Pompous beginning of the article in the newspaper “Pravda” No. 226 of 1950, where a word is followed by the praise of Stalin may confuse the readers. Here, – say they, – another agitation of the Almighty leader who all will be raised mountains and drained oceans. But I would especially like to draw the attention of readers of the odes to Stalin, and the reasons for the strike in the railroad shops in Tiflis and how “resolved” the problems of the workers of the tsarist government.
Does it seem to readers that the current government takes the example of resolving economic and other problems in the country with Nicholas II?
As for the works of Stalin in Tiflis, he led it.
“In the period 1898-1900 was established and formed the Central leadership of the social democratic group of the Tiflis organization, which consisted of Sylvester Dzhibladze, al. Tsulukidze, L. Ketskhoveli, Stalin, North. Jugeli and advanced workers of Tiflis. M., Bochoridze, 3. Chodrishvili, V. Sturua, A. Okuashvili, G. Chkheidze. Huge help, as already noted, in advocating revolutionary Marxism and the creation of a social-democratic organization comrades Stalin, Tsulukidze, Ketskhoveli and others had stationed in Tiflis, expelled from Russia the revolutionary social-Democrats Victor Kurnatowska, Ivan Luzin, I. Francesca, G. Kogan, Rodzevich, M. Kalinin, Sergei alliluyev, Levashkevich, Nazarenko, Anna Krasnova, etc.
In the period 1898-1900 Tiflis Central social-democratic group has spent a great deal of revolutionary propaganda and organizational work on creation of the illegal social-democratic party organization; members of the Central party group led intense revolutionary propaganda, each of them led working circles. Only one of comrade Stalin was more than 8 workers ‘ social-democratic circles. The Tiflis Central party group, along with the promotion of the ideas of revolutionary social-democracy led the strikes and political struggle of the Tiflis proletariat.”
L. P. Beria, To the question about the history of the Bolshevik organizations in Transcaucasia
There are no miracles Lenin, Stalin, and others known and unknown to today’s history revolutionaries of the late XIX-early XX century started with a small Marxist circles. Stalin developed his activities in clubs back in the Seminary among the seminarians. Further more. While studying at the Seminary in 1898, he begins to lead a Marxist group in Tiflis, the Main railway workshops. For “postavnoy” activities in may 1899, Stalin was expelled from the Seminary and the future leader of the world proletariat went to work at the Tiflis physical Observatory on quite the intellectual post, but the revolutionary cause did not leave and in March of 1901, went into hiding.
As it would be for modern readers has not been compressed historical time of the transformation of Stalin in the professional revolutionary, however, the process dragged on for years. For example, in the described in the article “Truth” events, the head of the largest of the Tiflis strike of 1900, which directs 3,500 workers – a regular employee of the Observatory. Led by Stalin, as readers will have seen above, not one and then he wasn’t, by his own admission, a “master of the revolution.”
To the pathos of the beginning of the article, made the eyes of the reader, let’s give the floor to the protagonist, because “Truth” was greatly reduced memories of the leader of the Tiflis period.
“Should you tell, companions, on conscience that I do not deserve a good half of those praises which here were distributed to my address. It turns out I’m the hero of October, and the head of the Communist party of the Soviet Union, and the head of the Comintern, miracle hero and whatever. This is all nonsense, comrades, and absolutely unnecessary exaggeration. That way they are usually over the grave of the deceased revolutionary. But I’m not going to die. I am forced therefore, to restore the true picture of what I was before and who I owe my present position in our party.
Tov. Arakel (A. Okuashvili) said here that in the past he considered himself to be one of my teachers, and me as your disciple. This is absolutely correct, comrades. I really was, and remains, one of the pupils of the advanced workers of the Tiflis railway workshops.
Allow me to refer to the past.
I remember 1898, when I first got circle of the workers of the railway workshops. It was 28 years ago. I remember, at the apartment so Sturua, in the presence Dzhibladze (he was also one of my teachers), Chodrishvili, Chkheidze, and Tsereteli, Ninua, etc. the advanced workers of Tiflis he received the first lessons of practical work. In comparison with these comrades, I was then a young man. Maybe I was a little more well-read than many of these comrades. But, as a practical worker, I was definitely a beginner. Here, in the circle of these comrades, I then got my first battle of the revolutionary
baptism. Here, in the circle of these comrades, I became a student of the revolution. As you can see, my first teachers were the workers of Tiflis.
Allow me to offer them my sincere comradely thanks.”
I. V. Stalin, Reply to the greetings of the workers of the main railway
workshops in Tiflis June 8, 1926, MSS, Volume 8
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Fifty years ago -14 Aug 1900 began the famous strike of workers of the Main workshops of the Transcaucasian railroad and the Tiflis depot. Held under the direct leadership of comrade I. V. Stalin’s strike was one of the clearest manifestations of a mighty movement of the working class of Russia, raised for the revolutionary struggle against the autocracy and capitalist exploitation.
