Class 9 Social Science Socialism In Europe and The Russian Revolution Exam Notes. Please refer to the examination notes which you can use for preparing and revising for exams. These notes will help you to revise the concepts quickly and get good marks.
1. The Capitalist
2. The Workers
The owners of the means of production like factories, mills and land began to be called capitalists and those who operated the machines and produced goods were known as workers. The condition of workers was miserable.
(i) As there was shortage of capital in the country, more than half of the capital investment was made by the foreign investment was made by the foreign investors who were interested only in making huge and quick profits without having any concern for the miserable conditions of the workers.
(ii) The Russian capitalists too, proved to be a source of exploitation of the workers. Whether factories were owned by foreigners or Russians, the conditions of work were not satisfactory.
(iii) The workers had to work from 12 to 15 hours a day but wages paid to them were very less.
(i) Tzar Nicholas II during whose regime Bolshevik Revolution broke out, was an inefficient and shortsighted person. He was a ruthless ruler having no concern with administration or the welfare of his subjects.
(ii) Tzar was dominated by his German wife Tzarina-Alexandra who was under great influence of a hypocritical and corrupt saint Rasputin, the Holy Devil.
(iii) The common masses or their representatives had no participation in the political system of the country.
(iv) The Russian bureaucracy was top, heavy, inflexible and inefficient. Neither they were in touch with the people, nor did they care to improve the plight of the masses.
The Russian Czars had succeeded in building a vast empire by conquering large parts of Eastern Europe, Central and far Eastern Asia. Thus non-Russians like Jew, Poles, Finns, Germans, Uzbeks etc.
were also living in Russian empire. They had different languages, cultures and traditions. But the Tzarist government, who wanted to forcibly Russianise them, adopted the policy of imposing the Slav (Russian) language, culture and institutions on them. The knowledge of Russian language was made compulsory for government jobs and political rights of the non-Russian were highly curtailed. Many restrictions were imposed on non-Russians in the field of religion as well. Consequently the oppressed nationalities came in conflict with Tzardom and began to clamor for their independence and equal status.
Russian people were influenced by the writings of great philosophers and writers like Tolstoy, Karl Marx and Bukanin. They influenced the minds of the people and prepared them mentally to rise against unjust regime.
The liberal and radical ideas of the west penetrated into the country in one way or the other and gave birth to an intellectual ferment. Thus, there was a mental upheaval in Russia before the outbreak of actual revolution.
The First World war broke out in 1914. The Czar took Russia into the war. This proved fatal and brought about the final breakdown of Russian autocracy. During the war period there was shortage of production which gave birth to an economic crisis. By February 1917, 600, 000 soldiers had been killed in the war. In order to increase the strength of the army, farmers and workers were forcibly recruited to the army. So there was discontent in the masses.
♦ Course of the Revolution : The revolution was accomplished into two stages :
(a) February Revolution (March 1917 Revolution).
(b) October Revolution (November 1917 Revolution).
(i) First Stage, February Revolution : Shortage of food became the immediate cause of the revolution.
1. It began with a demonstration by working class woman trying to purchase bread on March 7, 1917.
2. On 22, February a lockout took place at a factory on the right bank of river Neva.
3. A general strike of workers was followed which was soon joined by soldiers and others.
4. On Sunday, 25 February, the government suspended the Duma, Demonstrators, returned in force to the streets of the left bank on the 26th.
5. On the 27th, the Police Headquarters were ransacked. The Government tried to control the situation and called out the cavalry, who refused to fire on the demonstrators. By that evening, soldiers and striking workers had gathered to form a 'soviet' or 'council'. This was the Petrograd Soviet.
6. Military commanders advised Tsar to abdicate. He followed their advice and abdicated on 2 March.
7. Soviet leaders and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government to run the country. Petrograd had led the February Revolution the brought down the monarchy in February 1917.
The fall of the Tzar came to be known as the February Revolution because, according to the old Russian calendar, it took place on 27 February 1917.
→ Failure of the Provisional Government : However, the new government failed. Its policy to carry on with the war created disrest among the masses. Peace, land to the tiller, control of industry by workers and equal status for the non-Russian nationalities were the four-fold demands of the people, but the Provisional Government failed to meet with any of these demands. As a result, it lost the support of the people.
