How Did the Tsar Survive the 1905 Revolution

Despite the failure of Russia in the war against Japan, the Tsarist regime survived the revolution . There are a number of reasons for this. One of the most importants reason is that Nicholas II was very thanks to his military force. By the end of January there were more than 400,000 workers out on strike. The 1905 Revolution was underway. For the rest of the year the government had little control of events, as strikes, demonstrations, petitions, peasent uprisisings, students riots, and assassinations became commonplace.

The Tsar was “at war with his own people”. People wanted a change because Nicholas II reign saw Imperial Russia go from being one of the great powers of the world to an economic and military disaster. Nicholas approached the Russo-Japanese war with confidence and saw it as an opportunity to raise Russian morale and patriotism, paying little attention to the finances of a long-distance war. Shortly before the Japanese attack on Port Arthur, Nicholas held strong to the belief that there would be no war. Nicholas expected a final victory.

Many people took the Tsar’s confidence; believing him to be completely impervious As Russia continued to face defeat by the Japanese, the call for peace grew. Nicholas’s own mother, urged Nicholas to open peace negotiations. Despite the efforts for peace, Nicholas remained evasive. It was not until 27–28 March and the annihilation of the Russian fleet by the Japanese, that Nicholas finally decided to pursue peace. People had no more faith in the Tsar that lost to a country much more little than his own.

In September after the peace treaty with Japan, thousands of troops were now free to help put down the unrest in European Russia. The government paid them all their back pay and promised better conditions of service so that they would remain loyal to the Tsar. The Tsar had the choice of giving in or using force. He gave in and issued the October Manifesto on the 30 October 1905.

This promised: -A Parliament or Duma elected by the people – Civil rights-e. g. Freedom of speech and conscience – Uncensored newspapers and the right to form political parties. The liberal and middle classes believed they had won democratic government. They stopped their protests and supported their government. By December, with all the troops back in Russia, the Tsar felt strong enough to take back the control. He used force to close down the St Petersburg Soviet and crush an arm uprising in Moscow. He sent out troops to take revenge on workers and peasants who had rioted and bring them under control.

The political parties that were against the Tsar were very much, and probably if they had formed only one or two the Tsar would have not survived the 1905 Revolution. All the political parties wanted to defeat the Tsar but they wanted to defeat him themselves and not other political parties. Nicholas thought that he, as Tsar, ruled through divine right from God. Some of his countrymen were embarrassed at the way Nicholas ruled Russia, and this affected his home life.

He also thought that people who disagreed with him were traitors. Nicholas was then asked to resign. With much reluctance, he abdicated. He and his family were imprisoned. Eventually, all of them were brutally murdered. Their bodies were burned and then thrown into an empty shaft. The Tsar had various reasons why he survived and probably without the help of the military the Tsar would have been defeated in no time, and if the people that were against the Tsar were a bit more intelligent they could have won.