Month: January 2017

The Forgotten Victims of 1905

One of the most interesting aspects of the 1905 revolution to me was the treatment of minorities by the revolutionaries and the government alike. I have learned in the past about the revolution and its political implications, but this seems almost like a forgotten sidebar to the revolution. In a time filled with so much … Continue reading

Russian Gonna Duma

In most countries, having different branches of governemnt to spread out the power is seen as essential tenant of government. Most, not all… In fact, Imperial Russia didn’t have a parliment until 1906, making it the only European power without one. Before 1906, the Tsar, in this case Nicholas II held all power in making… Continue reading Russian Gonna Duma

Bloody Sunday: The Match that lit the Revolution

The massacre in early January 1905 did not begin as a riot or revolt, but simply an organized march by poor urban workers desperate to petition the Tsar who they loved for help. The march began a year earlier in 1904 following the breakdown of the Zubatov experiment, which were police-sponsored trade unions, but they …

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Russo-Japanese War Embarrassment Led to Stronger Resolve of Revolutionists

The Russo-Japanese War played an interesting part in contributing to the revolution of 1905. Essentially the war was fought over a land dispute as the Japanese began to exercise their new found expansionist policies. Russian held claim to Port Arthur, a naval base located in Manchuria that served as a port into the Pacific for … Continue reading Russo-Japanese War Embarrassment Led to Stronger Resolve of Revolutionists

Civil Unrest Led to Government Instigated Pogroms

A ceremony at the Jewish cemetery in honor of an anniversary of the Russian Revolution of 1905, Dvinsk (now Daugavpils, Lat.), ca. 1910. The Yiddish and Russian banners honor “fallen comrades” and one Yiddish banner (second from left) reads, in