Bloody Sunday is a name given to many different violent confrontations between protesters and government forces, all of which took place on Sundays. The best-known occurred in Russia in 1905, in the United States in 1965, and in Northern Ireland in 1972. In all three cases, government forces killed or injured protesters, and the violence drew attention and sympathy to the protesters’ cause.
Russia: Jan. 22, 1905.
For centuries, a great gap existed in Russia between the wealthy few and the many poor. During the 1800’s, economic and political progress narrowed the gap between rich and poor in Europe and improved living conditions for many workers. Compared with many of its European neighbors, Russia made little economic and political progress during the 1800’s. The lack of progress angered many Russians of all classes. New political parties and labor unions arose. Worker strikes and other protests occurred frequently. The country was on the brink of revolution by the early 1900’s.
On Sunday, Jan. 22, 1905, thousands of striking workers marched peacefully to the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The workers, led by Father Georgi Gapon, a Russian Orthodox priest, planned to ask Czar Nicholas II for reforms. Government troops opened fire on the marchers, who were unarmed, and killed or wounded hundreds.
This Bloody Sunday marked the beginning of Russia’s Revolution of 1905. The violence permanently damaged the czar’s reputation. As a result, Russia’s revolutionaries gained enough strength to force the czar to make some government reforms. See Russia (The Revolution of 1905).
United States: March 7, 1965.
One hundred years after the American Civil War ended in 1865, many Black Americans still lacked the same access to the political process as white people. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and other discriminatory measures, as well as violence and intimidation, continued to prevent many Black citizens from voting. In January 1965, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights organization, led an effort to register Black people to vote in southern states. Their efforts were met with violence and arrests.
Seeking to draw attention to the problem, the civil rights activists planned to march in protest from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital, Montgomery. On Sunday, March 7, 1965, as about 600 marchers left Selma, state troopers, sheriff’s deputies, and local policemen blocked their path and ordered them to disband. The marchers stood their ground. The police forces, some on horses, then attacked the marchers with clubs, bullwhips, and tear gas. As many as 100 protesters were injured and 17 were hospitalized.
Television news cameras captured the event and broadcast it to the nation. The brutality of the police forces against the peaceful march resulted in widespread sympathy and new political support for the cause of voting rights. On Aug. 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act, which helped ensure equal voting rights for Black people, was signed into law. See African Americans (Political gains).
Northern Ireland: Jan. 30, 1972.
Irish Nationalists and Unionists have battled over Northern Ireland since Ireland was divided in 1920. Nationalists, most of whom are Roman Catholic, want Northern Ireland to reunite with the Republic of Ireland. Unionists, most of whom are Protestant, want Northern Ireland to remain a part of the United Kingdom. 
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, tensions in Northern Ireland rose to a fever pitch. The Unionists had always controlled the government and police forces of Northern Ireland. Many Protestants used their power to treat the Catholics of Northern Ireland unfairly. In response, Nationalists held protest marches and wide-ranging strikes. They demanded equal employment and voting rights and an end to housing discrimination against Catholics. Their protests were often met with violence, and riots broke out frequently. Many people were killed or injured in the turmoil, which came to be known as the Troubles.
In August 1971, the government began the policy of internment. Hundreds of people suspected of participating in the violence were arrested and confined indefinitely without trial. Almost all of those detained were Nationalists, and some were mistreated while in detention. However, rioting and general unrest continued. On Jan. 18, 1972, the government banned all parades and marches for the rest of the year.
On Sunday, January 30, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association held a march to protest the policy of internment. Thousands of people marched peacefully through Londonderry (known as Derry to Nationalists). After about an hour of marching, most of the protesters gathered to listen to speeches. However, part of the crowd went to a nearby street barricade staffed by British Army troops. The protesters started throwing stones at the troops, who responded by firing tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters. The band of protesters fled toward the peaceful gathering, and the troops pursued them. The troops began firing on the crowd with live ammunition. Thirteen protesters were killed that day, and one more died later. At least 12 others were injured.
Afterward, the soldiers claimed that they had been fired upon first. However, no soldiers were injured by gunfire, and no guns were found among the protesters. The official investigation suggested that the soldiers had been fired upon first, and it blamed the protest organizers for inciting the violence. Many doubted the fairness of the findings, and the Nationalists were outraged.
This Bloody Sunday generated widespread sympathy for the Nationalists, but it also led to more violence. An angry crowd attacked the British Embassy in Dublin and burned it down. The Irish Republican Army, an unofficial military group supporting the Nationalists, set off several bombs in Belfast in the months following Bloody Sunday. The bombs targeted the British Army and Protestant civilians. In response to the violence, the British government suspended Northern Ireland’s government and imposed direct rule from London, the capital of the United Kingdom.
The original official investigation into Bloody Sunday left many people angry because it held no one accountable for the deaths and injuries. In 1998, the British government began a new inquiry into the events. In 2010, the government released a report calling the British Army’s actions on Bloody Sunday “unjustified.” In 2021, British prosecutors dropped remaining charges against soldiers accused of murder and attempted murder on Bloody Sunday. A court had ruled certain evidence inadmissible, making it unlikely that the soldiers could be convicted. See Northern Ireland (The Troubles).
