Russian Revolution: NBSE class 9 Social Science notes, answers

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Get notes, questions, solutions, textual answers, pdf, extras, MCQs for Chapter 2: The Russian Revolution, which is a part of the social science class 9 syllabus for students studying under the Nagaland Board of School Education. However, these notes should be used only for references and additions/modifications should be made as per the requirements.

Introduction

The Russian Revolution of 1917 made Russia the first country in the world to have a communist government. It also led to a long and bloody Civil War which lasted till 1920, at the end of which the communists had complete control over the country. The fall of the monarchy in February 1917 and the events of October 1917 are normally called the Russian Revolution.

The Bolsheviks who took control of the government, considered their revolution in Russia only the first stage of a worldwide communist revolution. Thus, the Russian Revolution marked the beginning of the struggle between communist nations and the capitalist world. To understand the Russian Revolution of 1917 in proper perspective and dimension, one has to understand the tyranny of the Czars on the one hand and the appalling backwardness of the country and its subjects on the other.

Textual Questions and Answers

Choose the correct answer

1. Serfdom had been abolished in the year _____ in Russia.

A. 1860
B. 1861
C. 1862
D. 1864

Answer: B. 1861

2. Who was the head of the first Provisional Government set up in Russia in March 1917?

A. Lenin
B. Kerensky
C. Leon Trotsky
D. Czar Nicholas II

Answer: B. Kerensky

3. Which of the following leaders started the Five Year Plans in Russia?

A. Lenin
B. Stalin
C. Trotsky
D. Gorbachov

Answer: B. Stalin

4. The Berlin Wall collapsed in which year?

A. 1989
B. 1991
C. 1992
D. 1993

Answer: A. 1989

5. There are two statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Mark your answer as per the codes provided below.

Assertion (A): Lenin’s NEP was the adoption of a mixed economy.
Reason (R): The Soviet Government controlled major industries, trade, and banking, while the individuals were allowed to sell their foodgrains in the open market.

A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
B. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
C. (A) is correct but (R) is wrong
D. (A) is wrong but (R) is correct

Answer: A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)

6. Which of the following statements about the above personality is incorrect?

A. He was the leader of the Bolsheviks
B. He spearheaded the Russian Revolution
C. He was the head of the Provisional Government
D. He introduced the NEP

Answer: C. He was the head of the Provisional Government

7. Arrange the following statements in sequential order based on the events that shaped the French Revolution.

I. Bloody Sunday
II. Abdication of the Czar
III. October Revolution
IV. The Collectivisation

A. I, II, III, IV
B. IV, III, II, I
C. III, I, II, IV
D. II, III, I, IV

Answer: A. I, II, III, IV

Very Short Answer Type Questions

1. When did the Russian Revolution take place?

Answer: The Russian Revolution took place in 1917.

2. What made the Czar the “Autocrat of All the Russians?”

Answer: The autocracy was supported by the nobles on one hand and the church on the other, making the Czar the “Autocrat of All the Russians.”

3. When was Russian Social Democratic Labour Party formed?

Answer: The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was formed in 1898.

4. Which three important demands were part of Lenin’s ‘April Theses’?

Answer: The three important demands part of Lenin’s ‘April Theses’ were to end the war, transfer land to the peasants, and nationalise banks.

5. Who took command after the fall of Kerensky’s government and what was the new government called?

Answer: After the fall of Kerensky’s government, Vladimir Lenin took command and the new government was called the Soviet Republic.

6. How was the common people affected when Russia entered the First World War? [HOTS]

Answer: When Russia entered the First World War, the common people suffered due to the lack of food and essential goods, increasing inflation and decreasing real wages.

7. What did the Bolsheviks promise the people?

Answer: The Bolsheviks promised the people “Peace, Bread, and Land!”

Short Answer Type Questions

1. Explain the difference between:

a) The Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.
b) February 1917 and October 1917 revolutions.

Answer: a) The Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.

Bolsheviks	Mensheviks
They favoured a revolution. They were led by Lenin who organised his party to become the instrument for the Russian Revolution of l917.	They believed that the party should be modelled on the lines of parties in countries like France or England.

b) February 1917 and October 1917 revolutions.

February Revolution	October Revolution
February Revolution overthrew Nicholas ll and Duma leader Kerensky came to power.	October Revolution overthrew Kerensky’s Provisional Government and Bolshevik leader, Lenin, came to power.

2. Discuss briefly the Collectivisation Programme.

Answer: The collectivization programme was a system devised by Stalin in which the Party forced all peasants to cultivate on collective farms (kolkhoz). The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the ownership of collective farms. Those who resisted collectivisation were severely punished. Many were deported and exiled.

3. Discuss any two features of the New Economic Policy (NEP).

Answer: Two features of the New Economic Policy (NEP) were:

I. Lenin’s NEP was the adoption of a mixed economy. The Soviet Government controlled major industries, trade, and banking, while individuals were allowed to sell their food grains in the open market.
II. The industries were also given permits to open stores and small factories, and a stable currency was introduced.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. Discuss the causes that led to the Revolution of 1917.

Answer: The causes that led to the Revolution of 1917 were:

i. The Czar believed in the divine right of the King to rule. The nobles enjoyed all the privileges and powers and held all key positions in the administration.
ii. The nobles and the Church supported the Czar which made him the autocrat of all the Russians.
iii. Serfdom had been abolished in l861 but that had failed to improve the conditions of the peasants. Their holdings were too small and uneconomical.
iv. Most factories were owned by foreigners. These Russian-owned factories paid very little wages to the workers.
v. Poor advisers, especially a monk called Rasputin who indirectly controlled the government through Czarine, made the autocracy unpopular.
vi. The First World War plunged the country into an economic crisis and poverty. There were shortages of labour and essential commodities.

2. Comment on the role of Vladimir Lenin in the Revolution and his contribution to economic policy.

Answer: In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from his exile. Lenin feared that the Provisional Government could set up a dictatorship. In September, he began discussions for an uprising against the government. The uprising began on 25 October and on 7 November, an All-Russia Congress of Soviets, which supported the Bolsheviks, assumed full political power. With the fall of Kerensky’s Menshevik Government, Vladimir Lenin took command.

Lenin’s NEP was the adoption of a mixed economy. The Soviet Government controlled major industries, trade and banking, while individuals were allowed to sell their food grains in the open market. They were also given permits to open stores and small factories. The aim of NEP was to encourage the economic contribution of workers, and peasants in urban and rural areas to improve the country’s economy and to allow partial capitalism.

