Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution – Review Flashcards

Twenty question-and-answer flashcards covering key concepts, figures, events, and policies related to socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution.

What socioeconomic conditions led to the emergence of socialism in early 19th-century Europe?

Widespread inequalities created by the Industrial Revolution and capitalist exploitation of workers, prompting demands for social ownership, equality, and welfare.

Which British thinker founded cooperative communities such as New Harmony in the United States?

Robert Owen.

What employment solution did French socialist Louis Blanc advocate?

Government-funded national workshops to provide work for the unemployed.

According to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, what is the driving force of historical change?

Class struggle between the bourgeoisie (capitalists) and the proletariat (workers).

Name the 1848 publication that outlined Marx and Engels’ key socialist ideas.

The Communist Manifesto.

What was the main purpose of the Second International formed in 1889?

To coordinate socialist parties and trade unions across different countries.

Who ruled Russia as an absolute monarch immediately before the 1917 revolutions?

Tsar Nicholas II.

Why did the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split in 1903?

Disagreement over party organization and strategy, leading to Bolshevik and Menshevik factions.

Who led the Bolshevik faction and called for an immediate socialist revolution?

Vladimir Lenin.

What event on 22 January 1905 triggered nationwide strikes and unrest in Russia?

Bloody Sunday, when workers marching to the Winter Palace were fired upon by Tsarist troops

What legislative body did Tsar Nicholas II establish after the 1905 Revolution?

The Duma, Russia’s elected parliament (though with limited powers).

Give two primary causes of the February 1917 Revolution in Petrograd.

Severe food shortages/high bread prices and Russia’s heavy military losses in World War I (also worker and soldier discontent).

What form of "dual power" existed in Russia after the February Revolution?

The Provisional Government coexisted with the Soviets (councils of workers’ and soldiers’ deputies).

During the October 1917 Revolution, which building’s capture symbolized the overthrow of the Provisional Government?

The Winter Palace in Petrograd.

Which treaty formally withdrew Russia from World War I?

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.

In the Russian Civil War (1918–1920), who were the “Reds” and who were the “Whites”?

Reds: Bolshevik (Communist) forces; Whites: Tsarists, capitalists, and foreign-supported anti-Bolsheviks.

In what year was the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) officially formed?

1922.

What agricultural policy did Joseph Stalin introduce in the late 1920s?

Collectivisation—forcing peasants into state-controlled collective farms (kolkhozes).

Who were the kulaks targeted during Stalin’s collectivisation campaign?

Relatively wealthy peasants viewed as class enemies for resisting collectivisation.

Give one major consequence of Stalin’s collectivisation policy.

Mass famine and millions of deaths, alongside an initial decline in agricultural output.