What were the impacts of First World War on Russia?

1) Which event in Russian history is known as Bloody Sunday ?
Ans:i)On 9th January, 1905 a mass of peaceful workers with their wives and children was fired at St. Petersburg while on its way to the Winter Palace to present a petition to the Tsar.
ii) More than a hundred workers were killed and about 300 were wounded.
iii)The incident known as Bloody Sunday in history of Russia as the massacre had taken place on Sunday.

2.Describe reforms introduced by the Russian Tsar Nicholas II after the Revolution.
Answer:
• After 1905, most committees and unions worked unofficially. Since they were declared illegal. Severe restrictions were placed on Kerenskii political activity.
• Power to make laws was conferred upon on elected body called the Duma.
• He changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma with conservative politicians. Liberals and revolutionaries were kept out.
3. State any three events after the Bloody Sunday which led to the revolution of 1905 in Russia.
Ans:Three events after the Bloody Sunday which led to the revolution of 1905 in Russia were :
• The news provoked unprecedented disturbances throughout Russia. Strike took place all over the country.
• The universities of Russia were closed when student bodies staged walkouts, complaining about the lack of civil liberties.
• Lawyers, doctors, engineers, middle class workers established Union of Unions and demanded a constituent assembly.
4. Explain the main demands of “April Theses”.
Ans: 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.
5. How was the bad condition of women responsible for Russian Revolution ?
Ans:The bad condition of women responsible for Russian Revolution because :
• Most of the women were working in small factories.
• Women made up about 31% of the factory labour force by 1914.
• They were paid less wages and were forced to work for long hours.
• When they launched an agitation, they were fired by the police.
6. Why were socialists against private property and saw it as the root of all social ills?
Ans: i)The people who propagated socialism said that individuals, who owned property, did provide employment to many people but they were concerned with personal gains only. They did not bother about the welfare of the people.
ii)They felt that if society- controlled property, more attention would be paid to collective social interests socialists wanted this change and campaigned for it.

