Father Gapon - the priest who "bargained with the devil" in revolutionary Russia

Father Gapon, the priest who was prepared to "bargain with the devil", here shown with the Prefect of the St. Petersburg police, general I.A. Fullon. 

The Russian orthodox priest on this photograph Father Gapon, the man who on 22 January 1905 organized the workers' demonstration in St. Petersburg, which transformed into the first act of revolution in Russia. After what later was to be called the "Bloody Sunday", Tsar Nicholas began according to historian Edward Crankshaw "to lose his magic for that mass of simple-minded workers who were not caught up in the revolutionary movement but simply looked to the Tsar for succour". "A monarch cannot allow his personal guards to shoot down in droves in front of his own house an unarmed assembly of working-men, to say nothing of harmless onlookers, and contine to be revered as the source of all wisdom and kindness."

Father Gapon, the instigator of the demonstration, was not blameless either. Most of the demonstrators lacked, according to Crankshaw, "even an inkling of an idea of the inflammatory nature of their plea: they thought they were prostrating themselves before the Tsar and begging him for his protection".

"Gapon, of course, knew what he was doing, but it has never been decided whether he was master or tool. Since he was very shortly, in exile, to show himself megalomaniac to the point of insanity it does not seem to matter very much. The idea that he had become so uplifted by the discovery of his power over large audiences that he believed himself to be the chose one who would, on behalf of the Almighty, open the eyes of the Tsar to his true path is not in itself far-fetched. On the other hand, the duplicity and peasant cunning he displayed when being lionized in Geneva by the émigré revolutionaries suggests that at hear the man was more charlatan than man of God."

(Quotes from "The Shadow of the Winter Palace" by Edward Crankshaw)

After the "Bloody Sunday" the Swedish weekly Hvar 8 Dag sent a correspondent to cover events in Russia in 1905. Below are some of the photographs which illustrated his reports:

 A demonstration in front of the Saint Isaac Cathedral in St. Petersburg a few days befor the "Bloody Sunday".

At the Peter & Paul fortress, where many political prisoners were interned.

Troops close to the Winter Palace.

Cossacks, which  had arrived in St. Petersburg  before the "Bloody Sunday"

Soldiers guarding the Neva Quay. 

Soldiers guarding the square in front of the Winter Palace.

A bakery shop, which had been robbed during the unrest,  guarded by soldiers.