Reasons For The Failure Of The 1905 Revolution

When considering what the main reason that the 1905 Revolution failed was, we must understand that there were many reasons that ultimately contributed to its failure. The armed forces remained loyal to the Tsar, ensuring that the rebels did not get out of hand. The revolutionaries had differing political opinions which meant that it was impossible for them to be united, making them easy targets to be wiped out. The October Manifesto seemed to be the solution that many of the revolutionaries were looking for - its announcement resulted in the separation of the Liberals into the Kadets and the Octobrists, removing a large section of the revolutionaries. The role of the Black Hundreds as a group of thugs who intimidated those around them meant that people were scared to try …show more content…
This factor was very important in helping to stop the Revolution as it crushed attempts of rebellion, arresting thousands of revolutionaries, thousands more being exiled to Siberia. It created an element of fear within the country (which was strengthened by the Black Hundreds), preventing more spontaneous uprisings. Judging from this, it was a important factor in ending the Revolution. However, it was very volatile and susceptible to change: it only remained strong due the sustained good relationship between the Tsar and the armed forces - if either body were to disagree with one another, the petty mutinies would have developed into full-scale insurrection against the government. Clearly, this 'strong ' factor could have been easily reduced to nothingness were the two parties to ever fall out with one another; this is what we see in the 1917 Revolution where the government lacked the support of the army. Also, the disunity of the revolutionaries meant that the task that the efficient Cossack army faced - to diffuse domestic disorder - was "as easy as stabbing fish in a