Father Gapon and Bloody Sunday
At the beginning of the 1900's, Russia was still being run by nobility, while the peasants made up more than half of the population. The Russian people didn't see much of the rest of the world outside of their commune way of life. They were hard workers who farmed the land while struggling against the cold and hardships of their life. Czar Alexander II hoping to bring Russia out of the dark ages signed the "Emancipation Manifesto". Which freed the serfs from ownership to the nobles. The unwillingness of the people to change their way of life left them blinded to the ways of the outside world (Scheer 73). By the late 1800's Nicholas II came into power. Many officials petitioned to Nicholas that the people have a opportunity to express their concerns. But despite all of the pressure Nicholas ignored their requests. Nicholas remained popular with the public by keeping tight control on any printed material containing revolutionary ideas. Nicholas was hoping to start a war with Japan. His advisors at this time urged him to refrain from going to war with Japan. But Nicholas replaced the most opposing advisor, Witte, with Pleve who believed a small victory would be good for the public. It was no question that the Trans-Siberian railro
Gorden, Philip, Che: An Illustrated Biography, 1998, Virginia, Virginia Books Inc. Other groups throughout St. Petersburg met with similar action. During the war a sense of unhappiness with the Czar's became apparent. The rise of a movement by Father Gapon, a monk, was developed. Georgii Apollonovich Gapon was the next leader to take control of labor organizations in favor of the peasants. Gapon came from a family with financial difficulties and often helped his parents with money. His mother was heavily religious and instilled and insisted on "the strict observance of rituals, saying of prayers, and church attendance" (Sablinsky 35). As an Orthodox priest with a poverty stricken and religious background, he became a leader in the labor movement. Father Gapon started the movement by working with the police. But when four members of Gapons movement were fired, a strike moved throughout St. Petersburg. Gapon was a natural choice for the leader of the strike. Gapon began his leadership combining the state sponsorship with Christian brotherhood. "The Gaponovite organization presented a strange combination of pious traditionalism and radical, potentially, explosive, innovation" (Sablinsky 32). Gapon, Father. "Letter to the Czar of Russia." This became known as Bloody Sunday. World Book Millennium Ci-CCz vo. 4, 2000, World Book Inc.., Chicago.
Some common words found in the essay are:
St Petersburg, York Times, Markovo Republic, Witte Pleve, Manifesto October, Palace Gapons, Nicholas II, Apollonovich Gapon, Father Gapon, Petersburg Gapon, st petersburg, father gapon, russian people, york times, sablinsky 1976, markovo republic, winter palace, georgii apollonovich gapon, country unanimous, unanimous strike, apollonovich gapon, throughout st petersburg, january 22 1905, movement father gapon, country unanimous strike,
Approximate Word count = 1776
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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