On January 9/22, 1905, crowds of thousands of St. Petersburg workers gathered in the square near the Winter Palace. On the eve of the socialist provocateurs it was announced to the workers that supposedly on this day the Emperor was pleased to meet with the people. At the head of the provocative conspiracy was priest Georgy Gapon - a remarkable demagogue, a man of uncertain convictions. The tasks of Gapon and his social democratic entourage included, firstly, to undermine confidence in the tsarist government in the working environment and, secondly, to put some political demands in the mouths of the working people so that the tsar was forced to listen to them, to create the impression of a popular protest against the existing power - ultimately to sow doubt in the heart of the Autocrat that his people trust him.
The Gaponists, with the active assistance of the Social Democrats, drew up a petition falsely presented as "the people's impulse to their Tsar." It began with Gapon's primitive demagogy about how hard it is for workers to live: “… Is it possible to live under such laws? Wouldn't it be better for all of us, working people, to die: let the capitalists and officials live and enjoy …”Then there were quite definite social democratic demands: elections to the Constituent Assembly, subject to the general secret and equal vote, all freedoms, equality without distinction of religion and nationality, responsibility of ministers "to the people", political amnesty, abolition of all indirect taxes, etc.
The demands to the Tsar ended like this: "Command and swear to fulfill them … But if you don't command, if you don't respond to our request, we will die here on this square in front of your palace."
On the eve, on Saturday, January 8, the organizers of the mutiny decided to inform the Emperor that they intend to come to him with a petition. The tsar replied that such a meeting was not included in his plans, for on the evening of January 8, he was supposed to go to Moscow. Thus, on Sunday, January 9, the Tsar was not in St. Petersburg.
Meanwhile, on the morning of January 9, workers from the Putilov factory with icons, gonfalons and tsarist portraits marched in procession to Palace Square to meet with their Tsar, as they had been promised earlier. From the other end of the city to the same Palace Square, a second religious procession went. But there was also a third column - it could not be called a procession of the cross - these were people in leather jackets, troublemakers-revolutionaries who tried to stick to one or another procession and incited people to shout slogans against the Tsar. These people in leather jackets (there were about 80 of them) were the driving force behind the provocation. Their task was to create a general impression of the revolutionary attitude of the masses. But they did not manage to join the procession of the cross:Orthodox believers did not let them into their ranks and pushed them aside.
Religious processions entered the square in front of the Winter Palace. The Cossacks, lined up for order, took off their hats in front of the holy icons. The people gathered at the appointed place at the appointed hour and waited for the Tsar to come out to meet them. They sang prayers, everyone was overwhelmed with joy. Everything indicated that the people had come to worship their King - God's Anointed One.
But time passed and the Emperor did not appear. Tension and excitement began to grow among the people - the provocateurs rejoiced. Suddenly, the rebels from the attics of houses and gateways and other shelters began shooting at the gendarmes. The gendarmes returned fire. Panic and crush arose among the people. As a result, a total of about 140 people were killed.
The Tsar was deeply shocked by the news of "Bloody Sunday". He expressed his attitude to events in the following words: “I know that the life of a worker is not easy! Much needs to be improved and streamlined … But declaring your needs to Me with a rebellious crowd is criminal. " He ordered to allocate 50,000 rubles for benefits to the families of the victims on January 9, as well as to convene a commission to clarify the needs of the workers.
Promotional video:
This is the truth about Bloody Sunday. The tsar could not give an order to shoot civilians, since he simply was not in St. Petersburg at that moment. History itself eloquently testifies to who really should be called "bloody" - the enemies of the Russian state and the Orthodox Tsar-Martyr.
Author: Dionisy Tolstov