The First Russian Revolution

Prerequisites

In the early twentieth century, the European countries were shaken by a strong economic crisis. He touched on Russia. Torn apart thousands of small and medium - sized enterprises, hundreds of thousands of people were left without work. On top of everything, a war broke out between Russia and Japan, in which the Russian army suffered crushing defeat. Poverty and unemployment affected many people. No matter how fast the industry developed in the Russian Empire, there was not enough jobs for everyone. And the crisis gave it a full sense. Land problems were superimposed on all this. In the villages, the number of landless peasants grew, which simply could not pay for the meager plots provided generously to them during the 1861 reform. Not all of them were able to move to the lands of Siberia or the Far East with their harsh climate.

Despite the significant changes in public life that took place at that time, the Russian Empire remained an absolute monarchy, in which the majority of the population was powerless. There was also national oppression: many peoples did not even have the opportunity to teach children in their own language, not that they used it in courts or state institutions.

The beginning of revolution

Such, if briefly, was the situation in which the first Russian revolution began. The occasion for its beginning was the events that took place on January 9, 1905. On that day, a demonstration of workers led by priest Gapon went to the Winter Palace in the capital to present a petition to the king demanding improvement of working conditions, granting political freedoms, etc. A 140-thousand-strong column with icons and royal portraits approached the palace when police and soldiers opened fire on it. More than a thousand people were killed, several thousand were injured.

After this event, the country flared up like a torch. Senseless reprisals angered thousands of people, and throughout Russia strikes and rallies began. In the very capital, clashes of workers and troops unfolded. Thus began the first Russian revolution.

In different strata of society, they reacted differently to the events that had begun. Three political camps emerged: conservative, liberal and revolutionary-democratic. The first can be attributed to the supporters of the autocracy (landowners, officials, officers, nobility), who were quite satisfied with the pre-revolutionary situation. They were ready to leave everything as is. The most radical representatives of this trend were the Black Hundreds - members of the Union of the Russian People. The liberal camp was represented by progressive-minded nobility, the intelligentsia, the bourgeoisie. These were those segments of the population who wanted from the revolution, above all, the expansion of political rights and freedoms, the opportunity to participate in the governance of the country. The revolutionary-democratic camp was joined by workers, the peasant poor, and petty bourgeois. These people eagerly supported the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Social Democrats, who advocated the overthrow of the tsar and the establishment of the republic.

In 1905 the first Russian revolution was on the rise. By the summer, up to a million people had managed to take part in strikes and strikes. Representatives of national movements began to put forward their demands. The emperor made concessions: first it was allowed to create a parliament - the State Duma, and later the population received political freedoms. The number of people who could participate in the parliamentary elections also increased.

Manifesto on the establishment of the Duma and on political freedoms were positively received by the liberals. There were political parties such as the Cadets and the Octobrists, who were ready to participate in elections to the Duma. According to the leaders of the liberals, the first revolution (as it will be called later) has already achieved its goals.

But the people did not reassure these concessions. In the summer and autumn of the same year, the uprisings were affected even by the army and the navy, which were considered the support of the ruling regime. The revolution embraced the Black Sea and Baltic sailors, soldiers of the Kharkov, Kiev, Tashkent, Warsaw garrisons. But all these speeches were not widely supported and were soon suppressed. In December 1905 an uprising broke out in Moscow. With the help of troops thrown from St. Petersburg, the government was able to suppress it, and later military actions were suppressed in other cities. Public activity began to decline. But in the following year, peasant performances continued.

Finish and results

In 1906 the First State Duma began its work . This parliament did not last long and was dissolved because of its too radical composition. The same fate befell the next Duma. After that, on June 3, 1907, a new law was adopted, narrowing the number of voters. This event actually ended the first Russian revolution. At that time, mass actions were practically suppressed. Their participants ended their lives or on a gallows, aptly named "Stolypin's tie" (in honor of the then prime minister), or in prisons and penal servitude.

So, what was the result of the first Russian revolution and why was it defeated? The answer to the second question is obvious: the political forces that participated in it acted in isolation, their interests quite often did not coincide. As for the results, the most important achievement is the change in the political system. The State Duma, which appeared in the course of the revolution, remained. Despite its limited capacity, it nevertheless influenced the government's further policies. And at the same time became a platform for many politicians. To representatives of the oppressed peoples, the revolution brought the opportunity to publish books and newspapers in their native language, to use it in theatrical performances. But school education in the native language for many peoples (for example, Ukrainians and Belarusians) has remained unavailable.