🎓 Class 9 – History
📘 Chapter 2: Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution
📚 Book: India and the Contemporary World - I (History)
📅 Session: 2025–26
👨🏫 Presented by: Amresh kumar
🎯 Simplifying Concepts with Amresh Academy
📚 The Age of Social Change
✨ After the French Revolution, discussions on individual rights (व्यक्तिगत अधिकार) and social power (सामाजिक शक्ति) began across Europe and Asia.
📌 Colonial development (औपनिवेशिक विकास) also reshaped the ideas of how society should change.
🔸 However, not everyone supported complete transformation (पूर्ण परिवर्तन) of society.
💥 The Russian Revolution played a key role in spreading socialism (समाजवाद).
🌍 In the 20th century, socialism became one of the most powerful ideas to shape modern societies.
🧠 Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives
🟦 Liberals wanted a nation that tolerated all religions (सभी धर्मों का सम्मान करता हो).
📌 They opposed the uncontrolled power (बिना सीमा वाली शक्ति) of dynastic rulers (वंशवादी शासकों).
🏛️ Supported a representative government (प्रतिनिधि सरकार) with an elected parliament and independent judiciary (स्वतंत्र न्यायपालिका).
👥 Wanted the government to be based on the majority of the population (जनसंख्या के बहुमत पर आधारित).
🟥 Conservatives, after the 19th century, began to accept changes,
📌 But they believed that the past should be respected (अतीत का सम्मान जरूरी है).
🐢 Supported gradual change (धीरे-धीरे परिवर्तन होना चाहिए) instead of sudden reforms.
🏭 Industrial Society and Social Change
⚙️ The Industrial Revolution brought major changes in social and economic life (सामाजिक और आर्थिक जीवन).
🏙️ New cities and industrial regions developed rapidly.
👨👩👧 Men, women, and even children came to factories in search of work (काम की तलाश में).
⏱️ Working hours were long and wages were poor (कम वेतन).
📉 Unemployment increased during periods of low demand for industrial goods.
📌 Liberals and radicals earned wealth through trade (व्यापार) or industries.
💡 They believed in individual freedom (व्यक्तिगत स्वतंत्रता) and capitalist development (पूंजी आधारित विकास).
🛠️ According to them, society can grow if:
✔️ Poor can work freely (स्वतंत्र रूप से श्रम करें)
✔️ People with capital can invest without restrictions (बिना रोक-टोक के निवेश कर सकें)
🔥 In France, Italy, Germany, and Russia, revolutionaries overthrew monarchs (राजाओं को हटाया).
🌍 Nationalists wanted to build nations with equal rights (समान अधिकारों वाले राष्ट्र).
🟥 The Coming of Socialism to Europe
📌 By the mid-19th century, socialism became a popular idea across Europe.
🛑 Socialists opposed private property (निजी संपत्ति) — they saw it as the root of social problems (सामाजिक बुराइयों की जड़).
📢 They campaigned to replace it with a cooperative system (सहकारी व्यवस्था).
👨🏫 Robert Owen (1771–1858) tried to build a cooperative community in New Harmony, Indiana (USA).
🏛️ Louis Blanc (1813–1882) wanted the government to support cooperatives instead of capitalist businesses.
🧠 Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820–1895) added strong ideas to socialism:
✔️ Society was capitalist (पूंजीवादी) – where factories were owned by few.
✔️ Workers created profit, but the capitalists took it (मजदूर मुनाफ़ा पैदा करते हैं, पूंजीपति उसे ले जाते हैं).
✔️ Marx believed that capitalism would be overthrown (उखाड़ फेंका जाएगा).
✔️ The future would be a communist society (साम्यवादी समाज) – equal and classless.
✊ Support for Socialism
📅 By the 1870s, socialist ideas (समाजवादी विचार) had spread across Europe.
🌐 Socialists formed an international organisation called the Second International (द्वितीय अंतरराष्ट्रीय संगठन).
