NAME: ADISA HAMEED ADEREMILEKUN

MATRIC:

DEPARTMENT: HISTORY

LECTURER IN CHARGE: PROF. RASHEED OLANIYI

HIS 316 CONTINUOUS ASSESSMENT: ANALYSE THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES

OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF 1905
THE ORIGIN OF 1905 RUSSIAN REVOLUTION: This was the first revolution in Russia and it
was followed by the 1917 revolution. The revolution started on the 22nd of January 1905 through
mass unrest that spread through the Russian empire. Primarily, the revolution was from the
citizens against the nobles, the ruling class, and the Tsar of Russia whom they felt were too
oppressive. Activities such as strikes from the workers, mutiny from the soldiers, and unrest
from the peasants were rampant throughout this period in a bid to reduce the powers of the Tsar.
By the end of the revolution, Tsar Nicholas II bowed to pressure and shifted grounds on his
authoritarian policies by making reforms to his government. The reforms came in the
establishment of a multi-state party system, the Russian constitution of 1906, and the
establishment of the state Duma. With these reforms being made after the revolution, the story of
the Russian citizens did not change as the Duma’s power was limited and it could not issue its
laws, the Tsar continued to wield his authoritarian power as he controlled the Duma and
dissolved it at will (three times) to get rid of his oppositions – a move that rendered the multi-
state party system useless.

Before the revolution, the Russian army had been defeated by the Japanese on the 2nd of January
and the Russian army surrendered at Port Arthur in the Ming Dynasty China to the Japanese.
This humiliation woke the Russians up for a need for revolution against the Russian government
as the citizens realized many of their sectors needed reforms. This period featured events such as
the Bloody Sunday on January 23rd, 1905 where discontent, hungry, and war-tired protesters led
by an orthodox Christian priest, Georgy Gapon were massacred. The massacre led to other issues
as students of St. Petersburg University joined the strike on the 21st of February 1905. Tsar
Nicholas’ agreement to create the Duma on the 3rd of March as the citizens mounted pressure on
his government, the defeat of the Russian army by the Japanese circa 27th – 28th of June, and
unrest within the Russian Military as Mutiny broke out in Potemkin. The October 30th
announcement of the Russian constitution and the creation of the Duma and the unrest from
workers and peasants from November to December as they went on a rampage burning and
looting hundreds of Baltic German manors.

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CAUSES OF THE 1905 RUSSIAN REVOLUTION: The first Russian revolution which was
later described by Vladimir Lenin as “the Great Dress Rehearsal” of the 1917 Russian
Revolution arose majorly out of social discontent and the breakdown of trust in government by
the Russians. However, in broader terms, the causes can be put into different categories to
include, Russification of Russia, the Oppression of the Peasants, the international war disgrace,
the economic problem, and the problem of the educated class.

RUSSIFICATION OF RUSSIA: Russia was a multi-ethnic empire but the Russian minorities
had no rights to vote, had limited school attendance, and were to serve in the imperial guard or
the navy. Even though the cultures of the minorities were tolerated, they were not respected and
the Orthodox Christianity held sway. The Russian Jews who amounted to about 4% of its
population were seen as a problem and they were heavily prosecuted with laws that barred them
from all legal professions, voting, university education, the navy or imperial guard, and
settlement outside the city or towns. The pursuit of Russification planted dissent and dissent in
the minds of minority Russian groups.

OPPRESSION OF THE PEASANTS: The Russian peasants made little earnings and were
unable to mortgage or sell the lands allotted to them, unlike the nobles who were able to
mortgage their lands or sell lands to municipalities when in debt. The peasants on the other hand
owned land communally with the other peasants, therefore, could not mortgage or sell the land
known as “allotment land”. Each peasant owned just a strip of the land and they all practiced the
open field system. In a situation whereby a peasant renounces his rights to his strip of land, he
would be made to pay the redemption dues to the village commune. It is also worth noting that
the strip of land allotted to the peasants was always small and unable to provide for their needs.
They were unable to make enough to feed, pay taxes, and also pay the redemption dues to the
government. Frustrated peasants walked hundreds of kilometers to the country-sides in search of
greener pastures, some others turned to violence which earned them punishments from the
Russian troops. In the wake of this trouble, the Russian population continued to increase.

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THE INTERNATIONAL WAR DISGRACE: In the Russo-Japanese war, the Russians suffered
heavy casualties in Mukden on the 5th of March and lost and 100,000 troops in three days which
made the rest of the troops retreat. Between May 27 and May 28, the Russian fleet under
Admiral Zinovi Petrovich Rozhdestvenski was defeated by Japanese Admiral Heilachiro Togo at
the Tsushima battle. By July 27, the Russian troops in Potemkin committed Mutiny due to the
consequent loss of war and by September 5th, Russia had to cede the island of Sakhalin, port and
rail rights in Manchuria to Japan in the Treaty of Portsmouth mediated by President Theodore
Roosevelt of the U.S. All of these however were embarrassments to the Russian empire, the
citizens and its army.

