In 1905-1907, events occurred in the Russian Empire, which were later called the First Russian Revolution. The tension that has been accumulating in society for more than half a century has turned into general discontent, which, however, does not have the gigantic proportions and destructive forces that were inherent in the October Revolution of 1917.
Causes
The reasons for the revolution of 1905-1907, the nature of which depended precisely on them, were global. By the beginning of the 20th century, the state of affairs in the Russian Empire was critical. The empire is mired in external debt. Failure in the Russo-Japanese War destroyed the myth of the invincibility of Russia, caused discontent among the people. There was an industrial decline, money circulation was upset, the standard of living of the majority of the population of the empire was very low, as was the level of civil liberties. The Russian empire was increasingly lagging behind progressive Europe. Serious political reforms, modernization of industry and weapons were required. This determined the nature of the revolution of 1905-1907.
The peasantry (77% of the total population of the Russian Empire) was in distress. Agriculture was in a deep crisis. The size of land allotments for peasants was decreasing.
How did the revolution begin?
The nature of the revolution of 1905-1907 was determined by the events preceding it. By the end of 1904, the political situation in the empire was heating up. Opposition parties and organizations grew. The government has proclaimed a course of trust in society. From this, the opposition only intensified. The leading force opposing the autocracy was the illegal liberal association Union of Liberation. A conference was held in Paris at which the opposition discussed a plan to fight the autocracy. The Union of Liberation took the initiative to hold the Zemsky Congress. The congress took place in November in St. Petersburg. It served as an impetus for the writing of Zemstvo petitions, demanding the restriction of the power of officials and public involvement in the management of the empire. Censorship was weakened, so part of the petitions fell into print media and became the subject of discussion for the entire reading public. The demands of the liberals were close to the ideas of the revolutionaries, so they supported the liberals' undertakings with student demonstrations. These events influenced the nature of the revolution of 1905-1907.
The largest legal organization, the Assembly of Russian Factory Workers of St. Petersburg, was involved in the revolutionary movement. Its founder, leader and ideological inspirer was priest George Gapon. Representatives of the "Union of Liberation" suggested that Gapon make a petition of a political nature.
The strike at the Putilov factory
In December 1904, a serious incident occurred at the Putilov factory , which affected the nature of the revolution of 1905-1907. The master fired four workers - members of the "Assembly of Russian Factory Workers of St. Petersburg" because of his negative attitude towards this organization. The unfair dismissal caused a violent protest among the factory workers. They appealed to the administration with a request to restore the dismissed. The administration refused. In response, the workers threatened a strike. On January 2, 1905, members of the organization decided to start a strike at a meeting. The next day, 12.5 thousand workers at the Putilov factory went on strike. On the second day of the strike, workers from several other factories joined her. By January 8, the strike became universal. 125 thousand workers from 625 enterprises took part in it.
Bloody Sunday
The character of the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907 was defined by “Bloody Sunday” - Sunday, January 9 (22), when a peaceful demonstration of factory workers, led by priest George Gapon, was brutally dispersed by soldiers. The demonstration was the result of strikes that began at the Putilov factory and swept the rest of the St. Petersburg plants. To the workers who did not find answers to their questions, the priest Gapon offered to turn to the king. The organization "Meeting of Russian factory workers in St. Petersburg" with the help of the priest Gapon prepared a petition containing a number of requirements, the main of which was the convocation of the Constituent Assembly.
2 days before the march, the government became aware of the Gapon petition. The government was shocked. The priest was called to the Ministry of Justice to speak with the Minister of Justice N.V. Muravyov. Gapon tried to convince the minister of the need for some political reforms that could make life easier for ordinary workers, and also asked Muravyov to talk about this with the emperor. The minister refused. These events influenced the character of the first revolution of 1905-1907.
The ministry decided to place armed soldiers on Palace Square and, most importantly, to prevent workers from entering the city center. The government did not hide confidence: the sight of armed soldiers would scare off demonstrators. An order was given to arrest Gapon, but the chief of the gendarmes did not dare to do this, since the priest lived in the working quarter.
On the eve of the demonstration, the democratically-minded intelligentsia gathered in the editorial office of the newspaper Our Days. Maxim Gorky made a fiery speech, urging his comrades to turn to the government with a warning that tomorrow's demonstration of the workers is peaceful. The elected deputation did not catch the Minister of Internal Affairs, and appeals to other representatives of the authorities did not bring any result. At this time, the emperor was in Tsarskoe Selo.
