WORK SHEET

ACADEMIC SESSION 2024 – 2025

GRADE – 9 (History)
Chapter-Socialism in Europe and Russian Revolution
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Question-1
What were the social, economic and political conditions in Russia before 1905?
Solution:
The following were the social, economic, and political conditions in Russia before
1905.

(a) Social Conditions: The majority religion was Russian Orthodox Christianity
which had grown out of the Greek Orthodox Church. But the empire also
included Catholics, Protestants, Muslims and Buddhists.
The non-Russian nationalities were not treated equal to that of Russian
nationalities.
They were not given the freedom to follow their culture and language.
Workers were divided into group on the basis of skill and training.
Peasants formed their group called commune or mir.

(b) Economic conditions:

The majority of Russians were agriculturists. Grain was the main item of export
from Russia.
Industries were few. Prominent industrial areas were St Petersburg and Moscow.
Much of the production was done by the craftsmen.
There were large factories alongside the craft workshops.
With the expansion of the Russian rail network, foreign investment in factories
grew.
There were huge coal, iron and steel production.
There were equal numbers of factory workers and craftsmen.
The workers were exploited by capitalists who made their life miserable.

(c) Political Conditions:

Russia was a monarchy. (Tsar Nicholas II ruled Russia and its empire that
extended to current-day Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, parts of Poland,
Ukraine and Belarus. It stretched to the Pacific and comprised today’s Central
Asian states, as well as Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan).
The Tsars believed in the divine rights of kings.
They were not responsible to the Parliament.
All political parties were illegal in Russia.
Question-2
In what ways was the working population in Russia different from other countries
in Europe, before 1917?
Solution:
Working Population in Europe
1.The working population in European countries was a more united lot than those
in Russia.
2. Workers in England and Germany formed associations and fought for better
living and working conditions.
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 3. Funds were set up by these Associations to help workers in distress. The
workers in European countries were united in their demand for a reduction of
working hours and the right to vote.
4. Workers association also supported political parties and ultimately formed
political parties themselves.
5.The Labour Party in Britain and a Socialist Party in France are examples of
political parties formed by socialists and trade unionists.

In total contrast to the working population in Europe,

1. The Russian workers were not united. Workers were divided on the basis
of their occupation.
2. Workers whose jobs needed skill and training considered themselves on
a higher plane than the untrained workers.
3. Workers had strong links to the villages they came from and this also
caused a social divide among workers.
4. Workers’ associations rose dramatically in Russia also, as in Europe.
They demanded reduced working hours and higher wages.
5. The workers were suppressed by the government.
Question-3
Why did the Tsarist autocracy collapse in 1917?
Solution:
1.Anti-German sentiments in Russia were high owing to the First World War.
2.Further, Tsarina Alexandra’s German origin and poor advisors made the
autocracy unpopular.
3.Russia suffered shocking defeats on the waterfront with millions of casualties.
Crops and buildings were destroyed by the Russian army to prevent enemy
having any advantage.
4. It led to millions of refugees. Tsar was being cursed for this situation.
5. Food shortage led to people rioting for food. The Russian army too shifted its
loyalty and began supporting the revolutionaries.
6.A lockout took place at a factory on the right bank of Neva river in sympathy
with the workers on the left bank on 22nd February. Women-led the way to
strikes. The government imposed a curfew.
7. Later the government suspended the Duma which resulted in sharp protests.
The demonstrators ransacked the Police Headquarters and raised slogans about
bread, wages, better hours and democracy.
8.The government called the cavalry but they refused to fire on the
demonstrators. Soldiers and the striking workers gathered to form a ‘Soviet’ or
‘council’ in the building where the Duma met.
9. This was the Petrograd Soviet. The very next day, when a delegation went to
see the Tsar, the military commanders advised the Tsar to abdicate.
10. Soviet leaders and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government to run
the country. The Tsarist autocracy thus collapsed in February 1917.
Question-4
Make two lists: one with the main events and the effects of the February
Revolution and the other with the main events and effects of the October
Revolution. Write a paragraph on who was involved in each, who were the
leaders and what was the impact of each on Soviet history.
Solution:
February Revolution:

