Where was the king during Bloody Sunday? "Bloody Sunday" (1905)

One of the most tragic events that took place in the history of Russia is Bloody Sunday. Briefly speaking, on January 9, 1905, a demonstration was executed, in which about 140 thousand representatives of the working class took part. This happened in St. Petersburg during the time of which people began to call it Bloody. Many historians believe what exactly served as the decisive impetus for the start of the 1905 revolution.

Brief background

At the end of 1904, political ferment began in the country, this happened after the defeat that the state suffered in the notorious Russian-Japanese War. What events led to the mass execution of workers - a tragedy that went down in history as Bloody Sunday? Briefly speaking, it all started with the organization of the “Meeting of Russian Factory Workers.”

It is interesting that the creation of this organization was actively promoted. This was due to the fact that the authorities were concerned about the growing number of dissatisfied people in the working environment. The main goal of the “Assembly” was initially to protect representatives of the working class from the influence of revolutionary propaganda, organize mutual assistance, and educate. However, the “Assembly” was not properly controlled by the authorities, as a result of which there was a sharp change in the direction of the organization. This was largely due to the personality of the person who led it.

Georgy Gapon

What does Georgy Gapon have to do with the tragic day that is remembered as Bloody Sunday? Briefly speaking, it was this clergyman who became the inspirer and organizer of the demonstration, the outcome of which was so sad. Gapon took the post of head of the “Assembly” at the end of 1903, and it soon found itself in his unlimited power. The ambitious clergyman dreamed of having his name go down in history and proclaiming himself a true leader of the working class.

The leader of the “Assembly” founded a secret committee, whose members read forbidden literature, studied the history of revolutionary movements, and developed plans to fight for the interests of the working class. The Karelin spouses, who enjoyed great authority among the workers, became Gapon's associates.

The "Program of Five", including the specific political and economic demands of the members of the secret committee, was developed in March 1904. It was she who served as the source from which the demands that the demonstrators planned to present to the Tsar on Bloody Sunday 1905 were taken. In short, they failed to achieve their goal. On that day, the petition never fell into the hands of Nicholas II.

Incident at the Putilov plant

What event made workers decide to demonstrate massively on the day known as Bloody Sunday? You can briefly talk about it like this: the impetus was the dismissal of several people who worked at the Putilov plant. All of them were participants in the “Meeting”. Rumors spread that people were fired precisely because of their affiliation with the organization.

The unrest did not spread to other enterprises operating at that time in St. Petersburg. Mass strikes began and leaflets with economic and political demands on the government began to be distributed. Inspired, Gapon decided to submit a petition personally to the autocrat Nicholas II. When the text of the appeal to the Tsar was read to the participants of the “Meeting”, the number of which already exceeded 20 thousand, people expressed a desire to participate in the meeting.

The date for the procession was also determined, which went down in history as Bloody Sunday - January 9, 1905. The main events are summarized below.

Bloodshed was not planned

The authorities became aware in advance of the impending demonstration, in which about 140 thousand people were supposed to take part. Emperor Nicholas left with his family for Tsarskoe Selo on January 6. The Minister of the Interior called an emergency meeting the day before the event, which is remembered as Bloody Sunday 1905. In short, during the meeting it was decided not to allow the rally participants to go not only to Palace Square, but also to the city center.

It is also worth mentioning that bloodshed was not initially planned. Authorities had no doubt that the crowd would be forced to disperse by the sight of armed soldiers, but these expectations were not justified.

Massacres

The procession that moved towards Winter Palace, consisted of men, women and children who did not have weapons with them. Many participants in the procession held portraits of Nicholas II and banners in their hands. At the Neva Gate, the demonstration was attacked by cavalry, then shooting began, five shots were fired.

The next shots were heard at the Trinity Bridge from the St. Petersburg and Vyborg sides. Several volleys were fired at the Winter Palace when the demonstrators reached the Alexander Garden. The scene of the events soon became littered with the bodies of the wounded and dead. Local clashes continued until late in the evening; only by 11 p.m. did authorities manage to disperse the demonstrators.

Consequences

The report that was presented to Nicholas II significantly downplayed the number of people injured on January 9. Bloody Sunday summary which is recounted in this article, killed 130 people and injured another 299, according to this report. In reality, the number of killed and wounded exceeded four thousand people; the exact figure remained a mystery.

Georgy Gapon managed to hide abroad, but in March 1906 the clergyman was killed by the Social Revolutionaries. Mayor Fullon, who was directly related to the events of Bloody Sunday, was dismissed on January 10, 1905. The Minister of Internal Affairs Svyatopolk-Mirsky also lost his post. The meeting of the emperor with the working delegation took place during which Nicholas II expressed regret that so many people had died. However, he still stated that the demonstrators had committed a crime and condemned the mass march.

Conclusion

After Gapon's disappearance, the mass strike ended and the unrest subsided. However, this turned out to be only the calm before the storm; soon new political upheavals and casualties awaited the state.

The demonstration of workers in St. Petersburg on January 9 (22), 1905 is still described by some historians as the shooting of a peaceful procession (or even a religious procession!) to Tsar Nicholas II. At the same time, pointing to the peaceful nature of the demonstration, it is argued that the petitions that the demonstrators carried to present to the Emperor contained only economic demands. However, it is reliably known that in the last paragraph it was proposed to introduce political freedoms and convene a Constituent Assembly, which was supposed to resolve issues government system. In essence, this point was a call for the abolition of autocracy.

To be fair, it must be said that for most workers the requirements of this clause were vague, vague, and they did not see them as a threat royal power, which they didn’t even intend to oppose. The main thing for them were, in general, quite reasonable economic demands.

However, at the same time that the workers were preparing for the demonstration, another petition was drawn up on their behalf. More radical, containing extremist demands for nationwide reforms, the convening of a Constituent Assembly, and a political change in the state system. All points known to the workers and actually supported by them become, as it were, an addition to political demands. This was in its purest form a political provocation of revolutionaries who tried, on behalf of the people in difficult military conditions, to present demands to the Russian government they did not like.

Of course, the organizers of the demonstration knew that the demands made in their petition were obviously impossible to fulfill and did not even meet the demands of the workers. The main thing that the revolutionaries wanted to achieve was to discredit Tsar Nicholas II in the eyes of the people, to morally humiliate him in the eyes of their subjects. The organizers wanted to humiliate him by the fact that on behalf of the people they presented an ultimatum to God’s Anointed One, who, according to the provisions of the Laws of the Russian Empire, should be guided “Only by the will of God, and not by the multi-rebellious will of the people.”