7. Differentiate between the ideas of the liberals and radicals in Europe.
Ans:(a) The liberals did not believe in universal franchise. In contrast, radicals wanted a nation in which government was based on most of a country’s population.
(b) Liberals felt men of prosperity mainly should have the vote. They did not want the vote for women. On the other hand, the radicals supported women’s suffragette movements and opposed the privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners.
(c) Radicals were not against the existence of private property but disliked concentration of property in the hands of a few.
8. What was the impact of Industrialisation?
Ans: Due to rapid industrialisation men, women and children were forced to work in factories as there was a great demand for labourers. Labourers were made to work long hours and were paid poorly. Though industrialisation was rapid the demand for industrial goods was low. This resulted in poor working conditions. The rapid growth in towns also caused problems in housing and sanitation.
9. Describe the views of radicals.
Ans:The following were the viewpoints of the radicals.
(a) Radicals wanted a nation in which government was based on the majority of a country’s population.
(b) Many supported women’s suffragette movements.
(c) They opposed the privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners. Though they favoured private property, they disliked concentration of property in the hands of a few.
10.Explain how workers were divided in social groups.
Ans: The workers were divided in social groups in Russia in the following ways.
(a) Some workers were closely linked to their villages while others settled in the cities permanently,
(b) The division among the workers was on the basis of skills they possessed. Metalworkers were on the high level as their work required training.
(c) Apart from males, women also formed a considerable working force in the factories though they were paid less than the males.
11.What was the difference between Bolshevik and Menshevik group. [CBSE 2016]
Ans: The Bolsheviks were the majority group led by Vladimir Lenin who thought that in a repressive society like Tsarist Russia, the party should be disciplined and control the number and quality of its members. They were the group who conducted the Russian Revolution.
Mensheviks, on the other hand, were the minority group who thought that the party should be open to all. They did not believe in revolution but wanted to bring changes through democratic means.
12. What were the effects of the February Revolution in Russia?
Ans. The following were the effects of the February Revolution in Russia.
(a) The Tsar abdicated and monarchy was brought down.
(b) The Soviet leaders and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government to run the country.
(c) Russia’s future would be decided by a constituent assembly, elected on the basis of universal adult suffrage.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. Describe the circumstances which were responsible for the Russian Revolution.
Ans: The circumstances which were responsible for the Russian Revolution as given below :
• The Russian peasantry was in a miserable condition. The farmers could not get even two square meals a day. Their land holdings were very small and they had to pay heavy taxes.
• The Russian as well as the foreign capitalist industrialists exploited the workers by taking 12-14 hours of work and paying very low wages to them. The workers had no right to form trade unions or seek reforms. They led a miserable life.
• The Tsar Nicholas II was a despotic and autocratic ruler. He enjoyed unlimited powers and rights. The people of the higher strata enjoyed great privileges. The bureaucracy was corrupt and inefficient. The common people who suffered most, were fed up with the absolute rule of the Tsar and wanted to get rid of him.
• Karl Marx propagated ‘Scientific Socialism’. He strongly opposed capitalism which meant untold exploitation of the common men.
2. How did Russia’s participation in the World War cause the fall of the Tsar ?
Ans: (a) The war was initially popular, and people rallied around Tsar Nicholas II.
(b) As the war continued, support became thin and Tsar’s popularity declined. Anti-German sentiments became high.
(c) The Tsarina Alexandra’s German origins and poor advisers, especially a monk called Rasputin, made the autocracy unpopular.
(d) Defeats were shocking and demoralising. Russia’s armies lost badly in Germany and Austria between 1914 and 1916. There were over 7 million casualties by 1917.
(e) 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.
3. Explain the main effects of the First World War on the industries in Russia.
Ans: Effects of the First World War on the industries in Russia were :
• Russian industries were very few 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 essential commodities 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.
4. Who were the Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives?
Ans:The Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives were totally opposed in their views.
i)The Liberals wanted individual rights for the citizens, religious tolerance, and an elected parliament. They were not in favour of giving women the right to vote and they wanted only men with property to vote.
ii) In contrast to the Liberals the Radicals were opposed to only wealthy men having the right to vote. They were in favour of women’s rights and wanted a Government that represented the majority of the population.
iii) The Conservatives were truly conservative in their views . They wanted changes for the better, but wanted the changes to take place slowly, giving due respect to the past .

5. Describe the incident known as ‘Bloody Sunday’.
Ans: The following events gave way to the incident known as Bloody Sunday.
(a) The dismissal of four members of the Assembly of Russian Workers called for an industrial action by the workers.
(b) Over 110,000 workers in St Petersburg went on strike in 1905, demanding a reduction in the working day to eight hours, an increase in wages and improvement in working conditions.
(c) When this procession led by father Gapon reached the Winter Palace it was attacked by the police and the Cossacks. Hundreds of the workers were killed and many hundreds wounded. This incident came to be known as Bloody Sunday. It started a series of events that later resulted in the 1905 Revolution.

2) Answer the following questions-
1.Discuss the positive aspects of the Bolshevik government on Soviet Union and its people.
Ans:The positive aspects of the Bolshevik government on Soviet Union and its people were :
• Immediately after coming to power, Lenin announced his decision to with draw from the First World War.
• Private property in the means of production was abolished. Economic exploitation by capitalists and landlords came to an end.
• The control of industries was given to workers. All the banks, industries and mines .water transport and railways were nationalized.
2. How did the 1905 Revolution in Russia prove to be a dress rehearsal of October 1917 Revolution? Explain.
Ans: i) In 1904-05, there was war between Russia and Japan. In this war, Russia was defeated by Japan. The Russian people began to oppose the Tsar. They believed that the only cause of this defeat was the government of Tsar which had failed to carry out war properly.
ii)A procession of thousands of peaceful workers along with their wives and children went to the palace of Tsar to show their anger and present a petition on Sunday, 9 January, 1905. While the workers were on the way to the Winter Palace of Tsar, they were fired at by the army of the Tsar
iii)More than one hundred people were killed and about three hundred were wounded.