🤝 Workers in Germany and England created associations (संघटन) to demand:
✔️ Better living conditions (रहन-सहन)
✔️ Improved working conditions (काम करने की स्थिति)
🛠️ By 1905, Labour Party (UK) and Socialist Party were formed.
📌 These were led by socialists and trade unionists (श्रमिक संघ नेता) to represent workers’ rights in politics.
🔴 The Russian Revolution (1917)
📅 In the October Revolution of 1917, the socialists took over the government of Russia.
👑 Earlier in February 1917, the monarchy collapsed (राजशाही गिर गई).
📌 These two major events — February and October — together are called the Russian Revolution (रूसी क्रांति).
📢 It marked the end of monarchy and the beginning of socialist rule (समाजवादी शासन की शुरुआत).
🗺️ The Russian Empire in 1914
👑 Russia was ruled by Tsar Nicholas II (ज़ार निकोलस द्वितीय) — an autocratic ruler (एकतंत्र शासक).
🌍 The Russian Empire was vast and included parts of:
🇫🇮 Finland, 🇱🇻 Latvia, 🇱🇹 Lithuania, 🇪🇪 Estonia
🇵🇱 Parts of Poland, 🇺🇦 Ukraine, 🇧🇾 Belarus
🌏 Reached till the Pacific Ocean
🌐 Included Central Asian states, 🇬🇪 Georgia, 🇦🇲 Armenia, and 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan.
✝️ Majority of people followed Russian Orthodox Christianity (रूसी रूढ़िवादी ईसाई धर्म).
💹 Economy and Society in Early 20th Century Russia (Part 1 – Industry & Workers)
🌾 Majority of Russians were agriculturalists (किसान), who farmed for both the market and personal use.
🏭 St Petersburg and Moscow were the main industrial centres (औद्योगिक केंद्र).
🛠️ Craftsmen did much of the production, but large factories also existed.
📈 In the 1890s, factory numbers increased due to foreign investment (विदेशी निवेश).
🔧 Government introduced rules like minimum wages (न्यूनतम वेतन) and limited working hours (सीमित कार्य समय).
👥 Workers were socially divided by skill and background (कौशल और वर्ग भेद).
✊ But still, they often united to go on strike (हड़ताल) when their rights were violated.
🌾 Economy and Society (Part 2 – Agriculture & Peasantry)
🌱 Peasants (किसान) cultivated most of the land, but…
🏰 Large estates were owned by the nobility, the crown, and the Orthodox Church.
👑 Nobles gained power and land through their service to the Tsar (ज़ार की सेवा से पद व संपत्ति मिली).
⚔️ Russian peasants wanted to take over noble land (जमींदारों की ज़मीन अपने कब्जे में लेना चाहते थे).
🔥 This desire created huge tension in Russian society before the revolution.
🔴 Socialism in Russia
🗳️ Political parties were legal in Russia before 1914 (1914 से पहले राजनीतिक पार्टियाँ कानूनी थीं).
📅 In 1898, socialists formed the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party (RSDWP),
📌 It followed the ideas of Karl Marx (मार्क्सवादी विचारधारा).
🌾 Some Russian socialists believed that peasants' custom of periodic land distribution made them natural socialists (स्वाभाविक समाजवादी).
🚜 In 1900, the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRP) was formed:
✔️ Focused on peasants' rights (किसानों के अधिकार)
✔️ Demanded that nobles' land be given to peasants
⚠️ The party was divided on strategy – kaise kaam किया जाए इस पर मतभेद था.
👤 Lenin vs Mensheviks – Party Debate
🧠 Vladimir Lenin believed that in a repressive society (दमनकारी समाज) like Tsarist Russia:
✔️ The party should be disciplined (अनुशासित)
✔️ It should control the number and quality of its members.
🤝 On the other hand, the Mensheviks (a group within the party) thought:
✔️ The party should be open to all (सभी के लिए खुला होना चाहिए).
