The causes of the Russain Revolution of 1905

84% of the Russian population lived as peasants. They were by far the largest group in the country but they were also the poorest. These peasants were also very dissatisfied with their living conditions and how land was divided up. Their basic diet was also unsatisfactory. When the harvest was good food was also good. However there was very little meat to be had as the peasants lived mainly on grain. This lead to people relying heavily on their crops and in 1891 400,000 people died when crop failure coupled with cholera hit the countryside. The life expectancy was also low.

The main problem however was land as there was simply not enough to go around. Many peasants were given loans by the government to buy some land off of previous employers. However the size of land that they received was often

The workers had many grievances about their terrible working conditions. They wanted higher wages and shorter hours. At the time before the revolution the workers would work up to eleven hours a day and many would work beyond that as overtime – up to fifteen or sixteen hours a day. The pay they received was unacceptable but they needed the money. The living conditions were often very cramped with sometimes four people to a bed. In some factories there were sleeping shifts where two workers would share a bed and while one worked the other slept. Illness could spread rapidly and with disastrous affect due to the cramped conditions of the living quarters.

Many middle class people were angry that the Tsar would not share some of his wealth with the people. They also believed that it was time that people had say in the running of the country. They said there should be a parliament, which is freely elected by all men.

All the above factors had led to frustration throughout the Russian people. The government could not control strikes and was shown to be weak and powerless by losing to Japan in th

Some topics in this essay:
Russian Revolution, , term causes, japan war, buy land, living conditions, poor harvests, 1905 revolution,