Chapter 2 - Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution

The Age of Social Change

After the revolution, individual rights and social power began to be discussed in many
parts of the world including Europe and Asia. Colonial development reshaped ideas of
societal change but everyone was not in favour of the complete transformation of society.
Through the revolution in Russia, socialism became one of the most significant and powerful
ideas to shape society in the twentieth century.
Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives
Liberals wanted a nation which tolerated all religions. They opposed uncontrolled
power of dynastic rules and argued for a representative, elected parliamentary government,
subject to laws interpreted by a well-trained judiciary that was independent of rulers and
officials. They wanted a government based on the majority of a country’s population.
Conservatives, after the nineteenth century, accepted changes but also believed the past
needed to be respected and change should begin slowly.
Industrial Society and Social Change
Industrial Revolution led to changes in social and economic life, new cities came up
and new industrialised regions developed. Men, women and children came to factories in
search of work. But, unfortunately, working hours were long and wages were poor. There was
unemployment during the time of low demand for industrial goods. Liberals and radicals
made wealth through trade or industrial ventures. According to them, society can be
developed if freedom of individuals was ensured, if the poor could labour, and those with
capital could operate without restraint. In France, Italy, Germany and Russia, revolutionaries
overthrow existing monarchs. Nationalists talked of revolutions to create ‘nations’ with equal
rights.
The Coming of Socialism to Europe
Socialism was a well-known body of ideas by the mid-nineteenth century in Europe.
Socialists were against private property and saw it as the root of all social ills of the time.
They wanted to change it and campaigned for it. Robert Owen (1771-1858) sought to build a
cooperative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA). Louis Blanc (1813-1882)
wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises. Karl
Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820- 1895) added other ideas to this body of
arguments. According to Marx industrial society was ‘capitalist’ who owned the capital
invested in factories, and the profit of capitalists was produced by workers. Capitalism and
the rule of private property were overthrown. Marx believed that a communist society was
the natural society of the future.
Support for Socialism
By the 1870s, socialist ideas spread through Europe and they formed an international
body – namely, the Second International. Associations were formed by workers in Germany
and England to fight for better living and working conditions. The Labour Party and Socialist
Party were formed by socialists and trade unionists, by 1905.
The Russian Revolution
 In the October Revolution of 1917, socialists took over the government in Russia.
The fall of monarchy in February 1917 and the events of October were termed as the Russian
Revolution.
The Russian Empire
in 1914 In 1914, Russia was ruled by Tsar Nicholas II and its empire. The Russian
Empire included currentday Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, parts of Poland, Ukraine and
Belarus, stretching to the Pacific and comprised today’s Central Asian states, as well as
Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. Majority of the population was Russian Orthodox
Christianity
Economy and Society
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Russian population was dominated by
agriculturalists, who used to cultivate for the market as well as for their own needs. St
Petersburg and Moscow were prominent industrial areas. Craftsmen undertook much of the
production, but large factories existed alongside craft workshops. In the 1890’s more
factories were set up after and foreign investment in industry increased. Large factories were
supervised by the government to ensure minimum wages and limited hours of work. Workers
were a divided social group. They were also divided by their skill. Despite divisions, workers
united to stop work when they disagreed with employers about dismissals or work conditions.
Peasants cultivated most of the land but the nobility, the crown and the Orthodox
Church owned large properties. Nobles got power and position through their services to the
Tsar. In Russia, peasants wanted the land of the nobles.
Socialism in Russia
Political parties in Russia were legal before 1914. In 1898, socialists founded the
Russian Social Democratic Workers Party who respected Marx’s ideas. Some Russian
socialists felt that the Russian peasant custom of dividing land periodically made them
natural socialists. Throughout the nineteenth century, socialists were active in the countryside
and formed the Socialist Revolutionary Party in 1900. The party struggled for peasants’ rights
and demanded land belonging to nobles be transferred to peasants. The party was divided
over the strategy of organisation. According to Vladimir Lenin in a repressive society like
Tsarist Russia, the party should be disciplined and should control the number and quality of
its members. Mensheviks thought that the party should be open to all.
A Turbulent Time: The 1905 Revolution
Russia was an autocracy and even at the beginning of the twentieth century, the Tsar
was not subject to Parliament. During the Revolution of 1905, Russia along with the Social
Democrats and Socialist Revolutionaries, worked with peasants and workers to demand a
constitution. For Russian workers, bad times started from the year 1904 as prices of essential
goods rose and their real wages declined by 20 per cent. Workers went on strike demanding a
reduction in the working day to eight hours, an increase in wages and improvement in
working conditions. The procession was attacked by the police and the Cossacks when it
reached the Winter Palace. The incident, known as Bloody Sunday, started a series of events
which resulted in the 1905 Revolution. During the 1905 Revolution, the Tsar allowed the
creation of an elected consultative Parliament or Duma. After 1905, most committees and
unions worked unofficially, since they were declared illegal.
