Tsar Nicholas 2nd's Survival of The 1905 Revolution

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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 s... ... middle of paper ... ... 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.

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