The French Revolution

In 1789, in the wake of early morning, the city of Paris was in a state of
alarm. Rumours spread that the King would open fire upon the citizens.
People started gathering, and they started breaking down a number of
government buildings in search of arms. The commander of the Bastille
was killed in the armed fight, and the prisoners were released. People
hated the Bastille as it stood for the despotic power of the king. People
protested against the high price of bread. A new chain of events began,
which led to the execution of the King in France.

French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century

Louis XVI, in 1774, ascended the throne of France. Financial France was
drained because of the war. France, under Louis XVI, helped the thirteen
American colonies to gain their independence from Britain. Taxes were
increased to meet regular expenses, such as the cost of maintaining an
army, the court, and running government offices or universities. The
country of France was divided into three estates in the eighteenth
century. The feudal system was part of the society’s estates dating back
to the middle ages. 90 percent of the population was dominated by
peasants, but only a small number of them owned the land they
cultivated. 60 percent was owned by nobles, the Church and other richer
members of the third estate. The clergy and the nobility, members of the
first two estates, enjoyed certain privileges by birth. These groups of
members were exempted from paying taxes and enjoyed feudal
privileges. All members of the third estate had to pay taxes to the state,
which included a direct tax, called taille, and a number of indirect taxes,
which were levied on articles of everyday consumption like salt or
tobacco.

The Struggle to Survive

The increase in population led to a rapid increase in the requirement for
food grains. Production of grains could not keep pace with the demand,
due to which the price of bread rose rapidly. Due to the low wages paid to
the labourers, the gap between the poor and the rich widened. Things
became worse whenever drought or hail reduced the harvest.
A Growing Middle Class Envisages an End to Privileges
Peasants used to participate in revolts against taxes and food scarcity.
The group of the third estate had become prosperous and had access to
education and new ideas. In the eighteenth century, new social groups
emerged, termed the middle class, who earned their wealth through
expanding overseas trade and by manufacturing woollen and silk textiles
that were either exported or bought by the richer members of society. The
third estate included professions such as lawyers or administrative
officials. A person’s social position was dependent on their merit.

All these groups were educated and believed that no group in society
should be privileged by birth. Rather, a person’s social position must
depend on his merit. A new form of government was proposed by
Rousseau based on a social contract between people and their
representatives.

Similarly, Montesquieu proposed a division of power within the

government between the legislative, the executive and the judiciary. In
the USA, this model of government was put into force. Louis Louis XVI
planned to impose further taxes to meet the expenses.

The Outbreak of the Revolution

In France, the monarch didn’t have the power to impose taxes. They had
to call a meeting of the Estates-General, a political body to which the
three estates sent their representatives, to pass proposals for new taxes.
Louis XVI, on 5 May 1789, called an assembly to pass proposals for new
taxes. Representatives from the first and second estates were present,
and the third estate was represented by its prosperous and educated
members. According to the principle, each estate had one vote. But,
representatives from the third estate demanded each member would
have one vote. The demand was rejected, so members of the third estate
walked out to protest. They swore not to disperse till a constitution was
drafted for France that would limit the powers of the monarch.

Due to the severe winter, bread prices rose, and people had to spend
hours in long queues. Rumours spread that the lords of the manor hired
bands of brigands to destroy the ripe crops. In fear, peasants started
looting hoarded grain and burnt down documents containing records of
manorial dues. Nobles fled from their homes. Louis XVI accorded
recognition to the National Assembly and accepted the principle that his
powers would, from now on, be checked by a constitution. The Assembly
passed a decree abolishing the feudal system of obligations and taxes on
4 August 1789. Tithes were abolished, and lands owned by the Church
were confiscated.

France Becomes a Constitutional Monarchy

In 1791, The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution,
and its main object was to limit the powers of the monarch. These powers
were now separated and assigned to different institutions – the
legislature, executive and judiciary. France became a constitutional
monarchy.

Citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly, but
unfortunately, not every citizen had the right to vote. Men above 25 years
of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a labourer’s wage were
entitled to vote. The Constitution began with a Declaration of the Rights of
Man and Citizen. Rights such as the right to life, freedom of speech,
freedom of opinion, and equality before the law were established as
‘natural and inalienable’ rights; that is, they belonged to each human
being by birth and could not be taken away.