Much later than the events of January 9, when one of the organizers of the demonstration, priest Gapon, was asked: “Well, what do you think, Fr. George, what would have happened if the Emperor had come out to meet the people?” He replied: “They would kill you in half a minute, half a second!”

However, with what cynicism the same Gapon sent a provocative letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs Svyatopolk-Mirsky on January 8: “Your Excellency,” it says, “workers and residents of St. Petersburg of different classes wish and must see the Tsar on this January 9, Sunday, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon on Palace Square in order to express to him directly his needs and the needs of the entire Russian people. The king has nothing to fear. I, as a representative of the “Assembly of Russian Factory Workers of St. Petersburg”, my fellow workers, comrades, even all the so-called revolutionary groups different directions We guarantee the inviolability of his personality.”

In essence, it was a challenge to the Tsar, an insult to his personal dignity and a humiliation of his power. Just think, the priest leads “revolutionary groups of different directions” and, as if patting the Russian Autocrat on the shoulder, says: “Don’t be afraid, I guarantee you immunity!”, while he himself holds “a stone in his bosom.” This is what the provocateur Gapon said on the eve of the “peaceful march”: “If... they don’t let us through, then we will break through by force. If the troops shoot at us, we will defend ourselves. Some of the troops will come over to our side, and then we will start a revolution. We will set up barricades, destroy weapons stores, break up the prison, take over the telegraph and telephone. The Social Revolutionaries promised bombs... and ours will take it.”

When Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II got acquainted with the workers’ petition, he decided to tactfully leave for Tsarskoe Selo, making it clear that he did not intend to speak in the language of demands and ultimatums. He hoped that, having learned about his absence, the workers would not demonstrate.

However, the organizers of the procession, knowing that there would be no meeting with the Emperor, did not convey this to the workers, deceived them and led them to the Winter Palace to arrange a clash with the forces of law and order. The carefully planned action was a success. Approximately 300 thousand people took part in the demonstration. The St. Petersburg authorities, realizing that it was no longer possible to stop the workers, decided to at least prevent their accumulation in the city center. As historian O.A. Platonov writes in the book History of the Russian People in the 20th Century: “The main task was not even to protect the Tsar (he was not in the city), but to prevent unrest, the inevitable crush and death of people as a result of the flow of huge masses from four sides in the narrow space of Nevsky Prospect and Palace Square among embankments and canals. The tsarist ministers remembered the Khodynka tragedy, when, as a result of the criminal negligence of the Moscow authorities, 1,389 people died in a stampede and about 1,300 were injured. Therefore, troops, Cossacks, were gathered in the center with orders not to let people through, to use weapons if absolutely necessary.”

When the demonstrators moved towards the Winter Palace, in addition to banners, red banners and banners with the slogans “Down with autocracy”, “Long live the revolution”, “To arms, comrades” appeared above the crowds. We moved from calls to action. Pogroms of weapons stores began and barricades were erected. The revolutionaries began to attack policemen and beat them, provoking clashes with the forces of law and order and the army. They were forced to defend themselves and use weapons. No one planned to specifically shoot demonstrators. Moreover, TSAR NICHOLAS II, WHICH WAS IN TSARKOYE SELO, DID NOT GIVE SUCH ORDER.

The demonstrators were not driven into a dead end. They had a choice: having met law enforcement officers and army units on their way, turn back and disperse. They didn't do this. Despite verbal warnings and warning shots, the demonstrators followed the chain of soldiers, who were forced to open fire. 130 people were killed and several hundred were wounded. Reports of “thousands of victims” disseminated by the liberal press are propaganda fiction.

Both then and today, the question arises whether the decision to use weapons was wrong. Maybe the government should have made concessions to the workers?

S.S. Oldenburg answers this question quite exhaustively: “Since the authorities did not consider it possible to capitulate and agree to Constituent Assembly under the pressure of the crowd led by revolutionary agitators, there was no other way out.

Compliance with the advancing crowd either leads to the collapse of power or to even worse bloodshed.”

Today it is known that the so-called “peaceful demonstration” was not only of an internal political nature. It, and the revolutionary uprisings that followed it, were the result of the work of Japanese agents and were organized at the very height of the Russo-Japanese War.

These days, a message came to Russia from Paris from the Latin-Slavic agency of General Cherep-Spiridovich that the Japanese were openly proud of the unrest caused by their money.

The English journalist Dillon testified in his book “The Decline of Russia”: “The Japanese distributed money to Russian revolutionaries..., huge sums were spent. I must say that this is an indisputable fact."

And here is how O.A. Platonov assesses the tragedy of January 9 and the subsequent strikes and revolutionary uprisings: “If we give a legal assessment of the activities of citizens of the Russian Empire, who, under martial law, are preparing its defeat with foreign money, then according to the laws of any state it can be considered only as high treason worthy of capital punishment. The treacherous activities of a handful of revolutionaries, as a result of the shutdown of defense enterprises and interruptions in the supply of the army, led to the death of thousands of soldiers at the front and a deterioration in the economic situation in the country.”

On January 19, in an address to the workers, Tsar Nicholas II quite rightly noted: “The regrettable events, with the sad but inevitable consequences of unrest, occurred because you allowed yourself to be drawn into error and deception by traitors and enemies of our country.

Inviting you to go submit a petition to Me for your needs, they incited you to revolt against Me and My government, forcibly tearing you away from honest work at a time when all truly Russian people must work together and tirelessly to defeat our stubborn external enemy.” .

Of course, the Emperor also noticed the criminal lack of foresight and inability to prevent unrest on the part of the heads of law enforcement agencies.

They received a worthy punishment. By order of the Sovereign, all officials directly responsible for failing to prevent the demonstration were dismissed from their positions. In addition, the Minister of Internal Affairs Svyatopolk-Mirsky and the St. Petersburg mayor Fullon lost their posts.

In relation to the families of the dead demonstrators, the Emperor showed truly Christian mercy. By his decree, 50 thousand rubles were allocated for each family of the deceased or injured. At that time this amounted to an impressive amount. History knows of no other similar case where, during a difficult war, funds were allocated for charitable assistance to the families of injured participants in an anti-state demonstration.

