An Apt Moment for Change? : Comparing Russia’s 1905 and 1917 Revolutions
Introduction
The establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had a significant impact on both Russia and the world. The establishment was a direct result of the revolutions in 1917. However, it is also worth paying attention to a failed revolution in 1905 that tried to overthrow the monarchy. It is interesting that although both revolutions had similar premises and processes, they had very different results. Thus, it is worth discussing the reasons for this phenomenon. Both revolutions were partially triggered by military defeat in war, with Russia being defeated by Japan in the 1905 Russo-Japanese War and defeated once again by Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War One. Both revolutions began with large-scale demonstrations. In 1905, Bloody Sunday occurred on 22 January when a group of workers formed peaceful demonstrations near the Winter Palace in St Petersburg led by Father Gapon. However, they were brutally shot which triggered the escalation of discontent, leading to riots in various cities of Russia. (Figes, 2014) In 1917, about 100,000 workers (according to historical research by Figes) went on strike on 8 March and rioting occurred because of a supposed shortage of bread in the capital, Petrograd. (Figes, 2014) This escalated on 10 March when the number of strikes increased. (Figes, 2014)
Nevertheless, the results were very different. The Tsar was persuaded in 1905 to announce the October Manifesto which offered various changes towards democracy, including the right to free speech, the formation of the Duma (Russian Parliament), and the right to form political parties.(Walsh, 2018) However, it did not lead to pivotal changes to the regime, and divided many of the opposition by satisfying most liberals who believed that they had reached their main goals. This allowed the army to suppress the remaining revolutionaries. On the other hand, on 17 March 1917, the Tsar was persuaded by his Military chiefs to abdicate, representing the success of the February revolution. (Figes, 2014) At the same time, the Provisional Government formed by “the bourgeois” was set up because of a negotiation between the Soviets. (mainly Mensheviks and the leaders of the Duma) (It is a temporary, democratic government formed after the fall of the Russian empire) (Figes, 2014) The Provisional Government proved to be unpopular because they continued the un-popular war, and failed to resolve domestic issues such as food shortages. Thus, it was quickly overthrown by the Bolsheviks through an armed insurrection under Lenin and Trotsky on 6 November. On 7 November, the All-Russian Congress of Soviets met and handed over power to the Soviet Council of People's Commissars, and Lenin was elected as Chairman. (Spartacus Educational, accessed 2024) At this point, the Bolsheviks had successfully controlled the center country and this paved the way for the establishment of the Soviet Union after the Russian Civil War.
The differences in the result of the two revolutions was caused by numerous interconnected reasons. In this article, I will show how this was due to the change in the socio-political context and in the organization of the opposition through comparison. By looking at each of these causes in turn and comparing the seeming similarities, this essay shows the deeper differences that lay behind failure and then the success of the revolutionary moments of 1905 and 1917.
Historiography
It is worth addressing works from historians who have provided various interpretations and perspectives on the two revolutions that gave me several interesting insights. However, when I was reading these materials, I found a common missing puzzle piece that I believe is important to include in explaining the failures and successes which I will be addressing in the later sections below.
For the 1917 Revolution, there are groups of historians who viewed the revolution from a “bottom-up” perspective, looking at pressure from the bottom of society. For example, Marina F. Bykova argued in her work On the Place of the Russian Revolution in Russian History that the Russian Revolution was not driven by any political party but was rather by the working people. She also stated that “The revolution is a moment of profound and all-around transformation of society, which is largely carried out spontaneously so that no political agent can completely control it.” (Bykova, 2017) These perspectives from below dragged my attention to the majority groups in Russian society such as farmers and workers, who played a major role in the 1917 revolution.There are also historians who believe that the revolution was shaped most by important figures at the head of government and revolutionary movements. For instance, Leonard Schapiro focused more in his works on the key political figures and leading members including the Tsar, Kerensky, Lenin, and Stalin. (Schapiro,1977) Such perspective also provided me with important insights on what the decision makers at the top were thinking at the time, and how their decisions affected the course of revolution.
