History - Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution

Who were the liberals?

one of the grps which looked to change society were the liberals.

they wanted a nation which tolerated all religions. (at this point in time, european states discriminated in favour of one religion or the other for eg britain favoured the church of england, spain and austria favoured the catholic church).

they opposed the uncontrolled power of the dynastic rulers.

wanted to safeguard the rights of individuals against gvts

argued for a representative, elected parliamentary gvt, subject to laws interpreted by well-trained judiciary that was independent of rulers and officials.

HOWEVER, they weren’t democrats—> they did not believe in UAF. they felt men of property mainly should have the right to vote. did not want the vote for women.

explain the radicals

they wanted a nation in which the gvt was based on the majority of a country’s population.

many supported women’s suffragette (movement to give women the right to vote)

unlike liberals, they opposed privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners.

they werent against the existence of private property but disliked concentration of property in the hands of a few.

who were the conservatives

opposed radicals & liberals.

after the french rev, even they had opened their minds to the need of change.

by the 19th century, they accepted that some change was inevitable but believed that the past had to be respected and change had to be brought about thru a slow process.

“it was a time of profound socio-economic changes” elucidate.

It was a time when new cities came up and new industrialized regions developed, railway expanded and the industrial revolution occurred.

what challenges did industrialization bring

industrialization brought men, women, and children to factories.

1. work hours we often long and wages were poor.

2. unemployment was common, particularly during times of low demand for industrial goods.

3. housing and sanitation were problems since towns were growing rapidly.

liberals & radicals searched for solutions to these issues

who owned most industries in the early nineteenth century?

Almost all industries were the property of individuals.

Whose privileges were liberals and radicals opposed to?

They opposed the privileges of the old aristocracy by birth.

What did liberals and radicals value?

individual effort, labour and enterprise

Why did liberals and radicals support trade and industrial ventures?

Many liberals and radicals had gained wealth through trade or industry. They believed such efforts should be encouraged as they brought benefits to society if workers were healthy and citizens educated.

What did liberals and radicals believe was essential for the development of society?

They believed societies would develop if:

• Individuals had freedom,

• The poor could labour,

• Those with capital could operate without restraint.

How did liberals and radicals view the old aristocracy?

They opposed the old aristocracy’s privileges based solely on birth, believing in individual effort, labour & enterprise

Explain the ideas of liberals and radicals about property, labour, and individual freedom in the early nineteenth century.

Liberals and radicals themselves were often property owners and employers. Having made their wealth through trade or industrial ventures, they felt that such effort should be encouraged and that its benefits would be achieved if the workforce in the economy was healthy and citizens were educated.

Opposed to the privileges the old aristocracy had by birth, they firmly believed in the value of individual effort, labour and enterprise.

If freedom of individuals was ensured, if the poor could labour, and those with capital could operate without restraint, they believed that societies would develop.

How did working men and women participate in liberal and radical movements?

Many working men and women who wanted changes in the world rallied around liberal and radical groups and parties in the early nineteenth century.

what did some nationalists, liberals, radicals want revolutions to do

to put an end to the kind of gvts established in europe in 1815.

in ___, ___, ___ and ___, they became ___ and worked to ___.

france, italy, germany & russia, revolutionaries, overthrow existing monarchs.

what did nationalists talk of

solutions that would create ‘nations’ where all citizens would have equal rights.

whats the painting depicting the london poor in the mid-nineteenth century as seen by a contemporary (who?) and when

henry mayhew, london labour and the london poor, 1861

after ___, ___, an ___, conspired others to achieve what in ___. who read his writings and where?

1815, Giuseppe Mazzini, italian nationalist, nations where all citizens would have equal rights, italy. Nationalists elsewhere, including India, read his writings.

socialism was one of the most…

Perhaps one of the most far-reaching visions of how society should be structured was socialism. By the mid - nineteenth century in Europe, socialism was a well-known body of ideas that attracted widespread attention.

Socialists were against private property, and saw it as the root of all social ills of the time. Why?