The First World War and the Russian Empire
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. The war became popular and as it continued, the Tsar refused to
consult the main parties in the Duma. Support wore thin. The First World War was different
on the easter front and on the western front. Between 1914 and 1916 Russian army lost badly
in Germany and Austria. Russian army destroyed crops and buildings to prevent the enemy
from being able to live off the land. The country was cut off from other suppliers of industrial
goods by German control of the Baltic Sea. railway lines began to break down by 1916. For
the people in the cities, bread and flour became scarce. By the winter of 1916, riots at bread
shops were common.
The February Revolution in Petrograd
Petrograd city is divided among its people. On the right bank of the River Neva
workers quarters and factories were located and on the left bank located fashionable areas
such as the Winter Palace, and official buildings. Food shortages deeply affected the workers’
quarters. On the right bank, a factory was shut down on February 22. Women also led the
way to strikes and it is called International Women’s Day. The government imposed a curfew
as the fashionable quarters and official buildings were surrounded by workers. Duma was
suspended on 25th February. The streets thronged with demonstrators raising slogans about
bread, wages, better hours and democracy. The government called out the cavalry but they
refused to fire on the demonstrators. Soldiers and striking workers gathered to form a ‘soviet’
or ‘council’ in the same building as the Duma met and it is termed as the Petrograd Soviet.
Soviet leaders and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government to run the country.
Russia’s future would be decided by a constituent assembly, elected on the basis of universal
adult suffrage. Petrograd had led the February Revolution that brought down the monarchy in
February 1917.
After February
Under the Provisional Government, army officials, landowners and industrialists were
influential. Liberals and socialists worked towards an elected government. Restrictions on
public meetings and associations were removed. In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir
Lenin returned to Russia from his exile. Lenin demanded three things and termed as ‘April
Theses’.He wanted war to end, land to be transferred to the peasants and banks to be
nationalised. He also emphasised on renaming the Bolshevik Party to the Communist Party.
Workers movement spread throughout the summer. Factory committees formed and trade
unions grew in numbers. When the Provisional Government saw its power reduced and
Bolshevik influence grew, they decided to take stern measures against the spreading
discontent. In the countryside, peasants and their Socialist Revolutionary leaders pressed for a
redistribution of land. Encouraged by the Socialist Revolutionaries, peasants seized land
between July and September 1917.
The Revolution of October 1917
 The conflict between the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks grew. On 16
October 1917, Lenin persuaded the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolshevik Party to agree to a
socialist seizure of power. To organise the seizure, a Military Revolutionary Committee was
appointed by the Soviet under Leon Trotskii. 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.
What Changed after October?
Industry and banks were nationalised in November 1917 which meant that the
government took over ownership and management. Land was declared as social property and
peasants were allowed to seize the land of the nobility. The Bolshevik Party was renamed the
Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik). Elections were conducted in November 1917, to the
Constituent Assembly, but they failed in majority. In January 1918, the Assembly rejected
Bolshevik measures and Lenin dismissed the Assembly. Despite opposition, in March 1918,
the Bolsheviks made peace with Germany at Brest Litovsk. The Bolsheviks participated in
the elections to the All Russian Congress of Soviets, which became the Parliament of the
country. Russia became a one-party state. After October 1917, this led to experiments in the
arts and architecture. But many became disillusioned because of the censorship the Party
encouraged.
The Civil War
The Russian Army broke up and their leaders moved to south Russia and organised
troops to fight the Bolsheviks (the ‘reds’). During 1918 and 1919, the Russian Empire was
controlled by the ‘greens’ (Socialist Revolutionaries) and ‘whites’ (pro-Tsarists) backed by
French, American, British and Japanese troops. These troops and the Bolsheviks fought a
civil war. By January 1920, the Bolsheviks controlled most of the former Russian empire. In
the name of defending socialism, Bolshevik colonists brutally massacred local nationalists.
Most non-Russian nationalities were given political autonomy in the Soviet Union (USSR) –
the state the Bolsheviks created from the Russian empire in December 1922
Making a Socialist Society
During the civil war, industries and banks kept nationalised. Peasants were permitted
to cultivate the land. Centralised planning process was introduced. Officials worked on how
the economy will work and set targets for a five-year period. During the first two ‘Plans’ the
government fixed all prices to promote industrial growth (1927-1932 and 1933-1938).
Centralised planning led to economic growth. But, rapid construction led to poor working
conditions. Schooling system developed, and arrangements were made for factory workers
and peasants to enter universities. For women workers, crèches were established in factories
for the children. Cheap public health care was provided. Model living quarters were set up for
workers.
