The article deals with the collective actions of plant workers in Luhans’k (inRussian pronunciation – Lugansk) in labor conflicts during the First Russianrevolution (1905–1907) and the First World War (1914–1918). This town wasone of the main towns of industrial Donbass and the center of Slovianoserbiandistrict of Ekaterinoslavian province.The relationships between administration and workers in Luhans’k areinvestigated on the materials of clerical work of Ekaterinoslavian provinceand memoirs of participators on events. These sources are especially aboutthe behavior of workers from two big industrial enterprises – the Gartmanplant and the Cartridges plant. In the crisis periods, such as revolutions andwars, the social-political relations are sharpened and changeable. And revolutionsand wars left behind enough historical sources for studying workers’history.In the Luhans’k’s enterprises, there were – during the First Russian Revolution– the general town’s strike in February 1905, the attempt of the strike tothe 1st of May 1905 in the Gartman plant, the strike in the Gartman plant inJuly 1905, the mass unrest in December 1905, the attempt of strike to the 1stof May 1906 in the Gartman plant, the lockout in the Gartman plant in March1907 and the general town’s strike in July 1916 in the time of social-economicscrisis during the First World War. The studying of strikes, attempts ofstrikes and mass unrests in 1905–1907 and 1916 allows defining some featuresof collective’s activity of plant’s workers:1) the inconsistent solidarity of workers in the times of strikes. The generalunderstanding of oppressed status and necessity of fighting for their rightsspread among the workers during the strike’s waves, but this solidarity ofworkers didn’t cause to cooperative planned activities;2) the crisis of vertical relationships between administrators and workersin the time of strikes of 1905 and 1916. In Patron plant subordination and paternalismwere saved during the strike in February 1905, unlike in Gartmanplant, but not in the strike in 1916;3) the influence on workers of the revolutionary movement. Revolution ideasand local activists of illegal political parties were impacted of workers’ moods in the crisis times. In 1905 increasing of social-democrats’ activity in Luhans’kwas the aftermath of town’s strikes. But in 1916 the spreading of revolutionideas preceded the emergence in workers’ dissatisfaction with their ownsituation during the social-economics crises, which was the cause of generaltown’s strike;4) the workers’ capacity to spontaneous self-organization during strikesand making the continuous organization forms in the Gartman plant. In thisenterprise in 1906 was formed two workers’ organizations: pawnshop andprofessional association. This association conflicted with plant’s administrationin 1907 and headed the strikes in 1906.
WORKERS OF DISTRICT TOWN: THE PLANT’S WORKERS OF LUHANS’K IN LABOR’S CONFLICTS AND REVOLUTIONARY WAVES DURING THE FIRST RUSSIAN REVOLUTION AND THE FIRST WORLD WAR
