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Class 9 History Chapter 4 Russian Revolution
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Russian Revolution
Lesson – 4
HISTORY
1. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:
(a) Who was Czar, the Liberator?
Ans: Alexander ll
(b) In which date and year did the ‘Bloody Sunday’ occur?
Ans: 22 January 1905
(c) Who was the Czar of Russia during the World War l?
Ans: Nicholas II.
(d) Who was the Bishop that influenced the last Czar?
Ans: Rajputin.
(e) Whose reign is called the Augustan Era?
Ans: Czar Nicholas.
(f) In which year the Bolshevik party was formed?
Ans: 1903, Brussels, Belgium
(g) Who wrote the ‘Das Capital’?
Ans: Karl Marx.
(h) In which year the Russo-Japanese war took place?
Ans: 8 February 1904
(i) What is Duma?
Ans: The Duma was a Russian legislative body that existed from 1906 until 1917. The Duma was formed by Tsar Nicholas II, the leader of the ruling party.
(j) Who was in the leadership of the interim government of Russia?
Ans: George Lvov.
(k) What policy did Lenin adopt for the economic development of Russia?
Ans: Lenin adopted a policy called ‘New Economic policy’ for the economic development of Russia.
2. Write Short Notes:
(a) Edict of Emancipation.
Ans: The 1861 Emancipation Manifesto proclaimed the emancipation of the serfs on private estates and of the domestic (household) serfs. By this edict more than 23 million people received their liberty. Household serfs were the least affected: they gained only their freedom and no land.
Therefore by a historic by a edict named ‘Edit of emancipation’ of 1861, Czar Alexander to Freed the serfs from bondage and granted rights of the citizen to them. He arranged to rehabilitate the freed serfs in government lands brought from landed gentry and Zamindars. However ownership of the land was not granted to them. The edict must be viewed as a turning point in the history of Russia. It freed thousands of serfs who became Citizens of overnight.
(b) Bloody Sunday.
Ans: 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. Strikes 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 the Union of Unions and demanded a constituent assembly.
(c) Czar, the Liberator.
Ans: Alexander II became known as Tsar the Liberator able to implement the most challenging reforms undertaken in Russia since the reign of Peter the Great. During his reign, Russia continued its expansion into Central Asia. Alexander II’s most important reform was the abolition of serfdom with the Tsar’s Emancipation Manifesto of February 19, 1861. Then other reforms followed: jury trial; local self-government for rural districts and larger towns possessing restricted rights; more or less independent printed media; higher education available to the lower classes, etc.
Therefore, his edict is considered to be a landmark event in Russia. He not only freed them from bonded slavery but also provided government lands for them to settle and cultivate. They were allowed to hold the property given by the government for a period of 49 years during which they could purchase the property by paying the price of the land over the years.
(d) Causes of dissidents between the Bolshevik and Menshevik party.
Ans: During the early 1900s, the Social-Democrat Worker’s Party was created in tsarist Russia. This would escalate into the Russian Revolution of 1917. Within the party, there was a split and two factions emerged: the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks. The word Menshevik comes from the word “minority” (in Russian of course), and Bolshevik from “majority”. Bolsheviks believed in a radical —and elitist— revolution, whereas Mensheviks supported a more progressive change in collaboration with the middle class and the bourgeoisie. The central figures were Julius Martov, at the head of the Mensheviks, who opposed Vladimir Lenin, leader of the bolcheviks. The Bolcheviks did not truly have the majority, yet it was their vision that prevaded for the upcoming decades.
(e) The Communist Manifesto.
Ans: The Communist Manifesto was published in February, 1848. Of its two authors, Karl Marx was then in his thirtieth, and Friedrich Engels in his twenty-eighth, year. Both had already not only a wide acquaintance with the literature of socialism, but intimate relations with most sections of the socialist agitation in Western Europe. They had been close friends for four years; each of them had published books and articles that are landmarks in the history of socialist doctrine. Marx had already had a stormy career as a journalist and social philosopher; he was already sufficiently a thorn in the side of reactionary governments to have been a refugee in both Paris and Brussels.
Engels, his military service over, and his conversion to socialism completed after he had accepted the view of Moses Hess that the central problem of German philosophy was the social question, and that it could only be solved in socialist terms, had already passed nearly fifteen months of his commercial training in his father’s firm in Manchester by the end of 1843. He had gained a deep insight into English conditions.
(f) Brest-Litovsk Treaty.
