BASAVA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

SOCIALISM IN EUROPE AND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

CLASS IX
QUESTIONS WITH VALUE POINTS OF ANSWERS. ELABORATE WHEREEVER POSSIBLE

Q1 Who were Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives?

Liberals
i) i) Liberals wanted a nation which tolerated all religions.
ii) ii) They opposed the uncontrolled power of dynastic rulers.
iii) iii) They didn’t believe in universal adult franchise and thought that only propertied men
should have the right to vote.
iv) iv)They also didn’t want women to vote.

Radicals
i) Radicals wanted a nation in which government was based on the majority of a country’s
population.
ii) They opposed the privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners.
iii) They supported women’s suffragette movements.

Conservatives
i) They opposed both the liberals and radicals.
ii) Earlier they opposed any kind of change but by the nineteenth century, they accepted that
some change was inevitable but believed that the past had to be respected and change had to
be brought through a slow process.

Q2 What is a cooperative according to socialists? What were the ideas of Robert Owen and
Louis Blanc regarding creation of cooperatives?

i) Cooperatives were associations of people who produced goods together and divided the
profits according to the work done by its members.
ii) Robert Owen encouraged individuals to build cooperatives. He established a
cooperative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA).
iii) Louis Blanc however wanted the government to establish cooperatives and replace
capitalist enterprises.

Q3 What was a Duma?

i) Duma was the Russian parliament or legislature. Its members were elected and charged
with the responsibility of making laws. An elected Duma came into being after the 1905
Revolution.
ii) But friction between its members allowed power to slowly slip back into the Tsar’s hand.
The Tsar dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and re- elected second Duma within three
months.
iii) He changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma with conservative politicians.
Liberals and revolutionaries were kept out.

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Q4 Who was ‘father Gapon’? Mention the events leading to the ‘Bloody Sunday’ incident and
the 1905 Revolution.

Father Gapon was the leader of the procession of workers, who marched towards the Winter
Palace in St. Petersburg.
Events –

i) When this procession of workers reached the Winter Palace, it was attacked by the police.

ii) Over a hundred workers were killed and about three hundred wounded.

iii) This incident known as the ‘Bloody Sunday’ started a series of events leading to the
1905 Revolution.

iv) Strikes took place, universities closed down and student bodies staged walkouts.

v) Lawyers, doctors and engineers and other middle class workers formed unions and
demanded a constituent assembly.

Q5 What was the difference between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks?

Bolsheviks Mensheviks
1. The majority group of the Russian 1. The minority group of the Russian
Social Democratic Labour Party led Social Democratic Party formed in
by Lenin based on the ideology of 1898. They favoured a government of
Marx and Engels. the type that existed in countries like
France and Germany.
2. Believed in a highly centralized party 2. Believed in a more democratic party
of professional revolutionaries. structure that allowed disagreements.
3. Not willing to work with middle class 3. Willing to work with middle class for
for their revolutionary aims. their revolutionary ends.
4. Drew less public attention than 4. Drew more public support because of
Mensheviks. their inclusive ideas.
5. They believed that Russia could 5. They believe in going ahead step by
directly go from an absolute step to make the country communist.
monarchy to a communist society.

Q6 Who was Karl Marx? What was his theory of socialism?

Karl Marx was a communist who introduced the concept of socialism. He believed that
workers should construct a radically socialist society where all property is socially
controlled. He called it a communist society.
Karl Marx’s Theory –
i) He felt that the industrial society belonged to the capitalists.
ii) Capitalists owned the capital invested in industries, but the profit was produced by

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 workers.
iii) Marx believed that to free themselves from the capitalists’ exploitation, workers had to
form a socialist society where all property was socially controlled.

Difference between Socialism and Communism

❖ A Socialist can own personal property but a Communist cannot.
❖ Socialism allows Capitalism to exist in its midst while Communism does not. Infact
Communists want to get rid of Capitalists’.
❖ Socialism is mild while Communism is extreme.

Q7 What were the main causes of the Russian Revolution?

