NCERT Class 9 History Chapter 2 - Socialism in Europe and the Russian Revolution Timeline

Detailed Timeline of Events

Pre-19th Century:

• Before the 18th Century: European society broadly divided into estates and orders, with aristocracy and the Church controlling economic and social power.

19th Century:

• Post-French Revolution: Ideas of freedom and equality spread in Europe, opening up the possibility of changing societal structures. Debates about individual rights and control of social power begin in Europe and Asia, including India (Raja Rammohan Roy, Derozio).
• Early 19th Century: Liberals, radicals, and conservatives emerge as distinct political groups with differing views on the pace and extent of societal change.
  Liberals advocate for religious tolerance, representative government (with property qualifications for voting), and individual rights.
  Radicals push for government based on the majority, including women's suffrage, and oppose the privileges of large landowners and factory owners, though not necessarily private property itself.
  Conservatives initially oppose change but by the 19th century accept the inevitability of gradual change while respecting the past.
• Early to Mid-19th Century: The Industrial Revolution leads to significant social and economic changes: the rise of new cities and industrial regions, expansion of railways, and factory work for men, women, and children. This brings issues of long working hours, poor wages, unemployment, and inadequate housing and sanitation.
• Early to Mid-19th Century: Nationalists, liberals, and radicals in France, Italy, Germany, and Russia seek to overthrow existing monarchs and create nations with equal rights for citizens (Giuseppe Mazzini in Italy).
• Mid-19th Century: Socialism emerges as a significant body of ideas in Europe, criticizing private property as the root of social ills and advocating for societal control of property.
  Robert Owen experiments with cooperative communities (New Harmony, USA).
  Louis Blanc advocates for government-encouraged cooperatives in France.
  Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels develop a theory of capitalism and class struggle, arguing for a socialist revolution leading to a communist society with social control of property.
• 1870s: Socialist ideas spread through Europe. The Second International is formed to coordinate socialist efforts.
• Late 19th Century: Workers in England and Germany form associations to improve living and working conditions, demanding reduced working hours and the right to vote. These associations often link with socialist parties (Social Democratic Party in Germany).
• 1896-1897: Frequent strikes occur in the textile industry in Russia.
• 1898: The Russian Social Democratic Workers Party is founded by socialists in Russia.
• 1900: The Socialist Revolutionary Party is formed in Russia, advocating for peasants' rights and the transfer of noble land to peasants.
• 1902: Large-scale peasant unrest, including refusal to pay rent and attacks on landlords, occurs in south Russia. Strikes take place in the metal industry in Russia.

Early 20th Century (Pre-Revolution):

• Early 1900s: In some areas of Russia, factory workers and craftsmen are almost equal in number.
• 1904: A bad year for Russian workers due to rising prices and declining real wages. Membership in workers' associations increases. Four members of the Assembly of Russian Workers are dismissed at the Putilov Iron Works, leading to a call for industrial action.
• January 1905 (Bloody Sunday): A procession of workers led by Father Gapon to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg is attacked by police and Cossacks, resulting in many deaths and injuries. This event sparks the 1905 Revolution.
• 1905 Revolution: Strikes and protests spread across Russia. Universities close due to student walkouts demanding civil liberties. Lawyers, doctors, and engineers form the Union of Unions demanding a constituent assembly. Nationalists and jadidists within the Russian Empire also voice demands.
• During the 1905 Revolution: Tsar Nicholas II allows the creation of the elected consultative Parliament (Duma). Trade unions and factory committees emerge.
• Post-1905: Political activity in Russia faces severe restrictions. The Tsar dismisses the first two Dumas quickly and changes voting laws to favor conservatives.
• 1905: Peasant unrest and land seizures occur throughout Russia.
• By 1914: Socialist and trade unionist parties are formed in Britain (Labour Party) and France (Socialist Party), but they do not form governments. All political parties are illegal in Russia.
• 1914 (Pre-WWI): Tsar Nicholas II rules Russia as an autocrat, not subject to parliament. Russia's economy is largely agrarian (85% of the population). Industry is concentrated in pockets like St. Petersburg and Moscow.
• 1914: Outbreak of the First World War between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria, Turkey) and the Allied Powers (France, Britain, Russia, later Italy, Romania).
• 1914-1916 (WWI): Russia suffers heavy losses on the Eastern Front against Germany and Austria (over 7 million casualties by 1917). The army retreats, destroying crops and buildings, leading to over 3 million refugees. Anti-German sentiment rises, leading to the renaming of St. Petersburg to Petrograd. Tsarina Alexandra and Rasputin become unpopular.
• During WWI: Russia's industries struggle due to limited development and being cut off from suppliers. Railway lines begin to break down. Labor shortages and closure of small workshops occur. Grain supplies to cities become scarce, leading to bread riots by the winter of 1916.