Ans: An agreement between Soviet Russia, Germany, and Austria-Hungary, signed in the town of that name in Poland. The conference opened in December 1917 in order to end Soviet participation in World War I. Trotsky skilfully prolonged discussions in the hope of Allied help for the Russian Revolution or of a socialist uprising of German and Austro-Hungarian workers. Neither happened. Lenin capitulated and ordered his delegates to accept the German terms. By the treaty, Russia surrendered nearly half of its European territory: Finland, the Baltic provinces, Belorussia (now Belarus), Poland, the Ukraine, and parts of the Caucasus. The German armistice in the west (November 1918) annulled the treaty, but in the Versailles Peace Settlement Russia only regained the Ukraine.
(g) Causes of failure of Kerensky government.
Ans: Alexander Kerensky served as the Minister of Justice in the provisional government established in Kassia. He aimed to institute socialism and democratic reforms through peaceful means. Kerensky proposed a resolution to both warring factions, suggesting that no territories should be annexed, and no compensations should be paid. However, this proposal was rejected by both sides. To bolster his case, Kerensky cleverly formed a new army and attempted to persuade Germany by sending it to invade Galicia, but the mission ended in failure.
Internally, Kerensky attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to suppress the left by aligning with the right. The intense propaganda waged by the Bolsheviks against Kerensky’s government, coupled with the alliance of Bolshevik members with the government army, were the primary reasons for the failure of Kerensky’s government.
(h) New Economic Policy.
Ans: The New Economic Policy of 1991 was a significant turning point in India’s economic history. It was implemented on 24th July 1991. It shifted from a closed and controlled economy to an open and liberalized one. This policy was introduced to address the economic challenges faced by the country. It aimed to promote growth, efficiency, and global integration. It brought major reforms in various sectors, including industry, trade, and finance. The policy aimed to attract foreign investment and encourage private entrepreneurship. With the New Economic Policy, India embarked on economic liberalization. It led to increased competition, modernization, and globalization. It shaped the country’s economic landscape.
Some of the important aspects of this policy were the following:
(i) Revenue was to be collected from the peasants instead of crops.
(ii) Sale of surplus production was allowed.
(iii) Right to private trading was permitted.
(iv) Foreign loans were arranged to boost trade.
3. Essay Type Questions:
(a) Give a short description of the social and political condition of Russia before the Russian Revolution.
Ans: In 1547, Prince Ivan IV of Moscow ascended to the title of Tsar, becoming the Emperor of Russia.
Before his rule, small slave towns had been established in Russia, each ruled independently by landowners or aristocrats. Ivan IV suppressed these local rulers in an attempt to create a unified Russia, but this endeavor was short-lived. In the eighteenth century, under the powerful leadership of Tsar Peter, a unified Russia was rebuilt. Following this period, a strong monarchy was established in Russia under the leadership of several tsars. However, whenever the kingdom’s governance was relaxed, the landowners and aristocracy would exploit and repress the populace. These actions threatened the country’s unity. Consequently, the Tsars were compelled to rule with arbitrariness and severity, often to the detriment of the people’s livelihoods.
This situation played a significant role in pushing the Russian people toward revolution. The political environment responsible for the revolutionary sentiments among the Russian populace is discussed below.
Firstly, the Tsars functioned as dictators, aided by a senate under their control. Secondly, a group of landowners and aristocrats, supported by the Tsar, subjected peasants throughout Russia to immense feudal exploitation.
Furthermore, factories emerged in Russia at the end of the nineteenth century. The Tsars paid little attention to the working conditions within these factories, focusing instead on maximizing profits for the factory owners. Thirdly, the Russian people did not benefit from the political changes that followed the French Revolution in Europe, primarily because the Tsars upheld conservative policies.
Fourthly, Russia is a multinational country, encompassing diverse ethnic and cultural groups. However, the Tsars disregarded this diversity, forcibly assimilating these groups into the Russian nation. This denial of cultural identity undermined the dignity of many nations and provoked widespread resentment.
(b) Assess the internal condition of Russia from the period of 1905 to the Bolshevik Revolution.
Ans: From 1905 until the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, the internal situation in Koshian was in turmoil. The revolutionaries aimed to confine the Tsar’s unbridled authoritarian regime to regular order, and the Emperor agreed. However, later, differences among the regular revolutionaries led to the end of the former authoritarian rule in Jhasia. When the regular leaders failed, the terrorist Bolshevik leaders led the movement. The October Revolution of 1917 overthrew Nicholas II and seized power after the defeat of the Russian army in World War I.
