League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class
Encyclopedia
St. Petersburg League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class was a Marxist group in St. Petersburg, Russia
. It was founded by Lenin, Julius Martov
, Gleb Krzhizhanovsky
, Alexander Malchenko, P. Zaporozhets, A. Vaneye, V. Starkov and others in the autumn of 1895. It united 20 Marxist study circles in St. Petersburg Lenin dominated the league through the 'central group'.
Its main activity was agitation
amongst the workers of St Petersburg and the distribution of socialist leaflets to the factories there.
In December 1895, six League members were arrest
ed, Lenin among them. While in prison, Lenin continued to guide the work of the League. In 1896 several more, including Martov, were arrested. Those members of the group still at large however scored a great success organising a strike of the textile workers in St Petersburg in May 1896. This industrial action
lasted three weeks and spread to twenty other factories in Russia in what became the greatest strike in Russian history up to that date.
By the end of the 1890's the League was transporting its illegal literature through Finland
and Stockholm
. Transportation was organised by Hjalmar Branting
, a Swedish Social-Democrat, Carder, a Norwegian Social-Democrat, and A. Weidel, a Swedish worker who settled in Finland for that purpose. But Garder's arrest in 1900 disrupted the arrangement and the route via Finland. A route running from Stockholm to Åbo
and across the Russian frontier was restarted in 1901.
Alexander Malchenko abandoned the revolution after returning from exile in 1900. For this he was arrested in 1929 as a wrecker, and shot in 1938, rehabilitated in 1958. His image was airbrushed out of a photo of the seven leaders in 1897.
With Lenin imprisoned the league fell under the control of the Economists (Marxists who wanted the workers to stick to economic demands only, with no political demands) through their paper Rabochaya Mysl (Workers' Thought, published 1897-1902. In the autumn of 1900, the League merged with the St. Petersburg Workers' Organisation
.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It was founded by Lenin, Julius Martov
Julius Martov
Julius Martov or L. Martov was born in Constantinople in 1873...
, Gleb Krzhizhanovsky
Gleb Krzhizhanovsky
Gleb Maximilianovich Krzhizhanovsky was a Soviet economist and a state figure. Academician of USSR Academy of Sciences , Hero of Socialist Labour ....
, Alexander Malchenko, P. Zaporozhets, A. Vaneye, V. Starkov and others in the autumn of 1895. It united 20 Marxist study circles in St. Petersburg Lenin dominated the league through the 'central group'.
Its main activity was agitation
Agitator
An agitator is a person who actively supports some ideology or movement with speeches and especially actions. The Agitators were a political movement as well as elected representatives of soldiers, including the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell, during the English Civil War. They were also known...
amongst the workers of St Petersburg and the distribution of socialist leaflets to the factories there.
In December 1895, six League members were arrest
Arrest
An arrest is the act of depriving a person of his or her liberty usually in relation to the purported investigation and prevention of crime and presenting into the criminal justice system or harm to oneself or others...
ed, Lenin among them. While in prison, Lenin continued to guide the work of the League. In 1896 several more, including Martov, were arrested. Those members of the group still at large however scored a great success organising a strike of the textile workers in St Petersburg in May 1896. This industrial action
Industrial action
Industrial action or job action refers collectively to any measure taken by trade unions or other organised labour meant to reduce productivity in a workplace. Quite often it is used and interpreted as a euphemism for strike, but the scope is much wider...
lasted three weeks and spread to twenty other factories in Russia in what became the greatest strike in Russian history up to that date.
By the end of the 1890's the League was transporting its illegal literature through Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
. Transportation was organised by Hjalmar Branting
Hjalmar Branting
was a Swedish politician. He was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party , and Prime Minister during three separate periods . When Branting came to power in 1920, he was the first Social Democratic Prime Minister of Sweden...
, a Swedish Social-Democrat, Carder, a Norwegian Social-Democrat, and A. Weidel, a Swedish worker who settled in Finland for that purpose. But Garder's arrest in 1900 disrupted the arrangement and the route via Finland. A route running from Stockholm to Åbo
Abo
Abo may refer to:* ABO blood group system, a human blood type and blood group system** ABO , enzyme encoded by the ABO gene that determines the ABO blood group of an individual* Abo of Tiflis , an Arab East Orthodox Catholic saint...
and across the Russian frontier was restarted in 1901.
Alexander Malchenko abandoned the revolution after returning from exile in 1900. For this he was arrested in 1929 as a wrecker, and shot in 1938, rehabilitated in 1958. His image was airbrushed out of a photo of the seven leaders in 1897.
With Lenin imprisoned the league fell under the control of the Economists (Marxists who wanted the workers to stick to economic demands only, with no political demands) through their paper Rabochaya Mysl (Workers' Thought, published 1897-1902. In the autumn of 1900, the League merged with the St. Petersburg Workers' Organisation
St. Petersburg Workers' Organisation
St. Petersburg Workers' Organisation was a socialist group, oriented towards economism, in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire. It was set up in the summer of 1900. Its appeal 'To the Workers of All Factories', published in its newspaper Rabochaya Mysl No...
.