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Revolution of 1905

     

What was 1905?

Historians debate its significance:

    •  Pares: monarchy survived w. “half a constitution”.

    •  Ascher: revealed deep social/economic issues; Tsar’s concessions only bought time.

    •  Lee: marked a return to repression after Tsarist reforms.

    •  Fitzpatrick: “unsatisfactory”: no reforms, no w/c unity, Army still powerful & pro-Tsar.

    •  Morison: turning point in political awareness for ordinary Russians.

   

Causes

1. Coronation catastrophe

    •  May 1896: Tsar Nicholas’ coronation → tragedy at Field. Surge killed 1,282 people as gifts (mugs, bread) were distributed.

    •  Nicholas still held the evening ball → reputation for indifference to people’s suffering.

2. Universal unrest: riots, strikes & terrorism

a. Student anger

    •  1899: student protests vs govt repression → Army conscription for 183 Kiev students, expulsions, exile.

    •  1901-04: assassinations of Bogolepov, Sipyagin, & Plehve by student protesters/SRCO.

b. Peasant anger

    •  1902-03: peasants rebelled (Ukraine, European Russia), burned nobles’ homes, required Army intervention.

    •  SR Party (1902) promoted terrorism, esp. via its (SRCO).

    •  1903-05: 'Years of the Red ' – mass arson/uprisings.

c. Industrial workers’ anger

    •  1896-97: St Petersburg textile strike spread nationally.

    •  1899: financial crisis + recession → wage cuts, tax hikes, industrial unrest (eg. 1903 Urals, Baku).

    •  1895-1904: 1,765 strikes (431k workers).

    •  1904: factory strike → general strike (St Petersburg), power outages by Jan 21.

d. Nationalist anger

    •  Nicholas’ Russification alienated minorities:

          ◦  1899: Manifesto for Finland → refusal to pay taxes; assassination of Bobrikov (1904).

          ◦  1903: seizure of Armenian national fund → Armenian Revolutionary Federation terrorism/demos.

3. Political aspirations

    •  Liberals’ demands:

          ◦  1903: Union of demanded “popular representation.”

          ◦  1904: Union of Liberation sought constitutional monarchy & national self-determination.

          ◦  1904: zemstva campaign led to December Manifesto (reforms incl. civil rights).

4. Inadequate reforms

    •  Tsar often repressive:

          ◦  1895: dismissed zemstva demands as “senseless dreams.”

          ◦  Used Army to suppress protests; suspected of condoning 1903 anti-Jewish pogroms.

    •  Reforms limited and only after riots & strikes:

          ◦  1897: max 11.5-hour workday.

          ◦  1903: abolished joint tax liability; religious freedom.

          ◦  1904: banned corporal punishment; zemstva given more power.

5. Defeat by Japan

    •  1904-05: Russo-Japanese War – humiliating defeat for Russia:

          ◦  Surprise attacks (Feb 1904), loss of (Jan 1905) & Baltic Fleet (May 1905).

          ◦  Treaty of Portsmouth (Sept 1905): Japan gained Korea, Sakhalin & Port Arthur.

   

Events

1. Bloody Sunday (Jan 22, 1905)

    •  Father led peaceful protest to Winter Palace → Army opened fire.

          ◦  Official deaths: 75; historians: ~200; rumors: 1,000.

    •  Sparked national revolt:

          ◦  Strikes, uprisings, nationalist demos (Poland, Finland).

          ◦  Soviets formed (St Petersburg, Moscow).

          ◦  Potemkin mutiny (June): sailors killed officers, fled to Romania.

2. August Manifesto

    •  Tsar promised reforms → subsided unrest temporarily (60k peasant petitions).

    •  August: promised a Duma, but w/ limited electorate/powers → unrest reignited.

    •  Oct: strikes paralyzed transport; St Petersburg formally met.

3. October Manifesto

    •  Oct 30: Tsar promised:

          ◦  Duma w/ veto powers, universal suffrage.

          ◦  Personal freedoms (speech, assembly, union).

          ◦  End of redemption payments (fulfilled 1907).