3. What were the immediate consequences of the Russian Revolution?

Answer: The immediate consequences of the Russian Revolutions were:

i. Lenin established the Soviet Republic and made peace with Germany by signing the treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918.
ii. Lenin set out to work for building a new socialist order in his country.
iii. The October Revolution was succeeded by a period of Civil War in Russia. An armed rebellion against the new government was organised by the officers of the Czar’s army. The Civil War raged till 1920.
iv. Lenin found it necessary to compromise with the old economic order by permitting individuals to own and operate small businesses under the supervision of the state.
v. Lands owned by the church and the Czar were confiscated. The lands thus confiscated were transferred to peasant societies who in turn allotted them to peasant families to be cultivated without hired labour.
vi. All foreign debts were, repudiated and foreign investments were confiscated. The railways, insurance companies, mines, water transport and large industries were nationalised.

4. Describe the main features of the Revolution of 1905.

Answer: The main features of the revolution of 1905 were:

i. Bloody Sunday started a series of events that was called the 1905 Revolution. Strikes took place all over the country and universities closed down.
ii. Students, lawyers, doctors, engineers and other middle-class workers established their unions and demanded civil liberties and a constituent Assembly.
iii. The Czar allowed the creation of an elected parliament or Duma. The Czar dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and the re-elected second Duma within 90 days.
iv. He packed the third Duma with conservative politicians and kept out liberals and revolutionaries. All trade unions, committees and workers’ associations were declared illegal.
v. The peasants also formed their Soviets. These organisations later became the instruments of political power in Russia.
vi. The army and navy were involved in protests against the killing of innocent workers and their family members. The sailors of the battleship Potemkin joined the revolutionaries.

Extra MCQs

1: Who led the group of revolutionaries known as the Bolsheviks?

A. Alexander Kerensky
B. Czar Nicholas II
C. Vladimir Lenin
D. Leon Trotsky

Answer: C. Vladimir Lenin

2: The incident known as ‘Bloody Sunday’ is associated with which event?

A. The 1917 October Revolution
B. The 1905 Revolution
C. The beginning of the First World War
D. The formation of the USSR

Answer: B. The 1905 Revolution

3: In what year was serfdom abolished in Russia?

A. 1870
B. 1905
C. 1894
D. 1861

Answer: D. 1861

4: The policy that allowed for a mixed economy with some private enterprise under state control was called the:

A. Five Year Plan
B. New Economic Policy (NEP)
C. Collectivisation Programme
D. April Theses

Answer: B. New Economic Policy (NEP)

5: Which leader succeeded Lenin and became the dictator of the Soviet Union?

A. Leon Trotsky
B. Alexander Kerensky
C. Joseph Stalin
D. Mikhail Gorbachev

Answer: C. Joseph Stalin

6: The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, formed in 1898, later split into which two factions?

A. Czars and Nobles
B. Bolsheviks and Mensheviks
C. Soviets and the Duma
D. Central Powers and Allied Powers

Answer: B. Bolsheviks and Mensheviks

7: The “April Theses” included demands for the end of the war, transfer of land to peasants, and:

A. Establishment of the Duma
B. Restoration of the monarchy
C. Privatisation of all industries
D. Nationalisation of banks

Answer: D. Nationalisation of banks

8: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was officially formed with a new constitution in which year?

A. 1917
B. 1920
C. 1922
D. 1924

Answer: C. 1922

9: What was the name of the elected parliament that the Czar allowed to be created after the 1905 Revolution?

A. Soviet
B. Congress
C. Duma
D. Central Committee

Answer: C. Duma

10: A mystic who gained considerable influence over the Czarina and the Russian government was:

A. Father Gapon
B. Rasputin
C. Lenin
D. Trotsky

Answer: B. Rasputin

11: The forced consolidation of individual peasant farms into large state-controlled enterprises was known as:

A. Industrialisation
B. Nationalisation
C. Collectivisation
D. Emancipation

Answer: C. Collectivisation

12: Who was the head of the Provisional Government that was overthrown during the October Revolution?

A. Czar Nicholas II
B. Vladimir Lenin
C. Leon Trotsky
D. Alexander Kerensky

Answer: D. Alexander Kerensky

13: In which year did the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the divide between communist and capitalist worlds, collapse?

A. 1985
B. 1989
C. 1991
D. 1979

Answer: B. 1989

14: What title was held by the emperor of Russia?

A. Kaiser
B. King
C. Sultan
D. Czar

Answer: D. Czar

15: (I) The Bolsheviks believed their revolution was the start of a worldwide communist revolution.
(II) The Russian Revolution marked the beginning of a struggle between communist and capitalist nations.

A. I is a contradiction of II.
B. I is independent of II.
C. I is the cause for II.
D. II is an example of I.

Answer: C. I is the cause for II.

16: (I) In pre-revolutionary Russia, the Czar was known as the “Autocrat of All the Russians.”
(II) The Czar’s rule was supported by the nobles and the church, granting him unlimited authority.

A. II is the reason for I.
B. I is a contradiction of II.
C. I is independent of II.
D. I is an example of II.

Answer: A. II is the reason for I.

17: (I) After the abolition of serfdom in 1861, the condition of the peasants improved significantly.
(II) Peasants’ land holdings were too small, they had no capital, and they had to pay redemption dues.

A. I is the cause for II.
B. Both statements are unrelated.
C. I is a contradiction of II.
D. II is the result of I.

Answer: C. I is a contradiction of II.

18: (I) The Provisional Government’s power decreased during the summer of 1917.
(II) Bolshevik influence grew, and factory committees and trade unions increased in number.

A. I is an example of II.
B. I and II describe the same phenomenon.
C. I is independent of II.
D. I is a contradiction of II.

Answer: B. I and II describe the same phenomenon.

19: Statement 1: Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP) was the adoption of a mixed economy.
Statement 2: The Soviet government controlled major industries, while individuals could sell foodgrains in the open market.

A. Statement 1 is true, but Statement 2 is false.
B. Statement 2 is a specific example of the policy described in Statement 1.
C. Both statements are false.
D. Statement 1 and Statement 2 are contradictory.

Answer: B. Statement 2 is a specific example of the policy described in Statement 1.

20: (I) The Bolsheviks promised the people “Peace, Bread and Land!”
(II) The main demands of the revolutionaries were peace, land for tillers, and worker control of industry.

A. I is an example of II.
B. I is a contradiction of II.
C. II is the cause for I.
D. I is independent of II.

Answer: A. I is an example of II.

21: (I) Russia suffered shocking defeats and large casualties in World War I.
(II) This discredited the Czar’s government and made soldiers unwilling to continue fighting.

A. I is independent of II.
B. I is the result of II.
C. II is a direct consequence of I.
D. I is a contradiction of II.

Answer: C. II is a direct consequence of I.

22: Arrange the following events in the correct chronological order:

(i) The October Revolution
(ii) The abdication of Czar Nicholas II
(iii) The start of the First World War
(iv) The 1905 Revolution

A. (iv) → (iii) → (ii) → (i)
B. (i) → (ii) → (iii) → (iv)
C. (iii) → (iv) → (i) → (ii)
D. (iv) → (ii) → (iii) → (i)

Answer: A. (iv) → (iii) → (ii) → (i)

23: Select the option that lists the events of 1917 in their correct order.