On the other hand, fewer historians have examined the 1905 Russian Revolution in the same way. For example, Scott J. Serengy argued for the importance of the peasant movement during the 1905 revolution, which grew deep roots in the countryside within a short period, playing a key role in the formation of the Trudovok parliamentary group (a political group that seeks agrarian reforms, “natural successor of the VKS” (All-Russian Peasant Union) in the First Duma through a case study of the peasant union movement in Sumy district. (Seregny, 1988) John Bushnell also mentioned the contribution of soldier mutinies to the 1905 Revolution. (Bushnell,1985) These historians provided a combination of perspectives from the military and peasants, which led me to view the 1905 revolution with focus on key case studies from the military and peasantry.
These works have shown the importance of considering both pressure from below via the soldiers and peasants, and the role of leadership in directing that pressure. Nevertheless, a comparison between the two revolutions is lacking in most of the historiography, although some had tried to make some limited comparisons. Such as John Bushnell, who made some comparisons limited in the perspective of military mutiny between 1905 and 1917. (Bushnell,1985) Therefore, I do believe it’s worth providing a systematic approach in comparing the two revolutions of 1905 and 1917 in terms of their failures and successes. This essay will establish comparisons within two major sectors that are all interconnected. First is the Socio-political context, and second is the organization of Opposition.
The Socio-political context
We now begin the comparison of socio-political context. This section will discuss factors that address both social and political arenas, including the attitude to the country leader (Tsar), effects of war, and the extent of political reforms.
To start, during the 1905 revolution, most members of the revolutionaries remained mostly loyal to the Tsar. These expressions of popular support “continued the viability of tsarist authority” during the revolutionary times as commented by Charles Steinwedel. (Steinwedel, 2000) For example, during the peaceful demonstration on Bloody Sunday, the workers sang hymns and carried crosses to show respect to the Tsar. The workers believed that the Tsar would receive their message. (Figes, 2014) This type of expression can also be seen in a public demonstration in Ufa after the release of the October Manifesto by the Tsar. There was a march through Ufa on 22 October that included thousands of people. They expressed strong support for the government and Tsar, and finished the march with repeated chairs of “Hurrah.” (Steinwedel, 2000) The popular loyalty to the Tsar was due to the widespread belief that he was hampered by the bureaucracy and certain Grand Dukes in implementing his reforms. (Trani, 1969) This belief is true to some extent, which can be evidenced by a decree issued by the Tsar in 1904. He stressed the need to improve the state “for the needs of the country [and] the interests of the Russian people…” by improving equality, enforcing the law and increasing the right of speech (“TSARIST DECREE,” 1904) Widespread loyalty among the Tsar had weakened the opposition ( workers, peasants and the military) and the strength of the revolution, which will be further discussed when addressing the organization of the opposition.
On the other hand, during the 1917 revolution, loyalty was lost to the Tsar, and many wished to topple his throne. This can be seen by the slogans they used such as “Down with the Tsar” and when the crowd heard about the Tsar passing his throne to Grand Duke Mikhail, they demonstrated an outburst of anger with people shouting, “Long Live the Republic!” and “Down with the Dynasty!” The mood of the crowd made it clear that the survival of the monarchy was impossible. (Wortman, 2013) (Figes, 2014)This widespread discontent was due to the long-lasting effects of military failures in WW1, which had affected Russia’s economic and social sector, exacerbated inflation and caused severe food shortages in urban areas. Although Russia had suffered military failures in both 1905 and 1917, the impact had varied in its severity. We will compare the impacts of war on Russia during 1905 and 1917 in terms of social and economic impact. First by its direct casualties. For World War One, it is estimated by historian Erin Holaday Ziegler that Russia had suffered about 2 million deaths. (Ziegler, accessed 2026) For the Russo-Japanese War, Russia suffered about 40,000 to 70,000 deaths as estimated by historian Alexander Bay. (Bay, accessed 2026)
In terms of impact on society, specifically food security. This is shown by a set of statistics regarding food production collected by Kitanina, T. M. Food crops decreased from 52,135 million kg in 1914 to 41,885 million kg in World War One as a result of the growth of army supplies. (1914-1918-Online (WW1) Encyclopedia, accessed 2024) This led to severe food shortages within major cities such as Moscow. As a report by the Duma in February 1917 states:
