Date of Award

6-1964

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

History

First Advisor

Dr. Willis F. Dunbar

Second Advisor

Emanuel Nodel

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Preface

On Sunday morning, January 22, 1905, a crowd of workers marched through the streets of St. Petersburg, Russia. They were led by a Russian Orthodox priest, Father George Gapon, who had a petition to grievances to present to Czar Nicholas II. As they converged on the square in front of the Winter Palace, they were fired upon by the Imperial troops. The result was a complete military victory for the autocracy and a casualty rate among the petitioners that has caused the incident to go down in history as "Bloody Sunday."

On Monday, January 23, newspapers throughout the United States reported the slaughter to the American people. Within the next few weeks, magazines, some of whom sent reporters to St. Petersburg, augmented the initial coverage with reports of -their own. Throughout the year, as a matter of fact, interest in Russian affairs continued to mount. Periodicals expanded beyond a strict accounting of current events, and began to analyze such topics as the Russian personality, Russian minority groups, and so on.

The purpose of this study is to survey and record the information available to the thorough, intelligent reader in 1905. In other words, this paper attempts to determine what an American contemporary of "Bloody Sunday" could know about the massacre and its aftermath.

Share

COinS