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Jānis Čoke (24 September 1878 in
Jānis Čoke (24 September 1878 in Idus parish
The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. Although the term is primarily used for Rome's pre-Julian calendars, it is often used inclusively of the Julian calendar established by Julius Caesar in 46&nbs ...
(now Valmiera Municipality
Valmiera Municipality () is one of the 35 Municipalities of Latvia, municipalities established in Latvia in 2021, located approximately west of the national capital Riga. Its first elected municipal council took office on 1 July 2021. Its seat i ...
), Kreis Wolmar
Valmiera county (, , ) was a historic county of Latvia. Its capital was Valmiera (''Wolmar'').
History
The county of Valmiera was created during the administrative territorial reform of the Governorate of Riga in 1783 by merging of parishes fr ...
, Governorate of Livonia
The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a province (''guberniya'') and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire, Baltic Governorate-General until 1876. Governorate of Livonia bordered Governorate of E ...
– 9 June 1910 in Turku
Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...
, Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire.
Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...
) was a Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
n revolutionary who is known for his involvement in the 1906 robbery of the branch of Russian State Bank in Helsinki
Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...
.
Life
Čoke was an industrial worker who joined theLatvian Social Democratic Workers' Party
The Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party (, LSDSP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic list of political parties in Latvia, political party in Latvia and the second oldest existing Latvian political party after the Latvian Farmers' Uni ...
in 1902 and became a member on the party's militant wing. During the 1905 Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution of 1905, also known as the First Russian Revolution, was a revolution in the Russian Empire which began on 22 January 1905 and led to the establishment of a constitutional monarchy under the Russian Constitution of 1906, th ...
, Čoke founded the revolutionary organization ''Brašie'' which was related with several prison riots and attacks against the gendarmerie in Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
.
In February 1906, the Latvian revolutionary Jānis Luters
Jānis is a Latvian masculine given name, the equivalent of the English John. The first written use of the name Jānis dates back to 1290. It may refer to:
*Jānis Ādamsons (born 1956), Latvian politician
*Jānis Akuraters (1876–1937), Latvi ...
formed a group of 15 revolutionaries. The gang was sent to Finland to rob the Russian State Bank branch in Helsinki. The Latvians were assisted by Finnish activists who opposed the Tsarist regime. With Čoke as the leader, the bank was robbed on 26 February.
After the robbery, Čoke fled to Tampere
Tampere is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Pirkanmaa. It is located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Tampere is approximately , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately . It is the most populous mu ...
where he handed the money over to the Russian Bolshevik Nikolay Burenin. He was soon caught in a local hotel, and taken to the police station, where Čoke managed to kill two police officers and one civil person assisting on his arrest.
Čoke was sentenced to life in prison. He died in the Kakola prison in Turku in June 1910. Official cause was pneumonia, but others claimed he died in "suspicious circumstances".
References