During Nicholas II’s reign, the Russian War with Japan began in 1904-05, in which Russia suffered an unexpected defeat. The country’s people believed that the king’s authoritarian and ineffective rule was the cause of this defeat and launched a massive movement against the king throughout the country. The people sent an 11-point demand to the government through various political parties, demanding freedom of individuals, freedom of property, freedom of expression, and freedom of newspapers, and launched a vigorous agitation based on these demands.
Massive strikes broke out in 1905, and the army opened fire on a procession of striking workers in Petrograd led by a cleric, killing many workers. As a result, revolutionary violence broke out throughout Jhasia. The revolutionaries destroyed the property and houses of the zamindars and killed government employees, police, and spies. As the terrorist movement intensified, Tsar Nicholas was forced to accept the demand for a national assembly and convened the Duma to prepare the Bulyghin Constitution. The protesters rejected the constitution and launched a massive political strike, and Nicholas issued a proclamation on October 30, 1905, granting full legislative powers to the Duma and the right to vote for all Russians, including peasants and workers.
On May 10, 1906, the National Assembly Duma met and, noting the weaknesses caused by differences of opinion among the delegates, the Emperor issued a proclamation depriving the Duma of its powers over foreign policy and military forces. Similarly, not satisfied with the proceedings of the Second Duma, Nicholas dissolved it. In the elections of the Fourth Duma, the reactionaries formed a new party called the Progressive Block, and the movement intensified in 1916, winning more seats and coming to power. In World War I, which began in 1914, Jhasia suffered a devastating defeat, and about 150,000 soldiers were captured.
This led to the uprising of all the people of the country against the dictatorship. On March 12, 1917, the army and workers came together to form a revolutionary organization called the Soviet. On March 15, 1917, Tsar Nicholas II was forced to resign and was arrested and executed with his family. Since then, the Romanov dynasty came to an end, and Russia became a republic.
Thus, from 1905 until the Bolshevik Revolution, various uprisings broke out at various times among the Tsarist statesmen and workers of Kassia.”
(c) Discuss the causes of the Russian Revolution (1917).
Ans: The main causes of the Russian Revolution of 1917 can be outlined as follows:
(i) Influence of the French Revolution: The ideals of individual freedom, democratic rule, social equality, and justice from the French Revolution influenced Russian soldiers, even though Russia was isolated from Western European civilization.
(ii) Medieval Authoritarian Rule in Russia: The autocratic rule of the kings, supported by spies, censorship of newspapers, and control over education, led to exploitation of peasants and the rise of opposition against the monarchy.
(iii) Corrupt Bureaucracy: The oppression by a corrupt bureaucracy paralyzed national life and led to a popular revolt against the monarchy.
(iv) Russian Land System: The majority of peasants were landless and oppressed by landowners, prompting protests and a desire for liberation inspired by Karl Marx’s communism.
(v) Industrial Revolution: Economic changes created a strong middle class and a suffering working class, both attracted to Karl Marx’s ideals, seeking change through revolution.
(vi) Role of Writers: Prominent writers like Tolstoy, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Pushkin, and Gogol highlighted oppression and corruption, inspiring people to revolt.
(vii) Defeat of the Cossack Army: The tragic defeat by Japan in 1905 encouraged discontented Russians to resist authoritarianism.
(viii) Rise of Political Parties: Political parties formed in 1883, culminating in the Russian Socialist Democratic Labor Party in 1898, influenced by Karl Marx’s socialism.
(ix) Immediate Cause: World War I, resulting in massive losses and food shortages, led to uprisings when parties other than the Bolsheviks failed to promise a ceasefire.
(x) Cossack Government during World War I: Forced recruitment by the Cossack government damaged agriculture and industry, causing food crises and intensifying demands for change.
Regarding the tenure of the Provisional Government formed at the beginning of the Revolution:
The March Revolution of 1917 led to the fall of the Russian Tsardom, but power did not immediately transfer to the people. After Tsar Nicholas’s resignation on March 15, 1917, the Duma formed a provisional government through negotiations with the Soviets in Petrograd. Government members were drawn from Duma representatives, but real power rested with the Soviets. Prince Georgy Lvov served as the Prime Minister, Mindykov as the Foreign Minister, Gushkov as the War Minister, and Alexander Kerensky as the Law Minister.
