Nov 2, 1989-1989
Ukraine
Donetsk Miner’s Strike
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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP
Ukrainian Coal Miners
TARGET
Government in Moscow
WIDELY HELD BELIEF
Workers should receive fair compensation.
CASE NARRATIVE
Issue and Opponent: The Donetsk miners started protesting for improved working conditions and economic demands under the Soviet government. They wanted to end Soviet control over Ukraine. At the time, the miners were targeting Mikhail Gorbachev and his regime.
Dilemma Action: The coal miners in Donetsk, Ukraine started striking on November 1 with a 2-hour “warning” strike aimed at the government of the Soviet Union. In response, the Soviet Union placed an official ban on strikes. The coal miners of Donetsk defied the ban at all 28 mines and held a 2-hour strike calling for improved pensions and vacations.
Outcomes: The strikes led the Soviet Union to lose 3 billion rubles- $4.7 billion- and added to an annual production deficit of 24 million tons of coal. The strikes placed a significant amount of pressure on the Soviet government which, in the long run, is credited with leading to Ukraine’s independence and the fall of the Soviet Union.
PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL
NONVIOLENT TACTICS USED
DA TACTICS USED
Industry strike
CASE NARRATIVE WRITER
SUCCESS METRICS
6 / 12
(MC) Media Coverage
(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists
(OR) Opponent response
(PUN) Punishment favored the activists
(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent
(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists
PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN
0 / 3
RESOURCES
Project documentation
Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook
Case study documentation
Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset
SOURCES
Reuters. 1989. “Coal Miners in the Ukraine Defy Official Ban on Strikes,” The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2023. (https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/02/world/coal-miners-in-the-ukraine-defy-official-ban-on-strikes.html).
Siegelbaum, Lewis H. 1993. “Survival Strategies: The Miners of Donetsk in the Post-Soviet Era,” The National Council for Soviet and East European Research. Retrieved July 21, 2023. (https://www.ucis.pitt.edu/nceeer/1993-807-10-2-Siegelbaum.pdf).
Siegelbaum, Lewis & Walkowitz, Daniel. 1992. “We’ll Remain in This Cesspool for a Long Time”: The Miners of Donetsk Speak out,” JSTOR. Retrieved July 21, 2023. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/3674854).
Dobbs, Michael. 1989. “MINERS STRIKE IS ‘WARNING’ IN UKRAINE,” The Washington Post. November 2. Retrieved July 21, 2023. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/11/02/miners-strike-is-warning-in-ukraine/34e0cf89-4294-4bd3-9326-ae4d478dca6a/).
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