Russia 1905-1920: The last 3 Tsars of Russia

A PowerPoint designed to introduce students to what Russia was like under the rule of Tsar Alexander II, Tsar Alexander the III and Tsar Nicholas II. It begins by explaining the terms ‘Tsar’ and ‘Tsarism.’ This is followed by an image of the pyramid explaining the feudal system. Students are asked what they can recall about this system. This is followed by some slides explaining Russia’s social structure where students take notes about the ruling class, upper class, middle class, industrial working class, free peasants and unfree peasants. There are some checking for understanding questions to discuss and a couple of visual sources to unpack. This is followed by a visual image of the line of succession with key details about the dates of their reign and the circumstances of their death. The following slides go into each of the Tsars in more detail. When it reaches Nicholas there is a photograph of his coronation and 2 artists depictions. There is information about he Khodynka field disaster and a couple of images. After this, students are prompted to draw a graphic organiser in their books and have to take notes about the political, geographic, social and economic factors which led to the Russian Revolution. The remaining slides go through these factors. This is followed by some checking for understanding questions.

Designed to meet the requirements of the senior Modern History syllabus (implemented in QLD in 2019), this unit falls under the category of ‘Ideas in the Modern World.’