The Lena River Massacre 1912
The Lena River Massacred occurred on the 5th April 1912 on the Lena Goldfields in Siberia. The result was between 150-300 workers dead and a similar number wounded, killed by the Russian police who were at the goldfields under request of the company to quell the strikes that had been occurring since February 1912. Tensions had arose between the miners and the company due to the poor working conditions and the long hours, demonstrated by the fact that 70% of the Lena River workers suffered some form of traumatic injury and that they were working 15-16 hour days. In February 1912, 6000 miners formed a strike committee demanding, eight hour working days, significant wage increases, abolition of company fines and caps of food prices at the canteen, as the workers relied on the company for food and other goods but often struggled to afford them due to the inflated prices and minimal wages. The company rejected these demands and requested the help of the police to control the strikes, which remained peaceful and continued into March. On the 4th April 1912, 2500 workers marched on the company headquarters in another peaceful demonstration, only to be confronted by the police, resulting in a massacre. The result of the massacre was that anti-Tsarist tensions resurfaced, after they had been previously quashed following the Bloody Sunday Massacre in 1905, and it opened up the opportunity for worker protests. In May 1912 there was over a thousand strikes by the proletariat in St Petersburg alone, with 750,000 Russian workers participating in strikes. This weakened the support for the Tsarist government as the Tsarist government’s actions resulted in deaths of people from their social class, thus contributing to a revolutionary situation. “The Moscow report … went on to cite the ‘shooting of the Lena Workers’ as the major reason why the ‘people can be heard speaking of the government in the sharpest and most unbridled tones.’”(Michael Lynch)
Book: Russia and the USSR 1905-1941 Book: Reaction and Revolution: Russia 1894-1924, 3rd Edition, Michael Lynch Website: http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/lena-river-massacre/
SEAN
Book: Russia and the USSR 1905-1941 Book: Reaction and Revolution: Russia 1894-1924, 3rd Edition, Michael Lynch Website: http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/lena-river-massacre/
SEAN
Lena River is a remote watercourse located in Siberia and occupied by remote regions in Russia. Wealthy Russians and English investors sought profit by buying shares in a company planning to mine gold from the area. The Lena River Mining company began drilling and excavation near the town of Bodaybo, and hired several thousand Russia workers to the mines. Although profitable, the mine failed to live up to the exorbitant wealth as anticipated. Workers were given long, arduous work hours ranging from 15-16 hours a day and severe wage cuts. In late February the company even tried to disguise rotten horse meat as beef; along with this the other grievances received burst into widespread strike amongst workers.
In four days, 6,000 miners formed a strike committee and handed the company a set of demands ranging from 8 hour work days and caps on food prices to quality and proper food delivery. Their demands were rejected and the company subsequently called for a detachment of troops to help control the situation. The troops arrived early April and arrested leaders of the strike committees which led to even more unrest among the strikers and also the surrounding goldfields not affected by the strike. On April 5th a crowd of 2,500 workers marched to company headquarters to demand for the release of their comrades. A brigade of soldiers who were given orders to fire on the mob attacked killing approximately 250 men and injuring roughly the same amount. New of the shooting aroused memories of bloody Sunday, to which three-quarters of a million Russian workers showed their solidarity with the massacre by going on strike. This in turn accelerated a revolutionary situation by slowing production in Russian industry which hurts Russian as a whole economically. The re-emergence of yet another massacre due to workers ignited further resentment for authority and established general recognition for the struggles of the proletariat masses.
LUKE
In four days, 6,000 miners formed a strike committee and handed the company a set of demands ranging from 8 hour work days and caps on food prices to quality and proper food delivery. Their demands were rejected and the company subsequently called for a detachment of troops to help control the situation. The troops arrived early April and arrested leaders of the strike committees which led to even more unrest among the strikers and also the surrounding goldfields not affected by the strike. On April 5th a crowd of 2,500 workers marched to company headquarters to demand for the release of their comrades. A brigade of soldiers who were given orders to fire on the mob attacked killing approximately 250 men and injuring roughly the same amount. New of the shooting aroused memories of bloody Sunday, to which three-quarters of a million Russian workers showed their solidarity with the massacre by going on strike. This in turn accelerated a revolutionary situation by slowing production in Russian industry which hurts Russian as a whole economically. The re-emergence of yet another massacre due to workers ignited further resentment for authority and established general recognition for the struggles of the proletariat masses.
LUKE
The Lena River massacre occurred on the 4th of April 1912, following growing strikes by workers from the Lena River Mining company. Many Russians and Britons purchased shares in the company planning to mine gold, although, when not as much gold as predicted was found, the company was forced to reduce costs in order to increase its profit and keep shareholders. These cuts were extremely burdensome for the workers of the mines. They were forced to work 15-16 hours days, while constantly carrying out precarious practises which resulted in 70% of workers suffering from a traumatic injury while working. Fines were also deducted from low wages for minor offences, creating discontent and tension between the mining company and their workers. The strike was ignited when the canteen distributed rotten horse meat as beef, within four days 6000 miners were on strike. Demands such as, the introduction of an eight-hour day, a significant increase of wages, the abolition of company fines, caps on food prices in the canteens as well as improvements in the quality and delivery of food, these were unequivocally denied. Troops from the army were sent to the Goldfields in April and arrested the leaders, which exacerbated the situation. The workers demanded leaders of the strike to be released, this resulted in the killing of 250 and injuring 250 more of the strikers. This created major public backlash, and created similar reactions as the Bloody Sunday Massacre. 750,000 workers from around Russia went on strike to show their support for the Lena river workers. By May 1912 there was over 1000 strikes in St Petersburg. The strikes at Lena river drove 4/5 families of workers away from the company, which resulted in the Lena River Mining company being forced to close.
SIMONE
SIMONE