The strike movement in Tsarist Russia: the role of agitation
The nature and dynamics of social conflicts are largely determined by the processes of transmission and dissemination of information. These processes, spreading in an unstable society, can lead to an unexpected turn in the course of events.
Speeches of leaders of political movements, legal or illegal propaganda activities of socio-political organizations and parties, distribution of leaflets and other printed publications, press materials - all these types of information impact and channels of information transfer in the society must be taken into account by progressive political forces in organizing agitation and propaganda campaigns.
As an example of the important organizational role of information campaigns in the development of class battles are the social conflicts in the Russian industry of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This is primarily about strikes, but the mass working-class movement has taken other forms (unrest, demands, rallies, demonstrations).
A lot of work has been devoted to the study of various aspects of the structure and dynamics of strike movement in the period of pre-revolutionary industrialization in Russia. Much attention was paid to the reasons for the strikes and the mechanisms for their occurrence and spread. At the same time, strike movement was studied at various levels: in the whole country, by individual regions or gubernias, by certain branches or groups of production. The necessary data at the macro level could be extracted mainly from the "Reports of Factory Inspectors". Materials published labor movement chronicles (as well as archival documents) were used to study strikes at the micro level, in their local measurement.
The dynamics of the strike movement in a particular region (or in the country as a whole), whose indicators are usually the number of strikes and the number of strikers, is explained by a complex combination of external and internal causes. This, on the one hand, is the economic conjuncture that influenced the position of the working class, political events, changes in legislation, and other external factors. On the other hand, these are concrete manifestations of social conflicts in enterprises, severe cases of industrial injuries, the activity of party agitators and workers' activists, and other "internal" factors. An essential factor was the degree of rigidity of the authorities in suppressing the workers' protest.
An important role in the changes in the nature of the dynamics of the strike process is played by the information environment in which social conflicts between workers and capitalists develop. This process often takes an explosive character, which is not always adequate to the apparent causes of the conflict and reflects the accumulation of contradictions between the conflicting parties.
The history of conflicts between workers and entrepreneurs in pre-revolutionary Russia, of which the strike movement was an important component, has an extensive historiography. In general, the researchers note a very significant conjugation of the indicators of strike movement and industrial conditions, as well as the material situation of workers in the period 1895-1913.
However, the correlation of the indicators of strike activity with the indicators of the agitation activity of the left parties and workers' organizations (the number of issued leaflets and leaflets, the number of items where the May Day leaflets were issued, the number of people who joined the Social Democratic organizations, the number of demonstrations) was no less significant. The growing strike movement prompted political and party organizations to expand agitation and propaganda and organizational activities, which contributed to the activation of the strike struggle and the involvement of more participants in it.
The causes of the appearance of strike waves do not always lend themselves to a simple explanation. They could have arisen for no apparent reason, when the accumulated dissatisfaction of the workers with their position reached such a level that it was enough for any reason to launch the "trigger mechanism" of the strike, which often outgrew the framework of one enterprise. An essential role in this could be played by agitation and organizational actions of representatives of party or political organizations. So, Ekaterinoslav governor reported in 1902 to St. Petersburg:
"There are some industrial establishments whose composition of workers has already proved itself to be inclined to protests, strikes and shows a constant readiness for riots ... Different protests, displeasure and unrest are often based not only on the inaccuracies of calculation or on changing prices, mistreatment of them and the like , but are based on fundamental questions: on the 8-hour working day, on the right of workers' representation in the discussion of certain government activities, on the celebration of May 1, etc., or under the influence of the propagandists of the socialist camp, are asked even broader tasks concerning the political system, the common interests of the working class with the interests of the students, the need to participate in anti-government demonstrations, and so on.
The prosecutor of the district court on the cause of the general strike in Yekaterinoslav in the summer of 1903 and its skirmishers wrote:
"It is difficult to find out the cause of the unrest, especially since they originated in railway workshops where workers, according to general reports, were better equipped than at other plants; in all likelihood, by the nature of their occupations being more developed people, they were succumbed to the influence of socialist propaganda, which was conducted among them on a large scale. "
Growing influence in the working environment of Petersburg radical-minded workers was noted in 1901 by the commander of the corps of gendarmes Svyatopolk-Mirsky:
"In the past three or four years, from the good-natured Russian guy, a kind of semi-literate intellectual who respects his duty to deny a religion has developed ... to neglect the law, not to obey the government and mock it." Such youth was available at every factory for a little while, but this handful manages the rest of ... a lot of quite legal workers. "
Such statements by the authorities can be given a lot - even for the period preceding the First Russian Revolution of 1905.
The ratio of spontaneity and organization in the development of strike waves depended on many factors. In a way, the spontaneous actions of the workers took a rebellious character. As noted by the authors of the publication "The Workers' Movement in Russia. 1895 - February 1917: The Chronicle "," riots "were a manifestation of the despair of workers who did not see the possibility of changes in their situation; they flared up where there was a small number of cadre workers, where the bulk consisted of workers who had recently been involved in production, many of whom were from the village.
