SOCIALISM IN EUROPE AND RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

Liberals

A group seeking a nation that tolerated all religions and opposed the uncontrolled power of dynastic rulers. They favored a representative, elected parliamentary government but did not believe in universal adult franchise, particularly for women.

Radicals

Individuals who wanted a government based on the majority of a country's population. They supported women's suffragette movements and opposed the privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners.

Conservatives

A group that generally opposed the ideas of radicals and liberals. After the French Revolution, they accepted that some change was inevitable but believed the past had to be respected and change should be slow.

Karl Marx's Theory of Communism

Marx argued that industrial society was 'capitalist' and that the profit of capitalists was produced by workers. He believed workers must overthrow capitalism to create a 'communist society' where all property was socially controlled.

The 1905 Revolution (Bloody Sunday)

An event where a procession of workers led by Father Gapon was attacked by police at the Winter Palace in 1905. Over 100 workers were killed, sparking strikes and the creation of the first Duma.

Tsar Nicholas II

The last Emperor of Russia who ruled until his abdication in 1917. His decisions during World War I and his refusal to share power led to the collapse of the Russian monarchy.

The February Revolution of 1917

A series of protests in Petrograd caused by food shortages and wartime hardships. It resulted in the abdication of the Tsar and the formation of the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet.

Vladimir Lenin's 'April Theses'

Three demands made by Lenin upon his return to Russia in April 1917: 1. The war be brought to a close. 2. Land be transferred to the peasants. 3. Banks be nationalized.

The October Revolution of 1917

The conflict in which the Bolsheviks, under Lenin and Trotsky, seized power from the Provisional Government. It marked the beginning of Bolshevik rule in Russia.

The Civil War Factions

During the Russian Civil War, the main groups were: - The Reds: The Bolsheviks. - The Greens: Socialist Revolutionaries. - The Whites: Pro-Tsarists supported by French, American, and British troops.

Stalin's Collectivisation Program

A policy introduced in 1929 to solve grain shortages. It forced peasants to cultivate in collective farms (Kolkhoz), leading to widespread resistance and a devastating famine between 1930 and 1933.