On January 9, crowded convoys of workers, the total number of which reached 140,000, began a procession from different sides of the capital, planning to unite on Palace Square. To give the procession the appearance of a procession, people walked with icons, crosses, banners, portraits of the emperor and sang psalms. As a result, targeted fire was opened on the crowd of demonstrators, soldiers with bare sabers were thrown against unarmed people. An article by V.I. Lenin says about 4,600 killed workers. Official figures read 130 killed 333 wounded. Gapon was hidden by the Social Revolutionary Rutenberg at Maxim Gorky. A stunned priest after this event began to call on the people to fight against the autocracy.
The consequences of Bloody Sunday
The public was shocked by the use of weapons against a peaceful demonstration. On the one hand, a possible riot was averted. On the other hand, people's faith in a good king was irretrievably lost. The people did not forgive Nicholas II and his government for such cruelty. The nature of the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907 was determined. The revolutionary parties began to gain more and more influence, their numbers began to grow rapidly. A wave of strikes went through the empire. Increasingly, slogans began to appear, containing a call for the overthrow of the autocracy.
The emperor dismissed the Minister of Internal Affairs of Svyatopolk-Mirsky. In this position he was replaced by A. G. Bulygin.
Szydlowski Commission
On January 29, according to the decree of the emperor, a commission was created to identify and eliminate the reasons for the discontent of St. Petersburg workers. The commission was headed by Senator Shidlovsky. The commission members were supposed to be the following: officials, manufacturers, as well as deputies from the workers of St. Petersburg. The political demands of the workers were declared inadmissible even before the commission meeting began. But their implementation was demanded by the deputies from the workers. February 20 Shidlovsky reported to the emperor about the unsuccessful outcome of the commission. Nicholas II on the same day dismissed the commission by decree.
Echo of St. Petersburg events
The events that determined the nature of the revolution of 1905-1907 were general strikes in Warsaw and Riga from January 12 to 14 against the shooting of a demonstration of St. Petersburg workers. Strikes and strikes began on Russian railways. Students went on strike throughout the empire.
In May, 70,000 textile workers went on strike in Ivanovo-Voznesensk. The strike lasted 2 months. The first council of workers' deputies in the empire arose in the city. Soon the example of Ivanovo-Voznesensk was followed by other large industrial centers.
In the Caucasus, social conflict was exacerbated by national conflict. The bloody confrontation between Armenians and Azerbaijanis lasted during 1905-1906.
Actions of the authorities
On February 18, Nicholas II issued a manifesto allowing the Senate to submit proposals for the improvement of the empire in the name of the emperor.
On April 17, a Decree on Tolerance was issued. He recognized religious beliefs and the conversion of Orthodox believers to other religions.
Potemkin riot
The nature of the Russian revolution of 1905-1907 was influenced by the following event that occurred on the Black Sea Fleet. On the 14th day of June 1905, the command of the battleship "Prince Potemkin-Tauride" rebelled. The riot began with the killing of 7 people by sailors. The ship's commander and ship's doctor were sentenced to death by a speedy sailor court. The battleship managed to go into the open sea, but the rioters did not have food and fuel supplies. Therefore, they were forced to pester the Romanian shores and surrender to the local authorities.
The uprising in Lodz
On June 21, 1905, a major uprising began in Lodz - Polish workers went on strike. The uprising began in connection with the difficult economic situation that arose as a result of the Russo-Japanese war. People protested against Russification and demanded an extension of civil rights for the Poles. On June 25, the uprising was crushed. Hundreds of people died.
Actions of the authorities
On August 6, the emperor established the State Duma by his manifesto. The Regulation governing the Duma election process was also published.
All-Russian strike
In Moscow, the strike began in October and quickly swept the entire empire. Between October 12 and 18, more than 2 million people took part in it.
This forced Nicholas II to heed the demands of the indignant people. On October 17, the emperor issued a manifesto granting civil liberties and legalizing various political parties. The demands of the liberals were met. The Stolypin agrarian reform was launched and a parliamentary representation was created.
On September 14, 1906, a circular was issued forbidding officials to be members of opposition parties and organizations.
On June 3, 1907, the State Duma of the 2nd convocation was dissolved by P. A. Stolypin. The revolution of 1905-1907, the reasons, nature and results of which are described in this article, was over.