The main causes of the Russian Revolution were -

i) Autocratic rule of Tsars – In 1914, the Russian emperor was Tsar Nicholas II. World
War – I was also the key factor. As the war continued, the Tsar refused to consult the main
parties in the Duma. The Tsar didn’t want any questioning of his authority or any reduction
in his power. He dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and the re- elected second within
three months. He changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma with conservative
politicians. The Tsarina Alexandra’s German origins and poor advisers, especially a monk
called Rasputin, made the autocracy unpopular.

ii) Conditions of peasants – Majority of the Russians were agriculturalists. Major part of
the land was owned by nobles and clergy and these peasants worked as farmers on daily
wages. They were paid very less. Many times, these workers did not get even the minimum
fixed wages. There was no limit of working hours as a result of which they had to work
from 12-15 hours.

iii) Industrialization – Industrialization helped in the emergence of two new classes, the
workers and the capitalists. The workers were working for long hours and were paid very
low wages. They were denied political rights and did not have the right even to form trade
unions which could improve their conditions.

iv) Formation of Socialist parties – All political parties were illegal in Russia before 1914.
The Russian Social Democratic Workers Party was founded in 1898 by socialists who
respected Marxist ideas. But because of government policies, it had to operate secretly as an
illegal organization. It set up a newspaper, mobilized workers and organized strikes.

v) The First World War- In Russia the First World War was very popular and the people
supported Tsar Nicholas II. However, the defeats were shocking and de moralizing as the
Russian army lost in Germany and Austria. There were 7 million causalities and over 3
million refugees. Industry suffered; Railways began to break down. There was shortage of
food as large supplies of grain was sent to feed the army.

Q8 What is Russian Revolution? Describe the February Revolution of Petrograd 1917 and state
its impact

The fall of Monarchy in February 1917 and the events of October 1917 are termed as

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 Russian Revolution. It marked the transfer of power to the working class or the Socialists.

THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION

1. On February 22, there was a lockdown in a factory leading to a strike in 50 factories
on 23 February.
2. In many factories the women led the strike. The workers crossed the factory areas on
the right bank and reached the left bank of river Neva which had official buildings
and Duma. No political party was organizing the Movement.
3. On 25 February, the Duma was suspended.
4. On 27 February the Police headquarters was ransacked.
5. The Government imposed curfew and called out the cavalry and the police, however
they refused to fire on the demonstrators.
6. The soldiers and the striking workers gathered to form a soviet or a council. It was
the Petrograd Soviet.
7. On 28 February 1917, the military commanders asked the Tsar to step down so on 2
March 1917, the Tsar abdicated the throne.
8. The Soviet leaders and the Duma leaders formed a provisional government to run
the country
IMPACT OF THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION
1. Army officials, landowners and industrialists were influential in the Provisional
government.
2. Restrictions on public meetings and associations were removed.
3. Soviets like Petrograd soviets were set up at different places.
However the Provisional Government was not very stable.

Q9 Describe the October Revolution of 1917. What changes were brought about by the
Bolsheviks immediately after the October Revolution?
The October Revolution of 1917
1) Fearing dictatorship by the Provisional government, the Bolsheviks started planning
an uprising.
2) Lenin persuaded the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolshevik Party to agree to a socialist
seizure of power under the guidance of Leon Trotskii.
3) The uprising began on 24 October when the provisional government’s army seized
the buildings of two Bolshevik newspapers and also began efforts to take over
telephone and telegraph offices and protect the Winter Palace.
4) In response the Military Revolutionary Committee ordered its supporters to seize
government offices and arrest ministers. The ship Aurora shelled the Winter Palace.
By nightfall the city was under the Military Revolutionary Committee and the Ministers had
surrendered.
Changes were brought about by the Bolsheviks immediately after the October
Revolution
i) Bolsheviks were totally opposed to private property.
ii) Most industry and banks were nationalized in November 1917. This meant that the
government took over ownership and management.
iii) Land was declared a social property and peasants were allowed to seize the land of
the nobility.
iv) In cities, they enforced the partition of large houses according to family
requirements.

