Revolutionary events of 1905-1907 Political parties in the revolution

The events that took place in Russia in 1905-1907 are usually called the Russian bourgeois-democratic revolution. Relatively speaking, this revolution is the initial stage of preparation for a larger event in the history of the Russian people - the revolution of 1917. The events of these years opened the wounds that had been ripening under the auspices absolute monarchy, outlined the paths for the development of events in history, and outlined the socio-historical conflict that was brewing among the people.

The events of this era are preceded by several unresolved conflicts social structure empires. Let's figure out what was the first task Russian revolution. The most important reasons can be identified which were the catalyst for unrest in society:

• Most of the country's population did not have political freedoms.
• The abolition of serfdom in 1861 essentially remained on paper. The peasant class never experienced any special privileges.
• Difficult work of workers in factories and factories.
• The war with the Japanese, which weakened the Russian Empire. The war will be discussed separately, since many historians believe that it was it that contributed to the reactionary unrest.
• Oppression national minorities multinational country. Any multinational country sooner or later comes to a civil war to defend its rights and freedoms.

At the initial stages, the revolution did not pursue the goals of armed confrontations. Its main goal is to limit the power of the king. There was no talk of even overthrowing the monarchy. The people politically and mentally could not exist without a king. Historians unanimously call all the events of this period preparation for larger historical events - the February and October revolutions.

Any war, any unrest necessarily has a clear financial trace at its core. It cannot be said that priest Gapon took it and raised it masses to fight the autocracy, without having huge amounts of money, which were poured like oil into the fire to ignite modernization sentiments. And here it is appropriate to say that the Russo-Japanese War was going on. It would seem, what is the connection between these events? However, this is where we should look for that financial catalyst. The enemy is interested in weakening the enemy from within. And what, if not a revolution, can quickly ignite enemy forces, and then just as quickly extinguish them. Need I add that with the end of this war, the revolutionary unrest subsided.

In Russian history, it is customary to divide the movements of this period into three stages:

• Beginning (01.1905 – 09.1905);
• Takeoff (10.1905 – 12.1905);
• The fading of unrest (10.1906 – 06.1907).

Let us consider the events of these periods in more detail. This is important for understanding the course of the revolutionary movement.

Start

In January 1905, several people were fired at the Putilov plant in St. Petersburg. This caused indignation among the workers. On January 3, under the leadership of the previously mentioned priest Gapon, a strike begins. It is she who will represent the prototype of the country's first revolution. The strike lasted only a week. The result of the confrontation was a petition to the monarch, which included several main points:

In essence, these are absolutely normal requirements for adequate democratic society. But there is no need to talk about this in a country with an autocratic monarchy. There is no call for the overthrow of the tsar, there is still no that same slogan “down with the tsar”, there are no instructions to take up arms. All requirements are as loyal as possible. However, the tsarist authorities accepted this petition as an encroachment on their person and the foundations of autocratic power.

January 9, 1905 is called Bloody Sunday. On this day, people gather a crowd of 140 thousand and begin to move towards Winter Palace. By order of the tsar, the crowd was shot, and this was the first wrong step of the monarch, for which years later he would pay with his life and the life of the entire royal family. Bloody Sunday 1905 can briefly be called the detonator of all subsequent revolutionary movements in Russia.

On January 19, 1905, Nicholas II speaks to the rebels, where he says in plain text that he forgives those who went against the tsar. However, if the situation with discontent repeats, the tsarist army, as on January 9, will use force and weapons to suppress the uprising.

Between February and March 1905, work began in many counties. peasant riots and strikes. Until the end of September, various uprisings break out throughout the empire and beyond. So, on May 12, in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, a strike and strikes began at a textile factory under the management of the Bolshevik M. Frunze. Workers demand layoffs working day from 2 pm to 8 am, a decent level of wages (they pay no more than 14 rubles), abolition of fines. The strike lasted 72 days. As a result, on June 3, demonstration executions took place. Famine and rampant disease (especially tuberculosis) forced workers back to the machines.

It should be mentioned that all these strikes gave the first result - in July, by order of the authorities, all workers' wages were increased. On August 31 – July 1, a congress of the peasant union took place.

Then the tsarist government commits a second offense: at the end of July - beginning of August, mass repression, arrests and exile to Siberia. At this point, the first stage of the 1905 revolution can be considered completed. A beginning had been made, and then the revolution began to gain strength and power.