Today, January 22 (9), 2016, marks the 111th anniversary of the bloodiest provocation in the history of our country. It became the prologue of unrest and instability, which, after a break of 10 years, nevertheless destroyed the Russian Empire.

For me Russian Empire— USSR — Russia is one country, one history and one people. Therefore, “Bloody Sunday” must be studied carefully. It is still not clear how everything happened. It is clear that the king did not give the order to shoot. But there was shooting, and people died. The revolutionaries immediately began “dancing on blood” - the number of victims was multiplied by one hundred and an hour after the tragedy they distributed leaflets, which, of course, were printed BEFORE the incident...

I bring to your attention the material that I already posted a year ago...

Source: http://site/blog/48206

The newspaper "Culture" published material about the tragedy of January 9, 1905.
On that day, a peaceful demonstration of workers was dispersed by troops using weapons. Why this happened is still not completely clear. A lot of questions remain. However, while not agreeing with the details of Nils Johansen’s material, it must be said that the essence of what happened was conveyed correctly. Provocateurs - shooters in the ranks of peacefully marching workers, shooting at the troops; immediately appearing leaflets with the number of victims many times higher than the real ones; the strange (treacherous?) actions of some figures in power who banned the demonstration, but did not properly notify the workers and did not take measures to ensure that it was impossible to hold. Pop Gapon, for some reason confident that nothing bad will happen. At the same time, inviting Socialist Revolutionary and Social Democratic militants to a peaceful demonstration, with a request to bring weapons and bombs, with a ban on shooting first, but with permission to shoot back.

Would the organizer of a peaceful march do this? And what about the seizures of church banners on the way to churches on his orders? The revolutionaries needed blood and they got it - in this sense, “Bloody Sunday” is a complete analogue of those killed by snipers on the Maidan. The dramaturgy of the tragedy varies. In particular, in 1905, police officers died not only from gunfire from militants, but also from gunfire... from troops, as law enforcement officers were guarding columns of workers and were caught in the fire along with them.

Nicholas II did not give any orders to shoot at people, however, as The head of state certainly bears responsibility for what happened.And the last thing I would like to note is that there were no purges in power.carried out, no one was punished, no one was removed from office. As a result, in FebruaryIn 1917, the authorities in Petrograd turned out to be completely helpless andweak-willed, the country collapsed and many millions died.

"Trap for the Emperor.

110 years ago, on January 9, 1905, factory workers in St. Petersburg went to the Tsar to seek justice. For many, this day was the last: in the ensuing shootout between the provocateurs and the troops, up to a hundred peaceful demonstrators were killed, and about three hundred more were wounded. The tragedy went down in history as “Bloody Sunday.”

In the interpretations of Soviet textbooks, everything looked extremely simple: Nicholas II did not want to go out to the people. Instead, he sent soldiers, who, on his orders, shot everyone. And if the first statement is partly true, then there was no order to open fire.

Wartime problems

Let us recall the situation of those days. At the beginning of 1905, the Russian Empire was at war with Japan. On December 20, 1904 (all dates are according to the old style), our troops surrendered Port Arthur, but the main battles were still ahead. There was a patriotic upsurge in the country, the sentiments of the common people were clear - the “Japs” needed to be broken. The sailors sang “Up, you, comrades, everyone is in place!” and dreamed of avenging the death of the Varyag.

Otherwise, the country lived as usual. Officials stole, capitalists received excess profits on military government orders, quartermasters carried everything that was in bad condition, workers increased the working day and tried not to pay overtime. Unpleasant, although nothing new or particularly critical.

The worst was at the top. Vladimir Ulyanov’s thesis about the “decomposition of the autocracy” was supported by quite convincing evidence. However, in those years Lenin was still little known. But the information shared by the soldiers returning from the front was not encouraging. And they talked about the indecisiveness (betrayal?) of military leaders, the disgusting state of affairs with the armament of the army and navy, and blatant embezzlement. Discontent was brewing, although, in the opinion of the common people, officials and military personnel were simply deceiving the Tsar-Father. Which, in fact, was not far from the truth. “It became clear to everyone that our weapons were outdated rubbish, that the supply of the army was paralyzed by the monstrous theft of officials. The corruption and greed of the elite subsequently brought Russia to the First World War, during which an unprecedented bacchanalia of embezzlement and fraud broke out,” sums up the writer and historian Vladimir Kucherenko.

Most of all, the Romanovs themselves stole. Not the king, of course, that would be strange. And here is his own uncle, Grand Duke Alexey Alexandrovich, Admiral General, head of the entire fleet, put the process on stream. His mistress, the French dancer Elisa Balletta, quickly became one of the richest women in Russia. Thus, the prince spent the funds intended for the purchase of new battleships in England on diamonds for the imported industrial network. After the Tsushima disaster, the audience booed both the Grand Duke and his passion in the theater. "Prince of Tsushima!" - they shouted to the courtier, “The blood of our sailors is on your diamonds!” - this is already addressed to the French woman. On June 2, 1905, Alexey Alexandrovich was forced to resign, he took the stolen capital and, together with Balletta, went for permanent residence in France. And Nicholas II? “It’s painful and difficult for him, the poor one,” the emperor wrote in his diary, indignant at the “bullying” of his uncle. But the kickbacks that the admiral general took often exceeded 100% of the transaction amount, and everyone knew it. Except Nikolai...

On two fronts

If Russia were at war with only Japan, this would not be a big problem. However, Country rising sun was only an instrument of London during the next anti-Russian campaign, which was carried out with English loans, English weapons and with the involvement of English military experts and “consultants”. However, the Americans also showed up then - they also gave money. “I was extremely happy about the Japanese victory, because Japan is in our game,” said US President Theodore Roosevelt. Russia's official military ally, France, also took part, and they also gave a large loan to the Japanese. But the Germans, surprisingly, refused to participate in this vile anti-Russian conspiracy.

Tokyo received the latest designs weapons. Thus, the squadron battleship Mikasa, one of the most advanced in the world at that time, was built at the British Vickers shipyard. And the armored cruiser Asama, which was the flagship in the squadron that fought with the Varyag, is also “English”. 90 % of the Japanese fleet was built in the West. There was a continuous flow of weapons, equipment for the production of ammunition and raw materials to the islands - Japan had nothing of its own. The debts were supposed to be paid off with concessions for the development of mineral resources in the occupied territories.

