Lena massacre

In the Lena massacre, also known as the Lena Goldfields massacre, the Imperial Russian army massacred several hundred gold miners who were on strike. This happened on April 17, 1912 in the Lena Goldfields located in Siberia. 

Strike

The miners had demanded better pay and conditions. They worked 15- 16 hours a day, their salaries were low, and they were sometimes given rotten meat. They had no safety equipment; up to 70% were seriously injured while working, according to one source. Their employers refused their demands and asked police to arrest the strike leaders as criminals.

When the police moved into Lena, the strikers closed ranks and the situation rapidly worsened. Soldiers shot hundreds of miners. The Okhrana (the Imperial Russian army) appeared to have acted as agents provocateurs in order to identify the organizers of the strike. The local newspaper Zvezda, among others, reported that 270 miners were killed and 250 were wounded.Waller, Sally (2015). Tsarist and Communist Russia 1855–1964. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-19-835467-3.

Reactions

The Lena massacre raised larger issues about trade union rights in Russia. It also reminded people of the Bloody Sunday massacre in 1905. For these reasons, there were many strikes and protests in Russia after the massacre. Vladimir Lenin said it "inflamed the masses with a revolutionary fire."Melancon, MS (2006) The Lena Goldfields Massacre and the Crisis of the Late Tsarist State, Texas A&M University Press p. 167

Related pages

 Mining
 Trade union
 Strike action
 Bloody Sunday

References

Category:1912
Category:Siberia
Category:Massacres
Category:Russian Empire
Category:1910s in Russia
Category:20th century in Europe