Minister of Justice N.V. Muravyov, who tried to understand the reasons for the growth of the labor movement in Russia in the mid-1890s, noted in particular the appearance among the workers of "combat groups", by which he meant groups of organizers and active participants in strikes. The number of "instigators", in the terminology of police documents, increased with the expansion of the strike movement. The minister pointed out the connection between the workers' speeches and the "secret societies" who "tried to incite discontent with the existing system" (among the latter he singled out the organizations of the Social Democrats and Narodnaya Volya), the Chronicle contains numerous examples of direct or indirect participation of certain revolutionary organizations in mass speeches workers (oral agitation, distribution of leaflets, personal participation in strikes, meetings and gatherings,
So, May 24 - June 16, 1896 in St. Petersburg and the suburbs, a general professional performance of textile workers took place (18577 out of a total of 19,390 workers of 24 paper-weaving, paper-spinning and thread factories). Unified economic requirements were adopted at the general meeting of workers of 17 factories. In addition, the workers of individual factories made their demands. The reason for the performance is the refusal of the factory owners to pay workers in addition to one announced weekend of the coronation of Nicholas II in Moscow on May 14, 1896, two more days (May 15 and 16), i.e. days, the continuing coronation celebrations, when many enterprises did not work because of the mass absenteeism of workers in factories. Refusal in the requirements served as the beginning of the strike, which proceeded wavy. Almost everywhere, strikes began with the appearance of spinners,
An active role in the strike was played by the Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class, which published and distributed leaflets in the city and directly at textile enterprises, organizing meetings and gatherings of representatives from the collectives of the striking factories. The authorities were seriously alarmed by the fact that the strike can not be stopped, that every day new enterprises and thousands of strikers join it.
June 15 S.Yu. Witte turned to the textile workers, cursing "not to listen to instigators," assuring that the government "is equally dear both to the affairs of the manufacturers and to the workers." This appeal was also distributed as a leaflet among the workers, but it had no success. The textile workers were supported in the capital by speeches, by the financial assistance of the workers of those factories and plants that did not take part in the strike, students, and representatives of the intelligentsia. At the location of the factories, the authorities sent two Cossack hundreds, three infantry regiments. 1600 workers were arrested, 1055 of them brought to trial, 84 imprisoned, 55 expelled for a year "home" under the open supervision of the police. The requirements are partially satisfied.
Another example. December 23, 1897 - January 13, 1898. A collective strike of workers of 15 weaving, spinning and cotton enterprises took place in Ivanovo-Voznesensk (Vladimirskaya Gubernia) in connection with the reduction from January 1, 1898, of the number of holidays. The strikers (about 14,000 out of a total of 19,315 workers in 15 factories) also demanded that one substitute be replaced by another or allowed up to 5 absenteeism a month without imposing a fine, to free women from post-partum labor for 1 month. with a payment of 8 rubles. from the penalty capital, to release the workers arrested during strikes, to pay for all strike days.
The members of the Ivanovo Workers' Union (KN Otrokov and others) led the strike. During the strike meetings and gatherings were held, illegal literature was distributed. According to the Director of the Police Department, the strike was "exemplary in solidarity and organization". After the strike, a leaflet of the Moscow Workers' Union "Letter to the workers of Ivanovo-Voznesensk" was distributed. The vice-governor arrived at the scene, factory inspectors, a representative of the prosecutor's supervision, were summoned. The city was patrolled by two hundred Cossacks and two battalions of soldiers; Wine shops were closed, guard stood at the gate of the factories. Since January 2, the dismissal of strikers, their eviction from factory apartments and sending "home" began. On the 12th the workers held negotiations with the vice-governor. The famine and lack of help on the part of the workers forced the workers to stop the strike. The requirements were partially met. 54 workers were arrested.
On May 15-17, 1899, a strike of all 1,400 workers of the Rechkin and Co. car building factory at St. Petersburg took place with demands of an economic order. Factory inspectors were called up. According to the senior factory inspector, the reason for the strike is agitation, "which has long been conducted among workers" and is supported by the proliferation of illegal leaflets and the newspaper Rabochaya mysl. After the strike, the leaflet of the Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class was distributed at the factory. Requirements are not satisfied, three "instigators" are dismissed.
On May 1-8, 1900 collective actions of workers of Kharkov took place: demonstrations (two - 5000 people), rallies (two - 3000 people) and strikes of workers of more than 40 factories (over 10,000 strikers out of a total of 14,000 workers) in communication day May 1 and the promotion of economic requirements. The speeches are organized by the Kharkov Committee of the RSDLP. From the beginning of April, pamphlets about the May holiday were distributed; on April 22, a meeting was held to discuss the celebration of May 1; On the 26th and 27th a leaflet circulated, urging to celebrate May 1 under the slogans of the eighth hour. working day and political freedoms. Working railroads. workshops and a locomotive-building plant were removed from work by nearby factories. By May 1, the city was flooded with police, Cossacks, troops. There were clashes of workers with the police and Cossacks, were wounded. 202 people were arrested. On May 2, the workers of the Main Railroads, the workshop, demanded the release of the arrested and glad economic demands. From May 2 to May 8, economic strikes took place at the plants - locomotive building, machine building Belgian tv, agricultural machinery M. Gelfirich-Sade, etc. Factory inspectors, governor, vice-governor, a hundred Cossacks were summoned. Since May 2, the city was declared martial law. At the Belgian T-W plant from the 5th, the total lockout. The requirements are partially met. Arrested 10 people, many are fired. The factory inspectors, the governor, the vice-governor, and a hundred Cossacks were summoned. Since May 2, the city was declared martial law. At the Belgian T-W plant from the 5th, the total lockout. The requirements are partially met. Arrested 10 people, many are fired. The factory inspectors, the governor, the vice-governor, and a hundred Cossacks were summoned. Since May 2, the city was declared martial law. At the Belgian T-W plant from the 5th, the total lockout. The requirements are partially met. Arrested 10 people, many are fired.
.jpg)