(i) Lenin returns from exile and presents the ‘April Theses’.
(ii) The Czar abdicates and a Provisional Government is formed.
(iii) The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, seize power.
(iv) Demonstrating workers in Petrograd lead to the February Revolution.

A. (i) → (iv) → (ii) → (iii)
B. (iv) → (ii) → (i) → (iii)
C. (ii) → (i) → (iv) → (iii)
D. (iv) → (i) → (iii) → (ii)

Answer: B. (iv) → (ii) → (i) → (iii)

24: Arrange these leadership periods in the correct sequence:

(i) Joseph Stalin introduces Five Year Plans.
(ii) Czar Nicholas II rules as an autocrat.
(iii) Vladimir Lenin establishes the New Economic Policy.
(iv) Alexander Kerensky heads the Provisional Government.

A. (ii) → (iv) → (iii) → (i)
B. (i) → (iii) → (iv) → (ii)
C. (iii) → (ii) → (i) → (iv)
D. (ii) → (iii) → (iv) → (i)

Answer: A. (ii) → (iv) → (iii) → (i)

25: Consider the following policies. Choose the correct chronological order in which they were implemented.

(i) The Collectivisation of agriculture
(ii) The New Economic Policy (NEP)
(iii) The abolition of serfdom
(iv) The formation of the first Duma

A. (iii) → (iv) → (ii) → (i)
B. (iv) → (iii) → (i) → (ii)
C. (iii) → (i) → (iv) → (ii)
D. (i) → (ii) → (iii) → (iv)

Answer: A. (iii) → (iv) → (ii) → (i)

26: Arrange the following events related to the decline and fall of communism in the correct order:

(i) The USSR invades Afghanistan.
(ii) The USSR is formally disbanded.
(iii) Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power.
(iv) The Berlin Wall collapses.

A. (i) → (iii) → (iv) → (ii)
B. (iii) → (i) → (ii) → (iv)
C. (i) → (iv) → (iii) → (ii)
D. (ii) → (iv) → (i) → (iii)

Answer: A. (i) → (iii) → (iv) → (ii)

Extra Questions and Answers

1. What new country did the communist government create?

Answer: The new communist government created the country of the Soviet Union.

2. What is the significance of the 1917 Russian Revolution in world history?

Answer: The Russian Revolution of 1917 made Russia the first country in the world to have a communist government. It also led to a long and bloody Civil War. The revolution marked the beginning of the struggle between communist nations and the capitalist world.

3. What two events are normally called the Russian Revolution?

Answer: The fall of monarchy in February 1917 and the events of October 1917 are normally called the Russian Revolution.

4. How did the Bolsheviks view their revolution in Russia?

Answer: The Bolsheviks who took control of the government considered their revolution in Russia as only the first stage of a worldwide communist revolution.

5. Who were the Central Powers in World War I?

Answer: The Central Powers in World War I were Germany, Austria, and Turkey.

6. Who were the Allied Powers in World War I?

Answer: The Allied Powers in World War I were France, Britain, Russia, Italy, and Romania.

7. What challenges did Russia face as a landlocked country?

Answer: Russia was once a landlocked country with no access to the sea. Most of her territory lay in the north and was uninhabitable due to extreme cold and barrenness of the soil.

8. Which rulers extended Russia’s borders to the Baltic and Black Seas?

Answer: Great rulers like Peter the Great and Queen Catherine extended Russia’s borders towards the Baltic region in the north-west and the Black Sea coast in the south.

9. What held the diverse nationalities of the Russian Empire together?

Answer: It was the autocracy of the Czars that held the diverse nationalities of the Russian Empire together.

10. Who supported the autocracy of the Russian Czars?

Answer: The autocracy of the Russian Czars was supported by the nobles on one hand and the church on the other.

11. When was serfdom abolished in Russia?

Answer: Serfdom had been abolished in Russia in 1861.

12. What did Czar Nicholas II believe about his right to rule?

Answer: Czar Nicholas II believed in the divine right of the king to rule.

13. Who was Rasputin?

Answer: Rasputin was a godman and a monk who was one of the most dominating persons amongst Czar Nicholas II’s associates. He possessed a curious magnetism, dominated the Czarina, and through her exercised considerable influence over the functioning of the government of Russia, directing its policies. His influence made the autocracy unpopular.

14. Which two groups emerged within the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1903?

Answer: The two distinct groups that emerged within the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1903 were the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks.

15. What was the principal objective of the Socialist Revolutionaries party?

Answer: The principal objective of the Socialist Revolutionaries party, which was formed by Russian peasants, was to end the feudal system in the country.

16. What was the immediate cause of the 1905 Revolution?

Answer: The incident known as Bloody Sunday, where a procession of workers was attacked by armed guards at the Winter Palace, started a series of events that was called the 1905 Revolution.

17. Who led the procession of workers to the Winter Palace on Bloody Sunday?

Answer: The procession of workers to the Winter Palace on Bloody Sunday was led by Father Gapon.

18. What was the “Duma”?

Answer: The “Duma” was an elected parliament or legislature in Russia that the Czar allowed to be created after the 1905 Revolution.

19. What was the Soviet of Workers?

Answer: The Soviet of Workers was a new organisation that developed out of the protests by the army, navy, and peasants during the 1905 Revolution.

20. How did anti-German sentiments affect the autocracy’s popularity during WWI?

Answer: During World War I, anti-German sentiments ran high. The Czarina Alexandra’s German origins, along with her poor advisers like Rasputin, made the autocracy unpopular.

21. What was the impact of the Russian army destroying crops and buildings?

Answer: The Russian army’s destruction of crops and buildings led to over 3 million refugees in Russia. This situation discredited the government and the Czar.

22. Where were the workers’ quarters located in Petrograd?

Answer: In Petrograd, the workers’ quarters and factories were located on the right bank of the River Neva.

23. What event is known as International Women’s Day in the revolution’s context?

Answer: The event where women in many factories led the way to strikes on February 23, 1917 (as per Julian calendar) came to be called International Women’s Day.

24. When did Czar Nicholas II abdicate the throne?

Answer: Czar Nicholas II abdicated the throne on 2nd March.

25. Who headed the first provisional Government?

Answer: The first provisional Government was set up under Alexander Kerensky.

26. When did Vladimir Lenin return to Russia from his exile?

Answer: Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from his exile in April 1917.

27. What did Lenin argue for regarding the Bolshevik Party’s name?

Answer: Lenin argued that the Bolshevik Party should rename itself the Communist Party to indicate its new radical aims.

28. Who was appointed by the Soviet to organise the socialist seizure of power?

Answer: A Military Revolutionary Committee under Leon Trotsky was appointed by the Soviet to organise the socialist seizure of power.

