Just over 110 years ago, on Jan. 9, 1905, a huge throng of factory workers from all over St. Petersburg converged on the Winter Palace. Father Georgy Gapon, who led the Assembly of Russian Factory and Mill Workers of St. Petersburg, an organization that was loyal to the tsar and controlled by the country's police — stood at the head of the rally.
The cause of the demonstration was the earlier firing of four workers from the Putilov Ironworks and the mass worker strikes it sparked throughout the capital.
The workers approached the tsar's palace carrying his portrait, church icons and banners. They wanted to personally present the tsar with a loyal petition calling for, among other things, a system of representation for the people, political freedom and improvements in living and working conditions for workers and peasants.
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