History Class 9 : Chapter 2 - Socialism in Europe and Russian development

In this page you get NCERT Solution Class 9 Social Science (History) Chapter 2 Socialism in Europe and Russian development being given. Social Science have four parts. Social Science (History) Class 9th has been set by the CBSE Board. The speciality of this page is that here you can download pdf of NCERT Solution Class 9 Social Science (History). I expect that the given Class 9 Social Science (History) Solution Chapter 2 Socialism in Europe and Russian development will be immensely useful to you.

LESSON 2

Socialism in Europe and Russian Development

 

1. What were the social, economic and political conditions in Russia before 1905?

Answer:

A) Social Condition:

i) Workers were a divided group.

ii) Some had strong links with the villages; others had settled permanently in cities.

iii) Workers were divided based on their skills.

iv)The division among workers reflected in their dress and manners too.

B) Economic Condition:

i) Most industries were the private property of industrialists.

ii) Government supervised large factories.

iii)The industry was found in pockets.

iv) Many factories were set up in the 1890s when Russia’s railway network was extended, foreign investment in industry increased, coal production had doubled, and iron and steel output quadrupled.

C) Political condition:

i) Russia was an autocracy.

ii)Unlike other European countries, The Tsar was not subject to a Parliament.

iii)Liberals in Russia campaigned to end this state of affairs.

iv) Socialist Revolutionary Party struggled for Peasants' rights.

2. In what ways was the working population in Russia different from other countries in Europe,before 1917?

Answer:

The vast majority of Russia’s population were agriculturists. About 85 per cent of Russian empire's population earned their living from Agriculture. This proportion was higher than in most European countries. In France and Germany, the proportion was between 40 per cent and 50 per cent. Cultivators produced for the market as well as for their own needs and Russia was a major exporter of grain.

3. Liberals were not Democrats. Explain.

Answer.

The liberals could not be called democrats because even though they argued for a representative, elected parliamentary government, subject to laws interpreted by a well-trained judiciary that was independent of rulers and officials, they did not believe in universal adult franchise and also did not want the voting rights for women. They felt right to vote should only be given to the propertied men.

 

4. Describe the views of radicals.

Answer.

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.

(d) Though they favoured private property, they disliked concentration of property in the hands of a few.

 

5. What were the viewpoints of the conservatives?

Answer.

The conservatives had the following viewpoints.

(a) In the beginning of the eighteenth century, they were opposed to the idea of change.

(b) Later in the nineteenth century, they accepted that some change was inevitable.

(c) At the same time they believed that the past had to be respected and change had to be brought about through a slow process.

6. Explain the Socialist view on private property.

Answer.

The socialists were against private property because of the following reasons.

(a) They believed that private property was the root cause of all social evils.

(b) Individuals who owned property, did provide employment but at the same they are much more concerned with personal gains.

(c) They did not bother about the welfare of the people.

(d) Socialists also felt that if society controlled property, more attention would be paid to collective social interests and concentration of wealth in the hands of a few could be restricted.

Extra Questions

Very Short Answer Questions

1. Who were ‘liberals’?
Answer: Liberals wanted a nation which tolerated all religions. They also opposed the uncontrolled power of dynastic rulers. 

2. Who were called ‘radicals’?
Answer: Radicals were the one who wanted a nation in which govt. was based on the majority of a country’s population. They opposed the privileges of great landowners and wealthy factory owners. 

3. What were the ideals of ‘Conservatives’?
Answer: They were opposed to radicals and liberals. They believed that the past had to be respected and change had to be brought about through a slow process. 

4. What problems were brought by Industrialisation?
Answer: Work hours were often long and wages were poor and unemployment created problems for them and housing and sanitation problems were also growing rapidly. 

5. Who all wanted revolutions to put an end to monarchical system?
Answer: Some nationalists, liberals and radicals wanted to overthrow monarchy. 

6. What was the thinking of nationalists regarding existing monarchy?
Answer: Nationalists wanted revolutions that would create ‘nations’ where all citizens would have equal rights. 

7. Give one characteristic of a socialist.
Answer: Socialists are against private property and saw it as the root of all social ills of the time. 

8. Who was Robert Owen?
Answer: Robert Owen was a leading English manufacturer who sought to build a cooperative community called New Harmony in Indiana (USA).

9. Who was Louis Blanc?
Answer: Louis Blanc was also a nationalist who wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises. 

10. Name two famous socialists who introduced a communist system.
Answer: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.

Short Answer Type Questions

1. How the cooperatives were to function, according to Louis Blanc?

Answer: Louis Blanc: He wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises. He suggested cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor. He believed that cooperatives should be formed with the cooperation of the people and its profit should be divided according to the work done by the members. 

2. How did the revolutionaries originate in the year 1815?

Answer: Some nationalists, liberals and radicals wanted revolutions to put an end to the kind of governments established in Europe in 1815. In France, Italy, Germany and Russia, they became revolutionaries and worked to overthrow existing monarchs.

