The “revolution” of 1905 deserves mention. The unions went on strike, the tsar crushed them, all the other unions came out in protest. The tsar had to agree on constitutional reforms, making the duma.

Sure he then promptly had the duma liquidated after their first session, killing or sending them to gulags, presumably because they were being insolent. But the strikes started back up, there were another round of concessions.

It’s in this super old book from like 1915 or so, written by Tolstoy and someone else if I recall, they are short accounts in that book on varied subjects, maybe 40 pages or so on this.

It’s sad because the authors were all hopeful and optimistic, in no uncertain terms speaking of a new dawn for Russia. Right before the world caught on fire in WW1, in which, what was it, 5 milliom mostly russian peasants and city urchins died under Russia’s always bad military leadership.