Takeoff

The events of this period are often called the all-Russian strike. Historians associate this name with the fact that on September 19, in the central newspapers of Moscow, editors published information about the need for a number of changes in the political and economic structure of the country. These articles received active support from Moscow workers and railway workers. Major riots begin throughout the empire.

Strikes take place almost simultaneously countrywide. 55-60 large cities are involved. The first political parties - councils of people's workers' deputies - begin to form. Calls for the overthrow of the king are heard everywhere. The tsarist government begins to gradually lose control over the ongoing mass unrest. Nicholas II 10/17/1905 was forced to sign the manifesto “On the improvement public order». There are several important points in this document:

• Democratic freedoms are proclaimed. All people have personal integrity and receive data by law civil rights.
• All classes of society are admitted to the State Duma.
• All laws of the country can be adopted only through their approval in the State Duma.

From these provisions of the manifesto it becomes clear that autocracy as a form of power no longer has an absolute. From this moment until 1917, the form of government in Russia can be called a constitutional monarchy.

By conviction royal power the manifesto had to give the revolutionaries what they demanded, and the revolution had to eradicate itself, because for this the demands of the will of the people had been fulfilled. But the miracle did not happen.

The fact is that the manifesto was perceived by the existing political parties as an attempt by the tsar to suppress the uprisings. The people's leaders do not believe in the power of the manifesto and in the guarantor of its implementation. Instead of dying down, the revolution begins to gain new strength.

The October 17 Manifesto is a very important document in the history of Russia. It was with him that the formation of parliamentarism began in Russia and the first political parties were created. Anti-government camp from the general gray mass begins to split into three powerful currents, which will enter into battle in the foreseeable future Civil War, where brother goes with a gun against brother.

The liberal bourgeoisie stands out, which consists of the bourgeois intelligentsia and zemstvo liberals. The Mensheviks stand out - a social democratic layer that claims that the revolution is useless.

In their opinion, the revolution must be stopped, since the country is not yet ready to accept socialism. And, finally, the Bolshevik Social Democrats, who advocate the socialization of society and the overthrow of the tsarist government.

These are the main three currents of antagonists of the tsarist regime. And if the first two camps are passive in relation to the tsar and even come to his defense, then the camp of the Bolshevik socialists advocates radical reforms, where there is no place for monarchy and especially autocracy.

On December 7, 1905, at the call of the Moscow Council of Workers' Deputies, a strike of workers in Moscow and St. Petersburg began. On December 10, the authorities try to suppress the uprising with weapons. The fighting goes on for a week. Barricades are formed, workers seize entire city blocks. On December 15, the Semenovsky regiment arrives in Moscow and begins mass shelling of the protesters. As a result, on December 19, the unrest was crushed by the tsarist army.

During the same period, strikes took place in large cities. and regions throughout the country. As a result, many cities now have squares and streets with the names of the events of 1905-1907.

Fading unrest

The amount of unrest is decreasing and gradually disappearing. On February 2, 1906, the Tsar signed a decree on the formation of the State Duma. The Duma is created for a period of 5 years, but Nicholas retains the right to dissolve it ahead of schedule and form a new one, which, in fact, is what he did.

On April 23, 1906, based on the results of revolutionary changes and the signed manifesto, a new set of laws was published. In November of the same year, the tsar issued a decree allocating land plots to peasants.

What did the first Russian revolution lead to?

Despite mass unrest, many executions, exiles, the country’s way of life has not changed radically. For this reason, the events of 1905-1907 are called preparation or rehearsal for the 1917 revolution.

Autocracy, previously unrestrained by anything, has now turned into a semblance of a constitutional monarchy - the State Council and the State Duma appear. The poorest segments of the population receive certain rights and freedoms guaranteed by law. Thanks to the strikes, the working day was reduced to 8-9 hours, and the salary level was slightly increased. And finally, since 1861, the peasants received the land into their own hands. In essence, this was the first Russian reform revolution political system countries.

Despite the positive changes, there is a point that the level of social security after these events decreased, corruption flourished, and the monarch continued to sit on the throne. It is a little illogical that after massive bloodshed and casualties, the way of life remained the same. It seems that what they fought for was what they ran into. Be that as it may, this stage in Russian history was the start of the 1917 revolution. The collective consciousness changed, the strength of the people was felt. This revolution was simply necessary so that 10 years later history would develop.

