HISTORY ASSIGNMENT

Essay 1 – Assess the results of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 on the internal as well as external domains of Czarist Russia.

The Russo-Japanese War was fought in 1904-05 and had terrible effects on Russia. Russia faced a horrifying unexpected loss which hampered its economy, people, growth, and all thoughts of expansion in the East. The war had far reaching consequences on Russia and on Japan. It led to many events, signing of treaties, change in Russia’s foreign policy, and eventually also became one of the major causes leading to the Revolution of 1905.

The first major event that occurred after the Russo Japanese War was ‘Bloody Sunday’. Occurring on 22nd January 1905, it was the beginning of opposition to tsarist rule, which eventually involved members of the urban workers, armed forces, peasantry and middle classes. Led by Father Gapon, the demonstrators appealed to the Czar to ‘tear down the wall between yourself and your people’, a reference to the bureaucracy. They also drew up a petition which contained 135,000 signatures. However, the Czar reacted with resistance and ordered the troops to open fire at the peaceful demonstrators, which resulted in a ‘blood bath’ on the square of the winter Palace.

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Bloody Sunday sparked a wave of disturbance all over the country. There was an increase in the number of industrial strikes which eventually became a general strike in October 1905. There were massive peasant uprisings all over the country led by Socialist Revolutionaries, accompanied by acts of terror. Even as far as the army was concerned, troops deserted and sailors mutinied on board the ‘Potemkin’. The war was supposed to stabilise autocracy and improve their regime through feelings of patriotism, but the opposite happened. The defeat of the Russian armies shook the Czar to its foundation. The army was discredited, ...

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