History of the Russian Empire
History is the treasury of our deeds, a witness of the past, an example and a lesson for the present, a warning for the future (M. Cervantes)
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V. Makovsky "January 9, 1905 on Vasilievsky Island"
"Does history teach?
In the most general sense, numerous aphorisms on the topic of "history lessons" cannot be considered either true or false.
The truth is that some people and groups of people manage to "learn from history", and some do not.
After the defeat of the First Russian Revolution of the XX century, the most important question was how capable or unable were the different parties to the conflict to abandon old ideas and reconsider their positions, i.e. who learned what lessons, who did not learn them and why" (T. Shanin " Revolution as a moment of truth.
Russia 1905 -1907").
At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Russian Empire was an absolute monarchy, in which the full power belonged to Emperor Nicholas II.
When it comes to such large scale events as revolution, war or reforms, it is impossible to judge them from one position, since these events are usually formed as a result of the interaction of many persons, circumstances and situations.
It is extremely difficult to find the thread in the tangle of contradictions, pulling for which you can easily unravel this tangle.
However, what certainly cannot be ignored is the role of the individual in the events taking place.
So, an absolute monarchy headed by Emperor Nicholas II.
There are several articles about Nicholas II on our website: Nicholas II and his family, The Personality of Nicholas II, Nicholas II: personality and activity, Nicholas II: the results of the reign.
Therefore, in order not to repeat ourselves, let's say generically: Emperor Nicholas II had to reign at a time when it was necessary to make difficult and uncompromising decisions, but he was not ready for this.
Why?
There are many reasons.
And some of them are the peculiarities of his personality.
He was well bred, educated, reserved – the evenness of his character was sometimes mistaken for insensitivity.
An excellent family man, a deeply religious person, he highly understood his duty to serve his country.
Opponents of Nicholas II usually reproach him for the fact that he did not want to limit his autocracy, but he could not shift the responsibility of the government from himself to anyone else, because he believed that the responsibility for the fate of Russia lies with him – this is how he understood faith in God and in his destiny.
Causes of the revolution
"Bloody Sunday"
Shooting of a peaceful demonstration on January 9, 1905
Historians call the impetus for the beginning of mass demonstrations under the political slogans "Bloody Sunday" on January 9 (22), 1905.
On this day, a peaceful demonstration of workers led by the priest G. Gapon, who went to the Winter Palace, was shot.
Columns of workers numbering up to 150,000 people in the morning moved from different districts to the city center.
At the head of one of the columns, the priest Gapon was walking with a cross in his hand.
During the march of the demonstration, the officers demanded that the workers stop, but they continued to move forward, striving for the Winter Palace.
To prevent the accumulation of a crowd of 150 thousand people in the center of Gorodavoysk, rifle volleys were fired at the Narva Gate, at the Trinity Bridge, on the Shlisselburgsky tract, on Vasilievsky Island, on Palace Square and on Nevsky Prospekt.
In other parts of the city, crowds of workers were dispersed with sabers, sabers and whips.
According to official data, a total of 96 people were killed and 333 wounded on the day of January 9, and taking into account those who died from wounds — 130 killed and 299 wounded.
The dispersal and execution of unarmed workers made a strong impression on society.
In addition, as usual, the number of victims in the rumors spread was repeatedly overstated, and propaganda, fueled by party proclamations, fully blamed Nicholas II for what happened.
Priest Gapon managed to escape from the police, but his calls for an armed uprising and the overthrow of the royal dynasty were thrown to the masses and heard by them.
Mass strikes under political slogans began in Russia, the influence of revolutionary parties began to grow, and the importance of the autocracy began to fall.
The slogan "Down with the autocracy!" was gaining popularity.
Many contemporaries believed that the tsarist government made a mistake by using force against unarmed people.
It understood this itself - soon after the events, Minister Svyatopolk Mirsky was dismissed.
The identity of the priest G. Gapon
G. A. Gapon
Georgy Apollonovich Gapon (1870-1906) was a Russian Orthodox priest, politician and trade union leader, an outstanding speaker and preacher.
He was born in the Poltava province in the family of a wealthy peasant and a volost clerk.
His ancestors were from the Zaporozhye Cossacks.
G. Gapon from childhood was distinguished by curiosity and ability to study.
He graduated from a theological seminary, but was strongly influenced by Tolstoy's ideas.
After his ordination to the priesthood, he showed the talent of a preacher, many people flocked to his sermons.
Trying to coordinate his life with Christian teaching, Gapon helped the poor and agreed to perform free spiritual services for poor parishioners from neighboring churches, but this led him to conflict with the priests of neighboring parishes, who accused him of stealing their flock from them.
In 1898, Gapon's young wife died suddenly, leaving two small children.
To get rid of heavy thoughts, he went to St. Petersburg to enroll in the theological Academy.
But studying at the theological academy disappointed Gapon: dead scholasticism did not give him an answer to the question about the meaning of life.
He took up Christian preaching among the workers and the destitute, these sermons gathered a lot of people.
But even this activity did not satisfy him – he did not know how to really help these people return to human life.
Gapon's popularity in society was quite high: he was invited to serve on solemn holidays with St. John of Kronstadt and with the future Patriarch Sergius of Stragorodsky.
Already in these years, G. Gapon was known for his ability to manage a crowd.
In February 1904, the Ministry of Internal Affairs approved the trade union charter written by Gapon, and soon it was officially opened under the name "Meeting of Russian Factory Workers of St. Petersburg".
Gapon was the creator and permanent head of this workers ' organization.
He launched an active activity.