3. What were the significant changes in the Soviet Union after the death of Lenin ?
Ans:In 1925, Stalin became General Secretary of the Communist Party of Soviet Union after the death of Lenin.The following were the significant changes in the Soviet Union after the death of Lenin.
• The economic and military power of the Soviet Union was enhanced rapidly.
• The unemployment and economic backwardness was controlled to some extent.
• The international position of the Soviet Union became much better than the previous time and it became one of the super powers of the world.
4. Which basic principles, ideas and values had the Russian Revolution for rest of the world ?
Ans:The basic principles, ideas and values had the Russian Revolution for rest of the world :
(a) Economic equality
(b) Social Equality
(c) Socialism
(d) Anti-capitalism.
(e) International fraternity of all the peasants, craftsmen and workers.
5. Explain in brief Lenin’s contribution to the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Ans:
• Lenin had played an important part in the Russian Revolution of 1917. It is true that after the fall of Tsar, Lenin led the revolutionaries. Really, it was the beginning of the revolution.
• The Provisional Government, under the leadership of Kerenskii, could not implement the demand of the people and failed.
• Under Lenin’s leadership, the Bolshevik Party put forward clear policies to end the war, transfer the land to the peasants and advance the slogan ‘All power to the Soviets’.
• He had described the Russian empire as a Prison of Nations and had declared that .no genuine democracy could be established unless all the non-Russian people were given equal rights.
6.What were the main objectives of the Russian Revolutionaries ?
Ansr: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.
• 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.
7. How Lenin’s name became inseparable from the Russian Revolution ?
Ans:Lenin’s name became inseparable from the Russian Revolution :
• After completing his education, he joined the Communist Revolutionary Party and started spreading revolutionary ideas among the workers. He favoured the workers. He also favoured the setting up of the new society based on the principles of socialism of Karl Marx.
• He set up a Communist Government in place of the despotic rule in Russia. Therefore, Lenin’s name became inseparable from the Russian Revolution.
• Lenin united the peasants and workers under the Bolshevik Party and directed the revolution against the Provisional Government.
• Efforts were made to set up a Socialist Government on the basis of principles of Karl Marx. The private property was confiscated. Lenin took the land from the landlords and distributed it among the peasants. The Government nationalised all the factories and handed over their management to the workers. All debts were remitted. The property of the Church was also confiscated.
8. What was the impact of the Russian Revolution on Russia ?
Ans:The impact of the Russian Revolution on Russia were :
• The Revolution put an end to autocratic monarchy in Russia. The Tsarist empire was transformed into a new state known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or the Soviet Union.
• The most important result of the Bolshevik Revolution was the establishment of a Socialist Government in Russia. All the means of production were brought under state control. Banks, mines, factories, railways, telephones, etc. all were declared as government property and the property of the Church was nationalised. Work became an essential requirement for every person. The non-working person was not entitled to vote.
• The condition of the Russian mass had become miserable due to the First World War. The prime need of the Russian mass was food, not expansion.
• As a result of the Bolshevik Revolution, the government took all the means of production under its control and nationalised all small and big industries. Hence, within a few years Russia emerged as a powerful industrial state. With the growth of industrial and agricultural production, poverty started disappearing and the country moved on to the path of prosperity.
9. What was the global impact of the Russian Revolution
Ans:The global impact of the Russian Revolution were :
• The Bolshevik Revolution helped in the spread of Socialist and Communist ideas all over the world. Communist Governments were established in many European countries.
• Most of the Bolshevik leaders believed that a series of revolutions will sweep other countries of the world along with revolution in Russia. Many non-Russians from outside the USSR participated in the conference of the people of the east and the Bolshevik-founded Comintern, an international union of Pro-Bolshevik socialist parties.
• The Bolshevik government ‘granted freedom to all its colonies immediately after coming to power. Thus, the new Soviet State came forward as a friend of the subjugated people and proved to be a source of great inspiration to the freedom movements of various Asian and African countries.
• By the end of the 20th century, the international reputation of the USSR as a socialist country had declined through it was recognised that socialist ideals still enjoyed respect among its people.