Who were the main cause of the 1905 revolution?

Who were the main cause of the 1905 revolution?

1. Peasants

   • Role in causing the rev.
     • Peasant landholdings fell 20%
       • Used violence to seize land from peasants
     • Industrialisation put greater pressure on peasants
       • E.g. Low wages, high taxes
       • Resulted in tension, violence and riots
         • Large number (80%) meant it became a threat
     • High redemption taxes
       • Forced to sell grain in compensation
         • Anger - lost more money
     • Became more politically organised
       • Formed the All Russian Peasants Union at this time
     • Harvest failures and vodka/salt taxes exacerbated the situation
       • Added 'fuel to the fire'
   • Counter-arguments
     • Not considered to be educated enough to form a revolution
     • Peasant population was too widely spread
       • Too far apart to spread ideas, congregate or revolutionise
       • Contained to mir
         • Physically couldn't move
     • Attempts were made to resolve issues
       • e.g. peasant land bank, reduced tax burden
     • ARPU wasn't solely set up by the peasants
       • Helped by political parties

2. Urban Proletariat

   • Role in causing the rev.
     • General Strikes
       • Sept 1905 - railway strike
         • Railways =crucial
           • Used to put down unrest in cities
             • Enabled the rev. to continue without fear of prosecution
       • Worker's strikes put Russia into shutdown
         • Affects the economy
     • More of a threat
       • Shared anger
         • Concentrated in one area of the country
           • Spreads through cities
     • St Petersburg Soviet set up Oct 1905
       • 400 members
       • Provided alternative to tsardom
     • Bloody Sunday = spark
     • Wanted a 'voice' in society
   • Counter- arguments
     • Wasn't their intention to uprise

3. Political Parties/ Intelligentsia

   • Role in the rev.
     • Growth of opposition groups allowed the number of people who opposed the Tsar to grow
       • Provided visible alternative to Tsardom
     • Political groups returned from exile after Bloody Sunday
       • Take advantage of anger
     • Anger repressed prior to 1905 (Okhrana)
       • Took more radical views
     • Intelligentsia long term anger
       • Restricted in uni
       • Censorship
       • Zemstva
   • Counter arguments
     • Parties didn't join the rev. until later
       • Cannot be considered the cause
       • Lenin wasn't present during the rev.
     • Required public support in order to be successful
     • Had different aims - couldn't work together
       • Social Rev. - Redistribution of land
       • Bolsheviks- Violence/ action
       • Mensheviks - Revolutionise in time