Socialism In Europe And The Russian Revolution - Class 9 History - Extra Questions

The main occupation of the Russians was agriculture. Being the largest sector in the Russian system, Agriculture played an important role in the Russian economy. It produced half the national income and employed two third of the population.

Later half of the Nineteenth century was the period of decolonisation, with this a new school of thought was taking its shape, this was Marxism based on the idea of Karl Marx's class theory. According to Karl Marx, the accessibility of means to fulfil the fundamental needs of different strata of the society may not be equal. This inequality causes a division into classes, leading to class struggle. According to Marx, human history is the history of class struggle, as the class that owns the means of production economically exploits the rest of the classes.  "Das Kapital" a treatise written by him, is the most referred book all over the world.

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are regarded as the founders of the Marxist, revolutionary, socio-economical ideology called "Marxism." Their intellectual work was geared towards a global understanding of the socio-economic problems which seemed to originate within the human nature and organized societies. Such problems were prevalent in most governing systems of their time.

With the context of Russia, the 'reds' meant Bolsheviks, the 'greens' meant socialist revolutionaries and the 'whites' meant pro-Tsarists. The Bolsheviks were the majority group of workers under the leadership of Lenin.
During 1918 and 1919, the 'greens' (socialist revolutionaries) and the 'whites' (pro-Tsarists) controlled most of the Russian empire. They were backed by French, American, British and Japanese troops who were opposed to the growth of socialism in Russia.

The Social, economic and political conditions in Russia before 1905 was backward:

Social Conditions: 85% of Russia's population was agriculturist. The industries were there, but rarely they were privately owned. Workers were divided on the basis of their occupation. They mainly migrated to cities for employment in factories. The peasant community was deeply religious but did not care much about the nobility. They believed that land must be divided amongst themselves.

Economic Condition: Russia was going through a bad period economically. Prices of essential good rise while real wages decreased by 20% leading to the famous St. Petersburg strike. This strike started a series of events that are together known as the 1905 Revolution. During this revolution, there were strikes all over the country, universities closed down, and various professionals and workers established the Union of Unions, demanding the establishment of a constituent assembly.

Political Condition: Political parties were illegal before 1914. The Russian Social Democratic Workers Party was founded in 1898 by socialists who respected Marx’s ideas. In 1903, this party was divided into two groups - Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, who were in majority, were led by Lenin who is regarded as the greatest thinker on socialism after Marx.

February Revolution:

•  22nd February: Factory lockout on the right bank took place.
•  25th February: Duma was dissolved.
•  27th February: Police Headquarters ransacked. Regiments support the workers. Formation of Soviet.
•  2nd March: The Tsar abdicated his power. The Soviet and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government for Russia.

The February Revolution had no political party at its forefront. It was led by the people themselves. Petrograd had brought down the monarchy, and thus, gained a significant place in Soviet history. Trade Unions grew in number. With no monarchy to rule the Russian future would now be decided by the constituent assembly which was going to be elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage.

October Revolution:

•  16th October: A Military Revolutionary Committee was appointed by Soviet.
•  24th October: The uprising against the provisional government begins. Military Revolutionary Committee controls the city by night and ministers surrender. The Bolshevik gained power.

The October Revolution was primarily led by Lenin and his subordinate, Trotskii and involved the masses who supported these leaders. It marked the beginning of Lenin's rule over the Soviet, with the Bolsheviks under his guidance. The Bolshevik party after the revolution came to be known as the Russian Communist Party.

(2) During 1905 Revolution, the Tsar allowed the creation of an elected consultative parliament in Russia. This elected consultative parliament in Russia was called Duma.

(3) They made up 31% of the factory labour force by 1914 but were paid almost half and three-quarters of the wages given to men. However, interestingly, it was the women workers who led the way to strikes during the February Revolution.

(4) They espoused a nation that was tolerant towards all religions; one that would protect individual rights against the government. Although the liberals wanted an elected parliamentary form of governance, they believed that the right to vote must only belong to men and that too the ones who were property holders.

The main changes which were brought about by the Bolsheviks immediately after the October Revolution:

• Banks and Industries were nationalized.
  
• Land was declared social property, thereby allowing peasants to seize it from the nobility.
  
• In urban areas, houses were partitioned according to family requirements. 
  
• Old aristocratic titles were banned, and new uniforms were designed for the army and the officials.
  

In Russia, most of the industry was the private property of industrialists. Government supervised large factories to ensure minimum wages and limited hours of work. But factory inspectors could not prevent rules being broken. The working day was sometimes 15 hours in craft unit and small workshop compared to 10 to 12 hours in factories. Workers in Russia were divided on the basis of skill.
The metal workers considered themselves aristocrats among workers, as their occupation demanded more training and skill. They were better organised, quick to form associations and undertake strikes for better work conditions and reinstatement of co-workers. Women formed 31% of the workforce, but were paid less than men.

