Socialism in Europe and The Russian Revolution Notes PDF
The Three Political Paradigms
After the French Revolution, there was an emergence of new paradigms that were new to the political sphere of the period at that time. They were:
- Conservatives
- Liberals
- Radicals
The Problems with Industrialisation
Before industrialization in Europe, the people were no longer able to sustain their livelihood using traditional farming and agriculture methods. Growing population, constant wars, monarchy, etc. were causing the living standard of the people in Europe to decline.
People came in lots to work in the industries due to which wages were very less.
Due to urbanization, problems arose due to housing and sanitation.
The Emergence of Socialism
The socialists promoted the ownership of properties to communities as they thought the privately owned properties were crony. Some socialists were Robert Owen, Louis Blanc, etc. who supported the formation of cooperatives dismantling the privately owned industries.
Karl Marx noted that the profit that was made by the owners was due to the hard work of the workers. He thought that prevention of accumulation of wealth needs to be done and dreamt of a world where the society was rich as a whole.
Socialist Revolution in Russian
- In the early 20th century, Russia had a monarchical system.
- Tsar Nicholas was the last emperor of the Russian Empire.
- The industries were only in major cities like St. Petersburg and Moscow.
The 1905 Revolution
In 1904, inflation made the wages of the Russian workers effectively meager.
The Putilov Iron Works fired 4 workers who were a part of the Assembly of Russian Workers.
Hence, approximately 110000 workers went on strike and gathered in St Petersburg. When they reached the Winter Palace, they were fired at and about 100 of them were killed.
The February Revolution
- Due to the Russian involvement in World War, the industries failed to survive and the railways disintegrated.
- The young men were forced to fight the war, the small workshops, and the farming too suffered for the loss of workers.
- The women played an active part in these strikes. The workers surrounded the Winter Palace but the soldiers did not fire at them.
- With the soldiers, the workers formed a Soviet in the parliament.
You can download the Socialism in Europe and The Russian Revolution Notes PDF by clicking on the link given below.