Russian society in 1900

Ruling Class - Tsar autocratic ruler. Nobility very wealthy owned about 25% of the land lived in luxury.

Upper Class - lesser nobles, church leaders, military officers, top civil servants. Very Wealthy.

Commercial Class - Bankers, merchants, factory owners, shop-keepers. Becoming very wealthy with the help of government loans and contracts.

Working class - Factory workers, street traders. Very poor indeed. Low wages, long hours, bad housing. Mainly lived in St Petersburg and Moscow. Not allowed to form trade unions - repressed.

Peasants - 82% of population - country people making their living by farming. Very poor indeed. Many leaving to find work in cities.

Sunday January 22nd 1905 - Father Gapon an Orthodox priest led a march to present a petition to the Winter Palace. Gapon was an Okhrana agent and ran a Trade Union - The Assembly of Russian Factory and Plant Workers. After Putilov - the biggest industrial works in St Pertersburg sacked 4 workers Gapon had called out workers on strike.
By 8th January there was 120,000 on strike.
When the march took place on 22nd January the guards at the Winter palace panicked and shot at the crowd - some reports claimed 4,000 killed.

As a result the Tsar’s position became threatened:
February - terrorists murdered the Tsar’s uncle
June - mutiny on battleship Potemkin
October - all of St Petersburg was on strike.