The 1899 Russian student strike was a

student movement Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...

with the aim of establishing a constitutional, liberal, or progressive government in Russia.

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

's first ever student strike started at St Petersburg University.

Background

Russia had no

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

until

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

was founded in 1755. It was shunned by the clergy (it was a secular institution) and the nobility (it didn't count towards finishing their service duty). There were no more before the nineteenth century. By 1914 there were ten universities, half in Russia proper (

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

and

Tomsk Tomsk ( rus, Томск, p=tomsk, sty, Түң-тора) is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, located on the Tom River. Population: Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. The city is a not ...

) and the other half in minority regions (

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Kharkov Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.

and

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

). Until Alexander II became

tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

in 1855, Russian students tended to be politically apathetic. In 1850 Nicholas I, fearful of the 1848 revolutions spreading, limited the student population. Inspectors punished students for not wearing uniforms or having long hair or not attending

military drills A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

. These restrictions went with Alexander II's accession. From 1855-1858 the population of

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBU; russian: Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter t ...

increased from 476 to 1,026. Its students set up a

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

in 1856, then its editorial board created a

friendly society A friendly society (sometimes called a benefit society, mutual aid society, benevolent society, fraternal organization or ROSCA) is a mutual association for the purposes of insurance, pensions, savings or cooperative banking. It is a mutual org ...

(''kassa'') and a student body (''skhodka'') to discuss students' concerns, complete with an elected president. These institutions were illegal under the 1863 statute. Student radicalism was partly created by this and the even more repressive statute on August 23, 1884. The latter meant it was the minister of education, not the faculty council, who appointed the

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

and

Curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

. The Curator was the only one who could convene faculty council meetings and appoint department deacons. The council could communicate with the ministry only through him. The Curator appointed an inspector to discipline the students and decide who would get scholarships.

Strike

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

put up with student partying in

Nevsky Prospekt Nevsky Prospect ( rus, Не́вский проспе́кт, r=Nevsky Prospekt (street), Prospekt, p=ˈnʲɛfskʲɪj prɐˈspʲɛkt) is the main street (high street) in the federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg in Russian Federation, ...

every February 8. This was the anniversary of the founding of

. Students would march through the city drinking, singing, and dancing. These marches became increasingly violent. February 8, 1895: Students and

janitor A janitor (American English, Scottish English), also known as a custodian, porter, cleanser, cleaner or caretaker, is a person who cleans and maintains buildings. In some cases, they will also carry out maintenance and security duties. A simil ...

s brawl in front of Palkin restaurant. December 20, 1897: 500 students attend a protest and demand a meeting with the university rector, but only the Kiev Gendarme Chief,

Vasily Fedorovich Novitsky Vasily Fedorovich Novitsky ( rus, Василий Фёдорович Новицкий, - 15 January 1929) was a Russian general with a liberal, progressive viewpoint during the 19th century of Imperial Russia. During the Russian Revolution, in 19 ...

, is able to forcibly make the rector meet with them. The meeting provides no substantial results. February 8, 1898: The students try the same thing, this time fighting the police who disperse them. The Ministry of Education decided to ban the street parties in 1899. The

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

V I Sergeevich warned that partying students would be arrested for hooliganism. The students were appalled as they had already decided to be more restrained that year. They felt humiliated because the notice was published in the papers too. February 8, 1899: The students are blocked by the police at the Dvortsovyi bridge (connecting the university's Vasilevskii Island to the city centre), then turn towards Rumiantsev square where mounted police ambush them. They respond to the students' snowballs with whips. February 9: 3,000 students attend a ''skhodka''. They call a student strike and elect an 11 strong Organization Committee. At this stage, few students wanted a political protest. February 15: The strike spreads to

and Technological Institute. By now, 68 students had been arrested in St Petersburg. February 16: The faculty council calls for the release of the arrested students, withdrawal of police from university grounds and for a temporary closure of the university. February 20:

Nicholas II Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...

called an investigatory commission on Witte's advice. March 1: The Organization Committee calls a ''skhodka'' to decide if the strike should continue. It votes to halt the strike. March 5: Moscow University also votes to end the strike after their

Tikhomirov promises to petition the police to release arrested students. March 8: Moscow's rector angers the students by banning student meetings without his permission. They vote 2-1 to resume the strike. March 16–17: The St Petersburg ''skhodka'' meets twice, voting 825-601 in favour of a new strike.Samuel D. Kassow, ''Students, professors, and the state in Tsarist Russia'', page 108-9 March 18: The university is closed and all students suspended. They have five days to petition for reentry on condition that they stay out of the ''skhodka'' and other student groups. March 20–21: The

Okhrana The Department for Protecting the Public Security and Order (russian: Отделение по охранению общественной безопасности и порядка), usually called Guard Department ( rus, Охранное отд ...

expel all Organization Committee members from

. Students are forced to take their oral exams at the end of March to disrupt the strike. Students make it impossible for the exams to happen. June: The Ministry of Education announces more dormitories and professors; also students have to enrol at the university nearest their secondary school. July 29: 'Temporary Rules' allow for disruptive students to be conscripted as punishment.

Student population

References

{{Reflist Student protests in Russia 1899 in the Russian Empire Labour disputes in the Russian Empire February 1899 events 1899 labor disputes and strikes