121 years ago, Russian printers went on strike over commas.
Commas can change meaning (“eats shoots and leaves” versus “eats, shoots and leaves” or “I ate, grandma” versus “I ate grandma”), but over a century ago, commas helped change the Russian government. In 1905, uprisings broke out all across the.
In 1905, Russia was under the rule of the tsarist autocracy, a system where the emperor held absolute power. The country was experiencing widespread unrest as peasants, workers, and soldiers revolted against harsh living conditions and political repression. These uprisings eventually led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy, a system where the monarch’s powers are limited by a constitution. The unrest was part of a larger global trend of labor movements and demands for workers' rights during the early 20th century.
Workers at Sytin’s Moscow publishing house, which was a major printing and publishing company, were paid based on the number of letters they set in type for books and newspapers. However, their pay did not include compensation for setting punctuation marks such as commas, semicolons, or periods. This was unfair because setting punctuation required the same effort and time as setting letters. The printers argued that their work was undervalued and demanded fair pay for all aspects of their labor.
In 1905, the printers at Sytin’s publishing house went on strike, refusing to set any more type until their demand for fair pay for punctuation was met. This action, later known as the Comma Strike, quickly gained support and spread to other printing houses across Russia. The strike was not just about punctuation but symbolized broader workers' demands for fair treatment and better working conditions during a time of widespread social unrest.
The Comma Strike inspired other workers, including railroad employees, to join the movement. Railroad workers also went on strike, which disrupted transportation and communication across the country. These strikes were part of a larger wave of labor protests that contributed to the growing instability in Russia. The combination of the printers' strike and the railroad strike intensified the pressure on the government to address workers' grievances.
The widespread strikes, including the Comma Strike, played a significant role in the events leading to the October Uprising of 1905, a key moment in the Russian Revolution. The strikes forced the tsar (emperor) to make concessions. As a result, the Russian government issued the October Manifesto, which granted civil rights to citizens and established the Duma, Russia’s first elected parliament. This marked the beginning of a constitutional monarchy in Russia, though full democracy was still decades away.
The Comma Strike is remembered as a unique and symbolic moment in labor history. It highlighted how even small, seemingly minor aspects of work—like setting punctuation—could become a catalyst for broader social change. The strike serves as a reminder that all forms of labor, regardless of how trivial they may seem, have value and can contribute to larger movements for justice and fairness. It is often cited in discussions about workers' rights and the power of collective action.
