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Summary Study Notes on Russia 1905-24
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Review Notes Russia 1914-24What were the main causes of the 1905 Revolution?
1) Russia had many problems:
There were many ethnic minorities (55 % of the population were not ethnic Russians).
This made it difficult to communicate. Also many ethnic minorities resented Russian
rule and wanted independence (ie Poles, Tatars). There were many Jews living in the
Pale of Settlement, and they faced anti-Semitism and pogroms, which led many to
join revolutionary organisations.
Many people also resented Russia’s rigid class structure. The Tsar’s family and the
aristocracy dominated the government and high positions in the church and the
military. Members of other classes resented not having a voice in how the country
was governed.
Russia also had major economic problems. It was agrarian economy with a tiny
industrial sector. Russia had relatively little arable (farmable) land. Furthermore,
Russian agriculture was very backward. Peasants still used the same methods they
had used for a thousand years. This led to periodic food shortages. Also, the
peasants didn’t have enough land, so they were very poor. The cities were growing
quickly, with peasants moving there to become proletariat. This led to housing
shortages, low wages and miserable conditions for the poor in the cities. Taxes were
high because the government wanted money to fund industrialization.
2) The Russo-Japanese War (The Russo-Japanese War was caused by a dispute
between Japan and Russia over Manchuria. In 1895, Russia had blocked Japan from
taking territory there. Russia had then turned around and “leased” that same territory
from China, infuriating the Japanese. In 1904, the Japanese attacked and sank the
Russian fleet in harbor at “Port Arthur” (Dalian).
One effect of the war for Russia was humiliation at being defeated by the Japanese
on land and at sea. The Japanese took Port Arthur in January 1905 and Mukden in
March 1905. To replace the fleet the Japanese had sunk at the beginning of the war,
the Russians had sailed a fleet from the Baltic all the way around Africa on a six
month journey, only to see it sunk at the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905. These
losses helped to undermine faith the Tsar’s government.
A second effect of the war was that the effort of supplying armed forces in the far east
put an unbearable strain on Russia’s already-fragile economy. Food shortages in the
cities became acute as trains that normally supplied them were diverted to the war
effort. This led to protests in the cities, most notably the “Bloody Sunday” March in
January 1905.
3) The decision to shoot peaceful protestors on “Bloody Sunday”.
Bloody Sunday occurred on 9th January, 1905. A march of approximately 200,000
workers and their families was led by Father Georgy Gapon to present a petition to
Tsar Nicholas II at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The purpose of the march
was to present a petition to the Tsar outlining demands for a minimum wage of 1
ruble, an 8-hour working day and the right to form trade unions. The march was
peaceful and many of the marchers carried pictures of Tsar Nicholas. However, when
the crowd failed to disperse under orders from the police guarding the Winter Palace
the troops opened fire and a massacre occurred. Although the official government
account listed 96 dead and 333 injured, other sources claimed there were at least
4000 casualties. The dead included women and children.
Bloody Sunday was the spark that set off a series of strikes, violent protests and
mutinies in what came to be referred to as the 1905 Revolution. It turned many
citizens against the Tsar as even though he did not order the massacre and wasn’t
even in St. Petersburg at the time, it was felt that he had failed to protect his people.
Throughout 1905 over half a million workers went on strike and by the end of 1905 it
had reached over 2.5 million. The strikes affected the railways which, coupled with
Russia’s disastrous defeats in the war with Japan, crippled the food supply. In the
countryside, peasants burned down landlord’s houses and seized land.
What were the main reasons why the Tsar wasn’t overthrown in the 1905 Revolution?
1) He ended the war with Japan
This happened in September 1905. This put an end to news of humiliating defeats. It also
eased the supply problems that were exacerbating shortages in the cities. Finally, it allowed
1
, Review Notes Russia 1914-24
the Tsar to bring his army home and use it to suppress the revolution.
2) The army stayed loyal to the Tsar
Although sailors on the battleship Potemkin had mutinied in June, the rest of the armed
forces mostly stayed loyal to the Tsar. When he ended the war in September 1905 he
borrowed money from French banks to he could pay the back pay he owed the soldiers. He
also increased their pay and improved their conditions of service. This got them back on his
side, and he used them to suppress the protests. Between October 1905 and April 1906
about 15,000 people were executed and 45,000 deported to Siberia.
3) There was no clear leader of the rebels and no alternative government
The rebels were not united and had not clear leader. Discontented peasants and
discontented workers wanted different things. The leaders of the various political parties had
different goals. The Kadets wanted a constitutional monarchy and were happy with the
promises of the October Manifesto. The Socialist Revolutionaries wanted peasant-based
socialism. The Bolsheviks and Mensheviks both wanted the proletariat to lead a revolution,
but they opposed each other. The main leaders of the opposition parties were living in exile.
Russia had no Parliament to be an alternative government. Although the St Petersburg
Soviet formed itself on October 26, this wasn’t really a credible government for the country
and it was quickly crushed by returning troops.
What were the main effects of the 1905 Revolution?
1) The October Manifesto
This promised freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and an
elected national parliament (duma), the Tsar hoped to satisfy his more moderate
opponents.
The October Manifesto was effective in the short term. It helped to reduce opposition
from the more moderate groups in Russia. The Tsar then used the army to crush
more radical opposition. In the longer term, it was less effective. The Tsar didn’t
follow through on many of his promises of civil rights in the Manifesto. Also, although
the Duma was elected, the Tsar had no interest in listening to it. The first two Dumas
were dissolved after only a few weeks. Then the voting system was changed so as to
be weighted very heavily in favour of the rich before the elections for the third and
fourth dumas. This failure to keep the promises of the Manifesto angered a lot of
Russians.
2) The Dumas
Although in theory these were a step towards a constitutional government, in reality
the Tsar retained control of the military, foreign-policy and the appointment of
ministers. Also, through the Fundamental Laws, the Tsar could still pass his own laws
without the Duma in exceptional circumstances. The elections for the Duma favoured
the upper classes. 2000 landowners were represented by one deputy and 90,000
workers were represented by a single deputy. The First Duma met in April 1906 and
was hostile to the Tsar. It demanded that the powers of the Duma be increased, a
guarantee of freedom of speech and assembly and that elections should be universal.
It was dissolved by the Tsar after just 2 months. The elections for the Second Duma
led to a larger proportion of leftist representatives, over 200, and was much more
radical than the First Duma. It was terribly divided and its attacks on the government
led to it being dissolved after just 3 months. For the Third Duma, Stolypin changed
the electoral system to favour the upper classes. Peasants and workers were virtually
excluded and therefore the Octobrists and right-wing parties dominated. The Duma
worked with Stolypin to carry out his reforms in the countryside, reformed the military,
created a system of universal education and passed a national health insurance
scheme for workers. It lasted until 1912. The Fourth Duma was interrupted by the
outbreak of World War One but also made some progress in broadening education
provision. By breaking the spirit of his initial promise of an elected parliament, the
Dumas became the focus of more opposition to the Tsar.
Also, by creating the Duma the Tsar created a potential alternative to his government,
which would become the focus of opposition in March 1917.
3) The Stolypin Reforms
In 1906, the new Prime Minister, Stolypin, established agrarian reforms. One feature of
the reforms was the chance for peasants to purchase their own land. They got the right to
pull out of the mir (communal farms) with their share of the land and loans were made
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