Socialism in Europe and The Russian Revolution
Questions and Answers
Q1. Describe the circumstances which were responsible for the outbreak
of the Russian Revolution.
The Russian peasants were in a miserable condition. The farmers could
not get even two square meals a day. Their land holdings were very small
and they had to pay heavy taxes.
The Russian industrialists exploited the workers. They were forced to work
for 12-14 hours a day and were paid very low wages. The workers had no
right to form trade unions.
Tsar Nicholas II was a despotic and autocratic ruler. He enjoyed unlimited
powers and rights. The people of the higher strata enjoyed great
privileges. The bureaucracy was corrupt and inefficient.
The common people who suffered most, were fed up with the absolute
rule of the Tsar and wanted to get rid of him.
Karl Marx’s theory workers had to construct a socialist society where all
property would be socially controlled. He strongly opposed capitalism and
private property.
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Q 2. Which event in Russian history is known as Bloody Sunday?
On 9th January 1905 a mass of peaceful workers with their wives and
children were fired at in St. Petersburg while on their way to the Winter
Palace to present a petition to the Tsar.
More than a hundred workers were killed and about 300 were wounded.
The incident known as Bloody Sunday in history of Russia as the massacre
had taken place on a Sunday.
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Q3. Describe the reforms introduced by Tsar Nicholas II after the February
Revolution.
Power to make laws was conferred upon on elected body called the Duma.
Socialism in Europe and The Russian Revolution
Questions and Answers
Though the Tsar later changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma
with conservative politicians. Liberals and revolutionaries were kept out of
the Duma.
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Q4. State any three events after the Bloody Sunday which led to the
revolution of 1905 in Russia.
When the news of the Bloody Sunday incident spread, there were
unprecedented disturbances throughout Russia. Strikes took place all over
the country.
The universities of Russia were closed, and student bodies staged
walkouts, complaining about the lack of civil liberties.
Lawyers, doctors, engineers, middle class workers established Union of
Unions and demanded a constituent assembly.
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Q5. Explain the main demands of “April Theses”.
In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from
his exile. He felt it was time for the soviets to take over the power. He put
forward three demands which were known as Lenin’s April Theses.
The three demands were:
(a) The war must be brought to a close.
(b) Land must be transferred to the peasants
(c) The banks to be nationalized.
Q6. What were the immediate consequences of the Russian Revolution of
October 1917?
(a) Most industries and banks were nationalized in November 1917. This
meant the government took over the ownership and management. Land
was declared social property.
(b) In cities, Bolsheviks enforced the partition of large houses according to
family requirements.
(c) They banned the use of old titles of aristocracy.
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Q7. What were the basic principles of the Marxist theory?
(a) Marx believed that the conditions of workers would not improve if
profit was accumulated by private capitalists.
(b) Workers had to overthrow capitalism and the rule of private property.
(c) Workers must construct a radical socialist society where all property
Socialism in Europe and The Russian Revolution
Questions and Answers
was socially controlled. This would be a communist society and a
Communist Party was the natural society of the future.
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Q8 Explain the main effects of the First World War on the industries in
Russia.
Russian industries were very few and the country was cut off from other
suppliers of industrial goods.
Industrial equipment disintegrated more rapidly in Russia than elsewhere
in Europe.
By 1916 railway lines began to break down. Able bodied men were called
up to the war. As a result, there were labour shortages and small
workshops producing essential commodities were shut down.
Large supplies of grain were sent to feed the army. For the people in the
cities, bread and flour became scarce. By the winter of 1916, riots at
bread shops were common.
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Q9. Discuss the positive aspects of the Bolshevik government on Soviet
Union and its people.
The positive aspects of the Bolshevik government were:
After Bolsheviks gained power, Russia withdrew from the First World War.
The Bolsheviks took over private property and land was redistributed to
peasants.
Economic exploitation by capitalists and landlords came to an end.
The control of industries was given to workers. All banks, industries,
mines, water transport and railways were nationalized.
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Q10. In what way was the poor condition of women workers responsible
for the Russian Revolution?
