All-Russian October Political Strike, 1905: Description, History, Results and Interesting Facts

From January 1905 to June 1907, events took place in the Russian Empire, which are known in history as the First Russian Revolution. The impetus for mass action was Bloody Sunday. Let us further consider how the all-Russian October political strike began.

History

On January 9, peaceful demonstrators in St. Petersburg were shot by the imperial troops. Since that moment the strike movement has become large-scale. Unrest and uprisings began in the Navy and in the army. The discontent of the people turned into a mass action against the autocracy. The result of the all-Russian October political strike of 1905 was the adoption of the Manifesto.

Prerequisites

Why did the All-Russian October political strike of 1905 begin? The date at which the described events occurred coincided with the moment of the strongest industrial recession, violations in the scheme of monetary circulation, crop failure and the increase of the national debt. All these factors have exacerbated the need for reform in government. The natural economy, which was of key importance for the country, began to recede into the background. The era of intensive industrial development, the introduction of new methods and technologies began. All this required radical changes in the legal and administrative systems.

Creation of a special commission

As was said above, the October All-Russian political strike of 1905 became a reaction of the people to the events of 9 January. After the shooting of peaceful demonstrators, Svyatopolk-Mirsky was removed from his post of minister. Bulygin replaced him at his post. The new post of Governor-General of St. Petersburg was appointed gene. Trepov. On January 29, Nicholas II issued a decree on the formation of a special commission headed by Senator Shidlovsky. The task of this body was to promptly ascertain the reasons for the dissatisfaction of the workers in St. Petersburg and its environs and their subsequent elimination. As members of the commission, it was intended to appoint manufacturers, officials and workers' deputies. The demands that the latter put forward were declared unacceptable. February 20 Shidlovskiy presented the monarch a report. In it, he acknowledged the failure of the commission. On the same day, under the decree of the tsar, she was dissolved.

The First Trouble

After the events of 9 January, a wave of strikes took place across the country. 12-14 Jan. In Riga and Warsaw there was a mass protest against the execution of St. Petersburg workers. The railroad workers of Russia began to join the strike movement. In the spring, students joined the uprisings. In May, a strike began in Ivanovo-Voznesensk textile workers. In many industrial cities the first Soviets of Workers' Deputies began to be formed. Social conflicts were complicated by national disputes. So, in the Caucasus there were clashes of Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

Normative acts of the government

The all-Russian October political strike was brewing in conditions of extreme social tension. On February 18, the monarch published a manifesto calling for the elimination of sedition to strengthen the autocracy. In addition, the Senate was given a decree, which was allowed to submit proposals to the Tsar aimed at improving the administrative system in the country. A rescript was signed in the name of Bulygin. It prescribed to prepare a law on a representative body - the Duma. All these acts in a certain way directed the further social movement. City councils, zemstvo meetings, various unions of professional intelligentsia, individual figures began to discuss the issue of involving the people in lawmaking. The attitude of the masses to the work of the body established by Bulygin was formed. Petitions began to be actively drawn up, projects of transformations. Zemtsy organized three congresses (February, April, May). The latter was attended by city officials. This congress ended with the presentation of a petition on the people's representation to the monarch. On April 17, the tsar issues a decree on strengthening the foundations of religious tolerance. According to the document it was allowed to depart from Orthodoxy to other religions. In early August, Nicholas II establishes the State Duma. The term of its convocation is not later than mid-January 1906. Along with this, the Provision on Elections was approved. However, out of 4 basic democratic norms, only one was implemented in practice - a secret ballot. Elections were neither universal, nor equal, nor direct.

All-Russian October political strike (date)

Reforms of power did not bring satisfaction to the masses. Nicholas II did not show proper interest, seeking to preserve the autocratic system. The all-Russian October political strike embraced a wide variety of industries. The Bolsheviks played a key role in preparing the strike. In their work they relied on decisions taken at the Third Congress of the RSDLP. The organization of mass protests was also expressed by the Railway Union. On September 19, the economic strike of Moscow printers began. It developed into mass unrest among representatives of different professions. By the beginning of October Soviets of Commissioners had been set up by Moscow railwaymen, printers, metalworkers, carpenters, and tobacco workers. Meetings and meetings in support of the workers covered other industrial centers. The Bolsheviks tried to translate economic strikes into political, and scattered unrest - into an all-Russian strike. The general protests of railway workers significantly accelerated this process.

The course of the strike

6.10 a meeting of representatives of Bolshevik organizations of several sections of the Moscow railway junction made a decision to launch an all-Russian strike. In the evening on the same day, the Committee of the RSDLP called for a general strike from 7.10. It covered all the key railways coming from Moscow. On the same day, the citywide conference of the Bolsheviks approved the decision to declare a strike in all of Moscow. The all-Russian October political strike took on a large scale. The strike after Moscow began in St. Petersburg, and then in other major cities. By October 17, the All-Russian October political strike paralyzed the movement on all railways in the country. In large cities, factories, factories, power stations, and transport were set up. The post office, telegraph, educational institutions, shops, and other institutions stopped working. Workers of the mining industry, railway workers, students, employees, factory workers took part in the strike. The total number of people reached 2 million. Demonstrations and rallies were held everywhere. In the Volga, Baltic, Transcaucasia, many of them developed into direct armed clashes with troops and police. The all-Russian October political strike, briefly, now pursued one goal: to eliminate the autocracy. The revolutionary masses began to form Soviets of Deputies in St. Petersburg, Ekaterinoslav and other cities. Trade unions began to be formed in Yaroslavl, Vilnius, Tbilisi, and Riga. The attempt of the autocracy to convene a new Duma was foiled.

An interesting moment

During the strike the Bolsheviks successfully implemented the policy of the left bloc. It was aimed at forming a general democratic revolutionary front to fight tsarism under the leadership of the proletariat. In many large cities, strike coalition committees were formed. Some "flattering" liberals declared, on the one hand, support for the strike, and on the other hand, with all their strength, resisted the outbreak of unrest into an armed uprising.

Government actions

The autocracy made an attempt to suppress the all-Russian strike by repression. The Governor-General of Petersburg Trepov gave the order to the police and the military to spare no patrons, eliminating the insurgents. However, the government did not succeed in preventing the strike. In addition, the excitement was in the army itself. Thus, power did not have enough power to suppress the revolution. The state has a certain balance. Lenin wrote at the time that the autocracy was no longer there, and the revolution still did not have enough strength for victory. As a result, the government was forced to make concessions. October 17, 1905, the Manifesto was signed, guaranteeing civil liberties. In the document, Nicholas II also promised to recognize the legislative rights of the Duma. However, the results of the all-Russian October political strike did not satisfy the Bolsheviks. Exposing the hypocrisy and falsity of the autocracy, the revolutionaries called for a new offensive against tsarism.

Conclusion of unrest

After the adoption of the Manifesto, the Moscow Committee, in which liberals predominated, issued a directive on the termination of the strike. On 22.10 the strike stopped in Moscow. In most of the country's regions and on the railways, the strike lasted until the 25th, and in a number of districts, until November's speeches. Having received the support of representatives of the liberal bourgeoisie, who perceived the manifesto as the beginning of the constitutional path of development, the government began a decisive offensive against the revolutionaries. The whole country was engulfed by pogroms and repressions.