Alexander Ivanovich Gladkov (1882-1906), a native of the Penza region, was an engineer of the cruiser "Ochakov" and one of the leaders of the Sevastopol uprising that took place during the first Russian revolution from November 11 (24) to November 15 (28), 1905.
Alexander Gladkov was born in the settlement of Staraya Sotnya (now part of the village of Narovchata). His childhood and youth were spent in Penza on Karakozova Street, in house No. 16. Before being drafted into military service, he worked as a locksmith in Penza, at the railway workshops. Progressive comrades involved the young man in a revolutionary circle where workers studied materials on economic and political issues. At the depot, Alexander joined the ranks of the RSDLP. In 1903, he was drafted into the Black Sea Fleet. Assigned to the "Ochakov" as a second-class engineer, sailor Gladkov actively developed revolutionary activities on the cruiser, calling for armed struggle against autocracy.
In 1905, the revolutionary wave in Russia also reached Sevastopol. The armed uprising began spontaneously on November 11 in response to the fleet command’s attempt to prevent a mass rally of sailors and soldiers at the naval barracks. On November 13, 1905, the uprising began on the cruiser "Ochakov." Officers, along with conductors, left the ship. The uprising was led by senior batallier Sergey Petrovich Chastnik, commander Nikita Grigorievich Antonenko, and engineer Alexander Ivanovich Gladkov. On November 14, Lieutenant Pyotr Petrovich Schmidt arrived on the "Ochakov," raising the signal: "I command the fleet. Schmidt." Red flags were raised on all the rebel ships. On November 15, government-loyal troops began shelling the rebel ships. During the battle on the "Ochakov," a severe fire broke out. Deciding to abandon the doomed ship, the surviving sailors tried to swim to shore but were shot at from the shore and stabbed with bayonets. After a two-hour battle, the rebels surrendered.
An eyewitness to the massacre of the "Ochakov" sailors was A. I. Kuprin, who reflected this in his article "Events in Sevastopol," for which he was expelled from Crimea.
The naval court sentenced P. P. Schmidt, A. I. Gladkov, N. G. Antonenko, and S. P. Chastnik to death. On March 6, 1905, they were executed by firing squad on Berezan Island in the Black Sea.
Second-class engineer Alexander Ivanovich Gladkov left a letter to his family in Penza: "...Writing 8 hours before the execution... Kostya, send Vasya to school... I would have liked to live and see what Russia will be like, but there is nothing to be done, I will have to die for a just cause... Farewell, father, mother, brothers, and sisters, forever and ever – I no longer exist. Alexander." After the execution of the "Ochakov" sailors, Ivan Alekseevich and Akulina Ivanovna Gladkov received a parcel. Inside was a naval striped shirt, a sailor’s cap with the ribbon "Ochakov," 12 rubles, and several immortelle flowers.
In 1986, a memorial plaque was installed in Penza on the house where Alexander Gladkov lived (Karakozova Street, 16; this house has now been demolished). In the town of Narovchat in the Penza region, a street is named after him.
