The First Russian Revolution

The first major disaster happened on January 9, 1905. A crowd of workers led by the Orthodox priest Father Gapon marched to Palace Square with a peaceful petition asking for better working conditions. Troops opened fire on the marchers and in the ensuing panic about one hundred died and thousands were wounded in what came to be known as "Bloody Sunday." Even without U2 around to sing about it the country rose up in protest and there were mutinies, murders of landowners and industrialists, strikes, and enough general hubbub to force Nicholas to make some concessions in order to avert total disaster. The tsar issued the so-called "October Manifesto" which established a constitutional body (called the Duma) and promised civil rights and liberties to all, though Nicholas eventually went back on most of these promises and political tension continued to build until 1914 when an external threat gave him a temporary reprieve.