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Assess the causes of the 1905 Revolution. - Coggle Diagram
Assess the causes of the 1905 Revolution.
Rapid social and economic change
: During the last decade of the 19th century, Russia was experiencing rapid social and economic change
Nobility did not have a firm hold on the countryside that it once had because they were selling and renting their land to peasants
Ex-peasants were becoming landowners and merchants
New class of businessman was emerging, critical of how the government managed its affairs
Zemstvo have been active towns and a growing number of them believe they should play a more active role in running society
Government would not work with them and hear their considerations, dismissing hundreds of liberals form the zemstvo in 1900
Attitudes and society were undergoing rapid change
Huge demand for reform and institutional change
Liberals wanted more freedom, local autonomy and self-government, civil rights and to escape the authority of the tsarist state
Failure of government attempts improve living and working conditions for workers meant that workers wanted fundamental improvements
People experienced greater political freedoms eg. grroeth of critical newspapers, formation of political parties
Workers and peasants were more inclined towards social revolution that liberal reform - liberals had let them down after October
At the beginning of the 20th century, there was an air of growing disorder as Activity by opposition groups increased dramatically and austocracy began to look fragile
Result of impoverishment and increasingly discounted workers and peasant, exacerbated by war, leading to an explosion of discontent
Economic depression
Any gains made by industrial workers were wiped out
Wages fell and there was increasing unemployment
Slump in oil industry and the Rail and metal working industry was badly hit
1902-03: there was growing worker discontent and industrial actions
Peasants were also badly affected - poor harvest in 1901 as as well as increasing rents led to a peasant revolts in 1902-3
Instability in Russia was heightened by an economic depression which started after 1900
Russo-Japanese War
Instability in Russia worsened by war with Japan in 1904
Russia came into conflict over who would control Korea, which the Japanese has already marked out for themselves for economic expansion
26 January 1904: Japan launched a surprise attack on Russian ships at Port Arthur, marking the beginning of the war
Debated whether the Tsar had ought the war as a convenient way of diverting attention from major problems in Russia and a way of stirring up patriotic spirit and gettign the support of the people
Russians severely underestimated the japanese and overestimate their abilities - Russia was not adapted to modern warfare
Japan had better trained army and navy and more effective intelligence
Russians were operating a long way from European Rissand and railway issues limited supplies and reinforcement availability - Russia suffered early defeats.
Final defeat in May with the defeat of the Russian Baltic fleet
War with Japan arose out of Russia’s expansionist policy in the Far East
Russia wanted to exploit the area because it was rich in resources and markets
Humiliating - had to give up control of Korea and Port Arthur - Russia did not gain anything from this war
1905 Russia could have been avoided if Russia did not go to war - catalyst for the 1905 revolution