“The British built the Japanese fleet, trained naval officers. Union Treaty between Japan and Great Britain, which opened a wide line of credit for the Japanese in politics and economics, was signed in London back in January 1902,” recalls Nikolai Starikov.

However, despite the incredible strength of the Japanese troops the latest technology(primarily with automatic weapons and artillery), the small country was unable to defeat the huge Russia. It took a stab in the back for the giant to stagger and stumble. And the “fifth column” was launched into battle. According to historians, the Japanese spent more than $10 million on subversive activities in Russia in 1903–1905. The amount was colossal for those years. And the money, naturally, was not ours either.

Evolution of petitions

Such a long introduction is absolutely necessary - without knowledge of the geopolitical and internal Russian situation of that time, it is impossible to understand the processes that led to “Bloody Sunday”. The enemies of Russia needed to disrupt the unity of the people and the authorities, namely, to undermine faith in the tsar. And this faith, despite all the twists and turns of the autocracy, remained very, very strong. It took blood on your hands Nicholas II. And they did not fail to organize it.

Came down as an excuse economic conflict at the Putilov defense plant. The thieving management of the enterprise did not pay overtime on time and in full, did not enter into negotiations with the workers and in every possible way hindered the activities of the trade union. By the way, it’s quite official. One of the leaders of the “Meeting of Russian Factory Workers of St. Petersburg” was priest Georgy Gapon. The trade union was led by Ivan Vasiliev, a St. Petersburg worker, a weaver by profession.

At the end of December 1904, when the director of Putilovsky fired four slackers, the trade union suddenly decided to act. Negotiations with management failed, and on January 3 the plant stopped working. A day later, other enterprises joined the strike, and soon more than one hundred thousand people were on strike in St. Petersburg.

Eight-hour workday, overtime pay, indexation wages- these were the original demands, set out in a document called the "Petition for Essential Needs." But soon the document was radically rewritten. There was practically no economy left there, but demands appeared for the “fight against capital”, freedom of speech and... an end to the war. “There was no revolutionary sentiment in the country, and the workers gathered to the tsar with purely economic demands. But they were deceived - with foreign money they staged a bloody massacre,” says historian, professor Nikolai Simakov.

What is most interesting: there are a great many variants of the text of the petition, which of them are genuine and which are not is unknown. With one of the versions of the appeal, Georgy Gapon went to the Minister of Justice and Prosecutor General Nikolai Muravyov. But with which one?..

"Pop Gapon" - the most mysterious figure"Bloody Sunday". Little is known for certain about him. School textbooks say that a year later he was executed by hanging by certain “revolutionaries.” But were they actually executed? Immediately after January 9, the clergyman promptly fled abroad, from where he immediately began to broadcast about thousands of victims of the “bloody regime.” And when he allegedly returned to the country, only a certain “body of a man similar to Gapon” appeared in the police report. The priest is either registered as an agent of the secret police, or declared an honest defender of workers' rights. The facts clearly indicate that Georgy Gapon did not work for the autocracy at all. It was with his knowledge that the workers’ petition was transformed into an openly anti-Russian document, into a completely impossible political ultimatum. Did the simple workers who went out onto the streets know about this? Hardly.

IN historical literature it is indicated that the petition was drawn up with the participation of the St. Petersburg branch of the Socialist Revolutionaries, and the “Mensheviks” also took part. The CPSU (b) is not mentioned anywhere.

“Georgy Apollonovich himself neither went to prison nor was surprisingly harmed during the riots. And only then, many years later, it became clear that he collaborated with certain revolutionary organizations, as well as with foreign intelligence services. That is, he was not at all the supposedly “independent” figure that he seemed to his contemporaries,” explains Nikolai Starikov.

The upper classes don't want it, the lower classes don't know

Initially, Nicholas II wanted to meet with the elected representatives of the workers and listen to their demands. However, the pro-English lobby at the top convinced him not to go to the people. To be sure, the assassination attempt was staged. On January 6, 1905, the signal cannon of the Peter and Paul Fortress, which to this day fires a blank salute every noon, fired a combat charge - buckshot - towards Zimny. No one was hurt. After all, the martyr king, who died at the hands of villains, was of no use to anyone. A “bloody tyrant” was required.

On January 9, Nikolai left the capital. But no one knew about this. Moreover, the emperor’s personal standard flew above the building. The march to the city center was apparently banned, but this was not officially announced. Nobody blocked the streets, although it was easy to do. Strange, isn't it? The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Prince Peter Svyatopolk-Mirsky, who became famous for his amazingly gentle attitude towards revolutionaries of all stripes, swore and swore that everything was under control and no unrest would happen. A very ambiguous personality: an Anglophile, a liberal of the times of Alexander II, it was he who was indirectly guilty of the death at the hands of the Socialist Revolutionaries of his predecessor and boss - the smart, decisive, tough and active Vyacheslav von Plehve.

Another indisputable accomplice is the mayor, Adjutant General Ivan Fullon. Also a liberal, he was friends with Georgy Gapon.

"Colored" arrows

The festively dressed workers went to the Tsar with icons and Orthodox banners, and about 300,000 people took to the streets. By the way, religious objects were seized on the way - Gapon ordered his henchmen to rob the church on the way and distribute its property to the demonstrators (which he admitted to in his book “The Story of My Life”). Such an extraordinary pop... Judging by the recollections of eyewitnesses, people were in high spirits, no one expected any dirty tricks. The soldiers and policemen standing in the cordon did not interfere with anyone, they only observed order.

But at some point the crowd started shooting at them. Moreover, apparently, the provocations were organized very competently, casualties among military personnel and police officers were recorded in different areas. “Hard day! Serious riots occurred in St. Petersburg as a result of the workers’ desire to reach the Winter Palace. The troops had to shoot in different places in the city, there were many killed and wounded. Lord, how painful and difficult!” - Let us again quote the diary of the last autocrat.

“When all the exhortations did not lead to any results, a squadron of the Horse Grenadier Regiment was sent to force the workers to return back. At that moment, the assistant police officer of the Peterhof police station, Lieutenant Zholtkevich, was seriously wounded by a worker, and the police officer was killed. As the squadron approached, the crowd spread out in all directions, and then 2 shots were fired from a revolver from its side,” wrote the head of the Narvsko-Kolomensky district, Major General Rudakovsky, in a report. Soldiers of the 93rd Irkutsk infantry regiment opened fire on the "revolver men". But the killers hid behind the backs of civilians and shot again.