   

Outcomes

1. Dumas

    •  Tsarist concessions divided the opposition:

          ◦  'Constitutionalists' (Octobrists, Kadets) turned away from revolution.

    •  The Tsar overturned the constitutional changes:

          ◦  Feb 1906: gave his State Council the power of veto.

          ◦  6 May 1906: Laws’ -- giving the Tsar: veto of decisions, could dissolve Duma & make laws, control of administration, foreign policy & army/ Duma was forbidden to discuss financial matters.

    •  Four (1906-17):

          ◦  1st Duma (1906): Kadets dominated, demanded reforms → dissolved July.

          ◦  2nd Duma (1907): SRs dominated; dissolved after land nationalisation demands. New voting laws restricted electorate (‘Stolypin's coup’).

          ◦  3rd Duma (1907-12): Octobrists/URP majority.

          ◦  4th Duma (1912-17): Tsarists dominated; marginalised amidst growing unrest.

    •  Weak-but-functioning Parliament, with:

          ◦  A ‘Union of Russian People’ Party (URP) who wanted to return to autocracy;

          ◦  Liberals who accepted the October Manifesto (the ‘Octobrists’);

          ◦  A Constitutionalist Democratic Party (the ‘Kadets’);

          ◦  The Social Democrats refused to attend the 1st Duma, but the 'Mensheviks' participated in 3rd & 4th;

          ◦  The Social Revolutionaries (SRs) boycotted every Duma (except the 2nd).

2.  The ministry of Stolypin (1906-11)

    •  Repression:

          ◦  Concessions FAILED to stop violence: Oct 1905-Oct 1906 → 3,611 govt officials killed (17k by 1916).

          ◦  Unrest suppressed piecemeal by severe repression.

          ◦  St Petersburg Soviet arrested. 1905 uprising of Moscow Soviets brutally crushed.

          ◦  Repression ↑ under PM Stolypin: 1,400 executed in 1906 → noose = 'Stolypin's .'

          ◦  By 1907, Poland, Finland & ⅔ of Russia under martial law.

    •  Agrarian Reforms:

          ◦  Communal land ownership abolished: peasants allowed to consolidate holdings & leave mir → created wealthier '' (middle-class farmers), weakened mir resistance to govt.

          ◦  Advice, grants & loans to move to Siberia.

          ◦  St Petersburg Soviet arrested. 1905 uprising of Moscow Soviets brutally crushed.

          ◦  Redemption payments abolished/ loans from Peasants .

    •  Other reforms:

          ◦  Universal Primary education (1908).

          ◦  Trade Unions legalised/ health & accident insurance/ factory safety inspectors (1912).

          ◦  Introduced → western areas of the Empire (1911).

   

The Situation in 1913

    a. The country was thriving :

          ◦  Agric output ↑ 14% 1908-12; 1912 Russia exported > Canada & USA combined.

          ◦  Foreign investment poured in; heavy industry grew fast; by 1914, Russia was 4th largest steel, coal & iron producer.

    b. The monarchy was saved :

          ◦  Show trials & executions cut revolutionary group membership 100k → 10k (1910).

          ◦  1913 celebrations = success; Nicholas: "My people love me"; Tsarina: "their hearts are ours" (Figes: they were deluded).

          ◦  British FO: "affection & devotion" to Nicholas = key autocracy strength.

    c. The peasants had benefited :

          ◦  Resistance to Stolypin’s Land Reform; only 20% gained land titles, 10% got consolidated plots (1916).

          ◦  BUT: rural anarchy ceased, living standards ↑, 2m got Peasant Land Bank loans, 2.8m migrated to Siberia 1908-13.

    d. The workers were discontented :

          ◦  Wages lagged behind inflation, <⅓> Western Europe avg; social security limited; per capita income = tenth of USA.

          ◦  1912 Goldfields massacre → strikes, protests, 1914 St Petersburg general strike (students, barricades, street fighting).

    e. The political classes were quiet ... for now :

          ◦  Stolypin's repression forced most (even ) to work w. state; Duma developed.

          ◦  Terrorists/Bolsheviks exiled or in hiding; Soviets suppressed, but movement persisted.