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Leading up to Russia’s Bloody Sunday of 1905, the tsars had begun to reform Russia in an era known as the Age of Modernization. The reforms of this age set up the unrest of the masses leading to the event known as Bloody Sunday, the beginning of the failed Russian Revolution of 1905. These reforms brought with them poorer conditions for the already neglected working class, bringing on additional problems to the economic and social rut Russia found itself in due to the ongoing war with Japan in the Russo-Japanese War. Russia’s Bloody Sunday was initiated was led up to by peaceful petitions against Tsar Nicholas II in attempts to get the tsar to address their grievances, but were met by the armed disposition of the Russian troops who fired upon the peaceful protesters, instigating the Russian Revolution of 1905.
Beginning before Tsar Nicholas II, Tsar Alexander II reformed many parts of Russia, in an attempt to bring the nation into a more modern society, including, improving the military and improvements to the governmental system. After the failure that was the Crimean war, Tsar Alexander II saw the drastic need for an improved military, firstly for trained soldiers instead of the serfs who served as cannon fodder throughout the war. To remedy this problem, Alexander issued his Emancipation Manifesto, which freed the serfs, in a combined attempt to alleviate the use of these cannon fodder-like people and the failing economy under the system of serfdom. By doing this, the tsar had hoped he had improved the state of the motherland, but instead, he made life for the average commoner increasingly much more complicated while continuing to serve life on a silver platter for the nobility. With the serfs free, Alexander also began to ena...
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For centuries, autocratic and repressive tsarist regimes ruled the country and population under sever economic and social conditions; consequently, during the late 19th century and early 20th century, various movements were staging demonstrations to overthrow the oppressive government. Poor involvement in WWI also added to the rising discontent against Nicholas as Russian armies suffered terrible casualties and defeats because of a lack of food and equipment; in addition, the country was industrially backward compared to countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and the USA. It had failed to modernize, this was to do with the tsars lack of effort for reforms. The country was undergoing tremendous hardships as industrial and agricultural output dropped. Famine and poor morale could be found in all aspects of Russian life. Furthermore, the tsar committed a fatal mistake when he appointed himself supreme commander of the armed forces because he was responsible for the armies constant string of defeats.
Moss, W., 2014. A History of Russia Volume 2: Since 1855. 1st ed. London, England: Anthem Press London, pp.112-113.
Doctor Zhivago portrayed this event very well. They have the march during the winter of 1905, which is the actual time that the “Bloody Sunday” event took place. Also, both the people marching in the movie and the people marching in real life wanted the same things. They wanted bread, better working conditions, and eight-hour days. The setting of the massacre scene in front of the Russian palace is correct because in actuality, the massacre took place in front of the Winter Palace. Doctor Zhivago also uses one of its characters to represent one of the historical figures who was involved in the “Bloody Sunday Massacre”.
While most of Europe had develop strong central governments and weakened the power of the nobles, Russia had lagged behind the times and still had serfs as late as 1861. The economic development that followed the emancipation of peasants in the rest of Europe created strong industrial and tax bases in those nations. Russian monarchs had attempted some level of reforms to address this inequality for almost a century before, and were indeed on their way to “economic maturity” (32) on par with the rest of Europe. But they overextended themselves and the crushing defeats of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 and the First World War in 1917 lost them the necessary support from their subjects and created “high prices and scarcity” which were by far “the most obvious factors in the general tension”
After the crippling defeat in the Crimean War, Alexander II knew that Russia could not be allowed to lag behind the Western world any longer if it was to maintain its independence. The reform of the state had been advisable for a long time, but for Alexander III it was necessary. He knew that before any real changes could be achieved, the main problem had to be solved: the problem of serfdom. However many limits and imperfections his edict of Emancipation carried with it, most importantly it allowed for further modernizing reforms in the legal, government, education and military spheres.
Serfdom was put to an end after it was evident that it contributed to Russia’s lagging behind of the wider European shift to the industrial and commercial ages. This was attributed to Russia’s remaining socially and economically behind because they perceived of the western changes as “unacceptable” ideologies. It was later in the decade that Russia realized that serfdom was responsible for its civil disorders, industrial poverty, overpopulation, food inadequacy, and military incompetence. It was for these reasons that tsar Alexander II called to an abolishment of the act as a means of strengthening Russia. This was, for instance pushed by the need to have a stronger and larger army to fight in the Crimean War unlike the previous one which only had serfs as military men .