“Instead of the required 65 carloads of flour… in December the daily flour supply in Moscow was not more than 50 carloads, and in January it fell to 42 carloads. That is, the supply met only a little more than half the need”
The reduction of food supply within major cities acted as a major factor in sparking the revolutions in 1917. Demonstrations such as the one that happened on 8 March 1917, began due to shortages of food. While in the Russo-Japanese War, agricultural production grew. It is shown by the increase in agricultural production from 1900 to 1913. As statistics collected by Historian Manabu Sauhara show, the increase in grain production is “1.44 times for the 50 Provinces of European Russia”, and “1.15 times for the 72 Provinces.” (Suhara, 2017)
In terms of economic impact, Russia spent a total of 6.554 billion rubles during the Russo-Japanese War while spending more than 38 billion rubles at the end of the summer of 1917 (1914-1918-Online (WW1) Encyclopedia, accessed 2024) (Ananich, 2005) Large amounts of money needed for war greatly dragged the Russian economy into devastation. In addition, the Tsar took personal command of the army in 1915, making him a direct target of blame for the military failures and the effects of the war, which was a major reason for the loss of loyalty among both the military and the wider society. In 1905, the Tsar had no personal command of the army unlike what he had done in WW1, which diverges direct blame on him to other factors and personnel.
Thus, World War One led to more discontent in 1917 than the Russo-Japanese War in 1905 because of the greater impacts on mainland Russia. This can be seen by the greater decrease in food production, economic burden, and the impacts on Russian society.
Second, we will move on to the extent of political reforms. Although both revolutions ended with reforms, the results of these reforms varied. In 1905, Nicholas issued the October Manifesto to appease the public and gain time for him to repress the revolution, which resulted in him being viewed positively. As Steinwedel had commented: “The Manifesto’s publication ended strikes locally, with the exception of that of the railway workers.” (Wortman, 2013) (Steinwedel, 2000) However, the outcome did not come as what the public had expected, as Monarchy persisted through the years after 1905. This may be a result of two main reasons. On one hand, the opposition group (peasants and workers) lacked organization and a clear political demand which would be further illustrated in the opposition section. On the other hand, the Tsar himself, although announcing the Manifesto publicly, didn’t want a republic rather than a monarchy and his absolute power. Nicholas himself believed that the issuing of the manifesto was a confirmation of autocratic authority rather than to create a democratic government, and he denied a break between the autocracy and the new order. (Wortman, 2013) This strong belief can be evidenced in various attempts of the Tsar to make alterations to the reform. As an example, the phrase “autocratic and unlimited” was removed from the first draft of the Duma charter, but the Tsar insisted on the word “autocratic” and the word “unlimited” to be restored. Furthermore, in a letter to his mother, he even claimed that the signing of the manifesto was a “terrible decision” forced by the chaos in Russia. (“LETTER FROM NICHOLAS II,” 1905)（(Wortman, 2013) Ultimately, it’s an unrealistic act that the revolutionaries put hope in the Tsar's power to initiate reforms against the monarchy, while the Tsar himself is against liberalization. The strong contradiction between autocratic and representative government continued, proclaiming the failure of the revolution. (Wortman, 2013)
While for the revolution in 1917, the political landscape had changed greatly. The Tsar was brutally murdered in July 1918 at the Ipatiev House. The Bolsheviks, one of the leading members during the revolution who promoted reforms, took total control of the Russian government, “and all imperium gathered into the hands of the Bolshevik party” which no private institutions was allowed to compete with the government. (Basil, 1968) The complete control allowed the Bolsheviks to imply their reforms fully without disturbances, and opposition to the reforms were met with brutal action. A great example of this was the idea of “War Communism.” It was a series of extreme measures of state control. Including the abolishment of Private Labor Unions, initiating compulsory work and forcing farmers to hand over most of their food apart from the essentials for them to survive, and all necessities must be distributed by the country. Although this harsh policy led to dissatisfaction among the Russian people, it did settle order in the nation, ensured supply to the frontline, and helped to implement the reforms. (Mcmeekin, 2017) (History Hit, accessed 2024) This time, the reforms were carried by a revolution from below with people who were willing to do so and was reinforced by harsh policies, rather than a “revolution” from above who only aimed to appease the public.
