The Russian Revolution of 1905 was the result of a combination of different issues that plagued the Russian Empire in 1905 and the years leading up to it, although the key reason, from which many of these problems stemmed from, was the poor leadership of Tsar Nicholas II. The Russian Revolution of 1905 was a social and political uprising against the government of the Tsar, manifested largely through strikes leading to production grinding to a halt. Industrialization and the poor working conditions of the peasants put pressure of the Tsar to quell the social discontent that this created. The lack of action from the Tsar paved the way for political opposition such as the Social Revolutionists and Social Democrats that quickly gained support of millions of peasants by promising land to the people. The unpopularity of the Tsar was exacerbated by the humiliation in the Russo-Japanese war, and ultimately the spark that started the active part of the Revolution was the massacre at Bloody Sunday. .
The Tsar's leadership was the root and foundation of almost all of the problems that culminated in the 1905 Revolution. Tsar Nicholas II was not a strong and wise leader that Russia needed and his unwillingness to show change, maintaining Tsarism was the only resolute principle that that the Tsar had. This is reflected by Sir Arthur Nicholson, the British Ambassador to Russia in 1906 describing Nicholas as 'the gentle but uneducated Emperor, weak on every point except his own autocracy.' The Okhrana, or the 'protective section' were a group of secret police that helped Nicholas main autocratic rule, silencing those who criticised the Tsar and censoring books and newspapers. The Tsar's ideology of supreme Autocratic rule yet having no leadership qualities in dealing with affairs such as the growing unrest in the working class and peasants was a recipe that was destined for disaster.