The reason for the first Russian revolution (1905-1907) was the aggravation of the internal political situation. Social tension was provoked by the remnants of serfdom, the preservation of landownership, the lack of freedoms, the agrarian overpopulation of the center, the national question, the rapid growth of capitalism, and the unresolved peasant and worker question. Defeat and economic crisis of 1900-1908. made the situation worse.
In 1904, liberals proposed introducing a constitution in Russia, limiting autocracy by convening popular representation. made a public statement of disagreement with the introduction of the constitution. The impetus for the start of revolutionary events was the strike of workers at the Putilov plant in St. Petersburg. The strikers put forward economic and political demands.
A peaceful march to the Winter Palace was scheduled for January 9, 1905 in order to submit a petition addressed to the Tsar, which contained demands for democratic changes in Russia. This date is associated with the first stage of the revolution. The demonstrators, led by priest G. Gapon, were met by troops, and fire was opened on the participants in the peaceful procession. The cavalry took part in dispersing the procession. As a result, about 1 thousand people were killed and about 2 thousand were injured. This day was named. The senseless and brutal massacre strengthened revolutionary sentiments in the country.
In April 1905, the 3rd congress of the left wing of the RSDLP took place in London. Issues were resolved about the nature of the revolution, the armed uprising, the Provisional Government, and the attitude towards the peasantry.
The right wing - the Mensheviks, who gathered at a separate conference - defined the revolution as bourgeois in character and driving forces. The task was set of transferring power into the hands of the bourgeoisie and creating a parliamentary republic.
The strike (general strike of textile workers) in Ivano-Frankovsk, which began on May 12, 1905, lasted more than two months and attracted 70 thousand participants. Both economic and political demands were made; The Council of Authorized Deputies was created.
The workers' demands were partially satisfied. On October 6, 1905, a strike began in Moscow on the Kazan Railway, which became an all-Russian strike on October 15. Demands for democratic freedoms and an eight-hour working day were put forward.
On October 17, Nicholas II signed a document that proclaimed political freedoms and promised freedom of elections to the State Duma. Thus began the second stage of the revolution - the period of highest growth.
In June, an uprising began on the battleship of the Black Sea flotilla "Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky". It was held under the slogan “Down with autocracy!” However, this uprising was not supported by the crews of other ships of the squadron. "Potemkin" was forced to go into the waters of Romania and surrender there.
In July 1905, at the direction of Nicholas II, a legislative advisory body - the State Duma - was established and regulations on elections were developed. Workers, women, military personnel, students and youth were not given the right to participate in elections.
On November 11-16, there was an uprising of sailors in Sevastopol and on the cruiser "Ochakov", led by Lieutenant P.P. Schmidt. The uprising was suppressed, Schmidt and three sailors were shot, more than 300 people were convicted or exiled to hard labor and settlements.
Under the influence of the Socialist Revolutionaries and liberals, the All-Russian Peasant Union was organized in August 1905, advocating peaceful methods of struggle. However, by the fall, the members of the union announced their joining the Russian Revolution of 1905-1907. The peasants demanded the division of the landowners' lands.
On December 7, 1905, the Moscow Soviet called for a political strike, which developed into an uprising led by. The government transferred troops from St. Petersburg. The fighting took place on the barricades; the last pockets of resistance were suppressed in the Krasnaya Presnya area on December 19. The organizers and participants of the uprising were arrested and convicted. The same fate befell uprisings in other regions of Russia.
The reasons for the decline of the revolution (third stage) were the brutal suppression of the uprising in Moscow and the people’s faith that the Duma was able to solve their problems.
In April 1906, the first elections to the Duma were held, as a result of which two parties entered it: constitutional democrats and socialist revolutionaries, who advocated the transfer of landowners' lands to peasants and the state. This Duma did not suit the Tsar, and in July 1906 it ceased to exist.
In the summer of the same year, the uprising of sailors in Sveaborg and Kronstadt was suppressed. On November 9, 1906, with the participation of the Prime Minister, a decree was created on the abolition of redemption payments for land.
In February 1907, the second elections to the Duma took place. Subsequently, its candidates, in the opinion of the tsar, turned out to be even more “revolutionary” than the previous ones, and he not only dissolved the Duma, but also created an electoral law reducing the number of deputies from among the workers and peasants, thereby carrying out a coup d'etat that put an end to the revolution.
The reasons for the defeat of the revolution include the lack of unity of goals between the actions of workers and peasants in organizational issues, the absence of a single political leader of the revolution, as well as the lack of assistance to the people from the army.
The first Russian revolution of 1905-1907. is defined as bourgeois-democratic, since the tasks of the revolution are the overthrow of the autocracy, the elimination of landownership, the destruction of the class system, and the establishment of a democratic republic.
The cause of the revolution was the growing contradictions in Russian society, expressed in the influence of internal (unresolved agrarian question, deterioration of the position of the proletariat, crisis in relations between the center and the province, crisis of the form of government (“crisis of the top”) and external factors.
Internal factors
Unresolved agrarian question
The agrarian question is a complex of socio-economic and political problems related to the prospects for the development of the agricultural sector of the country’s economy, one of the most pressing issues public life Russia. Its unresolved nature, combined with other internal and external problems, ultimately led to the revolution of 1905-1907. The origins of the agrarian question lay in the nature of the Agrarian Reform of 1861, which was clearly incomplete. Having given personal freedom to the peasants, it did not solve the problem of peasant land shortage, nor did it eliminate the negative features of communal land ownership and mutual responsibility. Redemption payments placed a heavy burden on the peasant class. Tax arrears grew catastrophically, since under S.Yu. Witte, taxation of the rural population became one of the sources of ensuring the ongoing industrialization. Peasant land shortages became more and more evident, aggravated by the demographic explosion in the country: during the 1870-1890s. The peasant population of the Volga and some black earth provinces doubled, which entailed the fragmentation of allotments. In the southern provinces (Poltava and Kharkov), the problem of land shortage led to mass peasant uprisings in 1902.
The local nobility also slowly adapted to the new conditions. Most small and medium-sized owners quickly lost their land, remortgaging their holdings. The economy was conducted in the old fashioned way, the lands were simply rented out to peasants for work, which could not bring high profits. The income received by landowners from the state when peasants left serfdom was “eaten up” and did not contribute to the development of landowner farms on a capitalist basis. The nobility bombarded Emperor Nicholas II with requests for state support due to the unprofitability of estates and the high cost of credit.
At the same time, new phenomena were observed in the agricultural sector. Agriculture increasingly took on a commercial, entrepreneurial character. The production of products for sale developed, the number of hired workers increased, and farming techniques improved. Among the landowners' farms, large capitalist economies with an area of hundreds and thousands of acres, involving hired labor and a large number of agricultural machines, are increasingly beginning to dominate. Such landowners' estates were the main suppliers of grain and industrial crops.
Peasant farms had much less marketability (production of products for sale). They supplied only half of the market volume of bread. The main producers of commercial grain among the peasantry were wealthy families, who, according to various sources, made up from 3 to 15% of the peasant population. In fact, only they managed to adapt to the conditions of capitalist production, rent or buy land from landowners and keep several hired workers. Only wealthy owners specifically produced products for the market; for the overwhelming majority of peasants, the sale of bread was forced - to pay taxes and redemption payments. However, the development of strong peasant farms was also limited by a shortage of plots.
The underdevelopment of the agricultural sector and the low purchasing power of the vast majority of the country's population hampered the development of the entire economy (the narrowness of the domestic market already made itself felt by sales crises by the end of the 19th century).
The government was well aware of the causes of the agrarian crisis and sought to find ways out of it. Even under Emperor Alexander III, a commission was formed at the Ministry of Internal Affairs to consider “the streamlining of peasant social life and management.” Among the pressing issues, the commission recognized resettlement and passport legislation. As for the fate of the community and mutual responsibility, disagreements arose in the government on this issue. Three fundamental positions have emerged:
1) The official point of view was expressed by V.K. Pleve and K.P. Pobedonostsev, who considered them “the main and most important means of collecting all arrears.” Supporters of preserving the community also saw this as a means to save the Russian peasantry from proletarianization, and Russia from revolution.
2) The exponent of the opposite point of view on the community was the Minister of Finance N.Kh. Bunge and the Minister of the Imperial Court and Appanages, Count I. I. Vorontsov-Dashkov. They stood for the introduction of household land ownership in Russia with the establishment of a land minimum and the organization of the resettlement of peasants to new lands.
