The causes of the 1905 Russian Revolution

Russo-Japanese War 1905

Japanese inflicted embarassing defeats on the Russian Army and Navy in the Far East
Russians forced to surrender in Port Arthur in January 1905
Russian Basaltic fleet sailed around the world to confront the Japanese navy and was defeated at the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905
The defeats caused rebellions and protests across Russia
The Tsar was forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty with Japan
The war meant the Tsar had fewer troops in Russia to control the protests in the cities

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Workers in St Petersburg lauched protests and produced a petition demanding an 8 hour working day and an elected assembly
Father Gapon led the protesters
Marched to Winter Palace in January 1905 to present the petition to the Tsar
The local authorities had to rely on the army to maintain control
The soldiers opened fire on protesters and killed at least 200 people
The massacre became known as 'Bloody Sunday'
Helped to unite different groups
Protests became more frequent
February 1905 - 400,000 workers went on strike as a consequence of the massacre
There were mutinies by some of the armed forces (such as on the battleship 'Potemkin')
Most of the army remained loyal to the Tsar
The government began to make concessions to avoid a revolution

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