(ii) Second Stage, October Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution) : On November 7, 1917 there broke out a second revolution in Russia which is known as the ‘Bolshevik Revolution’. The most important feature of October Revolution was that it was accomplished without shedding blood. It has popularly been called the October Revolution because according to the old Russian calendar, it began on October 25, 1917. Lenin was the most important leader of this revolution.
Lenin feared the Provisional government would set up a dictatorship. He began discussions for an uprising against the government. On 16 October 1917, Lenin persuaded the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolshevik Party to agree to a socialist seizure of power. A Military Revolutionary committee was appointed by the Soviet under Leon Trotsky to organize the seizure. The uprising began on 24 October.
Military men loyal to the government seized the building of two Bolshevik newspapers, military Revolutionary committee ordered its supporters to seize government offices and arrest ministers. The ship Aurora shelled the Winter palace. The city was taken under control committee's control and the
ministers surrendered. At a meeting of the all Russian Congress of Soviets in Petrograd, the majority approved the Bolshevik action. Uprising took place in other cities.
The four-fold programme of the Bolshevik party was :
(i) Land to the tiller
(ii) Food to the hungry
(iii) Industry to the workers
(iv) Peace
All power to the Soviets was the slogan of the party. On 7 November 1917, armed workers and groups of revolutionaries, armed with guns and supported by units of the Russian army, advanced upon the Winter Palace in Petrograd. The members of the Provisional Government were put behind the bars and its headquarter, the Winter Palace, was captured by the revolutionaries. An All Russian Congress of Soviets met on the same day and took over full political power.
→ ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE BOLSHEVIK GOVERNMENT
The first ministry of the new Bolshevik Government was formed on November 8, 1917 in which Lenin and Trotsky became Prime Minister and Foreign Minister respectively. Immediately after coming to power Lenin announced some important decrees. Significant among them were :
1. Peace : Immediately after coming to power, Lenin announced his decision to withdraw from the First World War.
2. No private property : Private property in the means of production was abolished. Land and other means of production were declared the property of the entire nation. Labour was made compulsory for all and economic exploitation by capitalists and landlords came to an end.
3. Nationalisation of Industries : The control of industries was given to the workers. All the banks, insurance companies, large industries, mines, water transports and railways were nationalised by 1918
4. Declaration of the Rights of People : A Declaration of the Rights of people was issued which conferred the right of self-determination upon all nationalities.
5. A new government known as the Council of Peoples Commissars was formed under Lenin. The Bolshevik Government crushed the opponents of revolution by adopting strict repressive measures. On July 16, 1918, Tzar Nicholars II, his wife and other family members were shot dead.
6. As a result of the decree on land, the estates of the Czar, the church and the landlords were taken over and transferred to the soviets of the peasants.
7. The new government disowned the foreign debts. It also took possession of foreign investments without payment.
→CONSEQUENCES OF THE REVOLUTION
(A) Impact on Russia : The Russian Revolution had a great impact on the history of Russia.
1. End of Autocratic Rule : The Revolution put an end to autocratic monarchy in Russia. With the murder of Tzar Nicholas II and his wife, the Romanov dynasty which was in power for the last three centuries came to an end.
2. Establishment of a Socialist Government : The most important result of the Revolution was the establishment of a Socialist Government in Russia. All the means of production were nationalised.
3. Russia’s withdrawl from the War : After the revolution in Russia, Lenin and the Bolshevik Party assumed the state powers. The Russian government decided to withdraw because of the following reasons ;
(i) Most of the revolutionaries thought that the war was being fought to satisfy the imperialistic designs of the Tzar.
(ii) Russia lost his 600, 000 soldiers.
(iii) The new government wanted economic development and modernization of the country. So, it was not possible for them to spend money on war.
4. Industrial Growth and Economic Development : The new government followed socialism. A New Economic Policy was adopted in 1921. Under this policy it was decided to develop the economy through Five-Year Plans. All the means of production were nationalised. With the growth of industrial and agricultural production poverty started disappearing and the country moved on to the path of prosperity.
5. Equal Rights to All the Nationalities : The policy of discrimination towards non-Russian nationalities was abandoned and equality of all the nationalities in the U.S.S.R. was recognised. The Non-Russianswer e given freedom to develop their languages and cultures.