Formally, the Meeting was engaged in organizing mutual assistance and education, but Gapon gave it a different direction.
From among the loyal workers, he organized a special circle, which he called the "secret committee" and which met at his apartment.
At the meetings of the circle, illegal literature was read, the history of the revolutionary movement was studied and plans for the future struggle of the workers for their rights were discussed.
Gapon's plan was to unite the broad working masses and organize them to fight for their rights, for their economic and political interests.
G. A. Gapon in the "Collection of Russian factory workers"
On January 6, Gapon arrived at the Narva department of the "Assembly" and made an incendiary speech, in which he called on the workers to address their needs directly to the tsar.
The essence of the speech was that the worker is not considered a person, the truth can not be achieved anywhere, all laws are violated, and the workers must put themselves in such a position that they are considered.
Gapon called on all workers, with their wives and children, to go to the Winter Palace on January 9 at 2 pm.
The preface to the petition said: "Do not refuse to help Your people, bring them out of the grave of disenfranchisement, poverty and ignorance, give them the opportunity to decide their own fate, throw off the unbearable oppression of officials.
Tear down the wall between You and your people, and let them rule the country with You."
And in conclusion, Gapon, on behalf of the workers, expressed his readiness to die at the walls of the royal palace if the request was not fulfilled: "Here, Sire, are our main needs, with which we have come to You!
Lead and swear to fulfill them, and You will make Russia happy and glorious, and you will imprint your name in the hearts of our and our descendants for ever.
And if you do not command, if you do not respond to our plea, we will die here, in this square, in front of Your palace.
We have nowhere else to go and there is no need!
We have only two ways: - either to freedom and happiness, or to the grave.
Indicate, Sire, any of them, we will follow it without question, even if it is the path to death.
Let our life be a sacrifice for the suffering Russia!
We are not sorry for this sacrifice, we willingly bring it!"
On January 6, Gapon announced the beginning of a general strike, and by January 7, all the factories and factories in St. Petersburg had gone on strike.
The Imperial Porcelain Factory was the last to stop.
Gapon wanted to ensure the peaceful nature of the movement, he entered into negotiations with representatives of the revolutionary parties, asked them not to bring discord into the popular movement.
"Let us go under one banner, common and peaceful, to our holy goal," Gapon said.
He urged others to join the peaceful march, not to resort to violence, not to throw red flags and not to shout "down with the autocracy".
Contemporaries testify that Gapon expressed confidence in success and believed that the tsar would go out to the people and accept the petition.
If the tsar accepts the petition, he will take an oath from him to immediately sign a decree on a general amnesty and on the convocation of a national Zemsky Sobor.
After that, he will go out to the people and wave a white handkerchief — and the national holiday will begin.
If the tsar refuses to accept the petition and does not sign the decree, he will go out to the people and wave a red handkerchief — and a nationwide uprising will begin.
"Then throw out red flags and do whatever you find reasonable," he said.
Many were amazed by the organizational abilities of Gapon, who subdued not only the workers, but also the party workers, who even copied Gapon and spoke with his Ukrainian accent.
Gapon foresaw that the tsar would not want to go out to the people out of fear for his life, so he demanded that the workers swear that they would guarantee the safety of the tsar at the cost of their own lives.
"If anything happens to the tsar, I will be the first to commit suicide before your eyes," Gapon said.
— You know that I know how to keep my word, and I swear this to you."
By order of Gapon, special squads were allocated from all departments, which were supposed to protect the tsar and monitor order during the peaceful procession.
Gapon sent letters to the Minister of Internal Affairs P. D. Svyatopolk Mirsky and Tsar Nicholas II with an appeal to avoid bloodshed: "Sire, I am afraid that your ministers have not told you the whole truth about the current state of affairs in the capital.
Know that the workers and residents of St. Petersburg, believing in You, have irrevocably decided to come to the Winter Palace tomorrow at 2 p.m. to present their needs and the needs of the entire Russian people to You.
If You, hesitating in Your soul, do not show yourself to the people and if innocent blood is shed, then the moral bond that still exists between You and Your people will be broken.
The trust he has in You will disappear forever.
Come tomorrow with a courageous heart before Your people and accept our humble petition with an open soul.
I, the representative of the workers, and my courageous comrades, at the cost of my own life, guarantee the inviolability of Your person."
After the shooting of the demonstration, Gapon was taken away from the square by the socialist revolutionary P. M. Rutenberg.
On the way, he was cut off and dressed in secular clothes given by one of the workers, and then brought to the apartment of the writer Maxim Gorky.
Here he wrote a message to the workers, in which he called them to an armed struggle against the autocracy: "Dear fellow workers!
So, we no longer have a king!
Innocent blood lay between him and the people.
Long live the beginning of the people's struggle for freedom!"
Soon Gapon was transferred to Geneva, where he met the Social Revolutionaries and engaged in revolutionary propaganda, created a new organization, the All Russian Workers ' Union, wrote an autobiography, a small pamphlet against Jewish pogroms.
On October 17, 1905, Emperor Nicholas II issued the Highest Manifesto, which granted civil liberties to the inhabitants of Russia.
One of them was the freedom of assembly.
After the Manifesto, he began to receive letters from workers calling on him to return to Russia and head the opening departments of the "Assembly".
In November 1905, Gapon returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg in an illegal apartment.
On March 28, 1906, Georgy Gapon went to a business meeting with representatives of the Socialist Revolutionaries, left St. Petersburg by the Finnish Railway and did not return back.
He did not take any belongings or weapons with him and promised to return by evening.
