Question

I want the summary of ch2 of history socialism in europe and russian revolution?

Answer 1

 Most of the Russian population were agriculturalist. Industries were being set up which was mostly private property of industrialists. Workers were divided into groups but they get united to strike work when they were dissatisfied. Peasants had no respect for nobility, very unlike the French peasant. Russian peasants were the only peasant community which pooled their land and their commune divided it.

All political parties were illegal in Russia before 1914.

The Russian Socialist Democratic Labour Party was formed in 1900. It struggled to give peasants their rights over land that belonged to nobles. As land was divided among peasants periodically and it was felt that peasants and not workers would be the main source of the revolution. But Lenin did not agree with this as he felt that peasants were not one social group. The party was divided into Bolsheviks and Russia was an autocracy. The Tsar was not subject to the parliament. Liberals wanted to end this state of affairs. They worked towards demanding a constitution during the Revolution of 1905.Prices of essential goods rose so quickly by 1904 that the real wages declined by 20%. During this time, four members of the Putilov Iron Works were dismissed. Action was called for. Over 110,000 workers in St. Petersburg went on strike demanding a reduction in working hours and increase in wages. This procession was attacked by the police and Cossacks. Over 100 workers were killed. Strikes took place as a reaction. People demanded a constituent assembly. The Tsar allowed the creation of an elected consultative Parliament or Duma. The Tsar dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and announced the election of a second Duma.

: In Russia, the war was initially very popular but later the support grew thin. Anti-German sentiments ran high. Russian armies lost badly in Germany and Austria. There were 7 million casualties and 3 million refugees in Russia. The war also affected the industry. There was labour shortage, railway lines were shut down and small workshops were closed down. There was shortage of grain and hence of bread.


In the winter of 1917, Petrograd was grim. There was food shortage in the workers’ quarters.

22 February: a lockout took place at a factory. Workers of 50 other factories joined insympathy. Women also led and participated in the strikes. This came to be called the International Women’s Day An officer was shot at the barracks of a regiment and other regiments mutinied, voting to join the striking workers gathered to form a soviet or council. This was the Petrograd Soviet.A delegation went to meet the Tsar, military commanders advised him to abdicate.The Tsar abdicated on 2nd March.

A Provincial Government was formed by the Soviet and Duma leaders to run the country.The people involved were the parliamentarians, workers, women workers, soldiers and military commanders.

Restrictions on public meetings and associations were removed.Soviets were set up everywhere.

In individual areas factory committees were formed which began questioning the way industrialists ran their factories. Soldiers’ committees were formed in the army.The provisional government saw its power declining and Bolshevik influence grow. It decided to take stern measures against the spreading discontent.It resisted attempts by workers to run factories and arrested leaders.

Peasants and the socialist revolutionary leaders pressed for a redistribution of land. Land committees were formed and peasants seized land between July and September 1917.