April 17, 1912
In the gold mines Lena River soldiers opened fire on a crowd of striking workers. People were killed. from 170 to 270 peoplek, another 200 were injured.
The workers began to behave defiantly. A request to stop and disperse was ignored. The troops were forced to open fire. (from official press reports) Troops fired a volley without warning. 150 were killed and over 250 wounded. Workers crawling back were shot at without ceasing. Police are arresting all those knowledgeable about the law. We ask for protection. (from the workers' telegram)
The strike at the Lena goldfields, 2 kilometers from Irkutsk, began back in March. Around 6 people took part.
There were no complaints about wages—they were twice as high as in Moscow or St. Petersburg, and 20 times higher than those of peasants.
At the same time, the mine owners, with the tacit consent of the authorities, forced workers to make purchases only in special stores, at exorbitant prices.
They worked 16 hours a day, knee-deep in water. Seven out of ten were injured. They walked several kilometers to their overnight accommodations, in damp clothes. Half their earnings went toward housing, the quality of which left much to be desired.
We have only one thing left to do: advise the workers to set fire to these rotten, stinking buildings and flee from this hell as far as their eyes can see. (from the report of a member of the commission that investigated the causes of the tragedy)
The workers demanded better working conditions, higher quality food, and to be addressed as "you" instead of "thou."
Wanting to end the strike, the police arrested its leaders. A crowd of 3 people who went to the provincial prosecutor to demand their release were shot on the orders of a gendarme captain. Treschenkova.
The authorities tried to portray the strike as a revolutionary uprising. The country responded with strikes involving 300 people.
Following the investigation, Captain Treshchenkov was demoted to private and served in the foot militia. After the outbreak of World War I, he requested a transfer to the front and was killed in May 1915 by a rifle bullet to the forehead.