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 iv) They banned the use of the old titles of aristocracy.
v) New uniform was designed for the army and the officials.
vi) The Bolshevik Party was renamed the ‘Russian Communist Party’.
vii) Russia became a One-Party State and the Bolsheviks were the only party to
participate in the elections.
viii) All Russia Congress of Soviets became the Parliament of the Country.
ix) Trade Unions were kept under Party control.
x) Strict censorship was enforced by the Russian Communist Party.

Q10 What was the global influence of Russian Revolution?

1.
i) The possibility of a workers state fired peoples imagination across the world. In
many countries, communist parties were formed like the Communist Party of Great
Britain.
1. ii) The Bolshevik encouraged colonial people to follow their experiment of taking
2. power.
3. iii) Many non – Russians from outside the USSR, participated in the Conference of the
4. People of East and the Bolshevik- founded Comintern (an International union of pro
5. – Bolshevik socialist parties).
6. iv) By 1939 the USSR had given socialism a global face and world stature.
2.
i) Industry and agriculture developed and the poor were being fed but it denied
essential freedom to its citizens
ii) It carried out developmental projects through repressive policies

Q11 Who was Stalin? Write about Stalin’s collectivization programme.

Stalin was a close associate of Lenin and came to power in Russia after Lenin’s death. He
introduced firm emergency measures.
i) Under Stalin’s collectivization programme, from 1929 onwards the party forced all
peasants to cultivate in collective farms.
ii) The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the ownership of communal
farms.
iii) Peasants worked on the land and the kolkhoz profit was shared.
iv) Those who resisted collectivization were severely punished. Many were deported
and exiled.
v) Enraged peasants resisted the authorities and destroyed their livestock. They argued
that they were not rich and they were not against socialism. They merely did not
want to work in collective farms for a variety of reasons.
vi) Stalin’s government allowed some independent cultivation, but treated such
cultivators unsympathetically.

Q12 What was Lenin’s ‘April Thesis’?

In April 1917, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from his exile. He was
opposed to the war since 1914. He presented his three demands which are known as
‘Lenin’s April Thesis’.
i) He declared that war be brought to a close.
ii) Land be transferred to the peasants.

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 iii) Banks be Nationalized.

He also asked that the Bolshevik Party rename itself the Communist Party to indicate its
new radical aims.
Q13 What were the Social, Economic and Political condition in Russia before 1905?

1. Social Conditions:
i. The majority religion was Russian Orthodox Christianity, which had grown
out of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Empire also included Catholics,
Protestants, Muslims and Buddhists. The Non-Russian nationalities were not
treated equal to that of the Russians.
ii. Workers were a divided group on the basis of their skill and training …….
iii. Peasants formed their group called the Commune or Mir.

2. Economic Conditions:
i. Majority of the Russians were agriculturalists. Grain was the main item of
export from Russia.
ii. Industries were few. Prominent industrial areas were St Petersburg and
Moscow.
iii. There were large factories along with craft workshops. With the expansion
of Russian Railways network, foreign investment in factories grew.

3. Political Conditions:
i. Tsar Nicholas II ruled Russia and its empire.
ii. Russia was a Monarchy and the Tsars believed in the Divine Rights of the
Kings. They were not responsible to the parliament.
iii. All political parties were illegal in Russia.

Q14 Discuss the Civil War that took place in Russia after the October Revolution.

1. After the announcement of land distribution by the Bolsheviks, the soldiers started
deserting the army and wished to return home to get land.
2. The Non-Bolshevik Socialists, liberals and the supporters of the autocracy organized
troops to fight the Bolsheviks.
3. In 1918-1919, the Socialists and the Pro-Tsarists controlled most of Russia. They
were supported by French, British and Americans who feared the growth of
Socialism.
4. There was mass looting, banditry and famine during the Civil war.
5. The Pro Tsarist supported private property. They suppressed the peasants and took
their land. This made the Non-Bolsheviks’ very unpopular.
6. By 1920 the Bolsheviks managed to get control of most of Russian Empire with the
help and support from non-Russian nationalists and the Muslim Jadidists.
7. In December 1922, the Bolsheviks created USSR