29. Which ship shelled the Winter Palace during the October Revolution?

Answer: The ship Aurora shelled the Winter Palace during the October Revolution.

30. Who were the Red Guards?

Answer: The Red Guards were Bolshevik military units that seized the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government.

31. Who were two of Lenin’s most trusted lieutenants?

Answer: Two of Lenin’s most trusted lieutenants were Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin.

32. What was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

Answer: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a treaty signed with Germany in 1918, through which Lenin made peace and Russia withdrew from the war.

33. What was Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP)?

Answer: Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP) was the adoption of a mixed economy. Under NEP, the Soviet Government controlled major industries, trade, and banking, while individuals were allowed to sell their foodgrains in the open market and were given permits to open stores and small factories.

34. What was the first revolutionary step taken by the new government under Lenin?

Answer: The first revolutionary step taken by the new government under Lenin was a decree confiscating all lands owned by the church and the Czar.

35. What happened to foreign debts and investments after the October Revolution?

Answer: After the October Revolution, all foreign debts were repudiated and foreign investments were confiscated.

36. What was the outcome of the Russian Civil War that ended in 1920?

Answer: The outcome of the Russian Civil War that ended in 1920 was that the Bolsheviks emerged as winners, and the Red Army was able to take over control of all the lands of the former Czarist empire.

37. What does the acronym USSR stand for?

Answer: The acronym USSR stands for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

38. When was the USSR formed?

Answer: The USSR was formed in 1922 according to a new constitution.

39. What was the state’s policy on private property in the USSR?

Answer: In the USSR, the institution of private property in the means of production had no place in the new state, and private profit was no longer the motive for production.

40. Who became the leader of Russia after Lenin’s death in 1924?

Answer: After Lenin’s death in 1924, Joseph Stalin succeeded in a power struggle and became the leader of Russia.

41. What were the Five Year Plans?

Answer: The Five Year Plans were part of a process of centralised planning where officials assessed the economy and set targets for a five-year period. The government fixed all prices to promote industrial growth during these plans.

42. What were collective farms called in Soviet Russia?

Answer: Collective farms in Soviet Russia were called kolkhoz.

43. What was the consequence of the bad harvests of 1930-1933?

Answer: The bad harvests of 1930-1933 led to one of the most devastating famines in Soviet history, during which over 4 million people died.

44. When did the Berlin Wall collapse?

Answer: The Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989.

45. When was the USSR officially disbanded?

Answer: The USSR was officially disbanded on December 8, 1991.

46. What model did the USSR give to developing economies?

Answer: The USSR gave the model of centralised economic planning, which is still relevant for developing economies.

47. Who revolted against Czar Nicholas II’s government in 1917? Who led them?

Answer: The peasants and working class people of Russia revolted against the government of Czar Nicholas II in 1917. They were led by Vladimir Lenin and a group of revolutionaries called the Bolsheviks.

48. Describe the conditions of the peasants in Russia before the revolution.

Answer: Serfdom had been abolished in 1861, but that had failed to improve the conditions of the peasants. Their holdings were too small and uneconomical. The peasants did not have any capital as their resource to invest in the lands. Besides, they were required to pay redemption dues. All these factors, acting in combination, made their lot extremely miserable.

49. What were the living and working conditions for factory workers in pre-revolutionary Russia?

Answer: The workers in the factories led no better lives. Most factories were owned by foreigners. The Russian-owned factories paid very little wages to the workers as they wanted to cut costs to be able to compete with the foreigners. Workers slept in bunkers in a dormitory; they slept in shifts and could not keep their families with them.

50. How did Rasputin exercise influence over the Russian government?

Answer: One of the most dominating persons amongst Czar Nicholas II’s associates was a godman called Rasputin. He dominated the Czarina and through her exercised considerable influence over the functioning of the government of Russia. He directed government policies. The Czarina Alexandra’s German origins and poor advisers, especially a monk called Rasputin, made the autocracy unpopular.

51. What was the belief of the Mensheviks? Why was their idea rejected by many?

Answer: The Mensheviks believed that the party should be modelled on the lines of parties in countries like France or England. The idea was rejected by a majority of groups as they thought Russia was an absolute monarchy while France and England had a democratic political system, so there could be no comparison.

52. What was the stance of the Bolsheviks? Who was their leader?

Answer: The Bolsheviks favoured a revolution. They were led by Lenin, who organised his party to become the instrument for the Russian Revolution of 1917.

53. Describe the events of Bloody Sunday. What was its immediate consequence?

Answer: When the procession of workers led by Father Gapon reached the Winter Palace, it was attacked by armed guards. Over 100 workers were killed and about 300 were wounded. This incident, known as Bloody Sunday, started a series of events that was called the 1905 Revolution.

54. How did Czar Nicholas II react to the creation of the Duma?

Answer: The Czar allowed the creation of an elected parliament or Duma. However, he dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and the re-elected second Duma within 90 days. He refused any questioning of his authority or any reduction in his autocratic powers. He packed the third Duma with conservative politicians and kept out liberals and revolutionaries.

55. How did World War I have a severe impact on Russian industry?

Answer: The war had a severe impact on industry. Russia’s own industries were few in number and the country was cut off from other suppliers of industrial goods by German control of the Baltic Sea. Industrial equipment disintegrated more rapidly in Russia than elsewhere in Europe. By 1916, railway lines began to break down.

56. Describe the layout of the city of Petrograd. How did it emphasise social divisions?

Answer: The layout of the city of Petrograd seemed to emphasise the divisions among its people. The workers’ quarters and factories were located on the right bank of the River Neva. On the left bank were the fashionable areas, the Winter Palace, and official buildings, including the palace where the Duma met.

57. What happened on 22nd and 23rd February 1917 in Petrograd?

Answer: 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. In many factories, women led the way to strikes. This came to be called International Women’s Day. Demonstrating workers crossed from the factory quarters to the centre of the capital – the Nevskii Prospekt.

58. How did the soldiers and cavalry react to the demonstrators during the February Revolution?

Answer: The government called out the cavalry to control the situation. However, the cavalry refused to fire on the demonstrators. An officer was shot at the barracks of a regiment and three other regiments mutinied, voting to join the striking workers.

59. What was the Petrograd Soviet? How was it formed?

Answer: The Petrograd Soviet was a ‘soviet’ or ‘council’. It was formed when soldiers and striking workers gathered in the same building as the Duma met.

60. What changes were introduced by the Provisional Government after it took power?

Answer: The Provisional Government removed restrictions on public meetings and associations. ‘Soviets’, like the Petrograd Soviet, were set up everywhere, though no common system of election was followed.

