Russian Revolution

In 19th century, almost entire Europe was undergoing social, political, and economical transformation.The Russian Revolution took place in 1917.The rule of old feudal aristocracies had been replaced by the new middle classes but in Russia there was still autocratic rule by Russian Emperors known as Czars.
The Russian state under the Czars was completely unsuited to the needs of modern time. Czars were only supported by the Nobels and upper layers of clergy and the workers had no political rights and  no means of gaining even minor reforms.If the French Revolution symbolized Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, the Russian Revolution symbolized much more –organized struggle, clarity of perspective and courage to go against the tide even if it meant being isolated in the whole world wide.

CAUSES-

Discontentment of Different Classes
a.Proletariat-
i.Intolerable and insanitary working conditions.
ii.Existence of more labour than the industries could absorb putting workers at the mercy of their employers.
iii.ban on workers unions and growing labour unrest.

b.Serfs and Peasants-
i.Unenviable position of serfs who were no better than slaves
ii.The Czar made a provisions for them to posses some land.But the reforms neither reduced their tax burden nor increased their income.
iii.Due to the industrialization, handicrafts and rural industries were ruined, thus reducing the opportunities and income of peasants.

c.Bourgeoisie-
i.Creation of a well developed and energetic middle class, which was economically better off, but enjoyed on political and social privileges.
ii.The middle class dominated Zemstovs, which became active and drew up a definite programme of liberal reform.

Czar,s Autocratic Rule and Military Disasters
i.The government of Russia was autocratic without being efficient.
ii.Discrediting of Russian autocracy by military disasters such as Crimean War,The Russo-Japanese War,The Great War of 1914-18.

Influence of Political Thinkers and Philosophers
i.Influence of the liberal and radical ideas of the West on Russia.
ii.Influence of Russian radical intellectuals by Marx and Bakunin(Socialism and Anarchism).
iii.Marxist theory of a revolution was put into for the first time in history.

Immediate Cause 

i.Bloody Sunday-
The revolutionary movement in Russia broke out in 1905.On a 9 January the Assembly of Russian Workingmen—broke out in St.Petersburg and  a mass of people were fired at St.Petersburg and more than thousands of people were and wounded.

ii.March Revolution(February Revolution)-
On 12 March 1917 the capital city St.Petersburg feel into the hands of Revolutionaries.The fall of Czar is known as February Revolution as it occurred on 27 February 1917.
a) Outbreak of strikes and bread-riots in the capital and collapse of Romanov rule.
b) Leaderless,spontaneous and anonymous nature of this revolution.
c) Setting up of a provisional government by Duma and abduction of Czar.

 iii.November Revolution-
On 7 November 1917,a group of sailors occupied winter palace of the Kerensky Government which led to the collapse of this government. This revolution is also known as October Revolution because of the corresponding date of the Russian Calendar, 25 October,1917.
a) The provisional government failed to meet the demands of the masses.

• The workers wanted immediate improvement in their working conditions
• The peasants wanted land immediately. 
• The soldiers wanted peace without any further delay.

b) The Bolsheviks were still a minority of the Russian population, and they would have to secure the acceptance of their rule within Russia as well as without.c) The personality of Lenin, who was skillful tactician, was also responsible. He called out not only for the establishment of a republic of Soviets, but also for the confiscation of estates, the nationalism of land etc.

Signification of the Revolution-
i.It gave Marxism a new dimension by demonstrating that Marxist Revolution can take place even in a semi- industrialized country like Russia.
ii.It was the first of its kind in the history of the revolutions till then where a single individual had played a very crucial role

iii.The origin of the present day Cold War and super power rivalry are sometimes traced to it.

RENAISSANCE IN EUROPE in a Synoptic Way

The term "Renaissance" denotes a new age in the history of Western Civilization at the end of the middle ages, though its literal meaning is "rebirth " or "revival" of learning or of the arts.

