Why did thousands of russian citizens march on st. petersburg in 1905?

The unarmed and supposedly peaceful march led by Father Georgy Gapon on 22 January 1905 was purely a petition to solve the problems of workers regarding their basic concerns. Such concerns are: fairer wages, better working conditions, and a decrease in working hours to eight per day. They also petitioned an end to the Russo-Japanese War and the start of the right to vote in public elections. It was never meant to be a seditious march but it ended with thousands of casualties.

a.   it resulted in widespread unemployment.