socialism and Russian revolution -What changed after October

Prepared by prakshana. S of Grade 9, Akara world schools. Tiruchirappalli

1. Socialism and Russian revolution What changed after October ? Prepared by, Prakshna . S – Grade – 9 Akara world schools, Tiruchirappalli

2. What changed after O ctober ? Introduction After  Red  October , Not a Lot Has  Changed   in Russia . On  October  25, 1917, Vladimir Lenin ordered Bolshevik forces to attack the Winter Palace, the official home of  Russia's  rulers, in Saint Petersburg. ... For example, before the Red  October revolution , about a third of  Russian  debt was held by foreigners.Oct 24, 2017

3. CHANGES MADE IN OCTOBER Most of the industry and banks were nationalized in November 1917. The government took over ownership and management. Land was declared social property. Peasants were allowed to seize the land of the nobility. In cities, large houses were partitioned as per family requirements. Old titles of aristocracy were banned. A clothing competition was held in 1918; to design new uniforms for the army and officials.

4. CIVIL WAR The Bolshevik Party was renamed the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik). Elections for the Constituent Assembly were held in November 1917.  Russia became a one-party state. Trade unions were kept under party control. The secret police punished those who criticized the Bolsheviks. Many writers and artists; who had earlier rallied behind the party felt disillusioned, because of censorship being imposed by the Bolsheviks.

5. Non-Bolshevik socialists, liberals and supporters of autocracy protested the Bolshevik uprising. Their leaders moved to south Russia. They organized troops to fight the Bolsheviks (the ‘reds’). The ‘greens’ (Socialist Revolutionaries) and ‘whites (pro-Tsarists) controlled most of the Russian empire during 1918 and 1919. They were backed by French, American, British and Japanese troops. These forces were worried at the growth of socialism in Russia. A civil war ensued between these forces and the Bolsheviks. Supporters of private property; among ‘whites’; took harsh steps with peasants who had seized land. But such actions led to a loss of popular support for the non-Bolsheviks.

6. The Bolsheviks took control of most of the former Russian empire by January 1920. The succeeded because of cooperation with non-Russian nationalities and Muslim jadidists .

7. Planned Economy :  A process of centralised planning was introduced by the Bolshevik. The officials planned for the development of the economy and made the Five Year Plans. Industrial growth was the target of the first two ‘Plans’ (1927-32 and 1933-38). Industrial production increased during this period and new industrial cities came up.

8. Schools were established for workers’ children and an extended schooling system was developed for factory workers and peasants. Crèches were made in factories for the benefit of women workers. Cheap healthcare was provided by the government.

9. Stalinism and Collectivisation The early years of the Planned Economy proved to be disasters for the collectivization of agriculture. There was acute problem of grain supplies in the towns in 1927-28. The prices were fixed by the government but the peasants refused to sell grains to government buyers at these prices.

10. CONTD… Stalin’s collectivization programme was then started. From 1929, all peasants were forced to cultivate in collective farms ( kolhoz ). The bulk of land and implements were transferred to the ownership of collective farm. Enraged peasants resisted such attempts and destroyed their livestock. Those who resisted the attempts of collectivization were severely punished. Many were deported and exiled. After large-scale protests, some peasants were allowed to work on their independent farms, but the government was not sympathetic to them.

11. Many within the Party who criticized Stalin’s policies were charged with conspiracy against socialism. By 1939, over 2 milion were in prisons or in labour camps. A large number were forced to make false confessions and were executed.