3) S.Yu., who assumed the post of Minister of Finance in 1892. Witte advocated passport reform and the abolition of mutual responsibility, but for the preservation of the community. Subsequently, on the threshold of the revolution, he changed his point of view, actually agreeing with Bunge.
Peasant uprisings of 1902 in the Poltava and Kharkov provinces, the rise of peasant uprisings of 1903-04. accelerated work in this direction: in April 1902 mutual responsibility was abolished, and with the appointment of V.K. Plehve, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Nicholas II, transferred to his department the right to develop peasant legislation. Reform V.K. Plehve, pursuing other goals, touched upon the same areas as the later Agrarian Reform of P. A. Stolypin:
It was planned to expand the activities of the Peasant Bank for the purchase and resale of landowners' lands.
Establish resettlement policy.
The fundamental difference from the Stolypin reforms is that the reform was based on the principles of class isolation of the peasantry, the inalienability of allotment lands and the preservation existing forms peasant land ownership. They represented an attempt to bring the legislation developed after the reform of 1861 into line with the social evolution of the village. Attempts to preserve the basic principles of the agricultural policy of the 1880-1890s. gave Plehve's project a deeply controversial character. This was also evident in the assessment of communal land ownership. It was the community that was viewed as an institution capable of protecting the interests of the poorest peasantry. At that time, no emphasis was placed on the wealthiest members of the community (kulaks). But the farm was recognized as a more advanced form of farming, which had a great future. In accordance with this, the project provided for the removal of some restrictions that prevented people from leaving the community. However, in reality this was extremely difficult to implement.
The work of the Plehve commission became an expression of the official point of view on the peasant question. It can be stated that the proposed transformations did not depart from traditional policies, based on three principles: the class system, the inalienability of allotments, and the inviolability of the community. These measures were enshrined in the Tsar’s Manifesto “On the Immutability of Communal Land Ownership” in 1903. This policy did not suit the peasants, since it did not solve any of the pressing problems. Changes in agricultural legislation throughout the 1890s. little changed in the situation of the peasants. Only a few stood out from the community. The resettlement administration, created in 1896, practically did not work. Crop failures at the beginning of the 20th century only increased the tension that reigned in the village. The result was an increase in peasant uprisings in 1903-1904. The main problems to be immediately resolved were the question of the existence of a peasant land community, the elimination of stripes and peasant land shortages, as well as the question of the social status of peasants.
Worsening position of the proletariat
The “labor question” - in the classical sense - is a conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, caused by various economic demands on the part of the working class in the sphere of improving its socio-economic situation.
In Russia, the labor issue was particularly acute, since it was complicated by a special government policy aimed at government regulation relations between workers and entrepreneurs. Bourgeois reforms of the 1860-70s. little impact on the working class. This was a consequence of the fact that the formation of capitalist relations was still taking place in the country, and the formation of the main capitalist classes had not been completed. The government also, until the beginning of the 20th century, refused to recognize the existence of a “special class of workers” in Russia, and even more so the “labor question” in the Western European sense. This point of view found its justification back in the 80s. XIX century in the articles of M. N. Katkov on the pages of the Moscow Gazette, and from that time on it became an integral part of the general political doctrine.
However, the large-scale strikes of the 1880s, especially the Morozov Strike, showed that simply ignoring the labor movement could not improve the situation. The situation was aggravated by the different points of view of the leaders of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the government line in resolving the “work issue.”
By the end of the 1890s. Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte moves away from the idea of the government's guardianship policy as part of the government doctrine, built on the principle of a special, original evolution of Russia. With the direct participation of Witte, laws were developed and adopted: on the regulation of the working day (June 1897, according to which the maximum working day was 11.5 hours), on the payment of remuneration to workers in accidents (June 1903, but the law did not address issues pensions and compensation for dismissals). The institution of factory elders was also introduced, whose competence included participation in the resolution of labor conflicts). At the same time, policies aimed at strengthening religious-monarchical sentiments among the working environment intensified. The Ministry of Finance did not even want to think about creating trade unions or other workers' associations.
On the contrary, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is embarking on a risky experiment in creating workers' organizations controlled by the government. The spontaneous desire of workers to unite, the ever-widening response to the activities of the revolutionaries, and, finally, the increasing frequency of open political protests forced the authorities to switch to a new tactic: “police socialism.” The essence of this policy, which was carried out in a number of countries Western Europe in the 1890s, boiled down to attempts to create, with the knowledge and control of the government, legal pro-government workers' organizations. The initiator of Russian “police socialism” was the head of the Moscow security department, S.V. Zubatov.
Zubatov's idea was to force the government to pay attention to the "labor question" and the situation of the working class. He did not support the proposal of the Minister of Internal Affairs D.S. Sipyagin “to turn factories into barracks” and thereby restore order. It was necessary to become the head of the labor movement and thus determine its forms, character and direction. However, in reality, the implementation of Zubatov’s plan encountered active resistance from entrepreneurs who did not want to submit to the demands of any workers’ associations, even those controlled by the government. The new Minister of Internal Affairs V.K. Plehve, who held this post in 1902-1904, stopped the Zubatov experiment.
As an exception, the activities of the “Society of Factory Workers” of the priest G. Gapon, which had minimal dependence on the authorities and was an example of “Christian” rather than “police” socialism, were allowed. As a result, traditional repressive measures turned out to be more common for the authorities in their fight against the labor movement. All factory laws adopted at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries provided for criminal liability for participation in strikes, threats against factory administration, and even for unauthorized refusal to work. In 1899, a special factory police was established. Increasingly, combat units and Cossacks were called in to suppress workers' protests. In May 1899, even artillery was used to suppress a 10,000-strong strike by workers at the largest enterprises in Riga.
The regime's attempts to slow down the natural course of development of new principles in the economy and society in this way did not lead to significant results. The authorities did not see an impending explosion in the growing workers' protests. Even on the eve of the revolution, paying attention to the changes taking place in the working environment, the ruling circles did not count on the “collapse” that could undermine the established foundations. In 1901, the chief of gendarmes, future Minister of Internal Affairs P.D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky wrote about St. Petersburg workers that “in the last three or four years, a good-natured Russian guy has developed into a type of semi-literate intellectual who considers it his duty to deny religion... to neglect the law, disobey the authorities and mock them.” At the same time, he noted that “there are few rebels in factories,” and it would not be difficult to deal with them.
As a result, by the beginning of the 20th century, the “labor issue” in Russia had not lost any of its urgency: no law on workers’ insurance was adopted, the working day was also reduced to only 11.5 hours, and the activities of trade unions were prohibited. Most importantly, after the failure of the Zubatov initiative, the government did not develop any acceptable program for organizing labor legislation, and the armed suppression of workers’ protests threatened to turn into mass disobedience. The economic crisis of 1900-1903 had a noticeable impact on the aggravation of the situation, when the situation of workers sharply worsened (decrease in earnings, closure of enterprises). The decisive blow, that “last straw,” was the shooting of a workers’ demonstration organized by the “Society of Factory Workers” on January 9, 1905, which was called “ Bloody Sunday».
Crisis in relations between center and province
The national question is one of the main socio-political contradictions in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century.
The dominance of the Russian people and the Orthodox faith in the Russian Empire was enshrined in law, which greatly infringed on the rights of other peoples inhabiting the country. Small concessions in this matter were made only for the population of Finland and Poland, but were significantly curtailed during the reactionary Russification policy of Emperor Alexander III. At the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries in Russia general requirements of the nationalities inhabiting it become the equalization of rights of all nationalities, training in native language, freedom of religion. For some peoples, the land issue turned out to be extremely relevant, and it was either about protecting their lands from “Russian” colonization (Volga and Siberian, Central Asian, Caucasian provinces), or about the struggle against landowners, which acquired an interethnic character (Baltic and Western provinces). In Finland and Poland, the slogan of territorial autonomy, which was often backed by the idea of complete state independence, enjoyed widespread support. The growth of discontent in the outskirts was fueled both by the government’s harsh national policy, in particular, restrictions on Poles, Finns, Armenians and some other peoples, and by the economic turmoil that Russia experienced in the early years of the 20th century.