1917: The Revolutions:

• February 22: Lockout at a factory in Petrograd.
• February 23 (International Women's Day): Sympathetic strikes in 50 factories in Petrograd, often led by women. Demonstrations reach the city center.
• February 25: Government suspends the Duma.
• February 26: Large-scale demonstrations return to Petrograd's left bank.
• February 27: Police Headquarters in Petrograd are ransacked. Soldiers mutiny and join striking workers, forming the Petrograd Soviet in the same building as the Duma.
• March 2: Tsar Nicholas II abdicates under pressure from military commanders. The Provisional Government is formed by Soviet and Duma leaders.
• After February: Restrictions on public meetings and associations are removed. Soviets are established throughout Russia.
• April: Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin returns to Russia from exile and presents his "April Theses," calling for an end to the war, transfer of land to peasants, and nationalization of banks. He also advocates renaming the Bolshevik Party to the Communist Party.
• Summer: Workers' movement spreads, leading to the formation of factory committees and trade unions. Soldiers' committees are formed in the army. The Provisional Government's power weakens as Bolshevik influence grows, leading to repressive measures against discontent. Bolshevik demonstrations in July are repressed, forcing leaders into hiding.
• July-September: Peasants, encouraged by Socialist Revolutionaries, seize land. Land committees are formed.
• September: Lenin begins discussions for an uprising against the Provisional Government, fearing a dictatorship.
• October 16: Lenin persuades the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolshevik Party to agree to a socialist seizure of power. A Military Revolutionary Committee under Leon Trotskii is formed to organize the uprising.
• October 24 (November 6/7 by Gregorian Calendar): Bolshevik uprising begins in Petrograd. Government buildings are seized, and ministers are arrested. The ship Aurora shells the Winter Palace.
• End of October/November: The All Russian Congress of Soviets approves the Bolshevik action. Uprisings occur in other cities, with heavy fighting in Moscow. By December, the Bolsheviks control the Moscow-Petrograd area.

Post-October Revolution:

• November 1917: Most industry and banks are nationalized. Land is declared social property, and peasants are allowed to seize noble land. Old aristocratic titles are banned. New uniforms (budeonovka hat) are designed. Elections to the Constituent Assembly are held, but the Bolsheviks do not gain a majority.
• January 1918: The Constituent Assembly rejects Bolshevik measures and is dismissed by Lenin, who argues the All Russian Congress of Soviets is more democratic.
• March 1918: The Bolsheviks make peace with Germany at Brest Litovsk, despite opposition from allies.
• Post-1918: Russia becomes a one-party state under the Bolsheviks (renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik)). Trade unions are controlled by the party. The secret police (Cheka, later OGPU, NKVD) suppresses dissent.
• 1918-1920: The Russian Civil War takes place between the Bolshevik "Reds" and their opponents, including "Whites" (pro-Tsarists) and "Greens" (Socialist Revolutionaries), who are supported by foreign troops. Looting, banditry, and famine are widespread.
• By January 1920: The Bolsheviks control most of the former Russian Empire.
• December 1922: The Bolsheviks create the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Non-Russian nationalities are granted political autonomy, though this is often accompanied by unpopular Bolshevik policies.
• During the Civil War: The Bolsheviks maintain nationalized industries and banks and allow peasants to cultivate socialized land. Confiscated land is used to demonstrate collective work. Centralized planning is introduced.
• Late 1920s-1930s: The Five Year Plans are implemented to promote rapid industrial growth through centralized economic planning. This leads to increased industrial production but also poor working conditions (e.g., Magnitogorsk).
• Late 1920s-Early 1930s: Collectivization of agriculture is enforced under Stalin. Peasants are forced onto collective farms (kolkhozes), leading to resistance, destruction of livestock, deportations, and a devastating famine in 1930-1933.
• Late 1920s-1930s (Stalinist Purges): Stalin and his supporters accuse critics of the Planned Economy and collectivization of conspiring against socialism, leading to widespread arrests, forced confessions, executions, and imprisonment in labor camps.
• Post-Revolution: The Russian Revolution inspires the formation of communist parties in many countries (e.g., Communist Party of Great Britain). The Bolsheviks encourage colonial peoples and establish the Comintern (1919).
• By WWII: The USSR has given socialism a global presence. Many non-Russians are educated in the USSR's Communist University of the Workers of the East.
• Post-WWII - 1950s: Within the USSR and the international socialist movement, there is growing acknowledgment that the Soviet government's style deviates from the revolution's ideals, characterized by repression despite industrial and agricultural development.
• End of the 20th Century: The international reputation of the USSR as a socialist country declines, although socialist ideals still have respect among its people. Socialist ideas are rethought in various ways in different countries.

