Quick Revision Notes: Class 9 Social Science

Chapter: Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution

1. Introduction: The Age of Social Change

The French Revolution opened up the possibility of creating a dramatic change in the way society was structured. Not everyone in Europe wanted a complete transformation; opinions were divided into three main groups:

Conservatives (रूढ़िवादी): Opposed radical change. By the 19th century, they accepted that some change was inevitable but believed the past had to be respected and change had to be brought about through a slow process.
Liberals (उदारवादी): Wanted a nation which tolerated all religions. They argued for a representative, elected parliamentary government, subject to laws interpreted by a well-trained judiciary. They did not believe in universal adult franchise and felt men of property mainly should vote.
Radicals (रेडिकल): Wanted a government based on the majority of a country’s population. Many supported women’s suffragette movements. They opposed the privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners and were not against private property, but disliked concentration of property in a few hands.

2. The Coming of Socialism to Europe

Socialism (समाजवाद): Socialists were against private property, and saw it as the root of all social ills of the time. They believed that if society controlled property, more attention would be paid to collective social interests.
Key Socialist Visionaries:
- Robert Owen (1771–1858): A English manufacturer who sought to build a cooperative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA).
- Louis Blanc (1811–1882): Wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises.
- Karl Marx (1818–1883): Argued that industrial society was capitalist. He believed that workers had to construct a radically socialist society where all property was socially controlled. This was called Communist society.
- Friedrich Engels: Co-authored The Communist Manifesto (1848) with Marx.

3. The Russian Revolution (1917)

Russian Empire in 1914: Ruled by Tsar Nicholas II. Unlike other European nations, the vast majority of Russians were agriculturists (about 85%).
Economy & Society: Industry was found in pockets (St. Petersburg and Moscow). Workers were divided into social groups based on their skills. Peasants cultivated most land, but the nobility, the crown, and the Orthodox Church owned large properties.
Socialism in Russia:
- Russian Social Democratic Workers Party (RSDWP) was founded in 1898 by socialists who respected Marx's ideas.
- Due to government policing, it operated as an illegal organization.
- The party was split in 1903 over organization strategy into two factions:
  1. Bolsheviks (बोल्शेविक): Led by Vladimir Lenin; believed in a disciplined party and majority control in a society like Russia.
  2. Mensheviks (मेंशेविक): Believed the party should be open to all (like in Germany).

4. The 1905 Revolution ("Bloody Sunday")

Causes: Prices of essential goods rose so quickly that real wages declined by 20%. Dismissal of four members of the Assembly of Russian Workers led to a strike.
Bloody Sunday (खूनी रविवार): Over 110,000 workers in St. Petersburg went on strike in 1905 demanding a reduction in working hours, an increase in wages, and improvement in working conditions. Led by Father Gapon, the procession was attacked by the police and Cossacks. Over 100 workers were killed.
Consequence: Strikes went nationwide. The Tsar was forced to create an elected consultative parliament called the Duma.

5. The First World War and the Russian Empire

Impact of WWI (1914):
- War was initially popular, but support wore thin as the Tsar refused to consult the main parties in the Duma.
- Anti-German sentiments ran high (St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd).
- Russian army suffered defeats in Germany and Austria (1914–1916). Over 7 million casualties and 3 million refugees.
- The destruction of crops and buildings led to over 3 million refugees in Russia. The war also severely impacted industry and caused severe food shortages.

6. The February Revolution of 1917 (Fall of Monarchy)

Petrograd in Winter 1917: Conditions were grim. Food shortages in worker quarters were acute.
Key Events:
- 22 February: A lockout took place at a factory on the right bank. Workers in fifty factories called a strike in sympathy (International Women’s Day was also observed).
- 25 February: The government suspended the Duma. Demonstrators returned in force.
- 27 February: The Police Headquarters were ransacked. Soldiers and striking workers gathered to form a Soviet or council in the same building where the Duma met—called the Petrograd Soviet.
Result: Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on 2 March 1917. Soviet leaders and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government to run the country.

7. October Revolution of 1917 (Bolshevik Takeover)

Lenin’s Return (April 1917): Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from exile and presented his "April Theses":
1. War to be brought to a close.
2. Land to be transferred to the peasants.
3. Banks to be nationalized.
The Uprising:
- As the Provisional Government's power grew weak, the Bolsheviks gained support.
- On 16 October 1917, Lenin persuaded the Petrograd Soviet and Bolshevik Party to agree to a socialist seizure of power. A Military Revolutionary Committee was appointed by the Soviet under Leon Trotsky.
- The uprising began on 24 October 1917. By nightfall, the city was under committee control and ministers had surrendered.
- The All-Russian Congress of Soviets in Petrograd approved the Bolshevik action. By December, the Bolsheviks controlled the Moscow-Petrograd area.

8. What Changed After October? (Key Reforms)

Abolition of Private Property: Land and banks were nationalized in November 1917.
Land Declaration: Land was declared social property, and peasants were allowed to seize the land of the nobility.
Title Abolition: Use of aristocratic titles was banned.
New Uniforms: Designed for the army and officials (e.g., the Budenovka hat).
Single-Party State: The Russian Social Democratic Workers Party was renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik). Russia became a one-party state.
Secret Police: The government created secret police (Cheka later OGPU and NKVD) to punish those who criticized the Bolsheviks.

9. Civil War and Stalin’s Collectivization

Russian Civil War (1918–1920):
- Non-Bolshevik socialists, liberals, and supporters of autocracy (Greens and Whites), backed by French, American, British, and Japanese troops, fought the Bolsheviks (Reds).
- The Bolsheviks won the civil war by January 1920, maintaining control by cooperating with non-Russian nationalities and Muslim jadidists.
Making a Socialist Society (Planned Economy):
- Stalin’s Collectivization Program (1929): Joseph Stalin (who came to power after Lenin's death in 1924) introduced centralized planning and Collectivization.
- Kulaks: Well-to-do peasants whom the party believed were hoarding grain to gain higher prices. Their land was confiscated.
- All peasants were forced to cultivate in collective farms called Kolkhoz.
- Those who resisted were severely punished, deported, or exiled.

10. Global Influence of the Russian Revolution

By the 1950s, it was acknowledged globally that the style of government in the USSR was not in keeping with the ideals of the Russian Revolution.
However, by the end of the 20th century, the international reputation of the USSR as a socialist country had declined, though socialist ideas still enjoyed respect across the world.
In many countries, Communist Parties were formed (e.g., the Communist Party of Great Britain, and the CPI in India).

Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution

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