Individuals owned the property that gave employment but the propertied were concerned only with personal gain and not with the welfare of those who made the property productive. So if society as a whole rather than single individuals controlled property, more attention would be paid to collective social interests. Socialists wanted this change and campaigned for it.

explain ideas of robert owen

Some believed in the idea of cooperatives. Robert Owen (1771-1858), a leading English manufacturer, sought to build a cooperative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA).

explain ideals of louis blanc

Other socialists felt that cooperatives could not be built on a wide scale only through individual initiative: they demanded that governments encourage cooperatives. In France, for instance, Louis Blanc (1813-1882) wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises. These cooperatives were to be associations of people who produced goods together and divided the profits according to the work done by members

explain ideals of karl marx

Marx argued that industrial society was ‘capitalist’.

Capitalists owned the capital invested in factories, and the profit of capitalists was produced by workers. The conditions of workers could not improve as long as this profit was accumulated by private capitalists. Workers had to overthrow capitalism and the rule of private property.

Marx believed that to free themselves from capitalist exploitation, workers had to construct a radically socialist society where all property was socially controlled. This would be a communist society. He was convinced that workers would triumph in their conflict with capitalists.

A communist society was the natural society of the future.

Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

(1818-1883) & (1820-1895)

By the 1870s, socialist ideas spread through Europe. To coordinate their efforts, socialists formed an ___, namely: ___.

international body, the second international

what did workers in england and germany do?

began forming associations to fight for better living and working conditions. They set up funds to help members in times of distress and demanded a reduction of working hours and the right to vote.

In Germany, these associations worked closely with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and helped it win parliamentary seats.

By 1905, socialists and trade unionists formed a Labour Party in Britain and a Socialist Party in France. However, till 1914, socialists never succeeded in forming a government in Europe. Represented by strong figures in parliamentary politics, their ideas did shape legislation, but governments continued to be run by conservatives, liberals and radicals.

what was the russian revolution? (overview)

In one of the least industrialized of European states this situation (while in most industrialized states industrialists were stronger than aristocrats, in the least industrialized ones, like Russia, the aristocracy remained dominant) was reversed. Socialists took over the government in Russia through the October Revolution of 1917. The fall of monarchy in February 1917 and the events of October are normally called the Russian Revolution.

political situation of russian empire

In 1914, Tsar Nicholas II ruled Russia and its empire.

Besides the territory around Moscow, the Russian empire included 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 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.

Tsar ___ in the ___, ___, ___. Painted by ___ (___)

Tsar Nicholas II in the White Hall of the Winter Palace, St Petersburg, 1900. Painted by Earnest Lipgart (1847-1932)

economic condition of russian empire

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the vast majority of Russia’s people were agriculturists. About 85 per cent of the Russian empire’s population earned their living from agriculture.

This proportion was higher than in most European countries. For instance, in France and Germany the proportion was between 40 per cent and 50 per cent.

In the empire, cultivators produced for the market as well as for their own needs and Russia was a major exporter of grain.

Industry was found in pockets.

Prominent industrial areas were St Petersburg and Moscow.

Craftsmen undertook much of the production, but large factories existed alongside craft workshops.

Many factories were set up in the 1890s, when Russia’s railway network was extended, and foreign investment in industry increased.

Coal production doubled and iron and steel output quadrupled.

By the 1900s, in some areas factory workers and craftsmen were almost equal in number

Most industry was the private property of industrialists.

Government supervised large factories to ensure minimum wages and limited hours of work. But factory inspectors could not prevent rules being broken.

In craft units and small workshops, the working day was sometimes 15 hours, compared with 10 or 12 hours in factories.

Accommodation varied from rooms to dormitories.

In the countryside, peasants cultivated most of the land.

But the nobility, the crown and the Orthodox Church owned large properties

In Russia, peasants wanted the land of the nobles to be given to them.

Frequently, they refused to pay rent and even murdered landlords. In 1902, this occurred on a large scale in south Russia. And in 1905, such incidents took place all over Russia.

Russian peasants were different from other European peasants in another way. They pooled their land together periodically and their commune (mir) divided it according to the needs of individual families

social condition of russian empire

Workers were a divided social group. Some had strong links with the villages from which they came. Others had settled in cities permanently.

Workers were divided by skill. A metalworker of St. Petersburg recalled, ‘Metalworkers considered themselves aristocrats among other workers. Their occupations demanded more training and skill . . .’

Women made up 31 per cent of the factory labour force by 1914, but they were paid less than men (between half and three-quarters of a man’s wage).

