Seventh Part
Q. Why should you study the Russian Revolution ?
A. The birth of socialist ideas, particularly Marxism, transformed man's understanding of reality of social and political structures and of the history of mankind itself. The Russian Revolution showed in concrete practice the possibilities of destroying exploitative societies, and creating new, free and just societies. In doing so it had a tremendous impact on all movements of emancipation including the struggles for independence from foreign rule and imperialism. It also provided inspiration to the national liberation movement in India, particularly to the revolutionary struggles of the working people. Hence it’s important to study Russian Revolution .
Q. When were the conditions prepared for the socialist revolution in Russia ?
A. By 1917 the working people of Russia were no longer prepared to tolerate their dehumanized situation. They were also by then politically organized, and therefore able to overthrow the old social and political order. Therefore, by 1917 there emerged an intense contradiction and polarization between the old and the new in Russia. The Russian revolutionary movement represented the democratic aspirations of these new forces. The Russian state on the other hand represented the interests of the old ruling classes. The Russian state on the other hand represented the interests of the old ruling classes. In Russia right up to 1917 there.existed an autocratic form of government. There were no representative institutions. No right to form political organizations. There was strict censorship and arbitrary arrests. There was no religious toleration, and there was oppression of all nationalists other than Russian.
Q. Which sections provided the leadership to the Russian Revolution ?
A. In the Russian revolution many political groups were active. They played a significant role in raising the consciousness of the people-particularly of the workers & peasants through political education, political propaganda & agitation. They also formed organizations of workers & peasants to give a cohesiveness and direction to the revolutionary movement. The important political tendencies were that of the Populists (in the late nineteenth century) and the Socialist Revolutionaries, the Liberals & the Social Democrats (Marxists), particularlythe Bolsheviks. In the decade preceding the revolution Lenin was the most important leader of the Bolshevik Party, and of the Russian Revolution. Other important leaders were Trotsky, Bukharin and Stalin.
Q. What were the economic changes introduced by the revolutionary regime ?
A. In the economic sphere the Russian Revolution meant the end of private property, and the change to ownership of all property by the state. This did not mean that people's personal belongings were taken away from them. By abolition of private property was meant that all means of production i.e. sources of profit-income making were converted into state property. These included factories, land, banks etc. No body could now own them privately to exploit the labor of others to make profit. The Revolution also established workers' control over industries which meant that they could keep a check on the vroduction process through their representatives, and also ensure the rights of workers in their factory. This measure was based on the understanding that those who produce must have some role in decision making through their representatives right up to the central level. The revolution introduced centralized economy and Five year planning.Through a centralized economy they sought to guarantee a much faster pace of economic development and the fruits of that development to the vast majority of the people, preventing an anarchy in production, and also avoid wastage. In agriculture, land was nationalized. This means that land was owned by the state and given over to the peasant for hereditary use. But he could not sell it or mortgage-it, or use it to exploit the labor of others to earn profit for himself. Through the land Decree of November, 19 17 landlordism was abolished and land was handed over to the peasantry.
Q. What were the social benefits granted to all citizens of the Soviet Union ?
A. By destroying private property in the means of production the Revolution also destroyed the roots of social inequality. It laid the foundations for a classless society. Also, each one was paid "according to his work". The gap between the salary of a worker and manager was not much, or between a worker and artist or teacher. The Soviet State also guaranteed certain social benefits to all citizens, such as free medical care, free and equal education for all, unemployment allowance, equal access to culture & cultural advancement. These were infact rights of the people, guaranteed by the constitution. Equality for women was not only guaranteed by the constitution but material basis for this equality were created in order to implement it. There was provision for six months maternity leave, creches at places of work, public canteens at places of work where food was cheap and subsidized etc. All this was aimed at making possible fullest participation by women in public life. The separation of religion from politics and state was another important measure of the revolution. Religion was to be a purely private affair. No religions education was to be given in schools, no public utility to be made of religion.
Q. Mention two aspects of the Bolsheviks' international policy ?
A. In International relations also the Russian Revolution represented an important landmark. First of all the Bolsheviks abolished all the old secret treaties entered into by the Autocracy and the Provisional Government. It was felt that people have a right to know what their governments are doing, & that the people of any country should have the right to influence the foreign policy of their country through debate and intervention.
Secondly, the Bolsheviks through a decree made the offer of immediate peace without annexations and indemnities. They were the only political group in the world to put into practice such a declaration. They also withdrew their claims over many of the areas in the Near East and the Far East that the previous Russian government had been fighting over. They declared themselves against Imperialism and lent support to all national liberation struggles against foreign domination. In the areas that had constituted the Tsarist Empire, the Bolsheviks recognized the rights of all nationalities to self-determination including the right of succession. In the areas where the landed aristocracy and the bourgeoisie wanted to separate, but the workers and peasants wanted to be a part of Soviet Russia, the Bolsheviks recognized the will of the masses and fought with them to consolidate the October Revolution. The workers and peasants of most nationalities were with the Bolsheviks because they knew that the defeat of Bolsheviks would mean the return of landlordism and capitalist exploitation.
Q. Why is the experience of the Russian Revolution so important for India ?
A. The Indian National Movement arose as a result of the social conditions created by British
Imperialism, its system of exploitation, and the social and economic forces generated by this system of exploitation. Inspired by the events in Russia , like the 1905 revolution was a great inspiration for the Indian leaders. The agitation against the Partition of BengaI , reflected in the Swadeshi Movement, belongs to the period immediately afterward. The first political strike by the working class took place in 1912 in Bombay. The impact of the October Revolution on the Indian National Movement was also not direct, but after the success of the Russian Revolution it began to be increasingly realized by the Indian leaders that nothing could be gained either by constitutional method or through the politics of the bomb. What was most necessary and decisive was the intervention of the masses in political struggle. The 1920's thus saw the formation of Workers' and Peasants' Parties, the All India Trade Union Congress, and increasing workers and peasants struggles. The Non-Co-operation Movement was a direct result of this understanding and organization. The Russian Revolution also led to the propagation and spread of socialist ideas in India. Within the Indian National Congress itself there emerged a Congress Socialist group. Jawaharlal Nehru particularly was deeply influenced by Soviet Russia, particularly by its anti-imperialist thrust.The Indian National Movement became a part of the world wide struggle against Imperialism led by the Soviet Union, and it began also to be recognized as such by Indian leaders. Without the success of the Russian Revolution which weakened Imperialism at the world level, the Indian people' fight against British Imperialism would have been much more difficult. It is not a coincidence that it was with the defeat of Fascism and the capitalist crisis after World War that a process of decolonization was precipitated.
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