1. 3. The 1905 Revolution The russo-japanese war (1904-5)
Father Gapon & Bloody Sunday (jan 1905)
Key events of 1905 revolution
The potemkin mutiny and setting up of soviets
The October manifesto and reasons why nicholas survived

2. Add these to the timeline if you haven't already!
Alexander II assassinated. His successor Alexander III begins a period of oppression (1881)
Witte becomes ‘Finance Minister’. The ‘Great Spurt’ of industrial growth begins (1892)
Nicholas II becomes Tsar (1894)
Outbreak of Russo-Japanese War, followed the next year by a revolution (1904)

4. WHAT WHEN AND WHERE CONSEQUENCES
Russo-Japanese War
Father Gapon & Bloody Sunday
1905 Revolution
Potemkin Mutiny & setting up of Soviets
October Manifesto

5. The 1905 revolution
From the late 19th century through to the outbreak of World War One in 1914, a series of threats to the Tsar's authority developed. At the end of the war these factors led to revolution and brought about the end of 300 years of Tsarist rule.
The first major threat came during the rule of Nicholas II in the form of the Revolution:  
Strikes spread across the country and illegal trade unions were widespread.
Grand Duke Sergei, Nicholas II’s uncle, was assassinated near the Kremlin in Moscow.
A mutiny broke out amongst the sailors on the battleship Potemkin.
There was a general strike in October.
There are a number of long term and short term causes of the Revolution.

6. Short term cause of 1905 revolution -Defeat in the war with Japan
Between 1904 and 1905, Russia and Japan fought for control of strategic territories in China. It ended with humiliating defeat for Russia. This brought critical attention to the Tsar's regime.
Causes of the war
Tsar Nicholas II was advised by Plehve, the Minister of the Interior, that a national victory would lessen the growing opposition to Tsarist rule. It was an opportunity to heighten patriotic fervour and national pride.
Japan was also a threat to Russian interests in Asia. Russia benefited from economic expansion into the Far East and increased access to the Pacific coastline. Japan had become concerned that Russian expansion of the Trans-Siberian Railway into Chinese Manchuria could threaten Korea.
China was weak and Japan had an interest in acquiring land for herself. Japanese negotiations to avoid war were ignored by Tsarist officials and hence the war began.

7. Trans-siberian railway

8. Russo-jAPANESE WAr 1905 The course of the war
In January 1904, the Japanese besieged Port Arthur, a Russian naval base and attacked the Russian Pacific Fleet.
Russian forces were left without supplies as the Trans-Siberian Railway was unfinished and there was no effective way of moving troops from the west.
Russian armies suffered heavy losses on the Yalu River and at Mukden as a result of the vastly superior Japanese forces.
The Russian Baltic fleet was sent to the Pacific in October However, after arriving there in March 1905, it encountered the Japanese navy and was destroyed in 45 minutes.

9. Impact of the War
The embarrassment of defeat to an Asiatic power added to the view that Tsarist government was incompetent. The Tsar had to agree to a humiliating peace treaty with the Japanese after the destruction of the Baltic Fleet. Defeat in the war led to a mutiny on board the Potemkin battleship in June Resources diverted to the war lessened the already limited supply of grain and fuel. In 1904 Plehve was assassinated in a terrorist bomb attack.

10. Alexander III becomes Tsar
3 mark question
The formation
of the Social
Democratic
Party
The
assassination of
Alexander II
The resignation
of Witte
Alexander III becomes Tsar
The outbreak
of the Russo-
Japanese War

11. Short term cause - Bloody Sunday (Jan 1905)
In an attempt to quell economic discontent among the workers, Minister of the Interior Plehve had established a legal trade union in St Petersburg. Called the Assembly of Russian Factory and Mill Workers, it was led by a Russian Orthodox priest, Father Georgy Gapon. It was this organisation that would, unwittingly, set the 1905 Revolution in motion.
In late 1904, four union members at the Putilov Iron Works Plant in St Petersburg were dismissed. Gapon called for industrial action. Over the coming days over 100 thousand workers in the city went on strike. Although protests were peaceful, troops were brought in to support existing forces in the city.
Father Gapon organised a petition complaining about working conditions in the city and calling for change. It was signed by over 150 thousand people.
On 22 January 1905, Father Gapon led a march to deliver a petition to the Tsar. Thousands of workers took part in this peaceful protest. The workers were not trying to overthrow the Tsar. They believed that the Tsar did not know of their plight. Instead they blamed the Tsarist ministers and officials.
This demonstration of factory workers was brutally put down by Russian soldiers. Up to 200 people were killed by rifle fire and Cossack charges. This event became known as Bloody Sunday and is seen as one of the key causes of the 1905 Revolution.
The aftermath brought about a short-lived revolution in which the Tsar lost control of large areas of Russia. The revolution failed but it served as a serious warning of what might happen in the future.

