Jānis Čoke (24 September 1878 in
Idus parish (now
Valmiera Municipality
Valmiera Municipality ( lv, Valmieras novads) is one of the 35 municipalities established in Latvia in 2021, located approximately west of the national capital Riga. Its first elected municipal council took office on 1 July 2021. Its seat is th ...
),
Kreis Wolmar
Kreis is the German word for circle.
Kreis may also refer to:
Places
* , or circles, various subdivisions roughly equivalent to counties, districts or municipalities
** Districts of Germany (including and )
** Former districts of Prussia, als ...
,
Governorate of Livonia
The Governorate of Livonia, also known as the Livonia Governorate, was a Baltic governorate of the Russian Empire, now divided between Latvia and Estonia.
Geography
The shape of the province is a fairly rectangular in shape, with a maximum ...
– 9 June 1910 in
Turku
Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...
,
Grand Duchy of Finland
The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...
) was a
Latvia
Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
n revolutionary who is known for his involvement in the
1906 robbery of the branch of
Russian State Bank in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
.
Life
Čoke was an industrial worker who joined the
Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party
)
, colours = Maroon Green
, headquarters = Riga, Lāčplēša iela 60, LV-1011
, seats1_title = Saeima
, seats1 =
, seats2_title = European Parliament
, seats2 =
, website lsdsp.lv, membership_year = 2017
, membership = 633
The Latv ...
in 1902 and became a member on the party's militant wing. During the
1905 Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
, Čoke founded the revolutionary organization ''Brašie'' which was related with several prison riots and attacks against the gendarmerie in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
.
In February 1906, the Latvian revolutionary
Jānis Luters formed a group of 15 revolutionaries. The gang was sent to Finland to rob the Russian State Bank branch in Helsinki. The Latvians were assisted by Finnish activists who opposed the Tsarist regime. With Čoke as the leader, the bank was robbed on 26 February.
After the robbery, Čoke fled to
Tampere
Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...
where he handed the money over to the Russian Bolshevik
Nikolay Burenin. He was soon caught in a local hotel, and taken to the police station, where Čoke managed to kill two police officers and one civil person assisting on his arrest.
Čoke was sentenced to life in prison. He died in the
Kakola prison in Turku in June 1910. Official cause was pneumonia, but Čoke was claimed to have died in "suspicious circumstances".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coke, Janis
1878 births
1910 deaths
People from Valmiera Municipality
People from Kreis Wolmar
Latvian Social Democratic Workers' Party politicians
Latvian revolutionaries
Bank robbers
People convicted of murdering police officers
1906 murders in Finland
Latvian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment
People convicted of murder by Finland
Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Finland
Latvian people who died in prison custody
Prisoners who died in Finnish detention
Deaths from pneumonia in Finland
Revolutionaries from the Russian Empire