The Renaissance was thus a great movement of roughly 300 years in European History.

CAUSES-

1.Influence of the philosophers and thinkers such as Roger bacon etc 

2.Scientific developments, especially the invention of the printing press.

3.Rise of towns and the middle class due to commercial revolution

4.Patronage by wealthy and influential people like Kings, Popes, Nobel etc.

ORIGIN-

It began in Italy to a Variety of Reasons-

1. Italy being the center of the ancient roman civilization.

2. East-West trade and rise of a large middle class with a secular attitude towards life.

3.Patronage of Italian princes and the Popes.

But soon it spread to other European countries such as England, France, Germany etc.

COURSE-

I-Renaissance in Literature 

1. Unlike the medieval literature which was dominated by religion  and was  written in Latin, the Renaissance literature was about man and everything  connected with man (Humanism) and it was written in the languages of the people (Vernaculars)

2.Rise and growth of new languages and their literature like Italian( Machiavelli), English(Ben Jonson, Shakespeare), German(Martin Luther), French (Rebellious and Montague).

II-Renaissance in Arts

1.Painting: It was less influenced by classical works than were architecture and sculpture , because paintings of ancient Greece and Rome were scare, and the Renaissance painters had an opportunity to be original.
2.Sculpture: In technique the Renaissance sculpture could rely more closely on classical traditions than could the painter, because sculpture was more highly developed in classical time and the work was in a better state in preservation.Though study of human body by the sculptors.
3.Architecture: Clear trend towards classicism, seen in the adoption of the arch, the dome and the columns; An emphasis upon the design and ornamentation that is not found either in the classical style or the Gothic style.
4.Music: It was more free from classical influence than any other art of the Renaissance period.Though still dominated by religion, several fundamental change were made in it.

III-Renaissance in Science
Foundation of the scientific method by Francis Bacon and Descartes. Astronomers like Copernicus(Polish),Chemist like Harvey ,Mathematicians like Ferrari, Physicists like Gilbert etc.

CONSEQUENCES- 

1. End the age of blind faith and advent of the age of reason and scientific outlook.
2.Development of Humanism.
3.Growth of arts,literature and science.
4.Development of Trade and Commerce.
5.Reformation and the decline of the power of the church. 

How to write a Great essay for the IAS Mains?

Essay is the first Paper you will write

The IAS Mains Exam usually starts with the Essay paper in the first session. So, Essay is effectively the first paper you handle in the Mains.

Change in Pattern : 2 Essays in 3 Hours

An important change brought out by the UPSC from 2014 onward is to ask candidates to write two essays in 3 hours rather than write a single essay as was the case before. This calls for time management. Equal time should be spent on both the topics.

Points to Remember while writing the Essay paper:

1. A Great Introduction
2. A Great Conclusion
3. Usage of day-to-day examples
4. Usage of personal anecdotes
5. Quoting famous personalities
6. Small paragraphs
7. A neat handwriting
8. Usage of Sub-Sections
9. Usage of Current Affairs

8 & 9 if it is exactly known only then introduce the CA or Sub-sections.

Body of the essay-

Analyse the topic from various perspectives;

Do not use any advanced term

Write in a very simple manner

Do not adopt an unnecessarily negative tone 

Have a solid thesis statement

Grab the reader’s attention

You can present by introducing following in introduction part.

– An interesting fact
– A piece of knowledge that is surprising
– A very intriguing quote
– A short personal anecdote
– Provoke the reader through a question

To have a great conclusion

A memorable and lasting impression should be left on the reader

– Try to create a powerful image in the mind of the reader
– End with a thought-provoking quotation
– Talk about what action can be done
– End on an interesting twist of logic

Industrial Revolution

Industrial Revolution started giving promotion to new order in the world in various fields such as economy ,polity,society,religion etc.The foundation  state of his new order was already laid down by Renaissance,world trade etc.The beginning of the world trade and colonization prepared the ground for Industrial Revolution in The World.