All this contributed to the awakening and strengthening of national self-awareness. By the beginning of the 20th century, Russian ethnic groups were an extremely heterogeneous mass. It coexisted ethnic communities with a tribal organization (the peoples of Central Asia and the Far East) and peoples with modern experience of state-political consolidation. The level of ethnic self-awareness of the majority of the peoples of the empire was very low even at the beginning of the 20th century; almost all of them defined themselves along religious, clan or local lines. All this together led to the emergence of movements for national autonomy and even state independence. S.Yu. Witte, analyzing the “revolutionary flood” in Russia of 1905-07, wrote: “In the Russian Empire, such a flood is most possible, since more than 35% of the population is not Russian, but conquered by the Russians. Anyone who knows history knows how difficult it is to weld heterogeneous populations into one whole, especially with the strong development of national principles and feelings in the 20th century.”
In the pre-revolutionary years, ethnonational conflicts increasingly made themselves felt. Thus, in the Arkhangelsk and Pskov provinces, clashes between peasants over land became more frequent. In the Baltic states, tense relations developed between local peasants and the barony. In Lithuania, confrontation between Lithuanians, Poles and Russians grew. In multinational Baku, conflicts constantly flared up between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. These trends, which the authorities increasingly could not cope with through administrative, police and political methods, became a threat to the integrity of the country. Individual concessions by the authorities (such as the decree of December 12, 1904, which lifted some restrictions that existed for peoples in the field of language, school, and religion) did not achieve their goal. With the deepening of the political crisis and the weakening of power, all processes of the formation and development of ethnic self-awareness received a powerful impetus and entered into chaotic movement.
National parties that emerged in the last third of the 19th and early 20th centuries became the political spokesmen for ethnic and national movements on the outskirts of the empire. These political organizations were based on the ideas of national and cultural revival and development of their own peoples as necessary condition future state reorganization of Russia. Under the influence of the ideas of Marxism and liberalism, two ideologically different streams began to gain strength here: socialist and national liberal. Almost all liberal parties were formed from cultural and educational societies, the majority of socialist-oriented parties were formed from previously carefully clandestine illegal circles and groups. If the socialist movement most often developed under the slogans of internationalism and class struggle, uniting representatives of all the peoples of the empire, then for each of the national liberal movements the issues of national self-affirmation of its own people became a priority. The largest national parties were formed at the end of the 19th century in Poland, Finland, Ukraine, the Baltic states and Transcaucasia.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the most influential social democratic organizations were the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, the Social Democratic Party of Finland, and the General Jewish Workers' Union in Lithuania, Poland and Russia (Bund), established in Vilna. Of the nationalist parties, we should highlight, first of all, the Polish National Democratic Party, the Active Resistance Party of Finland, the Ukrainian People's Party and the Armenian Dashnaktsutyun - the most significant national party that has emerged in Transcaucasia. All these parties, to varying degrees, took part in the revolution of 1905-1907, and then in the activities of the State Duma. Thus, members of the Polish National Democratic Party actually formed their own faction in the Duma - the Polish Kolo. There were also national groups of Muslim deputies in the Duma, from Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, etc. Deputies from these groups were called “autonomists,” and their number in the Duma of the first convocation was 63 people, and even 76 in the second.
Crisis of the form of government (“crisis of the top”)
The “crisis of the elite” at the beginning of the 20th century was the crisis of the autocratic form of government in Russia.
In the middle of the 19th century, the process of establishing a constitutional-monarchical form of government was actually completed in Western European countries. The Russian autocracy categorically rejected any attempts to introduce public representation in the highest state structures. All projects, including those drawn up in government circles, that envisaged the introduction of such representation, were ultimately rejected. During the reign of Emperor Alexander III, any attempts to somehow Europeanize the autocratic regime were decisively suppressed; the activities of populist terrorists played a significant role in this. Mid 1890s was marked by the revival and consolidation of both the liberal zemstvo and left-radical movements. However, the new emperor immediately made it clear that he was not going to change anything. Therefore, when he ascended the throne, speaking before a deputation from the nobility, zemstvos and cities on January 17, 1895, Nicholas II called the hopes of zemstvo leaders to participate in the affairs of internal government “meaningless dreams,” making a grave impression on those gathered. The authorities also showed firmness towards oppositionists from the upper classes: resignations and administrative expulsions began. And yet the position of the liberals could not be ignored by the ruling structures. Some researchers believe that Nicholas II himself, already at the beginning of his reign, understood the need for some political reform of the country, but not by introducing parliamentarism, but by expanding the competence of zemstvos.
In the ruling circles themselves, different points of view on the situation of the country and the tasks of state policy emerged: Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte believed that social movement in Russia has reached a level at which it can no longer be stopped by repressive methods. He saw the roots of this in the incompleteness of the liberal democratic reforms of the 1860-70s. It was possible to avoid revolution by introducing a number of democratic freedoms and allowing participation in government “legally.” At the same time, the government needed to rely on the “educated” classes. Minister of Internal Affairs V.K. Plehve, who took his post at the beginning of the terrorist activities of the socialist-revolutionary pariah, saw the source of the revolution precisely in the “educated” classes - in the intelligentsia, and believed that “any game with the constitution must be stopped, and reforms designed to renew Russia can only be achieved historically.” the autocracy that has emerged in our country."
This official position of Plehve greatly impressed Nicholas II, as a result of which in August 1903 the all-powerful Minister of Finance Witte was removed from his post and received the less significant position of Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers (actually an honorable resignation). The emperor made a choice in favor of conservative tendencies, and tried to overcome the socio-political crisis with the help of a successful foreign policy - by unleashing a “small victorious war.” Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 finally pointed out the need for change. According to P.B. Struve, “it was the military helplessness of the autocracy that most clearly confirmed its uselessness and harmfulness.”
External factors
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 was a war between Russia and Japan for dominance in Northeast China and Korea (see the diagram “Russian-Japanese War 1904-1905” and the historical map “Russian-Japanese War”). At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Contradictions between the leading powers, which by this time had largely completed the territorial division of the world, intensified. The presence in the international arena of “new”, rapidly developing countries - Germany, Japan, the USA, which purposefully sought the redistribution of colonies and spheres of influence, became increasingly noticeable. The autocracy took an active part in the struggle of the great powers for colonies and spheres of influence. In the Middle East, in Turkey, he increasingly had to deal with Germany, which chose this region as a zone of its economic expansion. In Persia, the interests of Russia collided with the interests of England.
The most important object of the struggle for the final division of the world at the end of the 19th century. China was economically backward and militarily weak. Exactly on Far East Since the mid-90s, the center of gravity of the autocracy's foreign policy activity has shifted. The close interest of the tsarist government in the affairs of this region was largely due to the “appearance” here by the end of the 19th century. a strong and very aggressive neighbor in the person of Japan, which has embarked on the path of expansion. After the victory in the war with China in 1894-1895. Japan acquired the Liaodong Peninsula under a peace treaty; Russia, acting as a united front with France and Germany, forced Japan to abandon this part of Chinese territory.
In 1896, a Russian-Chinese treaty was concluded on a defensive alliance against Japan. China granted Russia a concession to build a railway from Chita to Vladivostok through Manchuria (Northeast China). The Russian-Chinese Bank received the right to build and operate the road. The course towards the “peaceful” economic conquest of Manchuria was carried out in accordance with the line of S.Yu. Witte (it was he who largely determined the policy of the autocracy in the Far East) to seize foreign markets for the developing domestic industry. Russian diplomacy also achieved great success in Korea. Japan, which established its influence in this country after the war with China, was forced in 1896 to agree to the establishment of a joint Russian-Japanese protectorate over Korea with the actual predominance of Russia. The victories of Russian diplomacy in the Far East caused growing irritation in Japan, England and the United States.
Soon, however, the situation in this region began to change. Pushed by Germany and following its example, Russia captured Port Arthur and in 1898 received it on lease from China, along with some parts of the Liaodong Peninsula, to establish a naval base. Attempts by S.Yu. Witte to prevent this action, which he considered as contrary to the spirit of the Russian-Chinese treaty of 1896, were unsuccessful. The capture of Port Arthur undermined the influence of Russian diplomacy in Beijing and weakened Russia's position in the Far East, forcing, in particular, the tsarist government to make concessions to Japan on the Korean issue. The Russo-Japanese Agreement of 1898 actually sanctioned the takeover of Korea by Japanese capital.
