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What was Bloody Sunday?

Bloody Sunday, also known as Red Sunday, was January 22, 1905. On that day a young Russian Orthodox priest, Georgi Gapon (1870–1906), led what was intended to be a peaceful workers' demonstration in front of the Winter Palace, the residence of the Russian czar (emperor) Nicholas II (1868–1918), at St. Petersburg the Russian capital. At that time hostilities had been mounting against Nicholas's ineffectual government, and Gapon wanted to present a petition on behalf of unhappy workers. He expected the Cossack guards and troops (members of the cavalry in the Russian army) to be sympathetic to the workers' request for better conditions. Unexpectedly, the Cossacks refused to let the crowd enter the public grounds of the Palace Square. When a protest broke out, the Cossacks shot into the crowd of demonstrators, killing about 150 people, including women and children.

Gapon was injured and later fled...

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