3. Explain the term Conservatives.

Answer: The Conservatives were opposed to any change, i.e. they were opposed to radicals and liberals. By the 19th century, however, they accepted that some change was inevitable, but believed that the past had to be respected and change had to be brought about through a slow process.

4. What was the boundary of the Russian empire during 1914?

Answer: In 1914, besides the territory around Moscow, the Russian empire included current day Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, parts of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

5. Who were the Bolsheviks?

Answer: Bolshevism was born at the second congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) in 1903. Bolsheviks were the majority group of workers of Russia. They believed in revolutionary methods for bringing about changes in society and the state. After the October Revolution, Russia became a one-parry state, i.e., the Bolshevik Party, which was renamed as the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik). They changed the whole structure of Russia and Russian Society.

6. Explain the term ‘Mensheviks’.

Answer: Mensheviks were the minority group of the workers of Russia. They believed in parliamentary methods and participation in elections. They thought that the party should be open to all. They favoured parties as were existing in France and Germany, which took part in elections to the legislatures. Whereas the Bolsheviks argued that the working class should lead the revolution in alliance with the peasantry, the Mensheviks envisaged its being led by the bourgeoisie and favoured alliances with the liberals.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. Who were the socialists in 19th century Europe? What kind of society did they envisage?

Answer: Socialists were against private property and saw it as a root of all social evils. They believed in the idea of cooperatives. In cooperatives people made associations and produced goods together. The profits of the business were divided among all members of the association. However, different socialists had different views regarding how the cooperatives were to be built. Robert Owen, one of the founders of socialism, suggested that cooperatives be built on individual initiative. Other socialists like Louis Blanc wanted the government to encourage cooperatives and replace capitalist enterprises.

2. What was Bloody Sunday? Or Describe the incident known as ‘Bloody Sunday’? State any two events after the Bloody Sunday which led to the revolution of 1905 in Russia.

Answer: On Sunday, 22nd January, 1905, the workers of Russia, led by Father Gapon, reached the winter palace of the Tsar to present a petition. But they were fired at indiscriminately by police and the cossacks resulting in the death of more than 100 workers with 300 workers wounded. This started a series of events that became known as the 1905 revolution. This incident is known as ‘Bloody Sunday’ in Russian history.
(i) The news provoked unprecedented disturbances throughout Russia. Strike took place all over the country.
(ii) The Universities of Russia were closed down when student bodies staged walkouts, complaining about the lack of civil liberties.
(iii) Lawyers, doctors, engineers, middle class workers established Union of Unions and demanded a constituent assembly.

3. What was the Duma? How far was it successful?

Answer: The Tsar of Russia allowed the creation of an elected consultative Parliament which was known as Duma. Duma had representatives from the third estate. The Tsar dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and the re-elected a second Duma within three months. He did not want any questioning of his authority. He changed the voting laws and packed the third Duma with conservative politicians.

In Russia, the ‘reds’ meant Bolsheviks, the ‘greens’ meant socialist revolutionaries and the ‘whites’ meant pro-Tsarists. The Bolsheviks were the majority group of workers under the leadership of Lenin. During 1918 and 1919, the ‘greens’ (Socialist Revolutionaries) and the ‘whites’ (pro-Tsarists) controlled most of the Russian empire. They were backed by French, American, British and Japanese troops who were opposed to the growth of socialism in Russia.

4. List two differences between the capitalist and socialist ideas of private property.

Answer: The Bolsheviks controlled most of the former Russian empire by January 1920. People in Central Asia responded positively and with enthusiasm to the February Revolution of 1917 because the revolution freed them from the oppression of the Tsar’s regime and strengthened their hopes for autonomy. But they responded with fear to the October Revolution of 1917, because the autocracy of the Tsar was replaced by the autocracy of Bolsheviks. In Khiva in central Asia, Bolshevik colonists brutally massacred local nationalists in the name of defending socialism. In this situation, people in central Asia were confused about the real nature of the Bolshevik Government.

5. ‘Liberals of European states were not democratic’. Justify the statement by giving three examples.

Answer: Karl Marx’s theories were central to the party ideology of Lenin’s Bolsheviks and had a key role to play in 1917 revolution and the establishment of the Russian communist state. Marx believed that all historical changes was caused by a series of class struggles between the bourgeoisie ‘haves’ and the proletariat ‘have nots’. Vladimir Lenin was majorly influenced by Marx’s writings. Karl Marx said that industrial society was capitalist under which workers did not get their share properly. He wanted the whole society to have the common control over the means of productions i.e., all production units should be nationalised. He thought that capitalism could be voted out only through revolution. Marx’s idea deeply influenced Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution and they followed it whole heartedly.

Chapter 1 - The French Revolution

Chapter 3 - Nazism and the Rise of Hitler