The provisional government announced that the Constituent Assembly, based on universal adult suffrage, would determine the country’s future. It declared freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, and religious freedom. Autonomy was promised to Finland and Poland, and the war was continued with renewed vigor. However, disagreements within the Provisional Government led to the resignation of the Foreign Affairs and War Ministers in April 1917. Numerous worker and peasant soviets demanding radical reforms further complicated the situation. In August 1917, the Provisional Government faced renewed demands from the people for peace, food, and land, leading to the resignation of Prime Minister Prince Lvov. Menshevik leader Alexander Kerensky then became the prime minister.
The Russian Soviet Congress of 1917 united the Soviets, with Lenin assuming leadership, consolidating his power within the Soviets.”
(d) Give a short description of the functions of the interim government constituted at the beginning of the revolution.
Ans: The immediate cause for the revolution of 1917 was the defeat of Russian forces during the First World War. During the first year of the war, it is estimated that neat 10 lakh Russian soldiers died and over a lakh and half were taken prisoners. The Russian army was defeated in every front. The war caused immense havoc to the country. As a result of the lack of men to work in the field, agriculture suffered and the Russian economy was in total ruins. Starvation, heavy taxation, rioting, etc became the order of the day.
Meanwhile several political parties has come up in the country. The ideas of Karl Marx had spread far and wide and everyone wanted to overthrow the corrupted monarchy. The army also supported the revolutionary movement. The army also supported the revolutionary movement. In March, the revolutionaries joined together and demanded the abdication of Czar Nicholas ll. Under pressure , Czar Nicholas abdicated and an interim government was formed under Prince George Lvov. He was assisted by some eminent persons such as Myshukov as foreign minister, Gusgkav as war minister and Alexander Kerensky as Law minister. Prince Lvov was a follower of democracy and has opposed to all reforms in the country. However, the interim government headed by Prince Lvov was weak and there was no unanimity among the coalition partners. As a result, in August 1917, Prince Lvov was forced to resign and Alexander Kerensky became the prime minister of the country.
The formation of new government under Prince George Lvov in February, 1917 came to be known as February according to the Russian calendar. The provisional government was recognised by the allied powers as it agreed to continue to take part in the war.
The interim government decided to form a Constituent Assembly on the basis of adult franchise which would plan the future course of action of the government.
The new government also granted freedom of association, freedom of press and speech and freedom of religious practice. By another proclamation the interim government lifted the ban on release of convicts and formation of different political parties. The government granted autonomy to Finland and Poland.The new administration decided to support the war with more force and materials.
However, there was no unanimity among the coalition partners of the government regarding the reconstruction programme and the continuance of the war. The army wanted the withdrawal of the force immediately. Meanwhile, due to difference of opinion and policies in April 1917, Myshukov and Gusgkav foreign minister and war minister respectively resigned. Taking advantage of the inefficient government numerous Soviet country.
Through these Soviets the Bolsheviks party led by Lenin demanded radical reforms in the country. Through these Soviets the Bolshevik party led by Lenin demanded radical reforms in the country. The cry of ‘peace, bread and land’ began to echo and reecho all over the country under the influence of Bolsheviks. By July 1917, there were widespread riots, strikes and anti-government feeling in the country. When Prince George Lvov realised that the situation was going out of control he resigned as Prime Minister and Alexander Kerensky , the leader of the Menshevik became the prime minister in August, 1917.
Two months later, in October the Bolshevik party under the leadership of Lenin captured power from the hands of the Menshevik party. This event is known as October revolution as it happened in the October according to the Russian calendar.
(e) Discuss the result of the Bolshevik Revolution.
Ans: The direct results of the Great Russian Revolution of 1917 marked a new chapter in Russia and around the world.
(a) Political Consequences: Following the success of 1917, a new constitution was drafted in 1918, replacing the former Council of Commissioners, and the Soviet Republic was established. The new government embraced socialism. The civil war ended in the country through the cooperation of the people, despite anti-socialist conspiracies by foreign powers. The zamindari system was abolished, and factories, railways, banks, and trade were nationalized.
(b) Social Consequences: The Socialist Revolution eradicated exploitation in Russian society. Economic freedom for the majority eliminated poverty and famine. Farmers received more than 150 million hectares of barren land. Nationalization of industries freed workers from exploitation, with fixed wages and working hours. The education system was liberated from religious influence.
(c) Economic Consequences: During the Civil War, Russia’s national income did not grow as expected due to foreign plundering and the droughts of the 1920s. Consequently, Lenin altered his tax policy.
