January 9, 1905 - Bloody Sunday (briefly). History

One of the most tragic events that took place in the history of Russia - Bloody Sunday. To put it briefly, on January 9, 1905, a demonstration was shot, of which about 140,000 representatives of the working class became participants. This happened in St. Petersburg during the reign of Nicholas II, who after that people became known as the Bloody. Many historians believe that it was this incident that served as a decisive impetus to the beginning of the 1905 revolution.

Bloody Sunday: briefly about the prehistory

At the end of 1904, the country began political fermentation, it happened after the defeat, which the state suffered in the infamous Russian-Japanese war. What events led to the mass shooting of workers - a tragedy that went down in history as Bloody Sunday? In short, everything began with the organization of the "Assembly of Russian factory workers."

It is interesting that the establishment of this organization was actively promoted by the Police Department. This was due to the fact that the authorities were concerned about the growing number of dissatisfied in the work environment. The main purpose of the "Assembly" was initially to protect the representatives of the working class from the influence of revolutionary propaganda, the organization of mutual aid, and enlightenment. However, the "Assembly" was not properly controlled by the authorities, as a result of which there was a sharp change in the course of the organization. In many respects this was due to the personality of the person who headed it.

George Gapon

What does Georgy Gapon have to do with the tragic day that he remembered as Bloody Sunday? In short, it was this priest who became the inspiration and organizer of the demonstration, the outcome of which turned out to be so sad. Gapon took the post of the head of the "Assembly" at the end of 1903, soon it was in his unlimited power. An ambitious cleric dreamed that his name would go down in history, proclaim himself the true leader of the working class.

The leader of the "Assembly" founded a secret committee, whose members read forbidden literature, studied the history of revolutionary movements, and worked out plans for the struggle for the interests of the working class. Companions of Gapon became the wife of Karelin, who enjoyed great prestige among the workers.

The "Five Program", which includes specific political and economic demands of members of the secret committee, was drafted in March 1904. It was she who served as the source, from where the demands that the demonstrators planned to expose to the king on the Bloody Sunday of 1905 were taken. In short, they failed to achieve their goal. On that day, the petition never fell into the hands of Nicholas II.

Incident at Putilov Factory

What event caused the workers to decide on a mass demonstration on the day, which is known as Bloody Sunday? Briefly talk about this can be so: the impetus was the dismissal of several people who worked at Putilov factory. All of them were participants of the "Assembly". Rumors spread that people were fired precisely because of their belonging to the organization.

The disturbances at the Putilov factory also spread to other enterprises that were working at that time in St. Petersburg. Mass strikes began, leaflets began to be distributed with economic and political demands on the government. The inspired Gapon decided to submit the petition personally to the autocrat Nicholas II. When the text of the appeal to the tsar was read out to the participants of the "Assembly", the number of which already exceeded 20 thousand, people expressed a desire to participate in the rally.

The date of the march was also determined, which went down in history as Bloody Sunday, on January 9, 1905. Briefly about the main events is described below.

Bloodshed was not planned

The authorities were informed in advance of the impending demonstration, in which about 140,000 people were expected to take part. On January 6, Emperor Nicholas left for Tsarskoe Selo with his family. The Minister of the Interior convened an emergency meeting the day before the event, which was remembered as the Bloody Sunday 1905. In short, during the meeting it was decided not to allow the rally participants to pass not only to the Palace Square, but to the city center.

It is worth mentioning that bloodshed was not originally planned. Representatives of the authorities did not doubt that the crowd would force the armed soldiers to disperse, but these expectations were not justified.

Massacres

The procession that moved to the Winter Palace consisted of men, women and children who did not carry weapons. Many participants in the procession were holding portraits of Nicholas II, banners. At the Nevsky Gate the demonstration was attacked by the cavalry, then the shooting began, five shots were heard.

The next shots were heard at the Trinity Bridge from the Petersburg and Vyborg sides. Several volleys were produced at the Winter Palace, when the demonstrators reached the Alexander Garden. Places of events soon became littered with the bodies of the wounded and the dead. Local skirmishes lasted until late in the evening, only by 23 o'clock the authorities managed to disperse the demonstrators.

Effects

The report, which was presented to Nicholas II, significantly understated the number of people affected on January 9. A bloody Sunday, the summary of which is retold in this article, claimed the lives of 130 people, another 299 were injured, if you rely on this report. In fact, the number of dead and wounded has exceeded four thousand people, the exact figure has remained a mystery.

George Gaponu managed to escape abroad, but in March 1906 the cleric was killed by the Socialist Revolutionaries. Mayor Fullon, who was directly related to the events of Bloody Sunday, was dismissed on January 10, 1905. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Svyatopolk-Mirsky, also lost his post. The emperor met with the working delegation on January 20, during which Nicholas II expressed regret that so many people died. However, he nevertheless stated that the demonstrators had committed a crime and had condemned the mass procession.

Conclusion

After the disappearance of Gapon, the mass strike ceased, the excitement subsided. However, this was only a calm before the storm, soon the state expected new political upheavals and sacrifices.