1906 Bolshevik raid on the Tsarevich Giorgi

This article is part of a series about Joseph Stalin
Personal Early life Residences Antisemitism Death and state funeral Bibliography Pre-leadership 1905 Tampere conference 1907 Tiflis bank robbery 1906 Bolshevik raid on the Tsarevich Giorgi Russian Revolution Russian Civil War Polish-Soviet War Rise to power Leader of the Soviet Union Tenure First five-year plan 1930–1933 famine Great Purge Death dates of victims World War II Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact Tehran Conference Yalta Conference Potsdam Conference 1946–1947 famine Excess mortality in the Soviet Union Political ideology Stalinism Comparison to Nazism Marxism–Leninism atheism Works Poetry "Anarchism or Socialism?" "Marxism and the National Question" "Foundations of Leninism" "Dizzy with Success" "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" "Ten Blows" speech Alleged 19 August 1939 speech Falsifiers of History Stalin Note The History of the Communist Party 1936 Soviet Constitution Dialectical and Historical Materialism Order No. 227 Order No. 270 "Marxism and Problems of Linguistics" Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR Legacy Cult of personality Neo-Stalinism De-Stalinization Anti-Stalinist left Awards and honours Eponymous places Statues Black Ribbon Day
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The 1906 Bolshevik raid on the Tsarevich Giorgi took place on September 20, 1906 (Julian calendar) when Tsarevich Giorgi, 2,200 ton steamship 285 feet long, commanded by captain Sinkevich, was travelling from Odessa to Batum carrying vast amounts of money. The ship stopped off at Novorossiysk, Sukhum and New Athos for wage deliveries. Twenty-five Bolshevik gunmen led by Joseph Stalin slipped aboard armed with Mauser firearms and grenades; at 1:15 am they and four renegade sailors took over the ship.

Stalin said: "We're revolutionaries through and through, not criminals. We need cash for the Revolution and we'll take only Treasury funds. Obey my commands and there'll be no bloodshed. But if you're thinking of resisting, we'll kill you all and blow up the ship."

They stole at least 16,000 roubles. Stalin left each sailor a 10 rouble tip for not resisting. The officers were held hostage in a lifeboat till all the cash was delivered, the sailors then rowed the Bolsheviks ashore. The alarm was not raised for seven hours; none of the raiders were caught.^[1]