Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution

1. Differentiate between the ideas of the liberals and radicals in Europe.

Answer :
(i) Liberals wanted a nation that tolerated all religions while radicals wanted a government based on
majority.
(ii) Liberals opposed to uncontrolled power of dynastic rulers while radicals were opposed to privileges
of land owners and wealthy factory owners.
(iii) Liberals wanted representative elected parliamentary government and did not believe in Adult
Franchise while radicals supported women's suffragette movements.

2. Mention any three features of socialism.

Answer :
Socialists were against private property.
Society as a whole should control property collectively.
Socialists regarded the private property as the root cause of all social evils.

3. Mention any three factors responsible for the Russian Revolution of 1905.
Answer :
(i) Political: The rule of Tsar was autocratic as he was not subject to parliament.
(ii) Economical: In the year 1904, prices of essential goods rose so quickly that real wages declined by
20 percent.
(iii) Immediate: The Bloody Sunday incident took place in which more than 100 workers were killed.
(iv) Poor condition of the working class.

4. Who was Karl Marx? What were his views about capitalism?
Answer :
(i) Karl Marx was socialist.
(ii) He was against capitalism.
(iii) According to Marx, the profit of capitalists was produced by workers. (iv) He wanted to construct a
radically socialist society.

5. Describe the economic condition of the workers at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Answer :
(i) Most industry was the private property of industrialists.
(ii) Most of the workers were working for about 10 to 12 hours, a day.
(iii) The working conditions were also very poor.
(iv) Women workers made up about 31% of the factory labour, but they were pair less than men.

6. Why were socialists against private property and how it could be improved?
Answer :
(i) According to socialists, individuals who owned the property that gave employment but the propertied
were concerned only with personal gain.
(ii) They were not concerned with the welfare of those who made the property productive.
(iii) Socialists wanted that society as a whole should control property so that more attention would be
paid to collective social interests.

7. Describe the events that happened in 1905 revolution in Russia?

Answer
(i) The attack of police on the procession of workers at the Winter Palace started a series of events that
became known as the 1905 Revolution.
(ii) Strikes took place all over the country and universities closed down when student bodies staged
walkouts, complaining about the lack of civil liberties.
(iii) Lawyers, doctors, engineers and other middle-class workers established the Union of Unions and
demanded a constituent assembly.
8. What was the basic principle of the Marxist theory ?
Answer: The basic principle of the Marxist theory were :
Marx believed that the conditions of workers could not improve if profit was accumulated by private
capitalists.
Workers had to overthrow capitalism and the rule of private property.
Workers must construct a radically socialist society where all property was socially controlled. This
would be a communist society and a Communist Party was the natural society of the future.

9. How did the Bolshevik Party contribute to the Russian Revolution of October 1917?
Answer:
The Bolshevik Party put forward clear policies to end the war, transferred the land to the peasants
and advanced the slogan, "All power to the Soviets".
On the question of non-Russian nationalities, Bolsheviks were the only party with a clear policy.
Lenin had proclaimed the right of all people to self-determination, including those under the
Russian Empire.

10. Describe reforms introduced by the Russian Tsar Nicholas Il after the Revolution.
Answer: After 1905, most committees and unions worked unofficially. Since they were declared illegal.
Severe restrictions were placed on Kerenskii political activity.
Power to make laws was conferred upon on elected body called the Duma.
He changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma with conservative politicians. Liberals and
revolutionaries were kept out.

11. Explain the main demands of "April Theses"

Answer: In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from his exile. He and the
Bolsheviks had opposed the war since 1914. Now he felt it was time for soviets to take over power. He
put three demands which were known as Lenin's April Theses.
The three demands were :
He declared that the war to be ended
Land to be transferred to the peasants
The banks to be nationalized.

12. Discuss the positive aspects of the Bolshevik government on Soviet Union and its people.
Answer: The positive aspects of the Bolshevik government on Soviet Union and its people were :
Immediately after coming to power, Lenin announced his decision to with draw from the First World War.
Private property in the means of production was abolished. Economic exploitation by capitalists and
landlords came to an end.
The control of industries was given to workers. All the banks, industries and mines. water transport and
railways were nationalized.

13. What were the significant changes in the Soviet Union after the death of Lenin?
Answer: In 1925, Stalin became General Secretary of the Communist Party of Soviet Union after the
death of Lenin.
The following were the significant changes in the Soviet Union after the death of Lenin.
The economic and military power of the Soviet Union was enhanced rapidly.
The unemployment and economic backwardness was controlled to some extent.
The international position of the Soviet Union became much better than the previous time and it
became one of the super powers of the world.

14. How was the bad condition of women responsible for Russian Revolution ?
Answer: The bad condition of women responsible for Russian Revolution because :
Most of the women were working in small factories.
Women made up about 31% of the factory labour force by 1914.
They were paid less wages and were forced to work for long hours.
When they launched an agitation, they were fired by the police.
15. Differentiate between the ideas of the liberals and radicals in Europe.
Answer: The liberals did not believe in universal franchise. In contrast, radicals wanted a nation
in which government was based on most of a country's population.
Liberals felt men of prosperity mainly should have the vote. They did not want the vote for women. On the
other hand, the radicals supported women's suffragette movements and opposed the privileges of great
landowners and wealthy factory owners.
Radicals were not against the existence of private property but disliked concentration of property in the
hands of a few.

