October Manifesto

The October Manifesto, officially "The Manifesto on the Improvement of the State Order", is a document that served as a precursor to the Russian Empire's first Constitution, which was adopted the following year in 1906.^¹ The Manifesto was issued by Tsar Nicholas II, under the influence of Sergei Witte (1849–1915), on 30 October [O.S. 17 October] 1905 as a response to the Russian Revolution of 1905.^¹ Nicholas strenuously resisted these ideas, but gave in after his first choice to head a military dictatorship, Grand Duke Nicholas, threatened to shoot himself in the head if the Tsar did not accept Witte's suggestion.^¹ Nicholas reluctantly agreed, and issued what became known as the October Manifesto, promising certain civil rights and an elected parliament called the Duma, without whose approval no laws were to be enacted in Russia in the future.^¹ According to his memoirs, Witte did not force the Tsar to sign the October Manifesto, which was proclaimed in all the churches.^¹