Why was there a revolution in Russia in 1905?

Essay by KeirHigh School, 11th grade April 2006

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The Russian Revolution of 1905 was both anti-government and undirected violence against its Tsar. It was not controlled or managed. The causes were simple, freedom/democracy, food/jobs, which were led by the Socialist Revolutionary party and the workers, influenced by Marxism, were represented in the Bolshevik and Menshevik wings of the Social Democratic Labor party.

The revolution was the culmination of a long period of repression and unrest. Since Peter the Great, the Tsars increasingly became autocratic bureaucracy tyrants. Russian people did not have much freedom and democracy; the Tsars imposed its will on the people by force, with disregard for human life and liberty. A group of educated Russians acquired Western humanitarian ideals when the Tsars adopted Western technology. Universities became seats of revolutionary activities, Marxism were propagated. Also the racial discrimination was excessive, Pogroms were instituted against the Jews, which turned many radical Jews to Zionism. Non-Russian nationalities in the empire were repressed, who disliked the Tsars.

The former Tsar Alexander II 's reforms in 1861 brought the emancipation of the serfs and opened the way for industrial development, catching up with the West. However, it imposed harsh economic conditions on the peasants and didn't satisfy their needs and farmland. Industrialization concentrated young people in urban centers in Western Russia. However, they had to work very hard, treated badly and paid very low.

The Russo-Japanese War against disappointed the Russians. They have not only lost, it also revealed the corruption and incompetence of the Tsar regime, forced the government to promise the establishment of a consultative Duma, or assembly, elected by limited franchise.

These facts caused the Russian Revolution of 1905 began in St. Petersburg on Jan. 22 when troops fired on a defenseless crowd of worker, who, led by a priest, where marching to the Winter Palace to...