61. What were the key developments in the workers’ movement during the summer of 1917?

Answer: Through the summer, the workers’ movement spread. In industrial areas, factory committees were formed which began questioning the way industrialists ran their factories. Trade unions grew in number. Soldiers’ committees were formed in the army. In June, about 500 Soviets sent representatives to an All Russian Congress of Soviets.

62. Describe the events of the uprising that began on 25th October 1917.

Answer: The uprising began on 25 October. Prime Minister Kerensky 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. Late in the day, the ship Aurora shelled the Winter Palace. Other vessels took over various military points. By nightfall, the city was under the Committee’s control and the ministers had surrendered.

63. Who was Vladimir Lenin? What was his background?

Answer: Vladimir Lenin was the Bolshevik leader. He was the son of a school inspector who spent most of his early life in exile because of his activities against the Czar. After his return from Siberia, he went to Switzerland. In 1903, he became the leader of the extremist revolutionary group called the Bolshevik Party.

64. What was the aim of the New Economic Policy (NEP)?

Answer: The aim of NEP was to encourage the economic contribution of workers and peasants in urban and rural areas to improve the country’s economy and to allow partial capitalism while keeping the main sources of economy in the hands of the government.

65. What measures were taken by the Council of People’s Commissars regarding land and industries?

Answer: The first revolutionary step taken by the new government, the Council of People’s Commissars, was a decree confiscating all lands owned by the church and the Czar. These lands were transferred to peasant societies who allotted them to peasant families to be cultivated without hired labour. The control of industries was transferred to shop committees of workers.

66. What were the key principles of the new state formed as the USSR?

Answer: The key principles of the new state were:

• The institution of private property in the means of production had no place.
• Private profit was no longer the motive for production.
• Every citizen was expected to contribute to the state according to his capacity, and the state was expected to remunerate each worker according to his or her work.
• There was no unearned income, and everyone had to work.
• The Right to Work was constitutionally recognised and became obligatory for the state to provide.
• The government adopted a policy of centralised planning.
• Education was accorded high priority.
• The new state accorded equal rights to all nationalities within the USSR.

67. How did Joseph Stalin rise to power? What happened to his rival, Trotsky?

Answer: After Lenin’s death in 1924, there was a fierce power struggle within the party between Joseph Stalin and Trotsky. In the end, Stalin succeeded and became the leader of Russia. He drove his rival Trotsky into exile. Stalin concentrated all powers in his hands and virtually became a dictator.

68. What was Stalin’s collectivisation programme? Why did peasants resist it?

Answer: Stalin’s collectivisation programme, starting from 1929, forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms (kolkhoz). The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the ownership of collective farms, and the kolkhoz profit was shared. Enraged peasants resisted the authorities and destroyed their livestock. They argued that they were not rich and not against socialism, but they merely did not want to work in collective farms for a variety of reasons.

69. What was the legacy of the Russian Revolution for capitalist societies?

Answer: Communism came as a warning to exploitative capitalist societies. Capitalist countries all over the world took measures to ensure that workers got fair wages that enabled them to live with dignity. The right to property was balanced with social security measures on the part of the state.

70. How did the Russian Revolution inspire people in other countries like India?

Answer: The possibility of a workers’ state fired the imagination of people across the world. In many countries, including India and Great Britain, communist parties were formed. The Bolsheviks encouraged colonial people to throw off the yokes of slavery. Many Indians were inspired by the Russian Revolution, and several attended the Communist University. In 1925, the Communist Party was formed in India, and its members worked in close association with the Soviet Communist Party. Many Indian political leaders, writers, and artists, including Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore, visited Soviet Russia.

71. Explain the significance of the Russian Revolution. What did it lead to globally?

Answer: The Russian Revolution of 1917 made Russia the first country in the world to have a communist government. It also led to a long and bloody Civil War which lasted till 1920, at the end of which the communists had complete control over the country. The Bolsheviks who took control of the government considered their revolution in Russia as only the first stage of a worldwide communist revolution. Thus, the Russian Revolution marked the beginning of the struggle between communist nations and the capitalist world.

Globally, the possibility of a workers’ state fired the imagination of people across the world, and in many countries, including India and Great Britain, communist parties were formed. The Bolsheviks encouraged colonial people to throw off the yokes of slavery. By the time of the outbreak of the Second World War, the USSR had given socialism a global face and world stature.

72. Describe the state of Russia before the revolution. Mention its geography and diverse population.

Answer: Before the revolution, Russia was once a landlocked country with no access to the sea. Most of her territory lay in the north and was uninhabitable due to extreme cold and barrenness of the soil. Thanks to great rulers like Peter the Great and Queen Catherine, Russia extended her borders towards the Baltic region in the north-west and the Black Sea coast in the south. Russia then had territories which stretched from Siberia in northern Asia to the Pacific Ocean in the east.

In the Russian Empire lived many European and Asiatic peoples, speaking different languages and following their own customs. In the European side of Russia, many followed Orthodox Christianity, while many others belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant Church, Judaism, and Islam. It was the autocracy of the Czars that held these nationalities together.

73. What was the Crisis of Czarism? How did the Czar maintain his autocratic rule?

Answer: The Crisis of Czarism refers to the period where Russian Czars, from Peter the Great to Czar Nicholas II, enjoyed unlimited authority. The conditions were almost the same as those of the French Revolution of 1789.

The Czar maintained his autocratic rule through the support of the nobles on the one hand and the church on the other. The nobles enjoyed all the privileges and power and held all key positions in administration. This backing by the church and the nobles made the Czar the “Autocrat of All the Russians.” The Czar also believed in the divine right of the king to rule.

74. Describe the three major workers’ organisations that emerged in Russia. What were their objectives?

Answer: Three Major Workers’ Organisations came up in Russia soon after industrialisation had begun.

First Party: was the EMANCIPATION OF LABOUR GROUP, formed in 1883.

Second Party: was the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, formed in 1898. The first group united with the second to take this form. Within this party, two distinct groups emerged in 1903: The Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks. The Mensheviks believed that the party should be modelled on the lines of parties in countries like France or England. The Bolsheviks favoured a revolution and were led by Lenin, who organised his party to become the instrument for the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Third Party: was the Socialist Revolutionaries, a party formed by Russian peasants. Their principal objective was to end the feudal system in the country.

75. What were the causes and key events of the 1905 Revolution?

Answer: The causes of the 1905 Revolution began in 1904, which was a catastrophic year for Russian workers. Prices of essential goods rose tremendously, leading to a decline in real wages by 20 per cent. Furthermore, four members of the Assembly of Russian Workers were dismissed in 1904 at the Putilov Iron Works, which angered the workers.

