Russian Revolution 1905

For 400 years, the Tsars ruled Russia with an iron fist. This came to an end in 1905 with the First Russian Revolution, which aimed to put checks and balances on the Tsar's powers.

The 1905 Russian Revolution was the result of growing discontent against the Tsar's rule, a discontent that would eventually usher in the Soviet Union.

1905 Russian Revolution timeline

Let's first look at a timeline showing some of the causes and events of the Russian Revolution in 1905.

Causes of the 1905 Russian Revolution

There were both long-term and short-term causes of the 1905 Russian Revolution.

Long-term causes

One of the key long-term causes of the 1905 Russian Revolution was the poor leadership of the Tsar. Nicholas II was the autocratic monarch of the country, meaning that all power was concentrated in his hands. The poor political, social, agrarian, and industrial conditions were worsening under his rule, especially at the start of the 20^th century.

Fig. 1 - Portrait of Tsar Nicholas II as a saint.

Let's take a look a look at the Tsar's poor leadership in political, social, and economic areas.

Political discontent

The Tsar refused to appoint a prime minister to the Imperial government, which led to contradictory policies regarding how the land was treated and how Russia's industry was run. Tsar Nicholas II limited the powers of zemstvos, so they could not enact national changes. Liberalism in Russia demonstrated increasing discontent with the Tsar's poor leadership, and the Union of Liberation was established in 1904. The Union demanded a constitutional monarchy, whereby a representative Duma (the name for a council) would advise the Tsar, and democratic voting for all men would be introduced.

Other political ideologies were growing at the time as well. Marxism in Russia became popular around the 1880s. The rise of this ideology created new political groups of communists and socialists who were unhappy with the Tsar's rule of Russia. Socialism in Russia, in particular, managed to gather a wide following, supporting the issues of the peasants.

Social discontent

Tsar Nicholas II continued his father Alexander III's Russification policies throughout the Russian Empire, which included persecuting ethnic minorities through execution or sending them to the katorgas labour camps. Political dissidents were also sent to the katorgas. Many fought for better religious and political freedoms.

Agrarian and industrial discontent

As their European neighbours underwent industrialisation, Tsar Nicholas II pushed for Russia's industrialisation. The rapid pace of this meant that cities went through urbanisation. As city populations increased, food shortages became rampant. In 1901 there was widespread famine.

Industrial workers were forbidden from forming trade unions, which meant they had no protection from wage cuts or poor working conditions. The proletariat (such as industrial workers and peasants) demanded fairer treatment, which was impossible to achieve, whilst the Tsar ruled as an autocrat (with complete control).

Short-term causes

Although there was a developing culture of discontent with the Tsar's leadership, two key events pushed this discontent into protest.

Russo-Japanese War

When Tsar Nicholas II came to power, he wanted to expand the Russian Empire. During his youth, he visited parts of East Asia such as India, China, Japan and Korea. In 1904, the areas of Manchuria (a region in modern-day China) and Korea were disputed areas between Russia and Japan. There were negotiations between the Russian and Japanese empires to divide the territories between them peacefully.

The Tsar refused to divide the lands, wanting the areas solely for Russia. Japan responded by unexpectedly invading Port Arthur, instigating the Russo-Japanese War. Initially, the war appeared popular in Russia, and the Tsar regarded it as a point of nationalist pride and an attempt to gain popularity. However, Japan decimated the Russian presence in Manchuria and humiliated the Tsar's Imperial Army.

Fig. 2 - Envoy reception of the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905

Eventually, the US negotiated peace between the two countries with the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth. This Treaty granted Japan South Manchuria and Korea, reducing the Russian presence.

Russia was facing famine and urban poverty at the time. The defeat and humiliation at the hands of a much smaller power, Japan, increased discontent with the Tsar.

Bloody Sunday Russia

On 22 January 1905, Georgy Gapon, a priest, led a group of workers to the Winter Palace to demand that the Tsar help them to have better working conditions. Crucially, the protest was not anti-Tsarist but wanted the Tsar to use his powers to reform the country.

The Tsar responded by ordering the Imperial Army to fire on the protestors, hundreds of which were injured, and around 100 died. The brutal massacre was named "Bloody Sunday". The event instigated a series of further protests against the Tsar's unwillingness to reform his rule of Russia and kicked off the 1905 Revolution.

