Russian Revolution · 1917-1922

1917: revolution in Russia

In 1917 Russia had two revolutions. In February the tsar fell; in October Lenin's Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd. A civil war followed, and in 1922 the Soviet Union was born. Students use the 1914 and 1920 maps to see how the empire broke apart and was rebuilt.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1914 to AD 1920
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

In 1917 Russia had two revolutions. In February the tsar fell; in October Lenin's Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd. A civil war followed, and in 1922 the Soviet Union was born. Students use the 1914 and 1920 maps to see how the empire broke apart and was rebuilt.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain the difference between the February and the October Revolutions of 1917.
  • Locate Petrograd and Moscow and explain why the capital moved in 1918.
  • Describe how the Bolsheviks won the civil war and created the Soviet Union in 1922.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1914

The Russian Empire

Open the map in 1914 and zoom out over the Russian Empire. How far does it stretch from west to east? Find Petrograd (St Petersburg) on the Baltic coast.

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1914

Two capitals

Find Petrograd, then Moscow. In March 1918 the Bolsheviks moved the capital to Moscow. Look at where the German armies stood: why did a capital further from the border feel safer?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1920

An empire breaks up

Switch to 1920. Look along the western edge of the old empire: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Then find the areas marked Ukraine and South Russia. What does this tell you about the civil war?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Why did so many Russians turn against the tsar in 1917, in the middle of a war?
  2. Lenin promised "peace, land and bread". Which groups of people would each promise attract?
  3. Russia used an older calendar in 1917. Why is the October Revolution remembered in November?
  4. Why did the Reds win the civil war against the Whites, even though they had many enemies?
  5. Was the October Revolution a popular uprising or a takeover by a small party? Give evidence for both.
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Peter the Great, who built Russia into a great empire and founded St Petersburg. Then compare: which problems did Nicholas II face in 1917 that Peter never had?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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