“The social democratic movement, wrote comrade Stalin did not leave untouched any part of the country. It did not escape and that area of Russia, which we call the Caucasus, and together with the Caucasus it did not avoid and our Georgia” (Soch., vol. 1, p. 3)
Numerous workers of the Tiflis railway was one of the vanguards of the proletariat of the Caucasus, a strong pillar of the revolutionary social-Democrats.
Their success in the organisational struggle of the Tiflis railway workers must first of all work of comrade Stalin. Here, among the railway workers in Tiflis, Stalin began his revolutionary work.
“I remember 1898, — said later comrade Stalin, when I first got circle of the workers of the railway workshops Here in the circle of these comrades, I then received my first fighting revolutionary baptism” (Soch., vol. 8, p. 174).
Within a few years Stalin was brought up, sturdy and organized workers of the Tiflis railway workshops.
In fierce battles with the opportunistic majority of “mesame-Dasi” comrade Stalin led the Tiflis social-democratic organization on the path of mass political agitation and open struggle against the tsarist autocracy. Advocacy in social democratic circles it is linked with the practical tasks of the revolutionary labor movement, subordinated to its development of mass agitation in the organization of the proletariat. Comrade Stalin created combat illegal printing, which appeared to be a powerful instrument for the political education of the working class, established the Central social-democratic group of the Tiflis organization that headed the revolutionary movement of the workers of Tiflis. Lenin ”the Union of struggle for the emancipation of the working class” was the model that followed in his work of the Tiflis revolutionary social-Democrats.
In 1898-1900 a neutral social-democratic group organized a series of performances of the Tiflis proletariat. In December 1898 for the first time in the railroad shops and depot held a major strike that opened a whole strip of the strike movement in the enterprises of Tbilisi. Most of the strikes, despite the intervention of the police and troops, ended in victory for the strikers. It encouraged workers rallied and tempered them to a new struggle.
Economic strikes gradually turned into a political.
“Even a simple, small strike — wrote comrade Stalin— the emphasis is put before the workers the question of our political injustice, face them with power and armed force, and clearly demonstrated the insufficiency of the purely economic struggle” (Soch., vol. 1, p. 20).
Working on a private experience were convinced that the economic struggle with the owners-the capitalists could not be successful without resolute political struggle against the tsarist autocracy.
Headed by comrade Stalin, the Central leadership of the social democratic group of the Tiflis organization consistently connects the labor movement with socialism, achieving the translation of economic strikes on the soil of political struggle.
Comrade Stalin taught the advanced workers, members of the social-democratic circles of the art the connection of the theory of scientific socialism with the practice of the revolutionary struggle. Here is what about this old work of P. D. Kurziana, which had the good fortune to study in the circle of I. V. Stalin and under the leadership of great teachers to actively participate in the great strike of August 1900:
“Classes of the course was a very lively and interesting.
In a simple, understandable way, comrade Stalin told us about the challenges workers in the struggle against the autocracy, were taught the basics of political literacy. Participants in our mug, inspired by their leader, eagerly waiting for the chance to implement things, what to prepare their party and their teacher.
This occasion soon presented itself. In the railroad shops went on strike. Of course, we took part in it. And how we rejoiced when Stalin instructed us to fight with strikebreakers”.
Under the influence of the growing labor movement in Russia, as a result of activities led by comrade Stalin, the revolutionary social-Democrats, in the summer of 1900 was held strikes in Tiflis for many enterprises.
The first band strike movement of the workers of Tiflis ends with a Grand strike of workers of the Main workshops of the Transcaucasian railroad and the Tiflis depot in August 1900. This strike would have summed up all previous performances of the Tiflis proletariat. It produced the first open political action of the workers against the autocracy April 22 (old style), 1901, in the streets of Tiflis, which Lenin’s “Iskra” characterized as a historically significant event.
The August strike of the Tiflis workers was caused by an incredibly difficult economic situation. To secure a living wage, workers had 12-hour working day to work overtime for five or six hours. Moreover, workers experienced the inhuman attitude of the administration and technical staff, was politically powerless. All this could not fail to arouse indignation of the workers.
And although the indignant workers first demanded improving the condition of labor, the August strike of 1900 had a deep political meaning. These days a huge mass of workers were not against the individual capitalist, and collided directly with the autocracy. The strike of the Tiflis workers was directly aimed against the hard regime established on the Railways and in the workshops of the Imperial government.
In spite of the conciliatory majority “mesame-Dasi”, which tried to disrupt the strike, the revolutionary social-Democrats are aggressively preparing for her working masses.