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 1. 22 February: Factory lockout on the right bank.
2. 23 February: Sympathy strike by workers in 50 factories.
3. 24th & 25th: Strikers stage demonstrations. Police called out to suppress
the workers.
4. 25th: The government suspends the Duma.
5. 27th: Police Headquarters ransacked by the workers. Regiments support
the workers. Striking workers from the Petrograd soviet.
6. 2nd March: The Tsar abdicates. Soviet and Duma leaders form the
Provisional Government.
Effects:
1. Army officials, landowners, and industrialists became influential.
2. Restrictions on public meetings were removed.
3. Trade unions grew in number.
October Revolution:
16th October:
 Vladimir Lenin, the Bolshevik leader persuades the Petrograd Soviet and
the Bolshevik Party to agree to a socialist seizure of power.
 A Military Revolutionary Committee was appointed by the Soviet
24th October:
 The uprising against the Provisional government begins.
 Military Revolutionary Committee seized government offices and arrested
ministers.
 The winter palace was shelled.
 Ministers of the Provisional government surrendered.
 The Bolsheviks gained control.
Effects:
 Industries and banks were nationalised.
 Russia became a one-party state. The single party being the Bolshevik
Party.
During the February Revolution, the factory workers and the Government
Regiments played an important role. The workers and the regiments joined
together. The major impact of the February Revolution was the downfall of the
Russian Monarchy and the establishment of the Petrograd Soviet.
Vladimir Lenin, the Bolshevik leader, played a major role during the October
revolution. His Bolshevik Party overthrew the Provisional Government and
gained power. The Russian Communist Party came into existence.
Question-5
What were the main changes brought about by the Bolsheviks immediately after
the October Revolution?
Solution:
Many changes were brought about by the Bolsheviks after the October
Revolution. They were:
1. Industries and banks were nationalised. This meant that the government
now had their ownership and management. The land was declared social
property and peasants were allowed to seize the land of the nobility. In
cities, Bolsheviks enforced the partition of large houses according to
family requirements.
2. The use of the old titles of the aristocracy was banned. New uniforms for
the army and officials were designed.

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 3. The Bolshevik Party was renamed as the Russian Communist Party
(Bolshevik).
4. Despite opposition by their political allies, the Bolsheviks made peace with
Germany and withdrew from the First World War.
5. In the later years, the Bolsheviks became the only party to participate in
the elections to the All Russian Congress of Soviets. It became the
Parliament of Russia.
Question-6

Write a few lines to show what you know about:

(i) Kulaks
(ii) The Duma
(iii) Women workers between 1900 and 1930.
(iv) The Liberals.
(v) Stalins collectivization programme.

Solution:
(i) Kulaks: They were the well-to-do peasants who were
supposed to be holding stocks in the hope
of higher prices. They were raided so that they may be
eliminated in order to develop modern farms and establish state-
controlled large farms.

(ii) The Duma: The Duma was a consultative parliament that

was created on the permission of the Tsar during
the 1905 Revolution.

(iii) Women workers between 1900 and 1930: Women made up

31% of the factory labour force, but were paid between 1/2 and
3/4 of a man’s wages. They actively led the strikes in many
factories. They even worked on collective farms.

(iv) The Liberals: They were a group which looked to change

society. They wanted a nation which tolerated all religions and
opposed the uncontrolled power of dynastic rulers. They argued
for a representative, elected parliamentary government subject
to laws interpreted by a well-trained judiciary independent of
rulers and officials.

(v) Stalin’s collectivisation programme: Stalin hoped to solve the

problem of food shortage by combining small farms with large
and modern farms. This was collectivisation programme that
began in 1929. Peasants were forced to work in these state-
controlled collective farms called Kolkhoz.

Question-7
Give a brief note on the following personalities.
a. Robert Owen

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 b. Louis Banc of France
c. Karl Marx.
Answer:
a. Robert Owen (1771 – 1858)
Robert Owen was an English Manufacturer. He advocated a
cooperative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA).

b. Louis Banc of France (1813 – 1882)

Louis Banc wanted the government to encourage cooperatives
and replace the capitalist enterprises. He advocated that people
who produced the goods should form an association and the
profit should be divided according to the work done.
c. Karl Marx (1818 – 1883)
Karl Marx called the industrial society as the ‘Capitalist’ society.
He championed the cause of the workers and said that the
condition of the workers would improve only if the workers
overthrow the capitalists and the rule of private property. Marx
said that the workers had to create a society where the property
was socially controlled. Only in such a radically socialist society
the workers would be freed from the capitalist exploitation.
According to him such a society would be a communist society
and he called it as the natural society of the future.

Question-8.
Explain the main demands of “April Theses”.
Answer:
In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from his
exile. He and the Bolsheviks had opposed the war since 1914. Now he felt it was
time for soviets to take over power. He put three demands which were known as
Lenin’s April Theses.
The three demands were :
(a) He declared that the war to be ended
(b) Land to be transferred to the peasants
(c) The banks to be nationalized.

Question-9
What were the main objectives of the Russian Revolutionaries ?
Answer:
The main objectives of the Russian Revolutionaries were :
 The Tsar had thrown Russia into the First World War to fulfil his
imperialistic desires. It was the demand of the revolutionaries that Russia
should withdraw from the war. So, it withdrew from the First World War in
1917 after the Revolution.
 After the Revolution, the land was given to the tillers. The landlords had to
give the land to the government. Kolkhoz and Sovkhoj farms were
established. In Kolkhoz farms, the peasants worked collectively.
 The revolutionaries had demanded an improvement in the conditions of
the industrial workers. They demanded better wages, good working
conditions and removal of exploitation. After 1917, the industries were
nationalised and the dream of workers was fulfilled.
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  The next aim of the revolutionaries was that the non-Russians should be
given equal status. Lenin believed that without this status these people
could never become real Russians.

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