The socialism in Europe and the Russian revolution

Class 9 history

Liberals

(i) The liberals wanted a nation which tolerated all religions.

(ii) Liberals also opposed uncontrolled power by dynastic rulers.
(iii) They wanted to safeguard the rights of the individuals against
governments.
(iv) The argued for a representative elected Parliamentary Government.
(v) They favored a well trained judiciary that was independent of rulers and
officials.
(vi) They were not democrats.
(vii) They did not favor universal adult franchise.
(viii) Liberals wanted that men of property only should have the right to
vote.
(ix) They did not want the voting right for women.
 
Radicals

(i) Radicals wanted a nation in which the government was based on the
majority of a country’s population.
(ii) Radicals opposed the privileges of big landowners and wealthy factory
owners.
(iii) They were not against the existence of private property but disliked
concentration of property in the hands of a few.
 
Conservatives

(i) They were opposed to radicals and liberals.

(ii) One after the French Revolution, the conservatives also opened their
minds to the need for change.
(iii) Earlier in the 18th century, conservatives had been opposed to the idea
of change.
(iv) By the 19th century, they accepted that some change was inevitable but
believed that the past had to be respected and change had to be brought
about through a slow process.
 
Industrial Society and Social Change
(i) New cities came up and new industrialized regions developed and
railways expanded.
(ii) Industrialization brought-men, women and children to factories.
(iii) Working hours were often long and wages poor.
(iv) Unemployment was common.
(v) Housing and sanitation problems were growing fast.
(vi) Almost all industries were the property of individuals.
(vii) The liberals and radicals wanted that the workforce should be educated
and healthy.
(viii) Many workers who wanted changes rallied around liberals and radicals.
(ix) Some liberals and radicals wanted a revolution to put an end to the
governments established in Europe in 1815.

Nationalists
 
Nationalists talked of revolutions that would create nations where all citizens
would have equal rights.
Coming of Socialism in Europe
(i) Socialists
(a) The socialists were against private property and as it as the root of all
social evils of the time.
(b) Socialists believed that if society as a whole rather than single individuals
control property, more attention would be paid to collective social interests.
(ii) Co-operatives
(a) Some socialists believed in the idea of co-operatives.
(b) Robert Owen sought to build a co-operative community called New
Harmony in Indiana in USA.
(c) Other socialists felt that co-operatives could not be built on a wide scale
only through individual initiative; they demanded that governments should
encourage co-operatives.
(d) In France, Louis Blanc wanted the government to and replace capitalist
co-operatives encourage enterprises.
(e) The co-operatives were to be associations of people who produced goods
together and divided the profits according to the work done by the
members.
 
Karl Marx
(i) Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels added other ideas to the concept of co-
operatives.
(ii) Karl Marx felt that capitalists also took the share of profit which was due
to the workers.
(iii) He believed that workers should overthrow capitalism and the rule of
private property.
(iv) He believed that workers should free themselves from capitalist
exploitation and construct a radically socialist state where all property was
socially controlled i.e., communist society should be formed which was the
society of the future.

Spread of Socialism

(i) By the 1870s, socialism spread through Europe. To co-ordinate their

activities socialist formed an international body called the Second
International
(ii) Workers in England and Germany formed associations to achieve better
living and working conditions.
(iii) Parties like the socialist party in France and the Labour Party in Britain
were formed by socialists and trade unionists.

The Russian Revolution

(i) In 1914, Tsar Nicholas II, who ruled Russia, was autocratic.
(ii) He levied heavy taxes on the peasants.
(iii) He took Russia into the First World War and a large number of Russian
soldiers were killed.
 
Economy and Society in Russia
(i) Peasants : About 85 per cent of the Russian population earned their living
from agriculture.

(ii) Cultivators produced for the market and for themselves.

(iii) They had to pay high taxes as land revenue.
(iv) They had to do free labour.
(v) Their condition was very miserable.
(vi) They seldom owned land.
 
Industrial Workers

(i) Industry was found in pockets.

