Bloody Sunday: Russia's Revolution Ignites in Blood
Imperial troops opened fire on a peaceful procession led by Father Georgy Gapon on January 22, 1905, killing hundreds of workers who had marched to the Winter Palace carrying icons and singing hymns to petition the Tsar for better conditions. The event shattered the deeply held Russian belief in the 'good Tsar' who would protect his people if only he knew their suffering. Strikes paralyzed the empire within weeks. Sailors mutinied aboard the battleship Potemkin in June. By October, Nicholas II was forced to issue a manifesto promising civil liberties and an elected legislature. The concessions came too late to rebuild trust. The 1905 Revolution did not overthrow the regime, but it cracked its foundations and rehearsed the organizational techniques that the Bolsheviks would perfect twelve years later when they finished the job.
January 22, 1905
121 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on January 22
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