How Far Do You Agree That The 1905 Revolution Was

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How far do you agree that the 1905 Revolution was a result of dire living and working conditions in the cities? In 1905 a series of unplanned but widespread protests gripped Russia as workers, peasants and the armed forces revolted against the oppressive and autocratic regime of Tsar Nicholas II. A growing industrialised workforce had become increasingly exposed to poverty and hardship in the cities and it is clear that dire living and working conditions played an important role in the explosion of civil unrest that swept the country. However, this essay will argue that the roots of the revolution can be traced back to the 1861 Emancipation edict and the failure of successive Tsar’s to solve the problem of peasant ‘land hunger’. Poor harvests, famine, a lack of freedom and repressive policies meant that Russia was a country that was teetering on the brink of revolution long before dissatisfied factory workers marched on the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Some of the causes of the 1905 revolution were due to poor working and living conditions. For instance, up to 15 people would share one room to live in, because of this demonstrations such as the one outside the Winter Palace commonly known as Bloody Sunday took place. 100’s were killed due to horrific misunderstanding by the Russian army. In many ways this helped fuel Russian Revolt. In addition, another contribution to the 1905 revolution was Bloody Sunday. For instance workers were unhappy with working conditions in factories with the unsafe and crowded environments that they were forced to work in. Low wages was another contributing factor leading to a priest – George Gapon – creating a petition to reduce working hours and gain the Tsar’s sympathy in order to improve conditions in workplaces. In 19__ Gapon led a large amount of workers to the Winter Palace on a peaceful march to present his petition to
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