(ii) Most industries were the private property of industrialists.
(iii) Government supervised large factories to ensure minimum wages and
limited hours of work, but rules were broken. 
(iv) Working hours in small workshops were sometimes 15 hours compared
to 10-12 hours in factories.
(v) Workers were divided into social groups divided by skills.
(vi) Women made up 31 per cent of the factory labour force in 1914, but
they were paid less than men.
(vii) Division among workers showed in their dress and manners too.
(viii) Workers formed associations to help members in times of
unemployment of financial hardships.
(ix) They also united to strike work.
(x) They were paid low wages and their condition was miserable. 
 
Revolution Of 1905

(i) The year 1904 was a particularly bad one for the Russian workers. Prices
of essential goods rose and real wages declined by 20 per cent.
(ii) Due to dismissal of four members of the Assembly of Russian Workers, a
call for industrial action was given.
(iii) 1,10,000 workers in St Petersburg went on strike, demanding a
reduction in the working day to eight hours and an increase in wages and
improvement in working conditions.

Bloody Sunday

(i) When protesting workers led by Father Gapon reached the Winter Palace,
it was attacked by the police. 
(ii) Over 100 workers were killed and about 300 wounded. This incident
came to be known as ‘Bloody Sunday’.
(iii) Strikes began, universities closed down and students staged walkouts.
(iv) This event is also known as the Revolution of 1905 because the Tsar
agreed to give some concessions.
 
The Duma

 
(i) During the Revolution of 1905, the Tsar allowed the formation of
the Duma or an elected consultative Parliament.
(ii) Within 75 days the Duma was dismissed and the second Duma was
reelected within three months.
(iii) The Tsar did not want any challenge to his authority.
(iv) Liberals and revolutionaries were kept out of the Duma.

Russian Revolution and the First World War

 
(i) In Russia the war was initially popular and people supported Tsar
Nicholas II.
(ii) He did not consult the Duma.
(ii) Anti German sentiments were high in Russia.
(iv) Russian armies suffered defeats and a large number of Russian soldiers
were killed.
(v) Russian armies destroyed crops and buildings to prevent them from
falling into enemy hands.
(vi) The Russian population wanted an end to the war but the Tsar did not
agree.
(vii) The army did not want to fight the war.

Impact of the War

(i) Industries suffered a setback.

(ii) Railway lines began to break up.
(iii) Large supplies of grains were sent to feed the army.
(iv) There was shortage of grain and bread in the cities. Riots at bread shops
became common.
(v) There were seven million casualities.
(vi) People turned against the Tsar.

The February Revolution

(i) In February 1917, food shortages were deeply felt in the workers
quarters.
(ii) The winter was very cold with heavy snow Frost which made the life
of workers very difficult.
(iii) On 22nd February, a lockout took place at a factory on the right
bank of the river Neva. Next day fifty factories called a strike.
(iv) In many places women led the strikes.
(v) Workers crossed the river and surrounded the government
buildings. The Duma was suspended.
(vi) The cavalry was called out to control the workers, but it refused to
fire on the workers.
(vii) The cavalry soldiers joined the workers and jointly formed a
“Soviet’ or Council’. This was the Petrograd Soviet Petrograd Soviel.
(viii) The Tsar abdicated on the advice of the military commanders on
2nd March.
(ix) A provisional government was formed to run the country.
(x) The Petrograd Soviet had led the February Revolution that the
brought down the monarch (monarchy) in February 1917.
Aftermath of the February Revolution

(i) Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from his exile in April.
(ii) Lenin put forward three demands which were called “Lenin’s April
Theses‘, they were
(a) The war should be brought to a close.
(b) Land be transferred to the peasants.
(c) Banks be nationalised.

The Russian Revolution of October 1917

 
(i) Conflict between the provisional government led by Kerenskii and the
Bolsheviks grew.
(ii) The Bolsheviks under Leon Trotskii decided to seize power.
(iii) Prime Minister Kerenskii called the troops.
(iv) Military men loyal to the Bolsheviks went to take control of the
telephone and telegraph offices.
(v) The ship Aurora shelled the Winter Palace. By nightfall the city was under
the control of Military Revolutionary Committee and the ministers
surrendered. By December, the Bolsheviks controlled the Moscow –
Petrograd area.
 