Important person Bios:

• Raja Rammohan Roy: (India, late 18th - early 19th century) An Indian reformer who discussed the significance of the French Revolution.
• Derozio: (India, early 19th century) An Indian thinker who also engaged with the ideas of post-revolutionary Europe.
• Robert Owen: (Britain, 1771-1858) A leading English manufacturer who advocated for and attempted to build cooperative communities, such as New Harmony in the USA.
• Louis Blanc: (France, 1813-1882) A French socialist who advocated for government-encouraged cooperatives to replace capitalist enterprises.
• Karl Marx: (Germany/Britain, 1818-1883) A German philosopher and economist who, with Friedrich Engels, developed the theory of Marxism, advocating for a proletarian revolution to overthrow capitalism and establish a communist society.
• Friedrich Engels: (Germany/Britain, 1820-1895) A German social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of communist theory alongside Karl Marx.
• Giuseppe Mazzini: (Italy, 1805-1872) An Italian nationalist revolutionary who conspired to create a unified Italy with equal rights for all citizens.
• Tsar Nicholas II: (Russia, 1868-1918) The last Tsar of Russia, who ruled as an autocrat until his abdication in February 1917 during the February Revolution.
• Vladimir Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov): (Russia, 1870-1924) A Russian revolutionary, leader of the Bolshevik Party, and the first head of the Soviet state. He developed "Leninism," a variant of Marxism, and played a key role in the October Revolution.
• Alexander Shlyapnikov: (Russia, 1885-1937) A Russian socialist worker and memoirist who described the underground activities of revolutionaries before 1917.
• Father Gapon: (Russia, 1870-1906) A Russian Orthodox priest who led the workers' procession to the Winter Palace on Bloody Sunday in 1905.
• Tsarina Alexandra: (Russia, 1872-1918) The German-born Empress consort of Tsar Nicholas II. Her German origins and association with Rasputin made the autocracy unpopular during World War I.
• Rasputin (Grigori Yefimovich): (Russia, 1869-1916) A Russian mystic who gained considerable influence over Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra, contributing to the unpopularity of the Tsarist regime.
• Prime Minister Kerenskii (Alexander Kerenskii): (Russia, 1881-1970) A Russian lawyer and politician who served as the second Prime Minister of the Provisional Government before being overthrown in the October Revolution.
• Marfa Vasileva: (Russia, early 20th century) A woman worker at the Lorenz telephone factory in Petrograd who played a significant role in initiating a strike on International Women's Day in 1917.
• Leon Trotskii (Lev Davidovich Bronstein): (Russia, 1879-1940) A Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist who played a leading role in the October Revolution and served as a key figure in the early Soviet government, organizing the Red Army.
• Joseph Stalin (Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili): (Georgia/USSR, 1878-1953) A Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1922 and later the dictator of the USSR. He implemented collectivization and the Great Purge.
• M.N. Roy (Manabendra Nath Roy): (India/Mexico/USSR, 1887-1954) An Indian revolutionary, a founder of the Mexican Communist Party, and a prominent Comintern leader who was active in Central Asia during the Russian Civil War.
• Afanasii Dedorovich Frebenev: (Russia, born 1879) An independent peasant cultivator who wrote a letter detailing the hardships he faced due to the collectivization policies.
• Mikhail Kalinin: (Russia/USSR, 1875-1946) A Soviet politician who served as the head of state of the Russian SFSR and later the Soviet Union. He received a letter from a young worker detailing their difficulties.
• Rabindranath Tagore: (India, 1861-1941) A renowned Indian poet, writer, philosopher, and Nobel laureate who visited Soviet Russia in 1930 and wrote about his impressions of Soviet Socialism.
• Jawaharlal Nehru: (India, 1889-1964) An Indian nationalist leader who later became the first Prime Minister of independent India and took an interest in the Soviet experiment.
• Shaukat Usmani: (India, 1890-1978) An Indian revolutionary who visited Soviet Russia in 1920 and wrote about his experiences, highlighting the perceived equality.