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The Russian Revolution Of 1905 Was In Fact No Revolution At All

The revolution of 1905, in Russia, was not a complete revolution at all. To be able to respond to this statement accurately, it is firstly advisable, to look at what a revolution is. It is then best to observe what the Russian society was like before 1905, during 1905 and after 1905, to establish whether or not, a complete revolution had in fact taken place in the so called ‘revolution of 1905'.

To identify what to look for in the Russian revolution of 1905, and to discover if it were or were not a genuine revolution, it is firstly important to define the true meaning of the word ‘revolution'.

In ‘The Macquarie Dictionary' the word ‘revolution' means," a complete overthrow of an established government or political system." In ‘The Oxford School Dictionary' it also says a ‘revolution' is an "overthrow of old government by force and replacing it by a new one." And in ‘Chamber's Twentieth Century Dictionary' it says "… a great upheaval: a radical change, esp. in government."

From each of these different dictionaries; the modern dictionary, to the early 1900's dictionary, the meaning of the word revolution has been essentially the same. This meaning is that if a revolution was to occur, in a country as a whole, the governmental system is to be abolished, and a new one is to be set in it's place, (which would in turn create a completely different social structure).

Knowing what the word ‘revolution' means, confirms that the revolution of 1905 was in actual fact no revolution at all, even though Nicholas himself believed at the time it was, indeed a revolution . This becomes clearer as each stage (ie. before, during and after) of the ‘revolution of 1905' is uncovered.

Secondly, it is crucial to look at the background of Russia, before 1905, prior to looking at the actual period of the 1905 revolution, as to understand how the events of the revolution of 1905 did not create a revolution in itself.

Before the 1905 revolution, the living conditions of the majority...