And only in mid April, reports appeared in the newspapers that Gapon was killed by a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, Peter Rutenberg.
The murder of Georgy Gapon is one of the unsolved political murders in Russia.
But "Bloody Sunday" was only the impetus for the revolution.
What was the situation in a country that was ready to succumb to this push?
The state of Russia on the eve of the revolution
Peasants were the most numerous estate of the Russian Empire — about 77 % of the total population.
The population grew, which led to the fact that the size of the average allotment decreased by 1.7-2 times, and the average yield increased by only 1.34 times.
The result of this was the deterioration of the economic situation of the peasantry.
In Russia, communal land ownership was preserved.
The peasants could not refuse the land they received or sell it.
There was a mutual responsibility in the community, and land redistribution based on equalizing land use did not improve the situation.
The community also dictated the terms of agricultural work.
The system of workings was maintained.
The peasants suffered from landlessness, taxes, and ransom payments.
S. Y. Witte said the following about the peasant situation in his memoirs: "How can a person show and develop not only his work, but the initiative in his work, when he knows that the land he cultivates can be replaced by another (community) after a while, that the fruits of his labors will be shared not on the basis of general laws and testamentary rights, but according to custom (and often custom is discretion), when he can be responsible for taxes not paid by others (mutual responsibility)... when he can neither move nor leave his home, often poorer than a bird's nest, without a passport, the issuance of which depends on discretion, when, in a word, his life is somewhat similar to that of
a pet with the difference that the owner is interested in the life of a pet, because this is his property, and the Russian state has this property in excess at this stage of the development of statehood, and what is in excess is either little or not at all valued."
And those of the peasants who went to the city to work were forced to accept any job.
Thus, the introduction of advanced technology was hindered, since the qualifications of such workers were very low.
In 1897, an 11.5 hour working day was established, but a 14 hour working day was also common.
According to a secret circular of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, workers were subjected to administrative expulsion without trial for participating in strikes, as well as imprisonment for a period of 2 to 8 months.
B. Kustodiev "The Bugbear of the Revolution".
Zhupel in the Church Slavonic language is burning sulfur.
In a figurative sense, a bogey is something frightening, inspiring horror, fear; often in an ironic sense, it is a scarecrow (a propaganda bogey)
The degree of exploitation of the proletariat in Russia was very high: the capitalists took 68 kopecks from every ruble earned by the worker in the form of profit in the processing of minerals, 78 – in the processing of metals, 96 – in the food industry.
Expenses in favor of workers (hospitals, schools, insurance) accounted for 0.6% of the current expenses of entrepreneurs.
The year 1901 was spent in mass political demonstrations.
Demonstrations in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kharkiv, and Kiev were held under the slogans of political freedoms.
On May 1, 1901, 1200 workers of the Obukhov Plant in St. Petersburg went on strike.
In the summer of 1903, the entire south of Russia from Baku to Odessa was covered by a grandiose strike, in which from 130 to 200 thousand people took part.
In December 1904, a political strike was held, which ended with the signing of the first collective agreement in the history of the Russian labor movement between workers and oil producers.
In 1905, the knot of contradictions in Russia tightened especially strongly.
The defeat of Russia in the Russian Japanese war revealed its technical and economic backwardness in comparison with advanced countries.
Both external and internal circumstances pushed Russia on the path of decisive changes.
But the authorities were not ready for them.
Free market competition was restrained by both feudal remnants and artificial monopolization as a result of the economic policy of tsarism.
The development of the country's productive forces was slowed down by the system of industrial relations supported by the government.
A whole complex of contradictions existed in the field of social class relations.
The most acute of them was the contradiction between the peasantry and the landowners.
The contradictions between capitalists and workers could be mitigated by more favorable conditions for the sale of labor: an 8 hour working day, the right to strike, protection of women's and prohibition of child labor, etc.
The contradictions between tsarism and the peoples of the Russian Empire were particularly acute: the peoples put forward demands from cultural national autonomy to the right to self determination up to secession.
In the political sphere, there was a contradiction between the government and the emerging civil society.
Russia remained the only one of the main capitalist powers in which there was no parliament, no legal political parties, and no legal freedoms of citizens.
Creating conditions for a rule of law state was one of the most important tasks, on which the resolution of other contradictions in Russia largely depended.
V. Kossak "Bloody Sunday in St. Petersburg 1905"
In such a situation, a powerful labor movement broke out in St. Petersburg.
The course of the revolution
On December 21, 1904, the news of the fall of Port Arthur was received.
On December 28, a meeting of 280 representatives of the "Gapon" society was held: it was decided to start the performance.
On December 29, the management of the Putilov plant was presented with a demand for the dismissal of one master, who allegedly dismissed four workers without reason.
On January 3, 1905, the entire Putilov plant went on strike.
The requirements were still economic in nature: an 8 hour working day, a minimum wage.
The "Society of Factory Workers" took over the leadership of the strike: its representatives, led by Gapon, negotiated with the administration, organized a strike committee and a fund to help the strikers.
On January 5, several tens of thousands of workers were already on strike.
Finance Minister V. N. Kokovtsev presented a report on this to Nicholas II, pointing out the economic impracticability of the requirements and the harmful role of the "Gapon" society.
On January 6, the "Gapon" society developed a petition to the tsar.
On January 7, newspapers were published for the last time – from that day on, the strike spread to printing houses.
The idea of going to the Winter Palace excited and excited everyone.
The danger that arose so quickly caught the authorities by surprise.
The only way to prevent the crowd from taking over the city center was to install a cordon of troops on all the main roads leading from the working quarters to the palace.
