The revolution of 1905 (before the big one).

Making of the West—pages 1014-1020

The objectives for this fascinating slideshow are:

• Learn about the circumstances of the meetings of early communist groups.

• What was the reason behind the split in the group?

• You will be able to identify the events that led to the Revolution of 1905

• Identify how Stolypin began to reform Russia.

• Understand how the many groups in Russia led to pre-Revolutionary agitation.

The Russian Social Democrats decided to hold the second congress of their party in the summer of 1903.

The first had been held in Russia 1898, when all but one of their delegates had been arrested.

Now, at the time of deep economic crisis and mass unemployment in Russia, amid a mounting wave of strikes and tsarist pogroms, they needed to meet and discuss the way forward.

However, the congress ended in an historic split…

Around 50 delegates from 26 organizations met on July 30, 1903, in

Brussels. The congress was held in a flour store, in

the hopes of avoiding police

attention, but after one day the Belgian authorities ordered delegates out of the

country. It transferred to

London.

The congress did stay in any one place for longer than one day. The first meeting was near Tottenham Court Road.

It also met in an anglers’ club, where there were trophies on the walls..

I am a communist

fish.

All the places in which the congress took place are still not known, but we know it continued to meet until August 23. On August 24, Lenin took delegates to visit Karl Marx’s grave at Highgate Cemetery, on the outskirts of London.

The Marxist party split during this time into two

groups:•The Bolsheviks mean majority•The Mensheviks mean minority•Lenin was the founder of the Bolsheviks.

Lenin believed that the “elite” revolutionaries should be the

leaders.

Mensheviks were much more cooperative, and believed in

a softer line…

Lenin was a mover and agitator. He recommended

class war.

The reign of Nicolas II

exposed the weaknesses and

corruption of Tsarist rule.

In 1905, the defeat of Russia by the Japanese was a great

embarrassment.

To make matters worse, a religious priest, Father Gapon, led a peaceful protest, on January 9,

1905.

The peaceful, respectful crowd of over 200,000 gathered before the Tsar’s

palace.

They were gunned down by the scared officials, and several

hundred were killed.

A wave of political strikes broke out.

Revolutionaries came forward. In the country peasants revolted.

Finally, the Tsar agreed to call an Estates General. In Russia, this

would be called a DUMA.

The Duma was supposed to promised a constitution and civil

liberties.

Still, there were widespread protests, local strikes and

mutinies.

The famous movie, Potemkin, was about a mutiny on the battleship Potemkin.

But once things settled down, many revolutionaries were sent

back to Europe, executed or sent to Siberia.

The new Duma had limited power. It could not control the budget, foreign policy or government

personal.

The Duma of 1906 was not successful, and members fled to

Viborg Finland after they demanded universal male

suffrage.

The Duma of 1907 included 83 socialists

There was a third Duma between 1907 and 1912, and a fourth

between 1912 and 1916. Slowly some Parliamentary power was gained in the autocratic, Tsarist

system.

The Russian Prime Minister, Stolypin, tried to prevent

revolution•He wanted to build up the propertied classes.

•He gave the peasants more control over private property.

•He enabled peasants to free themselves from the obligations of the mir.

Even Lenin said that “I do not expect to live to see the

revolution.”

Stolypin also oversaw the execution of

revolutionaries.

However, Russia was full of secret groups who broke off and

combined to form other secret groups, all bent on some sort of

revolutionary activity…

But Stolypin was shot dead in front of

the Tsar at the theater. There is

some question about who was

behind the murder—but there is not

question that Stolypin was active in reforming Russia.

Russia on the eve of World War I

•Still industrializing•Both left and right discouraged•Each extreme side was losing members.

•The revolutionaries lived year after year in exile dreaming about their time to come.

The revolution of 1905, Bloody Sunday, and the humiliating

defeat at Japan’s hands was not forgotten…

World War I was a test that the Tsarist government could NOT

meet.

The objectives for this fascinating slideshow are:

• Learn about the circumstances of the meetings of early communist groups.

• What was the reason behind the split in the group?

• You will be able to identify the events that led to the Revolution of 1905

• Identify how Stolypin began to reform Russia.

• Understand how the many groups in Russia led to pre-Revolutionary agitation.