In total, several dozen military and police officers died during the riots, and at least a hundred more were hospitalized with injuries. Ivan Vasiliev, who was clearly used in the dark, was also shot. According to the revolutionaries, they were soldiers. But who checked this? The trade union leader was no longer needed; moreover, he became dangerous.

“Immediately after January 9, priest Gapon called the tsar a “beast” and called for an armed struggle against the government, and how Orthodox priest blessed the Russian people for this. It was from his lips that the words came about the overthrow of the monarchy and the proclamation of the Provisional Government,” says Doctor of Historical Sciences Alexander Ostrovsky.

Shooting at the crowd and at the soldiers standing in a cordon - as we are familiar with today. Ukrainian Maidan, “color revolutions”, the events of 1991 in the Baltic states, where certain “snipers” also appeared. The recipe is the same. In order for unrest to begin, blood is needed, preferably of innocent people. On January 9, 1905, it spilled. And the revolutionary media and foreign press immediately turned several dozen dead workers into thousands of dead. What’s most interesting is that it responded most quickly and competently to the tragedy of “Bloody Sunday.” Orthodox Church. “What is most regrettable is that the unrest that occurred was also caused by bribery from the enemies of Russia and all public order. They sent significant funds in order to create civil strife among us, in order to distract workers from work to prevent timely delivery to Far East maritime and ground forces, impede supply active army... and thereby bring untold disasters upon Russia,” wrote the message of the Holy Synod. But, unfortunately, no one listened to official propaganda anymore. The first Russian revolution was flaring up."

This day in history: 1905 - "Bloody Sunday"

January 9 (22), 1905, St. Petersburg - events known as “Bloody Sunday” or “Red Sunday” occurred - the dispersal of a procession of workers to the Winter Palace, which had the goal of presenting a collective Petition to the sovereign about workers’ needs.

Where it all started

It all started with the fact that at the end of December 1904, 4 workers were fired at the Putilov plant. The plant carried out an important defense order - it made a railway transporter for transporting submarines. Russians submarines could change the course of the naval war in our favor, and for this they had to be delivered across the country to the Far East. This could not be done without the transporter ordered from the Putilov plant.

Three were fired for actual absenteeism, and only one person was actually treated unfairly. But this occasion was happily taken up by the revolutionaries, and they began to escalate passions. It should be noted that the Socialist-Revolutionary P. Rutenberg, who was part of G. Gapon’s inner circle, also worked at Putilovsky (as the head of a tool workshop).

By January 3, 1905, an ordinary labor conflict escalated into a general factory strike. Then the factory management was presented with the demands. But the workers’ petition spoke not so much about the reinstatement of their comrades as about a wide list of economic and political demands that the administration could not fulfill for obvious reasons. In the blink of an eye, almost all of St. Petersburg went on strike as a sign of solidarity. The police reports stated that active participation in spreading the rebellion of the Japanese and British intelligence services.

Details of the provocation

The idea of ​​going to the Tsar with a petition was submitted by the priest Georgy Gapon and his entourage on January 6, 1905. However, the workers who were invited to go to the Tsar for help were introduced only to purely economic demands. Gaponov's provocateurs even began to spread the rumor that Nicholas II himself wanted to meet with his people. The provocation scheme was as follows: revolutionary agitators, allegedly on behalf of the Tsar, conveyed the following to the workers: “I, the Tsar by God’s grace, am powerless to cope with officials and bars, I want to help the people, but the nobles do not give. Rise up, Orthodox, help me, the Tsar, to overcome my and your enemies.”

Many eyewitnesses spoke about this (for example, the Bolshevik Subbotina). Hundreds of revolutionary provocateurs walked among the people, inviting people to come to Palace Square at two o'clock in the afternoon on January 9, declaring that the Tsar would be waiting for them there. As you know, workers began to prepare for this day as a holiday: they ironed best clothes, many were planning to take their children with them. In the minds of the majority, this was a kind of procession to the Tsar, especially since a priest promised to lead it.

What is known about the events between January 6 and 9 is that: On the morning of January 7, Minister of Justice N.V. Muravyov attempted to enter into negotiations with Gapon, who was already in hiding by that time, who, according to the conviction of the St. Petersburg mayor, General I., who had known him for many years. A. Fullon, could bring calm to the ranks of the strikers. Negotiations took place in the afternoon at the Ministry of Justice. The ultimatum nature of the radical political demands of Gaponov's petition made continuation of negotiations pointless, but, fulfilling the obligation assumed during the negotiations, Muravyov did not order the immediate arrest of the priest.

On the evening of January 7, the Minister of Internal Affairs Svyatopolk-Mirsky held a meeting in which Minister of Justice Muravyov, Minister of Finance Kokovtsov, Comrade Minister of Internal Affairs, Chief of the Gendarme Corps General Rydzevsky, Director of the Police Department Lopukhin, Commander of the Guards Corps General Vasilchikov, St. Petersburg mayor General Fullon. After the Minister of Justice reported unsuccessful negotiations with Gapon, the possibility of arresting the latter was considered at the meeting.

But “in order to avoid further aggravation of the situation in the city, they decided to refrain from issuing an arrest warrant for the priest.”

On the morning of January 8, Gapon composed a letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs, which was transferred by one of his associates to the ministry. In this letter, the priest stated: “Workers and residents of St. Petersburg of different classes wish and must see the Tsar on January 9, Sunday, at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on Palace Square, in order to directly express to him their needs and the needs of the entire Russian people. The king has nothing to fear. I, as a representative of the “Assembly of Russian Factory Workers” of the city of St. Petersburg, my fellow workers, comrades, even the so-called revolutionary groups of various directions guarantee the inviolability of his personality... Your duty to the Tsar and the entire Russian people is to immediately, today, bring to information from His Imperial Majesty, both all of the above, and our petition attached here.”

Gapon sent a letter of similar content to the emperor. But, due to the arrest of the worker who delivered the letter to Tsarskoye Selo, it was not received by the tsar. On this day, the number of workers on strike reached 120,000 people, and the strike in the capital became general.

On the evening of January 8, the Minister of the Imperial Court, Baron Fredericks, who arrived from Tsarskoye Selo, conveyed to Svyatopolk-Mirsky the Highest command to declare martial law in St. Petersburg. Soon Svyatopolk-Mirsky convened a meeting. None of those present had any idea that the movement of the workers would have to be stopped by force, much less that bloodshed might occur. Nevertheless, at the meeting they decided to arrest the priest.