The 1905 Russian Revolution summary

The First Russian Revolution was a series of events throughout 1905 protesting against the Tsar's inflexible rule. Let's have a look at the Revolution's defining moments.

The assassination of Grand Duke Sergei

On 17 February 1905, Tsar Nicholas II's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei, was assassinated by the Socialist Revolutionary Combat Organisation. The organisation exploded a bomb in the Grand Duke's carriage.

Sergei had been the Governor-General of the Imperial Army for Tsar Nicholas, but after the disastrous defeats suffered during the Russo-Japanese War, Sergei resigned from his position. The Romanovs were often subjected to assassination attempts, and Sergei retreated to the Kremlin (the imperial palace in Moscow) for security but was targeted by discontented socialists. His death demonstrated the scale of civil unrest in Russia and showed how Tsar Nicholas II also had to be on alert for assassination attempts.

Mutiny on Battleship Potemkin

The Battleship Potemkin held Imperial Navy sailors. The crew discovered that the food they had been provided with was rotten meat infested with maggots, despite the admiral checking the supplies. The sailors revolted and took control of the ship. They then docked at Odessa to rally the support of the protesting workers and peasants in the city. The Imperial Army was ordered to quash the rebellion, and street fighting broke out. Some 1,000 Odessans died in the conflict, and the mutiny lost some of its momentum.

Fig. 3 - After the mutineers had failed to gain supplies for the Battleship Potemkin, they docked at Constanza, Romania. Before leaving, the sailors flooded the ship, but it was later recovered by loyal Imperial troops.

After sailing around the Black Sea for a few days in search of fuel and supplies, on 8 July 1905, the crew eventually stopped in Romania, called off the mutiny, and sought political asylum.

The General Strike

On 20 October 1905, railroad workers began to strike in protest against the Tsar. Once they had taken control of the railways, Russia's primary method of communication, the strikers were able to spread the news of the strike across the country and also stall other industries through lack of transport.

Many industries joined them and brought Russia to a halt. The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies (PSWD) was formed on 26 October and directed the strike in the country's capital. The Soviet became more politically active as Mensheviks joined and drove the ideology of socialism. Under immense pressure, the Tsar eventually agreed to sign the October Manifesto on 30 October.

First Russian Revolution effects

Although the Tsar managed to survive the First Russian Revolution, he was forced to give in to many of the Revolution's demands.

First Russian Revolution October Manifesto

The October Manifesto was drawn up by one of the Tsar's most competent ministers and advisors, Sergey Witte. Witte recognised that the people wanted civil liberties, which would be achieved through the Tsar's political reform or revolution. The manifesto proposed the creation of a new Russian constitution which would operate through an elected representative Duma (council or parliament).

The PSWD did not agree to the proposals and continued to strike, demanding a Constitutional Assembly and the creation of a Russian Republic. When the Imperial Army returned from the Russo-Japanese War, they detained the PSWD in December 1905, putting down the official opposition.

First Russian Revolution 1906 fundamental laws

On 27 April 1906, Tsar Nicholas II decreed the Fundamental Laws, which acted as Russia's first constitution and inaugurated the first state, Duma. The constitution stated that laws had to be passed through the Duma first but that the Tsar remained the leader of the new constitutional monarchy. This was the first time that the autocratic (complete) power of the Tsar had been shared with a parliament.

The 1906 Fundamental Laws demonstrated the Tsar's action of the proposals made in the October Manifesto the previous year, but with some changes. The Duma had 2 houses rather than 1, with only one being elected, and they also only had limited power over the budget. Furthermore, the civil rights promised in the manifesto were drawn back, and voting powers were also limited.

Further revolution

Liberalism in Russia had won by instating a constitutional monarchy in Russia for the first time. The Duma was in place and was mostly run by groups known as Kadets and Octobrists, who emerged throughout the Revolution. However, the socialist and communist groups were still unhappy with the Tsar as the revolution had not created the political change they had hoped for. This meant that in the following years, political dissent continued to grow with the likes of Lenin's Bolsheviks, Left and Right Socialist Revolutionaries, and Mensheviks, resulting in further revolutions in 1917.