October 17 in the Russian calendar was October 30 in the Gregorian calendar. These six archival images move from the printed declaration to the opening of the first Duma. Their captions distinguish the event, the publication date and later artistic interpretation.
Topic: October Manifesto
01 / 06
The manifesto in print
The St. Petersburg publication reproduced here is dated October 18, 1905 in the Julian calendar, or October 31 Gregorian. The manifesto itself was signed a day earlier. The distinction explains why contemporary newspaper dates can appear to disagree with the anniversary.
Unknown printer and photographer / Vedomosti Sankt-Peterburgskogo gradonachalstva / Wikimedia Commons; public domain.
02 / 06
Nicholas before the crisis
W. and D. Downey’s portrait of Nicholas II appeared in Munsey’s Magazine in November 1898. The formal image belongs to the earlier years of his reign. Seven years later, his signature would authorize concessions he continued to frame as an exercise of imperial will.
Photo details
Date
Published November 1898
Location
London; publication in the United States
Photographer
W. & D. Downey
Archive / collection
Munsey’s Magazine, volume XX / Wikimedia Commons
Rights / license
Public domain; published in 1898, copyright expired.
W. & D. Downey / Munsey’s Magazine, volume XX / Wikimedia Commons; public domain.
03 / 06
Witte between two negotiations
Sergei Witte and Baron Rosen ride in an automobile at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1905. Witte helped negotiate peace with Japan before pressing for concessions at home. This postcard records his American mission, not the drafting of the manifesto in Russia.
Photo details
Date
1905
Location
Portsmouth, New Hampshire, United States
Photographer
F. G. Berte; copyright credit on the print
Archive / collection
Library of Congress, ppmsca.08195
Rights / license
Public domain; 1905 publication, no known restrictions recorded by the Library of Congress.
F. G. Berte; copyright credit on the print / Library of Congress, ppmsca.08195; public domain.
04 / 06
Workers who joined the strike movement
This group portrait is cataloged as participants in the 1905 strike at the Tula Cartridge Plant. It does not record the October announcement itself. The workers’ presence in the archive helps give individual faces to the industrial unrest behind the year’s political crisis.
Photo details
Date
1905; exact day unknown
Location
Tula, Russian Empire
Photographer
Unknown photographer
Archive / collection
State Archive of the Tula Region, F. R-3097 F, Op. 3, D. 17
Rights / license
Public domain; PD-RusEmpire and expired U.S. copyright, as documented by Commons.
Unknown photographer / State Archive of the Tula Region, F. R-3097 F, Op. 3, D. 17; public domain.
05 / 06
An artist’s version of the celebration
Repin’s Demonstration on October 17, 1905 was painted in 1907 and modified in 1911. The Russian Museum describes a crowd of students, workers and intellectuals celebrating the manifesto. This is a later historical painting; the title uses Russia’s old calendar.
Photo details
Date
1907, modified 1911; depicts October 17/30, 1905
Location
Russian Empire; painting held in St. Petersburg
Photographer
Ilya Repin
Archive / collection
State Russian Museum, Ж-6666 / Wikimedia Commons
Rights / license
Public domain artwork and faithful two-dimensional reproduction; Repin died in 1930.
Ilya Repin / State Russian Museum, Ж-6666 / Wikimedia Commons; public domain.
06 / 06
The promise reaches the Winter Palace
Nicholas II addresses the opening ceremony of the State Duma and State Council in the Winter Palace. The date is May 10, 1906, or April 27 in the Julian calendar. The ceremony came after new Fundamental Laws had defined the substantial powers retained by the emperor.
Photo details
Date
May 10, 1906 Gregorian / April 27 Julian
Location
Winter Palace, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Photographer
K. E. von Hahn
Archive / collection
Wikimedia Commons
Rights / license
Public domain; PD-Russia-expired and expired U.S. copyright, as documented by Commons.