1. The Tsar first dismissed the initial two Dumas and then packed the parliament with the conservatives.
2.  During the First World War, the Tsar took decisions without consulting the Duma.
3.  Large scale casualties of Russian soldiers in the war further alienated the people from the Tsar.
   
4. Burning of crops and buildings by the retreating Russian armies created a huge shortage of food in Russia.
   
5. All of these led to the collapse of the Tsarist autocracy in 1917.

The views of the socialists on private property with special emphasis on Karl Marx were as follows:
(i) By the mid-19th century in Europe, socialism was a popular body of ideas. Socialists were against private property. The saw it as the root of all social evils.

Five changes brought by Lenin in Russia after October Revolution of 1917: 

The Russian empire in 1914 was ruled by Tsar Nicholas II. Besides the territory around Moscow, the Russian empire included current day Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, parts of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. 

Bolshevism was born at the Second Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) in 1903. Bolsheviks were the majority group of workers of Russia.
They believed in revolutionary methods of bringing about changes in society and the state. After the October Revolution, Russia became a one-party state, i.e. the Bolshevik Party, which was renamed as the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik). They changed the whole structure of Russia and Russian society.

The steps taken by the Bolsheviks to make Russia a socialist society were:

The effects of the Russian Revolution of 1917 over Russia were as follows:
(i) The Russian Revolution put an end to the autocratic Tsarist rule in Russia.
(ii) It led to the establishment of world's first communist/socialist government. The new Soviet Government announced its withdrawal from the First World War.
(iii) The Socialist Government announced the nationalisation of all industries, private lands, banks, mines, railways, telephones etc. These were declared as state's property.
(iv) Planned economic development started at the time of Stalin. The collectivisation of agriculture was introduced by Stalin. From 1929, the party forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms.
(v) Planned economy soon turned the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) into a powerful industrial nation by the Second World War.
Poverty began disappearing from Russia. With the outbreak of the Second World War, USSR had given socialism a global face.

The Bolshevik Revolution or the October Revolution overthrew the provisional government and established the Soviet Union. 

It only took six months for the Bolsheviks to prepare this. Upon realizing that, it is difficult to maintain power in an election based system without sharing power with the other parties, the Bolsheviks decided to abandon the democratic process in January 1918. 

They then declared dictatorship rule which was the reason for the Russian Civil War which lasted till 1920.

Philosophy of Karl Marx.
(i) Materialism: Karl Marx believed in the Idea of Materialism which believes in the material conditions of the world and is contrary to Idealism.
(ii) Exploitation: He believed that the real danger of Capitalism was that it exploited workers by paying them less.
(iii) Alienation: He believed that workers were alienated in several ways. He highlighted four elements from which the workers is alienated: the products, the act of producing, himself and others.
(iv) Revolution: He believed that eventually workers would unite and overthrow the Capitalist ruling class and bring about a revolution.
Marx was especially impressed by Hegel's theory that a thing or thought could not be separated from its opposite. He used this philosophy to develop his own known as dialectical materialism. His eminent works are Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts.
                                               Or
The ways through which Nazi state seek to establish a total control over its people are:
(i) To capture legal authority, Hitler used the Reichstag fire to further his aim. He blamed the communists for sabotage, and took the opportunity to clamp down on them. Hitler armed himself with emergency powers and used the fire decree to his advantage. He suspended civic rights like Freedom of Speech, Press and Assembly. He jailed, exiled or murdered key communist leaders.
(ii) The decree of 1933 suspended Civic rights.
(iii) Communists were packed off to concentration camps.
(iv) Enabling Act was passed, enabling Hitler to sideline Parliament and rule by decree.
(v) All parties and trade unions except Nazi party and its affiliates were banned.
(vi) The state established complete control over economy,media, army and judiciary.
(vii) Gestapo, S.S., Criminal Police and S.D. were set up. People could be detained in Gestapo torture chambers, sent to concentration camps and deported at will.
(viii)The police forces acquired powers to rule with impunity.

(i) Russia faced a very tough situation during the First World War. The war on the eastern front' differed from that on the 'western front'.
(ii) In the west, armies fought from trenches stretched along eastern France.
(iii) In the east, armies moved a good deal and fought battles leaving large casualties.
(iv) Defeats were shocking and demoralising. Russia's armies lost badly in Germany and Austria between 1914 and 1916.
(v) There were over 7 million casualties by 1917. As they retreated, the Russian army destroyed crops and buildings to prevent the enemy from being able to live off the land.
(vi) The destruction of crops and buildings led to over 3 million refugees in Russia. The situation discredited the government and the Tsar. Soldiers did not wish to fight such a war.
(vii) Russia's industries were badly affected. The country was cut off from other suppliers of industrial goods by German control of the Baltic sea.
(viii) By 1916, railway lines began to break down. There was acute shortage of bread and flour in cities. Riots at bread shops were common by the winter of 1916.

(i) Promotion of State - controlled large farms to increase production.
(ii) Elimination of Kulaks, well-to-do peasants of Russia.
(iii) Transfer of land and implements to the ownership of collective farms.

