'The political unrest of 1905 was brought about by the failures of the Russo-Japanese war.'

Introduction- for this essay question should look at both the short-term and long-term consequences for the causes of the 1905 political unrest For example, the Russo-Japanese war could be argued to have catalysed the political unrest in 1905. However, there were long-term factors which had been in place since the reign of Alexander II which made the people especially the peasants feel disgruntled with their situation such as the Emancipation of the Serfs 1863. There should be 3-4 factors including the one in the question to explain the different reasons why political unrest had happened in 1905. However, at the end of each paragraph it is crucial to explain why one factor is less/more significant than the other factor. Example factors for this essay question can include- 1. The Russo Japanese War 2.The Peasant's grievances (such as the famines, Bloody Sunday) 3. The Worker's grievances ( such as the poor working conditions in factories) 4. The Tsar himself (Nicholas II's use of the Okhrana and his incompetence) Conclusion- weighing up all the factors together and choosing the most important For example- Political unrest was not brought about by the Russo-Japanese War as there was already discontent within the Russian population. The Russo- Japanese merely provided an opening for these grievances to be aired with the anti-government sentiment intensifying seen with the assassination of Von Phleve. The Tsar's incompetence could be linked to the political unrest however, the unrest was about living standards for both peasants and workers rather than outright dissatisfaction with autocracy. Nicholas II needed to be more receptive and pragmatic towards his people's demands. However, when he showed them the opposite of this, it showed cracks in his regime and that the 'little father' of the people was merely a facade.