Father Gapon near Narva Gate. Bloody Sunday was the name that came to be given to the events of 22 Jan 1905 in St Petersburg, Russia, where unarmed, peaceful demonstrators marching to present a petition to the Tsar Nicholas II were fired upon by soldiers of the Imperial Guard when approaching the Winter Palace. The number killed is uncertain but moderate estimates still average around 1,000 killed or wounded, both from shots and trampled during the panic.