Effects of the October Revolution
(i) Most industries and banks were nationalised in November 1917.
(ii) Land was declared social property and peasants were allowed to
seize the land of the nobility.
(iii) In the cities, Bolsheviks enforced the partition of large houses
according to family requirements.
(iv) They banned the use of the old titles of aristocracy.
(v) New uniforms were designed for the army and officials.
(vi) In 1918, the Bolsheviks made peace with Germany at Brest Litovsk
and withdrew from the First World War.
(vii) Russia became a one party state and censorship was introduced.
(viii) Civil war took place in Russia between the supporters of the
Bolsheviks and the non-Bolsheviks socialists, liberals and the
supporters of autocracy.

Making of a Socialist Society

 
(i) Banks and industries were kept nationalized.
(ii) Five Year Plans were introduced.
(iii) Stalin introduced collectivisation of agriculture; collective farms were
introduced and profit was shared. Those who opposed collectivisation were
punished.
 

Global Influence of Russian Revolution

(i) In many countries communist parties were formed.

(ii) Comintern, an organisation of socialists was formed.
(iii) By the 1950s, the Russian Government started losing support.
(iv) By the end of 20th century, socialism suffered a set back. When the
Soviet Union was split into different countries.

Ncert questions
Question 1. What were the social, economic and political conditions in Russia
before 1905?
Answer 1.
Social Conditions:
About 85% of Russia's population was into agriculture. Workers were a divided social
group. Some had strong links with the villages from which they came. Others had
settled in cities permanently. 

In the countryside, peasants cultivated most of the land. But the nobility, the crown and
the Orthodox Church owned large properties. Like workers, peasants too were divided.
They were also deeply religious. But except in a few cases they had no respect for the
nobility.
Economic Conditions:
The vast majority of people in Russia were agriculturists. About 85 percent of the
Russian empire ís population earned their living from agriculture cultivators produced
for the market as well as for their own needs and Russia was a major exporter of grain.
The industry was found in pockets. Prominent industrial areas were St Petersburg and
Moscow.  Craftsmen undertook much of the production, but large factories existed
alongside craft workshops.
Many factories were set up in the 1890s when Russia’s railway network was extended,
and foreign investment in industry increased.
In Russia, peasants wanted the land of the nobles to be given to them. Frequently, they
refused to pay rent and even murdered landlords. 
Political Condition:
Socialists were active in the countryside through the late nineteenth century. They
formed the Socialist Revolutionary Party in 1900. This party struggled for peasant's
rights and demanded that land belonging to nobles be transferred to peasants. 
Social Democrats disagreed with Socialist Revolutionaries about peasants. Lenin felt that
peasants were not one united group. Some were poor and others rich, some worked as
labourers while others were capitalists who employed workers. 
Russia was an autocracy. Tsar was not subject to parliament. Liberals in Russia
campaigned to end this state of affairs.
Question 2. In what ways was the working population in Russia different from
other countries in Europe, before 1917?
Answer 2.
About 85 percent of the Russian empire's population earned their living from
agriculture.  This proportion was higher than in most European countries. 
For instance, in France and Germany, the proportion was between 40 per cent and 50
per cent.
In the empire, cultivators produced for the market as well as for their own needs and
Russia was a major exporter of grain.
Russian peasants were different from other European peasants in another way. They
pooled their land together periodically and their commune (mir) divided it according to
the needs of individual families.
Question 3. Why did the Tsarist autocracy collapse in 1917?
Answer 3.
 In 1914, war broke out between two European alliances - Germany, Austria and Turkey (the Central
powers) and France, Britain and Russia (later Italy and Romania). This was the First World War.As
the war continued, though, the Tsar refused to consult the main parties in the Duma.
 Anti-German sentiments ran high, as can be seen in the renaming of St Petersburg - a German
name- as Petrograd. 
 The Tsarina Alexandra's German origins and poor advisers, especially a monk called Rasputin, made
the autocracy unpopular.
 Russia's armies lost badly in Germany and Austria between 1914 and 1916. 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. 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.
 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 essentials 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. In February 1917, the
government suspended the Duma.  
Question 4. Make two lists: one with the main events and the effects of the
February Revolution and the other with the main events and effects of the October
Revolution. Write a paragraph on who was involved in each, who were the leaders
and what was the impact of each on Soviet history.
Answer 4.
February Revolution:
In February 1917, food shortages were deeply felt in the worker’s quarters. The winter
was very cold & there had been an exceptional frost and heavy snow.
On 22 February, a lockout took place at a factory on the right bank. The next day,
workers in fifty factories called a strike in sympathy.
On Sunday, 25 February, the government suspended the Duma. Politicians spoke out
against the measure. 
Demonstrators returned in force to the streets of the left bank on the 26th. On the 27th,
the Police Headquarters were ransacked.
The government tried to control the situation and called out the cavalry once again.
However, the cavalry refused to fire on the demonstrators
By that evening, soldiers and striking workers had gathered to form a 'soviet' or 'council'
in the same building as the Duma met. This was the Petrograd Soviet.
Military commanders advised him to abdicate. He followed their advice and abdicated
on 2 March. Soviet leaders and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government to run
the country. Russia’s future would be decided by a constituent assembly, elected based
on universal adult suffrage. Petrograd had led the February Revolution that brought
down the monarchy in February 1917.
October Revolution:
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 Trotskii to organise the seizure. The date of the event
was kept a secret.
The uprising began on 24 October. Sensing trouble, Prime Minister
Kerenskii had left the city to summon troops. At dawn, military men loyal to the
government seized the buildings of two Bolshevik newspapers. Pro-government troops
were sent to take over telephone and telegraph offices and protect the Winter Palace. 
In a swift response, the Military Revolutionary Committee ordered its supporters to seize
government offices and arrest ministers.
By nightfall, the city was under the committee's control and the ministers had
surrendered. 
At a meeting of the All Russian Congress of Soviets in Petrograd, the majority approved
the Bolshevik action.
Uprisings took place in other cities. There was heavy fighting - especially in Moscow -
but by December, the Bolsheviks controlled the Moscow-Petrograd area. The Bolsheviks
were opposed to private property. 
Most industry and banks were nationalised in November 1917.
The land was declared social property and peasants were allowed to seize the land of
the nobility The Bolshevik Party was renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik). 
In November 1917, the Bolsheviks conducted the elections to the Constituent Assembly,
but they failed to gain majority support. 
In January 1918, the Assembly rejected Bolshevik measures and Lenin dismissed the
Assembly. He thought the All Russian Congress of Soviets was more democratic than an
assembly elected in uncertain conditions.
Question 5. What were the main changes brought about by the Bolsheviks
immediately after the October Revolution?
Answer 5.
The main changes were:
 Most industry and banks were nationalised in November 1917.
 The land was declared social property and peasants were allowed to seize the land of the nobility. 
 In cities, Bolsheviks enforced the partition of large houses according to family requirements.
 They banned the use of the old titles of the aristocracy.
 New uniforms were designed for the army and officials.
 The Bolshevik Party was renamed the Russian Communist Party
 In November 1917, the Bolsheviks conducted the elections to the Constituent Assembly, but they
failed to gain majority support. 
 In January 1918, the Assembly rejected Bolshevik measures and Lenin dismissed the Assembly
 In March 1918, despite opposition by their political allies, the Bolsheviks made peace with Germany
at Brest Litovsk.
 Russia became a one-party state. Trade unions were kept under party control.

