Georgy Gapon

Georgy Apollonovich Gapon (17 February [O.S. 5 February] 1870 –10 April [O.S. 28 March] 1906) was a Russian Orthodox priest of Ukrainian descent and a popular working-class leader before the 1905 Russian Revolution.

Father Gapon is mainly remembered as the leader of peaceful crowds of protesters on Bloody Sunday, when hundreds of them were killed by units of the Imperial Russian Army firing or charging into the crowds. Father Gapon is also known for his cooperation with the Okhrana, the Russian secret police, as well as with the Socialist Revolutionary Party, which had been banned on account of its terrorist activities. Gapon knew that Nicholas II was away from the Winter Palace following an assassination attempt a few days prior.

He nonetheless mobilized the socialists and many regular people from the crowd, and marched to the Winter Palace on that day to petition. It is unknown what exactly happened before the situation escalated and the first shots were fired, but the ensuing fiasco contributed to the Tsar's declining popularity.