Historical Events of the Revolutionary World Movement

OBUKHOV-Strikes May 22, 1901

Strike in the Obukhov Factory

St. Petersburg - 22 May 1901

120 years ago, on 20 May 1901, there were clashes between the workers of the Obukhov Steelworks in St. Petersburg and the police and troops. These clashes went down in the history of the workers' movement as the "Obukhov Defence".

In 1901 there were about 20 Social Democratic circles (A. Scotman, S. Malyshev, A. Mann, N. Yunikov and others), comprising about 100-250 people, as well as several circles with SR attitudes. After the May Day demonstration and the May Day celebration made later, when 1200 workers did not show up for work, the administration dismissed 26 May Day participants. After the administration refused to return the dismissed workers, the circle leaders called for a strike.

The district leaders, who had made organisational preparations the day before, approached the administration on 7 May with a series of demands. In addition to the withdrawal of the dismissals, the strikers demanded the introduction of an 8-hour working day, the inclusion of May Day in the factory timetable, the establishment of the institution of elected workers' representatives in the factory, a wage increase, the abolition of overtime and night work, and the dismissal of Lieutenant Colonel Ivanov, the deputy head of the factory, and some foremen who had particularly harassed the workers. When the administration did not meet these demands, strike organisers A. I. Gavrilov, N. N. Junikov, A. I. Ermakov, A. V. Schotman, K. I. Ivanov, S. V. Malyshev, A. A. Mann and others stopped work in the workshops and led the workers to the former Shlisselburgskii wing, where they were joined by workers from the Alexandrovsky factory and the Cart factory.

The detachments of mounted truncheon clients arriving at the call of the administration were met with a hail of stones from the demolished pavement. The truncheon customers and a detachment of sailors guarding the factory then opened fire. The workers, who defended themselves only with stones, wood, boiling water and iron bars, were forced to retreat into the wings of the card factory. After fending off several attacks, they barricaded themselves inside the factory and continued to pelt the cops with stones. Representatives of the nearby Semiannikovsky and Aleksandrovsky factories tried to help the strikers. The truncheon clients used truncheons and trains, but they were driven away twice. Only in the evening, after receiving considerable reinforcements, did the cops and mounted gendarmes succeed in breaking the Obukhov workers' resistance. Eight workers were killed, including thirteen-year-old N. Yevdokimov, and many were wounded.

In the evening, the arrests began: The cops grabbed everyone, including the children who were standing in line. 122 people were arrested, but 60 were soon released. Many of the leaders of the strike managed to escape.

However, the factory management was forced to meet some of the strikers' demands. The Obukhov workers wrestled a number of concessions from the frightened factory administration, which significantly improved their economic and legal situation. Ten of the strikers' demands were met, which meant not only improved working conditions and a higher material level, not only a drastic change in the relationship between workers and administration, but most importantly, gave the workers the right to intervene in the administration. For two months the "democratic era" lasted at the Obukhov plant. But on 3 July the hated Ivanov, who had been dismissed at the workers' request, returned to the plant. The rights of the commissioners were curtailed. And then, on 7 July, the workers at the Obukhov plant went on strike again in protest.

But on the night of July, 7 to 8 gendarmes and Cossacks came to the village. After thorough searches, they took a total of 250 people to the transit prison. The workers were grabbed according to a pre-prepared list. A total of 800 workers were arrested. Almost all of them were immediately deported to different provinces and 37 were put on trial. In the autumn, 29 of them (including A. Yermakov, A. Gavrilov and Marfa Yakovleva) were sentenced to a total of 108 years of hard labour, prison and detention cells.