And then again--a despotism must not show signs of weakness.

Its power lies in the fiction of its invincibility.
Liberals and Progressives of all shades, wise and not wise, saw their opportunity.

Finns and Poles grew bolder.

The air was thick with threats and demands and rumors of revolt.
At this critical moment M.Von Plehve, the leader of the party of reaction, the very incarnation of the spirit of old Russia, of Pobiedonostseff and the Holy Synod, was in power.
In 1903 there had occurred a shocking massacre of Jews at Kishineff.
This culmination of a prolonged anti-Semitic agitation was quickly followed by an imperial edict, promising, among other reforms, religious liberty for all.

With M.de Witte, the leader of the progressive party, to administer this new policy, a better day seemed to be dawning.