In 1899, a powerful popular uprising began in China (the “Boxer Rebellion”), directed against the foreigners who shamelessly ruled the state. Russia, together with other powers, took part in suppressing this movement and occupied Manchuria during military operations. Russo-Japanese contradictions escalated again. Supported by England and the USA, Japan sought to oust Russia from Manchuria. In 1902, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was concluded. Under these conditions, Russia reached an agreement with China and pledged to withdraw troops from Manchuria within a year and a half. Meanwhile, Japan, which was very belligerent, led to an escalation of the conflict with Russia. There was no unity in the ruling circles of Russia on issues of Far Eastern policy. S.Yu. Witte with his program of economic expansion (which, however, still pitted Russia against Japan) was opposed by the “Bezobrazov gang” led by A.M. Bezobrazov, who advocated direct military takeovers. The views of this group were also shared by Nicholas II, who dismissed S.Yu. Witte from the post of Minister of Finance. "Bezobrazovtsy" underestimated the strength of Japan. Some ruling circles viewed success in the war with their Far Eastern neighbor as the most important means of overcoming the internal political crisis. Japan, for its part, was actively preparing for an armed conflict with Russia. True, in the summer of 1903, Russian-Japanese negotiations on Manchuria and Korea began, but the Japanese war machine, which had received direct support from the United States and England, was already launched. The situation was complicated by the fact that in Russia the ruling circles hoped that a successful military campaign would eliminate the growing internal political crisis. Minister of Internal Affairs Plehve, in response to the statement of Commander-in-Chief General Kuropatkin that “we are not ready for war,” replied: “You don’t know the internal situation in Russia. To prevent revolution, we need a small, victorious war.” On January 24, 1904, the Japanese ambassador handed the Russian Foreign Minister V.N. Lamzdorf a note about the severance of diplomatic relations, and on the evening of January 26, the Japanese fleet attacked the Port Arthur squadron without declaring war. Thus began the Russo-Japanese War.
Table. Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905
| date | Event |
| January 26-27, 1904 | Attack by Japanese ships of the Russian Pacific squadron in Port Arthur and Chemulpo Bay. |
| February 2, 1904 | Japanese troops begin landing in Korea, preparing to conduct an operation against the Russian Manchurian Army. |
| February 24, 1904 | Instead of Vice Admiral O.V. Stark, Vice Admiral S.O. Makarov was appointed commander of the Pacific squadron, under whom the combat activities of the Russian fleet were intensified. |
| March 31, 1904 | During the combat operation, the flagship of the Russian squadron, the battleship Petropavlovsk, is blown up by a mine and killed; commander S. O. Makarov is among the dead. |
| April 18, 1904 | The Battle of the Yalu River (Korea), during which Russian troops failed to stop the Japanese advance into Manchuria. |
| June 1, 1904 | Battle of Wafangou (Liaodong Peninsula). General Stackelberg's corps, trying to break through to Port Arthur, retreated under the pressure of superior Japanese units. This allowed General Oku's Japanese 2nd Army to begin the siege of Port Arthur. |
| July 28, 1904 | An attempt by the Russian squadron to break through from besieged Port Arthur to Vladivostok. After the battle with Japanese ships, most of the ships returned, several ships went to neutral ports. |
| August 6, 1904 | The first assault on Port Arthur (unsuccessful). Japanese losses amounted to up to 20 thousand people. In September-October, Japanese troops launched two more assaults, but they also ended without significant results. |
| August 1904 | In the Baltic, the formation of the 2nd Pacific Squadron begins, the task of which was to release Port Arthur from the sea. The squadron set out on a campaign only in October 1904. |
| August 13, 1904 | Battle of Liaoyang (Manchuria). Russian troops, after several days of fighting, retreated to Mukden. |
| September 22, 1904 | Battle of the Shahe River (Manchuria). During the unsuccessful offensive, the Russian army lost up to 50% of its strength and went on the defensive along the entire front. |
| November 13, 1904 | Fourth assault on Port Arthur; The Japanese managed to penetrate deeply into the fortress’s defense line and gradually suppress the fortress structures with fire from the dominant heights. |
| December 20, 1904 | The act of surrender of Port Arthur was signed. |
| February 5-25, 1905 | Battle of Mukden (Korea). The largest military operation of the entire war, in which up to 500 thousand people participated on both sides. After three weeks of fighting, Russian troops were under threat of encirclement and were forced to abandon their positions. Manchuria almost completely came under the control of the Japanese army. |
| May 14-15, 1905 | Battle of Tsushima. During the battle with the Japanese fleet, the 2nd Pacific Squadron was partly destroyed and partly captured (Admiral Nebogatov’s detachment). The battle summed up the military operations in Russian-Japanese war. |
| August 23, 1905 | The Treaty of Portsmouth is signed. |
A heavy blow for Russia was the death of the commander of the Pacific squadron, the outstanding naval commander S.O. Makarova. The Japanese managed to gain supremacy at sea and, having landed large forces on the continent, launched an offensive against Russian troops in Manchuria and Port Arthur. The commander of the Manchurian Army, General A.N. Kuropatkin, acted extremely indecisively. The bloody battle of Liaoyang, during which the Japanese suffered huge losses, was not used by him to go on the offensive (which the enemy was extremely afraid of) and ended with the withdrawal of Russian troops. In July 1904, the Japanese laid siege to Port Arthur (see historical map "Storm of Port Arthur 1904"). The defense of the fortress, which lasted five months, became one of the brightest pages of Russian military history.
Defense of Port Arthur
The hero of the Port Arthur epic was General R.I. Kondratenko, who died at the end of the siege. The capture of Port Arthur was costly for the Japanese, who lost more than 100 thousand people under its walls. At the same time, having taken the fortress, the enemy was able to strengthen his troops operating in Manchuria. The squadron stationed in Port Arthur was actually destroyed in the summer of 1904 during unsuccessful attempts to break through to Vladivostok.
In February 1905, the Battle of Mukden took place, which took place on a more than 100-kilometer front and lasted three weeks. More than 550 thousand people with 2,500 guns took part in it on both sides. In the battles near Mukden, the Russian army suffered a heavy defeat. After this, the war on land began to subside. The number of Russian troops in Manchuria was constantly increasing, but the morale of the army was undermined, which was greatly facilitated by the revolution that had begun in the country. The Japanese, who had suffered huge losses, were also inactive.
On May 14-15, 1905, in the Battle of Tsushima, the Japanese fleet destroyed the Russian squadron transferred to the Far East from the Baltic. The Battle of Tsushima decided the outcome of the war. The autocracy, busy suppressing the revolutionary movement, could no longer continue the struggle. Japan was also extremely exhausted by the war. On July 27, 1905, peace negotiations began in Portsmouth (USA) with the mediation of the Americans. The Russian delegation, headed by S.Yu. Witte managed to achieve relatively “decent” peace conditions. Under the terms of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, Russia ceded to Japan the southern part of Sakhalin, its lease rights to the Liaodong Peninsula and the South Manchurian Railway, which connected Port Arthur with the Chinese Eastern Railway.
The Russo-Japanese War ended with the defeat of the autocracy. At the beginning of the war, patriotic sentiments swept through all categories of the population, but soon the situation in the country began to change as reports of Russia’s military failures came in. Each defeat turned into a new and new round of political crisis. Trust in the government was rapidly declining. After each lost battle, rumors about unprofessionalism and even betrayal of the senior command, about unpreparedness for war, grew more and more in society. By the summer of 1904, the fervor of patriotic fever had given way to deep disappointment and a growing conviction of the incompetence of the authorities. According to P.B. Struve, “it was the military helplessness of the autocracy that most clearly confirmed its uselessness and harmfulness.” If at the beginning of the war there was a noticeable reduction in peasant uprisings and labor strikes, then by the autumn of 1904 they were again gaining momentum. The “Little Victorious War” turned into the shameful Peace of Portsmouth, a significant deterioration in the economic situation in the country, and also a catalyst for the revolution of 1905-1907. During 1905-1907 There were several major anti-government protests in the army and navy, largely predetermined by the unsuccessful military campaign.
By its nature, the revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia was bourgeois-democratic, because it set the tasks of the bourgeois-democratic transformation of the country: the overthrow of the autocracy and the establishment of a democratic republic, the elimination of the class system and landownership, the introduction of basic democratic freedoms - first of all, freedom of conscience, speech, press, assembly, equality of all before by law, the establishment of an 8-hour working day for wage earners, the removal of national restrictions (see the diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907. Character and goals”).
