Answer the following questions:

1.  What were the social, economic and political conditions in Russia before 1905?
Ans:
i) Social – Before 1905, the whole of Russia was still reeling in the ancient world. The society was divided into 3 classes. The clergy, the nobility and the working class. Nobility and the church controlled homogenous land estate, which led to widespread land hunger among the Russian peasants.

ii) Economic – Industrialisation had brought forward the industrial working class. They lived in miserable conditions, had no political rights and no means of gaining even minor reforms.

iii) Political – At the time of revolution Russia was being ruled by the autocratic Tsar Nicholas 11. He believed in the divine theory, and he led a government that was completely deaf to the needs of the masses.

2.  In what ways was the working population in Russia different from other countries in Europe before 1917?
Ans:
i) Workers were divided a lot , division were based on skills and workers were denied even the basic rights of an 8 hour day and minimum wages.
ii) About 85% of the Russians even in the early 20thcentury, were agriculturists. This was much higher than the other European countries.

3.  Why did Tsarist autocracy collapse in 1917?
Ans:
i) The Russian state under Tsar Nicholas 11 was completely unsuited to the needs of modern times as the Tsar still believed in the autocratic absolute rights of the king.
ii) Bureaucratic members recruited by the Tsar were inefficient and would not listen to anyone.

4.  Make two lists one with the main events and the effects of the February revolution and the other with the effects of October revolution. Write paragraph on who was involved in each, who were the leaders and what was the impact of each on soviet history.
Ans: The February revolution of 1917 was proceeded by large scale starvation. In Russia including the city of Petrograd  the situation was made more explosive by the long bread queues and severe  winter.

*The October Revolution

-Vladamir Lenin returned from his exile and organised a socialist take over of power through the military revolutionary committee under Leon Trotsky. It was together with All  Russian Congress of Soviet workers and soldiers.