Northern Federation of Russian Workers
The Northern Union of Russian Workers ( Russian Северный союз русских рабочих ) was one of the first workers' organizations in Russia .
The union was founded in Saint Petersburg in 1878 . The organizers of the union were Viktor Obnorski and Stepan Chalturin . In the program of the organization the idea of international class solidarity of the proletariat was proclaimed and it was pointed out that the federal government "is closely following the social democratic party of the West in its tasks". According to the federal program, the aim of the organization was to "overthrow the existing political and economic order of the state as an extremely unjust order". Another task of the federal government was to fight for political freedom. The federal program was influenced by the popular ideology. The federal government saw the rural village community as a factor of socialism.
About two hundred workers were members of the Northern League. The organization took part in strikes and issued leaflets. In the years 1879/80 the organization was crushed by the gendarmes.
After the defeat of the Northern League, Stepan Chalturin gave up systematic work among the workers and defended individual terrorism against the autocracy.
Footnotes
- ^ Collective, History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Berlin, 1960, pp. 25f.