LibGuides: HASS12 Modern History ATAR: Russia and the Soviet Union

Crash Course history

Russian Revolution and Civil War

Today we'll learn about the Revolutions of 1917, the rise of Lenin, Trotsky, and the Bolsheviks, and the Russian Civil War and the creation of the Soviet Union.

Source: YouTube, Crash Course, 2020, Duration 14:15, URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6KR4cLLVzQ

The Cold War

In which John Green teaches you about the Cold War, which was the decades long conflict between the USA and the USSR which grew out of World War II.

Source: YouTube, Crash Course, 2013, Duration 13:34, URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C72ISMF_D0

World Book Online Advanced articles

Lenin, V. I.
Founder of the Communist Party in Russia.
Trotsky, Leon
Russian Revolution leader.
Stalin, Joseph
Dictator of the Soviet Union.
Great Purge
Great Purge was an organized effort by dictator Joseph Stalin to remove people from positions of power in the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1938.
NKVD
The secret police force of Communist Russia and the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1943.
Communism
Communism in theory and practice.
Krushchev, Nikita Sergeyevich
Leader of the Communist Party from 1958-1964.
Russian Revolution of 1917
A series of rebellions against the Russian czar.
KGB
A government agency of the Soviet Union.
Bolsheviks
Members of a group that took power in Russia in 1917.

History of events from 1914 - 1945

Seventeen moments in Soviet history
SEVENTEEN MOMENTS IN SOVIET HISTORY is a multi-media archive of primary materials designed to introduce students and the general public to the richness and contradictions of Soviet history.
Russian Revolution [The British Library]
From the fall of Russia’s last Tsar to the rise of the first communist state, discover how the seismic revolution of 1917 changed both a country and a world through expert articles and collection items.
War and revolution in Russia 1914 - 1921 [BBC]
Russia signalled her withdrawal from World War One soon after the October Revolution of 1917, and the country turned in on itself with a bloody civil war between the Bolsheviks and the conservative White Guard.
Russia in World War 1 [Alpha History]
More than two years of total war placed enormous strain on Russia’s underdeveloped infrastructure and contributed directly to the collapse of the tsarist regime.

Prominent people of the time

Joseph Stalin: national hero or cold-blooded murderer? [BBC Teach]
Joseph Stalin's regime of terror caused the death and suffering of tens of millions. But this powerful man began life as the son of an alcoholic cobbler and a doting mother who sent him to study to be a priest.
NKVD - People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs [Global Security.org]
Explores Vladimir Lenin's role in more depth - was he a hero or a villain?
Nicholas and Alexandra online exhibition
A collection of items related to the Imperial family from the State Hermitage Museum and Broughton International.
Alexander Palace Time Machine
Information including archive material, eyewitness accounts and photo stills from the Alexander Palace.

History of trial S1 : Episode 3: History vs. Vladimir Lenin - Alex Gendle

Vladimir Lenin overthrew Russian Czar Nicholas II and founded the Soviet Union, forever changing the course of Russian politics. But was he a hero who toppled an oppressive tyranny or a villain who replaced it with another? Alex Gendler puts this controversial figure on trial, exploring both sides of a nearly century-long debate.

Source: YouTube, Ted Ed, 2014, Duration 6:42, URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N8hsXQapjY

Useful ClickView videos

The rise of Stalin in the Soviet Union

This programme studies the rise, decline, and legacy of Stalin after World War I.

Source: ClickView, 2017, Rated E, Duration 6:09, URL: https://online.clickview.com.au/share?sharecode=c41642fd

Comrades 1917 - 1945

Both the United States and the Soviet Union drifted apart after the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Russian Civil War and the Paris Peace Conference. Relations soured following the Soviet invasion and absorbtion of the Baltic States and Poland.

Source: ClickView, 1998, Rated M, Duration 48:00, URL: https://online.clickview.com.au/share?sharecode=d35e700e

The Russian Revolution: from the last Tsar to Lenin

This film covers the reign of the last Tsar to the death of Lenin.

Source: ClickView, 1998, Rated PG, Duration 21:56, URL: https://online.clickview.com.au/share?sharecode=74ae0eea

Collections and archives

Stalinka: Digital Library of Staliniana [University of Pittsburgh]
The online collection comprises visual images of photographs, posters, paintings, banners, sculptures, chinaware, pins, etc. relating to Stalin/ism.
NYPL Digital Collections [New York Public Library]
Images and collections related to the Soviet Union.
Internal workings of the Soviet Union [Library of Congress]
Information and archive artefacts related to the Soviet Union.
Soviet posters [International Institute of Social History]
A collection of Soviet posters dating from 1919 to 1936.