How Far Was the War with Japan the Main Outbreak of the 1905 Revolution?

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How far was the war with Japan the main reason for the outbreak of the 1905 revolution? The Russo-Japanese War lasted from 1904-1905, and arose from both Japan and Russia’s desire for expansion in China. Russia suffered many great defeats in this war, against a nation that was considered to be inferior and not one of the ‘great powers’. The war was spontaneous taking place as a result of considerable dislike towards the social, economic and political state of Russia at the time. The factors responsible were both short-term and long-term with the Russo-Japanese War of 1904/05 being one of these that contributed to the outbreak of the revolution in 1905. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 clearly contributed towards the outbreak of the 1905 Revolution as a short-term factor. Russia went to war with Japan being seen as the superior to Japan due to the vast amount of military power they had, but they suffered a humiliating defeat. The Russian Baltic fleet had sailed almost halfway round the world, only to lose 25 of its 35 warships in a crushing defeat by the Japanese navy. In Russia, these defeats caused many of the people to question the role of the Tsar and the support in which he gives. Also the government were made to look weak as the people knew that the Russian military was in fact strong, yet again making them question the Tsars power. This outbreak would have been the final straw for the people of Russia because at the time the revolution was happening but the humiliation of the war gave the people another reason to continue with the revolution, prolonging it. Also with the people losing trust in the government and the Tsar they would turn to other political parties such as the revolutionaries for support. The revolutionaries were against the Tsar so this would allow them to gain more support which would contribute to the outbreak of the revolution and help
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