RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF 1905: CAUSES, DEVELOPMENT, CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2025

The Russian Revolution of 1905 consisted of a wave of protest actions that took place throughout the year. Although the protagonists of these actions shared many of the demands, in reality there was no coordination between them. On many occasions they were isolated acts that occurred throughout Russia.

At the end of the 19th century, the social and economic structure of Russia was almost feudal, despite the fact that that system had been officially abolished in 1861. The reality, especially in the countryside, is that nobles were still the owners of the land, while the peasants lived in poverty.

Soldiers of the Tsar defending the Winter Palace - Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S01260 / Unknown / CC-BY-SA 3.0

In the cities, for their part, a timid process of industrialization had begun, which had not improved the quality of life of the workers either. The war against Japan, which ended in defeat for Russia, only made the situation worse for most of the country's inhabitants.

A peaceful march of workers in January 1905 marked the beginning of the revolution. The Tsar's soldiers fired indiscriminately at the protesters. Soon, the protests spread throughout Russia. At the end of the year, the Tsar had to recognize certain labor and political rights, although they were only cosmetic reforms.

Background

Russia, contrary to what had happened in the rest of Europe, had maintained a political system anchored in absolutism. Economically, it was not until 1861 that feudalism was abolished, although in rural areas the change was minimal.

Economic backwardness

Despite the fact that there were some stages of economic progress, the majority of the population had to settle for a minimal income.

Throughout the 19th century, the country's economy was based on agriculture. In addition, the owners of the lands, especially noblemen, had not introduced the improvements that had been taking place in this sector, so the farming systems were deficient.

In 1861, Alexander II was forced to abolish feudalism due to protests, sometimes violent, by the peasants. Although this decision eliminated servitude, the reality was that the standard of living of farm workers did not improve.

Political system

Any attempt to change the absolutist political system had been unsuccessful. The power structure in Russia was basically the same as previous centuries.

The Tsar accumulated all power in his hands, while the aristocracy and clergy enjoyed enormous privileges. At the end of the 19th century, the bourgeoisie in the country was scarce. Finally, peasants, artisans, and a growing number of workers were at the bottom of the social pyramid.

Political opposition

Despite the authoritarianism of the Tsar, in the last years of the 19th century and in the first of the 20th, some opposition movements began to appear calling for a political opening.

The anarchists, for example, had grown quite a bit in the country. It was they who, in 1881, committed a deadly attack on Tsar Alexander II.

At the beginning of the century some political parties began to organize themselves: the Democratic Constitutional Party, which wanted Russia to become a liberal parliamentary democracy; the Revolutionary Socialist Party, in favor of the outbreak of a peasant revolution and of a federal state; and the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party.

The latter would end up divided into two factions in 1903. The more moderate ones were called Mensheviks, while the radicals were called Bolsheviks.

Early years of the 20th century

A serious economic crisis affected all of Europe between 1901 and 1903. Russia, which had begun a process of industrialization, was severely affected by this recession.

In a few months, some 3,000 factories disappeared, especially those of medium or small size. In turn, this caused ownership of the industry to be concentrated in a few hands.

The workers who did not lose their jobs saw their salaries barely survive, not forgetting the lack of labor rights.

In this context, multiple demonstrations were organized. The strikes mainly affected the Baku oil industry. It can be said that this situation was the prelude to the revolution.

Causes

At the beginning, the war that Russia waged against Japan enjoyed considerable support among the population. However, Nicholas II, tsar at that time, was not able to develop a correct strategy and the defeats were more and more frequent.

The conflict, on the other hand, exacerbated the consequences of the economic crisis. Popular protests were harshly repressed.

According to historians, the political opposition at that time, except the Bolsheviks, had no intention of ending the monarchy, but only of introducing a parliamentary system and a series of economic and social reforms.

Social inequalities

The very structure of society caused great inequality in the country. The social classes were highly hierarchical, with the aristocracy at the top and the workers and peasants at the bottom. In the middle, a liberal bourgeoisie that had not been able to develop as much as in the rest of Europe.

On the other hand, the Russian economy based on agriculture was not productive enough for the population to have its needs met. In fact, there had been a decline in production in the field since 1860.

Russia had started to industrialize very late. The vast majority of the industry created was located in the cities and was in the hands of foreigners or the State.

The tsarist government, in addition, increased the taxes to the peasants in an attempt to obtain financing to pay the external debt contracted.

