Moscow Uprising of 1905
Encyclopedia
The Moscow Uprising occurred 7–17 December 1905; it was centred in the Presnia district and was mainly led by the Bolsheviks. It ended in defeat for the revolutionaries and provoked a swift counter-revolution that lasted till 1907.
may have satisfied Russia's liberals with a constitution and free press, but most left-wing revolutionaries saw it as a cynical move by the Tsar to isolate the workers and peasants from the bourgeoisie
.
Lenin returned from Geneva to St Petersburg on November 8 (21st Gregorian calendar) after months of delaying. He immediately called for an armed uprising, not really caring whether it succeeded or not: "Victory?!...That for us is not the point at all...We should not harbour any illusions, we are realists, and let no-one imagine that we have to win. For that we are still too weak. The point is not about victory but about giving the regime a shake and attracting the masses to the movement. That is the whole point. And to say that because we cannot win we should not stage an insurrection-that is simply the talk of cowards."
The final trigger was the arrest of the St. Petersburg Soviet on December 3.
on December 7. There were four soviets of workers' deputies coordinating the uprising. The governor of Moscow, Vice Admiral Fyodor Dubasov
, tried to arrest the ringleaders, which merely provoked a city-wide uprising. The revolt was based in Maxim Gorky
's apartment—bombs were made in the study and food for the revolutionaries in the kitchen. Gorky disliked the Bolsheviks' dogmatic collectivism but saw them as an ally against the backward peasants and Tsar. The Joint Council of Volunteer Fighting Squads armed the workers with 800 stockpiled weapons. Barricades were made from whatever people laid their hands on, even overturned trams. 2,000 manned the barricades with 200 guns. The police tried to dismantle them to no avail. Workers were joined by students and even some bourgeois, angered at the violence of the government.
December 9: troops shell the Fiedler academy from 10 pm to 3 am.
On the evening of the 10th the SRs bombed the HQ of the Moscow Okhrana.
December 11: the Bolsheviks issued a handbook on street fighting.
December 12: six of the seven railway stations and many districts were in rebel hands, 50 officers were seized as they arrived by train. The troops and artillery were hemmed in the squares and Kremlin
.
December 15: head of the Moscow Okhrana is assassinated. The Moscow Soviet has its last meeting. Presnia is shelled.
December 18: General Min orders the last assault: "Act without mercy. There will be no arrests."
December 19: Revolt crushed.
August 26 1906: General Min assassinated by a Socialist revolutionary.
meant there was no hope for a socialist revolution, but the rebels could well have taken the Kremlin. They failed because each rebel area looked after itself and did not consider the city as a whole. The main rebel district was Presnia, home to 150,000 mainly textile workers. It set up its own police and Soviet rather than attack the Kremlin. Another key failure was that one station, the Nikolaevski station, remained in government hands. This allowed the Semenovsky Regiment
(Russia's second oldest)to arrive from St. Petersburg December 15 (the government feared a mutiny if the Moscow garrison were used) It shelled Presnia into submission after two days. On December 18 the uprising was called off, then the General Strike the next day. 35 soldiers died, while 1,059 rebels were killed including 137 women and 86 children.
Triggers
The October ManifestoOctober Manifesto
The October Manifesto was issued on 17 October, 1905 by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia under the influence of Count Sergei Witte as a response to the Russian Revolution of 1905....
may have satisfied Russia's liberals with a constitution and free press, but most left-wing revolutionaries saw it as a cynical move by the Tsar to isolate the workers and peasants from the bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
.
Lenin returned from Geneva to St Petersburg on November 8 (21st Gregorian calendar) after months of delaying. He immediately called for an armed uprising, not really caring whether it succeeded or not: "Victory?!...That for us is not the point at all...We should not harbour any illusions, we are realists, and let no-one imagine that we have to win. For that we are still too weak. The point is not about victory but about giving the regime a shake and attracting the masses to the movement. That is the whole point. And to say that because we cannot win we should not stage an insurrection-that is simply the talk of cowards."
The final trigger was the arrest of the St. Petersburg Soviet on December 3.
Revolt
Moscow's Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries planned a revolt on December 5 and hastily called a general strikeGeneral strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
on December 7. There were four soviets of workers' deputies coordinating the uprising. The governor of Moscow, Vice Admiral Fyodor Dubasov
Fyodor Dubasov
Admiral Fyodor Vasilyevich Dubasov was the governor general of Moscow from November 24, 1905 to July 5, 1906....
, tried to arrest the ringleaders, which merely provoked a city-wide uprising. The revolt was based in Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
's apartment—bombs were made in the study and food for the revolutionaries in the kitchen. Gorky disliked the Bolsheviks' dogmatic collectivism but saw them as an ally against the backward peasants and Tsar. The Joint Council of Volunteer Fighting Squads armed the workers with 800 stockpiled weapons. Barricades were made from whatever people laid their hands on, even overturned trams. 2,000 manned the barricades with 200 guns. The police tried to dismantle them to no avail. Workers were joined by students and even some bourgeois, angered at the violence of the government.
December 9: troops shell the Fiedler academy from 10 pm to 3 am.
On the evening of the 10th the SRs bombed the HQ of the Moscow Okhrana.
December 11: the Bolsheviks issued a handbook on street fighting.
December 12: six of the seven railway stations and many districts were in rebel hands, 50 officers were seized as they arrived by train. The troops and artillery were hemmed in the squares and Kremlin
Kremlin
A kremlin , same root as in kremen is a major fortified central complex found in historic Russian cities. This word is often used to refer to the best-known one, the Moscow Kremlin, or metonymically to the government that is based there...
.
December 15: head of the Moscow Okhrana is assassinated. The Moscow Soviet has its last meeting. Presnia is shelled.
December 18: General Min orders the last assault: "Act without mercy. There will be no arrests."
December 19: Revolt crushed.
August 26 1906: General Min assassinated by a Socialist revolutionary.
Defeat
The issuing of the October Manifesto and ending of the Russo-Japanese warRusso-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
meant there was no hope for a socialist revolution, but the rebels could well have taken the Kremlin. They failed because each rebel area looked after itself and did not consider the city as a whole. The main rebel district was Presnia, home to 150,000 mainly textile workers. It set up its own police and Soviet rather than attack the Kremlin. Another key failure was that one station, the Nikolaevski station, remained in government hands. This allowed the Semenovsky Regiment
Semenovsky Regiment
Semenovsky Life-Guards Regiment was one of the two oldest guards regiments of the Imperial Russian Army.- History :...
(Russia's second oldest)to arrive from St. Petersburg December 15 (the government feared a mutiny if the Moscow garrison were used) It shelled Presnia into submission after two days. On December 18 the uprising was called off, then the General Strike the next day. 35 soldiers died, while 1,059 rebels were killed including 137 women and 86 children.