The Extent to Which Nicholas the Second was the Cause of the 1905 Revolution

The Extent to Which Nicholas the Second was the Cause of the 1905 Revolution

Nicholas II faced many problems at the beginning of his reign which

were magnified because of his incomplete training in becoming tsar.

The main problems facing him were that the zemstvas wanted more power

and a growth in opposition. He rejected the first “problem” and as

such, a number of political parties, both moderate and violent came

into being.

The 1905 revolution had two catalysts which were Bloody Sunday and the

fact that Nicholas II only offered the liberals a consultative

assembly when they wanted a legislative assembly as well. Both of the

catalysts were Nicholas II’s fault as he didn’t take the opportunity

to appease a sector of opposition and because Bloody Sunday was the

result of his mismanagement. Bloody Sunday also tarnished the

Protector like image which the peasants held of the Tsar.

Nicholas's inability to lead was only part of the causes of the 1905

revolution. A small piece of a bigger picture. Nicholas’

ultraconservative nationalism led him to oppose all progressive reform

and to impose ‘Russification’ on ethnic minorities, instilling

powerful discontent throughout the Empire. His disastrous war with

Japan in 1904-1905 weakened the regime’s authority, and during 1905

Russia was overrun with immense waves of unrest. Unable to control

the growing chaos, Nicholas was finally forced to issue the October

Manifesto, creating a legislative Duma and even then it took a policy

of brutal repression to slowly restore order and gradually Nicholas II

and his government regained control of the situation.

Despite this, the majority of problems resulted from the actions of

previous tsars. The process of industrialisation was started off by

Alexander III and this created the working class which was a large

source of opposition to Nicholas II. In 1904, over 110,000 workers in

St. Petersburg went out on strike. In addition to this, a disgruntled

middle-class was created. They also became a source of opposition and

their demands included the building of a constituent and legislative