Lena massacre
Encyclopedia
The Lena Massacre or Lena Execution refers to the shooting of striking goldfield
workers by the Russian Empire
's tsar
ist army on in northeast Siberia
near the Lena River
. It has been suggested that Vladimir Ulyanov adopted his more popular alias after the river Lena — Lenin
— after this event, although he had in fact started using it years earlier.
The incident took place at the goldfields of the Lena Gold Mining Joint Stock Company
(a.k.a. Lenzoloto), located along the shores of the Lena River about 28 miles northeast of the town of Bodaybo
, north of Irkutsk
(coordinates for monument: 58°11′07.06″N, 114°35′01.91″E.). Merciless exploitation of the workforce provided enormous profits for the British
and Russian shareholder
s, such as A.I. Vyshnegradsky, Alexei Putilov (both on the board of directors
), Count
Sergei Witte
, Empress Maria Fyodorovna, and others. The working conditions at the goldfields were extremely harsh. The miners had to work fifteen to sixteen hours a day. For every thousand workers, there were more than 700 trauma
tic accidents. Part of the meager salary was often used to pay fines. The other part of it was given in the form of coupons to be used in stores at the mine itself. All this led a spontaneous strike at the Andreyevsky goldfield on February 29 (March 13). An immediate cause for the strike was distribution of rotten meat at one of the stores.
On March 4 (17), the workers established their demands: an 8-hour workday, 30% raise in wages, the elimination of fines, and the improvement of food delivery, among others. However, none of these demands were satisfied by the administration. With the Central Strike Committee and Central Bureau (P.N. Batashev, G.V. Cherepakhin, R.I. Zelionko, M.I. Lebedev, and others) in charge of the strike, it had extended to all the goldfields, and included over 6,000 workers, by mid-March. The tsarist government sent troops from Kirensk
to Bodaybo, and on the night of April 4 (17), all members of the strike committee were arrested. The next morning, the workers demanded their immediate release. That afternoon, some 2,500 people marched towards the Nadezhdinsky goldfield to deliver a complaint about the arbitrariness of the authorities to the prosecutor's
office. The workers were met by soldiers, who began shooting at the crowd by the order of Captain Treshchenkov, resulting in 270 dead and 250 wounded (as reported by a local newspaper Zvezda). These numbers were used for propaganda purposes during Soviet times. However, one of the reports from the mine dated 5 April mentions 150 dead and 100 wounded.
The public demanded the government send a commission to the goldfields to investigate the incident. Interior Minister Maklakov dismissed the massacre: "So it was. So it will be." Soon afterwards, the administration offered its workers a new contract, which failed to meet their satisfaction. News of the massacre provoked nationwide strikes and protest meetings totaling more than 300,000 participants, with 700 political strikes during the month of April, and 1,000 strikes on 1 May in the St. Petersburg area alone. The strike continued until August 12 (25), when the last of the workers withdrew from the mines and moved elsewhere. Altogether, an estimated 9,000 employees and family members abandoned the goldfields. The number of strikes in Russia had sharply declined from 14,000 in 1905 to just 222 in 1910. Next year it increased to 466 and 1,918 in 1912.
The Duma
commission on the Lena execution was headed by Alexander Kerensky
. His colourful reports of the incident greatly promoted widespread knowledge of the event, and also advanced his career from a backbencher to a popular leader of the Duma, as well as head of the Provisional Government of 1917.
Joseph Stalin
declared: "The Lena shots broke the ice of silence, and the river of popular resentment is flowing again. The ice has broken. It has started!"
Gold mining
Gold mining is the removal of gold from the ground. There are several techniques and processes by which gold may be extracted from the earth.-History:...
workers by the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
's tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
ist army on in northeast Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
near the Lena River
Lena River
The Lena is the easternmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean . It is the 11th longest river in the world and has the 9th largest watershed...
. It has been suggested that Vladimir Ulyanov adopted his more popular alias after the river Lena — Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
— after this event, although he had in fact started using it years earlier.
The incident took place at the goldfields of the Lena Gold Mining Joint Stock Company
Joint stock company
A joint-stock company is a type of corporation or partnership involving two or more individuals that own shares of stock in the company...