The key events started when 1,10,000 workers in St. Petersburg went on strike demanding a reduction in the working day to eight hours, an increase in wages, and improvement in working conditions. When a procession of workers led by Father Gapon reached the Winter Palace, it was attacked by armed guards. Over 100 workers were killed and about 300 were wounded. This incident, known as Bloody Sunday, started the 1905 Revolution. Strikes took place all over the country, universities closed down, and middle-class workers established unions demanding civil liberties and a Constituent Assembly. The Czar allowed the creation of an elected parliament or Duma. The army and navy also protested, with sailors of the battleship Potemkin joining the revolutionaries. Out of these protests, the Soviet of Workers and peasants’ Soviets were formed.

76. Explain the effects of the First World War on Russia’s army, people, and industry.

Answer: The First World War had severe effects on Russia.

On the army, Russia’s armies lost badly in Germany and Austria between 1914 and 1916, with over 7 lakh casualties by 1917. As they retreated, the Russian army destroyed crops and buildings. The defeats were shocking and demoralising, and soldiers did not wish to fight such a war.

On the people, the destruction of crops and buildings led to over 3 million refugees in Russia. This situation discredited the government and the Czar. Able-bodied men were called up to the war, resulting in labour shortages. For people in the cities, bread and flour became scarce, and by the winter of 1916, riots at bread shops were common.

On industry, the war had a severe impact. Russia’s industries were few, and the country was cut off from other suppliers of industrial goods by German control of the Baltic Sea. Industrial equipment disintegrated more rapidly in Russia than elsewhere in Europe. By 1916, railway lines began to break down, and workshops producing essentials were shut down.

77. Trace the events of the February Revolution from the strikes to the Czar’s abdication.

Answer: The February Revolution began on 22 February 1917, when a lockout took place at a factory on the right bank of the River Neva. The next day, workers in fifty factories called a strike in sympathy, with women leading the way in many factories. This day came to be called International Women’s Day. Demonstrating workers crossed to the centre of the capital, and the government imposed a curfew.

On Sunday, 25 February, the government suspended the Duma. Demonstrators returned in force on the 26th, and on the 27th February, the Police Headquarters were ransacked. The government called out the cavalry, but they refused to fire on the demonstrators. Three regiments mutinied and joined the striking workers. By that evening, soldiers and striking workers had gathered to form the Petrograd Soviet in the same building as the Duma.

On 28th February, a delegation went to see the Czar. Military commanders advised him to abdicate. He followed their advice and abdicated on 2nd March.

78. What were Lenin’s ‘April Theses’? How were they initially received by the Bolshevik Party?

Answer: In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia and declared his ‘April Theses’. The three demands of the theses were that the war be brought to a close, land be transferred to the peasants, and banks be nationalised. He also argued that the Bolshevik Party should rename itself the Communist Party to indicate its new radical aims.

Initially, most others in the Bolshevik Party were surprised by the April Theses. They thought that the time was not yet ripe for a socialist revolution and that the Provisional Government needed to be supported. However, the developments of the subsequent months changed their attitude.

79. Describe the conflict between the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks leading to the October Revolution.

Answer: Through the summer of 1917, the workers’ movement spread, trade unions grew, and soldiers’ committees were formed in the army. As the Provisional Government saw its power reduce and Bolshevik influence grow, it decided to take stern measures. It resisted attempts by workers to run factories and began arresting leaders. Popular demonstrations staged by the Bolsheviks in July 1917 were sternly repressed, and many Bolshevik leaders had to go into hiding or flee.

Meanwhile, in the countryside, peasants, encouraged by the Socialist Revolutionaries, seized land between July and September 1917. As the conflict between the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks grew, Lenin feared the Provisional Government would set up a dictatorship. In September, he began discussions for an uprising against the government, bringing together Bolshevik supporters in the army, Soviets, and factories.

80. How did the Bolsheviks seize power in October 1917? Who were the key figures involved?

Answer: The key figures involved were Vladimir Lenin, who persuaded the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolshevik Party to agree to a socialist seizure of power, and Leon Trotsky, who was in charge of the Military Revolutionary Committee appointed to organise the seizure.

The uprising began on 25 October. Prime Minister Kerensky had left the city to summon troops. At dawn, military men loyal to the government seized the buildings of two Bolshevik newspapers. In a swift response, the Military Revolutionary Committee ordered its supporters to seize government offices and arrest ministers. Late in the day, the ship Aurora shelled the Winter Palace, and other vessels took over various military points. 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. On 7 November 1917, the All-Russia Congress of Soviets assumed full political power, and the Bolsheviks seized power under Lenin.

81. What were the immediate steps taken by the new Bolshevik government to establish a Soviet state?

Answer: The first revolutionary step taken by the new government under Lenin was a decree confiscating all lands owned by the church and the Czar. These lands were transferred to peasant societies to be cultivated without hired labour. The control of industries was transferred to shop committees of workers. All foreign debts were repudiated, and foreign investments were confiscated. The railways, insurance companies, mines, water transport, and large industries were nationalised.

82. Explain the formation of the USSR. What rights were accorded to the nationalities within it?

Answer: According to the new Constitution proclaimed in 1922, all the Soviet Republics, such as Russian, Georgian, Armenian, Turkmanian, Ukrainian, Azerbaijanian, and Caucasian, were brought under one union—the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In 1936, another Constitution came into force, and there were twelve Republics constituting the USSR.

The new state accorded equal rights to all the nationalities within the USSR. These republics were formed on the basis of equality and were free to secede from the union. The republics that formed part of the USSR were given full freedom to develop their own cultures and languages.

83. What were the Five Year Plans introduced by Stalin? What was their impact on industrial production?

Answer: Stalin planned to make Russia an economic giant through five-year plans. A process of centralised planning was introduced where officials assessed how the economy could work and set targets for a five-year period. On this basis, they made the Five Year Plans. The government fixed all prices to promote industrial growth during the first two ‘Plans’ (1927-1932 and 1933-1938).

The impact of this centralised planning was economic growth. Industrial production increased between 1929 and 1933 by 100 per cent in the case of oil, coal, and steel. New factory cities came into being.

84. Describe the process and consequences of Stalin’s policy of collectivisation of agriculture.

Answer: The process of Stalin’s collectivisation programme began in 1929. The Party 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.

The consequences were severe. 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, and many were deported and exiled. Peasants argued that they were not rich or against socialism but merely did not want to work in collective farms for various reasons. In spite of collectivisation, production did not increase immediately. The bad harvests of 1930-1933 led to one of the most devastating famines in Soviet history, where over 4 million people died.

85. What were the key events that led to the collapse of the USSR?

Answer: The key events that led to the collapse of the USSR include:

• In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and started a reform programme of market economy and openness, along with a huge reduction in military expenditure. He also decided to withdraw from Afghanistan, which the USSR had invaded in 1979.
• The Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989. Following this, popular revolutions toppled communist governments in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Romania, while Hungary and Poland had a peaceful transition to democracy. In the 22 months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the communist world order was shattered. Finally, on December 8, 1991, the USSR was disbanded. The 15 republics that comprised the USSR became independent and were replaced by a loose Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

86. What lessons can be learned from the Russian experiment with communism?

Answer: The Russian experiment has many lessons. The importance of profit as an incentive to bring out the best in human effort cannot be negated. Strict discipline helps in bringing about quicker results but has a tendency to degenerate. The denial of civil liberties leads to the bottling up of discontent, which can explode in the form of a revolution. Progress under a democratic system with freedom of speech and the right to criticise could be relatively slow, but it would be lasting and poses no threat to the very existence of the state.

