[Topic wise IAS World History Question Bank (1979-2015)]: (5) Revolution and Counter-Revolution

Revolution and CounterRevolution:
(i) 19th Century European revolutions
(ii) The Russian Revolution of 1917-1921
(iii) Fascist Counter-Revolution, Italy and Germany
(iv) The Chinese Revolution of 1949
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(i) 19th Century European revolutions

1. “For a tired and timid generation Metternich was the necessary man.” Comment. [1993, 20 Marks]

2. “Most of the European Recolutions of 1848 were nationalist as well as popular insurrections against foreign rule and repressive policy of Metternich.” Comment. [2008, 20 Marks]

3. “The whole episode that is known as the July Revolution (1830) was fought and won not for the establishment of an extreme democracy but to get rid of the aristocratic and clericalist attitude of the restored Bourbons.” Critically examine. [2015, 10 Marks]

(ii) The Russian Revolution of 19171921

1. What were the causes for the success of Bolshevik Revolution of 1917? Discuss its significance in the history of the world. [1980, 60 Marks]

2. Write a critical note on: Lenin’s role in the Russian Revolution of 1917. [1981, 20 Marks]

3. “The bold knight, Lenin, having rescued the fair maiden of the Revolution from the evil sorcerer, Kerensky, everyone lived happily hereafter.” Comment. [1983, 20 Marks]

4. Analyze the causes of the Russian Revolutions of 1917. Why was the second Revolution Significant in more than one way? [1985, 60 Marks]

5. The Russian Revolution of 1917 was a single revolution which developed two phases. Elucidate. [1992, 60 Marks]

6. In Russia, Lenin was ” the father of socialism, organizer of the revolution and the founder of the new Russian society.” Examine the statement . [1998, 60 Marks]

7. “Stalinist Russia was a despotic regime.” Critically examine this view. [1999, 60 Marks]

8. Examine the causes of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and indicate its significance in world history. [2003, 60 Marks]

9. “The Russian Revolution (1917) was an economic explosion hastened by the stupidities of the autocratic Government”. Comment. [2005, 20 Marks]

10. Account for the overthrow of the Tsarist regime in Russia. [2009, 30 Marks]

11. “The impact of the French Revolution (1789) was initially confined the Europe, but, that of the Russia Revolution (1917) was global.” – Critically review. [2012, 30 Marks]

12. “If the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (that resulted in the creation of the union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Soviet Union) inaugurated an international competition for the hearts and minds of people all over the globe, the Chinese revolution raised the stakes of that struggle.” Critically examine. [2013 10 Marks]

(iii) Fascist Counter-Revolution, Italy and Germany

1. Critically examine the main features of the foreign policy of Nazi Germany. [1982, 60 Marks]

2. Hitler was “a creature flung to the top by the tides of revolutionary change, or the embodiment of the collective unconsciousness of a people obsessed with violence and death.” [1984, 20 Marks]

3. “Extreme nationalism of the Fascist Variety has various faces in various countries, but it has everywhere certain common characteristics.” Comment. [1989, 20 Marks]

4. “Comparison of the fascist regime in Italy with the National Socialist regime of Germany is almost inevitable. The similarities are obvious, but there is one point of difference which is worth mentioning.” Comment. [1991, 20 Marks]

5.  “There was an element of system in Hitler’s foreign policy His outlook was continental.” Comment. [1995, 20 Marks]

6. ‘Corporate State’ was Mussolini’s answer to sociopolitical problems of his country. Elucidate. [1995, 60 Marks]

7. With the proclamation in Nanking of a Chinese Republic with Sun-Yat-Sen as the President in 1911, “the old China wilted rapidly.”

8. “The roots of the rise of Fascism lay in Peace Treaties.” Comment. [2003, 20 Marks]

9. What were the weaknesses and difficulties of the Weimer Republic? How did Hitler succeed in establishing his dictatorship? [2004, 60 Marks]

10. Discuss the main characteristics of Fascism. [2007, 60 Marks]

11. How did the policy of appeasement escalate the problem of Nazi aggrandizement ? [2011, 30 Marks]

(iv) The Chinese Revolution of 1949

1. Discuss the internal problem of China after the First World War and account for the establishment of Communist rule in the China in 1949. [1979, 60 Marks]

2. Review the political circumstances in China in the years 1945-49 leading to the establishment of the Communist rule in the land. How did the United States seek to resolve the conflict between the Nationalists and the communists in the period? [1984, 60 Marks]

3. “The turn of the tide against the Kuomintang, consequently, was due as much to its weakness as to Communist streangth.” Comment. [1985, 20 Marks]

4. Discuss the Self-strengthening movement in China. [1986, 60 Marks]

5. Trace the distinct phases of the Sino-Japanese War. Assess its political economic and cultural impact on China, both “occupied and free.” Comment. [1992, 20 Marks]

6. Examine the circumstances in china in the years 1945-49. What did the United States do to resolve the conflict between the Nationalists and the Communists there? [2002, 60 Marks]

7. Discuss the circumstances leading to the Chinese Revolution of 1949 and analyze its significance. [2005, 60 Marks]

8. Critically analysis the cause and the results of the Chinese revolution of 1949. [2006, 60 Marks]

9. “All long marches begins with small steps.” Critically evaluate. [2010, 10 Marks]

10. “The announcement of the creation of the Peoples’ Republic of China on October1, 1959 by Mao Zedong ended the civil war between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Nationalist Party (KMT).” – Elaborate. [2012, 30 Marks]

11. “The failure of Kuomintang against the communist onslaught was unimaginable and it was Mao Tse-tung whose tenacity and innovative approach had accomplished the unthinkable.” Discuss. [2015, 20 Marks]