The main issue of the revolution was the agrarian-peasant issue. The peasantry made up more than 4/5 of the population of Russia, and the agrarian question, in connection with the deepening peasant land shortage, became more widespread by the beginning of the 20th century. special sharpness. The national question also occupied an important place in the revolution. 57% of the country's population were non-Russian peoples. However, in essence, the national question was part of the agrarian-peasant question, for the peasantry made up the overwhelming majority of the non-Russian population in the country. The agrarian-peasant issue was the focus of attention of all political parties and groups.
The driving forces of the revolution were the petty-bourgeois strata of the city and countryside, as well as the political parties that represented them. It was a people's revolution. Peasants, workers, and the petty bourgeoisie of the city and countryside formed a single revolutionary camp. The camp opposing him was represented by landowners and the big bourgeoisie associated with the autocratic monarchy, the highest bureaucracy, the military and clerics from among the upper clergy. The liberal opposition camp was represented mainly by the middle bourgeoisie and bourgeois intelligentsia, who advocated the bourgeois transformation of the country through peaceful means, mainly through parliamentary struggle.
In the revolution of 1905-1907. There are several stages.
Table. Chronology of events Russian revolution 1905 – 1907
| date | Event |
| January 3, 1905 | The beginning of the strike of workers of the Putilov plant in St. Petersburg. To calm down the striking workers, the Society of Factory Workers is preparing a peaceful march to the Tsar to submit a petition about the needs of the workers. |
| January 9, 1905 | “Bloody Sunday” – the shooting of a workers’ demonstration in St. Petersburg. The beginning of the revolution. |
| January-April 1905 | The strike movement grew, the number of strikers in Russia reached 800 thousand people. |
| February 18, 1905 | A rescript from Nicholas II is issued addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs A.G. Bulygin with instructions to develop a law on the creation of an elected representative institution (Duma). |
| May 12, 1905 | The beginning of a general strike in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, during which the first council of workers' representatives was created. |
| May 1905 | Formation of the All-Russian Peasant Union. The first congress was held July 31 – August 1. |
| June 14, 1905 | Uprising on the battleship Potemkin and the beginning of a general strike in Odessa. |
| October 1905 | The beginning of the All-Russian political strike, within a month the strike movement swept Moscow, St. Petersburg and other industrial centers of the empire. |
| October 17, 1905 | Nicholas II signed a Manifesto granting the population “the unshakable foundations of civil freedom.” The manifesto served as an impetus for the formation of two influential bourgeois parties - the Cadets and the Octobrists. |
| November 3, 1905 | Under the influence of peasant uprisings, a manifesto was signed to reduce redemption payments and their complete abolition from January 1, 1907 |
| November 11-16, 1905 | The uprising in the Black Sea Fleet under the leadership of Lieutenant P.P. Schmidt |
| December 2, 1905 | The beginning of an armed uprising in Moscow - the performance of the 2nd Grenadier Regiment. The uprising was supported by a general strike of workers. The most fierce fighting took place in the Presnya area, where the resistance of armed worker vigilantes to government troops continued until December 19. |
| December 11, 1905 | A new election law for the State Duma, developed by S.Yu., was issued. Witte |
| February 20, 1906 | The “Establishment of the State Duma” was published, which determined the rules of its work. |
| April 1906 | The IV (Unification) Congress of the RSDLP began its work in Sweden, in which representatives of 62 RSDLP organizations participate; of which 46 were Bolsheviks, 62 Mensheviks (04/23-05/8/1906). |
| April 1906 | Elections to the First State Duma took place |
| April 23, 1906 | Emperor Nicholas II approved the Basic State Law of the Russian Empire |
| April 27, 1906 | Start of work of the State Duma of the first convocation |
| July 9, 1906 | Dissolution of the State Duma |
| July 1906 | Uprising in the Sveaborg fortress, supported by the fleet. Suppressed by government forces three days later. The organizers were shot. |
| 12 August 1906 | Explosion by the Socialist Revolutionaries of the dacha of Prime Minister P. Stolypin on Aptekarsky Island; 30 people were killed and 40 were wounded, including Stolypin’s daughter. |
| 19 August 1906 | Nicholas II signed a decree developed by Prime Minister P. Stolypin on the introduction of military courts on Russian territory (abolished in March 1907) |
| November 9, 1906 | On the initiative of P. Stolypin, Nicholas II issued a decree regulating the procedure for peasants leaving the community and securing allotment land as personal property. |
| January 1907 | Strikes in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Rostov and other cities in connection with the 2nd anniversary of “Bloody Sunday” |
| May 1, 1907 | May Day strikes in Kyiv, Poltava, Kharkov. Shooting of a workers' demonstration in Yuzovka |
| May 10, 1907 | Speech by Prime Minister P. Stolypin at a meeting of the Second State Duma “Give Russia peace!” |
| June 2, 1907 | Police arrested members of the Social Democratic faction in the State Duma on charges of preparing a military conspiracy. |
| June 3, 1907 | The manifesto of Nicholas II on the dissolution of the Second State Duma, elected at the end of 1906, was published. The new electoral law, published simultaneously with the manifesto, gave an advantage in the new elections to representatives of the nobility and the big bourgeoisie |
The first is the mass movement in the spring-summer of 1905.(see diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907. 1st stage”). The revolutionary movement during this period was manifested in an unprecedented increase in the strike movement of workers with a predominance of political demands and took on an increasingly organized character (see the article “Revolution of 1905 in Russia” in the anthology). By the summer of 1905, the social base of the revolution had also expanded: it included the broad masses of the peasantry, as well as the army and navy. During January-April 1905, the strike movement covered 810 thousand workers. Up to 75% of strikes were political in nature. Under the pressure of this movement, the government was forced to make some political concessions. On February 18, by a rescript from the tsar addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs A.G. Bulygin was ordered to begin developing a law on the creation of an elected representative institution. A draft for the creation of the State Duma was prepared. This “Bulygin Duma,” as it was called, caused an active boycott by workers, peasants, intelligentsia, and all left-wing parties and associations. The boycott thwarted the government's attempt to convene it.
Revolutionary protests grew. In connection with the celebration of May 1, a new wave of strike movement swept through, in which up to 200 thousand workers took part. In the large textile center of Poland, Lodz, a workers' uprising broke out, and the city was covered with barricades. On May 1, a demonstration took place in Warsaw: dozens of demonstrators were killed and wounded. Clashes between workers and troops during the May 1 demonstrations occurred in Riga and Revel.
An important event was the general strike of workers that began on May 12 in the large textile center of the country - Ivanovo-Voznesensk, which lasted 72 days. Under her influence, workers in nearby textile cities and towns rose up. During the Ivanovo-Voznesensk strike, a Council of Workers' Representatives was elected. Under the influence of the growing strike struggle of the workers, the village also began to move. Already in February-March, peasant riots covered 1/6 of the country's counties - in the provinces of the Black Earth Center, Poland, the Baltic States and Georgia. In the summer they spread to the Middle Volga region, Ukraine and Belarus. In May 1905, the All-Russian Peasant Union was formed, the leading role in which was played by the right Socialist Revolutionaries, led by V. M. Chernov.
On June 14, an uprising broke out on the battleship Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky. The sailors took possession of the ship, elected a new command staff and a ship commission - the body of political leadership of the uprising. On the same day, the mutinous battleship and the destroyer accompanying it approached Odessa, where at that time a general strike of workers began. But the ship’s commission did not dare to land troops in the city, expecting the remaining ships of the Black Sea squadron to join the uprising. However, only one battleship, St. George the Victorious, joined. After 11 days of the raid, having depleted its fuel and food supplies, the Potemkin arrived at the Romanian port of Constanta and surrendered to local authorities. Subsequently, the Potemkin and its crew were handed over to the Russian authorities.
Second stage - October-December 1905(see diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia. 2nd stage”). In the fall of 1905, the center of the revolution moved to Moscow. The All-Russian October political strike that began in Moscow, and then the armed uprising in December 1905, were the highest upsurge of the revolution. On October 7, Moscow railway workers went on strike (with the exception of the Nikolaev Railway), followed by the workers of the majority railways countries. On October 10, a citywide strike of workers began in Moscow.
