How far do you agree that the Russo-Japanese war was the main cause of the 1905 revolution?

How far do you agree that the Russo-Jap war was the main cause of the 1905 revolution?

There were many factors that contributed to the 1905 revolution in Russia. They range from political opposition groups such as the Bolsheviks and the social revolutionaries, to the failure to reform. The Russo-Jap war of 1905 acted as the trigger to the revolution. However many factors such as increasing political discontent within the cities and countryside were also important and these issues can be linked back to the key developments in the late nineteenth century.

Huge military defeats were caused by the Russo-Japanese War, which highlighted the weakness of the military and caused national humiliation, thus contributing to the outbreak of the 1905 Revolution. An example of such a defeat was in January 1905 when the army had to surrender their Port Arthur naval base in Northern China, which they had possessed before the start of the war. Another example of a great failure of the military was at the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905. The Russian Baltic fleet consisting of the 35 warships had sailed from northern Europe to the Far East, only to lose 25 warships in a defeat by the Japanese navy. The crushing of Russian’s military added to the 1905 Revolution, as it made the people of Russia aware of the weakness of their military and ashamed to be Russian. They were losing to a nation very few had heard of and it was humiliating. However, many of the defeats to the Russian military occurred after the Revolution had started, not causing its outbreak, but merely adding to the opposition to autocratic rule by the Tsar and prolonging the Revolution.

Wittes economic reforms of the 1890s and early 1900s contributed to the revolution in 1905 also. Accelerated industrialization resulted in a dramatic growth of Russian cities. The population of Russia grew from around 98 million in the late 1800s to 130 million by 1905. This placed more pressure on the land and within the cities. More peasants wanted land to be redistributed from the corrupt nobility. These demands grew as a result of a number of famines in the 1890s, and in 1901. The number of workers in the cities grew, resulting in large slums. The living standards within these slums were extremely poor, and in the early 20th century the Russian economy began to slow down. Wages did not rise, resulting a larger amount of poverty across the country. As a result the reforms Witte introduced caused unrest with the Russian people, contributing to the 1905 revolution.

The role of the political opposition groups is also a reason for the 1905 revolution. The socialist on revolutionaries wanted the removal of the tsar the redistribution of land to the peasants. These policies were widely supported by the peasants, who made up the majority of Russia’s population. The social revolutionaries used violence and were responsible for the assassination of the tsars uncle, Grand Duke Sergi. The Bolsheviks and Mensheviks also organized and participated in uprisings within Moscow and St. Petersburg. These groups helped spread ideas that encouraged people to oppose the tsar in 1905.

However the failure of the tsar to respond to these demands for political reforms contributed to the revolution of 1905. From 1899 conservative advisors such as popedonostev influenced the tsar. The tsar believed in divine right and was not prepared to share his power. He viewed constitutional reforms such as weakening his own power and going against the wishes of God. Resulting in no liberalization of his regime, and the people had no way of legally expressing their discontent. The tsars failure to allow reform in 1905 led to the revolution as ordinary Russians were allowed no other way of seeking change, other than causing or taking part in a revolution.

Throughout 1905 the protests were caused by a variety of factors. If the tsar had been less autocratic and more willing to listen to advice from a wider group of people the rebellions and protests may have been avoided. However the russo-jap war clearly revealed flaws in the tsarist system of government, and it also showed how heavily the tsar relied on the army to keep power, and this didn’t sit well for the future of the tsarist system.