Battleship Potemkin
by Sergei Eisenstein
About_
This study guide accompanies Battleship Potemkin, Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 silent film dramatizing the 1905
mutiny aboard a Russian naval ship and its bloody aftermath in Odessa. It follows sailors Vakulinchuk and
Matyushenko as poor conditions spark rebellion, a public uprising, a massacre on the Odessa Staircase, and a tense
standoff with a Tsarist naval squadron. This guide covers all five chapters of the film with comprehension and
discussion questions, a vocabulary crossword, and a character study. This study guide contains 65 questions across
5 chapter sections (50 Factual + 15 Critical), 1 Crossword Puzzle (12 clues), and 1 Character Focus Activity.
What’s Included_
This study guide features 5 sets of 10 Factual Questions with an answer key (50 total), 5 sets of 3 Critical Analysis
Questions (15 total), 1 Crossword Puzzle (12 clues), and 1 Character Focus Activity (8 traits + evidence prompt +
critical thinking question).
Target Grades_
Grades 9-11
Teacher Note_
Battleship Potemkin is a rich text for teaching visual storytelling, propaganda techniques, and early 20th-century
Russian history, and this guide is built to make that material classroom-ready without extra prep. The mix of factual
recall and critical discussion questions helps students build comprehension while pushing them to grapple with the
film’s ethical and political complexity. We hope this saves you time and sparks great conversations in your
classroom!