Year 7 & 8 Teacher CD

Chapter 6 World at war

Reading more deeply

Easy

Massie, R 1967, Nicholas & Alexandra: The Tragic, Compelling Story of the Last Tsar and his Family, Indigo. Chapter 24, ‘The government disintegrates’, pp. 327–50.

Massie became attracted to the Romanov family when his own son was diagnosed with haemophilia. He is a clever storyteller and effectively utilises the original letters and telegrams between members of the royal family and their friends. Chapter 24 is crucial reading as it describes the 18 months of Alexandra’s and Rasputin’s political inﬂuence during Nicholas’s absence. (If you are fascinated by Rasputin’s story then read Chapter 25, a compelling narrative of Rasputin’s murder. Figes provides a briefer account of the murder in his A People’s Tragedy, pp. 290–1.)

Moderate

Radzinsky, E 2000, Rasputin: The Last Word, Allen & Unwin.

Drawing on modern sources and interviews, Radzinsky attempts to answer the mystery of the true nature and motivations of Rasputin. Rather than one specific chapter, this book is interesting throughout. For example, Rasputin’s first personal meeting with Nicholas (pp. 75–8), his saving of Alexi’s life in 1912 at Spala (pp. 186–7), Rasputin’s explanation of his attitude towards women (pp. 237–8), the truth about the murder night (Chapter 15), and rare photos including ones of the drowned corpse.

Challenging

Katkov, G 1967, Russia 1917: The February Revolution, Longman. Chapter 3, ‘Army and revolution’, pp. 34–47.

Katkov was born and lived in Russia until 1921 and wrote this book in an attempt to uncover the real causes of the 1917 February Revolution. This chapter examines the varied interpretations of the role of the war in determining the origins and course of the revolution. He argues that ‘defeat in war is not necessarily a prelude to revolution’. Instead, revolution emerged when Nicholas’s government ‘proved incapable of channelling and inspiring the energies which emerged within the nation at war’. Katkov provides great detail about the war, but it is worth reading through to the final subsection, ‘The conditions of the army by the end of 1916’.