Reasons for the 1905 Revolution in Russia

Question 1

Give a brief introduction to what happened during the 1905 revolution?

Answer 1

• due to a number of short term and long term causes
• strikes and demonstrations spread all over the country
• illegal trade unions were widepread

Question 2

Why were the peasants unhappy?

Answer 2

• had to pay redemption payments back to government increasing hardship
• famine was common (widespread 1901), peasants still expected to produce grain
• majority was landless

Question 3

Why was peasant discontent important as a cause of the 1905 revolution

Answer 3

• peasants were 84% of population
• because conditions had gotten so bad, they started to blame the tsar and therefore played a key role in the uprising of the 1905 revolution against the tsar

Question 4

Why were the workers unhappy?

Answer 4

• population quadrupled leading to demand for accommodation and jobs due to industrialisation
• horrible working conditions, trade unionism banned
• communal living- everything shared
• some lived in the factories where they worked
• economic turndown in early 1900s, no jobs available

Question 5

Why was workers discontent important as a cause of 1905 revolution?

Answer 5

• workers in big cities like St Petersburg and Moscow were at forefront of demonstrations that occurred during 1905
• without working class participation in big cities in the Empire, tsarist authorities would find it easier to crush the peasant uprising

Question 6

Why were the national minorities unhappy?

Answer 6

• government tried to destroy their distinct cultural identities: Russification
• languages that were not Russian like Polish or Ukranian were banned in schools and universities
• Russian Orthodoxy only recognised religion, other faiths like Islam and Judaism were persecuted by authorities

Question 7

Why were national minorities discontent important as a cause for the 1905 revolution?

Answer 7

• hated policy of ‘Russification’ as it ignored their language, customs and religion. This led to many people feeling isolated that the desire for independence intensified
• not as important as national minorities were 34% of population, their discontent alone wouldn’t have made much difference to tsarist regime

Question 8

Who were the ‘Alienated Intelligentsia’?

Answer 8

A group of people who were tired of this backward and cumbersome regime who began to think in terms of civil rights rather than service to the tsar.

Question 9

Why were the ‘Alienated Intelligentsia’ important as a cause of the 1905 revolution?

Answer 9

• educated group of people who wanted the tsar to share his power with them but due to autocracy he didn’t
• led to the belief that the tsar was too weak and unable to make decisions when Russia is in crisis
• not as important as other factors

Question 10

Why did defeat by Japan cause overall discontent in Russia?

Answer 10

• after destruction of Baltic Fleet, tsar signed a peace treaty with Japan, extrememly embarrassing for tsar’s authority leading to the belief that the government was incompetent
• led to mutiny of Potemkin Battleship during 1905 and assassination of Director of Police who advised the tsar that the war would be beneficial for support and patriot for Russia

Question 11

Why was defeat by Japan important as a cause for the 1905 revolution?

Answer 11

• without crushing embarrassment of losing the war, there would have still been dedicated supporters of the tsar
• caused an overall doubt in competence and capability of government
• one of the most important factors

Question 12

What happened during ‘Bloody Sunday’?

Answer 12

• January 9th 1905
• peaceful protest of workers led by Father Gapon asking for more political say, better working conditions, and an end to the war with Japan
• tsar was not present and so workers were gunned down in streets by panicked soldiers

Question 13

Why was ‘Bloody Sunday’ an important factor as a cause for the 1905 revolution?

Answer 13

• news of massacre spread across country as the population began to lose faith in the tsar and blamed him for the tragedy
• most important factor as half a million workers protested and the incident caused a lot of the population that were already discontented to revolt

Question 14

What were the factors of the 1905 revolution?

Answer 14

• peasant discontent
• workers discontent
• alienated intelligentsia
• national minorities discontent
• bloody sunday
• defeat by japan

Question 15

What was the most important factor and why?

Answer 15

• ‘Bloody Sunday’
• after the massacre the strikes expanded around other cities of the Russian Empire
• later these actions became more coordinated were accompanied by demands for political reforms
• tsarism had faced its largest challenge