(a.k.a. Lenzoloto), located along the shores of the Lena River about 28 miles northeast of the town of Bodaybo
Bodaybo
Bodaybo is a town in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vitim River at its confluence with the Bodaybo River. Population: 12,800 ....
, north of Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
(coordinates for monument: 58°11′07.06″N, 114°35′01.91″E.). Merciless exploitation of the workforce provided enormous profits for the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Russian shareholder
Shareholder
A shareholder or stockholder is an individual or institution that legally owns one or more shares of stock in a public or private corporation. Shareholders own the stock, but not the corporation itself ....
s, such as A.I. Vyshnegradsky, Alexei Putilov (both on the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
), Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Sergei Witte
Sergei Witte
Count Sergei Yulyevich Witte , also known as Sergius Witte, was a highly influential policy-maker who presided over extensive industrialization within the Russian Empire. He served under the last two emperors of Russia...
, Empress Maria Fyodorovna, and others. The working conditions at the goldfields were extremely harsh. The miners had to work fifteen to sixteen hours a day. For every thousand workers, there were more than 700 trauma
Physical trauma
Trauma refers to "a body wound or shock produced by sudden physical injury, as from violence or accident." It can also be described as "a physical wound or injury, such as a fracture or blow." Major trauma can result in secondary complications such as circulatory shock, respiratory failure and death...
tic accidents. Part of the meager salary was often used to pay fines. The other part of it was given in the form of coupons to be used in stores at the mine itself. All this led a spontaneous strike at the Andreyevsky goldfield on February 29 (March 13). An immediate cause for the strike was distribution of rotten meat at one of the stores.
On March 4 (17), the workers established their demands: an 8-hour workday, 30% raise in wages, the elimination of fines, and the improvement of food delivery, among others. However, none of these demands were satisfied by the administration. With the Central Strike Committee and Central Bureau (P.N. Batashev, G.V. Cherepakhin, R.I. Zelionko, M.I. Lebedev, and others) in charge of the strike, it had extended to all the goldfields, and included over 6,000 workers, by mid-March. The tsarist government sent troops from Kirensk
Kirensk
Kirensk is a town and the administrative center of Kirensky District of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kirenga and the Lena Rivers, north of Irkutsk, north-northwest of the northern tip of Lake Baikal, and northeast of Ust-Kut...
to Bodaybo, and on the night of April 4 (17), all members of the strike committee were arrested. The next morning, the workers demanded their immediate release. That afternoon, some 2,500 people marched towards the Nadezhdinsky goldfield to deliver a complaint about the arbitrariness of the authorities to the prosecutor's
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
office. The workers were met by soldiers, who began shooting at the crowd by the order of Captain Treshchenkov, resulting in 270 dead and 250 wounded (as reported by a local newspaper Zvezda). These numbers were used for propaganda purposes during Soviet times. However, one of the reports from the mine dated 5 April mentions 150 dead and 100 wounded.
The public demanded the government send a commission to the goldfields to investigate the incident. Interior Minister Maklakov dismissed the massacre: "So it was. So it will be." Soon afterwards, the administration offered its workers a new contract, which failed to meet their satisfaction. News of the massacre provoked nationwide strikes and protest meetings totaling more than 300,000 participants, with 700 political strikes during the month of April, and 1,000 strikes on 1 May in the St. Petersburg area alone. The strike continued until August 12 (25), when the last of the workers withdrew from the mines and moved elsewhere. Altogether, an estimated 9,000 employees and family members abandoned the goldfields. The number of strikes in Russia had sharply declined from 14,000 in 1905 to just 222 in 1910. Next year it increased to 466 and 1,918 in 1912.
The Duma
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
commission on the Lena execution was headed by Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
. His colourful reports of the incident greatly promoted widespread knowledge of the event, and also advanced his career from a backbencher to a popular leader of the Duma, as well as head of the Provisional Government of 1917.
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
declared: "The Lena shots broke the ice of silence, and the river of popular resentment is flowing again. The ice has broken. It has started!"