And the leaders of the workers ' movement traveled around the city all day on January 8 and at multiple rallies called on the people to go to the palace.
On the night of January 9, the St. Petersburg Committee of the RSDLP decided to participate in the march together with the workers.
In the morning, about 140 thousand workers with their families moved to the Winter Palace.
They went with banners, icons, portraits of the tsar and the queen, not knowing that the tsar had left the capital.
Nicholas II was put in a hopeless situation.
He could not accept the demands of the workers in any way, so he decided to leave, giving his government complete freedom of action, naturally hoping for a peaceful outcome.
V. A. Serov " Soldiers, brave children, where is your glory?"
When the procession led by Gapon from the Narva outpost approached the Bypass Canal, a chain of soldiers blocked his path.
The crowd, despite the warnings, moved forward, holding up a placard: "Soldiers, do not shoot at the people."
First, a blank salvo was fired.
The ranks of the workers wavered, but the leaders moved on singing, and the crowd moved after them.
Then a real volley was fired.
Several dozen people were killed and injured.
Gapon fell to the ground; there was a rumor that he was killed, but his assistants quickly threw him over the fence, and he safely disappeared.
The crowd surged back in disarray.
The same thing was happening in other parts of the city.
Until late at night, feverish excitement reigned in the city.
After the events described, Gapon wrote an appeal to the Russian people calling for a general uprising.
The Social Revolutionaries printed it in a large circulation and distributed it in a large circulation throughout the country.
One of the main issues of any revolution is the question of power.
The first camp was made up of supporters of the autocracy.
They either did not recognize the changes at all, or agreed to the existence of a legislative body under the autocrat, which would include landowners, the highest ranks of state bodies, the army, the police, a part of the bourgeoisie directly associated with tsarism, many zemstvo figures.
The second camp consisted of representatives of the liberal bourgeoisie and the liberal intelligentsia, the advanced nobility, employees, the petty bourgeoisie of the city, part of the peasants.
They advocated the preservation of the monarchy, but a constitutional, parliamentary one, in which the legislative power is in the hands of a popularly elected parliament.
To achieve their goal, they proposed peaceful, democratic methods of struggle.
The third camp – the revolutionary democratic one – included the proletariat, part of the peasantry, the poorest strata of the petty bourgeoisie, etc.
Their interests were expressed by Social Democrats, Social Revolutionaries, anarchists and other political forces.
However, despite the common goals (a democratic republic or anarchy among anarchists), they differed in the means of struggle: from peaceful to armed (armed uprising, terrorist acts, riot, etc.), from legal to illegal.
There was also no unity on the question of what the new government will be a dictatorship or a democracy, where the boundaries of the dictatorship are and how it is combined with democracy.
However, the common goals of breaking the autocratic order objectively allowed us to unite the efforts of the revolutionary democratic camp.
Already in January 1905, about half a million people were on strike in 66 cities of Russia – more than in the entire previous decade.
G. K. Savitsky " General railway strike. 1905"
Peasant demonstrations were initially spontaneous, although later the All – Russian Peasant Union was formed- the first political organization of peasants.
His activity was influenced by the liberal intelligentsia, which was reflected in his demands: the abolition of private ownership of land (nationalization of land), the confiscation without redemption of monastic, state, specific lands, the seizure of landowners ' lands, partly free of charge, partly for redemption, the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, the granting of political freedoms.
The intelligentsia actively participated in the revolutionary events.
Already on the first day of the revolution, January 9, employees and students took part not only in the march to the Winter Palace, but also in the construction of barricades, helping the wounded.
In the evening of the same day, the capital's intelligentsia gathered in the building of the Free Economic Society, where they sharply condemned the activities of the tsarist authorities.
Immediately, fundraising began to help the wounded and the families of the killed workers, a circle with the inscription "For weapons" went through the rows.
Representatives of the creative and scientific intelligentsia V. A. Serov, V. G. Korolenko, V. D. Polenov, N. A. Rimsky Korsakov, K. A. Timiryazev, A.M. Gorky and others spoke in the press and at meetings with a sharp condemnation of the massacre of unarmed workers.
Armed uprisings
So, political freedoms were declared.
But the revolutionary parties sought to gain power not by parliamentary means, but by an armed seizure of power.
There were uprisings in the army and navy.
The uprising on the battleship "Potemkin"
The battleship "Prince Potemkin Tavrichesky" was the newest and one of the strongest ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
At the time of entry into service in May 1905, the crew consisted of 731 people, including 26 officers.
Due to prolonged contacts with the workers of ship repair plants, the crew of the ship was decomposed by revolutionary agitation.
On the afternoon of June 13 (26), 1905, the commander of the battleship, Captain of the first rank E. N. Golikov, sent the destroyer No. 267 to Odessa to purchase provisions.
It was not possible to find a sufficient amount of meat for almost 800 people from Odessa suppliers of provisions for the Black Sea Fleet and in the bazaars of the city, and only in the evening of the same day, the auditor, midshipman A. N. Makarov and the sailors of the art workers in one of the stores managed to buy 28 pounds of beef.
Flour, fresh vegetables, delicacies and wine for the company cabins were also purchased.
On the way back, the destroyer collided with a fishing boat, was forced to stay to help the victims, and take the damaged boat itself in tow, which reduced its speed.
Since there were no cold storage rooms at that time, the meat that had lain first all day in the store, and then all night on board the destroyer, given the hot June weather, got on board the battleship by the morning of the next day already stale.
