The 1905 Revolution

What was the Russian Revolution of 1905?

Russia faced massive social and political unrest during the Revolution of 1905. Some of this was directed at the government.

When was the Russian Revolution of 1905?

The Russian Revolution of 1905 started on 22nd January that year. Unrest lasted until 1907.

What caused the Russian Revolution of 1905?

There were 5 causes of the 1905 revolution:

• ❖ One long-term cause was discontent amongst the peasants because they were heavily taxed, incredibly poor, and suffered from famines and hunger on a regular basis.
• ❖ Another long-term cause was discontent among industrial workers because they had terrible working and living conditions and very low pay. Unemployment was rising in the early 1900s.
• ❖ A third long-term cause was the growth in political opposition to Nicholas II from different groups such as the country's different nationalities and political organisations, such as the Social Revolutionaries.
• ❖ An immediate cause was Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Tsar Nicholas II was blamed for the defeat and lost support as a result.
• ❖ A major trigger cause was Bloody Sunday. On 22nd January, unarmed civilians led by Father Gapon were shot by tsarist soldiers in St Petersburg.

What events occurred during the 1905 Russian Revolution?

There were 7 key events during the 1905 revolution:

• ❖ There was a mutiny by sailors on the navy battleship Potemkin over poor quality food. This resulted in the deaths of some officers and sailors on 14th June, 1905.
• ❖ The Potemkin sailed to the port of Odessa where strikers and protesters showed their support for the sailors. There were riots, which Nicholas II ordered the army to stop. 1,000 people were shot dead.
• ❖ There were riots across Russia by peasants between 1905 and 1907. They burned their landlords' homes and created communes to share the land.
• ❖ Industrial workers announced a general strike between 20th September and 2nd October, 1905.
• ❖ The workers organised into soviets, or worker councils, in St Petersburg and Moscow by October 1905. These were elected councils which demanded better conditions. Leon Trotsky became the chairman of the St Petersburg Soviet.
• ❖ The government issued the October Manifesto on 17th October. This granted civil rights, a parliament called a Duma, and promised new laws would be discussed.
• ❖ Unrest continued across the country which was quashed by the army. The most notable was the crushing of the Moscow Soviet uprising led by Social Democrats in December 1905, which resulted in over 1,000 people being killed.

What was the government's response to the 1905 Russian Revolution?

Nicholas II's government took 4 key actions:

• ❖ They crushed many of the protests. For example, the army shot the protesters in Odessa and in Moscow in December 1905, when the Moscow Soviet tried to organise an uprising.
• ❖ They closed down the soviets. For example, the St Petersburg Soviet was shut down in December 1905.
• ❖ The tsar issued the October Manifesto on 17th October, which granted civil rights, a parliament called a Duma, and promised new laws would be discussed by the new parliament.
• ❖ There was a harsh and violent crackdown on any opposition. There were arrests with many people exiled or put to death - more than 1000 people were executed between 1906 and 1907.

What was the outcome of the Russian Revolution of 1905?

There were 4 main results of the Revolution of 1905.

• ❖ Nicholas II and his government survived.
• ❖ The strikers and the revolutionaries were defeated.
• ❖ The October Manifesto was published.
• ❖ A state Duma was created.

Why did Nicholas II survive the 1905 Russian Revolution?

There were 3 key reasons Nicholas II survived the 1905 Revolution:

• ❖ The military, on the whole, still supported Nicholas II and crushed the uprisings.
• ❖ He made concessions which pleased the liberals and the middle classes; these changes were detailed in the October Manifesto.
• ❖ The opposition was split between different groups that wanted different things.