ABSTRACT
Once the Central Workers' Circle was formed and became consolidated by 1890, it quickly embarked on the path of political activity which simultaneously accompanied the group's social and cultural activities. These political activities were intense, sustained, and marked by repeated attempts, often successful, to reach out to the members' fellow workers. As a result of the worldwide economic depression which struck Russia in 1890–91, wages were lowered at the Thornton plant. Several hundred workers reacted by going out on strike. While having no role in either strike's origins, members of the Central Workers' Circle saw their opportunity. The leaflets stressed that the strikers must organize, either in their own strike committee, or else, by implication, through the leadership of the Central Workers' Circle. Members of the Central Workers' Circle only learned of the seriousness of Shelgunov's illness at the very end, when he lay close to death.