Members of the crew of the battleship "Potemkin"
On June 14 (27), 1905, an uprising of sailors who refused to eat borscht from rotten meat took place on the battleship.
The organizer and the first leader of the uprising on the battleship was an artillery non commissioned officer Grigory Vakulenchuk, a native of Zhytomyr.
The team refused to take tanks for borscht and defiantly ate crackers, washing them down with water.
There was a queue at the ship's shop.
So the riot began.
During the uprising, 6 officers were killed, the surviving officers were arrested.
The crew of the battleship "George the Victorious" then joined the rebellious battleship, while, unlike the "Potemkin", the uprising on the "Victorious" was not accompanied by beating of officers — all of them (except Lieutenant Grigorkov, who committed suicide) were put into a boat and sent ashore on the tow of the destroyer No. 267, landing seven miles east of Odessa.
But later, "George the Victorious" surrendered to the authorities.
For 11 days, the rebellious battleship "Potemkin" was at sea under a red flag, and when fuel and food ran out, he surrendered to the Romanian authorities.
In the Romanian port of Constanta, the sailors developed an appeal "To the entire civilized world", in which they demanded an immediate end to the Russian Japanese war, the overthrow of the autocracy, and the convocation of a Constituent Assembly.
After that, the Potemkin was towed from Constanta to Sevastopol.
Court cases on the rebels began.
28 sailors out of 47 defendants were sentenced: four - to death, 16 to hard labor, one - to be sent to correctional penitentiary institutions, six – to disciplinary battalions, one – to arrest, the rest were acquitted.
Three leaders of the uprising on the "George the Victorious" were also sentenced to death.
The uprising on the cruiser "Ochakov"
It began on November 13, 1905.
The officers, together with the conductors, left the ship.
The uprising was led by S. P. Privatnik, N. G. Antonenko and A. I. Gladkov.
In the afternoon of November 14, Lieutenant Schmidt arrived on the Ochakov, raising a signal on it: "I command the fleet.
Schmidt".
On the same day, he sent a telegram to Nicholas II: "The glorious Black Sea Fleet, sacredly preserving loyalty to its people, demands from you, sire, the immediate convocation of the Constituent Assembly and no longer obeys your ministers.
Fleet Commander P. Schmidt".
On the night of November 15, the shock detachments captured the mine cruiser "Griden", the destroyer "Ferocious", three destroyers and several small vessels, and seized a number of weapons in the port.
At the same time, the crews of the gunboat "Uralets", the destroyers "Zavetny", "Zorky" and the training ship "Dniester", the mine transport "Bug"joined the rebels.
P. P. Schmidt
In the morning, red flags were raised on all the rebellious ships.
To attract the entire squadron to the side of the rebels, Schmidt bypassed it on the destroyer "Ferocious".
Then the "Ferocious" headed for the transport "Prut"turned into a prison.
An armed detachment of sailors led by Schmidt freed the Potemkin residents who were on the ship.
The crew of the "Saint Panteleimon" joined the rebels, but the battleship itself no longer represented a great military force, since it was disarmed even before the uprising began.
In the afternoon of November 15, the rebels were presented with an ultimatum to surrender.
Having received no response to the ultimatum, the troops loyal to the tsar began shelling the rebel ships.
After a two hour battle, the rebels surrendered.
Lieutenant P. P. Schmidt, sailors A. I. Gladkov, N. G. Antonenko, conductor S. P. Privatnik were sentenced to death (shot on March 6, 1906 on the island of Berezan), 14 people — to indefinite hard labor, 103 people — to hard labor, 151 people were sent to disciplinary units, more than 1,000 people were punished without trial.
There were also three armed uprisings in Vladivostok— in 1905, 1906, 1907, in which mainly sailors, soldiers and workers participated.
They ended with the victory of the tsarist troops.
In July 1906, the garrison in Sveaborg revolted.
Up to 2 thousand soldiers and sailors of the fortress participated in the uprising.
They were helped by detachments of the Finnish Red Guard.
On July 18 and 19, there was a fierce artillery exchange between the rebel fortress and the troops loyal to the government.
A squadron approached Sveaborg, which began firing at the rebellious soldiers and sailors with direct fire.
Despite the support of the sailors of Kronstadt, the uprising in Sveaborg was suppressed on July 20, and its leaders were executed.
Anti government demonstrations began, in which the Jewish population took an active part.
They ended with Jewish pogroms.
The largest pogroms were in Odessa, Rostov on Don, Yekaterinoslav, Minsk, Simferopol.
Political assassinations also became more frequent: in 1904, the Minister of Internal Affairs V. K. Plehve, the Minister of Internal Affairs D. S. Sipyagin, several governors and mayors, etc. were killed.
G. N. Gorelov "The peasants' attack on the landowner's estate in 1905"
From the very beginning of the revolution, tsarism combined the tactics of repression with the tactics of concessions.
Shortly after "Bloody Sunday", there were reshuffles and reorganizations in the highest government spheres.
Such figures as D. F. Trepov, A. G. Bulygin, who replaced P. D. Svyatopolk Mirsky as Minister of Internal Affairs, come to the fore.
According to people who knew him intimately, the new minister was an honest man, with quite extensive knowledge, but at the same time "good natured, not loving any particularly difficult situation, no struggle, no political fuss."
On January 19, 1905, Nicholas II received a delegation from the workers, whom he "forgave for the riot", and announced a donation of 50 thousand rubles for distribution to the victims on January 9.
On February 18, the tsar, at Bulygin's insistence, published a decree allowing individuals and organizations to submit proposals for improving state landscaping to the tsar.
