What were the main causes of the 1905 Revolution ?

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To what extent was the Russo-Japanese was the main cause of the 1905 revolution.

One Reason why the Russo-Japanese war was a major contributing cause to the 1905 revolution was the reason why it was started. Originally the war was started to divert the attentions of the people in of their current problems at home, and too increase Nicolas’ popularity by winning a war overseas. However, the Russians greatly underestimated the Japanese and after a string of humiliating defeats (At the Battle of Mukden, they lost 90,000 troops, and most of the Russian fleet was burned by the Japanese at the battle of Tsushima) and treaties (Japan gained Port Arthur, southern Manchuria and the Southern half of the island of Sakhalin, as well Korea being recognized within Japan’s sphere of influence), the Russians lost the war, which did the opposite of what they set out to do. Not only did this stunt economic growth, it also revealed to the Russian people how incompetent the administration of Russia was, in both war and government. This also showed how backwards Russia truly was, losing to a small island nation in the Pacific, who had only industrialized less than 60 years beforehand, and were referred to as “Little Yellow Monkeys”. The end to the war was also one of the things that were asked for in Father Gapon’s position petition, which is also another contributing factor to the 1905 revolution, making it clear that Russo-Japanese war was also a large contributing factor to the revolution of 1905.

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Another contributing factor towards the 1905 Revolution is Bloody Sunday. Father Gapon and a crowed of peaceful Protesters marched towards a winter palace, with a petition calling for change. The petition called for many things, such as freedom of speech, repeal of the redemption dues, equality for all people and better labour laws. This ended with the soldiers guarding the Winter Palace opening fire upon the protesters, with the death toll uncertain, though it numbers in 100s, maybe thousands. Although the Tsar was not present at the winter palace when this happened, he received all of the blame. This undermined ...

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