🔴 Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution

Liberals

Wanted tolerance of all religions

Radicals

Supported majority rule and women's suffrage; opposed concentration of property

Conservatives

Favoured traditional institutions but accepted gradual change after French Revolution

Industrialisation

Led to poor living and working conditions for workers in towns

Socialism

Idea that property should be socially owned and used for collective welfare

Karl Marx

German philosopher who believed in class struggle and envisioned a communist society

Friedrich Engels

Co-author of The Communist Manifesto with Marx

The Communist Manifesto

Book explaining Marxist ideas of class struggle and revolution

Capitalism

System where private individuals own property and means of production

Proletariat

Working class who were exploited by capitalists

Bourgeoisie

Middle-class property owners and industrialists

Second International

International body of socialist parties formed in 1889

Russian Empire in 1914

Ruled by Tsar Nicholas II; multi-ethnic empire with Orthodox Christian majority

Russian Orthodox Church

Dominant religion in Russia linked with monarchy

Peasants in Russia

Formed 85% of population; wanted land from nobles

Russian Social Democratic Workers Party

Formed in 1898 to spread socialist ideas

Socialist Revolutionary Party

Formed in 1900 to fight for peasants' rights

Mensheviks

Moderate faction believing in mass membership and parliamentary approach

Bolsheviks

Radical faction led by Lenin; wanted disciplined party and revolution

Bloody Sunday

1905 massacre where 100+ workers were killed in St Petersburg

1905 Revolution

Strikes

Duma

Consultative Parliament created by the Tsar after 1905 Revolution

February Revolution

March 1917 overthrow of the monarchy in Russia

Petrograd Soviet

Council of workers and soldiers formed after February Revolution

Provisional Government

Temporary government formed after Tsar’s abdication

October Revolution

November 1917 (Gregorian calendar)

Vladimir Lenin

Leader of the Bolsheviks and architect of the October Revolution

Leon Trotsky

Key Bolshevik leader who led the Military Revolutionary Committee

Aurora

Warship that fired on the Winter Palace during the Bolshevik takeover

Brest-Litovsk Treaty

1918 peace treaty between Bolsheviks and Germany

Cheka

Secret police created by Bolsheviks to suppress dissent

Nationalisation

Government takeover of banks and industries in 1917

Collectivisation

Combining of small farms into large state-run farms

USSR

Soviet Union formed in 1922 from Russian Empire

Comintern

International communist organisation formed in 1919

Five-Year Plans

Economic plans to industrialise the Soviet Union under Stalin

Kulaks

Rich peasants targeted by Stalin’s collectivisation policy

Gulag

Labor camps in USSR during Stalin’s rule

Red Army

Military force of the Bolsheviks during the Civil War

Whites

Opposition forces (monarchists

Civil War in Russia

1918–1920 conflict between Reds and Whites

Dictatorship of the Proletariat

Marxist term for working-class rule after revolution

Censorship

Control of press and literature under Bolshevik regime

Red Flag

Symbol of socialism and revolution

Russian Calendar Change

From Julian to Gregorian in 1918 (Feb Rev = March 12; Oct Rev = Nov 7)

Global impact of Russian Revolution

Inspired socialist movements and anti-colonial struggles worldwide

Indian reactions

Inspired many Indians

M.N. Roy

Indian communist who joined the Comintern and supported the USSR

Planned Economy

Economic system where government controls production and distribution

Jadidists

Muslim reformers in Russia supporting modern education and reform

Women's role in USSR

Given education and work opportunities

Soviet Constitution

Declared USSR as a one-party state with power to the Soviets

Socialist art and culture

Supported revolutionary themes but limited by censorship

Decline of USSR prestige

Due to repression and lack of civil rights despite development