Question 6. Write a few lines to show what you know about:

⇒ kulaks
⇒ the Duma
⇒ women workers between 1900 and 1930
⇒ the Liberals
⇒ Stalinís collectivisation programme.
Answer 6.
⇒ kulaks:
It is the term used for well-to-do peasants. Stalin believed that kulaks in the countryside
were holding stocks in the hope of higher prices.  In 1928, communist party members
toured the grain-producing areas, supervising enforced grain collections, and raiding
'kulaks'.
⇒ the Duma: During the 1905 Revolution, the Tsar allowed the creation of an elected
consultative Parliament, also known as Duma. 
After 1905, most committees and unions worked unofficially, since they were declared
illegal. The Tsar dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and the re-elected second
Duma within three months. He did not want any questioning of his authority or any
reduction in his power. He changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma with
conservative politicians. Tsar dissolve the Duma on 25 February 1917 after which he had
to abdicate his own post on the 2nd 1917.
⇒ women workers between 1900 and 1930:
Women made up 31 per cent of the factory labour force by 1914, but they were paid
less than men (between half and three-quarters of a manís wage). Later it was women
who led the way to strikes in many factories, during the February revolution. 
⇒ the Liberals:
The liberals wanted a nation which tolerated all religions.
(ii) Liberals also opposed uncontrolled power by dynastic rulers.
(iii) They wanted to safeguard the rights of the individuals against
governments.
(iv) The argued for a representative elected Parliamentary Government.
(v) They favored a well trained judiciary that was independent of rulers and
officials.
(vi) They were not democrats.
(vii) They did not favor universal adult franchise.
(viii) Liberals wanted that men of property only should have the right to
vote.
(ix) They did not want the voting right for women.
⇒ Stalin’s collectivisation programme:
From 1929, the Party forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms 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. Enraged peasants resisted the
authorities and destroyed their livestock. 
Between 1929 and 1931, the number of cattle fell by one-third. Those who resisted
collectivisation were severely punished. Many were deported and exiled. As they resisted
collectivisation, peasants argued that they were not rich and they were not against
socialism.
In spite of collectivisation, production did not increase immediately. In fact, the bad
harvests of 1930-1933 led to one of most devastating famines in Soviet history when
over 4 million died.

