1905 revolution

Documents, publications and stories from eyewitness accounts show that in 1905. movement, related events have affected the fate of many people in Gulbene region. 1905 The revolutionary events that spread widely in Latvia were especially active and strong in many of our parishes. Many, many people united and went out in the fight against injustice, over political and economic rights, specific demands on the tsar's civil service and the local government of the nobility.

The first outbreak of unrest in Vecgulbene was already in 1899. , when the congregation had a clash with the landlord over his patronage. Andrejs Pilmanis, Otto Vīksniņš, writer Bormanis, Caunītis and Šķipsns played an active role in these unrest. 1904 A. Pilmanis established contacts with Gagainis, a worker at the Eikert factory, and thus Vecgulbene and the surrounding parishes were able to receive illegal expenses. He also liaised with members of the Maliena Social Democrats.

The Social Democratic groups played an important role in organizing and promoting wider activities. In some parishes there were even several groups. For example, a group "Kaplis" was founded in Jaungulbene, led by the son of the "Zaķamāju" tenant Pēteris Znotins. A couple of years before the events of 1905, the group "Ax" was founded in Elste, which operated in the vicinity of Elsti and Krapa. It had 10 - 12 members. Rūdolfs, the brother of the teacher Kārlis Dēķens, writes about the creation of it. seems to be the first in the large parish of Jaungulbene. "

Alfreds Jurcins from Elste has been elected chairman of the group. Purchased a hectograph on which to draw proclamations and lyrics. Jurciņš received the literature from teacher Kārlis Šmita in Dūre and Rūdolfs Dēķens from his brother Kārlis, also a teacher in Valmiera. The members of the group read, exchanged and distributed literature to a wide area.

The work of the group during the pre-revolution was also legal. From 1903 to 1905 Jurciņš has read reports at the Jaungulbene Singing Society House in Gulbītis on various topics. There were other groups in the vicinity of Elsti and Dauksti - "Ausma" and "Pērkons".

"Dadzis" was also established in Tirza in 1904 with the chairman Jānis Roni. The center is located in "Gevos", where secret consultations have taken place in the barn, question and answer evenings have been organized. Together with the Rancenians, they organized population meetings, one of them also took place together with the Lizumna residents. "Dadzis" has received proclamations, brochures and the newspaper "Cīņa" from the Maliena Social Democratic Organization Center. People no longer whispered, but began to speak louder and more openly about injustice, and public meetings were held.

The leader of the Aduliena group, Kārlis Stakalders, being more educated, was socially active, led theaters, gathering progressive people around him. The proclamations received from Riga have scattered people in gathering places, such as markets.

There was a group "Shoot" in Liten.

Members of the Social Democratic groups organized the hoisting of red flags on tall trees and elsewhere. They fluttered in the birches of Tirza pastoral manor alley, in the pine by the Jaungulbene highway in Aduliena, in the oak by Zeltaleja, in Galgauskas "Jaunķūta" in Priežu kalni, in the oak in Stāmeriena near Jānis Gavars' house, where they also played revolutionary songs accompanied by wind music.

Teachers did a lot, in the pre-revolution years they organized cultural associations and libraries, gave lectures and question evenings. Active in 1905 The participants of the revolution were Galgauskas teacher Alvils Klēbahs, Jaungulbene Siltā school teacher Mālītis, Beļava school teacher Fricis Ruiga and others. 1905 From November 10 to 14, the Latvian Congress of Folk Teachers met in Riga. At the start of their work, congressional delegates paid tribute to those who had fallen in the struggle for freedom. The Congress delegate, Alfred Vārdaunis, a teacher at Katrīna's school at the time, said that Andrievs Niedra had been expelled from the congress:
1905 In October and November, steering committees were elected at parish meetings. These were the revolutionary authorities that took the place of the parish councils. The steering committees took over the management of the baronial manors, managed the schools, and raised funds for the purchase of armaments.

1905 In November, the Galgauskas People 's Assembly decided to divide Galgauskas Parish into two - Galgauskas and Krapa. Jānis Matīss was elected the chairman of Galgauskas, Alfreds Jurciņš was elected the chairman of Krapas. Steering committees were established in Jaungulbene, Lejasciems, Ranka, Stāmeriena and elsewhere.
There were armed battles, attacks on manors and their burning in several places.

In Stāmeriena, under the leadership of Jānis Gavars, the chairman of the steering committee and the head of the siege of the castle, about seven thousand people took part in the siege of the castle. Armed with rifles, forks and other sharp objects, they could not occupy the castle because the Cossacks turned out to be better armed. The revolutionaries sent a delegation to the nobles with the demand to leave the castle unarmed within six hours. There were also nobles from several surrounding castles with Baron Wolf in the lead. The landlords managed to escape. They decided not to burn the castle, but someone let go of the fire and the castle burned down with everything in it.

On December 2, the revolutionaries also set fire to Vecgulbene Castle. All the property was taken out and burned. The alcohol depot was also destroyed. On December 5, about 100 farmers gathered to try the baron. There is no news of the keynote speaker.

Litene Castle was also set on fire. Augusts Jurjāns, the son of the Litene manor servant, told us about that time: later my older brother Jānis received 20 blows from the Cossacks in the basement of the castle. The baron drives our family out of the manor. "

At the end of December, a punitive expedition arrived in the manors, popularly called the "black swamp", and retaliation began - beating, shooting, burning of houses.

In Vecgulbene, a punitive expedition led by Count Grabbe shot Jēkabs Rūcējs, the elder of Vecgulbene parish, near the castle on December 24. He allegedly arrested the husband of the owner of the manor, Dagmar Wolf. Jūlija Vīcupa and Andrejs Cepurīte were also shot.

Andrejs Pilmanis, Otto Zegelis, Otto Šmukiņš, Augusts Ķauķis, Otto Kamenders were shot near Litene oaks.

Eleven participants were shot in Tirza, and all their belongings were burned in Galgauskas. There were moans in many places in the parishes.

After the sentence of the fifth year of the expedition, the officer Krasnov published a novel in which he portrayed in a favorable light in 1905. events in Vecgulbene manor. His "essay" has been refuted by the countyman Alvils Ceplis in the story "Andris Vītols".

You can also read about the events of the fifth year in our region in the 1930 edition "The 1905 Revolution in Aluksne and Smiltene".

The list of information source can be found here .