France Abolishes Monarchy and Becomes a Republic

In April 1792, the National Assembly voted for a war against Prussia and
Austria. Marseillaise became the national anthem of France. While men
were away fighting in the war, women took care of their families. Large
sections of the population demanded that the revolution had to be carried
further, as the Constitution of 1791 gave political rights only to the richer
sections of society. Political clubs were formed, and among them, Jacobins
became the most successful club. Members of the Jacobin club included
small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-
makers, printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers. Jacobin
members started wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by
dockworkers. These Jacobins were called the sans-culottes, literally
meaning ‘those without knee breeches’. On August 10 1792, Jacobins
stormed the Palace of the Tuileries and held the king hostage for several
hours. Elections were held, and all men of 21 years and above got the
right to vote. The monarchy was abolished on 21 September 1792, and
France was declared a republic. Louis XVI was sentenced to death by a
court on the charge of treason.

The Reign of Terror

The period from 1793 to 1794 is referred to as the Reign of Terror. People
whom Robespierre saw as enemies of the republic were arrested,
imprisoned and then tried by a revolutionary tribunal. If they were
declared guilty by the court, then they were guillotined. The guillotine is a
device consisting of two poles and a blade with which a person is
beheaded, named after Dr Guillotin. Laws were issued to place a
maximum ceiling on wages and prices. Meat and bread were rationed.
Expensive white flour was forbidden to use. Equality was practised
through forms of speech and address. All French men and women were
addressed as Citoyen and Citoyenne (Citizen). In July 1794, he was
convicted by a court, arrested and the next day sent to the guillotine.

A Directory Rules France

The fall of the Jacobin government allowed the wealthier middle classes to
seize power. According to the new constitution, non-propertied sections of
society were denied voting. It provided for two elected legislative councils.
The government appointed a Directory consisting of executives made up
of five members. Political instability paved the way for a military dictator,
Napoleon Bonaparte.

Did Women have a Revolution?

Women were active participants from the beginning, which brought
important changes in the country of France. Women from the third estate
had to work for a living, and they didn’t have access to education or job
training. Daughters of nobles of the third estate were allowed to study at
a convent. Working women also had to care for their families. Compared
to men, their wages were lower. Women also started their political clubs
and newspapers. The Society of Revolutionary and Republican Women
was one of the most famous women’s clubs. They demanded equal
political rights as men, the right to vote and to hold political office. The
revolutionary government introduced laws to improve the lives of women.
Schooling became compulsory, divorce was made legal, and they could
run small businesses. During the Reign of Terror, the government closed
women’s clubs banning their political activities. After much struggle,
women in France in 1946 won the right to vote.

The Abolition of Slavery

Jacobin’s regime’s most revolutionary social reform was the abolition of
slavery in the French colonies. In the seventeenth century, the slavery
trade began. Slaves were brought from local chieftains, branded and
shackled and packed tightly into ships for the three-month-long voyage
across the Atlantic to the Caribbean. Slave labour met the growing
demand in European markets for sugar, coffee, and indigo. Throughout
the eighteenth century, there was little criticism of slavery in France. In
1794, the Convention legislated to free all slaves in the French overseas
possessions. Napoleon introduced slavery after ten years. In 1848, slavery
was abolished in French colonies.

The Revolution and Everyday Life

France during 1789 saw changes in the lives of men, women and children.
The abolition of censorship happened in the summer of 1789. Declaration
of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed freedom of speech and
expression to be a natural right. Freedom of the press meant opposing
views of events could be expressed. Plays, songs and festive processions
attracted large numbers of people.

Conclusion
Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804 and
introduced many laws, such as the protection of private property and a
uniform system of weights and measures provided by the decimal system.
Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo in 1815. The ideas of liberty and
democratic rights were the most important legacy of the French
Revolution. Colonised peoples reworked the idea of freedom to create a
sovereign nation-state.
 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 the
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 the freedom of individuals is ensured, if the poor can
labour, and if those with capital can 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 the monarchy in February 1917 and the events of
October were termed the Russian Revolution.

The Russian Empire in 1914

In 1914, Russia was ruled by Tsar Nicholas II and its empire. The Russian
Empire included current-day 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.
The majority of the population was Russian Orthodox Christianity.

Economy and Society

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the 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 1890s, more factories
were set up, 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, which 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 the 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 an 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 where the
Duma met, and it is termed 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 led the February
Revolution which 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 termed as ‘April
Theses’. He wanted war to end, land to be transferred to the peasants,
and banks to be nationalised. He also emphasised 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 the 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. A 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. A schooling system was 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 the 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, the land was 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 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.