Overall, there was more loyalty towards the Tsar in 1905 which was lost in 1917, leading to more active opposition. Moreover, the negative effects of WW1 greatly dragged Russia’s economy and society while the Russo-Japanese War had less severe impacts, leading to more discontent in 1917. The aims and reinforcements regarding political reforms also varied significantly between the two revolutions. These changes all acted as reasons for the difference between the 1905 and 1917 Russian revolution.
The Opposition
The next comparison is between the opposition forces. The opposition discussed in this essay is defined by people who opposed the Tsarist regime/provisional government due to discontent and who participated in the revolution. It is worth paying attention to the different groups of opposition that participated due to their importance as the major force against the regime and their direct impacts on the outcomes. This essay will address the major sources of oppositions including workers, peasants, and women.
Workers and peasants acted as one of the most important groups during both revolutions and made up most of the opposition against the regime. But during the 1905 revolution, workers' opposition was fractured and often faced division amongst themselves. As an example, in Ufa, a group of railway workers came to lead a local opposition against the regime, but division appeared among them over their strike’s goals. (Steinwedel, 2000) This phenomenon was caused by the widespread loyalty for the Tsar due to the belief that the Tsar’s will to reform was impeded by bureaucracy and aristocrats. This belief within the workers obstructed the course of the revolution. Again, using the worker's opposition in Ufa, when the railway shop joined the general strike in Moscow, workers who did not support the revolution went home. As a result, without a broad mobilization of the urban population in supporting the revolt, the railway workers were isolated and quickly routed. (Steinwedel, 2000) Furthermore, the peasants across the country lacked unified coordination. As Scott J. Seregny stated:
“Such agrarian riots represented “short outbursts of accumulated frustration and rebellious feeling,” “expressive” rather than “instrumental, “short on goals and organized tactics … the peasant movement was often isolated from struggles waged by other groups in Russia’s towns”
The workers also fell behind in coordination, as their participation in trade unions lagged compared to the other revolutionary groups, despite some workers having joined factory committees that performed many of trades union functions. (Bonnell, 1984) This view can be supported by a reflection from Leonard Trotsky (key member of the Bolshevik party) who participated in the 1905 Revolution. He claimed that the lessons from 1905 presented “an urgent necessity for a special revolutionary organisation, capable of quickly getting hold of the popular masses and making them ready for revolutionary action under the leadership of the workers.” This suggests that the lack of coordination of workers was one of the reasons that caused the failure of the 1905 Revolution, making it a valuable lesson for future revolutions. ( “LEON TROTSKY,” 1930) The lack of coordination made it almost impossible for the workers and peasants to form a strong and unified force against the monarchy. This made them easier targets for the regime to repress one by one. (Trani, 1969)
However, by 1917, the Tsar had lost the loyalty of most peasants and workers due to the effects of World War One. This allowed groups across the nation to form strong alliances together against the tsarist regime without internal divisions. Unlike the situation in 1905, they acted under mostly unified coordination under the socialists, including the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. Industrial workers were strongly affected by revolutionary propaganda, and many of them had come to belong to revolutionary parties, making it easier to unite under a common cause. (Nikolaieff, 1946) Workers had committed themselves frequently to committees in trying to establish self-determination of factory productions, and they also joined the Soviets which established bonds between the workers and the Bolsheviks. (Bonnell, 1984) The working class often formed slogans including “all powers to the Soviets!” and organized these unions and committees collectively in sectors of the society such as industry, agriculture, and garrisons to gain their rights and fight the factory owners. (Marxists Internet Archive, accessed 2024) Additionally, the workers often had strong ties with the countryside as they had an inordinate percentage of peasant origin. Thus, Lenin believed that it was possible to form an alliance between peasants and the proletariat and lead to a “dictatorship of the proletariat” to “building socialism.” (Reiman, 2016) (Bonnell, 1984) This formation of alliance can be evidenced at Petrograd in November. Where most destitute peasants in Petrograd moved into the front rank to stir up revolutionary sentiment. These peasants were encouraged by the urban workers, many of whom retained strong links with peasants. (Faulkner, 2017)