Capitalism played a very important role in the beginning in industrial revolution because it created atmosphere for the promotion of Industrialization. Capitalism means when instruments and means to produced goods is in control of private sector or individual.In previous modern world the things were different like Production controlled by Craftsman.They were the owner and did their work by themselves but whereas in Modern World the production controlled by private individual ,workers were used as labors on wages. Previous Modern Production was based on simple machines which was easily affordable by craftsman but in Modern Industries requires  technical machines and good infrastructure required was only affordable by capitalist class people.

Salient features of Industrial Revolution : 

1.England became the epicenter for Industrial Revolution in 2^nd half of 18 century.

• With the promotion of Industrial Revolution  land as commodity got importance and this saw the beginning of Enclosure movement in Britain and under this movement the Big Land Lords in Britain started snatching away the land of farmers, creating unemployment among farmers.
• Coal and Iron were two pillars of Industrial Revolution and Britain has good source of coal and iron.
• In 1688 Britain saw a glorious revolt which led to the victory of Parliament in England and in 1701 British Parliament passed the Law to elect the Rulers of Britain .This way Britain became the first country to have Parliamentary form  of Government.
• Colonies acted as source of Raw materials and market.        

2.Industrial Revolution paved path for revolution in infrastructure.

• Industrial Revolution connected the entire world.Railways became arteries of nation and helped in movement of people and goods from one place to another.Steam boats ended the dependency on winds. For example: George Stephenson-Railway, Mac Adam-Pucca Roads, Robert Fallcon-Steam boat.          

3.Change in Agriculture Pattern.

• There was a great change in the pattern of agriculture as IR gave promotion to commercialization of agriculture i.e. promotion to production of cash crops like cotton,Indigo etc. especially in colonies of Britain and European Countries.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION not only changed the mode of production of the World but changed every aspect of life.

           

#IMPACT on Economy 

            a)Free Trade

            b)Protective Tariff

            c)Urbanization

            d)Industrial Capitalism

• Protective tariff was to protect the dumping of Foreign goods in a Nation which laissez farire means free-trade to fulfill requirement of Industrial Revolution.Industrial Revolution gave promotion to urban center or Urbanization.Whenever the production of a center increases to such a level that it turns into a city is called Urbanization.

 #IMPACT on Polity

• In the political Sphere also Industrial Revolution had manifold impact . Before coming of token currency ,Gold and Silver were the medium of exchange and also acted as Hard currency (foreign reserves).So emerging nations wanted to preserve their foreign reserves ,the easiest way for this was increase In Export and reduction in imports But their other nation started competing in it and creating obstacle for each other So the next option was  colonization i.e. subjugation of the Economy of a Nation  for the benefit of the mother country  and this in totally was called Mercantilism. Mercantilism led to suppression and exploitation of colonial people on the grounds of nation .

#IMPACT on Society

• Capitalism believes in philosophy of talent and as Industrial Revolution gave momentum to capitalism so it became the  cause for changing society. 
• EX- a)Abolition of slavery and France became First Country to abolish slavery.
• Improvement in the status of Women  which increased after  1^st World War. Increase in the middle class because of Urbanization and this class cautious about its right and Duties played important role in revolt movement and revolutions. 

#IMPACT on Religion

• When society move from feudalism to capitalism, polity, Economy  and society changes that led to religious movement.
• In previous modern  world religion is acted as constitution and whenever society moved from one stream to another it laid to changes in economy, polity and society which became the cause of Religious movement. The basic objective of Religious movement was to give religious sanction and stability to the New developments. 

Industrial Revolution made great changes in economy, polity and society which did not require religious interference so French revolution eliminate it domination of POPE and religious in politics.In 1917 when  communist came into power in Russia they declared “GOD is DEAD”.Industrial revolution created ground for open clash between new  order and old order and leading to revolts and revolution in which the first important revolution was AMERICAN revolution.