✔️ More democratic participation was needed.
🌪️ A Turbulent Time: The 1905 Revolution (Part 1)
👑 Russia was an autocracy (एकतंत्र) — even in the 20th century, the Tsar had full power (Tsar संसद के प्रति जवाबदेह नहीं था).
🧑🌾 During the 1905 Revolution, Social Democrats, Socialist Revolutionaries, workers, and peasants united.
📜 Their demand: A Constitution (संविधान) that would limit Tsar’s powers.
📉 In 1904, economic hardship increased:
✔️ Prices of essential goods rose
✔️ Real wages (वास्तविक वेतन) fell by 20%
💼 Workers demanded:
⏳ 8-hour work day
💰 Higher wages
🏭 Better working conditions
🔫 Bloody Sunday and Its Aftermath (Part 2)
🚶 A peaceful procession marched towards the Winter Palace in January 1905.
👮 Police and Cossack soldiers attacked unarmed protesters.
🩸 This brutal attack is known as Bloody Sunday (खूनी रविवार).
🔥 It triggered a series of strikes and uprisings across the country – called the 1905 Revolution.
🏛️ Under pressure, the Tsar allowed the creation of an elected consultative Parliament, called the Duma (ड्यूमा).
🚫 But soon after, committees and unions were banned and had to work illegally.
⚔️ The First World War and Russia (Part 1 – The War Begins)
📅 In 1914, war broke out between two European alliances:
🟥 Central Powers – Germany, Austria, Turkey
🟦 Allies – France, Britain, Russia (Later: Italy, Romania)
🌍 This was called the First World War (प्रथम विश्व युद्ध).
🇷🇺 In Russia, the war was initially popular, but support declined over time.
👑 Tsar Nicholas II refused to consult the Duma (संसद से कोई राय नहीं ली),
📉 This made the public and politicians lose trust in him.
🍞 WWI Impact on Russia (Part 2 – Crisis and Collapse)
🪖 On the Eastern Front, the Russian Army suffered huge defeats against Germany and Austria (1914–1916).
🔥 They destroyed crops and buildings to stop enemy use (ज़मीन को बंजर किया गया).
🚫 Russia was cut off from industrial supplies due to German control of the Baltic Sea.
🚆 By 1916, railways collapsed (रेल सेवाएं बिखर गईं).
🍞 In cities:
❌ Flour and bread became scarce (आटा और रोटी की भारी कमी)
❄️ By winter 1916, riots at bread shops became common (ब्रेड के लिए दंगे होने लगे)
📆 The February Revolution in Petrograd (Part 1 – Rising Tensions)
🗺️ Petrograd City was divided by River Neva:
🟥 Right Bank – Workers’ quarters and factories
🟦 Left Bank – Winter Palace & official buildings
🍞 Food shortages deeply affected the right bank workers.
🔒 On 22 February, a factory was shut down, triggering unrest.
👩🏭 On 23 February, women led the strikes – this day is now called International Women’s Day (अंतर्राष्ट्रीय महिला दिवस).
🚫 Government imposed a curfew, but crowds surrounded official areas.
📴 On 25 February, the Duma was suspended.
📢 Streets filled with slogans:
"Bread, wages, better hours, democracy!"
👥 The February Revolution (Part 2 – Fall of Monarchy)
🚔 Government ordered cavalry to fire, but soldiers refused to shoot the demonstrators.
🤝 Soldiers and striking workers formed a ‘Soviet’ (Council) in the same building where Duma met — it was called the Petrograd Soviet.
🏛️ Soviet leaders + Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government (अंतरिम सरकार) to run the country.
📜 Russia’s future was to be decided by a Constituent Assembly based on universal adult suffrage (सार्वभौमिक वयस्क मताधिकार).
👑 This movement brought down the monarchy in February 1917 –
🎉 Petrograd became the centre of the February Revolution.