Farmers now only had to pay taxes in exchange for food. Surplus food crops were openly sold at farmers’ markets, increasing farmers’ interest in agriculture. Small private industries were allowed to open, boosting urban food supply and worker enthusiasm. This system led to the emergence of a few small entrepreneurs but did not undermine the basic ideology of Soviet Russia, as large industries and agricultural land had already been nationalized. Over time, Russia became a stable and prosperous country.
(f) Evaluate the role of Lenin in the Bolshevik Revolution.
Ans: Lenin was the main pioneer of the Bolshevik Revolution. Lenin was attracted to Marxist ideals from his student days. Lenin returned home from Switzerland in 1917 and took part in the Bolshevik Revolution in November, ending the war with Germany and signing a permanent treaty in
Vladimir Lenin was the main unifier of the Soviets in Zhsia. Lenin continued the Bolshevik movement in Russia from his life in exile in Switzerland. Taking advantage of the revolution in March, Lenin, with the help of Germany, arrived in Petrograd in disguise via Sweden and Finland and. assumed leadership of the Soviets. On November 6, 1917, with the fall of Kerensky’s government, the Petrograd Soviet seized power and became a government. When the government was formed under Lenin, he took over as Chairman or Prime Minister of the new ministers.
Lenin took over the leadership of the Bolshevik government and attempted the literal application of Marxist principles. He took all private property under the control of the government and gave the farmers the amount of land they needed. The farmers were forced to account for surplus production to the government and the compulsory labor of all people adversely affected agricultural production and trade in the country. To overcome this situation, Lenin introduced new economic policies and established the authority of the Communist Party in the internal affairs. Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany and established peace in the country, despite accepting the ultimate loss for the sake of the country’s development.
Lenin had to accept great hardship and sacrifice in order to make the Bolshevik Revolution a success and was exiled several times. Lenin is therefore called the father of the Bolshevik Revolution and the creator of the new Russia.
(g) Discuss briefly the life and ideals of Karl Marx.
Ans: Karl Marx was born in 1818 into a middle-class family in Germany. He studied law at the Universities of Bonn and Berlin in Germany and embraced socialism after graduating. He married Jenny von Westphalen, the daughter of German aristocracy.
In 1842, Marx edited an extremist newspaper but was exiled by the Prussian government due to his dissatisfactory views. He then returned to France, where he became closely acquainted with its socialists and formed an association with the famous German socialist Friedrich Engels. In 1845, when the French government expelled Marx, he returned to Brussels and published his renowned Communist Manifesto, a foundational text in modern socialism, which he termed Communism.
In 1848, he returned to Germany and initiated the communist movement there. As a consequence of this movement, he was exiled by the German government and relocated to London. Marx spent the rest of his life in London, where he published his most significant work, Das Kapital.
Marx’s socialism is primarily based on several key principles. He explained history as rooted in economics, asserting that historical progression results from conflicts in economic interests among different classes. Marx argued that the conflict between capitalist owners and the proletarian working class was inevitable, leading to an eventual classless society. According to Marx, wealth should be distributed in proportion to labor. He believed in the establishment of a workers’ state worldwide.
(h) Narrate the communist constitution.
Ans: The Communist Constitution was drafted by the Bolsheviks based on the Marxist model. At the Party Congress of 1918, the term ‘Communist’ was adopted instead of ‘Bolshevik.’ The laws and government procedures were determined by the party, as it had become the owner of the state.
The dictatorship of the Party, specific to Marx, was established as the dictatorship of the workers. Membership in the Communist Party was made mandatory, requiring passionate support for Marx-Lenin and demonstrating skills as a ‘comrade’ for a fixed period. According to the Communist Constitution, every factory and village would have a ‘group’ or ‘cell’ of the Party, and regional committees would be formed with representatives from these cells.
Representatives of the Regional Committees also convened in the ‘Union of All-Soviet Soviet Republics,’ abbreviated as the U.S.S.R. This Congress formed a Central Committee, which served as the party’s legislature. The Politburo within the Central Committee functioned as the highest executive body, making final political decisions for the country. Since the implementation of the Communist Constitution in Kasia, the country has experienced economic progress, and the people have collectively gained financial security.
According to the Communist Constitution, a workers’ council or soviet was established in each city and district of Russia. The All-Russian Soviet Congress was formed by representatives from the regional and provincial soviets. Communist constitutions were introduced in all states.
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