Pearson Edexcel International GCSE History · specification 4HI1 · Paper 2 | Section A: Historical Investigation · Free · no account needed
Russia 5 — War Communism and the New Economic Policy (NEP) (4HI1 specification)
Kronstadt, and the retreat that followed it — the specification's best “betrayal or tactic” question, and the one that leads straight into the leadership struggle.
Learn it on Incandio
The 2 Incandio pages that teach this — each explained in full, then proved in marked questions, taught back to an AI pupil and defended in a debate. Completely free.
- War Communism and Kronstadt — Why did the sailors who had been the revolution's most loyal supporters rise against it?
- The NEP, opposition to it, and Lenin's achievements to 1924 — Why did the congress that liberalised the economy ban disagreement inside the party?
The teaching route this belongs to: War Communism and the New Economic Policy (NEP) — Russia and the Soviet Union — the lessons in order, with every gate.
Specification coverage
Paper 2, Section A — A2 Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905–24, key topic 5
Assessment objectives: AO1, AO3, AO4. Suggested learning time: 90 minutes.
Required knowledge
- Reasons for, nature and effects of War Communism
- The Kronstadt Naval Mutiny
- Reasons for, nature and effects of the New Economic Policy
- Opposition to NEP
- Achievements of Lenin to 1924
Required skills
- Explain and analyse using second-order concepts: causation, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance
- Cross-refer two sources and judge how far one supports the other (AO3)
- Evaluate an interpretation extract against your own knowledge (AO3 and AO4)
- Reach a supported judgement rather than describing events
How it is examined
- (a) 6 marks — “Describe TWO features of…” (AO1)
- (b) 8 marks — “How far does Source A support the evidence of Source B about…?” (AO3)
- (c) 16 marks — an interpretation extract, “How far do you agree with this interpretation?” (AO3 10, AO4 6)
Common mistakes
- Describing War Communism as simply a policy failure. It kept the Red Army fed through a civil war, which is what it was for.
- Missing that Kronstadt was made by the sailors who had been the revolution's own garrison in 1917. That is why it frightened the leadership into the NEP.
- Answering “was the NEP a betrayal” without a criterion. The argument Bukharin and Trotsky have about how long the retreat should last is the answer, and it is examinable in the depth study too.
This page maps the specification. The pages above teach it, and the History lessons hold the whole course — completely free.