The 1895 Yaroslavl Great Manufacture strike began in 1895, in the

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

region of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. There were several strikes across the empire in 1895, in protest of decreasing wages.

Background

Yaroslavl Great Manufacture was one of the biggest companies in Russia, out of about 70 in the city of

; it exported its

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

s to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. The company decided to establish new tariffs to reduce salaries, a decision which was not welcomed between workers. According to

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

, a series of strikes took place in the

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Vladimir Vladimir (, , pre-1918 orthography: ) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, widespread throughout all Slavic nations in different forms and spellings. The earliest record of a person with the name is Vladimir of Bulgaria (). Etymology ...

, and

gubernias to protest similar fines imposed on them. These fines were imposed to establish discipline (for example, a fine for smoking). Factory owners could impose fines to the extent they wished and fines were imposed at the employers discretion.

The Strike

4,000 workers participated in the strike. The worker's ceased their work and proceeded to damage the factory premises and machinery, sometimes setting fire to them and assaulting managerial staff. In response, a division of soldiers broke up their meeting, killing thirteen men.

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

, in a telegram about the official report, commented: "I am very satisfied with the way the troops behaved at Yaroslavl during these factory uprisings".

Outcome

In June 1896, fine laws were introduced to outline in what cases fines could be imposed, established maximum fines, and mandated that the collected fines be used to benefit the workers rather than increase employer profit. The strike had consequences for the workers, many of whom were arrested and others were dismissed from the enterprise. The factory administration was also affected, Fedorov and Shchapov could not justify themselves to the board of the partnership. And at the end of the strike, A.F. Gryaznov was appointed deputy director of the factory in place of Shchapov, who left service. Fedorov held the directorship until his contract expired in 1898.И.В Шильникова, «Экономика и общество древолюйионной России,» 57 http://www.hist.msu.ru/Labs/Ecohist/OB12/shilnikova.pdf

References

{{Reflist 1895 in the Russian Empire Labour disputes in the Russian Empire May 1895 1895 labor disputes and strikes Textile and clothing strikes