What were the causes of the 1905 revolution?
By 1905 Russia was suffering a crisis. Four factors contributed to this. Students went on strike and continued to defy the government. They were growing tired of the old autocratic monarchy and wanted more rights. The Tsar's appointment of the hated Plehve as Minister of the Interior, who also ran the secret police, made the people see the government as evil. The previous year Russian businessmen had upset trade relations with Japan and war soon followed. A peaceful protest known as Bloody Sunday would become grimmer than anticipated.
The origin of the 1905 revolution lies at the beginning of the 20th century among the students who would be the voice of the revolution. Student strikes had been incited by the famous 1896 weaver's strike in St Petersburg. In 1897 a women student, Vetrova, burned herself in the prison for revolutionaries. This act stirred everyone deeply. Disturbances took place in university cities; arrests and banishments became more frequent. The students protested all over Russia. Leon Trotsky was a key figure. The police tried to control the protesters with whips. Students shot and killed the Education Minister and Minister of Interior, Plevhe.
Plevhe was the minister of the interior and secret police (Okhrana). It was a well-known fact that he hated Jews. He claimed that 40% of revolutionaries were Jews and nearly all students. He did nothing to stop attacks by mobs on Jewish property. It was illegal to set up trade unions. So he, himself; set these up deliberately to trap revolutionaries. Father George Gapon was made to set up a fake trade union, which became one of the most popular in St Petersburg. This confused and upset many businessmen and employers who thought it could lead to trouble. (Zemstva), where they could vote, were taken away. Liberals joined with revolutionaries against the government and formed a Union of Liberation. On 14 July 1904, a socialist revolutionary threw a bomb that blew up and killed Plehve.
Tsar Nicholas was blamed for the Russo-Japanese war because he ran Russia by himself and was therefore responsible for Russia's wellbeing. Witte, the Finance Minister, used his Trans Siberian Railway project to increase Russian trade in Northeast Asia. Japan was angered at this and Nicholas sacked him in 1903. Japanese businessmen wanted raw materials for their new industries and markets for their products in Asia. Japan wanted to do a deal with Russia granting Russia no trade restrictions in Manchuria if Japan could have a free hand in Korea. However wealthy Russian businessmen upset the Japanese by trading in timber with Korea.
Bloody Sunday was the march of the workers against the government. Father George Gapon, mentioned earlier, was in charge of the Trade union originally set up by Plehve to be a fake trap for Jews) which had gained the support of 120,000. Electricity was cut off. The Union of Liberation wrote a petition to the tsar at the winter palace. Police failed to stop the workers. Frightened soldiers fired warning shots in the air, but the large crowd pushed through them. The rest of the year was marked by murders, strikes, and protests.
Tsar Nicholas was now on the verge of being overthrown from power. Students were voicing their anger at the government and demanding change. Plehve had set up unpopular policies that upset peasants and liberals as well. In fact, liberals and revolutionaries had set their differences aside and formed a union of liberation to oppose the government. Trade relations between Russia and Japan had led to an unpopular war. The Russo-Japanese war led to the 1905 revolution just as the first world war against Germany led to the 1917 Revolution. The trade union's set-up to be fake took effect and marched with a petition demanding change from the tsar.
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