The Russian Revolution

The significant historical trend of rebellion against authoritarian rule in Russia is demonstrated through three key events; the 1905 Revolution, the February 1917 revolution and the October 1917 revolution. These events was a culmination of economic, social, and political forces which was driven by a deep dissatisfaction with inequality within society and incompetent leadership of Tsar Nicholas. The events of Bloody Sunday in 1905, as the massacre became known, started a movement that the government could not control and forced the Tsar to make some concessions, which did not last long. The further eroded public confidence in his government and in the view of the lack of the Tsar 's credibility were prepared the way for the 1917 Revolutions.

The inequality of Russian society was a long term cause by early 20th century that led to their strong desire for economic and political changes in 1905. Despite the factor that Tsar Alexander II freed the peasants from serfdom in 1861 and allowed them to own the land on which they grew their food, they still suffered from poverty and inequality. They were forced to pay the yearly redemption payments for the land they did not yet own with harsh taxes and the size of communal plots of land had diminished as the population grew. Many peasants suffered from disease and malnutrition. At that time, many peasants try to migrate to the cities to improve their live. However, the condition for the urban workers were also gloomy. Trade unions were not allowed by law and going on strike was illegal. The number of peasants moved to cities was growing, but they worked in dangerous conditions for longer hours with pitiful pay. Father Georgi Gapon, who advocated workers ' rights, stated that "The normal working day is eleven and a half hours ... they are paid by piece and the rate is very low." According to L. Kochan, "Almost all the workers lived in buildings that lacked light, had no ventilation and were crammed with Plank beds." In contrast, most of the Russian nobles were fabulously rich. The nobility - less than one percent of the population - owned about a quarter of the land. The force for social and political change in society had a significant influence on the

This did not happen in isolation as its fundamental cause of this event was the force for political change caused by a general dissatisfaction with Tsars political response to the 1905 revolution The Tsar responded to this uprising initially by issuing a document called the October Manifesto and a Duma, an elected parliament. However, once the Tsar had successfully quelled the revolt, he reasserted his authority. The police arrested the members of the St Petersburg Soviet and sent fifteen of them into exile in Siberia. Also he dissolved two Dumas whose composition was not to his liking, imposed restrictions on the franchise, which resulted in a new Duma that was much more submissive. 'To the Emperor of all the Russia 's belongs supreme autocratic power ' The Tsar made it clear, in his words, that he would not allow the Duma, any real power. Duma or no Duma, Russia was still an autocracy. This went against the promises the Tsar originally made in the October Manifesto and trust in minds of people in Russia had broken. The way in which the Tsar and his advisers viewed the political reforms can be seen in the words of chief minister Sergei Witte who said, "I have a constitution in my head, but in my heart, I spit on it." In 1906, he appointed a new, tough Prime Minister named Peter Stolypin. He used brutal methods to cramp down on terrorism , but he also tried