Workers decide to petition the tsar

Members of Father Gapon’s workers’ organization met at the Putilov Works after four members were dismissed. The dispute became the immediate cause of the mass strike in St Petersburg. The source...

A large workers’ meeting demanded the return of four dismissed employees and the removal of officials blamed for their dismissal. The source date is 2 January Old Style.

Thousands of workers at the Putilov engineering works stopped work after management rejected demands arising from the dismissal dispute. The source date is 3 January Old Style.

Delegates led by Father Gapon appealed unsuccessfully to factory managers and government officials. Workers at the Franco-Russian shipyard joined the strike. The source date is 4 January Old Style.

The stoppage spread to other factories, bringing roughly 25,000 workers into the strike movement. The source date is 5 January Old Style.

The strike spread across the capital, closing most major workplaces while workers discussed the petition and plans for a march to the Winter Palace. The source date is 7 January Old Style.

A delegation including Maxim Gorky tried to persuade officials to prevent bloodshed. Authorities mobilized troops while Gapon’s organization prepared the next day’s procession. The source date is 8...

Troops fired on peaceful processions of workers and their families approaching the Winter Palace with a petition to Nicholas II. The killings destroyed popular faith in the tsar and triggered a...

Authorities placed the capital under military control after Bloody Sunday. Gapon denounced the tsar and urged resistance. The source date is 10 January Old Style.

News of Bloody Sunday helped provoke strikes and demonstrations in Warsaw, extending the revolutionary crisis into Russian-ruled Poland. The source date is 11 January Old Style.