In the evening of the same day, the tsar signs a rescript on the creation of a legislative body for the development of legislative proposals – the Duma.
But at the same time, in response to student strikes and demonstrations, the tsarist authorities closed all the capital's educational institutions on January 17, 1905.
The culmination of the First Russian Revolution was an armed uprising in Moscow
In October 1905, a strike began in Moscow, the purpose of which was to achieve economic concessions and political freedom.
The strike covered the whole country and developed into the All Russian October political strike: on October 12-18, more than 2 million people went on strike.
The leaflet "General Strike" said: "Comrades!
The working class rose up to fight.
Half of Moscow is on strike.
The whole of Russia may be on strike soon.
Go to the streets, to our meetings.
Make demands for economic concessions and political freedom!"
This general strike, and, above all, the strike of railway workers, forced the emperor to make concessions — on October 17, the Manifesto "On improving the State Order"was issued.
The manifesto of October 17 granted civil liberties: personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and unions.
The convocation of the State Duma was promised.
The manifesto of October 17 was a serious victory, but the extreme left parties (Bolsheviks and Social Revolutionaries) did not support it.
The Bolsheviks announced a boycott of the First Duma and continued the course of armed insurrection adopted in April 1905 at the third Congress of the RSDLP in London (the Menshevik party did not support the idea of an armed uprising, which the Bolsheviks were developing, and held a parallel conference in Geneva).
The armed uprising in Moscow began on the night of December 7 to 8, 1905.
The vigilantes broke into a gun store and seized weapons.
The first barricade appeared on November 9 on Tverskaya Street.
In the evening, a detachment of Sumy dragoons besieged a barricade erected near the Aquarium by vigilantes from stones, driven crowbars, bars, lanterns, logs, etc., and began to fire at it.
Eyewitnesses say that they saw ... piles of corpses of 5-10 people nearby.
December 12-15 – the highest intensity of the struggle.
The rebels are pushing the troops in the Arbat area, but the Semenovsky and Ladoga regiments arrive from St. Petersburg, and on December 16 the tsarist troops go on the offensive.
The uprising split into several separate centers, the most important of which was Presnya.
The tsarist troops squeezed the ring around the Prokhorov manufactory, the Schmit and Mamontov factories, which were burning with fire.
Under these conditions, it was impractical to continue the uprising, and the executive committee of the Moscow City Council from December 18 to 19 decided to stop the uprising, which was defeated.
The First Council of Workers ' Deputies
An important event in the history of the 1905 revolution was the creation of the first Council of Workers ' Deputies.
On May 12, a strike began in Ivanovo Voznesensk.
It was headed by the head of the Ivanovo Voznesenskaya organization of the RSDLP, F. A. Afanasyev, and a 19 year old student of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute, M. V. Frunze.
To lead the strike movement, it was decided to elect a Council of Workers ' Deputies, which soon turned into an organ of revolutionary power in the city.
The Council took over the protection of factories and factories, banned the eviction of workers from apartments for a certain period of time, raised food prices, closed state owned wine shops, monitored order in the city, creating detachments of workers ' militia.
Financial, food, investigative, agitation and propaganda commissions, and an armed squad were formed in the Council.
Throughout the country, there was a fundraiser for striking workers.
However, tired of more than two months of strike, the workers at the end of July agreed to go to work, as the owners of a number of factories made concessions.
"Union of Unions"
Back in October 1904, the left wing of the "Union of Liberation" began work on uniting all the streams of the liberation movement in order to create professional and political unions.
By 1905, there were already unions of lawyers, engineers, professors, writers, medical staff, etc.
On May 8-9, 1905, a congress was held at which all unions were united into a single "Union of Unions", headed by P. N. Milyukov.
The Bolsheviks accused the congress of moderate liberalism and left it.
Four unions in the "Union of Unions" were created not on a professional basis: "Peasant", " Zemstvo Constitutionalists "(landowners), "Union of Jewish Equality" and "Union of Equal Rights of Women".
"Bulyginskaya Duma" (The State Duma of the Russian Empire of the First convocation)
On August 6, 1905, the supreme manifesto on the establishment of the State Duma was published.
The Manifesto said: "The State Duma is established for the preliminary development and discussion of legislative proposals that, according to the force of the basic laws, go back through the State Council to the Supreme Autocratic Power."
This is the first representative elected by the population in Russia the final legislative body, the result of an attempt to transform Russia from an autocratic into a parliamentary monarchy, is caused by the desire to stabilize the political situation in the conditions of numerous unrest and revolutionary demonstrations.
The Duma of the First convocation held one session and lasted 72 days, from April 27 (art. art.) 1906 to July 9, 1906, after which it was dissolved by the emperor.
The manifesto of the Emperor was developed mainly by the Minister of Internal Affairs A. G. Bulygin, so it was called the "Bulygin Duma".
The State Duma was assigned the role not of a legislative, but of a legislative institution with very limited rights, elected by limited categories of persons: large owners of real estate, large payers of commercial and apartment taxes and, on special grounds, peasants.
The Duma was supposed to discuss issues of the budget, states, and some laws, but at the same time it remained a legislative body.
In the elections, the advantage was given to the peasants "as the predominant ... the most reliable monarchical and conservative element.
Most of the Russian population was deprived of voting rights: women, military personnel, workers, students, wandering "foreigners", etc.
With such an election system, St. Petersburg with a population of more than 1.5 million people would give only 7 thousand voters.
Naturally, a significant part of the supporters of the liberal and revolutionary camp called for a boycott of the "Bulygin Duma".
