Kamo (Bolshevik) - 1907 Tiflis Bank Robbery

1907 Tiflis Bank Robbery

In April 1907, high ranking Bolsheviks decided that Stalin and Kamo should organize a robbery in Tiflis to obtain funds to purchase arms. Through his connections, Stalin managed to discover from an old friend that there was going to be a large shipment of money by horse-drawn carriage to the Tiflis Bank on 26 June 1907.

In preparation for the robbery, Kamo's gang smuggled bombs into Tiflis by hiding them inside a sofa. Only weeks before the robbery, Kamo accidentally set off one of Krasin's bombs while trying to set the fuse. The blast from the bomb severely injured Kamo's eye, leaving a permanent scar. Kamo was confined to his bed for a month due to intense pain, and had not fully recovered by the time of the robbery.

On the day of the robbery, the robbers all took their places in Yerevan Square dressed as peasants and waited on street corners with revolvers and grenades. In contrast to the other robbers, Kamo was disguised as a cavalry captain and came to the square in a horse–drawn phaeton, a type of open carriage.

The bank's stagecoach made its way through the crowded square at about 10:30 am. When the stagecoach was close enough, one of the robbers gave a signal to attack. Once the signal was given, robbers pulled the fuses on their grenades and threw them at the carriage. The resulting explosions killed horses and guards. The robbers then began shooting at the various security men guarding the stagecoach, as well as those securing the square.

Though the explosions had killed many of the guards and horses, one of the horses harnessed to the stagecoach was injured but still alive. The bleeding animal bolted from the scene pulling the stagecoach with it. Two of the robbers and Kamo chased after the runaway money-laden stagecoach. One of the robbers threw another grenade at the escaping stagecoach killing the horse and stopping the stagecoach. After the stagecoach was stopped, Kamo raced to the stopped carriage in his phaeton, firing his pistol as he drove. Once he got to the stagecoach, other robbers who had reached the coach helped throw the money into Kamo's carriage.

After securing the money, Kamo quickly rode out of the square and encountered a police carriage ridden by the deputy police chief. Instead of turning away, Kamo pretended to be part of the security forces and shouted to the deputy that "the money's safe. Run to the square." The deputy obeyed the apparent captain of cavalry, and it was only much later that he realized that he had been fooled by an escaping robber.

Kamo then rode to the gang's headquarters where he changed out of his uniform. All of the robbers quickly scattered, and none were caught in the act by the authorities

Fifty people lay wounded in the square along with the dead humans and horses. The authorities stated that only three people had died, but documents in the Okhrana archives reveal that the true number was around forty.

The State Bank was not sure how much it actually lost from the robbery, but the best estimates were that around 341,000 rubles were stolen, worth approximately $3.4 million in 2008 United States Dollars. Of the 341,000 in rubles taken, about 91,000 were in small untraceable bills, but around 250,000 rubles were in large 500-ruble notes with serial numbers known to the police. This made them very difficult to exchange undetected.

A large portion of the stolen money was eventually moved by Kamo, who took the money to Lenin in Finland, which was then part of the Russian Empire. Kamo then spent the remaining summer months staying with Lenin at his dacha. That fall, Kamo left Finland to buy arms for future activities; he traveled to Paris, then to Belgium to buy arms and ammunition, then to Bulgaria to buy 200 detonators.