THE REVOLUTION OF 1905 IN RUSSIA Term paper

Often thought of as a dress rehearsal for the revolutionary events of 1917 in Russia, the Revolution of 1905 was a full-fledged revolution in its own right. In part, it stemmed from the economic downturn at the end of the nineteenth century and political dissent and disorders at the beginning of the twentieth. Russian losses in the initial stages of the Russo-Japanese War furnished a more immediate cause. Finally, “Bloody Sunday” (9 January 1905), the massacre of workers attempting peacefully to petition Tsar Nicholas II in St. Petersburg, provided the catalyst.

The government failed to respond adequately to Bloody Sunday or to calls for reform. In particular, reformers called for a duma, a representative body that would share in the process of governing the empire. The government, attempting to fight a war 6,000 miles from the capital, was also hampered by nationalist movements. In the summer, sailors on the battleship Potemkin mutinied, adding fuel to the revolutionary fires.

The government suggested the establishment of a consultative duma in August, but it was an inadequate gesture. In September, railroad workers led a general strike that paralyzed the country’s economy. In October, the St. Petersburg Soviet or council of workers formed.

The tsar asked Count Sergei Witte to deal with the crisis. Witte recommended either a military dictatorship or political concessions. The tsar, not finding anyone willing to undertake the first option, was forced to issue the October Manifesto, which promised an elected parliamentary assembly and various civic freedoms.
The revolutionary movement, which had consisted of students, middle-class liberals, workers, and socialists, fragmented. Liberals and moderates decided to work with the tsarist government. The socialists worked to continue the revolution. Over the next two years, the government regained control and severely limited the concessions originally made. The Revolution of 1905 headed the Russian Empire toward constitutional monarchy, but the tsarist government effectively did everything possible after 1905 to avoid taking that path.
Suggestions for Term Papers
1. Examine the causes and the course of the Russo-Japanese War. Why was the Japanese military successful?
2. “Bloody Sunday” was the catalyst for the Revolution of 1905, an event that caused large numbers of Russians to question the legitimacy of the government. Investigate the responses of the government to the event and suggest how these responses affected public opinion.
3. Why was the mutiny of the battleship Potemkin such an important part of the Revolution of 1905?
4. Count Sergei Witte played an enormously important role in saving the Russian Empire from collapse in 1905. Discuss his activities in that year.
5. The Constitutional Democrats (or Kadets), mostly liberals, were a very important political party in 1905. What did the party hope to gain from the October Manifesto?
6. How did Nicholas II view the Revolution of 1905? The October Manifesto?

Research Suggestions

In addition to boldfaced terms, look under the entry for “The 1917 Russian Revolution” (#10). Search under Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, Octobrists, V. I. Lenin, and Piotr Stolypin.

SUGGESTED SOURCES

Primary Sources

Miliukov, Pavel. Political Memoirs 1905–1917. 1955. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1967. Miliukov was one of the most important political figures in this period.

Trotsky, Leon. 1905. 1922. New York: Random House, 1971. A brilliant Marxist analysis of the events by a prominent participant.

Witte, Sergei. The Memoirs of Count Witte. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page. 1921. A fascinating discussion of the 1905 Revolution and many other topics by the man who was the most able governmental official in the reign of Nicholas II.

Secondary Sources

Ascher, Abraham. The Revolution of 1905. 2 vols. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988, 1992. The best discussion of the Revolution of 1905 available.

Engelstein, Laura. Moscow, 1905: Working-Class Organization and Political Conflict. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1982. An important book on a major center of revolutionary politics in 1905.

Ferro, Marc. Nicholas II: The Last of the Tsars. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. An excellent recent study of Nicholas.

Galai, Shmuel. The Liberation Movement in Russia, 1900–1905. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1973. A good analysis of the important liberal movements active before the Revolution of 1905.

Harcave, Sidney. First Blood: The Russian Revolution of 1905. New York: Macmillan, 1964. A solid history of the event. A good starting point for further work.

Hough, Richard. The Potemkin Mutiny. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1996. A fine discussion of a central event in 1905.

Manning, Roberta Thompson. The Crisis of the Old Order in Russia: Gentry and Government. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1982. A very important discussion of the failure of reform elements in the tsarist government.

Mehlinger, Howard D., and John M. Thompson. Count Witte and the Tsarist Government in the 1905 Revolution. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1972. A helpful discussion of the crucial role played by Count Sergei Witte in the events of 1905.

Morgan, Anne. “Revolution of 1905 in Russia.” The Modern Encyclopedia of Russian and Soviet History, vol. 31, pp. 57–69. Gulf Breeze, Fla.:
Academic International Press, 1983. An up-to-date and concise overview.

Riha, Thomas. A Russian European: Paul Miliukov in Russian Politics.Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press, 1969. A useful political biography of a major political actor.

Sablinsky, Walter. The Road to Bloody Sunday: Father Gapon and the St. Petersburg Massacre of 1905. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976. The definitive account of this event.

Suhr, Gerald D. 1905 in St. Petersburg: Labor, Society, and Revolution. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1989. A close look at the revolution in Imperial Russia’s most important city.

Weinberg, Robert. The Revolution of 1905 in Odessa: Blood on the Steps. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993. A careful study of 1905 in an important provincial city.