside one room and cannot decide upon one thing for example, When Germany were beaten in war by the British, French and American. The three could agree upon one idea and only three people met inside one room. So therefore the point made about ‘2000 delegates meeting inside one room’ is propaganda it was only said to make John Reed sound intelligent in front of the public and made John look like he knows what he is talking about but really he is just being biased.
John Reed says, ‘ No political body more sensitive and responsive to the popular will was ever intended.’ This meant that the Bolsheviks have listened to the public needs and they are the only group that have responded, by this he tries to make it sound democratic, however if this is true he would have listened to the people’s vote when they elected the Nationalist Socialist Revolutionary party in 1917.
Throughout the source John Reed using propaganda as he would be good at using because he was an ex-journalist. His facts are right and true however his own opinions made are exaggerated and are used to create political propaganda. Throughout source C John Reed only mentions about the Bolsheviks good side and not their bad side.
Study source D and E
Q4. Does source prove that the newspaper’s view of the Bolsheviks in source D is correct? Explain your answer.
Some facts of source E agree with the view of the Bolsheviks in source D for example it says that, ‘ They lead masses on false trail’ and in source D it says that, ‘ The catastrophic situation was not what the workers and peasants had fought for. Anti Bolshevik protesters spread across the country.’ However source E is more factual because it was written for a history school textbook which means that it would be more reliable comparing to source D which is full of negative points about the Bolsheviks. Source D is not as reliable as source E because as you can read the source is full of negative comments about the Bolsheviks and also it is written from an opposition point of view. We can say this because the way the writer describes the Bolsheviks for example he refers to them as, ‘ Dangerous enemies.’ Source D can be known as a propaganda source where as source E which is written between 1995-1996 was an hindsight source which meant that the person who wrote the source looked back at what happened and then writes what happened by gaining all the information possible.
Looking at the time of what the sources talk about and using knowledge, the Bolsheviks did promise bread, peace and land which both sources talk about. We also know that the Bolsheviks did not accept that the people had voted for the Socialist Revolutionary and that the Bolsheviks overthrow them and took power. We know that the Bolsheviks are violent as they did use violence to resort their problems on January 18th 1918. They wounded hundred people one hundred who demonstrated both sources says that the Bolsheviks were either ‘Fierce’ or ‘Dangerous.’
Source E partly agrees with some of source D’s facts this is clearly because source D is written from a Socialist Revolutionary point of view which at the time may be written out of hatred where as source E had more facts of what was really happening at the time because it was written years later and the writer has gathered up more information so this meant that he has a good idea of what happened.
Study sources F and G
Q5. Why do you think that these two sources give such different accounts of how women’s lives changed?
Looking at source F it is written by the ‘Minister for Welfare.’ This source is written in favour that major improvements are being made comparing to source G which is saying that women has now got rights but life has got harder for them generally. The two sources differ by the accounts given because, source F is biased because she is representing the Bolshevik government to the people so that makes she is biased. This source is a form of political propaganda, whereas in source G she is speaking to her fellow Bolsheviks in private and is expressing her true believes or she might be saying what the people want to hear so she does not be seen low in her reputation. However, in source G Alexandra Kollontai maybe frustrated as she feels that women’s rights are not being enforced by the government quickly enough as she says, ‘ rights for women on paper.’ It could be argued that laws when established have to be passed on paper before being enforced as a whole to the country, which we could see, is happening in Russia at the time. The Bolsheviks are giving rights to women they want the women of Russia to work and help get the country moving, ‘ to serve the state in a useful manner.’ However in source G, Alexandra Kollontai argues that these laws will in fact make life harder for the Russian women as they will now be expected to work and look after there family.
Study sources H and I
Q6. Which gives more useful evidence of conditions in Russia after the Revolution?
Source I gives more evidence of the conditions in Russia after the Revolution. Source H is an eyewitness account of the black market and it was written in 1919. The source just tells us about what has been sold on the black market, ‘The best grand piano sells for half the price.’ This also tells the reader that at the time inflation must have been bad it must have been hard to get money and food that is why you were likely to find a grand piano for half of its price. However, in some parts of source H it tells us that the conditions in Russia were poor and that the rich people would sell their expensive goods on the black market. Source H also tells us the people that used to be rich wouldn’t mind if they got some black bread and potatoes each day. Source H is a picture which was taken in 1921, the picture shows us families standing in front of houses which look poor madly and not very good to live in. The clothes worn by the families could be seen as rugged and torn. This shows that conditions were bad. This source shows what conditions was really like after the Revolution because comparing to general knowledge we know that people were poor an there was a lot of civil wars in Russia which would cause the houses like in source I to be in the condition that we can see it is in. However both sources do not tell us give us enough evidence how the conditions were like all over Russia for example, source H only tells us about the black market and what was being sold and source I shows us a photo with families in a particular area it doesn’t prove that the whole of Russia was like that it only shows a certain area.
Throughout both sources it does tell us how conditions were in Russia after the Revolution but it does not give enough evidence. Source I tells us more and gives more evidence by using a photo and catching the reader’s eye with the families lined up looking for sympathy but source H is an eyewitness account, which could be exaggerated.
Study sources J and K
Q7. Which of the two sources gives the more reliable evidence of living standards in Russia at the time?
Looking at source J the conversation between the villagers sounds believable but does not give enough information of living standards in Russia comparing to source K. Source J does not have many facts because it is a conservation whereas source K is more factual and reliable using general knowledge we know that things did improve throughout the years as source K shows. However facts can be twisted and source K does not says whom the source is given by. Source J tells us how the conditions were liked and then goes on and tells us how it is, ‘What I’d like to know is what these Soviets do with all their money Just think of the amounts they gather as fines alone, and then taxes…’ However does the conversation in source J really take place because it is recorded by a man that lived in America most of is life and only returned to Russia in 1926 and also we do not know any background information on the writer for all we know it could be made up to make the government look bad. In source K there are more facts and not opinions like in source J, source K is not said by anyone it is information gathered up but are the figure accurate and has anyone twisted them that is what we don’t know so we have to go by what is been shown and say whether it is reliable or not.
I think that source K gives more reliable information about living standards in Russia at the time because using knowledge we know that things did start to improve over the years but we do not know about taxes and inflation, however source J is trying to prove that the conversation between the villagers is saying that the people in charge get everything for example the government who collect tax they get what they want and that the people of Russia have no say.
Study sources L and M
Q8. How do these two sources differ in their view of the Bolshevik government?
The two source L and M do differ in a few ways. Source L talks about the Bolsheviks bad points for example, ‘they believed in dictatorship, in the use of terror wherever the party’s power was thought to be threatened.’ However source M talks about the Bolsheviks good side for example, ‘The new laws emphasised the full equality of men and women.’ Both sources are biased to one view, which they think is right. Source L is bias because the historian that wrote the extract thinks only bad of the Bolsheviks he or she might have had a grudge against them whereas source M talks about how perfect the Bolsheviks made Russia and the improvements they made helped everyone. The two sources have total opposite views we could say that is a place where the two sources differ in the views as well as the information they both give. Source L is trying to say that the Bolsheviks is trying to take control using knowledge one could say that is true because in the election when the Bolsheviks had lost to the Socialist Revolutionary they had not accepted the public’s view and take control. Both sources are very factual and are true about the Bolsheviks.
