How far was the Russian Japanese war of 1905 the cause of the 1905 revolution?

People’s faith in Tsar was also seriously shattered. The people believed that Tsar was their ‘God’ so after the defeat of Russians in the war this image of the Tsar being the protector of Russian people was lost. The people turned to favour the new political parties and movements that were starting to sprang up in Russia. Moreover, during Alexander III’s reign the masses were repressed due to his reactionary policies. When the Russian people began to realise the incompetence of Tsar Nicholas II, especially during the war, their bottled up repression gave way to revolution.

There were a majority of other factors besides the Russo Japanese War that led to the 1905 revolution. Other than their inefficiency and lack of hindsight, the government was also blamed for its reactions to Bloody Sunday. It was a peaceful demonstration led by a Russian Orthodox Priest Father Gapon. They did not demand to overthrow the government but just wanted their help to solve problems. The reaction of the Tsar was use of Okhrana and military to shoot the demonstrators. This enraged the Russian masses and now even the strong Orthodox followers were starting to lose faith.  The Bloody Sunday can be considered as an immediate cause of the revolution.

Another factor was the grievances of the peasants. Despite the emancipation reforms, their conditions were no better. They still had to pay redemption payments and were tied to the mir. The half-hearted concessions and incompetence of the Tsar did not help them. For instance, the idea of following America and make use of the ‘virgin land’ in Siberia for agriculture was a failure. Out of a huge peasant population of nearly 97 million, only 750,000 migrated. Due to harsh living conditions and again, the fact that the Trans-Siberian Railway had not been completed then, the plan was unsuccessful. Such plans continued to enrage the peasants and exposed the weaknesses of the Government.

The urban proletariat was also an emerging class in Russia. Even though they were considerably smaller in number than the peasants, their growing influence played a huge role in the revolution. In spite of Witte’s industrial reforms in the industry, this class remained politically unsatisfied. The unemployment rate was still high and the working conditions were very poor. The small industrial towns could not cope with the increasing population. The Government’s lack of response to the woes of the working class made them join the revolution. With the rise of Russian Marxist political parties, this class proved to be a powerful player in the revolution. The Marxists were particularly keen on overthrowing the Tsar so as to complete all stages to reach communism as outlined in the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. The liberal parties asked for a constitutional monarchy. Four parties rose to dominance - the Populists, the Social Revolutionaries, the Social Democrats and the Liberals. These parties offered to fill the vacuum created by the ineffective Tsarist policies and promised people hope. These parties were the ones who were ultimately elected by the people in the First Duma.

In conclusion, the Russo Japanese War was merely a catalyst for the Russian revolution in 1905. It magnified the already existing problems of the peasants, fueled the urban proletariat, and decreased the confidence the people had in the Government even more. The image of the noble and powerful Tsar was shattered. It is also true that without the war, the government might not have felt the threat of the army deserting them and joining the revolutionaries. The full support of the army might could have made crushing the revolution easy for the Government. However, I think that the revolution would have happened anyway. Bloody Sunday was the main trigger of the revolution.