Nikolaev Strike of 1916

a strike in the city of Nikolaev by the workers of the Society of Nikolaev Mechanized Shipbuilding Plants and Shipyards.

The Nikolaev strike was one of the biggest strikes in Russia during World War I. On Jan. 7, 1916, the workers demanded higher wages. By January 13 nearly the whole plant—about 12,000 men—went on strike. The strike committee was made up of Bolsheviks, including A. K. Skorokhodov, A. F. Radchenko, I. M. Gordienko, and M. Ia. Gnoevenko; Mensheviks; and Socialist Revolutionaries.

When the entrepreneurs refused to make concessions, the Nikolaev strike dragged on and grew stubborn. The minister of the navy, I. K. Grigorovich, ordered the plant closed on February 24. All workers were discharged, and about 6,000 of the men, who were subject to military service, were drafted into the army. At the end of March, the Council of Ministers resolved to return the mobilized strikers to the plant without releasing them from military service.

Although the workers made only economic demands, the Nikolaev strike had great political importance and served to “revolutionize” workers in other industrial centers in southern Russia.