ECONOMY PROBLEMS: Russia’s economy was on the decline during this period as the
government experimented with capitalist policies like the laissez-faire which was largely a
failure till the 1890s, the stagnation of agricultural productivity and the falling prices of grains
internationally all had negative effects on the Russian economy. Aside from these, the Russian
government also spent a lot on its failed military campaigns which did not just deplete the
Russian treasury but also increased its international debts and the taxpayers of Russia also were
struggling to pay their taxes only for it to be channeled into wars that the nation ended up losing.
The government also tried to industrialize Russia by forcing its citizens to pay more taxes which
pushed them to many of them to seek for jobs in factories in the towns. The Russian industrial
workers received low pay, worked long hours, and paid fines for being late or making mistakes.
They were also not allowed to form unions or go on strikes. They were impoverished and
harbored dissent against the government.

PROBLEM OF THE EDUCATED CLASS: The educated class was made up of mostly students
who had become radicals. From the time of Tsar Alexander, the restrictions on universities like
military discipline and compulsory uniforms were stripped away and the students were free.
University societies grew and there was a right in the production of newspapers and journals,
public lectures, and professional societies which all created the idea of having independent
opinions. Students tackled the ills of society by boycotting exams, rioting, circulating petitions,
writing anti-government propaganda, and arranging protests on behalf of the strikers and

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political prisoners. The government believed it was because of lack of patriotism training and
religion that caused the students to act that way and they put in place measures like expulsion,
exile, and forced military service to curb these acts but the students remained undaunted.

THE 1905 REVOLUTION: All of the above-listed happenings led to strikes from industry
workers across the Russian empire, there were also protests from the students, the peasants, and
some factions of the military who to a large extent were discontent with the government of Tsar
Nicholas II. Tsar Nicholas had two options either concession to the demands of the people or
repressing them militarily. He favored the former as he aimed to protect the autocracy of Russia
but his advisers were against it as they pointed out that using the military would make him lose
more monarchical prestige from heavy casualties or the troops who also were harboring dissent
towards the government may choose to disobey the government and that would signal the end of
his government therefore, the concession was seen as the better option. The agreement led to the
creation of the October Manifesto by Sergei Witte which the Tsar issued promising to make
democratic reforms. The Manifesto restored peace temporarily as it split the dissenting groups
and became a rallying point for the less radical elements of the groups. The tsarist government
also eventually employed the use of the military to suppress all revolutionaries even though this
took almost a year. The Cossack groups loyal to the Tsar dealt with the mutinies and also hunted
down and hung thousands of the revolutionaries. A right-wing force also known as the Black
Hundreds was also formed and used to oppress revolutionaries, students, nationalist poles, and
the Jews especially as they were prominent in the revolution.

CONEQUENCES OF THE 1905 REVOLUTION: The 1905 Russian Revolution failed to a large
extent because of several reasons not having a leader, lack of organization, the lack of military
support of the people, and division of the revolting groups by the government. It also had several
consequences the survival of the monarchy, the alteration of the Russian government, and the
Russian Revolution of 1917.

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THE SURVIVAL OF THE MONARCHY: The Russian monarchical system came under heavy
pressure from its citizens who wanted it altered or brought down due to the hardships they faced
under its regime and this was what led to the revolution. The Monarchy, however, survived this
through the use of concessions like the creation of the Duma, the creation of the Russian
constitution, the creation of the multi-party system, and land reforms like the cancelation of
redemption payments, cancellation of all existing tax debts, removal of restrictions on peasant
movements, allowing the peasants sell their strip of land, allowing the Peasant Land Bank issue
loans to peasants which enabled them to buy more land, especially from the crown and state all
of which ended the peasant unrest and earned their support for the Tsar. Also, military
repressions which it used to maintain short-term peace in Russia. Although the survival of the
Russian monarchical government was also short-lived, the fact remains that it survived the
troubled waters of the 1905 revolution.

ALTERATION OF THE RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT: The Russian government before this

period was strictly authoritarian but due to the revolution, it was altered on paper to look more
like a democracy as the tsar unveiled the Russian constitution, established the Duma and also a
multi-party system of government. It is important to note that all these alterations were just on
paper as the Tsar still had all the authority. He controlled the Duma and they were unable to
make laws, he also dissolved the Duma three times to get rid of opposition which meant the
Multi-party system did not work.

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF 1917: The Russian Revolution of 1905 left many bitter towards
the government and strong-armed them into its will. Only the peasants were quite satisfied with
most of their grievances being met. However, the peace that the Russian government forcefully
bought did not last long as another revolution broke out twelve years later led by Vladimir Lenin
who tagged the first revolution as a great dress rehearsal for the second revolution which was
largely successful as it ended Tsardom in Russia.

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CONCLUSION: The Russian Revolution was borne out of the struggle the Russians faced in
their country channeled by their government and they failed in achieving their core goals of
reforming the government or toppling it as the government was able to employ the military and
other policies to keep the revolution in check. However, the failure of this revolution set the
stage for another revolution which achieved all the goals of the first revolution.

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REFERENCES:

M.N. Pokrovsky: Brief History of Russia (1933)

Escher Abraham: The Revolution of 1905: Russia in Disarray

Perrie Maureen: The Russian Peasant Movement of 1905 and 1907: its social composition and
evolutionary significance