16. Which basic principles, ideas and values had the Russian Revolution for rest of the world?
Answer:
The basic principles, ideas and values had the Russian Revolution for rest of the world :
Economic equality
Social Equality
Socialism
Anti-capitalism.
International fraternity of all the peasants, craftsmen and workers.

17. Explain in brief Lenin's contribution to the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Answer:
Lenin had played an important part in the Russian Revolution of 1917. It is true that after the fall of
Tsar, Lenin led the revolutionaries. Really, it was the beginning of the revolution.
The Provisional Government, under the leadership of Kerenskii, could not implement the demand of
the people and failed.
Under Lenin's leadership, the Bolshevik Party put forward clear policies to end the war, transfer the
land to the peasants and advance the slogan 'All power to the Soviets'.
He had described the Russian empire as a Prison of Nations and had declared that. no genuine
democracy could be established unless all the non-Russian people were given equal rights.

18. What were the main objectives of the Russian Revolutionaries ?

Answer: The main objectives of the Russian Revolutionaries were :
The Tsar had thrown Russia into the First World War to fulfil his imperialistic desires. It was the
demand of the revolutionaries that Russia should withdraw from the war. So, it withdrew from the
First World War in 1917 after the Revolution.
After the Revolution, the land was given to the tillers. The landlords had to give the land to the
government. Kolkhoz and Sovkhoj farms were established. In Kolkhoz farms, the peasants worked
collectively.
The revolutionaries had demanded an improvement in the conditions of the industrial workers. They
demanded better wages, good working conditions and removal of exploitation. After 1917, the
industries were nationalised and the dream of workers was fulfilled.
The next aim of the revolutionaries was that the non-Russians should be given equal status. Lenin
believed that without this status these people could never become real Russians.
20. What were the main causes of the Russian Revolution?
Answer: Main causes were:
(i) Autocratic rule of Tsars: In 1914, the Russian emperor was Tsar Nicholas II. He fought a number of
wars to expand his empire in the north and west in Europe. He has borne the expenditure of war by
taxing the common people of Russia.
(ii) Conditions of peasants: Majority of the Russians were agriculturalists. Major part of the land was
owned by nobles and clergy and these peasants worked as farmers on daily wages. They were paid less
and worked more and sometimes under debt, they were not even paid wages.
(iii) Status of industries: Industry was found in pockets. Prominent industrial areas were St.
Petersburg and Moscow. Craftsmen undertook much of the production, but large factories existed
alongside crafts workshops.
(iv) Conditions of workers in the industries: Most industries were owned by private industrialists.
Though the government supervised factories' working hours and wages of the workers, but still rules were
broken. Women workers were also paid less than men.
(v) Formation of socialist parties: All political parties were illegal in Russia before 1914. The Russian
Social Democratic Workers Party was founded in 1898 by socialists, who respected Marxist ideas.
21. Who were the Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives?
Answer: The Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives were totally opposed in their views.
The Liberals wanted individual rights for the citizens, religious tolerance, and an elected
parliament. They were not in favour of giving women the right to vote and they wanted only men
with property to vote.
In contrast to the Liberals the Radicals were opposed to only wealthy men having the right to vote.
They were in favour of women's rights and wanted a Government that represented the majority of
the population.
The Conservatives were truly conservative in their views. They wanted changes for the better, but
wanted the changes to take place slowly, giving due respect to the past.

22. How did Russia's participation in the World War cause the fall of the Tsar?
Answer:
The war was initially popular, and people rallied around Tsar Nicholas II.
As the war continued, support became thin and Tsar's popularity declined. Anti-German
sentiments became high.
The Tsarina Alexandra's German origins and poor advisers, especially a monk called Rasputin,
made the autocracy unpopular.
Defeats were shocking and demoralising. Russia's armies lost badly in Germany and Austria
between 1914 and 1916. There were over 7 million casualties by 1917.
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.

23. Describe the economic condition of Russia before 1905.

Answer:
(i) In Russia the war was initially popular and the policies of Tsar Nicholas Il were supported by the
people.
(ii) The First World War on the 'Eastern front' differed from that on the 'Western front'. In the West,
armies fought from trenches, but in the East, armies moved a good deal and fought battles leaving large
casualties.
(iii) Russia's army lost badly in Germany and Austria between 1914 and 1916. There were over 7
million casualties by 1917.
(iv) As the German armies moved forward, the Russian army destroyed crops and building to prevent
the enemy to enter easily.
(v) The situation discredited the Russian government and Tsar.
(vi) The Russian Soldier did not wish to First Such a War.

24. Why the period after the success of French Revolution can be called the age of social
change?
Answer:
(i) The French Revolution opened up the possibility of creating a dramatic change in the way in which
society was structured.
(ii) Before the 18th century society was broadly divided into estates and orders and it was the aristocracy
and church which controlled economic and social power.
(iii) Suddenly, after the revolution, it seemed possible to change this. In many parts of the world including
Europe and Asia, new ideas about individual rights and who controlled social power began to be
discussed.
(iv) In India, Raja Rammohan Roy and Derozio talked of the significance of the French Revolution and
many others debated the ideas of post-revolutionary Europe.
(v) The developments in the colonies, in turn, reshaped these ideas of societal change.

25. What do you know about Stalin's Collectivisation Programme?

Answer: 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 profit was shared. Enraged peasants resisted the authorities and destroyed their
livestock. Those who resisted the 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. Stalin's government allowed some independent cultivation but treated such cultivators
unsympathetically.