Editing Openai/6874b524-4134-8013-b5e6-0601c853d841 (section)

===== The Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 was a humiliation for the empire. As the Russian fleet burned in the Tsushima Strait and prices rose in St. Petersburg, protests erupted. =====

In January 1905, Bloody Sunday sent a chill through the city. Moishe closed his shop for a week and hung a picture of the Tsar in the window—an act of defensive loyalty.

But at night, he let neighbors talk politics in hushed tones. Rosa kept the children away from the courtyard during these meetings, but Israel eavesdropped anyway. These overheard conversations became the first fuel for his ideological awakening.