Divisions among workers showed themselves in dress and manners too.

Some workers formed associations to help members in times of unemployment or financial hardship but such associations were few.

Despite divisions, workers did unite to strike work (stop work) when they disagreed with employers about dismissals or work conditions. These strikes took place frequently in the textile industry during 1896-1897, and in the metal industry during 1902.

Like workers, peasants too were divided.

They were also deeply religious.

But except in a few cases they had no respect for the nobility.

Nobles got their power and position through their services to the Tsar, not through local popularity. This was unlike France where, during the French Revolution in Brittany, peasants respected nobles and fought for them.

how did unemployed peasants survive in pre-war st. petersburg?

Many survived by eating at charitable kitchens and living in poorhouses.

how did workers sleep in pre-revolutionary Russia?

Workers slept in bunkers in a dormitory in pre-revolutionary Russia. They slept in shifts and could not keep their families with them.

who was alexander shlyapnikov?

Alexander Shlyapnikov, a socialist worker of the time, gives us a description of how the meetings were organised

When was the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party founded and by whom and why?

1898 by socialists who respected karl marx’s ideas

What kind of organization was the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party forced to be and why?

because of government policing, it had to operate as an illegal organisation since all political parties were illegal in Russia before 1914.

Mention activities undertaken by the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party.

It set up a newspaper, mobilized workers and organised strikes.

why did socialists feel that ___ would be the main force of the revolution?

Some Russian socialists felt that the Russian peasant custom of dividing land periodically made them natural socialists.

So peasants, not workers, would be the main force of the revolution, and Russia could become socialist more quickly than other countries.

who were social democrats?

Russian socialists who followed Karl Marx’s ideas. illegal.

wanted industrial workers, not peasants, to lead the socialist revolution.

eg: bolsheviks (under lenin’s leadership) and mensheviks

who were social revolutionaries?

SRs — A Russian socialist party formed in 1900

struggled for peasants’ rights and wanted land redistribution, seeing peasants as the driving force of revolution.

were socialists active in the late nineteenth century? if yes, how?

yes, socialists were active in the countryside through the late nineteenth century.

They formed the Socialist Revolutionary Party in 1900. This party struggled for peasants’ rights and demanded that land belonging to nobles be transferred to peasants.

did social democrats disagree with socialist revolutionaries about peasants? why?

yes, Social Democrats disagreed with Socialist Revolutionaries about peasants.

Lenin felt that peasants were not one united group.

Some were poor and others rich, some worked as labourers while others were capitalists who employed workers. Given this ‘differentiation’ within them, they could not all be part of a socialist movement.

division of social democrats

The party was divided over the strategy of organization.

Vladimir Lenin (who led the Bolshevik group) thought that in a repressive society like Tsarist Russia the party should be disciplined and should control the number and quality of its members.

Others (Mensheviks) thought that the party should be open to all (as in Germany).

who were the jadidists

Muslim reformers within the Russian empire

wanted modernised Islam to lead their societies

what was russia?

autocracy

Unlike other European rulers, even at the beginning of the ___ century, the Tsar was not subject to ___

twentieth, parliament

Liberals in Russia campaigned to end this state of affairs. Elucidate

Russian liberals wanted to end absolute monarchy and introduce reforms like:

• a constitutional government,

• elected parliament (Duma),

• and basic rights for citizens.

in short, they were fighting to replace autocracy with a law-based, representative system.

who did liberals work together with and why?

Together with the Social Democrats and Socialist Revolutionaries, liberals worked with peasants and workers during the revolution of 1905 to demand a constitution. They were supported in the empire by nationalists (in Poland for instance) and in Muslim-dominated areas by jadidists who wanted modernised Islam to lead their societies

CAUSES OF 1905 REV (& BLOODY SUNDAY)

the year 1904 was a particularly bad one for Russian workers.

Prices of essential goods rose so quickly that real wages declined by 20 per cent.

The membership of workers’ associations rose dramatically.

When four members of the Assembly of Russian Workers, which had been formed in 1904, were dismissed at the Putilov Iron Works, there was a call for industrial action. Over the next few days, over 110,000 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.

BLOODY SUNDAY & 1905 REV

When the procession of workers led by Father Gapon reached the Winter Palace it was attacked by the police and the Cossacks. Over 100 workers were killed and about 300 wounded.

