1905 Revolution

Question 1

What caused an increase in striking workers in December 1904?

Answer 1

Four workers from the Putilov steel works being dismissed.

Question 2

How many workers were on strike in January 1905?

Answer 2

120,000

Question 3

What was the Assembly of Russian Factory Workers?

Answer 3

Established by Father Georgiy Gapon in 1904 to support local workers and pursue industrial reform. This was encouraged by the Ministry for the Interior as it channelled worker discontent away from other political organisations. Had 6000-8000 members by end of 1904.

Question 4

When was Bloody Sunday?

Answer 4

9 January 1905

Question 5

Approximately how many people marched to the Winter Palace on Bloody Sunday? What were they holding?

Answer 5

Up to 150,000. They were carrying religious icons and their petition.

Question 6

What was the death toll at the Winter Palace? What was the total death toll of the day?

Answer 6

40 people . 200-300 people.

Question 7

Where else were soldiers shooting at the people?

Answer 7

Nevsky Prospekt, and Troitsky Bridge

Question 8

What did Nicholas II become known as after Bloody Sunday?

Answer 8

Nicholas the Bloody

Question 9

What did the Official History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union say of Bloody Sunday?

Answer 9

‘On that day the workers received a bloody lesson. It was their faith in the tsar that was riddled by bullets on that day.’

Question 10

What were the demands of the petition on Bloody Sunday?

Answer 10

‘Our first request was that our employers discuss our needs together with us…Reduce the working day to eight hours; for them to set wages in agreement with us…to increase the wages of unskilled workers and women to one rouble per day; to overtime work; to provide medical care attentively and without insult; to build shops so that it is possible to work there and not face death.’

Question 11

What did Father Georgiy Gapon write of Bloody Sunday in The Story of My Life?

Answer 11

‘At last the firing ceased..Horror crept into my heart. The thought flashed through my mind, ‘And this is the work of our Little Father, the Tsar.’..’There is no longer any tsar for us!’ I exclaimed.’

Question 12

What did Figes say of Bloody Sunday?

Answer 12

“The turning point of the Revolution.”

Question 13

What did Maxim Gorky say of Bloody Sunday in a letter?

Answer 13

‘The Russian Revolution has begun: I send you my sincere congratulations/ People have died - but don’t let that trouble you - only blood can change the colour of history.’

Question 14

How many workers strikes in January as a consequence of Bloody Sunday?

Answer 14

400,000

Question 15

When did local government become paralysed in 1905?

Answer 15

October

Question 16

What was a further catalyst to unrest in May 1905?

Answer 16

News of Russia’s defeat at the battle of Tsushima

Question 17

‘The strikes and protests which followed the Bloody Sunday revolt in St Petersburg were especially intense

Answer 17

in the non-Russian borderlands…where local and political tensions were reinforced by a widespread hate of Russian rule.’ Figes

Question 18

How many workers rose up in Riga and when? How many died?

Answer 18

15,000 workers in Riga rose up on 13 January. 70 dead.

Question 19

‘In the ten Polish provinces there are more strikes in the spring and summer of 1905 than in

Answer 19

the rest of the empire combined.’ Figes

Question 20

How many workers took part in demonstrations in Warsaw after Bloody Sunday? How many were killed?

Answer 20

100,000 people . 93 killed.

Question 21

‘Nationalists everywhere welcomed Russia’s defeat in the belief that it would

Answer 21

bring down the Tsar and thus pave the way for their own autonomy. In many of these non-Russian lands virtually the whole population became involved in the national liberation movement.’ Figes

Question 22

What did Figes say of the mutiny from troops returning from Manchuria and its repression?

Answer 22

‘By dawn, when the massacre finally ended, 2000 people had been killed and 3000 wounded…In itself, the mutiny had been a minor threat. But it was a major embarrassment to the regime, for it showed the world that the revolution had spread to the heart of its own military machine.’

Question 23

When did the crew of the Prince Potemkin battleship mutiny and kill their officers?

Answer 23

14 June 1905

Question 24

How many people staged a rally at Moscow University and what did they do? What was this reflective of?

Answer 24

3000 students burned portraits of the tsar and hung red flags. This was reflective of the political fervour throughout institutions of higher learning;

Question 25

What happened on 18 March 1905?

Answer 25

Authorities ordered all institutions of higher learning to be closed for the remainder of the academic year.

Question 26

What was the Union of Unions?

Answer 26

Organisation of smaller unions formed in 1905. Led by liberal politician Pavel Milyukov. They demanded a Constituent Assembly and voting rights.

Question 27

By when were the economies of Moscow and St Petersburg paralysed?

Answer 27

14 October 1905

Question 28

What did Count Sergei Witte recommend to Nicholas to bring about peace in late 1905?

Answer 28

Significant reform; removal of the State Council, elected members of government, Tsar must adopt a policy of freedom. October Manifesto.

Question 29

What occurred on 17 October 1905?

Answer 29

Release of the October Manifesto

Question 30

What was decreed in the October Manifesto?

Answer 30

Freedom of speech and association, elections to the State Duma, no law shall take place without the assent of the State Duma.

Question 31

What did Leon Trotsky say of the October Manifesto?

Answer 31

‘We have been given a constitution, but absolutism remains…everything is given and nothing is given. ‘

Question 32

How did revolutionary groups respond to the October Manifesto?

Answer 32

Octobrists accept reform. Kadets push for further concessions. St Petersburg soviet saw it as a trick for the Tsar to rally his forces and end the revolution.
General Strike sees the Soviets gain influence so they encouraged workers to strike.

Question 33

What occurred on 3 December 1905? Why?

Answer 33

260 deputies (half) of St Petersburg Soviet are arrested. The chairman had been arrested, following calls for uprisings after the October Manifesto, and so the Soviet organised an armed uprising; thus they were arrested.

Question 34

What occurred on 6 December and what was the result?

Answer 34

Moscow Soviet calls for a strike that cripples the city.

Question 35

When did the Moscow strike end and how many people died?

Answer 35

18 December. Over 1000 died.

Question 36

How did Industrial Workers respond to the October Manifesto?

Answer 36

Many industrial workers wanted specific reforms and were pre occupied with their daily concerns; eight hour working day, workers council, medical services etc. They did not care much for constituent assemblies or socialist revolutions. Could not afford to go on strike again.

Question 37

How did peasants respond to the October Manifesto?

Answer 37

Wished for immediate change; more land and lower taxes. October Manifesto were largely appeased; their redemption payments for 1905 were halved.

Question 38

How did Sheila Fitzpatrick describe the 1905 revolution?

Answer 38

The political outcome of the 1905 Revolution was ‘ambiguous and in some ways unsatisfactory to all concerned.’

Question 39

“The workers organised independently of the bourgeoisie in the soviets. Peasant uprisings to seize the land

Answer 39

occurred throughout the country. Not only the peasants but also the revolutionary parts of the army tended towards the soviets..The liberals backed away from the revolution exactly at the moment when it became clear that to shake stardom would not be enough, it must be overthrown.’ Trotsky

Question 40

How did the status of political parties change after the October Manifesto?

Answer 40

Made legal