Tsar Nicholas 2nd's Survival of The 1905 Revolution

Tsar Nicholas 2nd's Survival of The 1905 Revolution

There are several factors that help our understanding of how the tsar

and his regime endured the turmoil of the 1905 revolution. However,

one thing is for sure, after the uprising and swift, brutal

suppression of the revolutionaries on the 22nd of January 1905 outside

the gates of the Winter Palace, the Nicholas 2nd and his

administration received a drastic wake up call. Even though the

monarchy received a hard slap on this day, the tsar himself was in no

immediate danger; the ignorance of the instigator, Father Gapon,

ensured that he didn’t even know that the tsar was not occupying the

Palace at this time.

There is much debate as to whether or not the events of 1905

constituted a revolution at all. Leon Trotsky, a famous and

influential revolutionary writer stated that it was merely a ‘dress

rehearsal’ for 1917, and he is not without support. The impact that it

had was minimal compared to any other of history’s great political

upheavals. Many Marxist historians believe that 1905 only worsened

matters, making full a scale revolt inevitable and simply acting as a

stepping-stone to Lenin’s seizure of power.

The lack of co-ordination from tsarist opposition is arguably the most

crucial means by which Nicholas 2nd kept his head.

The spontaneity of the strikes and demonstrations that took place made

sure they held no real significance and wielded no particular power.

It is the case throughout history that small pockets of opposition, no

matter sizable there are, can never compare to the raw power of the

united masses. For instance one could examine Nazi Germany, and would

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... promised. For the liberals this was a huge

step towards a more democratic nation, and in theory it held all the

answers to their many problems, but in reality it was an intelligent

ploy on Witte’s behalf to split the opposition, rendering it useless.

The more militant wings were now isolated leaving a substantial number

of opponents in want of peace. It is something I have already

mentioned, but there is always strength in numbers, and separating the

antagonists was vital for autocratic survival.

A third Duma was also established, incorporating the classes that

previously were exempt from voting. They also had supposed power over

law passing; just as our house of lords did at this time, the Duma had

the power to veto laws that would otherwise be passed. Every law had

to be run through them before they were approved.