Georgy Gapon and I. A. Fullon in “Meeting of Russian Factory Workers”

General Rydzevsky signed an order to the St. Petersburg mayor Fullon for the immediate arrest of Gapon and 19 of his closest associates. But Fullon considered that “these arrests cannot be carried out, because this would require too many police officers, whom he cannot divert from maintaining order, and because these arrests cannot but be associated with outright resistance "

After the meeting, Svyatopolk-Mirsky went with a report on the situation in St. Petersburg to the Tsar - this report, which aimed to get the Emperor to lift martial law in the capital, was of a calming nature and did not give an idea of ​​​​the severity and complexity of the situation in St. Petersburg on the eve of an unprecedented scale and radicalism political demands for mass action by workers. The Emperor was also not informed of the intentions of the military and police authorities of the capital for the coming day. For all these reasons, on January 8, 1905, a decision was made - the tsar would not go to the capital tomorrow, but would remain in Tsarskoe Selo (he lived there permanently, and not in the Winter Palace).

The sovereign's abolition of martial law in the capital did not at all mean that he had canceled the order to arrest Georgy Gapon and his main associates in organizing the general strike. Therefore, fulfilling the instructions of the Minister of the Imperial Court Fredericks, the head of his office, General Mosolov, on the night of January 9 called Comrade Minister of Internal Affairs Rydzewski to obtain information on this matter.

“I asked him if Gapon had been arrested,” General Mosolov later recalled, “he told me that no, due to the fact that he had holed up in one of the houses in the working-class district and for his arrest he would have had to sacrifice at least 10 police officers.” . They decided to arrest him the next morning, during his speech. Having probably heard in my voice a disagreement with his opinion, he said to me: “Well, do you want me to take on my conscience 10 human victims because of this filthy priest?” To which my answer was that if I were in his place, I would take it on my conscience and all 100, because tomorrow, in my opinion, threatens with much greater human casualties, which in reality, unfortunately, turned out ... "

The imperial standard over the Winter Palace was lowered on January 9, as was always done in the absence of the emperor in the Winter Palace. In addition, Gapon himself and other leaders of workers' organizations (not to mention the Socialist Revolutionaries from Gapon's inner circle) knew that the code of laws of the Russian Empire provided for the submission of petitions to the Tsar in various ways, but not during mass demonstrations.

Nevertheless, it is possible to assume that I could have come to St. Petersburg and reached people if not for 4 circumstances:

Some time before the events described, the police were able to find out that Socialist-Revolutionary terrorists had appeared in Gapon’s immediate circle. Let me remind you that the Charter of the Union of Factory Workers prohibited the entry of socialists and revolutionaries into it, and until 1905 Gapon (and the workers themselves) strictly observed this Charter.

The law of the Russian Empire did not provide for the submission of petitions to the Tsar during mass demonstrations, especially petitions with political demands.

These days, an investigation began into the events of January 6, and one of the main versions was an attempt to assassinate Nicholas II.

Almost from the very morning, riots began in some columns of demonstrators, which were provoked by the Social Revolutionaries (for example, on Vasilievsky Island, even before the shooting in other areas).

That is, if there were no Socialist-Revolutionary provocateurs in the ranks of the demonstrators of the Union of Factory Workers, if the demonstration had been peaceful, then around noon the emperor could have been informed about the purely peaceful nature of the demonstration, and then he could have given the appropriate orders to allow demonstrators to Palace Square and appoint your representatives to meet with them, or go to St. Petersburg, to the Winter Palace, and meet with representatives of the workers.

Provided, of course, if there were no other three circumstances.

If not for these circumstances, the sovereign could have arrived in the capital in the afternoon; peaceful demonstrators could be allowed onto Palace Square; Gapon and several representatives of the workers could be invited to the Winter Palace. It is likely that after the negotiations the tsar would have gone out to the people and announced that some decisions had been made in favor of the workers. And in any case, if not for these 4 circumstances, then representatives from the government appointed by the Sovereign would have met with Gapon and the workers. But the events after January 6 (after Gapon’s first calls to the workers) developed so rapidly and were organized by the Socialist Revolutionaries standing behind Gapon in such a provocative manner that the authorities did not have time to either properly understand them or react to them correctly.

So, thousands of people were ready to come out to meet the sovereign. It was impossible to cancel the demonstration - newspapers were not published. And until late in the evening on the eve of January 9, hundreds of agitators walked through working-class areas, exciting people, inviting them to Palace Square, again and again declaring that the meeting was being hindered by exploiters and officials.

Striking workers at the gates of the Putilov plant, January 1905.

The St. Petersburg authorities, who gathered on the evening of January 8 for a meeting, realizing that it was no longer possible to stop the workers, decided not to allow them into the very center of the city. The main task was to prevent unrest, the inevitable crush and death of people as a result of the flow of huge masses from 4 sides in the narrow space of Nevsky Prospect and to Palace Square, among the embankments and canals. In an effort to prevent a tragedy, authorities issued an announcement banning the January 9 march and warning of the danger. The revolutionaries tore off sheets with the text of this announcement from the walls of houses and again repeated to people about the “intrigues” of officials.

It is obvious that Gapon, deceiving both the sovereign and the people, hid from them the subversive work that his entourage was carrying out. He promised the emperor immunity, but he himself knew very well that the so-called revolutionaries, whom he invited to participate in the procession, would come out with the slogans “Down with autocracy!”, “Long live the revolution!”, and in their pockets there would be revolvers. In the end, the priest’s letter was of an unacceptable ultimatum character - a Russian person did not dare speak to the sovereign in such a language and, of course, would hardly have approved of this message - but, let me remind you, Gapon at rallies told the workers only part of the petition, which contained only economic demands .

Gapon and the criminal forces behind him were preparing to kill the Tsar himself. Later, after the events described, the priest was asked in a narrow circle of like-minded people:

Well, Father George, now we are alone and there is no need to be afraid that dirty laundry will be washed out in public, and that’s a thing of the past. You know how much they talked about the event of January 9 and how often one could hear the judgment that if the Tsar had accepted the delegation with honor, if he had listened to the deputies kindly, everything would have turned out all right. Well, what do you think, oh. George, what would have happened if the king had come out to the people?

