Get notes, questions, solutions, textual answers, pdf, extras, MCQs for Chapter 2: The Russian Revolution, which is a part of the social science class 9 syllabus for students studying under the Nagaland Board of School Education. However, these notes should be used only for references and additions/modifications should be made as per the requirements.
Introduction
The Russian Revolution of 1917 made Russia the first country in the world to have a communist government. It also led to a long and bloody Civil War which lasted till 1920, at the end of which the communists had complete control over the country. The fall of the monarchy in February 1917 and the events of October 1917 are normally called the Russian Revolution.
The Bolsheviks who took control of the government, considered their revolution in Russia only the first stage of a worldwide communist revolution. Thus, the Russian Revolution marked the beginning of the struggle between communist nations and the capitalist world. To understand the Russian Revolution of 1917 in proper perspective and dimension, one has to understand the tyranny of the Czars on the one hand and the appalling backwardness of the country and its subjects on the other.
Textual Questions and Answers
Choose the correct answer
1. Serfdom had been abolished in the year _____ in Russia.
A. 1860 B. 1861 C. 1862 D. 1864
Answer: B. 1861
2. Who was the head of the first Provisional Government set up in Russia in March 1917?
A. Lenin B. Kerensky C. Leon Trotsky D. Czar Nicholas II
Answer: B. Kerensky
3. Which of the following leaders started the Five Year Plans in Russia?
A. Lenin B. Stalin C. Trotsky D. Gorbachov
Answer: B. Stalin
4. The Berlin Wall collapsed in which year?
A. 1989 B. 1991 C. 1992 D. 1993
Answer: A. 1989
5. There are two statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Mark your answer as per the codes provided below.
Assertion (A): Lenin’s NEP was the adoption of a mixed economy.
Reason (R): The Soviet Government controlled major industries, trade, and banking, while the individuals were allowed to sell their foodgrains in the open market.
A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
B. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
C. (A) is correct but (R) is wrong
D. (A) is wrong but (R) is correct
Answer: A. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
6. Which of the following statements about the above personality is incorrect?
A. He was the leader of the Bolsheviks B. He spearheaded the Russian Revolution C. He was the head of the Provisional Government D. He introduced the NEP
Answer: C. He was the head of the Provisional Government
7. Arrange the following statements in sequential order based on the events that shaped the French Revolution.
I. Bloody Sunday II. Abdication of the Czar III. October Revolution IV. The Collectivisation
A. I, II, III, IV B. IV, III, II, I C. III, I, II, IV D. II, III, I, IV
Answer: A. I, II, III, IV
Very Short Answer Type Questions
1. When did the Russian Revolution take place?
Answer: The Russian Revolution took place in 1917.
2. What made the Czar the “Autocrat of All the Russians?”
Answer: The autocracy was supported by the nobles on one hand and the church on the other, making the Czar the “Autocrat of All the Russians.”
3. When was Russian Social Democratic Labour Party formed?
Answer: The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was formed in 1898.
4. Which three important demands were part of Lenin’s ‘April Theses’?
Answer: The three important demands part of Lenin’s ‘April Theses’ were to end the war, transfer land to the peasants, and nationalise banks.
5. Who took command after the fall of Kerensky’s government and what was the new government called?
Answer: After the fall of Kerensky’s government, Vladimir Lenin took command and the new government was called the Soviet Republic.
6. How was the common people affected when Russia entered the First World War? [HOTS]
Answer: When Russia entered the First World War, the common people suffered due to the lack of food and essential goods, increasing inflation and decreasing real wages.
7. What did the Bolsheviks promise the people?
Answer: The Bolsheviks promised the people “Peace, Bread, and Land!”
Short Answer Type Questions
1. Explain the difference between:
a) The Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.
b) February 1917 and October 1917 revolutions.