12. The potemkin mutiny and setting up of soviets

13. The potemkin mutiny and setting up of soviets
The Russian navy in the year of the abortive revolution of 1905 still preserved the harsh conditions and brutal punishments of an earlier age. The Potemkin was a new battleship of the Black Sea fleet, commissioned in 1903, with a crew of 800. It was not a happy ship and some of the crew harboured revolutionary sympathies, in particular a forceful young non- commissioned officer named Matyushenko, who took a leading part in what followed. Task: Read through the information and take notes on what happened- battleship-potemkin-110-years-ago

15. The October Manifesto and the Fundamental Laws
Sergei Witte was the author of the October Manifesto
Sergei Witte was an influential policy maker. He persuaded the Tsar to pass his October Manifesto. Issued in 1905, it promised significant political reform, although most of these promises were open to interpretation:
A Duma (elected national parliament) was to be set up. No law was to be passed unless approved by the Duma.
Censorship would be loosened and more freedom of speech encouraged.
The people would have more rights to gather together for discussions and meetings

16. Reaction to the manifesto
Reaction from political groups was varied. Liberals were satisfied with the level of reform in the Manifesto.
Kadets (rich peasants) wanted reform to go further. They wanted a written constitution and guarantees of a constituent assembly.
The Social Revolutionaries (SRs) were critical of the Manifesto, as were the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. It did not give any more power to the peasants or workers.
As a response to the 1905 Revolution, the October Manifesto succeeded in dividing the opposition, making the Tsar's grip on power more secure.

17. The new government
As a result of the October Manifesto and the promise of a constitutional monarchy, a new government structure was adopted. The Tsar remained as head of the government, but was aided by three permanent political bodies:
The Council of Ministers was the most powerful of these. It was effectively the Tsar's advisors, elected by and answerable only to him. They created law.
The State Council, chosen by both the Tsar and the Zemstva, approved law created by the Council of Ministers.
The Duma, voted for by the male electorate would also have to approve laws created.

18. The Fundamental Laws
Passed in April, 1906, the Fundamental Laws were an edict from the Tsar. They confirmed the October Manifesto but also asserting the Tsar’s powers over the Duma:
the right to rule independently of the Duma when it was not in session.
the right to dissolve (close) the Duma at any point.
power to change the electoral system.
power to appoint ministers he wanted to the Council.
sole commander of the army and navy, giving him military power to crush any uprising
With the Fundamental Laws, the Tsar regained his position as supreme leader.

19. Task: In pairs look at one of the 4 dumas- be ready to teach the others about it
The Dumas Four Dumas were held between 1906 and The first two featured strong opposition to Tsarism and quickly dissolved. The next two were less radical and more flexible as a result of changes to the voting system. The first Duma The first Duma was established in May 1906, after the announcement of the Fundamental Laws. It consisted mainly of Kadets and SRs. Hence, it demanded further political reform, including land reform and the release of political prisoners. This was denied by the Tsar. It lasted for just over two months before it was dissolved for passing a vote of ‘no confidence’ in Prime Minister Ivan Goremykin. The second Duma The second Duma was established in February Following the dissolving of the first Duma, many Kadets were involved in writing the Vyborg Appeal. This criticised the government and demanded the non-payment of taxes. In response, these Kadets were made inelegible to vote. This greatly reduced the power of the Kadets. Liberal Octoberists (those who agreed with the October Manifesto) had more influence as did SRs, Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. The second Duma lasted for five months. It was dissolved when members began promoting revolutionary organisations within the army. The third Duma Established in 1907, this Duma was intended to be much more supportive of the Tsar. Arrangements had been made for landowners to have more voting power. This meant only the most affluent third of the population were able to vote in the election. The resulting Duma was less radical and more favourable to the government. Prime Minister, Pyotr Stolypin was able to pass considerable land reform. It lasted until mid The fourth Duma Established in November 1912, the fourth Duma comprised mainly Octoberists on one side and socialists on the other, This made decision-making increasingly difficult. Both groups found it impossible to unite in order to make progress. The Duma was suspended in 1915, by which time Russia was committed to fighting the Austrians and Germans in World War One.