Absolutely unexpectedly, but in a sincere tone, the priest answered:

They would have killed in half a minute, half a second.

Head of St. Petersburg security department A.V. Gerasimov also described in his memoirs that there was a plan to kill Nicholas II, which Gapon told him about during a conversation with him and Rachkovsky: “Suddenly, I asked him if it was true that on January 9 there was a plan to shoot the emperor as he left to the people. Gapon replied: “Yes, that’s true. It would be terrible if this plan came to fruition. I found out about him much later. It was not my plan, but Rutenberg’s... The Lord saved him...”

Representatives of the revolutionary parties were distributed among separate columns of workers (there were eleven of them - according to the number of branches of Gapon's organization). Socialist Revolutionary fighters were preparing weapons. The Bolsheviks put together detachments, each of which consisted of a standard bearer, an agitator and a core that defended them (i.e., in fact, militants). All members of the RSDLP were required to be at the collection points by six o'clock in the morning. Banners and banners were being prepared: “Down with autocracy!”, “Long live the revolution!”, “To arms, comrades!”

January 9, 1905 – beginning of Bloody Sunday

On January 9, early in the morning, workers began gathering at assembly points. Before the start of the procession, a prayer service for the health of the Tsar was served in the chapel of the Putilov plant. The procession had all the features procession. In the first rows they carried icons, banners and royal portraits. But from the very beginning, long before the first shots were fired, at the other end of the city, on Vasilyevsky Island (as well as in some other places), groups of workers close to the Socialist Revolutionaries, led by revolutionary provocateurs, built barricades from telegraph poles and hoisted red flags on them.

There were several tens of thousands of people in individual columns. This huge mass fatally moved towards the center and the closer it came to it, the more it was subjected to the agitation of revolutionary provocateurs. Not a single shot had been fired yet, and some people were spreading the most incredible rumors about mass shootings. Attempts by the authorities to call the procession to order were rebuffed by specially organized groups.

The head of the police department, Lopukhin, who, by the way, sympathized with the socialists, wrote about these events as follows: “Electrified by agitation, crowds of workers, not succumbing to the usual general police measures and even cavalry attacks, persistently strove for the Winter Palace, and then, irritated by the resistance, began attack military units. This state of affairs led to the need to take emergency measures to restore order, and military units I had to act against huge crowds of workers with firearms.”

The procession from the Narva outpost was led by Gapon himself, who kept shouting: “If we are refused, then we no longer have a Tsar.” The column approached the Obvodny Canal, where its path was blocked by rows of soldiers. The officers suggested that the increasingly pressing crowd stop, but it did not obey. The first salvos were fired, blanks. The crowd was ready to return, but Gapon and his assistants walked forward, dragging the crowd with them. Combat shots rang out.

Events unfolded in approximately the same way in other places - on the Vyborg side, on Vasilievsky Island, on the Shlisselburg tract. Red banners and revolutionary slogans began to appear. Part of the crowd, excited by trained militants, smashed weapons stores and erected barricades. On Vasilievsky Island, a crowd led by the Bolshevik L.D. Davydov seized Schaff's weapons workshop. “In Kirpichny Lane,” Lopukhin later reported to the sovereign, “a crowd attacked two policemen, one of them was beaten. On Morskaya Street, Major General Elrich was beaten, on Gorokhovaya Street, one captain was beaten and a courier was detained, and his engine was broken. The crowd pulled a cadet from the Nikolaev Cavalry School who was passing by in a cab from his sleigh, broke the saber with which he defended himself, and inflicted beatings and wounds on him...”

Consequences of Bloody Sunday

In total, on January 9, 1905, 96 people were killed (including a police officer), and up to 333 people were wounded, of whom another 34 people died before January 27 (including one assistant police officer). So, in total, 130 people were killed and about 300 were wounded. The pre-planned action of the revolutionaries had such consequences.

One must think that many of the participants in that demonstration eventually understood the essence of the provocation of Gapon and the Socialist Revolutionaries. Thus, we know a letter from worker Andrei Ivanovich Agapov (a participant in the events of January 9) to the newspaper “Novoye Vremya” (in August 1905), in which he, addressing the instigators of the provocation, wrote:

...You deceived us and turned the workers, loyal subjects of the Tsar, into rebels. You put us under fire on purpose, you knew it would happen. You knew what was written in the petition, allegedly on our behalf, by the traitor Gapon and his gang. But we didn’t know, and if we had known, then not only would we not have gone anywhere, but we would have torn you to shreds together with Gapon, with our own hands.

1905, January 19 - in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo, the sovereign received a deputation of workers from capital and suburban plants and factories consisting of 34 people, accompanied by the St. Petersburg Governor General D.F. Trepov, telling them, in particular, the following:
I called you so that you could personally hear My word from Me and directly convey it to your comrades.<…>I know that the life of a worker is not easy. Much needs to be improved and streamlined, but have patience. You yourself, in all conscience, understand that you should be fair to your employers and take into account the conditions of our industry. But telling Me about your needs in a rebellious crowd is criminal.<…>I believe in the honest feelings of working people and their unwavering devotion to Me, and therefore I forgive them their guilt.<…>.

Nicholas II and the Empress appointed from own funds 50 thousand rubles to provide assistance to family members “killed and wounded during the riots on January 9th in St. Petersburg.”

Of course, Bloody Sunday on January 9 produced The royal family very difficult impression. And the revolutionaries are unleashing the Red Terror...

On this day one of the significant events in Russian history. It weakened, if not completely buried, the people's centuries-old faith in the monarchy. And this contributed to the fact that after twelve years Tsarist Russia ceased to exist.

Anyone who studied in a Soviet school knows the interpretation of the events of January 9 at that time. Okhrana agent Georgy Gapon, following the orders of his superiors, led the people out under the soldiers' bullets. Today, national patriots put forward a completely different version: supposedly the revolutionaries secretly used Gapon for a grandiose provocation. What really happened?

Crowds gathered for the sermon

« Provocateur" Georgy Gapon was born on February 5, 1870 in Ukraine, in the family of a priest. After graduating from a rural school, he entered the Kyiv seminary, where he showed himself to be a man of extraordinary abilities. He received an appointment to one of the best Kyiv parishes - a church in a rich cemetery. However, the liveliness of his character prevented the young priest from joining the orderly ranks of the provincial clergy. He moved to the capital of the empire, where he brilliantly passed the exams at the Theological Academy. Soon he was offered a position as a priest in Vasilyevsky Island, located on line 22 charitable organization- the so-called Blue Cross Mission. It was there that he found his true calling...