87. Discuss the social, economic, and political conditions in Russia on the eve of the 1917 Revolution.

Answer: To understand the Russian Revolution of 1917, one has to understand the tyranny of the Czars on the one hand and the appalling backwardness of the country and its subjects on the other. The social, economic, and political conditions in Russia on the eve of the revolution were as follows:

Political Conditions

The Russian Czars from Peter the Great to Czar Nicholas II enjoyed unlimited authority. The autocracy was supported by the nobles and the church. The nobles enjoyed all the privileges and power and held all key positions in administration. This backing made the Czar the “Autocrat of All the Russians.” While in a number of other European countries political power had shifted from aristocracy to the middle class, in Russia absolutism was still prevalent. The Czar believed in the divine right of the king to rule. One of the most dominating persons amongst his associates was a godman called Rasputin, who exercised considerable influence over the functioning of the government. Corruption and degeneracy gripped the Russian government at that time. After the 1905 Revolution, the Czar allowed the creation of an elected parliament or Duma, but he dismissed the first two Dumas quickly and packed the third with conservatives, refusing any questioning of his autocratic powers.

Economic Conditions

Russia remained as feudal as she was at the beginning of the 19th century. Although industrialisation had begun in the 1870s, most factories were owned by foreigners, and Russian-owned factories paid very little wages to workers. The outbreak of World War I had a severe impact on the industry. Russia’s own industries were few in number and the country was cut off from other suppliers of industrial goods by German control of the Baltic Sea. Industrial equipment disintegrated rapidly, and by 1916, railway lines began to break down. Large supplies of grain were sent to feed the army, making bread and flour scarce in the cities. By the winter of 1916, riots at bread shops were common.

Social Conditions

Serfdom had been abolished in 1861, but this failed to improve the conditions of the peasants. Their holdings were too small and uneconomical, and they had no capital to invest in the lands. They were also required to pay redemption dues, which made their lot extremely miserable. The workers in the factories led no better lives, sleeping in shifts in bunkers and being unable to keep their families with them. The Russian Empire was home to many European and Asiatic peoples who spoke different languages and followed their own customs, including Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Judaism, and Islam. Illiteracy was high, but the intellectual minority was as enlightened as anywhere else. The people bore the burden of Czarist oppression for generations.

88. Provide a detailed account of the events from the February Revolution to the October Revolution in 1917.

Answer: The period from February to October 1917 was marked by a series of transformative events that reshaped Russia.

The February Revolution

In the winter of 1917, conditions in the capital, Petrograd, were grim with food shortages deeply felt in the worker’s quarters. On 22 February, a lockout took place at a factory on the right bank of the River Neva. The next day, workers in fifty factories called a strike in sympathy, an event that came to be called International Women’s Day. Demonstrating workers crossed to the city centre. On Sunday, 25 February, the government suspended the Duma. On the 27th, the Police Headquarters were ransacked. The government called out the cavalry, but it refused to fire on the demonstrators. Three regiments mutinied and joined the striking workers. By that evening, soldiers and striking workers had gathered to form a ‘soviet’ or ‘council’ in the same building as the Duma, which was called the Petrograd Soviet. On 28th February, a delegation went to see the Czar, and military commanders advised him to abdicate. He followed their advice and abdicated on 2nd March. Soviet leaders and Duma leaders then formed a Provisional Government under Alexander Kerensky to run the country. Petrograd had led the February Revolution that brought down the monarchy.

From February to October

After the revolution, army officials, landowners, and industrialists were influential in the Provisional Government. In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from exile. He declared that the war be brought to a close, land be transferred to the peasants, and banks be nationalised. These three demands were part of Lenin’s ‘April Theses’. Through the summer, the workers’ movement spread, with factory committees and trade unions growing in number. As the Provisional Government saw its power reduce and Bolshevik influence grow, it took stern measures, resisting attempts by workers to run factories and arresting leaders. Popular demonstrations by the Bolsheviks in July 1917 were sternly repressed. Meanwhile, in the countryside, peasants, encouraged by the Socialist Revolutionaries, seized land between July and September 1917.

The October Revolution

As the conflict between the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks grew, Lenin feared the government would set up a dictatorship. 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 under Leon Trotsky to organise the seizure. The uprising began on 25 October. Prime Minister Kerensky left the city to summon troops. In a swift response, the Military Revolutionary Committee ordered its supporters to seize government offices and arrest ministers. Late in the day, the ship Aurora shelled the Winter Palace. 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. By December, the Bolsheviks controlled the Moscow-Petrograd area. On 7 November 1917 (October 25 by the old Russian calendar), an All-Russia Congress of Soviets assumed full political power, marking the October Revolution.

89. Analyse the role of Vladimir Lenin in the Russian Revolution and the foundation of the Soviet state.

Answer: Vladimir Lenin played a central role in leading the Russian Revolution and establishing the Soviet state.

Role in the Revolution

Lenin was the leader of the Bolsheviks, a group of revolutionaries who favoured a revolution. He organised his party to become the instrument for the Russian Revolution of 1917. After spending most of his early life in exile for his activities against the Czar, he returned to Russia in April 1917. Upon his return, he felt it was time for soviets to take over power. He put forward his ‘April Theses’, which included three main demands: the war be brought to a close, land be transferred to the peasants, and banks be nationalised. As the conflict with the Provisional Government grew, Lenin feared it would set up a dictatorship and began discussions for an uprising. On 16 October 1917, he persuaded the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolshevik Party to agree to a socialist seizure of power. With the fall of Kerensky’s government, Vladimir Lenin, the Bolshevik leader, took command, and the Bolsheviks seized power under him.

Foundation of the Soviet State

After the October Revolution, Lenin established a Soviet Republic. He made peace with Germany by signing the treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 and then set out to build a new socialist order. The new government under Lenin, the Council of People’s Commissars, took several revolutionary steps. It issued a decree confiscating all lands owned by the church and the Czar, which were then transferred to peasant societies. The control of industries was transferred to shop committees of workers. All foreign debts were repudiated, and foreign investments were confiscated. Railways, insurance companies, mines, water transport, and large industries were nationalised.

Recognising that Russia was an economically backward country, Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP) from 1921 to 1928. The NEP was the adoption of a mixed economy where the Soviet Government controlled major industries, trade, and banking, while individuals were allowed to sell their foodgrains in the open market and open small stores and factories. This was a necessary compromise with the old economic order to improve the country’s economy. Lenin was injured by a bullet and died later in January 1924.