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, she did not solve the problem of peasant land shortage, did not eliminate negative traits 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 rural population became one of the sources of support for 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 loss-making nature of their estates and the high cost of loans.

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. Large capitalist economies with an area of ​​hundreds and thousands of dessiatines, involving hired labor and big amount agricultural machines. 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 has already end of the 19th century centuries made itself felt by sales crises).

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 of existing forms of 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 deep controversial nature. 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 official point 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 immediate decision, the question of the existence of a peasant land community, the elimination of striped land and peasant land shortage, as well as the question of the social status of peasants became a question.

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 state regulation of 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 in Russia of a “special class of workers” and even more so of 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. At direct participation Witte developed and adopted laws: on the regulation of the working day (June 1897, according to which the maximum working day was 11.5 hours), on the payment of compensation to workers in case of accidents (June 1903, but the law did not address issues of 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 work environment, the ruling circles did not count on that “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 became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

Crisis in relations between center and province
National question- 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 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 the emperor Alexandra III. At the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries in Russia, the general demands of the nationalities inhabiting it became 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 on the outskirts was fueled by both tough national policy government, in particular, restrictions regarding the Poles, Finns, Armenians and some other peoples, and the economic turmoil that Russia experienced in the first 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 according to religious, clan or local characteristics. 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. Everyone knowledgeable about history knows how difficult it is to weld heterogeneous populations into one whole, especially when strong development in the 20th century of national principles and feelings."

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 recess political crisis and the weakening of power, all processes of formation and development of ethnic self-awareness received a powerful impetus and came 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 developed most often under the slogans of internationalism, class struggle, which united representatives of all the peoples of the empire, then for each of the national liberal movements issues of national self-affirmation became a priority own people. 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, in 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 mid-19th century in Western European countries The process of approving the constitutional-monarchical form of government has actually ended. 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 here. 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 affairs “meaningless dreams” internal management, 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 the revolution by introducing a number of democratic freedoms, allowing participation in governance " 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 less significant position Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers (in fact, 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 successful foreign policy- 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
Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 - 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 century. 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. Since the mid-90s, the center of gravity of the autocracy's foreign policy activity has shifted to the Far East. 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(“Boxer Rebellion”), directed against 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 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 began on Manchuria and Korea, however war machine Japan, with 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 presented Russian minister Foreign Affairs V.N. Lamzdorf note about the break 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

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 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 southern part 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 “small victorious war” turned into a shameful Portsmouth Peace, significant deterioration economic situation in the country, as well as 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 over 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 of the Russian revolution 1905 – 1907.

First - mass movement spring-summer 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 and chose a new one command staff and the 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 workers of most of the country's railways. On October 10, a citywide strike of workers began in Moscow.

Under influence 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 promulgation 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 riots and revolutionary actions 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 them total number(3230) for the whole of 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. To suppress peasant uprisings punitive troops were sent, in a number of places it was introduced state of emergency. 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 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 April 23, 1906.

On November 24, 1905, a decree was issued on new " Temporary rules ah on timely publications", which abolished preliminary censorship for periodicals. The decree of April 26, 1906 on the "Temporary Rules for Timeless Press" abolished preliminary censorship for non-periodical publications (books and brochures). However, this did not mean final cancellation censorship. Preserved various kinds penalties (fines, suspension of publication, warnings, etc.) to 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 made it possible to reduce the number of terrorist acts and “expropriations” in a short time. 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. 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.”
Department staff National history and culture of Ivanovo State Energy University, consisting of: Ph.D. 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).

Revolution 1905-1907

The character of the first Russian revolution was bourgeois-democratic. In terms of the number of participants, it was nationwide.

