Tsar After 1905

Tsar After 1905

It would be true to say that the Tsar remained unscathed after 1905,

as he remained on the throne until 1917. However, it would also be

true to say that the Tsar was permanently damaged by the 1905

revolution.

Before 1905, there was much unrest and discontent. Famines in 1897,

1898 and 1901, made the already struggling countryside even worse, and

the usually loyal peasantry held uprisings in two provinces in 1902.

The Russo-Japanese war caused further unrest following a series of

defeats, including that of Port Arthur. This caused revolutionary

outbreaks to spread rapidly throughout Russia and gave way for various

Liberal groups to press for their demands for a representative system

of government. Peasants, middle classes, national minorities and the

urban working class were all angry at the present system of government

and the policies it held. All of these people wanted change.

The news of defeat in the Far East caused a wave of spontaneous

strikes throughout Russia. 105,000 workers were on strike by the 22nd

January.

All of these issues of discontent were brought to a head on 22nd

January 1905, also known as Bloody Sunday. Government troops opened

fire on peaceful demonstrators, presenting a petition for the

summoning of a constituent assembly. Several hundred people were

killed.

The Tsar was 'at war with his own people'; strikes, demonstrations,

barricades and petitions were among the short-term effects of Bloody

Sunday.

Ramsey Macdonald called the Tsar a "blood stained creature" and "a

common murderer." His views reflected the majority of the population

at this time. Outrage spread ...

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...t threat to the Tsar and the autocracy.

Some historians may argue that the 1905 revolution had no effect on

the Tsar as he remained in power until 1917, and he abdicated because

of several reasons, many which were not connected to 1905 at all.

However, I believe that the 1905 revolution had few short-term

effects, but was damaging to the Tsar in the long-term.

The main reasons that the autocracy managed to emerge from the events

of 1905 unscathed are that the Tsar had very good ministers such as

Witte, which would help the Tsar to pass legislation, which would

regain control. Moreover, the revolutionaries were not channeled and

they were unorganized. However this revolution was an indication of

the power of the people and it can be said that it was a dress

rehearsal for the February and October Revolutions of 1917.