NCERT Solutions For Class 9 History Chapter 2

NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Social Science History Chapter 2- Socialism in Europe and Russian Development discusses the emergence of socialism in Europe. The Russian Revolution had a profound impact on society, raising issues like economic equality and the well-being of workers and peasants. The chapter also covers subjects such as the new Soviet government’s reforms, the industrialisation and mechanisation of agriculture, people’s agricultural rights, and so on. Extramarks specialists created the NCERT Solutions Class 9 History Chapter 2 to help students absorb this information.

Extramarks NCERT Solutions provide detailed and authentic answers to all the textbook questions. Through those, the students can understand, remember and retain answers to NCERT questions and thus, perform well in exams.

Extramarks NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 2 – Socialism in Europe and Russian Development is developed by History teachers with decades of experience. The course material comes with engaging demonstrations and simple language explanations which helps students memorise the events easily.

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Key Topics Covered In NCERT Solutions For Class 9 History Chapter 2

Following are the key topics covered in NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 2- Socialism in Europe and Russian Development.

The Age of Social Change
The Russian Revolution
The February Revolution in Petrograd
The Global Influence of Russian Revolution And The USSR

Here’s the detailed information on each subtopic in NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 2- Socialism in Europe and Russian Development.

The Age of Social Change

Individual rights and social power were debated in various countries of the world after the revolution, including in Europe and Asia. Although colonial growth modified notions about societal change, not everyone was in favour of a complete transformation of the society. Socialism then became one of the most important and powerful philosophies to affect society in the twentieth century, thanks to the Russian revolution. Extramarks NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 2 takes students in-depth on the same.

Liberals, Radicals and Conservatives

Liberals desired a country that was tolerant of all religions. They called for a representative, elected parliamentary government, subject to laws interpreted by a well-trained court that was independent of monarchs and bureaucrats, to counteract the unchecked power of dynastic rule. After the nineteenth century, conservatives acknowledged change but felt that the past deserved to be cherished and that change should be gradual.

Social Change and Industrial Society

The Industrial Revolution brought about changes in social and economic life, as well as the emergence of new cities and industrialised regions. Men, women, and children came to the factories looking for work. There was unemployment at a period when industrial items were in short supply. Liberals and radicals built their fortunes via trade and industrial businesses. Revolutionaries overthrew rulers in France, Italy, Germany, and Russia. Nationalists discussed revolutions as a means of establishing “nations” with equal rights.

The Coming of Socialism to Europe

By the mid-nineteenth century, socialism had become a well-known set of ideals throughout Europe. Socialists opposed private property, believing it to be the source of all societal evils of the time. They advocated for it because they wanted it changed. According to Marx, industrial society was a “capitalist” society in which money invested in factories was held by capitalists, and capitalist profit was generated by workers. Capitalism and the private property regime were overthrown.

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Support for Socialism

By the 1870s, socialist ideals had spread throughout Europe, prompting the formation of the Second International. Workers in Germany and England organised associations to strive for improved living and working circumstances. By 1905, socialists and trade unionists had created the Labour Party and the Socialist Party.

The Russian Revolution

Socialists took control of Russia’s government during the October Revolution of 1917. The Russian Revolution was defined as the overthrow of the monarchy in February 1917 and the events in October 1917.

The Russian Empire in 1914

Tsar Nicholas II was the ruler of Russia in 1914. The Russian Empire stretched from the Baltic to the Pacific. It encompassed modern-day Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, sections of Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus, as well as Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

Economy and Society

Agriculturalists dominated the Russian population at the turn of the twentieth century, cultivating both for the market and their personal purposes. More factories were built in the 1890s, and foreign investment in industry surged. The government oversaw large industries to guarantee that workers received minimum pay and worked for a certain number of hours. Despite their differences, employees joined together to call for a work stoppage when they disagreed with their employers regarding dismissals or working conditions. The majority part of the land was cultivated by peasants, although significant estates belonged to the nobles, the crown, and the Orthodox Church.

Socialism in Russian

The Russian Social Democratic Workers Party was created in 1898 by socialists who admired Marx’s views. Socialists were active in the countryside during the nineteenth century, and the Socialist Revolutionary Party was founded in 1900. The organisation plan was a source of contention within the party. In a repressive society like Tsarist Russia, Vladimir Lenin believed the party should be disciplined, and the quantity and quality of its members should be controlled. The Mensheviks believed that the party should be accessible to everyone.