Under the influence of the October strike, the autocracy was forced to make new concessions. On October 17, Nicholas II signed a Manifesto “on the improvement of the state order” on the basis of actual personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly, unions, granting the new State Duma legislative rights, and it was stated that no law could gain force without its approval by the Duma.
The publication of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905 caused rejoicing in liberal-bourgeois circles, who believed that all conditions had been created for legal political activity. The October 17 Manifesto gave impetus to the formation of two influential bourgeois parties - the Cadets and the Octobrists.
The autumn of 1905 was marked by an increase in peasant revolts and revolutionary uprisings in the army and navy. In November - December, the peasant movement reached its climax. During this time, 1,590 peasant uprisings were registered - approximately half of the total number (3,230) for the entire year 1905. They covered half (240) of the districts of the European part of Russia, and were accompanied by the destruction of landowners' estates and the seizure of landowners' lands. Up to 2 thousand landowner estates were destroyed (and in total over 6 thousand landowner estates were destroyed in 1905-1907). Peasant revolts took on a particularly wide scale in the Simbirsk, Saratov, Kursk and Chernigov provinces. Punitive troops were sent to suppress peasant uprisings, and a state of emergency was introduced in a number of places. On November 3, 1905, under the influence of a broad peasant movement that developed with particular force in the fall of that year, a tsar’s manifesto was issued, announcing the reduction of redemption payments from peasants for allotment land by half and the complete cessation of their collection from January 1, 1907.
In October-December 1905, there were 89 performances in the army and navy. The largest of them was the uprising of sailors and soldiers of the Black Sea Fleet under the leadership of Lieutenant L.L. Schmidt November 11-16. On December 2, 1905, the 2nd Rostov Grenadier Regiment rebelled in Moscow and appealed to all the troops of the Moscow garrison to support its demands. It found a response in other regiments. A Council of Soldiers' Deputies was created from representatives of the Rostov, Ekaterinoslav and some other regiments of the Moscow garrison. But the garrison command managed to suppress the soldier movement at its very beginning and isolate unreliable military units in the barracks. The December events ended with an armed uprising and barricade battles in Moscow (December 10-19).
On December 11, 1905, S.Yu., developed by the government, was published. Witte new election law for the State Duma. It retained the main provisions of the electoral law of August 6, 1905, with the only difference that now workers were also allowed to participate in the elections, for which a fourth, workers', curia was introduced and the number of seats for the peasant curia was increased. The plurality of elections was maintained: first, electors were elected, and from them, deputies to the Duma were elected, with one elector per 90 thousand workers, 30 thousand peasants, 7 thousand representatives of the urban bourgeoisie and 2 thousand landowners. Thus, one vote of the landowner was equal to 3 votes of the bourgeoisie, 15 peasants and 45 workers. This created a significant advantage for the landowners and bourgeoisie in terms of representation in the Duma.
In connection with the creation of the legislative State Duma, the State Council was transformed. On February 20, 1906, a decree “On the reorganization of the establishment of the State Council” was issued. From a legislative advisory body, all of whose members had previously been appointed by the tsar, it became the upper legislative chamber, which received the right to approve or reject laws adopted by the State Duma. All these changes were included in the main “Basic State Laws”, published on April 23, 1906.
On November 24, 1905, a decree was issued on new “Temporary Rules for Timely Publications,” which abolished preliminary censorship for periodicals. By the decree of April 26, 1906 on the “Temporary Rules for Non-Timely Press,” preliminary censorship was also abolished for non-periodical publications (books and brochures). However, this did not mean the final abolition of censorship. Various types of penalties were maintained (fines, suspension of publication, warnings, etc.) against publishers who published articles in periodicals or books that were “objectionable” from the point of view of the authorities.
Retreat of the revolution: 1906 - spring-summer 1907(see diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia. 3rd stage”). After the December events of 1905, the retreat of the revolution began. First of all, it was expressed in a gradual decline in the strike movement of workers. If during 1905 2.8 million strike participants were registered, then in 1906 - 1.1 million, and in 1907 - 740 thousand. However, the intensity of the struggle was still high. In the spring and summer of 1906, a new wave of the agrarian peasant movement arose, which acquired an even wider scope than in 1905. It covered more than half of the country's counties. But despite its scope and mass character, the peasant movement of 1906, as in 1905, was a series of disparate, local riots that had practically no connection with each other. The All-Russian Peasant Union failed to become the organizing center of the movement. The dissolution of the State Duma of the first convocation in July 1906 and the “Vyborg Appeal” (see the article “Vyborg Appeal” in the reader) did not lead to a sharp aggravation of the revolutionary situation.
There were uprisings in the army and navy, which, like the peasant uprisings, took on a more threatening character than in 1905. The most significant of them were the uprisings in July-August 1906 of sailors in Sveaborg, Kronstadt and Reval. They were prepared and led by the Socialist Revolutionaries: they developed a plan to surround the capital with a ring of military uprisings and force the government to capitulate. The uprisings were quickly suppressed by troops loyal to the government, and their participants were court-martialed, 43 of them were executed. After the failure of the uprisings, the Social Revolutionaries switched to the proven tactics of individual terror. In 1906, the national liberation movement in Finland, the Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine, and Transcaucasia under the leadership of local nationalist parties assumed impressive proportions.
On August 19, 1906, Nicholas II signed the plan developed by Prime Minister P.A. Stolypin decree on the introduction of military courts on Russian territory (abolished in April 1907). This measure allowed short time reduce the number of terrorist attacks and “expropriations”. The year 1907 was not marked by any serious unrest in the countryside or in the army - the activities of military courts and the beginning of agrarian reform had an impact. The coup d'état of June 3, 1907 marked the defeat of the revolution of 1905-1907.
Historical significance of the revolution of 1905-1907. it was huge. It seriously shook the foundations of the Russian autocracy, which was forced to make a number of significant self-restraints. The convening of the legislative State Duma, the creation of a bicameral parliament, the proclamation of civil liberties, the abolition of censorship, the legalization of trade unions, the beginning of agrarian reform - all this indicated that the foundations of a constitutional monarchy were being formed in Russia. The revolution also received great international resonance. It contributed to the rise of the strike struggle of workers in Germany, France, England, and Italy. (see diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia. Results”)
“History of Russia from ancient times to 1917.”
The staff of the Department of National History and Culture of Ivanovo State Energy University consisting of: Doctor of Philology. Bobrova S.P. (topics 6,7); Associate Professor of the Department of OIC Bogorodskaya O.E. (topic. 5); Doctor of History Budnik G.A. (topics 2,4,8); Doctor of History Kotlova T.B., Ph.D. Koroleva T.V. (topic 1); Candidate of Historical Sciences Koroleva T.V. (topic 3), Ph.D. Sirotkin A.S. (topics 9,10).
Today it is not customary to talk much about the causes of the first Russian revolution, its course and the consequences it entailed. Even school history textbooks pay rather modest attention to these events. The two subsequent coups d'etat, which occurred in February and October 1917, have been studied in much more detail. However, the significance that the revolution of 1905-1907 had on the emergence and development of parliamentarism in Russia, and on the further historical fate of the country as a whole, is quite difficult to overestimate. Especially if we consider these revolutionary events impartially and taking into account the current political realities that have developed today in the Russian state. In this context, one can find many interesting analogies and allusions to the events of 110 years ago.
Causes of the first Russian revolution
Of course, revolutionary events almost never arise spontaneously, on unprepared soil and without certain conditions. The prerequisites that caused the revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia were the following reasons:
Political background:
1. The emergence of parliamentarism in Russia began much later than in most leading countries of the world of that period. If in England the parliamentary system began to take shape after 1265, and in France the date of birth of parliamentary reforms is considered to be 1302, then in the Russian Empire, even at the beginning of the twentieth century, parliamentarism was still in its infancy. This caused sharp discontent among the so-called “progressive minds” of Russian society, who paid increasingly close attention to the experience of Western countries.
2. The relatively liberal policy pursued by the tsarist government of Russia in the second half of the 19th century led to the increased influence of circles professing left-wing views and the emergence of various parties and movements that demanded greater democratic freedoms. Moreover, along with legal organizations, various associations that carried out their activities from underground began to play a significant role. Including quite a few radical organizations that did not shy away from terror, outright provocations and agitation in favor of the overthrow of the autocracy.
3. Failures in the Russo-Japanese War, which ultimately led to the defeat of Russia, dealt a significant blow to the national self-awareness of the country's population and a noticeable drop in Russia's prestige in the international arena.