Internal important questions.

1. What was Bloody Sunday? Or Describe the incident known as ‘Bloody
Sunday’? State any two events after the Bloody Sunday which led to the
revolution of 1905 in Russia.

Answer: On Sunday, 22nd January, 1905, the workers of Russia, led by Father
Gapon, reached the winter palace of the Tsar to present a petition. But they
were fired at indiscriminately by police and the Cossacks resulting in the death
of more than 100 workers with 300 workers wounded. This started a series of
events that became known as the 1905 revolution. This incident is known as
‘Bloody Sunday’ in Russian history.
(i) The news provoked unprecedented disturbances throughout Russia. Strike
took place all over the country.
(ii) The Universities of Russia were closed down when student bodies staged
walkouts, complaining about the lack of civil liberties.
(iii) Lawyers, doctors, engineers, middle class workers established Union of
Unions and demanded a constituent assembly.

2. What was the Duma? How far was it successful?

Answer: The Tsar of Russia allowed the creation of an elected consultative

Parliament which was known as Duma. Duma had representatives from the
third estate. The Tsar dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and the re-
elected a second Duma within three months. He did not want any questioning
of his authority. He changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma with
conservative politicians.

In 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.
3. ‘Liberals of European states were not democratic’. Justify the
statement by giving three examples.

Answer: Karl Marx’s theories were central to the party ideology of Lenin’s

Bolsheviks and had a key role to play in 1917 revolution and the establishment
of the Russian communist state. Marx believed that all historical changes was
caused by a series of class struggles between the bourgeoisie ‘haves’ and the
proletariat ‘have nots’. Vladimir Lenin was majorly influenced by Marx’s
writings. Karl Marx said that industrial society was capitalist under which
workers did not get their share properly. He wanted the whole society to have
the common control over the means of productions i.e., all production units
should be nationalised. He thought that capitalism could be voted out only
through revolution. Marx’s idea deeply influenced Lenin and the Bolshevik
Revolution and they followed it whole heartedly.

4. What was the contribution of Karl Marx in beginning about the

Russian Revolution of 1917?

Answer: The First World War had a severe impact on Russian industry.

(i) Russia’s own industries were few in numbers and the country was also cut
off from other suppliers of industrial goods by German control of the Baltic
sea.
(ii) Industrial equipment disintegrated more rapidly in Russia than any other
country in Europe.
(iii) By 1916, railway lines began to breakdown.
(iv) Able-bodied men were called up to the war and as a result there were
labour shortages and small workshops producing essentials were shut down.
(v) Large supplies of grains were sent to feed army, bread and flour became
scarce and riots at bread shop became common incident.

5. Explain any three effects of the First World War on the industries in
Russia. Or State any three effects of the First World War on the Russian
Economy.
Answer: (i) At the beginning of 20th century in Russia most industry was
owned by industrialists.
(ii) Government supervised large factories to ensure minimum wages and time
of working hours.
(iii) In crafts units and small workshops sometimes like working hours were 15
hours, compared with 10 or 12 hours in big factories.
(iv) Workers were divided into different social groups and they were also
divided by skill.
(v) Women consisted of 31 percent of the factory labour force. The wages of a
female worker was less than a male worker.
(vi) Some workers formed associations to help other workers in times of
hardship.

6. Discuss the relationship between peasants and nobles in Russia during

early 19th century.

