Question

What was the “Bloody Sunday”?

Answer 1

Hint: It occurred in the soviet Russia. It was the beginning of the active revolution of 1905. It is also sometimes known as Red Sunday.

Complete Answer:
Bloody Sunday (alternately known as Red Sunday) is the name by which we remember the events of Sunday, 22 January of the year 1905 in St Petersburg, Russia. On this day, a large group of unarmed demonstrators who were led by Father Georgy Gapon were intercepted when marching towards the palace of the Tsar. They were fired upon by soldiers of the Imperial Guard.

The beginnings of the problems were the conditions created after the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. This created a working class of people who then faced severe abuse of power by their employers. They had to face long working hours, risky work environments and very low wages. To protest against these, they began to organize strikes.

These striking protesters and others who supported them grew in numbers. Father Gregory Gapon was a priest who sympathized with the lower and working classes and soon emerged as a leader of the protests. On Sunday the 22nd, the protesters began to march in various groups towards the Winter Palace to demand reforms from the Tsar Nicholas II.

The guards deployed had fired at the marching protesters. The total number of people killed that were is still not ascertained for sure. The events provoked public outrage. It is considered as the start of the Revolution of 1905. In addition to the 1905 Revolution, historians also view the events of Bloody Sunday to be one of the events which led to the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Note: In Russian, it is called the Krovávoye voskresén'e.
- The Tsar’s official statement recorded 132 people as dead but the rebels claimed around 4,000 were killed.
- Father Gapon left Russia soon after this and his assembly was closed down.
- The Tsar was not present in the Winter Palace during the incident, but was internationally condemned for his poor handling of the situation.