All this could not but give rise to revolutionary sentiments and demands for political reforms, both in the field of foreign policy and in the sphere of internal government of the country.
Economic prerequisites:
1. The global financial crisis that broke out at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries hit the Russian Empire quite painfully. Russia's external debt, which formed during the Russian-Turkish War, has increased many times over. The fall in bread prices and the appearance of American grain on the market at dumping prices significantly reduced export cash receipts to the treasury.
2. With all this, the reorientation of agrarian Russia onto an industrial path required more and more costs. Of course, the most vulnerable segments of the population suffered the most from this, they are also the most numerous. We are talking about such categories of citizens as peasants, workers, civil servants, and townspeople.
3. The so-called “tightening of the screws” undertaken by the tsarist government at the turn of the century took away from the common population and commoners most of the few freedoms granted by the autocracy in previous years. The reactionary government has taken a fairly tough course to suppress free thought and persecute those who disagree with the current regime. The dissatisfaction of the free-thinking population was actively supported, including by foreign services special purpose, intelligence services of bourgeois countries and financial circles who are not interested in the establishment of Russia as one of the leading players in the world financial and commodity markets.
Thus, the revolution of 1905-1907 was not only the result of purely internal political problems Russian state, but was also caused by a whole complex of economic troubles.
Social prerequisites
The social contradictions that had developed in Russia by the beginning of 1905 should not be underestimated.
1. Rapid population growth and rapid industrialization of the country led to a sharp reduction in available land plots and a very noticeable drop in the well-being of peasants, who at that time made up over 75% of the country's population.
2. Development in large cities industrial production caused a rapid influx of population from agricultural areas. People were ready to work 12 hours a day, almost seven days a week, and even endure constant wage cuts.
3. Widespread corruption, unjustifiably bloated bureaucracy, the sluggishness of the state system, and the indifference of officials caused natural irritation and an understanding that many things need to be changed in the most radical way.
Of course, the above list of reasons is far from complete, although it reflects the main prerequisites due to which the Russian Revolution of 1905-1907 broke out.
Revolution of 1905-1907: course of events
The revolution of 1905 began in the very first days of 1905 with a strike that broke out in the then capital - St. Petersburg - and instantly covered all the large industrial enterprises of the city. The cause for unrest was the seemingly insignificant fact that four workers of the Kirov plant were fired for their political views. By January 7, the strike had become widespread, and one of the ideological inspirers, a priest named Gapon, called on the common people to organize a procession to the Winter Palace in order to deliver the compiled “Petition of Rights” into the hands of the Tsar himself. The procession, which according to some estimates was attended by about 150,000 people, was dispersed by force, as a result of which over 100 demonstrators were killed and about 500 were injured.
The brutal suppression of a peaceful demonstration in St. Petersburg caused a real storm of protests throughout the country. In May, in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, far from St. Petersburg, for example, the first workers' council in the history of Russia was formed. As summer approached, the country was rocked by a series of peasant uprisings, riots and acts of disobedience. Individual units of the army and navy began to join the rebels (the uprising on the battleship Potemkin, for example), and the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907 reached its peak in the fall, when the All-Russian political strike was held. At the same time, the terrorist activities of the Socialist Revolutionaries and other radicals were repeatedly activated. All these events posed such a real threat to the very existence of Russian statehood that on October 17, Nicholas II was forced to sign a special Manifesto, providing certain categories of the lower strata of society with a number of concessions, freedoms and privileges.
Despite the fact that after the signing of the Manifesto, the most organized participants in the events - liberal-minded circles - preferred to enter into dialogue with the authorities, the authorities were forced to suppress peasant and worker unrest already in 1906. The official date for the end of the First Russian Revolution is considered to be June 3, 1907. Thus, unrest in the country occurred for 2.5 years - an unprecedented period for Russia!
Results and results of the First Russian Revolution
Despite the fact that the revolution of 1905-1907 did not achieve one of its main goals - the overthrow of the autocracy in Russia - it had a decisive influence on the further historical fate of the state. The old Russia no longer existed!
The reorganization of the State Duma, which previously performed mainly formal and sometimes simply decorative functions, allowed this body to become, in fact, the first parliament in the history of the country.
Tsarist manifestos and decrees granted many categories of citizens (excluding women, military personnel, students, landless peasants and some other groups) not only the right to elect members of state or local authorities, but also freedom of speech, conscience and assembly.
The social situation of the peasantry and the working conditions of employees have significantly improved industrial enterprises.
The overwhelming majority of laws issued would henceforth receive the approval of the State Duma.
Even though the revolution of 1905-1907 did not lead to such radical changes as happened in 1917, it became a forerunner and a kind of “trial balloon” before the grandiose events that happened in the next decade!
Chronology of the Russian Revolution 1905-1907.
1904
July 15– The murder of the “reactionary” Minister of Internal Affairs by the Socialist-Revolutionary E. Sazonov V. Plehve.
August, 26th– Appointment of a liberal as the new Minister of the Interior P. Svyatopolk-Mirsky.
September October- Secret meetings in Paris of members of the liberal " Liberation Union"with Socialist Revolutionary terrorists, Finnish and Caucasian nationalists.
November 6-9– Meetings of zemstvo leaders in St. Petersburg throw a demand into the country legislative people's representation. Soon after them, high society opens a “banquet campaign” demanding the broadest government reforms.
12 December– The government, by its decree, rejects even advisory popular representation, but accepts other demands of the Zemstvo residents (freedom of conscience, revision of press laws, etc.).
1905
Investigation into the circumstances of the uprising on the battleship "Potemkin" (first episode "Spontaneous Riot")
– Agrarian riots throughout the country. Burning of landowners' estates by peasants.
August 6- Project deliberative"Bulygin Duma" (6.08), rejected by the "liberals".
August 27– A law on broad autonomy for universities, thanks to which they begin to organize violent revolutionary rallies with the widespread participation of outsiders, often armed.
August– Armenian-Azerbaijani massacre in Transcaucasia.
September– The next Zemstvo Congress adopts a resolution demanding broad autonomy for Poland.
Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin
July 9– Dissolution of the First Duma (its constitutional possibility is provided for by the “Fundamental Laws”).
July 9 – Vyborg Appeal: 180 (about a third) deputies of the dissolved Duma call on the people to stand up for popular representation and not give the government “neither soldiers nor money.”
12th of August – Terrorist attack on Aptekarsky Island: a group of maximalist Socialist-Revolutionaries blows up Stolypin’s residence. In this case, more than 30 people die, not counting the killers themselves, the prime minister’s children are seriously wounded, but he himself remains unharmed.
25-th of August– Publication of an extensive government reform program and law on courts-martial.
Aug. Sept– Decrees on the transfer of appanage, state and cabinet lands to the peasantry (i.e. state lands and those that were previously owned by the royal and grand ducal families).
October 5– Stolypin’s law on civil equality of peasants (later not approved by the Duma “liberals” - they do not agree to approve it before “Jewish equality” is introduced). A similar fate befalls another important Stolypin law - on the establishment of zemstvos in the volosts (in a unit smaller than the appanage).
October 14– “Robbery in Fonarny Lane” is the largest revolutionary criminal expropriation of the period of the First Russian Revolution: the seizure of more than 360 thousand rubles from the transported customs sums by the Socialist-Revolutionaries-maximalists in St. Petersburg.
November 9– The main measure of the Stolypin agrarian reform is the law providing peasants with the opportunity to leave the community.
1907
March, 6– Stolypin’s government declaration in the Duma proclaiming a broad program of reforms.
April 16- “Zurabov incident”: Tiflis deputy Zurabov from the Duma tribune vilifies the Russian army in “the worst Russian language”: it, they say, has always been beaten, will be beaten, and it will only be good to fight against the people. The Duma noisily approves of Zurabov’s mocking speech, and this greatly lowers her in popular opinion.
20 April– The decree on military courts, not approved by the Duma, according to the law, ceases to be in effect 8 months after entering into temporary force.
June 1st– The government demands that the Second Duma lift parliamentary immunity from 55 socialist deputies convicted of preparing a military conspiracy. The Duma refuses.