Tsar's authoritarianism

Another cause of the revolutionary outbreak of 1905 was the absolute power of the Tsar. Along with his figure, the church, the nobility and high military positions enjoyed all the privileges.

Faced with this power structure, the opposition parties began to ask for political reforms that would democratize the country a bit.

Loss to Japan

After several important defeats, Russia was defeated by Japan in 1905. The crisis that the country was already suffering worsened even more.

The economic situation caused a lack of food and the most disadvantaged classes did not have the means to combat the winter cold. Given this, the demonstrations and strikes took place in Saint Petersburg, the Russian capital at that time.

Development

To try to alleviate the economic consequences of the defeat against Japan, Nicholas II decided to raise taxes even more. The prices of basic products increased and some of them were not even available to the majority of the population.

The opposition parties, especially those with a labor base, began to call protests. Their demands went beyond the economic, since they demanded a change in the political system and that the Church lose part of its privileges.

In this context, the workers of Putilov, one of the most important factories in the capital, called a strike for January 3, 1905.

Bloody Sunday

The date that historians indicate as the beginning of the revolution was January 9, 1905, the so-called Bloody Sunday.

That day, thousands of workers demonstrated in St. Petersburg. At the head of the march was the priest Gapon.

Its final destination was the Winter Palace, where they wanted to ask the Tsar for better working conditions. Among the demands were aspects such as the eight-hour day and a minimum wage for workers.

The demonstration took place in a completely peaceful manner. At that time, the Tsar still had the sympathy of the majority of the population. For them, the monarch was the "little father" and it was thought that he did not know the problems the people were going through.

For his part, Nicholas II was outside the palace that day. When the protesters reached the building, the soldiers greeted them with gunfire. Although the exact number of deaths is not known, many chroniclers affirm that there were more than 200, including women and children. Another 800 people were injured.

Before long, news of the massacre spread across the country. The revolution had begun.

Extension of the protests

After the Bloody Sunday massacre, protests spread across the country. Despite this, there was no coordination between them, since each group had its own demands.

The peasants, for example, mobilized for mainly economic reasons. For their part, the workers shared part of that motivation, but there was also a strong component of opposition to how industrialization was developing.

Other sectors, such as liberals, emphasized the search for more rights for citizens. Finally, members of various ethnic groups in the country also participated, demanding more freedom and respect for their cultures.

Throughout the year, the demonstrations and strikes were happening. At times, as in some rural areas, acts of violence occurred. Thus, the peasants of Curonian and Livonia burned a large number of estates belonging to the nobility.

The battleship Potemkin

The second great act of the revolution, after Bloody Sunday, was carried out by members of the Russian navy.

In early summer, the crew of the Potemkin, a battleship in Odessa, mutinied against their controls. The reason was the poor conditions of the food they received on the ship, in addition to the frequent mistreatment they suffered from the officers.

The climax took place on June 14. The crew members got rid of the controls and took control of the ship. Three days later, the government sent five ships to put down the rebellion.

However, the crew of one of those ships decided to join the rebels. Both battleships fled to Romania, where they ended up being captured by the Russian fleet.

Despite the failure, Lenin attached fundamental importance to this rebellion: a sector of the army had come to support the revolution.

October Manifesto

The Tsar, seeing that it was impossible to stop the revolution by arms, offered a series of reforms to his opponents.

These were included in the October Manifesto and consisted of the creation of the Duma, a kind of parliament, a new electoral law and the granting of some political freedoms. Likewise, it offered the workers some labor rights and a ten-hour workday.

However, most of those measures were very limited. For example, the Tsar reserved the right to veto legislation passed by the Duma.

Martial law

After offering the October Manifesto, Nicholas II decided that it was time to end the revolution.

For this he decreed the establishment of Martial Law and began to harshly repress the opponents. Many were arrested and sent to Siberias and others had to go into exile. Among those who were sentenced to prison were members of the St. Petersburg Soviet.

Latest wave of protests

Some historians consider that the revolution ended in October, with the concessions of the Tsar. Others, on the other hand, place their end in the last month of the year. The truth is that the protests continued strongly during November and December.

Among the revolutionary actions of those weeks, the rebellion that took place in the Kronstadt base on November 8 stood out. Government forces managed to control the insurgents, who were sentenced to death. However, the Soviets successfully lobbied for their grief to be forgiven.

Other army garrisons also staged uprisings. In Sevastopol, for example, the rebellion had little impact, but that of a Moscow regiment had to be put down by forces loyal to the Tsar.