August 12 at a meeting of representatives of the departments operating under the leadership of comrade Stalin developed their own requirements. They demanded the government to reduce the working day to 8 hours, to cancel evening overtime work, to increase daily wages by 30-50%, eliminate penalties, to pay salaries twice a month, to stop the beatings, to improve hygienic conditions of work in shops, etc.
For these workers ‘ demands, the railway administration and the local authorities responded with repression: in the night of 14 August, the gendarmerie arrested a large group of advanced workers. Learning of this, the shop workers in the morning has stopped working. They were joined by workers at the depot, and then the locomotive machinists, assistants, drivers and conductors. The strike swept up to four thousand people. In the strike involved workers of many nationalities: Russians, Georgians, Azeris, Armenians and Ossetians. The movement assumed a pronounced international character. The strikers were also joined by workers of several railway station Mihaylovo, Yelizavetpol and etc. the railway network was paralyzed, stopped the movement of trains. In solidarity with the Tiflis railway workers strike announced a number of enterprises of Tbilisi. Over five thousand people were on strike in one of Tiflis. The Tiflis proletariat established relation with some cities in the South of Russia. Russian workers warmly welcomed the striking brothers.
Direct management of the strike was carried out by comrade Stalin. His active assistants were M. I. Kalinin, A. Japaridze and S. alliluyev and others. The Central social-democratic group from the first day of the strike began to produce illegal proclamations that appeared almost daily in Russian and Georgian languages. Leaflets passionately denounced the tsarist autocracy and public orders existing, covered the situation of the working class, set out the demand of the strikers, brought the masses in the spirit of proletarian internationalism.
Stalin’s proclamation explained that the workers, whether Russian, Georgian or Armenian — must have one common desire— to relieve oppression injustice and heal a human being. Leaflets were distributed by the thousands, increasing the resistance of the workers.
The Imperial government moved against the strikers, the army and the police. 19 August, the authorities declared the city under martial law. Was followed by mass searches and arrests. The Imperial government, later wrote of Lenin’s “Iskra”, “half the town was surrounded by troops, arrested more than 1,500 people working and most of them poveselilo “home”, were rounded up forcibly to work…”
Despite the brutal repressions of the tsarist authorities tried to break the will of striking workers held firmly and courageously. The morale of the strikers maintained fervent pleas of clandestine leaflets.
The heroic struggle of the Tiflis railway workers against the tsarist government lasted fifteen days. The strike was suppressed by force of arms. The remaining workers were forced to get to work. Strangling strike, zapustiv the city a whole parade of spies, filled with shops and factories provocateurs, wrote Lenin’s “Iskra”, “the gendarmes were ready to think that they finally managed to fundamentally undermine any possibility of development of the labor movement. But they had soon to make sure that the labour movement in Tiflis “is developing in depth and breadth”…”
Similarly, the estimated outcome published under the leadership of comrade Stalin, the illegal newspaper “Brdzola” “Struggle”). Great importance of the August strikes of the Tiflis railway workers, stressed “Brdzola”, is that from that moment the labor movement in Transcaucasia “firmly takes the path of political struggle”. This strike played a major role in the political education and organization of the broad masses of the working class. The revolutionary movement of the Transcaucasian proletariat is deployed not only horizontally, but also ascends to a higher level. Using the lessons of the glorious strike of August 1900, the proletariat of Transcaucasia even more closely rallied their forces around a revolutionary social-Democrats, harder and more insistent opposed the autocracy and the bourgeoisie.
Workers of the Caucasus went hand in hand with the entire Russian proletariat. The tsarist government took all measures to stop and repress the revolutionary movement. Against workers ‘ strikes and demonstrations of the tsarist government used military force. Thousands and tens of thousands of revolutionary workers were thrown into prison, many revolutionaries were sent to prison. But none of the brutality and violence of tsarist satraps could not delay the forward March of history, the struggle of the working class. Led by the Bolshevik party, the working class of Russia in Alliance with the revolutionary peasantry dumped the tsarist government, broke the dominance of the landlords and capitalists.
In our days the bosses of the capitalist countries, like the Russian tsars, trying to strangle the labor movement. The bloody executioners of the working class Jules Smokey and Shelby shot striking proletarians. The us rulers spend antirabies laws, such as the fascist law, the Taft—Hartley. The lessons of the struggle of the Russian and international proletariat show that is doomed to failure all attempts of the bourgeoisie and its accomplices — the leaders of the right socialists to hold an irresistible movement of workers for their vital interests, for democracy and socialism.
Memory about events that happened half a century ago in the Tiflis railway workshops, the road to the Soviet people. They know of the first working groups created by Lenin and Stalin, rose the great Bolshevik party, which ensured the victory of the socialist revolution and now leads the peoples of the Soviet Union to the triumph of communism.
K. KUZNETSOV
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