The Bloody Sunday January 1972 has produced such different historical interpretations of what happened on bloody Sunday for a number of different reasons. The two big divides in what happened on that day are down to politics, religion and culture and the social society at that time in Ireland. As we know Ireland was facing many troubles politically and religiously, there seemed to be many marches and protests against the discriminate laws that persecuted the catholic people in Ireland. On the 30th of January 1972 a nationalist demonstration took place illegally in the centre of Derry, the police and government banned the march as they thought it would provoke violence. The march was lead by catholic supporters who were demonstrating against the protestant-biased law of internment for Catholics.
I. A good majority of the Russian people were weary and uncontent with the way the war was going and with the Czar's rule. This uncontent, along with economic hardships, caused riots and demonstrations to break out. The Czar called for the army to put down the revolution, as they did in 1905. But the army joined the revolt and the Czar was kicked out of power soon afterwards.
High, S. (1924, Nov 26). Will there be a russian peasants' revolt? Outlook (1893-1924), 138, 495. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/137018151?accountid=147304
The resignation of Nicholas II March 1917, in union with the organization of a temporary government in Russia built on western values of constitutional moderation, and the capture of control by the Bolsheviks in October is the political crucial opinions of the Russian Revolution of 1917. The actions of that historic year must also be viewed more broadly, however: as aburst of social strains associated with quick development; as a disaster of political modernization, in relations of the tensions sited on old-fashioned traditions by the burdens of Westernization; and as a social disruption in the widest sense, concerning a massive, unprompted expropriation of upper class land by fuming peasants, the devastation of outmoded social patterns and morals, and the scuffle for a new, democratic society.
Bloody Sunday was a big impact of Nationalism, what started out as a peaceful march of Petersburg workers marching to the Winter Palace led by Father Gapon turned out to be a nightmare. The marchers wanted to establish an eight hour work day, establish minimum wage, and assemble a constitution, while the marchers marched they was fired upon by Russian troops and several hundred marchers was killed. People believed that Bloody Sunday happened under Nicholas II because he could not be found when the marchers were marching to the Winter Palace causing Russian troops to panic. The result of Bloody Sunday caused riots to break out; forming the councils of workers in St. Petersburg and Moscow and the bond between Nicholas II and the people was broken causing October Manifesto. A result of a short term solution October Manifesto was granted, which was a constitution to stop the riots. The primary intentions of the October Manifesto were to divide the revolutionaries.
Bloody Sunday was the day that father Gapon walked to the winter palace with thousands of workers and a petition to outline the problems and hardships caused by the tsar and to demand change be made consisting of an improvement to working conditions, a reduction in working hours and an end to the Russo Japanese war. This is an extract from that petition, “We workers, inhabitants of St. Petersburg, have come to Thee. We are unfortunate, reviled slaves, weighed down by despotism and tyranny. Our patience exhausted, we ceased work and begged our masters to give us only that without which life is a torment. But this was refused; to the employers everything seemed unlawful. We are here, many thou sands of us. Like the whole of the Russian people, we have no human rights whatever. Owing to the deeds of Thy officials we have become slaves.” However this peaceful march ended horribly as when the group of marchers arrived at their destination they were confronted by Russian troops and the police and shots were fired into the crowd resulting in hundreds of dead Russians lying in the street. The events of bloody Sunday were a key factor in the causing of the 1905 Russian revolution as they made Russians angry at the way the tsar, his army and the police dealt with things causing many of
Russian Revolution of October 1917 was the child of the antagonism of classes in contradictory imperialism. It started in poorly ruled environment of Tsarism, prepared by previous revolutions of 1905-6 (Hobsbawm, 1995, p.30). “So ready was Russia for social revolution that masses treated the fall of Tsar as a proclamation of universal freedom, equality and direct democracy. The uncontrolled masses transformed into Bolshevik power” (Hobsbawm, 1995, p.36). Many political parties had arose, however, not many of them knew how to rule the huge country. As country mainly was agrarian with more than eighty per-cent of peasants, who were hungry, landless and tired of the endless wars, Bolsheviks who represente...
Rents and taxes were often unaffordable, while the gulf between workers and the ruling elite grew ever wider. After their defeat in the Crimean war (1853-1856), Russia’s leaders realized they were falling behind much of Europe in terms of modernisation and industrialisation. Alexander II took control of the empire and made the first steps towards radically improving the country’s infrastructure. Transcontinental railways were built and the government strengthened Russia’s economy by promoting industrialisation with the construction of factory complexes throughout rural Russia.... ...
On July 16, 1918, in the crowded basement of an old imperial mansion, one of the most unjust and tragic occurrences in Russia’s history took place. The Romanov line that had ruled Russia for over 300 years was terminated. Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917 after the popularity of Tsar Nicholas II had profoundly diminished, forcing the Romanovs into exile in Ekaterinburg. Radicals there took it upon themselves to assassinate the entire family without trial or orders from Lenin and the Bolshevik high command.