Russian Revolution of 1905

Russian Revolution of 1905

Unsuccessful uprising in Russia against the tsarist regime. After several years of mounting discontent, a peaceful demonstration was crushed by Tsar Nicholas II's troops in the Bloody Sunday massacre. General strikes followed in St. Petersburg and other industrial cities. The revolt spread to non-Russian parts of the empire, including Poland, Finland, and Georgia. Antirevolutionary groups, including the Black Hundreds, opposed the rebellion with violent attacks on socialists and pogroms against Jews. By October 1905, general strikes had spread to all the large cities, and the workers' councils or soviets, often led by the Mensheviks, became revolutionary governments. The strikes' magnitude convinced Nicholas II, advised by Sergey Witte, to issue the October Manifesto, promising an elected legislature. The concessions satisfied most moderates, though the more ardent revolutionaries refused to yield, and pockets of resistance in Poland, Georgia, and elsewhere were harshly suppressed as the regime restored its authority. While most of the revolutionary leaders, including Leon Trotsky, were arrested, the revolution forced the tsar to institute reforms such as a new constitution and a Duma, though he failed to adequately implement various promised reforms.