In addition to the actions of the revolutionaries, there were also episodes of great violence carried out by right-wing sectors related to the Tsar. The most active was the so-called Black Centuries, who, with the permission of the secret police, waged a dirty war against opposition leaders.

The last great confrontation of the revolution took place in Moscow. Until December 18, the city was the scene of a real urban war. The ensuing repression ended the resistance of the revolutionaries.

Consequences

The general opinion among all scholars is that the great consequence of the 1905 Revolution was that it served as a dress rehearsal for the one that would take place in 1917.

Reforms

Through the October Manifesto, Nicholas II decreed some political and social reforms. In addition to the formation of the Duma, it was also established in universal suffrage.

However, the Tsar did not allow these measures to be developed. To begin with, he reserved the power to decide whether what was approved by the Duma was carried out or not. On the other hand, two years after the revolution, he eliminated universal suffrage.

Agrarian reform

Fear of new peasant mobilizations and the obligation to improve agricultural productivity led Stolypin, prime minister, to take some measures.

The new legislation included a distribution of those lands that were communal among non-proprietary farmers.

The result of the reform was negative. In the end, the small farmers decided to sell their properties to the landowners and seek new jobs in the city. This caused that, contrary to what Stolypin claimed, the farmlands were even more concentrated in the hands of the large landowners.

Creation of the soviets

The creation of the soviets was one of the most important consequences of the revolution, especially because of the role they would play in 1917.

The soviets were a kind of assembly made up of workers, soldiers or peasants. Delegates from each sector were democratically elected.

Among the most important of those formed at that time is that of Saint Petersburg, which began to act in 1903 under the impulse of Leon Trotsky.

Essay of the 1917 Revolution

As previously noted, the events of 1905 allowed some of its protagonists to gain experience that they applied in the 1917 revolution. This was especially relevant for the Bolsheviks and other workers-based organizations. From that moment on Lenin placed all his hopes on the proletariat.

On the other hand, the Tsar, as a person and as an institution, suffered a significant loss of popularity. The people stopped trusting him as a solution to their problems

Main characters

Nicholas II

Nicholas II has gone down in history as the last of the Russian tsars. His arrival to the throne occurred in 1894, as heir to Alexander II, both from the Romanov dynasty.

His policies were not very different from those of his father. He was an authoritarian ruler, although many historians claim that he was poorly gifted for the position. One of the most common criticisms at the time was the great influence exercised by the tsarina and her advisor, Rasputin, over the ruler.

Nicholas II's failures in foreign policy, including defeat in the war against Japan, were two of the factors that brought about the 1905 Revolution.

This revolutionary outbreak forced the monarch to decree a series of changes that, in principle, should democratize the country. However, after harshly cracking down on opponents, he backtracked on many of those measures.

His decision to enter the First World War was frowned upon by much of the people, who suffered financial hardship. Finally, the February Revolution of 1917 ended her reign and opened a new stage in the country's history.

Georgi Gapon (the Pope Gapon)

In a revolution with hardly any national leaders, the name of Pope Gapon stands out for his participation in the events of Bloody Sunday.

Gapon was a member of the Russian Orthodox Church who had managed to win the trust of the workers in St. Petersburg.

In that city he had formed the Assembly of Industrial Workers, which sought to defend the rights of these workers, in addition to increasing their faith. Apparently, the assembly had the permission of the secret police.

However, from 1904 on, the Pope's position began to radicalize. Thus, he began to associate with sectors in favor of ending tsarism.

On January 9, 1905, Gapon led a workers' demonstration with the intention of delivering a message to the Tsar with various requests. The soldiers fired at the protesters, causing a massacre.

After what happened, Gapon declared Nicholas II out of the Church and strengthened his relations with the Social-Revolutionary Party. After a time fled the country, he returned after the signature of the October Manifesto by the Tsar.

However, his relations with the secret police led him to be accused of collaborating with the regime. The Social-Revolutionary Party sentenced him to death and was executed by one of his former companions on Bloody Sunday.

Leon Trotsky

Born in the Ukrainian city of Yanovka, Leon Trotsky became one of the most important revolutionary leaders in the country. Although his role was greater in 1917, he also participated in the events of 1905.

Trotsky had been one of the promoters of the creation of the St. Petersburg Soviet. That was precisely one of the reasons why he had to leave Russia. Upon receiving news of the beginning of the protests in January 1905, he rushed back to the country.

When government repression intensified, Trotsky was arrested and sent to Siberia. However, he managed to escape and go into exile again.

References

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