1905

The Revolution gained strength by the nineties, rose to an unprecedented height, and broke with a terrible crash in 1905. The revolution of 1905 was touched off by three incendiary causes, one of them dating from a long way back in the nineteenth century, the other two of more recent origin. Agitation for political reform reached a new intensity after the turn of the century, although it had been seething since the1820s. Brought into being by the fast progress of Russian industry in the 1890s, the working masses were at once submitted to the rigours of a period of economic depression. The series of upheavals which continued throughout 1905 did not produce any leaders of note from any class or hue of political thought. The political climate in Russia steadily deteriorated as the year went by. At the end of August an ignominious peace was concluded with Japan by the Treaty of Portsmouth.