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A Turbulent Time: The 1905 Revolution

Russia, together with the Social Democrats and Socialist Revolutionaries, united alongside peasants and workers to seek a constitution during the Revolution of 1905. Russian workers faced difficult circumstances beginning in 1904 when the cost of vital items increased, and their actual incomes fell by 20%. Workers went on strike in order to seek a higher salary, reduced work hours, and improved working conditions. When the procession arrived at the Winter Palace, it was attacked by police and Cossacks. The tragedy, dubbed Bloody Sunday, set a chain of events in motion. The Tsar permitted the formation of an elected consultative Parliament, or Duma, during the 1905 Revolution.

The First World War and The Russian Empire

In 1914, the war began between two European alliances: Germany, Austria, and Turkey (the Central Powers) and France, the United Kingdom, and Russia (the Western powers) (later Italy and Romania). On the eastern front and the western front, the First World War was very different. Between 1914 and 1916, the Russian army suffered a series of defeats in Germany and Austria. To prevent the adversary from being able to survive off the land, the Russian army destroyed crops and dwellings. German dominance of the Baltic Sea shut the country off from other sources of industrial commodities. By 1916, railway lines were beginning to fail. Bread and flour were in short supply for city dwellers. 

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The February Revolution in Petrograd

The citizens of Petrograd were divided. Worker’s quarters and industries were placed on the right side of the River Neva. In contrast, fashionable places such as the Winter Palace and governmental buildings were positioned on the left bank. Food shortages had a significant impact on the employees’ quarters. International Women’s Day commemorates the fact that women-led the way in organising strikes. Demonstrators shouted chants demanding food, salaries, better hours, and democracy as they marched through the streets. Soldiers and striking workers assembled in the same building as the Duma to establish soviet or ‘council,’ which became known as the Petrograd Soviet. The future of Russia would be decided by a constituent assembly chosen by universal adult suffrage. A constituent assembly chosen by universal adult suffrage would decide on Russia’s destiny.

After February

Army officers, landowners, and businesspeople were powerful under the Provisional Government. Liberals and socialists worked together to establish a democratically elected administration. The ‘April Theses’ were three demands made by Lenin. He desired the end of the conflict, the transfer of land to the peasants, and the nationalisation of banks. Factory committees arose, and the number of trade unions expanded. When the Provisional Government’s control was eroded, and Bolshevik influence rose, the Provisional Government decided to take drastic steps to suppress the rising unrest. Peasants seized land between July and September 1917, aided by the Socialist Revolutionaries.

The Revolution of October 1917

Lenin convinced the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolshevik Party to commit to a socialist takeover of power on October 16, 1917. The Military Revolutionary Committee issued an order for supporters to seize government buildings and detain ministers. The city was under the committee’s control before nightfall, and the ministers had surrendered.

What Changed after October?

In November 1917, industry and banks were nationalised, which meant the government took over ownership and administration. The nobility’s land was proclaimed social property, and peasants were free to seize it. The Russian Communist Party was called the Bolshevik Party. Elections of the Constituent Assembly were held in November 1917, but they were a resounding failure. Russia has devolved into a one-party state. After October 1917, this resulted in artistic and architectural innovations. However, many people were disillusioned as a result of the Party’s encouragement of censorship.

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The Civil War

‘Greens’ (Socialist Revolutionaries) and ‘whites’ (pro-Tsarists) supported by French, American, British, and Japanese forces ruled the Russian Empire between 1918 and 1919. A civil war erupted between these forces and the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks had taken control of the old Russian empire by January 1920. Bolshevik colonists slaughtered local nationalists in the name of preserving socialism.

Making a Socialist Society

Industries and banks remained nationalised during the civil war. The land was allowed to be farmed by peasants. A centralised planning method was opted for. Officials discussed how the economy will function and set five-year goals. Economic progress resulted from centralised planning. A schooling system was established, and plans were created for manufacturing employees and peasants to attend universities. Crèches were set up at industries for the children of women employees. Public health care was supplied at a low cost. Workers were housed in mock-up dwelling quarters.

