The Bloody Sunday Massacre in 1905 Essay Example

On January 22, 1905, over 200 unarmed workers' rights protestors were killed in the streets of St Petersburg, Russia, and over 800 were injured. What started as a peaceful protest against Tsar Nicholas II quickly became a massacre, with hundreds of low-class workers becoming the first victims of an inevitable revolution. In 1905, soldiers of the Tsar opened fire on a peaceful demonstration set by the working class in Russia who were protesting the unfair working and living conditions they had dealt with ever since the start of the Russo-Japanese war. With the ruling Tsar being out of Winter Palace, the soldiers had no orders and did what was thought to be best at the time of the strike. This event famously became known as the Bloody Sunday Killings—or the Russian Revolution of 1905—caused by unjust working and living conditions, a yearlong war against Japan, and a peaceful protest against the Tsarist ruler. The Bloody Sunday killings then directly led to other strikes within and around Russia, and the Russian Revolution of 1917 which brought communism to Russia.

Beginning in the early 1900s, Russia engaged in a war with Japan over Russia’s expansionist policy in East Asia. During the long and bloody year Russia was involved in the war, its national economy began to slip, as production, foreign trade, and government revenue all began to decline. Because of the sudden deterioration of the Russian economy, companies were compelled to, “dismiss thousands of workers and increase pressure on those they retained” to keep afloat (“Bloody Sunday 1905”). This reduction resulted in increased rates of homelessness and poverty. Without jobs, people were unable to pay for food, housing, and other bare necessities needed to live. As time went on, frustration levels rose, causing those below Russia’s poverty line to begin creating groups of poor Russian citizens that would eventually peacefully protest against the injustice the government has created within society. Furthermore, the decrease in Russia’s funding and resources caused the government to increase taxes by 50%. Not only were the taxes greatly increased, but the Russian working class was also not paid correspondingly. The unfair treatment within Russian society irritated the working class, as they were not able to pay for food or hygienic products because the tax was too high on the goods they needed. The Russo-Japanese war and economic degradation within Russia infuriated the Russian working class and sent them desperately seeking a change. 

Though the Russo-Japanese war that spanned from 1904 to 1905 was a major cause of the Bloody Sunday Massacre in Russia, by far, the most prominent cause of the devastating event was the horrible working and living conditions the working class had to endure. Industrial workers had very poor living conditions, accompanied by vile working conditions, which worsened as time went on. As an example of this, “By the start of the 20th century, Russia’s three million industrial workers were one of the lowest-paid workforces in Europe” (“Bloody Sunday 1905”). Consequently, Russian workers became very angry at the Russian government, as they had no money to pay for a healthy lifestyle for themselves or their families. Rather than living in good conditions, most of the Russian workforce had to live in crowded apartments called tenements. These tenements had no running water and would often be filled to the brim with people, rapidly spreading disease. In addition to this, Alpha History states, “Russia’s industrial workers also labored under appalling conditions. The average working day was 10.5 hours, six days a week, but 15-hour days were not unknown (...) Workplace hygiene and safety were poor. Illness, accidents, and injuries were common-place and with no leave or compensation available” (“Bloody Sunday 1905”). Resulting from these conditions, Russian workers became infuriated with how they were being treated compared to the work they were putting into their jobs. This unfair treatment struck the formation of labor unions with the intention to protest the injustice the workers had to suffer. The civil unrest within St Petersburg laborers caused the combination of the labor unions, where it was decided there would be a strike at Winter Palace, led by these labor unions, where over 200 working-class citizens were regrettably murdered.