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The London poor in the mid-nineteenth century as seen by a contemporary.
- The London poor in the mid-nineteenth century as seen by a contemporary.
- From Henry Mayhew , London Labour and the London Poor , 1861 .
The Paris Commune
- This painting depicts the 1871 Paris Commune .
- It depicts a scene from the uprising of the people that occurred in Paris between March and May 1871 .
- During this time, a " peoples' government " made up of workers , regular citizens , professionals , political activists , and others took control of Paris' town council ( commune ).
- Growing unhappiness with French state policies served as the backdrop for the rebellion .
- The ‘Paris Commune’ was ultimately crushed by government troops but it was celebrated by the socialist world over as a prelude to a socialist revolution .
- The Paris Commune is also well-known for two significant contributions: first, for its connection to the workers' red flag , which the communards ( revolutionaries ) in Paris adopted; second, for the " Marseillaise ," which was originally composed as a war song in 1792 but later came to represent the Commune and the fight for freedom.
Tsar Nicholas II
- This image is of Tsar Nicholas II, who ruled Russia from 1894 to 1914 , in the White Hall of the Winter Palace , St Petersburg, 1900 .
- Painted by Earnest Lipgart (1847-1932)
Europe in 1914
- The map shows the Russian empire and the European countries at war during the First World War.
Unemployed peasants in pre-war St Petersburg.
- The above image shows unemployed peasants in pre-war St Petersburg .
- Many survived by eating at charitable kitchens and living in poorhouses.
Workers sleeping in bunkers in a dormitory in pre-revolutionary Russia.
- Workers sleeping in bunkers in a dormitory in pre-revolutionary Russia .
- They slept in shifts and could not keep their families with them .
Russian soldiers during the First World War
- Russian soldiers during the First World War .
- The Imperial Russian army came to be known as the ‘Russian steam roller’ .
- It was the largest armed force in the world .
- When this army shifted its loyalty and began supporting the revolutionaries , Tsarist power collapsed.
The Petrograd Soviet meeting in the Duma, February 1917
- The Petrograd Soviet meeting in the Duma , February 1917.
A Bolshevik image of Lenin addressing workers in April 1917
- A Bolshevik image of Lenin addressing workers in April 1917.
The July Days
- A pro-Bolshevik demonstration on 17 July 1917 was fired upon by the army .
Lenin (left) and Trotskii (right)
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- Lenin (left) and Trotskii (right) with workers at Petrograd .
A soldier wearing the Soviet hat (budeonovka).
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- A soldier wearing the Soviet hat (budeonovka).
- To assert the change , new uniforms were designed for the army and officials, following a clothing competition organised in 1918 – when the Soviet hat (budeonovka) was chosen.
Factories came to be seen as a symbol of socialism
- Factories came to be seen as a symbol of socialism .
- This poster states: ‘The smoke from the chimneys is the breathing of Soviet Russia .’
Children at school in Soviet Russia in the 1930s
- Children at school in Soviet Russia in the 1930s.
- They are studying the Soviet economy .
A child in Magnitogorsk during the First Five Year Plan.
- A child in Magnitogorsk during the First Five Year Plan.
- He is working for Soviet Russia .
Joseph Stalin
- Joseph Stalin was a Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until he died in 1953 .
A poster during collectivisation
- A poster during collectivisation .
- It states: ‘We shall strike at the kulak working for the decrease in cultivation.’
Peasant women being gathered to work in the large collective farms.
- Peasant women were gathered to work in the large collective farms .
Special Issue on Lenin of the Indo-Soviet Journal.
- Special Issue on Lenin of the Indo-Soviet Journal .
- Indian communists mobilised support for the USSR during the Second World War.
