The Event That Started It All
The Russian Revolution of 1905 began in Saint Petersburg on January 22nd when soldiers of the Imperial Guard fired upon unarmed workers led by Father Gapon. Gapon and the rest of the demonstrators were marching to the Winter Palace in order to petition Tsar Nicholas II. The Tsar made a mistake by not appearing before the protestors to listen to their complaints. Thus, showing the contempt for the working class that was held by the aristocracy and proving to the protestors that what they were fighting for was necessary. This uprising was instrumental in convincing Tsar Nicholas II to try to transform the Russian government from an autocracy into a constitutional monarchy.
Before 1905, diverse social groups demonstrated their disapproval of the Russian social and political system. The protests included riots, strikes, and terrorist assassinations. All of this unrest culminated in the massacre of peaceful demonstrators at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg in an event that would later be called Bloody Sunday. Bloody Sunday was the spark that ignited the 1905 Russian Revolution. This event coupled with the Russo-Japanese War would reveal the ineptitude of the Czarist Government and force the government to concede to the establishment of the Duma.
Strikes continued in Saint Petersburg after this turmoil. Nicholas tried to establish an elected assembly to advise the government, but this did not appease the striking workers or the peasants. The rebellion reached its peak in the months of October and November. A railroad strike quickly developed into a general strike in many of the larger cities. The magnitude of the strike eventually convinced Nicholas to act. On the advice of Sergei Witte, Nicholas issued the October Manifesto on October 17th, 1905. The October Manifesto promised a constitution and the establishment of an elected legislature, which was called Duma. He also made Witte the president of the new Council of Ministers.
Alas, these concessions did not meet the radical opposition’s demands for an assembly or a republic. The revolutionaries refused to yield. However, some people were content and many workers interpreted the October Manifesto as a success and returned to their jobs. Therefore, this was enough to break the opposition’s coalition and to weaken the Saint Petersburg Soviet. At the end of November, the government arrested the Soviet’s chairman, Khrustalev-Nosar and in December apprehended Leon Trotsky and others.
Even though the uprising failed to replace the tsarist assembly and most of the revolutionary leaders were arrested, it did force the imperial regime to institute extensive reforms. The most important of these reforms were the Fundamental Laws, which functioned as a constitution and the creation of the Duma, which fostered the development of legal political activity and parties.
Sources:
http://www.britannica.com/event/Russian-Revolution-of-1905
http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/russian-revolution-the-revolution-1905.html
http://artlondon.com/admin2/img/987-b.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/Tsar_Nicholas_II_-1898.JPG
February 1, 2016 @ 5:56 pm
In every uprising that a nation goes through, there is always a point that the revolutionaries are trying to prove and they are also trying to get rid of the head of government or whatever ruling body exists. In the case of the Russian Revolution that you talked about, it is the same. You did a good job making clear the timeline of events which I think is very important. You explained the different leaders of the revolution and the locations. Since most students are not experts on this subject, this was helpful to a reader to totally grasp the whole concept. At the end, you made clear that the tsar was not overthrown but that there were significant changes that were established. This made the whole revolution seem clearer and put the spotlight on the changes that happened during this time.
February 1, 2016 @ 8:21 pm
This is definitely the hot topic this week. Good post, you break down Bloody Sunday very well and get into some of the deeper political implications. I am attaching a link to Alexa’s blog where she also highlights Bloody Sunday. Keep up the good work and keep pulling in solid source material.
http://alexakatherinep.com/uncategorized/tsunday-bloody-tsunday/
February 1, 2016 @ 9:22 pm
I like how you mentioned that many workers were satisfied with the October Manifesto and returned to their lives, but that others did not find it an acceptable reform. The revolution definitely happened one fight at a time, and reform always seemed to involve significant compromise from the revolutionists. Good post!
February 1, 2016 @ 10:01 pm
To add to what others have already noted, I really appreciate how you leave us with the important “takeaways.”
February 1, 2016 @ 10:09 pm
I like the assertion that you made about Bloody Sunday being the breaking point of years of accumulated unrest and tension between Russian workers and the government. You make it clear that this was not an isolated occurrence but rather an outburst of ongoing conflict. It’s amazing to look back at history and see how many major wars and revolutions were ignited following the use of violent suppression on protestors.
February 2, 2016 @ 2:21 am
A lot of people seemed to have written about Bloody Sunday which is understandable considering how important of a role it played in the revolution. It showed just how corrupt and oppressive the Tsar was and the need for change. It lead to a constitutional monarchy which only started because of the peaceful protesters trying to get the attention of Tsar Nicholas II.
February 2, 2016 @ 2:27 am
Bloody Sunday is definitely a popular subject for this blogpost. I like how you detailed how it was a leading cause for a change in government. It is important to recognize that this lead the charge for a constitutional monarchy. The Tsar knew that he needed to change something or he would be removed from power. Even though he was eventually removed from power, he provided short term relief.
February 2, 2016 @ 4:24 am
I find it extremely interesting how Tsar Nicolas II eventually authored the October Manifesto and largely gave in to the demands of the revolutionaries. Very rarely did we witness such occurrences by leaders at the time, and I believe that his giving way to the will of the protestors was a smart move in order to maintain his power. I also believe that it ultimately did a good job in preventing the revolution from further reforms. If Nicolas would have refused to give in at all, none of the revolutionaries would have been satisfied and returned to their jobs like they did. Instead they would have continued to push for more and more, overthrew the Tsar and implemented their new radicalized government.