The incident, known as Bloody Sunday, started a series of events that became known as the 1905 Revolution.

Strikes took place all over the country and universities closed down when student bodies staged walkouts (walking out of classes/boycotting), complaining about the lack of civil liberties. Lawyers, doctors, engineers and other middle-class workers established the Union of Unions and demanded a constituent assembly

what are cossacks?

special units of police

define real wages

reflects the quantities of goods which the wages can actually buy

RESULTS OF 1905 REV (/BLOODY SUNDAY)

During the 1905 Revolution, the Tsar allowed the creation of an elected consultative Parliament or Duma.

For a brief while during the revolution, there existed a large number of trade unions and factory committees made up of factory workers.

After 1905, most committees and unions worked unofficially, since they were declared illegal. Severe restrictions were placed on political activity.

The Tsar dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and the re-elected second Duma within three months. He did not want any questioning of his authority or any reduction in his power.

He changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma with conservative politicians. Liberals and revolutionaries were kept out.

whats the first world war

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) (the Allied powers). Each country had a global empire and the war was fought outside Europe as well as in Europe. This was the First World War.

was the world war popular in russia?

In Russia, the war was initially popular and people rallied around Tsar Nicholas II. As the war continued, though, the Tsar refused to consult the main parties in the Duma. Support wore thin

what were the sentiments of the people towards germany? give 2 examples showing it

AntiGerman sentiments ran high, as can be seen in the renaming of St Petersburg — a German name — as Petrograd. The Tsarina Alexandra’s German origins and poor advisers, especially a monk called Rasputin, made the autocracy unpopular.

how was the first world war different on the ‘eastern front’ than on the ‘western front’?

The First World War on the ‘eastern front’ differed from that on the ‘western front’.

In the west, armies fought from trenches stretched along eastern France.

In the east, armies moved a good deal and fought battles leaving large casualties.

result of the war for the russian side?

Defeats were shocking and demoralizing.

Russia’s armies lost badly in Germany and Austria between 1914 and 1916.

There were over 7 million casualties by 1917.

As they retreated, the Russian army destroyed (their own) crops and buildings to prevent the enemy from being able to live off the land.

The destruction of crops and buildings led to over 3 million refugees in Russia.

The situation discredited the government and the Tsar. Soldiers did not wish to fight such a war.

challenges the war brought to russia?

The war also 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.

Able-bodied men were called up to the war. As a result, there were labour shortages and small workshops producing essentials were shut down.

Large supplies of grain were sent to feed the army. For the people in the cities, bread and flour became scarce. By the winter of 1916, riots at bread shops were common.

how were the conditions in the capital, petrograd, in the winter of 1917?

In the winter of 1917, conditions in the capital, Petrograd, were grim.

The layout of the city seemed to emphasize 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.

In February 1917, food shortages were deeply felt in the workers’ quarters.

The winter was very cold — there had been exceptional frost and heavy snow.

Parliamentarians wishing to preserve elected government, were opposed to the Tsar’s desire to dissolve the Duma.

when did a lockout take place at a factory on the right bank?

22 feb 1917

what came to be called the international women’s day

23 feb 1917, workers in fifty factories called a strike in sympathy. In many factories, women led the way to strikes. This came to be called the International Women’s Day

what happened on 23rd feb

workers in fifty factories called a strike in sympathy. In many factories, women led the way to strikes. This came to be called the International Women’s Day

Demonstrating workers crossed from the factory quarters to the centre of the capital — the Nevskii Prospekt.

At this stage, no political party was actively organizing the movement.

As the fashionable quarters and official buildings were surrounded by workers, the government imposed a curfew. Demonstrators dispersed by the evening, but they came back on the 24th and 25th.

The government called out the cavalry and police to keep an eye on them.

what happened on the 25 feb 1917

On Sunday, 25 February, the government suspended the Duma. Politicians spoke out against the measure.

what happened on the 26 feb 1917

Demonstrators returned in force to the streets of the left bank on the 26th.

what happened on the 27 feb 1917

On the 27th, the Police Headquarters were ransacked.

The streets thronged with people raising slogans about bread, wages, better hours and democracy. The government tried to control the situation and called out the cavalry once again. 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.