Most of the women were working in small factories.
Women made up about 31% of the factory labour force.
Socialism in Europe and The Russian Revolution
Questions and Answers
They were paid less wages than men [between ½ to ¾th of a man’s wage]
and were forced to work for long hours.
In February 1917, when strikes took place in factories, women workers led
the way raising slogans for bread, better wages, lesser hours of work and
democracy.
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Q 11. Why were socialists against private property?
The socialists felt that private property is the root of all social ills. So, they
wanted this to change and campaigned against it.
The socialists believed that though landowners provided employment to
many people, they were concerned only with personal gains. They were
least interested about the welfare of the people who made the property
productive.
The Socialists felt that if the society as a whole controlled property, more
attention could be paid to collective social interests.
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Q12. Differentiate between the ideals of the liberals and radicals in
Europe.
The liberals did not believe in universal franchise. In contrast, radicals
wanted a nation in which government was based on the majority of a
country’s population.
Liberals felt men of property should have voting rights. They did not want
to give women, the right to vote. On the other hand, the radicals
supported women’s suffragette movements and opposed the privileges
that the landowners and factory owners enjoyed.
Liberals favoured private ownership of property. Radicals were not
against the existence of private property but did not want concentration
of property in the hands of a few
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Q13. Explain in brief Lenin’s contribution to the Russian Revolution of
1917.
After the fall of Tsar Nicholas II, Lenin led the revolutionaries against the
Provisional Government, as it could not implement the demands of the
people.
Socialism in Europe and The Russian Revolution
Questions and Answers
Under Lenin’s leadership, the Bolshevik Party put forward clear policies to
end the war, to transfer the land to the peasants and to advance the
slogan ‘All power to the Soviets’.
He had declared that true socialist power cannot be established unless all
the non-Russian people were given equal rights.
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Q14 How did Lenin’s name become inseparable from the Russian
Revolution?
After completing his education, Lenin joined the Communist Revolutionary
Party and began to spread revolutionary ideas among the workers.
He also favoured the setting up of the new society based on the principles
of socialism of Karl Marx.
He set up a Communist Government in place of the despotic rule in
Russia.
Lenin brought peasants and workers together under the Bolshevik Party
and directed the revolution against the Provisional Government.
Efforts were made to set up a Socialist Government on the basis of
principles of Karl Marx. Private property was confiscated. Lenin took the
land from the landlords and distributed it among the peasants.
The Government nationalised all the factories and handed over their
management to the workers. All debts were remitted.
The property of the Church was also confiscated. In this way, Lenin’s
name became inseparable from the Russian Revolution.
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Q15. What was the global impact of the Russian Revolution?
The Bolshevik Revolution helped in the spread of Socialist and Communist
ideas all over the world. Communist Governments were established in
many European countries.
Many non-Russians from outside the USSR participated in the Conference
of the Peoples of the East and the Bolshevik-founded Comintern, an
international union of Pro-Bolshevik socialist parties.
Socialism in Europe and The Russian Revolution
Questions and Answers
The new Soviet State came forward as a friend of the subjugated people
and proved to be a source of great inspiration to the freedom movements
of various Asian and African countries.
By the end of the 20th century, the international reputation of the USSR
as a socialist country had declined though it was recognised that socialist
ideals still enjoyed respect among its people.
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Q 16 Explain Stalin’s collectivisation programme.
(i)In 1929, Stalin forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms,
kolkhoz. The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the
ownership of collective farms. Peasants worked on the land, and the
kolkhoz profit was shared.
(ii)Enraged peasants resisted the authorities and destroyed their livestock.
Between 1929 and 1931, the number of cattle fell by one-third.
(iii)Those who resisted collectivisation were severely punished. Many were
deported and exiled.
(iv)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 for a variety of reasons.
(v)Stalin’s government allowed some independent cultivation but treated
such cultivators unsympathetically.
The forced collectivisation and destruction of private farming led to a
decline in agricultural production. The disruption caused by
collectivisation, combined with poor harvests, resulted in widespread
famine and death of 4 million people.