Liberals. They opposed the uncontrolled power of dynastic rulers. They wanted to safeguard the rights of individuals again* governments. They argued for a representative, elected parliamentary government, subject to laws interpreted by a well trained judiciary that was independent of rulers and officials. However, they did not believe in universal adult franchise. They felt men of property mainly should have the vote.
Radicals. Unlike liberals, they opposed the privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners. They were not against the existence of private property but disliked concentration of property in the hands of a few.
Conservatives. Earlier, in the eighteenth century, conservatives had been generally opposed to the idea of change. By the nineteenth century, they accepted that some change was inevitable but believed that past had to be respected and change had to be brought about through a slow process.

(i) Patriotism: By shifting its loyalty to the revolutionaries, the Imperial Russian army did a great work. It showed that the welfare of the nation was of prime importance.

Stalin's collectivisation programme enraged peasants. They were not ready to cultivate in collective farms. Hence, they resisted the authorities and destroyed their livestock. Between 1929 and 1931, the number of cattle fell by one-third. As they resisted collectivisation, peasants argued that they were not rich and they were not against socialism. They merely did not want to work in collective farms.
Those who resisted collectivisation were severely punished. Many were deported and exiled.

 Lenin's 'New Economic Policy' (NEP) restored a modified form of private ownership. It gave peasants land to produce more food and encourage industrial growth as well as trade between town and country. In agriculture, the farmers were allowed more freedom, they could lease land and employ labourers. In industry, small businesses with less than 20 labourers could come under private ownership. A State Bank was created in 1921. Taxes were levied on city dwellers. Foreign trade was resumed, as a result the whole system became modeled.

The democratic experiment In Russia failed because : 
(a) A constant demand for a democratic Government led to the formation of Duma. 
(b) The first Duma continued for two months. The second Duma was also short lived. 
(c) The third Duma lasted for seven years, but was not able to achieve anything.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam: He was the 12th President of India and is known as 'missile man of India' for his work in the development of ballistic missiles and launch vehicle technology.

Karl Marx: He was a German thinker, philosopher, economist, sociologist and a revolutionist.

Kemal Pasha: He was a military officer and a revolutionary who was the founder of republic of Turkey.

The contribution of Lenin to the Russian Revolution:
(a) Lenin was a Bolshevik leader, who gave a slogan to the people, 'Bread for breadless, land for landless and peace of all'.
(b) The revolution started by Lenin aimed at raising the standard of living, bringing about prosperity and establishing social equality.
(c) His government nationalized all means of production to increase industrialization.
(d) Lenin's policies were collectively termed as 'war communism'. There was state control over labour and state distribution of goods.
(f) Lenin launched the 'New Economic Policy'(NEP) which was partial return to market and monetary economy. It was a temporary compromise between capitalism and communism.

Though Russia had become a strong empire under the rule of tsars, due to their imperialist strategy they paid no attention to the internal development of people. They couldn’t achieve overall progress of the country.

During the 19th century, Russia was ruled by autocrats, or czars, who ruled with absolute power. Alexander I was the first czar of the 19th century. He came into power during the Napoleonic Wars and is most remembered for his involvement in these wars and his sudden change from an active liberal ruler to a more moderate czar.  The czars were least concerned for the welfare of the common people. Later, they were thrown out of power by the communist revolutionaries.

There were multiple causes of the 1905 rebellion which are as follows: 

Working population in Russia were different from other countries in Europe in many ways:

The significance of the Russian Revolution can be stated as under: 

Joseph Stalin became the President after the death of Lenin and built USSR as a formidable opponent to USA. The Five Year Plans implemented by him changed the course of the USSR growth. USSR launched the first satellite in the history of human civilization. Yuri Gagarin became the first Astronaut of the world. The Independent India’s Five Plan is borrowed from USSR. After the Second World War, USSR assumed the leadership of Communist countries. It expressed support to the independence movements of countries from Asia, Africa and South America

The five factors which were responsible for the failure of provisional government are given below: 

Lenin's New Economic Policy, promulgated by decree on 21st March, 1921, was a temporary retreat from full socialism to partial capitalism for the purpose of rebuilding Russian economy.

It permitted small businesses to make personal profits, while the state continued to control banks, foreign trade and large industries. Elements of capitalism such as individual profit and private ownership of land were permitted in order to revitalise the Russian economy.

The Bolsheviks controlled most of the former Russian empire by January 1920. People in Central Asia responded positively and with enthusiasm to the February Revolution of 1917 because of the following reasons
(i) The revolution freed them from the oppression of Tsar's regime and strengthened their hopes for autonomy.
(ii) They responded with fear to the October Revolution of 1917, because the autocracy of Tsar was replaced by the autocracy of Bolsheviks.
(iii) In Khiva in Central Asia, Bolshevik colonist brutally massacred local nationalists in the name of defending socialism.
(iv) In this situation, people in Central Asia were confused about the real nature of Bolshevik Government.
Due to these reasons and situations, people of Central Asia responded to the Russian Revolution differently.