6. Emergence of Russia as a World Power : The new government adopted the policy of economic development. The new policy promoted the modern technology. It gave a boost to industry and agriculture. Economic and social policies adopted by the government made Russia not only a major power of Europe but of the whole world.
(B) Impact on the World :
1. Promotion of Socialism and Communism : The Russian Revolution helped in the spread of socialism and communism in the world. The communist parties were formed in most countries of the world. Communist government were established in many countries like Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and China.
2. Redefinition of Democracy : After the revolution it was felt that mere political democracy has got no meaning without social and economic equality.
3. Rights of Workers : It united the workers of the world on the basis of equality. It also enchanced the prestige of workers.
4. Rise of Nationalism : It revolutionised the minds of the people of Asia and Africa who were being exploited by their imperialist masters. The Revolution contributed greatly in weakening the policy of imperalism.
5. Encouraged struggle between Capitalists and Workers : It gave birth to direct struggle between Marxism and Capitalism, It so terrified the capitalists of the world that they began to give due attention to the welfare of workers.
6. Division of World and Cold War : It divided the world into two group i.e. the socialist and the capitalist.
Many countries of the world allied themselves with one bloc or the other. The rivalry between these two blocs posed a great threat to the world peace for a long time. No doubt the Russian Revolution left a deep impact on Soviet Union as well as in international field.
GLOSSARY
1. Tsar : Title given to the emperor of Russia which was abolished in 1917.
2. Romanov : Name of the dynasty which ruled Russia in 1917.
3. Communism : An economic system in which the means of production are owned by the state.
4. Bolsheviks : The majority group of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party led by Lenin based on the ideology of Marx and Engels.
5. Soviet Union : The union of Soviet Socialist Republic (U.S.S.R) formed after the overthrow of the Tsarist Empire.
6. Bloody Sunday : A mass of peaceful workers led by Father Gabon were fired upon by the Russian troops when they went to the Winter Palace to present a petition to the Tsar. Heavy casualties ensued. This incident which occurred on Sunday 22nd January, 1905 is known as Bloody Sunday.
7. Council of People’s Commission : The council of representatives of people to whom power was transferred after the Russian Revolution. It was headed by Lenin.
8. Duma : The Russian parliament or legislature. Its members were elected and charged with the responsibility of making laws.
9. Divine Right Theory : The theory which believed that the king was the representative of God on earth and no one has the right to defy him. This theory was held by the Russian Tsar to perpetuate their autocratic rule.
10. Mensheviks : The minority group of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party formed in 1898. They favoured a government of the type that existed in countries like France and Germany.
11. Nationalisation : To bring under government control.
12. Red Army : The army of Revolutionary Russia which fought against the Tsar’s army. It was composed mainly of workers and peasants.
13. Revolution of 1917 : It refers to the events of November 1917. Control was in the hands of the All Russian Congress of Soviets. The Kerenskii’s government was overthrown.
14. Serfdom : Russian type of feudalism under which peasants worked for the landlord in exchange for food and shelter. No wages were paid.
15. Soviet : Council of workers.
16. Suffragette : A movement to give women the right to vote.
17. Jadidists : Muslim reformers within the Russian empire.
18. Autonomy : The right to govern themselves.
19. Deported : Forcibly removed from one’s own country.
20. Exiled : Forced to live away from one’s own country.
21. Collective Farms : A large farm owned by the government and worked by hundreds of workers.
22. Requisition : When the government forcibly takes food or property from people, usually in wartime.
23. Kulaks : Wealthy peasants or farmers.
24. War Communism : The policy of the Russian government from mid- 1918 to 1921 was known as war communism. It was not one particular law or decree, but a whole series of measures designed to take control of the economy.
25. New Economic Policy : Introduced in 1921, it made important changes in the way the Soviet economy was organised.
26. Comintern : The Communist international is the organisation set up by Lenin to sponsor communist revolutions all over the world.
Important Personalities :
1. Lenin : The leader of the Bolshevik Party who led the Russian Revolution in 1917. As a result of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, he withdrew Russia from the First World War and took various measures to make Russia a socialist state.
