October Manifesto

10월 선언

Proclaimed by Nicholas II on October 17 (O.S.), 1905, under the pressure of a nationwide general strike, the October Manifesto promised civil liberties and a legislative Duma, marking the Russian autocracy's pivot toward constitutional monarchy. Drafted by Sergei Witte, the document guaranteed inviolability of the person, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly, and association, and established that no law could take effect without the Duma's approval, though the Tsar retained veto and dissolution powers. The strikes briefly subsided, but while liberals accepted the concession, workers and socialists dismissed it as a scrap of paper meant to disarm the revolution, and the incomplete implementation of its promises ensured that the revolution continued until the June 1907 coup.