Stalinism and Collectivisation

The collectivisation of agriculture during the early Planned Economy period was a catastrophe. By 1927-28, food supply in Soviet Russia’s cities had become a severe issue. In 1928, representatives of the party went on an inspection of grain-producing districts, supervising forced grain collections and attacking ‘kulaks,’ a term for well-off peasants. The number of cattle declined by one-third between 1929 and 1931. Despite collectivisation, productivity did not increase quickly, and nearly 4 million people perished as a result of terrible harvests between 1930 and 1933.

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The Global Influence of Russian Revolution And The USSR

Extramarks NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 2 provides students with easy notes on the Global influence of Russian Revolution. Communist parties, such as the Communist Party of Great Britain, were created in several nations. The USSR had given socialism a worldwide face and significance before the onset of World War II. The USSR grew into a major power, with sophisticated industry and agriculture, and the poor were nourished. The USSR’s international standing as a socialist country had deteriorated by the end of the twentieth century.

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Key Features of NCERT Solutions For Class 9 History Chapter 2

Extramarks NCERT Solutions provide detailed and authentic answers to all the textbook questions. Through those, the students can understand, remember and retain answers to NCERT questions and thus, perform well in exams.

Students must study all previous concepts in order to do well in the exam. As a result, NCERT Solutions for Class 9 History Chapter 2 provides detailed answers to all questions. Some of the major reasons you must choose Extramarks include:

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Q.1 What were the social, economic and political conditions in Russia before 1905?

Ans. Social and Economic Conditions:

(i) The Social and economic conditions in Russia before 1905 were backward. About 85 per cent of the Russian empire’s population earned their living from agriculture.

(ii) Cultivators produced mostly for the market, and Russia was a major exporter of grain.

(iii) Prominent industrial areas were St Petersburg and Moscow. Craftsmen undertook much of the production, but large factories existed alongside craft workshops.

(iv) Many factories were set up with foreign investment, and Russia’s railway network was extended.

(v) Coal production, iron and steel output increased. By the 1900s, factory workers and craftsmen were almost equal in number.

(vi) Industry was the private property of industrialists.

In craft units and small workshops, the working day was 15 hours, compared with 10 or 12 hours in factories.

(vii) Workers were a divided social group by skills and with attachment to the villages from which they came.

Some workers formed associations to help members in times of unemployment and financial hardship.

(viii) In the countryside, peasants cultivated most of the land. They were divided religiously. But the nobility, the crown and the Orthodox Church owned large properties.

(ix) Others had settled in cities permanently. Workers were divided by skill. Russia was witnessing bad economic conditions. The textile industry during 1896-1897, and the metal industry during 1902 witnessed many strikes.

(xi) Nobles got their power and position through their services to the Tsar; however, they were unpopular among the masses.

Political Conditions:

(i) All political parties were illegal in Russia before 1914.

(ii) The Russian Social Democratic Workers Party was founded in 1898 by socialists inspired by Karl Marx’s ideas.

(iii) However, it had to operate as an illegal organisation.

(iv) It set up a newspaper, mobilised workers and organised strikes.

Q.2 In what ways was the working population in Russia different from other countries in Europe, before 1917?

Ans. In the early twentieth century, the majority of Russians were agriculturists. About 85 percent of the Russians earned their living from agriculture. This proportion was higher than most of the European countries. For instance, in France and Germany, the proportion was between 40 – 50 percent. In Russia, cultivator produced for the market as well as for their needs. Russia was a major exporter of grain.

Q.3 Why did the Tsarist autocracy collapse in 1917?

Ans.

(i) The Imperial Russian army came to be known as the ‘Russian steam roller’.

(ii) It was the largest armed force in the world.

(iii) When this army shifted its loyalty and began supporting the revolutionaries, Tsarist power collapsed.

Q.4 Make two lists: one with the main events and the effects of the February Revolution and the other with the main events and effects of the October Revolution. Write a 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:

22nd February: Factory lockout on the right bank took place in the capital, Petrograd.
25th February: The government suspended the Duma.

27th February: Demonstrators ransacked the Police Headquarters; people raised slogans about bread, wages, better hours and democracy; soldiers of various regiments supported the workers. Soldiers and striking workers gathered to form a ‘soviet’ or ‘council’; this was the Petrograd Soviet.