2. Nicholas II : The Tsar of Russia whose Policies precipitated the Russian Revolution.
3. Kerenskii : He leader of the Mensheviks party who wanted to establish a parliamentary form of government in Russia.
4. Leon Trotsky : He headed the Petrograd Soviet and played a leading role in the Russian Revolution and was later assassinated by Stalin.
5. Rasputin : An unscrupulous monk whose influence over the royal family was resented by the Russian people.
6. Engels : Frederick Engels in association with Karl Marx published the Communist Manifesto that was the guiding spirit of the Russian Revolution.
7. Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht : Leaders of the German revolutionary movement, they tried a revolution in 1919. But the army crushed the revolution. Both were captured and shot.
8. Joseph Stalin : He emerged as the leader of the Communist Party after the death of Lenin in 1924. He assumed complete control of Russian government and its policies till his death in 1953.
Important Dates and Events :
1861 : The Tsar abolished Serfdom.
1883 : George Plekhanov formed the Russian Social Democratic Party.
1898 : The Russian Social Democratic Party split into two – the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks.
1904 : Outbreak of the Russo-Japanese war. Russia was defeated by Japan.
1905 : (a) Bloody Sunday – On 22nd January, a mass of people were fired at in St. Petersburg while on their way to present a petition to the Tsar.
(b) The Tsar introduced the October Manifesto which granted freedom of speech, press and association and conferred upon an elected body called the ‘Duma’ the power to make laws.
1914 : Outbreak of the First World War.
1917 : (a) 8th March : Bread riots broke out.
(b) 15th March : The Romanove dynasty ended with the abdication of the Tsar. Mensheviks under Kerensky came to power. Fall of the Tsar is known as the February Revolution because according to the old Russian calender, it occurred on 27th February.
(c) 7th November : The Bolsheviks under Lenin’s leadership overthrew Kerensky’s government. This is known as the October Revolution because according to the Russian Calendar, it took place on 25h October.
1917-20 : Civil war breaks out in Russia - The Red Army is opposed by the White Army. The former is victorious.
1924 : A new consitution gives equality to non-Russina nationalities.
1928 : First Five Year Plan started in U.S.S.R.
1929 : Beginning of collectivisation.
1991 : Breakup of the Soviet Union.
EXERCISE
A. VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q.1 What is the contribution of Lenin ?
Q.2 Why was the emergence of the Soviet Union as a great power after the First World War considered a danger by many countries ?
Q.3 Mention the two stages of the Russian Revolution.
Q.4 Mention the conditions of the non-Russian nationalities before the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Q.5 Name the political parties of Russia that represented the industrial workers. How did they differ in their policies ?
Q.6 Why did Russia withdraw from the First World War ?
Q.7 What agreement was reached between Russia and Japan in 1904 ?
Q.8 Why was Japan victorious in the 1905 Russo-Japanese war ?
Q.9 What were the effects of the Treaty of Portsmouth?
Q.10 Describe two reforms introduced by the Russian Tsar Nicholas II immediately after the 1905 Revolution.
Q.11 Describe the economic causes of the 1917 Revolution of Russia.
Q.12 Explain the attitude of the former USSR towards the movements for independence in Asia.
Q.13 What were the main objectives of the Russian Revolutionaries ?
Q.14 What two conditions according to Lenin were necessary to make the Russian Revolution a success ?
Q.15 Who founded the Bolshevik Party ? What was the main aim of the party ?
Q.16 In which two prominent political groups was the Russian Socialist Democratic Labour Party divided in 1898 ? Who was the leader of the majority group ?
Q.17 What was the slogan on which the Bolshevik Party came to power in Russia ?
Q.18 Mention any two steps taken by Lenin immediately after the October Revolution in Russia.
Q.19 Who were the Bolsheviks ?
Q.20 What were the main demands of the Bolsheviks in Russia immediately before the October Revolution ?
Q.21 Describe the attitude of the Tsar that led to the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Q.22 Describe the first two steps taken by the new Russian government immediately after the October Revolution.
Q.23 Why was the Tsar Nicholas II unpopular ?Give two reasons.
Q.24 Mention the main difference between the policies of the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
Q.25 State two political causes of the outbreakof the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Q.26 Mention two objectives of Lenin in theRussian Revolution of 1917.
Q.27 Write two basic demands of Russianrevolutionaries in 1917.
Q.28 Mention two consequences of RussianRevolution in Russia.
Q.29 Which event in Russian History is known as Bloody Sunday ?
Q.30 Why was Kerenskii’s government unpopular ? Give two reasons.
Q.31 Mention two aims under which Stalin started the Five year plans in U.S.S.R.
Q.32 State two provisions of Lenin’s New Economic policy.
B. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Q.1 What measures did the Bolsheviks take to establish a communist state ?
Q.2 Who was Lenin ? Describe his role in the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Q.3 Describe the autocratic nature of the rule of Tsar Nicholas II which brought Russia on the verge of revolution.
Q.4 Describe the condition of the Russian workers and farmers on the eve of the Russian Revolution in Russia.
Q.5 Describe the immediate consequences of the Russian Revolution in Russia.
Q.6 Describe the four major demands of the Russian revolutionaries before the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Q.7 Describe the international consequences of the Russian Revolution.
Q.8 Describe the events that were responsible for the Russian Revolution of 1905. Mention two important effects of the Revolution.
Q.9 Describe the social and economic conditions in Russia before the Revolution of 1917. How did Russia’s participation in the First World War help create conditions for the fall of the Russian autocracy ?
Q.10 Describe the immediate consequences of the October Revolution on Russia’s participation in the first World War, the ownership of land, and position of the non- Russian nationalities of the Russian empire.
Q.11 Describe the policy of the Russian government towards the First World War when it broke out. Explain the changes, if any, which took place in this policy after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Q.12 Write short notes on the following :
(a) The New Economic Policy of Lenin
(b) Stalin’s attempt to improve the Soviet Economy.
Q.13 Describe the role of Lenin in post 1917 Russian reconstruction.
Q.14 Describe the major change introduced in agriculture in the Soviet Union after 1918.
Q.15 In what ways was the working population in Russia different from other countries in Europe, before 1917 ?
Q.16 Write short notes on :
(a) Kulaks
(b) the Duma
(c) Women workers between 1900 and 1930
(d) The Liberals
C. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTION QUESTIONS
Q.1 What was the February Revolution ? In what way did the First World War precipitate the February Revolution ?
Q.2 Write short notes on the following :
(a) Causes of the Russian Revolution
(b) The Second Russian Revolution
Q.3 Explain the following terms : Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, Soviet, February Revolution, October Revolution, Bloody Sunday, Communist International.
Q.4 How and why was the provisional government of Kerenskii overthrown by the Bolsheviks ?
Q.5 Explain the major causes of the first world war and consequences of First World War.
Q.6 “The result of the First World War were more destructive than constructive” Explain.
D. MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Q.1 After the year 1500, the rulers of Russia were called –
(A) Tsars (B) General
(C) Duke (D) King
Q.2 Under the system of ..........., the government owns all farms and industries.
(A) Democracy (B) Communism
(C) Dictator (D) All of them
Q.3 The ................ was fought in 1917 because people in Russia were unhappy with the new government.
(A) French Revolution
(B) American Revolution
(C) Russian Revolution
(D) Indian Revolution
Q.4 The Russian people wanted peace, land and ...
(A) Clothes
(B) Shelter
(C) Education
(D) Bread
Q.5 ........... was the leader of Bolsheviks.
(A) Nicholas II
(B) Trars
(C) Vladimir Lenin
(D) Josep statlin
Q.6 During a ............... war, people of the same nation fight against one another.
(A) Civil
(B) Military
(C) International
(D) All of these
Q.7 Who was last Russian Tsar ?
(A) Nicholas II
(B) Vladimir Lenin
(C) Josep stalin
(D) Engles
Q.8 Whom did Karl Marx say would be ruler in a communist government ?
(A) Tsars
(B) President
(C) Workers
(D) Prime Minister
Q.9 Which group wanted Russia to become a communist nation ?
(A) Bolsheviks
(B) White Russian
(C) Germans
(D) French
Q.10 Which leader took Russia out of the First World War ?
(A) Nicholas II
(B) Vladimir Lenin
(C) Joseps Stalin
(D) None of these
Q.11 When did the First five year plan start ?
(A) 1927
(B) 1928
(C) 1929
(D) 1930
Q.12 When did the Soviet Union break up ?
(A) 1989 (B) 1990
(C) 1991 (D) 1992