Russian Revolution 1905-1907 is one of the late bourgeois revolutions. 250 years separated it from the English revolution of the 17th century, more than a century from the Great French Revolution, and more than half a century from the European revolutions of 1848-1849. The first Russian bourgeois revolution differed from its predecessors in European countries. This was explained, first of all, by the fact that the level of economic development of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century, the severity of class contradictions, and the degree of political maturity of the proletariat were much higher than in the West on the eve of the first bourgeois revolutions.
The immediate causes of the revolution were the economic crisis of 1900-1903. and the Russo-Japanese War. 1905 began with a large strike of workers at the Putilov plant in St. Petersburg. The reason for the revolution was the events of January 9, when the priest Gapon, associated with both the Social Revolutionaries and the secret police, organized a procession of workers to the Winter Palace to present a petition to the Tsar. It set out demands to improve working conditions, introduce political freedoms, convene a Constituent Assembly, etc.
About 140 thousand people, including old people, women, children, festively dressed, came out on Sunday morning with icons and portraits of the Tsar. With hope and faith in the sovereign, they moved towards the Winter Palace. They were met by gunfire. As a result, about 1,200 people were killed and over 5 thousand were wounded. The senseless and brutal massacre shook the country.
After January 9 (“Bloody Sunday”), protest strikes took place in many cities. In St. Petersburg, workers began to build barricades. Strikes, demonstrations, and clashes with troops swept across the country.
Alignment of political forces
The main issue in any revolution is the question of power. In relation to him, various socio-political forces in Russia united into three camps. The first camp consisted of supporters of autocracy: landowners, high ranks of government agencies, the army, the police, and part of the big bourgeoisie. They advocated the creation of a legislative body under the emperor.
The second camp is liberal. It included representatives of the liberal bourgeoisie and liberal intelligentsia, the progressive nobility, the urban petty bourgeoisie, office workers, and some peasants. They proposed peaceful democratic methods of struggle and advocated a constitutional monarchy, universal suffrage and a legislative parliament.
To the third camp - revolutionary-democratic- included the proletariat, part of the peasantry, representatives of the petty bourgeoisie, etc. Their interests were expressed by the Social Democrats, Socialist Revolutionaries and some other political forces. They advocated the dismantling of autocracy and the establishment of a democratic republic.
Revolution on the rise
From January to March 1905, about 1 million people took part in strikes. In the spring and summer, revolutionary events intensified. During a two-month workers' strike in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Russia's first Council of Workers' Deputies was created, which became the body of revolutionary power in the city.
On August 6, as the revolution developed, the tsar issued a Manifesto on the establishment of a legislative advisory body - the State Duma. According to the electoral law, a large part of the population (women, workers, military personnel, students, etc.) was deprived of voting rights. Therefore, supporters of the liberal and democratic camp spoke out in favor of a boycott of this Duma.
In October 1905, about 2 million people (workers, office workers, doctors, students, etc.) took part in the All-Russian political strike. The main slogans of the strike were demands for an 8-hour working day, democratic freedoms, and the convening of a Constituent Assembly.
Manifesto October 17, 1905
Frightened by the further development of the revolution, Nicholas II signed the Manifesto abolishing the unlimited monarchy in Russia. The Emperor recognized the need to “grant the population the unshakable foundations of civil freedom”: personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, press, meetings and unions, representative government - legislative State Duma. The circle of voters expanded significantly.
In the context of the rise of the revolution of 1905, the Manifesto was a concession to the autocracy, but it did not bring the desired calm.
Formation of new political parties
During the revolution, the “old” political parties (RSDLP and Socialist Revolutionaries) strengthened. At the same time, new parties emerged. In October 1905, the first legal political party in Russia was created - the Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadet Party). It was headed by the famous historian P. Milyukov. It included representatives of the middle commercial and industrial bourgeoisie. Soon after the Manifesto of Nicholas II, the Union of October 17, or Octobrists, was created, a political party led by the Moscow industrialist A. Guchkov. It included representatives of large landowners, the industrial, financial and commercial bourgeoisie. Both of these parties stood for a speedy end to the revolution, for political freedoms within the framework of the October 17 Manifesto and the creation of a constitutional monarchical regime in Russia.
Performances in the army and navy
In the summer and autumn of 1905 there were mass protests in the army and navy. In June, an uprising broke out on the battleship Potemkin. The sailors hoped that other ships of the Black Sea Fleet would join them. But their hopes were not justified.
"Potemkin" went to the shores of Romania and surrendered to local authorities.
In October - December, there were about 200 performances by soldiers in different cities, including Kharkov, Kyiv, Tashkent, and Warsaw. At the end of October, a revolt of sailors broke out in Kronstadt, but was suppressed. In November, the sailors of the cruiser Ochakov rebelled in Sevastopol. The ship was shot from the fortress guns and sunk.
December armed uprising
It was the pinnacle of the events of 1905. About 6 thousand armed workers took part in it. Up to 1,000 barricades were erected in Moscow. The barricade tactics of workers' squads were combined with the actions of small combat detachments. The government managed to transfer troops to Moscow from St. Petersburg, and the uprising began to weaken. Presnya, a working-class area near the Prokhorovskaya manufactory, resisted most stubbornly. On December 19, the uprising in Moscow was suppressed. Many of its participants were shot. With the help of troops, the government managed to suppress armed uprisings of workers in other labor centers of Russia (Sormovo, Krasnoyarsk, Rostov, Chita).
National liberation movement
Revolutions of 1905-1907 caused the rise of the national movement. Demonstrations and rallies demanding the equality of nations and the provision of “internal self-government” to national regions took place in Poland and Finland. These were supplemented by demands for the right to receive education in their native language and the right to develop national culture, voiced in the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine and Transcaucasia.
During the revolution, tsarism was forced to allow the printing of newspapers and magazines in the languages of the peoples of Russia, as well as teaching in schools in their native language. National parties of socialist orientation arose and were active - the Polish Party of Socialists, the Belarusian Socialist Community, the Jewish “Bund”, the Ukrainian “Spilka”, the socialists of Georgia, etc.
In general, the national movement in the outskirts merged with the revolutionary struggle against tsarism.
I and II State Dumas
In April 1906, the State Duma was inaugurated at the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg. This was the first legislative assembly of people's representatives in the history of Russia. Representatives of the bourgeoisie and peasantry predominated among the deputies. The Duma put forward a project to create a nationwide land fund, including at the expense of part of the landowners' lands. Nicholas II did not like this. On his instructions, after not even three months of work, the First State Duma was dissolved.
The II State Duma began its work at the end of February 1907. Its deputies were elected according to the old electoral law. She turned out to be even more naughty. Then, several dozen deputies were arrested on trumped-up charges of anti-state conspiracy by the secret police. On June 3, the Second State Duma was dispersed. The government introduced a new electoral law. Since it was adopted without the approval of the Duma, this event went down in history as the “June 3rd coup d’etat,” which meant the end of the revolution.
Results of the revolution
The revolution not only significantly changed the life of the country, but also influenced changes in the political system of Russia. A parliament was introduced in the country, consisting of two chambers: the upper - the State Council and the lower - the State Duma. But a constitutional monarchy Western type was not created.
Tsarism was forced to come to terms with the existence in the country of various political parties and the “Russian parliament” - the State Duma. The bourgeoisie was involved in the implementation of economic policy.
During the revolution, the masses gained experience in the struggle for freedom and democracy. Workers received the right to create trade unions and savings banks, and participate in strikes. The working day was streamlined and shortened.
Peasants were equalized with other classes in civil rights; from 1907, redemption payments for the land they received under the reform in 1861 were abolished. However, the agrarian question was not resolved in the main: the peasants still suffered from land shortage.
THIS IS INTERESTING TO KNOW
On the eve of “Bloody Sunday,” the capital’s garrison was reinforced by troops called from Pskov and Revel (Tallinn). An additional 30 thousand soldiers were sent to St. Petersburg. The commanders convinced the soldiers that on January 9 the workers wanted to destroy the Winter Palace and kill the Tsar. When workers from the outskirts moved towards the Winter Palace, the police and soldiers blocked their way.
At the Narva Gate, on the Petersburg side and Palace Square, the troops opened volleys of rifle fire at the columns of workers. Following this, the workers were attacked by cavalry, who cut them down with sabers and trampled them under horses.
A government report, which was published in the press on January 12, indicated that during the events of January 9, 96 people were killed and 333 wounded.
References:
V. S. Koshelev, I. V. Orzhekhovsky, V. I. Sinitsa / World History of Modern Times XIX - early. XX century, 1998.