The Road to Revolution 1905

1. The Road to Revolution 1905 In the early 1900s Russia experienced a wave of civil unrest and disorder. Peasant Unrest In the countryside peasants… Seized land Burnt buildings Organised boycotts In cities like Odessa and Kiev there was…. Industrial Unrest Strikes Mass meetings Mass demonstrations Meetings/demonstrations were so big the police and the military could not control them. University Unrest Particularly among national minority groups like the Poles and Ukrainians.

2. Government Reaction Interior Minister To divert attention away from themselves politicians will put the heat on someone else. Plehve did this by using groups like the ‘Black Hundred’ to attack minority groups like the Jews. Russian Expansionism Another way to divert attention away from themselves is to put the heat on another country. Vyacheslav Plehve Since the late 1890s Russia had a growing interest in the Far East. The building of the Trans-Siberian Railway opened up Siberia to settlers, access to and trade with Chinese markets and the navy to the port of Vladivostok. By 1895 Russia had an agreement with China to link the Trans-Siberian and Chinese Eastern Railways across northern Manchuria. This gave a more direct route to the port of Vladivostok. Through this agreement Russia also gained access to Port Arthur via the South Manchuria Railway. The problem for Russia was that the Japanese controlled the straits of Tsushima which threatened Russian access to Port Arthur and Vladivostok. In 1900 the Chinese reacted to this foreign exploitation in what became known as the Boxer Rebellion. Russia took advantage of international military intervention by invading Manchuria.

3. Russo-Japanese War1904 By now both countries viewed each other with suspicion and war was inevitable. 1905 January 2: Russians surrender Port Arthur to Japan after a 156 day siege. 1904:The Japanese take the initiative and attack Port Arthur. 1905 May 27: Russian Baltic fleet heading for Vladivostok was humiliated by Japan. Of the Russian fleet 20 =sunk, 5 =surrendered, 6 interned in neutral ports. Tsar decides to end the war. Route taken Safest route 1905 Late January: Russian casualties on a failed attack against the Japanese at Mukden exceeds 12,000. Late February: 600,000 Russian And Japanese fight over Mukden. Casualties: Russia = 90,000, Japan =70,000. Japan wins the battle. The Portsmouth Treaty August 1905 Established the terms of the peace agreement between Russia and Japan.

4. Bloody Sunday1905 The military humiliation by the supposedly inferior Japanese only served to reinforce the concerns of the people over other issues. Nothing in history happens in isolation of other causal factors. This was true in Russia in 1905. The Putilov Strike With no freedom of speech and a reticence by factory managers to hear the workers grievances, who do they turn to for help? FOUR workers were sacked for belonging to a union (Assembly of St Petersburg Factory Workers). Organised a strike when factory management and the Governor of St Petersburg refused to reinstate the four workers. Father George Gapon 110,000 Over workers from factories throughout the city went out on strike in support of the four workers. Russian Orthodox Priest and former Police agent We want change! We want change! The Government reacted by posting troops at key locations including the Winter palace. We want change!

5. The Workers Concerns At this point the majority of strikers were still supportive of the Tsar. All they wanted was a recognition of, and a response to, their grievances. Gapon’s Petition to the Tsar The petition asked for….. An 8 hour working day. Freedom to have trade unions. Improved working conditions. Free medical aid. Increase in women’s wages. Elections for a Constituent Assembly. Freedom of speech, press, association, religion. An end to the war with Japan. Gapon informed the Tsar of a workers march… But the Tsar never responded and with his family left the Winter Palace for the safety of Tsarskoye Selo.

6. Bloody Sunday January 22, 1905 The Marchers Dressed in their Sunday best, 200,000 workers, their wives and their children marched through the streets of St Petersburg towards the Winter Palace. The Tsar Noted that it was …. ‘A painful day. There have been serious disorders in St.Petersburg because workmen wanted to come up to the Winter Palace. Troops had to open fire in several places in the city; there were many killed and wounded. God, how painful and sad. Led by Father Gapon they marched peacefully, sang hymns, the national anthem and carried holy icons, religious banners and portraits of the Tsar. The Military Soldiers guarding the Winter Palace fired repeatedly into the tightly packed, unarmed peaceful protesters killing hundreds. Soldiers carried out massacres throughout St Petersburg. News of the Bloody Sunday massacre spread quickly throughout the Russian Empire. It was a measure of the political naivety of the Tsar and his government that they didn’t foresee the consequences of their over aggressive, heavy-handed tactics.