The mission was dedicated to helping working families. Gapon took up this task with enthusiasm. He walked through the slums where the poor and homeless lived and preached. His sermons were wildly successful. Thousands of people gathered to listen to the priest. Together with personal charm, this provided Gapon with entry into high society.

True, the mission soon had to be abandoned. Father started an affair with a minor. But the way up had already been paved. The priest meets such a colorful character as gendarme colonel Sergei Zubatov.

Police socialism

He was the creator of the theory of police socialism.

He believed that the state should be above class conflicts and act as an arbiter in labor disputes between workers and entrepreneurs. To this end, he created workers' unions throughout the country, which, with the help of the police, tried to defend the interests of workers.

However, this initiative was truly successful only in the capital, where the Assembly of Russian Factory Workers of St. Petersburg arose. Gapon slightly modified Zubatov's idea. According to the priest, workers' associations should primarily be engaged in education, the fight for popular sobriety, and the like. At the same time, the clergyman organized the matter in such a way that the only link between the police and the Assembly was himself. Although Gapon did not become an agent of the secret police.

At first everything went very well. The congregation grew by leaps and bounds. More and more sections were opened in different areas of the capital. The desire for culture and education among skilled workers was quite high. The Union taught literacy, history, literature and even foreign languages. Moreover, the lectures were given by the best professors.

But Gapon himself played the main role. People attended his speech as if they were attending a prayer. He, one might say, became a working legend: in the city they said that a people’s intercessor had been found. In a word, the priest received everything he wanted: on the one hand, an audience of thousands in love with him, on the other, a police “roof” that ensured him a quiet life.

Attempts by the revolutionaries to use the Assembly for their propaganda were unsuccessful. The agitators were sent away. Moreover, in 1904, after the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War, the Union adopted an appeal in which it branded with shame “revolutionaries and intellectuals who are splitting the nation at a difficult time for the Fatherland.”

Workers increasingly turned to Gapon asking for help in solving their problems. At first these were, in modern terms, local labor conflicts. Some demanded that the master who gave free rein to his fists be expelled from the factory, others demanded that a fired comrade be reinstated. Gapon resolved these issues through his authority. He came to the director of the plant and started small talk, casually mentioning that he had connections in the police and in high society. Well, in the end, he unobtrusively asked to deal with the “simple business.” In Russia, it is not customary to deny such trifles to a person who soars so high.

The situation is heating up...

Gapon's intercession attracted everyone to the Union more people. But the situation in the country was changing, the strike movement was growing rapidly. The mood in the working environment became increasingly radical. In order not to lose popularity, the priest had to follow them.

And it is not surprising that his speeches became more and more “cool”, corresponding to the mood of the masses. And he reported to the police: in the Assembly - peace and quiet. They believed him. The gendarmes, having flooded the revolutionary parties with agents, had practically no informants among the workers.

Relations between proletarians and entrepreneurs became tense. On December 3, 1904, one of the workshops of the Putilov plant went on strike. The strikers demanded the reinstatement of six dismissed comrades. The conflict was, in essence, trivial. But the management followed the principle. As always, Gapon intervened. This time they didn’t listen to him. Business people I'm already pretty tired of the priest who constantly sticks his nose into their affairs.

But the workers also followed the principle. Two days later all of Putilovsky stood up. The Obukhov plant joined it. Soon almost half of the capital's enterprises went on strike. And it was no longer just about laid-off workers. There were calls for the establishment of an eight-hour working day, which was then only in Australia, and for the introduction of a Constitution.

The meeting was the only legal one labor organization, it became the center of the strike. Gapon found himself in an extremely unpleasant situation. To support the strikers means to enter into a tough conflict with the authorities, who are very determined. Failure to support means instantly and forever losing your “star” status in the proletarian environment.

And then Georgy Apollonovich came up with what seemed to him a saving idea: to organize a peaceful procession to the sovereign. The text of the petition was adopted at a meeting of the Union, which was very stormy. Most likely, Gapon expected that the tsar would come out to the people, promise something, and everything would be settled. The clergyman rushed around the then revolutionary and liberal parties, agreeing that there would be no provocations on January 9. But in this environment, the police had many informants, and the priest’s contacts with the revolutionaries became known.

...The authorities panicked

On the eve of January 9, 1905 (according to the new style, January 22. But this particular date remained in people’s memory. In St. Petersburg there is even a cemetery in memory of the victims of January 9, - editor’s note) the authorities began to panic. Indeed, crowds will move to the city center, led by a person with incomprehensible plans. Extremists have something to do with this. In the horror-stricken “top” there was simply no sober-minded person who could develop an adequate line of behavior.

This was also explained by what happened on January 6th. During Epiphany bathing on the Neva, which was traditionally attended by the emperor, one of the artillery pieces fired a salvo in the direction of the royal tent. The gun, intended for target practice, turned out to be loaded with a live shell; it exploded not far from the tent of Nicholas II. No one was killed, but a policeman was wounded. The investigation showed that this was an accident. But rumors spread throughout the city about an assassination attempt on the Tsar. The Emperor hastily left the capital and went to Tsarskoe Selo.

The final decision on how to act on January 9 actually had to be made by the capital’s authorities. Army commanders received very vague instructions: do not allow workers into the city center. How, it is unclear. The St. Petersburg police, one might say, did not receive any circulars at all. An indicative fact: at the head of one of the columns was the bailiff of the Narva unit, as if legalizing the procession with his presence. He was killed with the first salvo.

Tragic ending

On January 9, the workers, who were moving in eight directions, behaved exclusively peacefully. They carried portraits of the king, icons, banners. There were women and children in the columns.

The soldiers acted differently. For example, near the Narva outpost they opened fire to kill. But the procession, moving along the current Obukhov Defense Avenue, was met by troops on the bridge over the Obvodny Canal. The officer announced that he would not let people cross the bridge, and the rest was none of his business. And the workers walked around the barrier on the ice of the Neva. It was they who were met with fire on Palace Square.

The exact number of people who died on January 9, 1905 is still unknown. Called different numbers– from 60 to 1000.

We can say that on this day the First Russian Revolution began. The Russian Empire was heading towards its collapse.