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Why did the 1905 Revolution against the tsar occur?


Russia, before 1917, was ruled by various Tsars(emperors) who were the absolute heads of the state with unquestionable power. The Tsars commanded great respect in the Russian society and were said to 'chosen by God' to rule over the Russian empire. But in 1905 for the first time, there was a major revolt against the Tsar, Nicholas II of the mighty Romanov dynasty. Nicholas was crowned in 1894 shortly after his father's murder. There were great celebrations to mark his coming into power. So, why was there a revolution against one of the most respected figures in Russia?          
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A Portrait of Nicholas the II


It is very important to understand the situation of Russia at that time. Most of the Russian population were peasants who lived in poverty. Farming was primitive and backward, the conditions of the majority of the peasants were appalling. There was also a growing population of urban workers due to growth in industrialization but due to massive overcrowding in cities such as Moscow and St.Petersburg living conditions for these workers were no good either. Also, there was a humongous gap between the rich(aristocrats, landlords, and capitalists) and the poor(peasants and industrial workers). The poor faced a lot of discrimination and oppression from the rich and powerful.

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Peasants being given orders by their Landlords

The Tsar didn't do much to solve the people's problems either; he was more of a household man and did not pay attention to the day to day administration of a country as vast as Russia. He even missed attending the daily council with his ministers to avoid confrontation! All of these problems led to mainly three illegal opposition groups being created against the Tsar. These were the Socialist Revolutionaries, who believed in a violent struggle, The liberals, who were mainly the growing middle class and just wanted some kind of say in the running of the government, and finally, the Socialist Democrats, who were a more disciplined party who believed in revolution. These groups often organized illegal worker strikes so that worker needs could be heard. In 1905 the Tsar went to war with Japan( 1905 Russo-Japanese war), seeing this as an opportunity to unite the country against an external enemy. But the war proved terrible for Russia and they faced humiliating defeats at the hands of the Japanese. This led to further discontent among the people. To demonstrate against the worsening conditions 20,000 protesters led by Father Georgy Gapon gathered in front of the Tsar's winter palace in St.Petersburg; many of the protesters were carrying portraits of the Tsar to mark their respect towards him. They were met by the soldiers of the fierce Cossack regiment who, in the midst of chaos, open fired at the crowd. The events that followed, called the bloody Sunday, led to the death of hundreds of people and injured several others. This massacre made the Tsar lose the respect of the common people of  Russia. What followed were a series of worker and peasant strikes that eventually led to the 1905 revolution against the Tsar. Although the Tsar successfully put the revolution with the help of the army and made peace with Japan, these events did seriously damage the Tsar's reputation in Russia.
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The Russo- Japanese War
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Workers strikes in 1905

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The Bloody Sunday

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