Novocherkassk riots

The Novocherkassk riots or massacre began on the June 2, 1962 in the city Novocherkassk, Soviet Union (now Russia).

The riots were a direct result of shortages of food and provisions, as well as the poor working conditions in the factory. The protest began on June 1 in the "Budenny Electric Locomotive Factory", when workers from the foundry and forge shops stopped work after factory management refused to hear their complaints. The strike and attendant discussions had spread throughout the whole factory by noon.

The unrest began as a result of Nikita Khrushchev raising the prices of meat and butter on June 1. Managers in Novocherkassk had simultaneously raised production norms, thereby effectively reducing pay rates.Hosking, Geoffrey. A History of the Soviet Union, Fontana Press, London. 1992.] This culminated in a march on the town hall and police headquarters, and the strike spread to other enterprises after police arrested thirty workers.

Accounts of the government response are varied and often conflicting. There is some debate over who exactly fired on the demonstrators: the Red Army or the KGB. Some say that one army officer refused to order his men to fire on the protesters, and that KGB warning shots fired into the air hit children who had climbed into trees.

According to one source, 87 protesters were killed by the machine-gun-equipped [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,827865,00.html And Then the Police Fired] , "TIME Magazine", October 19, 1962] Red Army troops, and eighty-seven were wounded. Three of the wounded later died. After the initial demonstrations, a curfew was implemented in the town. However, the following morning, a large group of several hundred demonstrators again gathered in the square. One hundred and sixteen were arrested, of which fourteen were tried by show trials, and seven of those received a death sentence. The others were sentenced to prison terms of ten to fifteen years. [Taubman, William. Khrushchev: The Man and His Era, First Edition, W. W. Norton & Co., New York, NY. 2003.]

Following the incident, the Soviet government directed extra food supplies to the region and began an investigation. Additional arrests of workers followed, as did court martials of military officials involved. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn claimed that individuals wounded in the unrest and their families were exiled to Siberia.

ee also

*Kengir uprising
*Vorkuta uprising

External links

* [http://www.spunk.org/texts/places/russia/sp000197.txt The Novocherkassk Tragedy, June 1-3 1962]

References