🏛️ After February: Provisional Government and New Hopes (Part 1)
👥 Under the Provisional Government, army officials, landowners, and industrialists had strong influence.
📜 Liberals and socialists worked to create an elected democratic government.
📢 Public meetings and associations were now legal (पाबंदियाँ हटा दी गईं).
🚆 In April 1917, Vladimir Lenin returned from exile and presented his ‘April Theses’:
1️⃣ End the war (युद्ध समाप्त हो)
2️⃣ Land to peasants (ज़मीन किसानों को)
3️⃣ Nationalise banks (बैंक सरकारी बनाए जाएं)
📌 Lenin also proposed renaming the Bolshevik Party as the Communist Party.
🔥 Workers Rise, Peasants Revolt (Part 2)
🏭 Throughout the summer of 1917, the workers' movement spread rapidly:
✔️ Factory committees were formed
✔️ Trade unions grew in number
🧨 The Provisional Government saw its power declining and Bolsheviks becoming more popular.
🌾 In villages:
🚜 Peasants demanded land redistribution (भूमि पुनर्वितरण)
📢 With Socialist Revolutionary leaders, peasants seized land between July and September 1917.
⚠️ The government tried to suppress the movement, but it was too widespread.
🔴 The October Revolution – 1917
⚔️ The conflict between the Provisional Government and Bolsheviks kept growing.
📅 On 16 October 1917, Vladimir Lenin convinced the Petrograd Soviet and Bolshevik Party to support a socialist seizure of power (समाजवादी सत्ता पर कब्जा).
🪖 A Military Revolutionary Committee was formed under Leon Trotskii to organise the revolution.
📝 The Committee gave orders to:
✔️ Seize government offices (सरकारी कार्यालयों पर कब्जा)
✔️ Arrest ministers (मंत्रियों की गिरफ्तारी)
🌆 By nightfall, the entire city was under Bolshevik control (शहर पर बोल्शेविकों का कब्जा हो गया).
👥 Ministers surrendered without a fight.
🏛️ In the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, held in Petrograd,
✅ Majority supported the Bolshevik action
✅ Lenin's revolution was now officially approved
🏛️ What Changed After October 1917?
🏭 In November 1917,
✔️ Industry and banks were nationalised (सरकार ने इनका स्वामित्व ले लिया)
🌾 Land became social property (सामूहिक संपत्ति),
Peasants were allowed to seize land from the nobility (ज़मींदारों की ज़मीन ले सकते थे).
🟥 The Bolshevik Party was renamed to:
📌 Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik)
🗳️ In November 1917, elections to the Constituent Assembly were held,
❌ But Bolsheviks did not get majority
📅 In January 1918, the Assembly rejected Bolshevik ideas,
💥 Lenin dismissed the Assembly (लेनिन ने विधानसभा भंग कर दी).
🚩 One-Party Rule & Other Changes
✍️ In March 1918, the Bolsheviks signed peace treaty with Germany at Brest Litovsk (जर्मनी के साथ शांति समझौता).
🏛️ All-Russian Congress of Soviets became the new Parliament.
✅ Russia turned into a one-party state (एक-दलीय शासन).
🎨 After 1917, experiments in art and architecture flourished,
🛑 But many people became disillusioned (निराश) due to Party censorship (पार्टी द्वारा सेंसरशिप).
⚔️ The Russian Civil War (1918–1920)
🪖 After the revolution, the Russian Army broke apart (सेना टूट गई).
👑 Many army leaders moved to South Russia and organised troops to fight the Bolsheviks (known as the ‘Reds’).
⚔️ Between 1918 and 1919, the Russian Empire was divided among:
🟩 Greens – Socialist Revolutionaries
⬜ Whites – Pro-Tsar forces
🔁 Both groups were supported by foreign powers:
🇫🇷 France 🇬🇧 Britain 🇺🇸 USA 🇯🇵 Japan
💣 A brutal civil war was fought between these groups and the Bolsheviks.
