October Manifesto

Issued by Emperor Nicholas II of Russia under the influence of Count Sergei Witte as a response to the Russian Revolution of 1905, the October Manifesto pledged to grant certain concessions to the Russian people, including freedom of conscience, speech, assembly, and association; a bicameral system of government; broad participation in the Duma; and a decree that no law should come into force without the consent of the state Duma.