Duma and Stolypin
Among the political parties formed, or made legal, were the liberal-intelligentsia Constitutional Democratic party (the Cadets), the peasant leaders' Labour Group (Trudoviks), the less liberal Union of 17 October (the Octobrists), and the reactionary Union of Land-Owners.
The electoral laws were promulgated in December 1905—franchise to male citizens over 25 years of age, electing through four electoral colleges. This was a weighted electoral system where the votes of some sections of society were worth more than others. For example, the vote of a landowner was worth 45 times more than the vote of an industrial worker. The first elections to the Duma took place in March 1906 and were boycotted by the socialists, the SRs and the Bolsheviks. In the First Duma, there were 170 Kadets, 90 Trudoviks, 100 non-aligned peasant representatives, 63 nationalists of various hues, and 16 Octobrists.
In April 1906, the government issued the Fundamental Laws, setting the limits of this new political order. The Tsar was confirmed as absolute leader, with complete control of the executive, foreign policy, church, and the armed forces. The status of the Duma was changed, becoming a lower chamber below the half-elected, half-appointed by the Tsar State Council. Legislation had to be approved by the Duma, the Council, and the Tsar to become law, and in "exceptional conditions" the government could bypass the Duma.
In April 1906, Sergei Witte resigned, after having negotiated a loan of almost 900 million rubles to repair the Russian government's finances. Apparently the Tsar had lost confidence in him. Later known as "late Imperial Russia's most outstanding politician", Witte was replaced by senior Ivan Goremykin. On 19 May 1906, Goremykin was himself replaced by Pyotr Stolypin.
Demanding further liberalisation and acting as a platform for "agitators", the First Duma was dissolved by the Tsar in July 1906. Despite the hopes of the Kadets and the fears of the government, there was no widespread popular reaction to this. However, an assassination attempt on Pyotr Stolypin led to the establishment of field trials for terrorists, and over the next eight months more than a thousand people were hanged.
The Coup of June 1907 was the end of the revolution. The Duma was dispersed and the social democrat deputies were arrested. The autocracy was restored.
Read more about this topic: Revolution Of 1905