The Revolutionary Masses discontent quickly spread to the whole
of society and, in particular, to its lower strata. ‘Down with
autocracy!’ was the revolutionary slogan and the battle cry that
was supported and even enthusiastically embraced by an ever
growing part of the population. The workers, in particular,
became restless. They were no longer prepared to put up with the
outdated economic and legal conditions of their existence. They
had developed new cultural and material needs, a feeling of
human dignity and formidable class solidarity. The workers’
movement now fought to resolve a broad range of vital social and
political issues. Its growing strength was revealed in the
dramatic increase in the volume of strikes - with more than
530,000 striking workers over the period of 1901-4.
unprecedented growth of working-class unrest, the workers, for
the most part, voiced their grievances and demands by means of
strikes and protests that would be regarded as legitimate and
permissible by the standards of civiliz