20. Prime minister peter stolypin

21. Reforms of Stolypin
Agrarian reforms Why was reform introduced? Stolypin wanted to reform agriculture in order to modernise Russia and make it more competitive with other European powers. He hoped that reorganising the land would increase support for the Tsar among unskilled farmhands. This would reduce the threat of the Social Revolutionaries. Stolypin believed the key to success was to increase the number of peasant landowners, which would result in a more invested peasantry. What changed? Redemption Payments (loans from the state) were abolished. Loans for peasants to buy land became available with the introduction of Peasants' Land Banks. Mirs (communities of peasant farmers) could no longer stop individuals from leaving to buy private land. Mirs that did not cooperate were to be dissolved. Peasants were also given financial incentives to move to remote areas of Siberia in an attempt to open up the countryside. What were the results of agrarian reform? Agricultural output increased by a third, while peasant land ownership increased by 30 per cent. The number of Kadets increased dramatically and they were increasingly supportive of the Tsar.

22. Reforms of Stolypin
Industrial progress It was hoped that agrarian reform would reduce demand for labour in the countryside, hence increasing urbanisation as people flooded into the towns and cities looking for work. Increased output Heavy industry increased considerably. The production of iron and steel rose by 50 per cent and by the outbreak of World War One, Russia was the fourth largest producer of steel, coal and iron. Improved conditions Cavalry police and large crowd of demonstators on a Russian street Protesters in St Petersburg demonstrate against the Lena massacre The formation of trade unions had been made legal in In 1912, safety inspectors were introduced into factories. Workers began to benefit from employee insurance schemes which provided protection against accidents and illness. However, a strike at the Lena gold fields in 1912 emphasised that there was still a great deal of discontent. Hundreds of the protesters were killed by army and police. It was clear that opposition to the Tsarist state was again on the increase.

23. Suppressing the 1905 Revolution
Methods of suppression The army had stayed loyal to the Tsar and was used to crush opposition in the cities. In December, Tsarist forces moved against workers who had formed Soviets (committees made up of workers and soldiers) in St Petersburg and Moscow. Fighting broke out between the army and strikers in Moscow. By the middle of the month, the army had suppressed the strike and killed over 1,000. The Union of Russian People was established to fight against the revolutionary groups. It had the power to arrest, sentence and execute those who committed crimes against the state. Terrorist groups such as the Black Hundreds were used to intimidate and attack those opposed to the Tsar. During the second Duma, the Okhrana arrested Bolshevik and Menshevik representatives who were attempting to develop opposition to the Tsarist state within the army. An uprising would have been potentially threatening for the Tsar - control of the army was essential in suppressing the revolution.

24. Impact on revolutionary groups
The Okhrana’s exposure of Bolshevik revolutionary plans forced Lenin into exile in He would not return for 10 years. Show trials and summary executions had reduced membership of revolutionary groups from 100,000 to 10,000 by ‘Stolypin’s Neckties’, the nickname for the hangman's noose, became infamous as a method of fear and oppression. However, revolutionary groups survived underground and continued to attract support. Revolutionaries managed to assassinate Stolypin in 1911.

25. Overall summary
Tsar Nicholas II had a weak personality and a bad habit of not listening to his people - as demonstrated in 1905 when he ordered his Cossacks to open fire on a peaceful demonstration. The events that occurred afterwards in response to the attack became known as the 1905 Revolution. In 1904, Nicholas lost a war with Japan, which undermined his authority. In 1905, a peaceful demonstration of workers led by the priest Father Gapon was attacked by the Cossacks, in a bid to assert the Tsar's authority. The atrocity led to strikes and riots - sailors on the battleship 'Potemkin' mutinied. Workers and soldiers got together and set up committees called Soviets to represent them. Nicholas survived - just! He published the 'October Manifesto', which promised to create a Duma (parliament). This caused many middle-class people, called the Octobrists, to support him. He also lowered taxes on the poor and brought in Peter Stolypin as his prime minister. The Okhrana tracked down and arrested many revolutionaries. However, as soon as he felt powerful enough, Nicholas stopped listening to the Duma, but the Soviets survived.

26. The Tsar
People’s lives
The war

28. Past paper questions