Answer: At the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian people were mainly
agriculturists. About 85 per cent of the Russian population was agriculturists
which is higher than other European countries.
(i) Industry in Russia was developed in some pockets like St Petersburg and
Moscow. Large factories existed alongside craft workshops.
(ii) Many factories were setup in the 1890s. The reason behind it was the
extension of railway network and the increase of foreign investment.
(iii) Coal production doubled and iron and steel output quadrupled at that
time.
(iv) Most industries were owned by industrialist, but government supervised
the wage scale and timing of the factories.

7. Describe the main events of the October Revolution in Russia.

Answer:  The main events of the October Revolution in Russia were 

(a) On 16th October, 1917, Lenin persuaded the Petrograd Soviet and the
Bolshevik party to agree to seizure of power. A military Revolutionary
committee was appointed under the leadership of Leon Trotskii. 
(b) The uprising began on October 24, when pro-government troops were
sent to take over telephone and telegraph offices and protect the Winter
Palace. In a swift response, the Military Revolutionary Committee ordered its
supporters to seize government offices and arrest ministers. 

(c) The city was under the committee’s control and the ministers had
surrendered. Uprisings took place in other cities also. By December, the
Bolsheviks controlled the Moscow Petrograd area. 

8. What was the Communist International?

Answer: After the First World War, the Communist International was

organised in 1919 on the lines of the First International (1864-76) and the
Second International (1889-1914). It was founded in Moscow in March, 1919
on the initiative of the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution in Russia and at
a time of revolutionary upsurge in central Europe. It is also called the Third
International. Its main objectives were to establish unity among the workers of
the world, to fix their daily hours of work, to oppose imperialism and
colonialism, to oppose oppression and wars, to promote revolution, etc. Under
its guidance, various communist parties were formed in many countries of the
world. The Communist International was dissolved in June, 1943. 

9. Why were there revolutionary disturbances in Russia in 1905? What

were the demands of the revolutionaries?

Answer: (a) The causes of the revolutionary disturbances in Russia in 1905

were
(i) Russia’s defeat in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904 due to the poorly
organised Russian army.
(ii) The prices of essential commodities rose so that real wages declined by 20
per cent 
(iii) Workers were dismissed at the Petiole Iron Works.
(iv) The procession of workers led by Father Gapon reached the Winter Palace
where it was attacked by the police. In this incident 100 workers were killed
and 300 wounded. This is known as ‘Bloody Sunday’ which finally led to
revolutionary disturbances in Russia in 1905. 

(b) The revolutionaries demanded a reduction in daily working hours to eight,

increase in wages and improvement in working conditions.

10. Explain the views of socialist on private property. Name the

international body set-up to spread and coordinate their efforts. Or
Explain the views of the socialists on private property with special
emphasis on Karl Marx. Name the International body setup to spread and
coordinate their efforts.

Answer: (i) Socialists were against private property. They saw it as the root of
all social evils.
(ii) Socialists favored society as a whole rather than single individually owned
property, more attention would be  paid to collective social interests.
(iii) Marx said that in capitalism, factories were owned by the capitalists and
the profit of capitalists was produced by workers.
(iv) But the workers had to overthrow capitalism and the rule of private
property.
(v) Marx suggested that to free themselves from the capitalist exploitation, the
workers had to the construct a radically socialist society. In a socialist society,
all property was socially controlled.
(vi) Marx believed that workers would triumph in their conflict with capitalists
and there should be ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’. This communist society is
the natural society of the future. To coordinate their efforts, Socialists formed
the international body, viz, the ‘Second International.’  

11. Mention the values which are associated with Stalin’s collectivization
programme. Mention three values.

Answer: By 1927 -1928, the towns in Soviet Russia were facing an acute
problem of grain supplies. Stalin introduced collectivization programme. From
1929, the communist party forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms
(Kolkhoz). The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the ownership
of collective farm. It was possible by eliminating the class of ‘kulaks’ well to do
or rich farmers of Russia.

The values which are associated with Stalin’s collectivization programme are as
follows
(i) Promotion of State controlled large farms to increase production and
solved the problem of grain scarcity.
(ii) Transfer of Ownership of Land took away land from peasants and
established the collective farm, the state controlled large farms.
(iii) Elimination of a Social Class eliminated ‘kulaks’ the well to do peasants of
Russia.