How Far Was the Russo-Japanese War Responsible for the Outbreak of the 1905 Revolution

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How far was the Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05 responsible for the outbreak of the 1905 revolution? On Sunday 9th 1905, 150,000 workers were demonstrating outside the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. It was a peaceful protest led by Father Gapon, a Russian Orthodox priest, who was also a double agent for the Okhrana. They wished to present a petition to the Tsar asking for, an end to the Russo-Japanese war, expanded suffrage, an 8 hr working day, higher pay, and an end to the forced overtime in the factories that they had had to endure. Although the Tsar wasn't in the palace at the time, the police feared trouble and sent the troops to disperse the demonstration. In doing so the troops shot and killed almost a thousand workers. This day became known as Bloody Sunday and was the event that signalled the start of the 1905 Revolution. During this revolution there were peasant uprisings, strikes, and demands for political reform. There were a number of reasons for the outbreak of the revolution, but how responsible for the outbreak, was the war? Was it the main overriding reason, or was it merely one of the many reasons that the revolution began? This essay will find the main reason or reasons for the outbreak of revolution and determine whether or not it was the war. The Russo-Japanese war took place between 1904 and 1905. It came about due to Russia's desire to expand and create itself a larger empire than it already had. However instead of following the example of the other European Powers, and colonising Africa, Russia decided to expand East. This brought it into conflict with Japan who were also trying to expand their empire. The two empires fought over Northern China and Korea. The war is seen as partly responsible for the start of the revolution because of the anger and humiliation it caused to the peoples of Russia. The war went very badly for the Russians
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