By that evening, soldiers and striking workers had gathered to form a ‘soviet’ (‘council’) in the same building as the Duma met. This was the Petrograd Soviet.

what happened on 28th feb 1917

a delegation went to see the Tsar. Military commanders advised him to abdicate. He followed their advice and abdicated on 2 March.

Soviet leaders and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government to run the country. (temp)

Russia’s future would be decided by a constituent assembly, elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage.

Petrograd had led the February Revolution that brought down the monarchy in February 1917.

what happened on 2 march 1917

On 2 March 1917, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated → which meant the Romanov dynasty’s 300-year rule ended.

The end of monarchy in Russia

imperial capital of russia back then

st. petersburg → PETROGRAD

Who were the influential groups in the Provisional Government?

Army officials, landowners and industrialists were influential in the Provisional Government.

What political freedoms or changes were introduced after the Provisional Government was formed?

Restrictions on public meetings and associations were removed. ‘Soviets’, like the Petrograd Soviet, were set up everywhere, though no common system of election was followed.

What did the liberals and socialists in the Provisional Government work towards?

worked towards establishing an elected government in Russia

what happened in april 1917

In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from his exile.

what was the bolsheviks views on the war?

He and the Bolsheviks had opposed the war since 1914.

what was the april thesis? what else did he argue for?

Lenin declared that the war be brought to a close, land be transferred to the peasants, and banks be nationalized. These three demands were Lenin’s ‘April Theses’.

He also argued that the Bolshevik Party rename itself the Communist Party to indicate its new radical aims.

what were the others in bolshevik’s reaction to the april thesis?

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

buildup to october revolution

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.

As the Provisional Government saw its power reduce and Bolshevik influence grow, it decided to take stern measures against the spreading discontent. It resisted attempts by workers to run factories and began arresting leaders. Popular demonstrations staged by the Bolsheviks in July 1917 were sternly repressed. Many Bolshevik leaders had to go into hiding or flee.

Meanwhile in the countryside, peasants and their Socialist Revolutionary leaders pressed for a redistribution of land. Land committees were formed to handle this. Encouraged by the Socialist Revolutionaries, peasants seized land between July and September 1917.

the july days

a pro-bolshevik demonstration on 17 july 1917 was fired upon by the army

why and what was lenin fearful of and what’d he do?

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. Bolshevik supporters in the army, soviets and factories were brought together.

what happened 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 by the Soviet under Leon Trotskii to organize the seizure.

The date of the event was kept a secret.

when did the october uprising begin?

24 october 1917

prime minister of russia

Kerenskii

COURSE OF OCTOBER REVOLUTION 1917

The uprising began on 24 October.

Sensing trouble, Prime Minister Kerenskii 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 sailed down the Neva and 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.

Uprisings took place in other cities. There was heavy fighting — especially in Moscow — but by December, the Bolsheviks controlled the Moscow-Petrograd area.

economic changes after october revolution

The Bolsheviks were totally opposed to private property.

Most industry and banks were nationalized in November 1917. This meant that the government took over ownership and management.

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

social changes post-oct rev

They banned the use of the old titles of aristocracy.

To assert the change, new uniforms were designed for the army and officials, following a clothing competition organised in 1918 — when the Soviet hat (budeonovka) was chosen.

Political Reorganization / Party Changes post-oct rev

The Bolshevik Party was renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik).

In November 1917, the Bolsheviks conducted the elections to the Constituent Assembly, but they failed to gain majority support.

In January 1918, the Assembly rejected Bolshevik measures and Lenin dismissed the Assembly. He thought the All Russian Congress of Soviets was more democratic than an assembly elected in uncertain conditions.

In March 1918, despite opposition by their political allies, the Bolsheviks made peace with Germany at Brest Litovsk.

In the years that followed, the Bolsheviks became the only party to participate in the elections to the All Russian Congress of Soviets, which became the Parliament of the country. Russia became a one-party state.

control & repression post-oct rev

Trade unions were kept under party control.

The secret police (called the Cheka first, and later OGPU and NKVD) punished those who criticized the Bolsheviks.

cultural/social impact of oct rev

Many young writers and artists rallied to the Party because it stood for socialism and for change.

After October 1917, this led to experiments in the arts and architecture. But many became disillusioned because of the censorship the Party encouraged.