Stalinism and Collectivisation
The period of the early Planned Economy led to disaster of the collectivisation of
agriculture. By 1927- 1928, the towns in Soviet Russia faced an acute problem of grain
supplies. Stalin introduced firm emergency measures. In 1928, party members toured the
grain-producing areas, supervising enforced grain collections, and raiding ‘kulaks’ – the name
for well to-do peasants. After 1917, land had been given over to peasants. From 1929, the
Party forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms (kolkhoz). Peasants worked on the
land, and the kolkhoz profit was shared. Between 1929 and 1931, the number of cattle fell by
one-third. The government of Stalin allowed some independent cultivation, but treated such
cultivators unsympathetically. In spite of collectivisation, production did not increase
immediately and due to bad harvests of 1930-1933 over 4 million people died. Throughout
the country, accusations were made, and by 1939, over 2 million were in prisons or labour
camps.
The Global Influence of the Russian Revolution and the USSR
In many countries, communist parties were formed, like the Communist Party of
Great Britain. Non-Russians from outside the USSR participated in the Conference of the
Peoples of the East (1920). The Bolshevik-founded Comintern (an international union of pro-
Bolshevik socialist parties). Before the outbreak of the Second World War, the USSR had
given socialism a global face and world stature. The USSR became a great power and its
industries and agriculture had developed and the poor were being fed. By the end of the
twentieth century, the international reputation of the USSR as a socialist country had declined

SUMMARIZED NOTES
The Age of Social Change
- After revolutions, discussions on individual rights and social power spread across
Europe and Asia.
- Colonialism and industrialization shaped ideas of societal transformation, though
opinions on complete societal change varied.
- Socialism emerged as a powerful idea influencing society, especially after the
Russian Revolution.
Liberals, Radicals, and Conservatives
- Liberals: Advocated for religious tolerance, representative parliamentary
government, and rule of law.
- Conservatives: Accepted gradual changes while emphasizing the importance of
tradition.
Industrial Society and Social Change
- The Industrial Revolution brought economic changes, urbanization, and poor
working conditions.
- Liberals and radicals sought individual freedom, wealth creation, and economic
progress.
- Nationalists pushed for revolutions to create nations with equal rights.
The Rise of Socialism in Europe
- Socialists opposed private property, viewing it as the root of social inequality.
- Key socialist thinkers:
- Robert Owen: Founded New Harmony cooperative in the USA.
- Louis Blanc: Advocated government-supported cooperatives.
- Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels: Argued capitalism exploited workers; called for a
communist society.
- By the 1870s, socialist ideas spread, leading to the formation of the Second
International.
The Russian Empire in 1914
- Tsar Nicholas II ruled over a vast empire comprising regions like Finland, Poland,
and parts of Central Asia.
- Russian society was predominantly agricultural, with major cities like St. Petersburg
and Moscow serving as industrial hubs.
- Peasants demanded land from nobles, and workers faced poor wages and long
working hours.
Socialism in Russia
- Socialists founded the Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party (1898) and
Socialist Revolutionary Party (1900).
- Disagreements between Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) and Mensheviks centered on
party discipline and membership policies.
The 1905 Revolution
- Triggered by worsening living conditions, the revolution began with Bloody Sunday
(1905) when police fired on demonstrators.
- The Tsar allowed the creation of the Duma (Parliament), but unions remained illegal.
Russia and the First World War
- Russia, part of the Allied powers, suffered heavy losses in the war.
- The war disrupted food supplies, leading to bread shortages and riots in cities.
The February Revolution (1917)
- Workers and soldiers protested in Petrograd, leading to the fall of the monarchy.
- A Provisional Government was formed, with promises of elections and universal
adult suffrage.
The October Revolution (1917)
 - Lenin demanded an end to the war, land redistribution, and nationalization of banks
(April Theses).
- The Bolsheviks, under Lenin and Trotsky, seized power in October 1917.
Changes after the October Revolution
- Nationalization of industries and banks; land became social property.
- Russia became a one-party state under the renamed Communist Party.
- The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ended Russia’s participation in World War I.
The Russian Civil War (1918–1920)
- Fought between the Bolsheviks (Reds) and anti-Bolshevik forces (Whites and
Greens).
- The Bolsheviks created the USSR in 1922, granting political autonomy to non-
Russian regions.
Building a Socialist Society
- Centralized planning introduced with Five-Year Plans to promote industrial growth.
- Education, public health, and facilities for workers were developed, including
crèches for working women.
Stalinism and Collectivization
- Collectivization of agriculture began in 1929; peasants were forced to work on
collective farms (kolkhoz).
- Grain shortages and forced grain collections led to famines, resulting in 4 million
deaths.
- Many were imprisoned during Stalin's purges by 1939.
Global Influence of the Russian Revolution
- The USSR promoted socialism worldwide through the Comintern and supported the
formation of communist parties globally.
- By World War II, the USSR emerged as a powerful socialist state, though by the late
20th century, its reputation declined.