Nicholas Ii

The Russo-Japanese War.

Witte's removal proved especially fatal for Russian policy in the Far East. William II. suggested to Nicholas the idea that Russia's true mission was in Asia, not in Europe. The trans-Siberian railway (begun 1891) presented new facilities for penetration, especially when a treaty with Li Hung Chang (May 1896) secured its extension by the East China rail way and in May 1898 a new lease was received to construct a branch through Mukden to Port Arthur which six months before had been occupied by the Russian fleet. A chauvinistic guard officer, Besobrasov, profited by Nicholas' confidence to cover with the tsar's protection his concession for cutting wood on the Yalu river. Many " patriotic" courtiers, grand dukes and the tsar himself acquired the bonds of the "Eastern Asiatic Industrial Society." Japan objected to the occupation of the left bank of the Yalu. As Count Ito received no satisfaction in Petersburg, he went to London and concluded (1902) a five years' alliance with England. Russia was then obliged to withdraw her troops from Manchuria and promised to do so before Oct. 8, 1903. The promise was not fulfilled. The war party, led by Besobrasov and Plehve decided against Witte for war. They knew nothing of Japan's readiness for war and were stupefied by the famous night attack of Feb. 5, 1904, on the Russian fleet in Port Arthur (see RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR).

The First Revolution.

The revolutionary movement found new substance in Russian military defeats. Patriotic feeling began to turn against the government. The war grew extremely unpop ular. Plehve, who had wished to divert public attention from the internal situation by war, was blown up with his carriage in July 1904. After much wavering Nicholas appointed on Sept. 8, 1904, Prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky as successor to Plehve. Public opinion was delighted. The liberal zemstvo men met in Peters burg, on Nov. 19 (22), 1904, in private and worked out a petition to Nicholas asking for inviolability of the person, freedom of con science, of speech, of meeting, of press, of association and equal civil rights. The majority also asked for "a regular popular rep resentation in a separate elective body which should participate in legislation, in working out the budget and in controlling the ad ministration. The professional groups (see above) organized ban quets to support the zemstvo programme. Nicholas still wavered. His ukase of Dec. 12 (25), did not go beyond general promises and kept silence over the representative assembly. The chance of peaceful compromise with moderate constitutionalists was pass ing by. The revolution began.

On Sunday, Jan. 9 (22), 1905, many thousand working men, led by the priest Gapon, marched with ikons, singing religious songs, to the winter palace to speak to "their tsar." But the tsar was absent ; the troops fired on the defenceless crowd and killed about a thousand people. Sviatopolk-Mirsky resigned. Bulighin, a bureaucrat, was appointed his successor. As a reply, Grand Duke Sergius was blown up in the Kremlin of Moscow by the Social Revolutionary Kaliaev. The tsar still wavered. He issued

a promise merely to summon "the worthiest persons" to share in the drafting and discussing of laws.

Meanwhile, public excitement was growing, fanned by the news of Tsushima (May 27-28). The constitutional and the revolutionary movements began to separate. Constitutionalists (zemstvo men and "Liberation Union") held their congresses and prepared drafts of constitutional Laws. After Tsushima they sent to Nicholas a deputation which repeated the demands of the November petition of 1904, and received (June 6-19) the answer, that the "tsar's will was unshakable." Two weeks later Nicholas promised to another delegation of the nobility that he would keep the tradition of the past. On Aug. 6 (19) a law conceded a "duma of the empire." But it was to be a consultative chamber, corn posed of class delegates, representing peasants (43%), landed proprietors (34%) and burgesses (23%). This duma was only entitled to prepare drafts of laws for the council of State. This, "Bulighin's constitution," provoked general indignation. Its only result was to give the upper hand to revolutionary elements (the Socialist Parties). There was now no end to meetings, work men's and students' strikes, agrarian uprisings, which finally, on Oct. 10-14, united in one general strike all over Russia. From railway employees it spread to post and telegraph personnel, fac tories, shops, business offices and even children in primary schools. Communication with the provinces was interrupted; Nicholas was isolated in his summer residence at Peterhof. On Oct. 14 a soviet (council) of workmen's delegates was formed whose vice-chairman was Trotsky. On Oct. 15 (28) the Constitutional ist Democratic ("Cadet") party was founded, which included the radical wing of the zemstvo men and the moderate elements from the "Liberation Union" and other professional unions. The com mon aim of the left wing of public opinion was a constituent assembly elected on universal suffrage and leading to parliamen tary government.

Nicholas thought of abdication. But he was saved by Witte who had just concluded (Sept. 5) the peace with Japan at Portsmouth and was generally expected to become a peacemaker inside Russia. On Oct. 17 (3o) Nicholas signed the famous Manifesto prepared by Witte (now a count) and published it together with Witte's report, in which the necessity of concession was laid down. The Manifesto promised a "real" inviolability of person, freedom of thought, speech, meetings and associations. "No law was to be enacted without consent of the duma.” But the word "constitution" was not used : the tsar retained his title of "autocrat" (samoderjets). He openly favoured the newly formed reactionary organization of "the Union of the Russian People." Then a wave of absolutist demonstrations and Jewish pogroms organized by the police followed, in a few days, the short-lived outbreak of enthusiasm elicited by the tsar's concessions.