The 1905 Revolution in Russia took place under the reign of Nicholas II and was caused by a range of long and short term factors, some of which had a greater impact than others. Reformist groups did have an effect in Russia; however it is debatable whether they were the main cause of the revolution, or whether they were a contributing factor along with other factors such as peasants, the middle class, the urban proletariat and the army/navy.
The reformist groups operating in Russia from the years 1881 were the Social Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, Populists and the Liberals (split into the Octoberists and the Kadets). Each of the reformist groups were acting in response to the continuous repressive Tsarist system in which they did not have the right to meet and operate , and were monitored by the Okhrana prior to 1905, however, some parties acted more radically than others. The Social Revolutionaries had the main aim of redistributing land to the peasants. In 1896, they formed the Union of Social Revolutionaries and murdered over 2000 aristocrats and ministers (including the assassination of Minister of the Interior Plehve in 1904) and were supported by the Peasantry. The Social Democrats were a Marxists party which organised strikes in St.Petersburg, in 1900 founded a newspaper called ‘Iskra’ (the Spark), but the two sides of the party meant that they split into the Bolsheviks led by Lenin and the Mensheviks led by Martov in 1903. This split made it difficult for the party to be united in any action that would be great enough to cause the 1905 Revolution. Another reformist group operating in the lead up to the 1905 Revolution were extremely radical as they had a terrorist faction called the ‘People’s Will’. The People’s Will group were responsible for the assassination of Alexander II and took radical action operating underground. The Liberals were not as radical and attempted to achieve constitutional reform by going through the Zemstvas. However, this party was loyal to the Tsar and wanted reform progressively, not in the form of a revolution. The reformist groups did have an impact upon the 1905 Revolution but all the groups had different views and therefore, did not act as a collective and did not plan a revolution. The parties also did not get involved until May 1905, thus meaning that they were not the main cause of the Revolution.
Another group that helped cause the 1905 Revolution in Russia was the army/navy. The army and navy had been sent into the Russo-Japanese War by Nicholas II prior to 1905. They faced defeat in Mukden in February 1905 and again in Tsushima in May 1905. The defeat led to humiliation and a loss of faith in the Tsar as they were not being paid. This anger led to mutinies in January and the Potemkin Mutiny in June 1905 and by October 1905 one third of the army was weakened due to mutinies. Consequently the army was a major issue for the Tsar and aided the continuation of the Revolution. As a result the Tsar began to pay the army and navy to relieve this problem. The war came to an end as a result of the Treaty of Portsmouth set up by Witte in August 1905. This enabled the army to return to Russia to help repress the strikes taking place in St Petersburg. Henceforth the army and navy, whilst they acted as a continuation for the revolution, cannot be considered a main cause of the 1905 Revolution.
The Peasants in Russia were another factor that led to the 1905 Revolution. The Peasants were 80 per cent of the population and a long term cause of the Revolution. They were angry as a result of the repressive Tsarist system and the Emancipation Edict of 1861. The Edict meant that the peasants were free from their land owners. However, it led to them having infertile land, paying redemption fees over a period of 49 years and they were still contained to their Mir. In order to pay off these redemption fees, they had to sell their grain. Peasant anger was then exacerbated by Witte’s tax on vodka and salt, which were essential to the peasants. In addition their life expectancy was extremely low at 40 with poor living conditions. This long term anger led to radicalised views and violent action taken by the peasants such as driving middle class families out of their homes and arson attacks. The Peasants, in conjunction with political parties, set up the Russia Peasants Union. However their circumstances were vastly improved as their tax burden was lifted by Nikolai Bunge in 1882 with the introduction of the Peasant Land Banks, which reduced anger somewhat. Whilst the peasants made up 80 per cent of the population, they were spread across the Empire and were contained to their Mir, thus preventing any opportunity to form a collective and along with their lack of education, they could not politicise, requiring help from political parties to set up the Russian Peasants Union. Finally, they weren’t looking for a revolution; they wanted improved living conditions and therefore, were not the main cause of the 1905 Revolution. However they were an immense contributory factor behind the revolution and of the continuation of it.
Finally, one of the most influential groups for the 1905 Revolution was the urban proletariat. In the proletariat, 110 million Russians were working in factories, confined to four main cities. The proletariat were angry due to their poor working and living conditions. They worked an average 11 hour day, factories had poor lighting and ventilation, non-existent job security and they were underpaid having suffered a 20 per cent wage reduction due to inflation. As a result, the proletariat conducted increasing numbers of strikes, 68 in 1895, 125 in 1900 and 14,000 in 1905. In 1905, the urban proletariat conducted the spark event for the 1905 revolution; Bloody Sunday. After two members of the Assembly of Russian Workers were dismissed, Father Gapon decided to set up a petition and undertook a peaceful march to the Winter Palace in order to present the petition to Tsar Nicholas. Upon reaching the Palace, they were met with violence and at least 100 were killed. This action destroyed the Tsar’s ‘little father’ image and as the news spread people began to revolt, such as the October railway strike. Another source of anger was the food bypassing their cities in order to be sent to the front line of the Russo-Japanese war. As the proletariat were working in main cities, they were in the same place at the same time and could therefore spread their ideas to each other easily. As a result they acted as a collective and the spark event of Bloody Sunday was the main cause to start the 1905 Revolution
In conclusion, the 1905 Revolution was a result of the discontent of many groups, including reformist groups, the army/navy, the peasantry and the proletariat. Whilst reformist groups did play a part, they acted more as a continuation of the revolution along with the peasants and army/navy as opposed to being the main cause of the revolution. There is increased evidence to suggest it was the urban proletariat that acted as the driving force to create the spark event of Bloody Sunday and therefore, caused the 1905 Revolution due to their long term discontent. This event enabled all of the other groups to express their discontent towards the Tsar during the revolution that followed.