Goals of the revolution:

Overthrow of the autocracy

Establishment of a Democratic Republic

Introduction of democratic freedoms

Elimination of landownership and allotment of land to peasants

Reducing the working day to 8 hours

Recognition of workers' rights to strike and the creation of trade unions

Stages of the Revolution 1905-1907

The contradiction between the needs of the country's socio-economic development and the remnants of serfdom

Controversy between modern industry and semi-serf agricultural

The contradiction between the economic capabilities of the bourgeoisie and its political role in society

Social and political crisis in the country

Defeat in Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)

reasons for the revolution: 1. Economic crisis. 2. Low authority of Nikolai2 and his entourage. 3. Labor issue (low wages, long working hours, ban on trade unions, etc.). 4. Peasant question(agrarian issue - landowners have the best land, redemption payments). 5. Political question(lack of rights, ban on the creation of political parties or organizations, even those supporting the tsar). 6. National question (35% Russians, bad attitude towards Jews). 7. Defeat in the Russian-Japanese War (overconfidence, inept command, war at sea). The war occurred due to the imperialist aspirations of Russia and Japan for spheres of influence. The first defeat of the Russian fleet. Events: 1. January 9 – October 1905 – growth of the revolution: - “Bloody Sunday”. The workers walked to the Winter Palace, carried a petition, and mounted troops were already drawn up to the palace, the workers were shot. 1200 killed, 5000 wounded. - uprising on the battleship Potemkin (the uprising of the army is the worst indicator). If the army goes over to the side of the people, the government will be overthrown. The officers were brutally killed, the sailors joined the people, the conclusion is that something needs to be changed. 2. October 1905 - summer 1906 - the peak of the revolution. All-Russian October political strike. December armed uprising in Moscow. October 17, 1905 – Nicholas 2 signed a manifesto - the creation of parliament. 1906 – state elections. Duma, not universal (women did not vote), multi-stage, unfair. 3. autumn 1906 - June 3, 1907 - subsidence of the revolution. Work of the first and second state. Duma. The significance of the revolution: 1) the main result of the revolution was the emergence of a legislative representative body of power - parliament; 2) the economic demands of the workers were satisfied; 3) redemption payments under the reform of 1861 were cancelled; 4) freedom of the press and assembly; 5) the establishment of a multi-party system in Russia (“Union of October 17”, Cadets, Progressives, Trudoviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, RSDLP); 6) the government began to develop agrarian reform (Stolypin’s reforms).

Stage I January-September 1905

Reaction of the supreme power; Promises and half measures:

August 6, 1905 Decree of Nicholas II on the establishment of the State Duma, a legislative advisory body under the Tsar (“Bulyginskaya Duma” named after the Minister of Internal Affairs)

January 9, 1905 - shooting of a peaceful demonstration in St. Petersburg (a crowd of 140 thousand led by the priest Gapon. Gapon proposed going with a petition to the Winter Palace; 1200 were killed, > 2000 were wounded)

May-June 1905 workers' strike in Ivanovo-Voznesensk and the emergence of the first Councils of Workers' Representatives - the creation of a workers' militia, fighting squads (summer - the emergence of the All-Russian Peasant Union - was influenced by the Socialist Revolutionaries)

June 1905 - mutiny on the battleship Potemkin

May-June 1905 congresses of zemstvo representatives and the All-Russian Peasant Congress - demand for constitutional reforms

Stage II of the revolution October-December 1905 (the highest rise of the revolution) - the center of events moves to Moscow

Formation of political parties: Cadets, Octobrists; Black Hundred organizations

Revolutionary events:

The All-Russian political strike (September-October 1905) covered 2 million. Person A purely workers' means of struggle - a strike - was taken up by other segments of the population

Formation of Soviets of Workers' Deputies in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities (November-December 1905)

December 1905 - armed uprising in Moscow (at the initiative of the Bolsheviks, the Moscow Council announced the start of a new political strike)

Uprising in the fleet, about 90 performances (the largest in Sevastopol on the cruiser "Ochakov" under the leadership of Lieutenant Schmidt) - October - November 1905

Actions of the supreme power on October 17, 1905 - the royal manifesto “On the improvement of state order” under the leadership of S.Yu. Witte; publication of a new law on elections to the 1st State Duma (December 11, 1905); suppression of the uprising with the help of troops (December 15-18, 1905)

Stage III Decline of the revolution January 1906 - June 1907

Revolutionary performances:

Massive peasant unrest - June 1906

Revolt of soldiers and sailors Baltic Fleet(Sveaborg, Kronstadt, Revel - July 1906)

Attempt on P.A. Stolypin (08/12/1906)

Parliamentary struggle:

Elections to the 1st State Duma (26.03 and 20.04.1906) according to the law, the State Duma was convened for 5 years, had the right to discuss bills, the budget, make requests to ministers appointed by the tsar; outside the control of the Duma - military affairs and foreign policy; meetings are irregular (the duration of Duma sessions and breaks between them was determined by the tsar)