90. Compare and contrast the policies of Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP) with Stalin’s collectivisation.

Answer: Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP) and Stalin’s collectivisation were two distinct economic policies implemented in the Soviet Union with different approaches and outcomes.

Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP)

Introduced by Lenin, the NEP was the adoption of a mixed economy. Under this policy, the Soviet Government controlled major industries, trade, and banking, while individuals were allowed to sell their foodgrains in the open market. They were also given permits to open stores and small factories. The aim of the NEP was to encourage the economic contribution of workers and peasants to improve the country’s economy and to allow partial capitalism while keeping the main sources of the economy in the hands of the government. Lenin found it necessary to compromise with the old economic order, permitting individuals to own and operate small businesses under state supervision, because Russia was an economically backward country.

Stalin’s Collectivisation

Stalin’s collectivisation programme was a response to the acute problems of grain supplies in Soviet towns by 1927-1928. Stalin believed that rich peasants and traders were holding stocks hoping for higher prices. From 1929, the Party forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms (kolkhoz). The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the ownership of collective farms, where peasants worked on the land and the kolkhoz profit was shared. Those who resisted collectivisation were severely punished, with many being deported and exiled. Enraged peasants resisted by destroying their livestock.

Comparison and Contrast

The primary contrast between the two policies lies in their approach to private enterprise. The NEP represented a strategic retreat and a compromise, allowing for a mixed economy and “partial capitalism” to revive the economy after the Civil War. It permitted individual peasants and small business owners a degree of economic freedom. In contrast, Stalin’s collectivisation was a radical and forceful policy that eliminated private farming entirely, forcing peasants into state-controlled collective farms.

While both policies aimed to address Russia’s economic challenges and build a socialist state, their methods were fundamentally different. NEP was a pragmatic approach that temporarily allowed market mechanisms, whereas collectivisation was a rigid, top-down command approach aimed at asserting complete state control over agriculture. The outcome also differed significantly; while NEP helped stabilize the economy, collectivisation led to widespread resistance, destruction of livestock, and a devastating famine from 1930-1933 that killed over 4 million people.

91. Describe the rise of Joseph Stalin. How did he consolidate his power and transform the Soviet economy?

Answer: Joseph Stalin rose to power after Lenin’s death and implemented policies that consolidated his authority and radically transformed the Soviet economy.

Rise and Consolidation of Power

After Lenin’s death in 1924, there was a fierce power struggle within the party between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. In the end, Stalin succeeded, became the leader of Russia, and drove his rival Trotsky into exile. Stalin then concentrated all powers in his hands and virtually became a dictator. To consolidate his power, Stalin was suspected of purging anyone who opposed him. The people purged by him were mostly communist leaders, veterans of the revolution, writers, artists, scientists, military, and civilian officers.

Transformation of the Soviet Economy

Stalin planned to make Russia an economic giant through five-year plans. A process of centralised planning was introduced where officials assessed how the economy could work and set targets for a five-year period. The government fixed all prices to promote industrial growth during the first two ‘Plans’ (1927-1932 and 1933-1938). This centralised planning led to economic growth, with industrial production of oil, coal, and steel increasing by 100 percent between 1929 and 1933. New factory cities came into being.

The period of the early Planned Economy was also linked to the disasters of the collectivisation of agriculture. By 1927-1928, towns faced acute grain shortages because peasants refused to sell their grain at the low prices fixed by the government. Stalin introduced firm emergency measures, believing that rich peasants and traders were hoarding supplies. From 1929, his collectivisation programme forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms (kolkhoz), transferring the bulk of land and implements to the ownership of these farms. This policy was met with fierce resistance and led to a devastating famine.

92. Evaluate the global impact and legacy of the Russian Revolution. How did it influence other nations and ideologies?

Answer: The Russian Revolution had a profound global impact and left a lasting legacy that influenced nations and ideologies throughout the 20th century.

Global Impact and Influence

The Russian Revolution marked the beginning of the struggle between communist nations and the capitalist world. The Bolsheviks considered their revolution as only the first stage of a worldwide communist revolution. The possibility of a workers’ state fired the imagination of people across the world, leading to the formation of communist parties in many countries, including India and Great Britain. The Bolsheviks also encouraged colonial people to throw off the yokes of slavery. By the time of the Second World War, the USSR had given socialism a global face and world stature. Many Indians were inspired by the revolution; several attended the Communist University, the Communist Party was formed in India in 1925, and leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Rabindranath Tagore visited Soviet Russia.

Legacy of the Revolution

The USSR gave the world the model of centralised economic planning, which is still relevant for developing economies. Communism also came as a warning to exploitative capitalist societies. In response, capitalist countries all over the world took measures to ensure that workers got fair wages and balanced the right to property with social security measures.

The Russian experiment also offers many lessons. It showed that while strict discipline can bring about quicker results, it has a tendency to degenerate. The denial of civil liberties leads to bottling up of discontent, which can explode in the form of a revolution. Progress under a democratic system with freedom of speech might be slower, but it is more lasting and does not pose a threat to the existence of the state. The collapse of the USSR in 1991 was a serious blow to communist ideology, with some critics calling it the greatest hoax of the twentieth century, though that would be an unfair judgement.

93. Trace the journey of the Soviet Union from its formation in 1922 to its collapse in 1991.

Answer: The journey of the Soviet Union began with its formation after the revolution and ended with its collapse about 70 years later.

Formation and Early Years

According to the new Constitution proclaimed in 1922, all the Soviet Republics, including Russia, Georgia, and Ukraine, were brought under one union – the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The republics were formed on the basis of equality and were free to secede from the union. The new state had no place for private property in the means of production, constitutionally recognised the Right to Work, and adopted a policy of centralised planning. After Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin came to power and began transforming the economy through Five Year Plans and the collectivisation of agriculture. A new constitution was adopted in 1936. Through centralised planning and a new sense of discipline, the Soviet Union soon emerged as a major power on the international front.

Collapse of the USSR

After about 70 years, the system collapsed. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power and embarked on a far-reaching reform programme of market economy and openness, along with a huge reduction in military expenditure. He also decided to withdraw from Afghanistan, which the USSR had invaded in 1979. A series of events accelerated the collapse. The Berlin Wall, which separated the Russian zone of Germany from West Germany, collapsed in 1989. This was followed by popular revolutions that toppled communist governments in Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Romania, while Hungary and Poland had a peaceful transition to democracy.

In the 22 months following the fall of the Berlin Wall, the communist world order was completely shattered. Communism was overthrown in Eastern and Central Europe, and finally, on December 8, 1991, the USSR was disbanded. The 15 republics that comprised the USSR became independent, and the USSR was replaced by a loose Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) formed by 12 republics.