2nd March: The Tsar is advised by his military commanders to abdicate his power. The Soviet and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government for Russia. Petrograd led the February Revolution that brought down the monarchy.
The October Revolution:

16th October: Intense conflict between the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks happened; Lenin persuaded the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolshevik Party to agree to a socialist seizure of power. A Military Revolutionary Committee was appointed by the Soviet under Leon Trotskii to organise the seizure.

24th October: Prime Minister Kerenskii of the Provisional Government had left the city to summon troops. Military men loyal to the government seized the buildings of two Bolshevik newspapers. The Military Revolutionary Committee ordered seizure of government offices and the arrest of ministers. The ship Aurora shelled the Winter Palace. The All Russian Congress of Soviets in Petrograd approved the Bolshevik action. By December, the Bolsheviks controlled the Moscow-Petrograd area.

The leaders of the revolutions and the impact of each on Soviet history:

In the February Revolution, the factory workers with the support of the soldiers revolted against the Tsar. Even the Parliamentarians wishing to preserve elected government, were opposed to the Tsar’s desire to dissolve the Duma.

In the October Revolution, the ordinary masses guided by the Bolsheviks (the Communist Party) under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin ended the Provisional Government and established a socialist system.

Q.5 What were the main changes brought about by the Bolsheviks immediately after the October Revolution?

Ans. The following the main changes were brought about by the Bolsheviks immediately after the October Revolution:

(i) Private property was abolished.

(ii )Industry and banks were nationalised in November 1917.

(iii) Land was declared as social property.

(iv) Peasants were allowed to seize land from the nobility.

(v) In cities, Bolsheviks enforced the partition of large houses according to family requirements.

(vi) They banned the use of the old titles of aristocracy.

(vii) New uniforms were designed and the Soviet hat (budeonovka) was chosen for the army and officials in a clothing competition organised in 1918.

(viii) The Bolshevik Party was renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik).

Q.6 Write a few lines to show what you know about:

  • kulaks
  • the Duma
  • women workers between 1900 and 1930
  • the Liberals
  • Stalin’s collectivisation programme

Ans.

  • kulaks: ‘kulaks’ was the name for well-to-do peasants. In 1928, the members of the Communist Party attributed the reason for the shortage of grains to the small size of holdings of the ‘kulaks’. After 1917, to develop modern farms under state control, ‘kulaks’ were eliminated and their lands taken away.
  • the Duma: During the 1905 Revolution, the Tsar allowed the creation of an elected consultative Parliament or Duma.
  • women workers between 1900 and 1930:Women workers made up 31 per cent of the factory labour force by 1914, but they were paid less than men. During the February Revolution in 1917, in many factories, women led the way to strikes. This came to be called the International Women’s Day.
  • the Liberals: Liberals opposed the uncontrolled power of dynastic rulers. They wanted to safeguard the rights of individuals against governments. They argued for a representative, elected parliamentary government, subject to laws interpreted by a well-trained judiciary that was independent of rulers and officials. However, they were not ‘democrats’. They did not believe in universal adult franchise (the right of every citizen to vote). They felt men of property mainly should have the vote. They also did not want the vote for women.
  • Stalin’s collectivisation programme: Stalin introduced firm emergency measures through collectivization programme. From 1929, the Communist Party headed by Stalin forced all peasants to cultivate in collective farms (kolkhoz). The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the ownership of collective farms. Peasants worked on the land, and the kolkhoz profit was shared. In protest against the collectivization, peasants resisted the authorities and destroyed their livestock. Between 1929 and 1931, the number of cattle fell by one-third. Those who resisted collectivisation were severely punished. Many were deported and exiled. However, peasants argued that they were not rich and they were not against socialism. They merely did not want to work in collective farms for a variety of reasons. Stalin’s government allowed some independent cultivation, but treated such cultivators unsympathetically.

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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. When and how did socialism expand throughout Europe?

 By the mid-nineteenth century, socialist ideas were well-known. The following were the key characteristics of socialism:

  • Ownership by a group.
  • Economic and Social justice
  • Financial planning

2. Who was the Russian revolution's backbone?

In November 1917, the Russian revolution was mostly directed by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin.