Russia in Revolution, 1904-1906

War with Japan
1. Overview
  1. Port Arthur controlled by Russia but Japan wanted it
  2. China granted Russia a 25-year lease to extend Trans-Siberian railway
2. Reasons for going to war
  1. Control of the pacific coast offered security; commercial opportunities
  2. Economic depression: increases patriotism, distracts people
  3. N2 disliked Japanese people
3. Events
  1. 18th April 1904: Russian army heavily defeated
  2. Feb-Mar 1905: defeat at Mukden, 80,000 killed/injured
  3. 14/15 May 1905: 24/27 Baltic fleets sunk in 90 minutes
4. Immediate results
  1. Recognised Japan's sphere of influence; surrendered lease, Russia gains nothing
  2. War concluded after peace conference - 23rd August
5. Results of defeat
  1. Humilation; defeat by an Asian power provoked unrest, shame & anger
  2. Economic problems; unemployment
  3. Led to wartime discontent & revolutions
6. Reasons for defeat
  1. Overconfident leaders; N2 refused to send the best troops
  2. Japan had better weaponry
  3. The war was 6000 miles; took 6 days for men & supplies to reach the frontline - ammunition in short supply
The 1905 Revolutions
1. Bloody Sunday, 8th January
  1. Dismissal of 3 workers from the Putilov works joined Father Gapon's Union
  2. 9th January - Gapon organised a peaceful march (20,000) workers to the Winter Palace; carried a petition asking for improvements in working conditions, more food & a constituent assembly
  3. Fired upon by armed police & cossaks - 4600 deaths suggested
2. Results of Bloody Sunday
  1. N2 underestimated events which led to illegal strikes & secret political meetings
  2. N2 created a committee to consider constitutional reform
  3. More unions were created - N2 was forced to concede October Manifesto
3. Potemkin mutiny
  1. Protest over meat ration
  2. 1 sailor shot - full-scale mutiny emerged; 7 officers killed
  3. More than 2,000 killed at Odessa & 3,000 wounded
4. Liberal reaction
  1. Demanded civil rights & a national assembly elected by universal suffrage with full legislative powers - favoured constitutional monarchy
  2. Supported universities
  3. Formed professional unions which combined into the 'Union of Unions'
5. National minority groups reaction
  1. Poles, Finns, Latvians & others demanded political independence
  2. Jews demanded civil rights
  3. Ukranians voiced political & economic grievances
6. Social Revolutionaries reaction
  1. Supported an 'All-Russion Union of Peasants'
  2. Wanted to destroy Tsardom so carried out political assassinations
7. Social Democrats reaction
  1. Wanted a workers' revolution; encouraged the formation of workers' soviets & supporters to withhold taxes and withdraw from the banks to cripple the government
October Manifesto & promises of reforms
1. Reaction
  1. More moderate liberals accepted the promises and sought to work with the tsar to make the new Dumas a success; also known as the Octobrists
  2. Wild rejoicing in the streets; many workers returned to the factories so it achieved its purpose
  3. Trotsky publically declared the promises worthless
  4. Radical revolutionaries denounced this and called for an armed rising
  5. There were continued peasant risings, mutinies and strikes
  6. Left-wing liberals were less convinced; became the Constitutional Democrats (Kadets); they continued to demand the setting up of a constituent assembly but supported the government's actions
  7. The government wasn't always able to rely on armed forces so had to turn to the Cossaks
2. October Manifesto, 17th October
  1. Dumas were to be consultative; implying that they could offer advice but the tsar would not have to accept it
  2. Promised constitutional reform
  3. Not to be elected by universal sufferage and no promise of a constituent assembly with the task of drawing up a new constitution for Russia
3. Repression
  1. Repression was used to bring back the recovery of the tsarist regime
  2. Trotsky was exiled to Siberia which weakened the revolutionary movement
  3. The Black Hundreds rounded up peasants, revolutionaries, students, Poles and Jews
Repression & Recovery
1. Tsarist action/repression
  1. Nov 1905 - the Union of Russian People created to fight against the radicals; harsh penalities brought in for criminal acts; arrests, exiles & executions
  2. Most army units & cossacks remained loyal
  3. Troops & Black Hundreds restored authority in the rural areas
2. Weaknesses of opposition
  1. Loss of liberal support after the October Manifesto
  2. Radicals had no clear leader
  3. Workers became less keen to maintain strikes
3. Why did the unrest continue?
  1. Peasants took some land
  2. The SRs & SDs wanted complete revolution with social change
  3. Workers started to speak out; formed unions and strikes

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Russia in Revolution, 1904-1906

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