📅 By January 1920, the Bolsheviks had regained control over most of the former Russian Empire.
🛡️ Birth of the USSR & Nationalities Question (Post-War)
🔴 In the name of defending socialism, Bolsheviks violently crushed local nationalist movements (स्थानीय राष्ट्रवाद को कुचल दिया गया).
🩸 Many massacres were committed by Bolshevik colonists in non-Russian areas.
🌍 However, most non-Russian nationalities were granted political autonomy (राजनीतिक स्वायत्तता).
📅 In December 1922, the Soviet Union (USSR) was officially formed –
✅ Built from the old Russian Empire
✅ Controlled by the Bolshevik Party
🏗️ Building a Socialist Economy (1927–1938)
🏦 Industries and banks remained nationalised (राष्ट्रीयकृत – सरकार के अधीन) during and after the civil war.
🌾 Peasants were allowed to cultivate land (किसानों को खेती की अनुमति मिली).
📋 A system of centralised planning was introduced:
🕰️ Government set targets for every five-year period (पाँच वर्षीय योजना):
📅 First Plan (1927–1932)
📅 Second Plan (1933–1938)
📊 Government fixed all prices to promote industrial growth (औद्योगिक विकास).
⚠️ Rapid construction = poor working conditions (खराब काम करने की स्थिति), but economy grew steadily.
👨🏫 Social Reforms in Socialist Society
🏫 A new schooling system was developed.
🎓 Factory workers and peasants were given access to universities (विश्वविद्यालयों में प्रवेश).
👩🏭 For women workers, crèches (बच्चों की देखभाल केंद्र) were set up in factories.
🧑⚕️ Cheap public healthcare (सस्ती सार्वजनिक स्वास्थ्य सेवा) was provided.
🏘️ Model living quarters (नमूना आवास) were created for industrial workers.
🌾 Stalinism and Collectivisation (1928–1933)
📉 By 1927–28, cities in Soviet Russia faced grain shortage (अनाज की भारी कमी).
⚠️ Stalin took emergency measures:
🚜 In 1928, Party members raided grain-producing areas
🥖 Forced grain collection began
💰 ‘Kulaks’ (समृद्ध किसान) were especially targeted.
📅 From 1929, peasants were forced to join collective farms called Kolkhoz (सामूहिक खेती).
👨🌾 Peasants worked together
💵 Profit was shared collectively
🐄 But between 1929–31, cattle population fell by one-third 😢
🪵 The government allowed some private farming, but discouraged it strictly.
🚨 Consequences of Stalin’s Policy
🌾 Despite collectivisation, agricultural production didn’t increase.
🌧️ Between 1930–1933, due to bad harvests,
☠️ Over 4 million people died of starvation (भुखमरी से मौतें).
👁️ Across the USSR:
⚖️ Accusations were made frequently
🏚️ People were arrested, even for small acts
📅 By 1939:
🔒 Over 2 million people were in prisons or labour camps (श्रम शिविर).
📌 The system promoted strict discipline but created fear and suffering.
🌍 Global Influence of the Russian Revolution & the USSR
🟥 After the Russian Revolution, many countries were inspired by socialism:
✔️ Communist Parties were formed (e.g., Great Britain) 🇬🇧
✔️ In 1920, non-Russians attended the Conference of the Peoples of the East 🌏
✔️ The Comintern was founded –
🔗 An international union of pro-Bolshevik socialist parties (समाजवादी दलों का अंतरराष्ट्रीय संगठन)
💪 The USSR became a global symbol of socialism before World War II:
🏭 Industry & agriculture grew
🥣 The poor were fed
🌍 The USSR rose as a great power
📉 Decline of Global Influence
📆 By the end of the 20th century,
⬇️ The international image of the USSR as a socialist nation declined
– due to political control, censorship, economic issues, and lack of freedom.
📚 Still, the Russian Revolution left a lasting mark on global politics,
🔥 And influenced struggles for equality, socialism, and worker rights across the world.
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