On what would become known as "Bloody Sunday,? January 22, 1905, Russian Orthodox Father George Gapon led a procession in St. Petersburg of some 200,000 who were marching on the Winter Palace to present their grievances to Czar Nicholas. Troops on the scene panicked, firing into the crowd and killing hundreds, thus igniting the Revolution of 1905. Across Russia, government officials were attacked, peasants seized private estates and workers` strikes virtually paralyzed the economy. In St. Petersburg, a council (soviet) of workers` delegates threatened to take over the government. Nicholas consented to the adoption of a constitution and election of a parliament (Duma). The first Duma met in 1906.
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