Bibliography
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSsunday.htm (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
http://members.vcehistory.info/russia/ (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/revolutionary_ideology.htm (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
http://members.vcehistory.info/russia/russia22.htm (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
http://members.vcehistory.info/russia/ (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
http://members.vcehistory.info/russia/russia31.htm (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/lenin_vladimir.shtml (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Lenin-Vladimir.html (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/vladmir_lenin.htm (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
http://members.vcehistory.info/russia/russia12.htm (Retrieved 10/07/2009)
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‘Bloody Sunday was inevitable’
Emma Wilks
Bloody Sunday was an inevitable result of the Russo-Japanese War, Lenin’s influence in Russia and the development of revolutionary
ideology, which developed from the Communist Manifesto. These three factors made Bloody Sunday unavoidable in the lead up to
the Russian Revolution.
The Russo-Japanese War directly influenced Bloody Sunday and its results, “the war with Japan… had disastrous consequences and
marked the beginning of our misfortunes” 1(Felix Yusupov, 1953). The Tsar Nicholas originally thought that the war would rally
support for him in a display of patriotic fervor2. But with the war so far away from the bulk of the population, in the very far eastern
reaches of the country, this left the population feeling removed from the war 3. Also due to the country having such a vast area, news
of the war was slow to reach the people4, which did little to stimulate public support and enthusiasm. This caused the belief that
there was no justification for the war, resulting in criticism towards the Tsar. The disapproval of the Tsar’s actions also lead to an
increase in revolutionary activity5, and the forming of protests within the factories. Social unrest escalated when news of losses in
the war reached the people in the industrialized cities, and this lead to further criticism of the Tsar and his government. Due to the
outcome of the Russo-Japanese war, Bloody Sunday became an unavoidable event6 in the lead up to the Russian Revolution. Along
with the war’s disastrous outcome, Lenin’s influence throughout Russia also lead to Bloody Sunday being unavoidable.
Lenin’s influence in Russia was a cause of Bloody Sunday, contributing to it being an unavoidable event. Lenin, by 1893 had become
a revolutionary by profession 7 and in 1901 as an international revolutionary, he became the leader of the Russian social democratic
worker’s party, the ‘Bolsheviks’8. Lenin influenced the unavoidable development to Bloody Sunday by writing controversial papers
and articles, as well as trying to organize workers9. He promoted ideas of Marxism, aiming for a revolution that would transform
Russia into a democratic republic10. Thus influencing worker’s ideas and causing reasoning for Bloody Sunday and its results. Lenin
through his revolutionary activities, selected and trained people who would work for his cause11, contributing to the spread of his
revolutionary ideas in the build up to Bloody Sunday. Through his writings, Lenin focused his attention on the role of the proletariat
as the promoters of his revolution12, thus Bloody Sunday can be seen as a result of his action, as it was the workers rising up in
revolutionary action. Lenin’s ideas of Marxism developed from the Communist Manifesto and contributed to the development of the
revolutionary ideology, another trigger that made Bloody Sunday inevitable.
The Communist Manifesto and the revolutionary ideology that developed from this, subjected Bloody Sunday to being an inevitable
event, in the progression of the Russian revolution. Marxism was the major revolutionary ideology13 which had developed from Karl
Marx and Frederick Engels’ radical ideology, expressed in the Communist Manifesto. This idea contributed to Bloody Sunday being
inevitable, as all of history was said to be a class struggle to improve their own economic state 14. This thus aided the development of
Bloody Sunday as the working class saw it was their duty to rise up for the betterment of their class, therefore making Bloody
Sunday inevitable.
Bloody Sunday was an inevitable event in the lead up to the Russian Revolution. Due to the Russo-Japanese War, Lenin’s influence in
Russia and the Communist Manifesto, Bloody Sunday became an unavoidable event. It was these three influences that lead to
Bloody Sunday and the disastrous consequences it had.
1.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSjapan.htm
8. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/lenin_vladimir.shtml
2. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/russo-japanese%20war.htm
9. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Lenin-Vladimir.html
3. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/russo-japanese%20war.htm
10. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Lenin-Vladimir.html
4. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/russo-japanese%20war.htm
11. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Lenin-Vladimir.html
5. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/RUSjapan.htm
12. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Lenin-Vladimir.html
6. http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0842745.html
13. http://members.vcehistory.info/russia/
7. http://www.notablebiographies.com/Ki-Lo/Lenin-Vladimir.html
14. http://members.vcehistory.info/russia/