Revolutionary organizations
Cadet Party
On October 12, 1905, the constituent Congress of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadets), the first legal political party in Russia, opened.
Its Central Committee included 11 large landowners and 44 representatives of the intelligentsia (V. I. Vernadsky, A. A. Kizevetter, V. A. Maklakov, P. N. Milyukov, P. B. Struve, I. I. Petrunkevich, etc.).
Their political ideal: a constitutional system based on universal suffrage.
According to the same principle, they chose their allies.
"Freedom of Russia".
Poster of the Cadet Party
The cadet program: equality of all before the law, abolition of estates, freedom of conscience, political freedoms, personal inviolability, freedom of movement and travel abroad, free development of local languages along with Russian;
The Constituent Assembly; the development of the system of local self government, the preservation of state unity; the abolition of the death penalty; the alienation of part of the landowner (primarily leased to peasants on bonded terms), the entire state land fund and its provision to small land and landless peasants; freedom of workers 'unions, the right to strikes, 8 hour working day, labor protection for women and children, workers' insurance; freedom of teaching, reduction of tuition fees, universal free compulsory primary education, etc.the state structure determined by the basic law.
Although the Cadets recognized the need for a constitutional monarchy, they were not monarchists.
They treated it as an inevitability: "the monarchy was for us... a matter not of principle, but of political expediency."
In the stormy days of October 1905, the Cadets were often inclined to the most radical measures, including even supporting an armed uprising.
The Union of October 17 Party (Octobrists)
Soon after the publication of the tsarist Manifesto, the Union of October 17 (Octobrists) party was formed, which included A. I. Guchkov, D. N. Shipov and other major industrialists, merchants, landowners.
The Octobrists fully supported the tsarist manifesto.
I. Repin "October 17, 1905"
The requirements of the Octobrist program are: preservation of the unity and indivisibility of the Russian state in the form of a constitutional monarchy; universal suffrage; civil rights, inviolability of personality and property; transfer of state and specific lands to the state fund for sale to landless and small land peasants; development of local self government; freedom of workers ' unions and strikes; a court without a word, independent of the administration; the rise of productive forces, the development of the credit system, the dissemination of technical knowledge, the development of railways.
Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov became the head of the party.
The Russian bourgeoisie did not consider the parties of the Octobrists and Cadets "their" parties and preferred to create their own Commercial and Industrial Party in 1906.
The Octobrists very soon turned into a 3/4 landowner party.
The bourgeoisie considered the Cadets to be a party of intellectuals who were far from real life, fruitlessly and dangerously flirting with the masses.
The Cadets were a bourgeois party only in the sense that their demands were aimed at improving the bourgeois system in the country.
The far right forces in the country perceived the Manifesto on October 17 as a signal to openly oppose the democratic forces in support of the tottering autocracy.
Back on October 14, 1905, the Governor General of St. Petersburg, D. F. Trepov, issued the famous order: "... when providing ... resistance, do not give blank volleys, do not spare cartridges...".
The most reactionary part of the bourgeoisie even demanded the introduction of martial law.
"Union of the Russian People" (Black Hundreds)
Badge of the Odessa branch of the " Union of the Russian People"
In October 1905, the Union of the Russian People (SRN) organization was formed —a right monarchical (Black Hundred), Orthodox Conservative socio political organization that operated in the Russian Empire from 1905 to 1917.
The initiative to create the "Union of the Russian People" belongs to several prominent figures of the monarchist movement of the early XX century doctor A. I. Dubrovin, artist A. A. Maikov and Abbot Arseny (Alekseev).
The "Union" grew at a great pace, regional departments were opened in many regions of the empire – it had more than 900 branches.
It was headed by A. I. Dubrovin, V. M. Purishkevich and others.
The Black Hundred newspaper Russian Banner often published messages of this nature: "... in the glory of the predatory Cadet, social democratic, social revolutionary and anarchist movement, called in Jewish jargon "liberation", 2 people were killed, 7 were wounded, only 9 people were killed in one day."
The social composition of the Black Hundreds was heterogeneous from workers to aristocrats, but a significant part consisted of representatives of the petty bourgeoisie.
On November 26, 1906, on the day of the feast of St. George the Victorious, John of Kronstadt, who was very popular, arrived at the Mikhailovsky Manege.
The "All Russian father" gave a welcoming speech to the monarchists, who were attended by about 30 thousand people at the event, reminded of the great role of Orthodoxy in the life of Russia.
Subsequently, he himself joined the "Union" and was elected an honorary member for life on October 15, 1907.
Then Bishop Sergius (Stragorodsky), the future patriarch, appeared, a divine service was served, which ended with singing many years to the Sovereign and the entire Reigning House, the founders and leaders of the" Union", as well as eternal memory to all those who fell for the faith, the tsar and the fatherland.
The goals, ideology and program of the "Union" were contained in the Charter adopted on August 7, 1906.
Russian Russian self consciousness development and the unification of all Russian people for common work for the benefit of Russia, united and indivisible, was the main goal of it.
This benefit, according to the authors of the document, consisted in the traditional formula "Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality".
The Black Hundreds were patronized by Nicholas II himself, who wore the badge of the "Union of the Russian People".
Nicholas II welcomes the Black Hundreds
Special attention was paid to Orthodoxy as the fundamental Christian denomination of Russia.
Over time, the situation in the organization worsened, which led to the final split of the "Union".
The stumbling block was the attitude to the State Duma and the Manifesto of October 17.
Almost immediately after the February Revolution of 1917, almost all monarchist organizations were banned, and trials were initiated against the leaders of the "Union".