Start of work of the 1st State Duma (04/27/1906) Chairman Muromtsev (cadet)

Duma address to the emperor demanding the introduction of constitutional government (05/05/1906)

Vyborg uprising of 128 deputies in protest against the dissolution of the 1st State Duma (07/10/1906)

Activity 2 State. Duma (02/20/1907) Chairman Golovin (cadet)

Dissolution of the 2nd State Duma and the introduction of a new electoral law (06/03/1907) - June 3rd monarchy - coup d'etat6 the tsar did not have the right to independently dissolve the Duma, but did so

Actions of the supreme power:

Transformation of the State Council into the supreme house of parliament (02/26/1906)

Publication of the “Basic Laws of the Russian Federation”, defining the powers of the State Council and the State Duma (04/23/1906)

Publication of the “Temporary Rules”, which allowed the creation of trade unions (03/04/1906)

Creation of military courts (08/19/1906)

The beginning of Stolypin's agrarian reform. Issuance of a royal decree granting the peasant the right to leave the community with his land plot (09.11.1906)

Results of the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907.

The beginning of Russia's movement towards a constitutional monarchy and the rule of law

Creation of the State Duma; Reform of the State Council - transforming it into the supreme house of parliament; approval of the “Basic Laws of the Russian Empire”

Proclamation of freedom of speech. Permission to form trade unions. Partial political amnesty

Stolypin reforms (the essence is to solve the agrarian issue without affecting the lands of landowners, decree of 1905 - abolishing redemption payments, October 1906 - the poll tax and mutual responsibility were abolished, the power of zemstvo chiefs and county authorities was limited, the rights of peasants in zemstvo elections were increased, freedom of movement was expanded ; November 9, 1906 - peasants were given the right to freely exit the community; individual plots of land could be consolidated into cuts. Resettlement of peasants to free lands of Siberia, Central Asia and Kazakhstan. A peasant bank was created - selling part of appanage and state-owned lands to peasants, buying up landowners' landholdings for resale to peasants, issuing loans for the purchase of land. lands. Result: the reform lasted approx. 7 years old. 35% (3.4 million) expressed a desire to leave the community; 26% (2.5 million) left and moved to the Urals approx. 3.3 mil.) Cancellation of redemption payments for peasants

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 turned more and more close attention on 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 cause revolutionary sentiments and demands political reforms, both in the field of foreign policy and in the field 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, reorientation agrarian Russia industrial rails required more and more expenses. Of course, the most vulnerable segments of the population suffered the most from this, they are also the most numerous. It's about 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 discontent of the free-thinking population was actively supported by, among other things, foreign services special purposes, intelligence services of bourgeois countries and financial circles 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 of the Russian state, but was also caused by a whole complex of economic troubles.

Social preconditions

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. In large cities, the development of 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, slowness state system, the indifference of officials caused natural irritation and an understanding that many things needed 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 concealed so much real threat 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 of industrial enterprises have improved significantly.
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!

The power that was in the hands of one emperor ceased to suit a multimillion-dollar empire. Discontent, generated by many problems, both in the political and social spheres, grew into a revolution. Unrest grew. The monarch could no longer cope with the situation. He had to make a compromise, which became the beginning of the end of the empire.

Internal preconditions of the revolution

Residents of the huge state were dissatisfied with their living and working conditions on many issues. Revolution 1905-1907 covered all classes of Russia. What exactly could unite people from different social groups and ages?

1. Peasants had almost no rights. Despite the fact that this group of the population made up the majority of the inhabitants of the Russian Empire (70%), they were begging and starving. This situation brought the agrarian question to the forefront.
2. The supreme power did not seek to limit its powers and carry out a number of liberal reforms. At that time, ministers Svyatopolk-Mirsky and Witte put forward their projects for consideration.
3. The labor issue also remained acute. Representatives of the working class complained that there was no one to look after their interests. The state did not interfere in the relationship between the subordinate and the employer. Entrepreneurs often took advantage of this and created working and payment conditions that were beneficial only to themselves. As a result, the revolution in Russia set itself the goal of solving this.
4. The dissatisfaction of the inhabitants of the empire, on whose territory there were 57% of non-Russian citizens, intensified due to the unresolved Forced Russification did not proceed as calmly as the authorities imagined.

