1905+Revolution

**Causes of the 1905 Russian Revolution** By: Natalia Wojcik
In 1904 Russia was in the middle of economic depression, the Tsar decided to divert the attention on it of all the people by starting a war with the Japanese. But the war instead just exacerbated the economic and social plight of workers and peasants by rising prices of food and other necessities and having less of them on the market, due to shortages. Military catastrophe in the war led to increase of dissatisfaction of the government amongst peasantry and industrial workers pressuring for reforms.

 · Tsar decided to divert attention from the economic depression so he started a war with the Japanese. But it only made it worst because of created shortages of goods and rising prices.  · The war with the Japanese brought a lot of tension into the country, and dissatisfaction with the government.  · 400,000 workers out on strike. **Intelligentsia** · Middle class practicipants wanted to practicipate in government; wanted some form of elected national assembly  · Students went and protesred against repressive government controls **Revolutionaries** · Socialist Revolutionaries wanted peasant revolution to create socialism based around peasant communes  · Marxists wanted urban working classes to stage revolution to create a socialist state, then communism. **National minorities** · Wanted more independence  · An end to the policy of Russification **Peasants** · Increasing peasant population was putting more pressure on the land **Workers** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">· Wanted more power <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">**Tsarist regime** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">· Denied basic freedoms, such as free press or to form political parties

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From: Reaction and Revolution: Russia 1894-1924, Michael Lynch

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">--

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__**Who (important groups, figures, etc) - Maciej**__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Workers on mass strikes, the troops firing upon a peaceful demonstration on 22 Jan. (Bloody Sunday), Peasants, National Minorities (Jews, Finns, Poles etc.), Revolutionaries (social revolutionaries and Social Democrats) the Tsar and the alienated intelligentsia.

- **Alienated Intelligentsia**: the middle-class liberals wanted to participate in government; wanted some form of elected national assembly. Students protested against repressive government controls.

- **Revolutionaries**: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0pt 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> a. Social Revolutionaries: wanted peasant revolution to create socialism based around peasant communes.

b. Social Democrats(Marxists): Wanted urban working classes to stage revolution to create a socialist state, then Communism.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - **National Minorities(Poles, Jews, Germans etc.)** Wanted more autonomy and independence, as well as an end to the policy of russification.

<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - **Peasants:**

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; white-space: normal;"> === **<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Grievances included poverty, need for more land, high taxes and redemption dues on land. They suffered periodic famines, while the peasant population was increasing and putting more pressure on the land. ** ===

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - **Workers** Grievances included long working hours, low pay and terrible working and living conditions. They also wanted more political power/say.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - **The Tsar** The Tsar was weak and indecisive. He repressed the government, with no movement towards a more constitutional government. He denied basic freedoms, such as free press, freedom to form political parties etc, as well as no concessions to nationalities, meaning any protests were repressed.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - **Witte** The man in charge of the economic policy of Russia at that time. Under his industrialisation policy, urban workers and peasants were put down by high taxes and low wages. There was an economic slump after 1902, which led to high unemployment and social tensions in towns.

<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; white-space: normal;"> From: Communist Russia under Lenin and Stalin by Chris Corin and Terry Fiehn

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__**How (after-effects, “how” it influenced/affected Russia afterwards) - Gosia**__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">--> Undermined tsardom - he lost control over towns as well as the contryside. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> --> The Tsar had to make concession on order to maintain peace:

--> The middle class was worried by the growing unrest and swung back to the side of the Tsar
 * creation of a duma
 * freedom of speech
 * the right to form political parties
 * end to press censorship

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> --> St.Petersburg soviets crushed <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Generally: the Tsar lost control over his country.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">__**Where (events) - Gosia**__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">--> it broke out in St.Petersburg, following the events of Bloody Sunday (22nd January) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> -->By the end of January 400,000 workers went on strike in all Russia’s cities <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> --> Strikes, demonstrations, barricades, petitions <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> --> All groups united in revolution (workers, students, civil servants, teachers, doctors, etc...) <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> --> new organisations called soviets were formed (St.Petersburg Soviet - the most powerful)

from Chris Corin and Terry Fiehn book.

<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Times; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**What (importance of the 1905 revolution) - Jina** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__**Significance of the 1905 Revolution**__
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Revolutionaries played a small part in the revolution
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: circle; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If the <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">//revolutionaries// <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> didn’t do anything in this ‘revolution’, is it really a revolution then?

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__**Lesson Learned**__
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tsarist regime will remain safe if:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">o <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The tsarist regime kept its nerve <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">o <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Army/military remained loyal
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More difficult for people to protest
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Revolution was a failure because:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">o <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rebelling forces weren’t organized, were disunited and inexperienced. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">o <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The liberals backed out and the workers were left to fight alone, eventually getting crushed by the government <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__**Source Used**__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: “Reaction and Revolution: Russia 1894-1924” by Michael Lynch