Bloody Sunday (1905)

Bloody Sunday took place in Russia in 1905. More than 3,000 people marched towards the Winter Palace in hopes of presenting Tsar Nicholas II a petition for reform, however he was not present at the palace. ^[1] Without the order of the tsar to stop them, the army shot their rifles into the crowd, leaving 96 dead and around 300 wounded.^[2]

This event began the Russian Revolution of 1905 which was caused in part by defeat in the Russo-Japanese War. Many thousands died and the Tsar created the State Duma to represent the Russian people. It is considered a cause of the later, larger Russian Revolution.^[3]

Later Dmitri Shostakovich composed his 11th Symphony based on this event. Bloody Sunday is also known as a massacre. The Winter Palace is where the Tsar spent his winter holidays.