Women also played a huge role in both revolutions. In 1905, the Women’s Equal Rights Union was created after Bloody Sunday. It was the first women’s political group that fought for equal rights in Russia. The union had broad influence by framing its focus on women’s rights as part of the larger struggle for political liberation and reform from the Tsarist regime. (Harvard University, accessed 2024) Women also provided essential technical aid and general support for the leading men of the revolutionary movement. (Galili, 1990) However, these women's movements made limited progress during the revolution for several reasons. Firstly, Women were often restricted regarding the right to vote or taking a role in the Duma. Thus, the only path to participation was to influence other male members who participated in the Duma. (Harvard University, accessed 2024) Secondly, the leading revolutionaries had rarely formulated policies directed toward women's rights, and they had paid only sparse attention to questions or issues of women. This lack of attention weakened women’s rebellious forces, thus prohibiting them from making further progress. (Galili, 1990)
In contrast, women's movements received huge amounts of support during the 1917 revolution, and they were much more active. Women workers, who made up 1/3 of the Petrograd workforce, were the first ones to demonstrate on the streets. Large numbers of women factory workers came out on 23 February to celebrate International Women’s Day and to protest the shortages and high prices of foodstuffs. These inspired thousands of residents to join the demonstrations, and more workers went on strike the following day which escalated the rebellion against the regime. After this event, women's opposition received more support from the Bolsheviks as they started to involve themselves in organizing working women. The Bolsheviks understood the importance of women’s participation from conclusions drawn by leading Bolsheviks from the experience of 1905-1907. The rise of the number of female factory workers from 192,000 in 1887 to 584,000 in 1907 and the emergence of a vocal non-socialist feminist movement also focused socialists’ attention on women, as they promised to support all women, workers included. Moreover, women in the Bolshevik party convinced the male leaders, especially Vladimir Lenin to coordinate resources and energies to women worker organizations. Bolsheviks had established special women’s sections in local party organizations and championed women’s issues which maximized women's enthusiasm for Bolshevism. (Galili, 1990) The effects of this were substantial. As Ziva Galili pointed out:
“This has proved crucial to Bolshevik policy on women issues … Not only had the Bolshevik party publicly committed itself to a program of immediate action on behalf of women’s equality and liberty, but the women involved in the daily work of organizing and publishing had come to feel more strongly and personally about that goal.”
As a result of the support from the Bolshevik party, female participation in strike activity remained relatively high in the months leading up to the October Revolution (Galili, 1990) Women's support had greatly aided the revolution and provided vital impetus towards the final success of the revolution.
From a comparison of workers, peasants and women in the revolutions, we can deduce that the opposition was weaker in 1905 compared to 1917 because of the extent of loyalty to the Tsar, the changing amount of attention paid by mainstream revolutionaries to certain groups of opposition such as women, and the extent of increasing unification of oppositions groups allowing them to act in a more coordinated manner in 1917 than in 1905.
Conclusion
Through the comparison between the two revolutions in two major areas; the socio-political context and the organization of opposition, we have identified several distinctive differences. Within the socio-political context, there was the change in the extent of loyalty towards the Tsar. It is important to note how the 1905 revolution led to reforms carried from above, while the Revolution in 1917 led to reforms carried from both the above and below, reinforced with harsh policies. Within the organization of opposition, we could see in 1917, the workers and peasants acted under coordinated orders from revolutionary groups such as the Bolsheviks, which was not the case in 1905, and how the Tsar had slowly lost loyalty amongst the lower class. Women played an important role in both revolutions, while the attention on them from the revolutionaries varied, where there was more attention and support to women in 1917 than in 1905.
These key differences reveal the reasons behind the successes and failures of the Soviet revolution and how the support for revolution changed over time from 1905 to 1917. A successful revolution was never down to a few causes, but about an apt moment along with numerous causes that interplayed with each other.
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