Russian Revolution of 1905

Russian Revolution of 1905, a widespread uprising during most of 1905 against the monarchy of the Russian Empire. The revolution began in Saint Petersburg (then the capital of Russia), rapidly spread across the entire empire, and included most classes and groups of people. A massive demand for social and political reform, it forced Russian emperor Nicholas II to concede to major changes in the autocratic system of government.

By the beginning of 1905, dissatisfaction with the imperial government was widespread. Middle- and upper-class Russians called for political reform toward a constitutional system, industrial workers resented brutal working conditions and poverty, and the peasantry wanted the government to redistribute agricultural land held by wealthy landowners. Illegal revolutionary parties, including the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Social Democrats (Mensheviks and Bolsheviks), had emerged to champion peasant and worker demands. A liberal political movement in favor of a constitutional monarchy, which during 1905 would form the Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadets), had also emerged. The unpopular Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) added to the climate of discontent.

On January 9 (or January 22, in the Western, or New Style, calendar), a large, peaceful procession of workers and their families—led by a priest, Georgy Gapon—marched to the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg to present Nicholas with a petition asking for reforms. Troops and police fired on them, killing and wounding hundreds. The event, known as “Bloody Sunday,” shocked and outraged the people of Russia. Riots and demonstrations broke out across the country and continued through the summer, despite both repressive measures and minor concessions from the government. Workers engaged in local strikes and clashed with police. In the countryside peasants attacked landlords and government officials. Several mutinies occurred in the armed forces, including the revolt on the cruiser Potemkin in June. Students and members of the middle class demanded constitutional government and social reform.

On the political front, liberals and some socialists formed the Union of Unions in May under the leadership of Pavel Milyukov to coordinate pressure against the government. Soon thereafter Milyukov and other liberals formed the Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadets), which represented especially the educated and propertied classes. Militants from among the industrial workers, supported by the socialist parties, organized worker’s councils (soviets) in many cities. The most important, the Saint Petersburg Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, was formed October 13 (October 26, New Style) as both a strike committee and political leadership forum. Dominated politically by Social Democrats, especially by the party’s Menshevik faction, the soviet soon controlled large parts of the city. Meanwhile, worker activists and socialist leaders organized a nationwide general strike, which began in September and spread, immobilizing the country by mid-October.

The emperor’s advisers, especially Sergey Witte, the new head of government, counseled him to make concessions that were much more sweeping than he wished. On October 17 (October 30, New Style) Nicholas issued a manifesto promising civil rights and the creation of an elected legislative assembly, the Duma. His “October Manifesto” divided the opposition, with some accepting it as a new beginning and others demanding no less than the complete overthrow of the monarchy. Rural and urban disturbances increased after October, including demonstrations among non-Russian minorities demanding greater rights. By November, however, the government was confident it had reasserted sufficient control in the army to launch a counterattack. Government troops easily arrested the leaders of the Saint Petersburg Soviet, but they suppressed the revolution in Moscow only after violent street fighting killed hundreds in December. Army detachments subdued peasant rebellions. At the same time, right-wing groups known as “Black Hundreds” attacked non-Russians and radicals and launched pogroms (organized massacres) against Jews in many cities; local officials did not try to prevent these attacks and may even have encouraged them. Gradually, by mid-1906, the government reasserted complete control over the country.

The revolution of 1905 had mixed results. It forced major changes in the political system with the creation of the Duma, which was elected by all classes and had the right to approve all laws. Although Nicholas retained extensive power, the traditional autocracy was ended with the creation of the Duma, legalization of political parties, and granting of civil rights such as freedom of speech and assembly. The imperial government soon found ways to undermine these reforms, however, while demands for a full legislative democracy, distribution of land to peasants, and basic improvements in the lives of industrial workers were unfulfilled. The main sources of discontent therefore remained unresolved, setting the stage for the subsequent revolution of 1917, in which the example of the soviets of 1905 played a central role (see Russian Revolution of 1917).