As a result, a small spark instantly turned into a flame that engulfed the most remote corners of the empire. Betrayal on the part of some high military officials also played a significant role. It was they who provided the revolutionaries with weapons and tactical recommendations and determined the outcome of the matter, even before the outbreak of popular unrest.

External causes of the revolution

The main external reason was the defeat of the empire in the Russo-Japanese War in 1904. Failures at the front gave rise to discontent among that part of the population that hoped for a successful outcome of military operations - the soldiers and their relatives.

According to the unofficial version, Germany was very afraid of the growing power of Russia, so it sent spies who egged on the local population and spread rumors that the West would help everyone.

Bloody Sunday

The main event that shook public foundations is considered to be the peaceful demonstration on Sunday, January 9, 1905. Later this Sunday would be called “bloody.”

The peaceful demonstration of peasants and workers was led by priest and active public figure Georgy Gapon. The protesters planned to arrange a personal meeting with Nicholas II. They were heading towards the Winter Palace. In total, about 150,000 people gathered in the center of the then capital. Nobody imagined that a revolution would begin in Russia.

Officers came out to meet the workers. They began to demand that the protesters stop. But the demonstrators did not listen. Officers began firing their guns to disperse the crowd. The soldiers, who did not have guns, beat people with sabers and whips. That day, 130 people were killed and 299 wounded.

The king was not even in the city during all these events. He prudently left the palace with his family.

Society could not forgive the tsarist authorities for such a number of innocently killed citizens. Together with whom he managed to survive that Sunday, plans began to be prepared to overthrow the monarchy.

The words “Down with autocracy!” were heard everywhere. Revolution 1905-1907 has become a reality. IN Russian cities and the villages began to clash.

Uprising on the Potemkin

One of turning points revolution became a rebellion on the largest Russian battleship- “Prince Potemkin Tauride.” The uprising took place on June 14, 1905. The battleship's crew consisted of 731 people. Among them were 26 officers. Crew members interacted closely with workers at ship repair yards. From them they adopted the idea of ​​strikes. But to decisive action the team began only after they were served rotten meat for lunch.

This became the main starting point. During the strike, 6 officers were killed and the rest were taken into custody. The Potemkin crew ate breadcrumbs and water, standing under a red flag for 11 days on the high seas, after which they surrendered to the Romanian authorities. Their example was adopted on the St. George the Victorious, and later on the cruiser Ochakov.

Climax

Of course, it was impossible to predict the results of the revolution of 1905-1907 at that time. But when a large-scale All-Russian strike occurred in the fall of 1905, the emperor was forced to listen to the people. It was started by printers and supported by workers from other trade unions. The authorities issued a decree that from now on some political freedoms were granted. The emperor also gave the go-ahead for the creation of the State Duma.

The freedoms granted were suitable for the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries who took part in the strikes. For them at that time the revolution was over.

RSDLP

The revolution was just beginning for the radicals. In December of the same year, members of the RSDLP organized an uprising with weapons on the streets of Moscow. At this stage, the results of the revolution of 1905-1907. supplemented by the published law on elections to the first State Duma.

Having achieved active actions from the authorities, attributing them to the results of the revolution of 1905-1907, the representatives no longer wanted to stop. They expected the results of the work of the State Duma.

Decline in activity

The period from 1906 to the first half of 1907 is characterized by relative calm. The State Duma, which mainly included cadets, set to work, becoming the main legislative body. In February 1907, a new one was created, consisting almost entirely of leftists. They were dissatisfied with her, and after only three months of work the Duma was dissolved.

Strikes also continued regionally, but by that time the power of the monarch had strengthened significantly.

Results of the revolution of 1905-1907

The first revolution did not end with such radical changes as were sought by representatives of radical workers. The monarch remained in power.

Nevertheless, the main results of the Russian revolution of 1905-1907 can be called significant and fateful. They not only drew the line at the absolute power of the emperor, but also forced millions to pay attention to the appalling state of the economy, belated technological progress and the underdevelopment of the army of the Russian Empire in comparison with other states.

The results of the revolution of 1905-1907 can be briefly described in several points. Each of them became a symbol of victory over the power of the empire. Nicholas II managed to retain power in his hands, essentially losing control of the army and navy.

Summary results of the revolution 1905-1907: table

This is how we can briefly characterize the events of 1905-1907. and their consequences.