Answer: a) The Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks.
| Bolsheviks | Mensheviks |
| They favoured a revolution. They were led by Lenin who organised his party to become the instrument for the Russian Revolution of l917. | They believed that the party should be modelled on the lines of parties in countries like France or England. |
b) February 1917 and October 1917 revolutions.
| February Revolution | October Revolution |
| February Revolution overthrew Nicholas ll and Duma leader Kerensky came to power. | October Revolution overthrew Kerensky’s Provisional Government and Bolshevik leader, Lenin, came to power. |
2. Discuss briefly the Collectivisation Programme.
Answer: The collectivization programme was a system devised by Stalin in which the Party forced all peasants to cultivate on collective farms (kolkhoz). The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the ownership of collective farms. Those who resisted collectivisation were severely punished. Many were deported and exiled.
3. Discuss any two features of the New Economic Policy (NEP).
Answer: Two features of the New Economic Policy (NEP) were:
I. Lenin’s NEP was the adoption of a mixed economy. The Soviet Government controlled major industries, trade, and banking, while individuals were allowed to sell their food grains in the open market.
II. The industries were also given permits to open stores and small factories, and a stable currency was introduced.
Long Answer Type Questions
1. Discuss the causes that led to the Revolution of 1917.
Answer: The causes that led to the Revolution of 1917 were:
i. The Czar believed in the divine right of the King to rule. The nobles enjoyed all the privileges and powers and held all key positions in the administration.
ii. The nobles and the Church supported the Czar which made him the autocrat of all the Russians.
iii. Serfdom had been abolished in l861 but that had failed to improve the conditions of the peasants. Their holdings were too small and uneconomical.
iv. Most factories were owned by foreigners. These Russian-owned factories paid very little wages to the workers.
v. Poor advisers, especially a monk called Rasputin who indirectly controlled the government through Czarine, made the autocracy unpopular.
vi. The First World War plunged the country into an economic crisis and poverty. There were shortages of labour and essential commodities.
2. Comment on the role of Vladimir Lenin in the Revolution and his contribution to economic policy.
Answer: In April 1917, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returned to Russia from his exile. Lenin feared that the Provisional Government could set up a dictatorship. In September, he began discussions for an uprising against the government. The uprising began on 25 October and on 7 November, an All-Russia Congress of Soviets, which supported the Bolsheviks, assumed full political power. With the fall of Kerensky’s Menshevik Government, Vladimir Lenin took command.
Lenin’s NEP was the adoption of a mixed economy. The Soviet Government controlled major industries, trade and banking, while individuals were allowed to sell their food grains in the open market. They were also given permits to open stores and small factories. The aim of NEP was to encourage the economic contribution of workers, and peasants in urban and rural areas to improve the country’s economy and to allow partial capitalism.
3. What were the immediate consequences of the Russian Revolution?
Answer: The immediate consequences of the Russian Revolutions were:
i. Lenin established the Soviet Republic and made peace with Germany by signing the treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918.
ii. Lenin set out to work for building a new socialist order in his country.
iii. The October Revolution was succeeded by a period of Civil War in Russia. An armed rebellion against the new government was organised by the officers of the Czar’s army. The Civil War raged till 1920.
iv. Lenin found it necessary to compromise with the old economic order by permitting individuals to own and operate small businesses under the supervision of the state.
v. Lands owned by the church and the Czar were confiscated. The lands thus confiscated were transferred to peasant societies who in turn allotted them to peasant families to be cultivated without hired labour.
vi. All foreign debts were, repudiated and foreign investments were confiscated. The railways, insurance companies, mines, water transport and large industries were nationalised.
4. Describe the main features of the Revolution of 1905.
Answer: The main features of the revolution of 1905 were:
i. Bloody Sunday started a series of events that was called the 1905 Revolution. Strikes took place all over the country and universities closed down.
ii. Students, lawyers, doctors, engineers and other middle-class workers established their unions and demanded civil liberties and a constituent Assembly.
iii. The Czar allowed the creation of an elected parliament or Duma. The Czar dismissed the first Duma within 75 days and the re-elected second Duma within 90 days.
iv. He packed the third Duma with conservative politicians and kept out liberals and revolutionaries. All trade unions, committees and workers’ associations were declared illegal.
v. The peasants also formed their Soviets. These organisations later became the instruments of political power in Russia.
vi. The army and navy were involved in protests against the killing of innocent workers and their family members. The sailors of the battleship Potemkin joined the revolutionaries.
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