The monarchical activity in the country was almost completely paralyzed.
The subsequent October Revolution and the "red terror" led to the death of most of the leaders of the"Union of the Russian People".
Many former "allies" took part in the White Movement.
Defeat of the Revolution
The dispersal of the First Duma was perceived by the revolutionary parties as a signal for action, active action.
Although the Mensheviks did not proclaim the course of an armed uprising, but called on the army and Navy to join the people; the Bolsheviks stepped up preparations for a national uprising, which, in their opinion, could begin in late summer – early autumn, 1906, to July 14 in Helsinki hosted a meeting of the revolutionary parties (the social democratic faction of the labour group and Council, of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, the Central Committee of the socialist revolutionary party, national teacher's Union, etc.).
They called on the peasants to the seizure of landed estates, to fight for the convening of a Constituent Assembly.
In 1906, Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin became the chairman of the Council of Ministers.
P. A. Stolypin
Read more about him on our website: P. A. Stolypin: personality and activity, Goals of Stolypin's agrarian reform.
Stolypin's activity aroused the hatred of revolutionaries.
Several attempts were made on him, as a result of the last one he was killed.
Stolypin initiated a number of important decisions.
On June 3 (16), 1907, the Second State Duma was prematurely dissolved, accompanied by a change in the electoral system.
This event is called the "Third June Coup".
The reason for the dissolution of the Second Duma was the inability to establish constructive interaction between the government, headed by Prime Minister P. A. Stolypin, and the Duma, a significant part of which were representatives of the extreme left parties (Social Democrats, Socialist Revolutionaries, People's Socialists) and the Trudoviks who joined them.
The Second Duma, which opened on February 20, 1907, had no less oppositional mood than the previously dissolved I Duma.
It rejected all government bills and the budget, and the bills proposed by the Duma, obviously could not be approved by the State Council and the Emperor.
The current situation was a constitutional crisis.
The main state laws (in fact, the constitution of Russia) allowed the emperor to dissolve the Duma at any time, but he was obliged to convene a new Duma and could not change the electoral law without its consent; but the next Duma, presumably, would not differ in opposition from the dissolved one.
The government found a way out of the crisis in the simultaneous dissolution of the Duma and the amendment of the electoral law for the elections to the next Duma.
The pretext for the dissolution was visiting social democratic deputies of the Duma delegation from the St. Petersburg garrison soldiers, who handed them a "soldier's mandate".
P. A. Stolypin used this small event to June 1, 1907, representing the episode in the form of deployed conspiracy against public order, to require Duma suspension from participation in the meetings of the 55 deputies of the social democratic faction and the removal of parliamentary immunity from sixteen of them.
The Duma, without giving an immediate response to the government, established a special commission, the conclusion of which was to be announced on July 4.
Without waiting for the Duma's response, Nicholas II dissolved the Duma on June 3, published an amended electoral law and called elections to the new Duma, which was to meet on November 1, 1907.
The Second Duma lasted 103 days.
The dissolution of the Duma was the prerogative of the emperor, but the simultaneous change of the electoral law was a violation of the requirements of article 87 of the Basic State Laws, according to which the electoral law could be changed only with the consent of the State Duma and the State Council; for this reason, these events became known as the "Third June coup".
The coup d'etat of June 3, 1907, meant the end of the revolution.
Results of the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907
The result of the speeches was the October constitution (the adoption of the constitution by the current head of state — the monarch, the president, or the granting of the constitution to a colony, a dependent territory by the metropolis) —the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, which granted civil liberties on the basis of personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and unions.
A Parliament was established, consisting of the State Council and the State Duma.
For the first time, the monarchical government was forced to accept the existence of elements of bourgeois democracy in the country – the Duma and multiparty system.
Russian society has achieved recognition of the basic rights of the individual (although not in full and without guarantees of their observance).
There was an experience of fighting for freedom and democracy.
Changes in the village: redemption payments were canceled, landlord arbitrariness was reduced, the rental and sale price of land was lowered; peasants were equated with other estates in the right to move and place of residence, admission to universities and to the civil service.
Officials and the police did not interfere in the work of peasant gatherings.
But in the main, the agrarian issue was not resolved: the peasants did not receive land.
Some of the workers received voting rights.
The proletariat was given the opportunity to form trade unions, and workers were no longer criminally responsible for participating in strikes.
In many cases, the working day has been reduced to 9-10 hours, and in some cases even to 8 hours.
During the revolution, 4.3 million strikers fought hard to achieve a 12-14% salary increase.
It was necessary to moderate the Russification policy somewhat, the national suburbs received representation in the Duma.
But the revolution was followed by a reaction: the "Third June Coup" of June 3 (16), 1907, the rules for elections to the State Duma were changed to increase the number of deputies loyal to the monarchy; the local authorities did not observe the freedoms declared in the Manifesto of October 17, 1905; the most important agrarian issue for the majority of the country's population was not resolved.
So, the social tension that caused the First Russian Revolution was not completely resolved, which created the prerequisites for the subsequent revolutionary action of 1917.
G. Korzhev "Picking up the banner"
Related articles: The first census in the Russian Empire
Russian Russian Revolution, the results of the First Russian Revolution, Cadets, cruiser Ochakov, Bloody Sunday, Lieutenant Schmidt, Manifesto of October 17, Nicholas II, Octobrists, the First Russian Revolution, the first Council of Workers ' Deputies, petition, the defeat of the Revolution, the causes of the revolution, priest Gapon, the Union of Unions, Stolypin, Black Hundreds
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