True crime · 1905
The rifle pits dug on Naissaar for a ship that never came
Naissaare relvaaugud laevale, mis kunagi ei jõudnud
In the summer of 1905 the steamer John Grafton set out with some 15,500 Swiss rifles, revolvers and three tonnes of explosives bought with Japanese money for revolutionaries in the Russian Empire. Part of the cargo was meant for Tallinn's Bolsheviks, and Maxim Litvinov chose Naissaar as the landing place. Students and workers lodged with the island's Swedish-speaking fishermen and dug deep pits in the sandy beach, covered with brushwood, ready to hide the rifles when the ship crept in without lights. The island's two border guards were to be killed if they interfered. The ship never arrived: it ran aground in Finland in September and was blown up.
Open it on the map See the spot on the old maps and as it is today
Eesti keeles
1905. aasta suvel asus teele aurik John Grafton, pardal umbes 15 500 Šveitsi vintpüssi, revolvrid ja kolm tonni lõhkeainet, mis olid Jaapani rahaga ostetud Vene impeeriumi revolutsionääridele. Osa lasti pidi saama Tallinna enamlastele ja Maksim Litvinov valis maabumiskohaks Naissaare. Üliõpilased ja töölised elasid saare rootsikeelsete kalurite juures ja kaevasid liivarannale sügavad, hagudega kaetud augud, kuhu relvad peita, kui laev pimeduses tuledeta kohale hiilib. Saare kaks piirivalvurit tuli segamise korral tappa. Laev ei jõudnudki kohale: septembris jooksis see Soomes karile ja lasti õhku.
Source: Mart Kuldkepp, 'Vintpüssid 1905. aasta revolutsionääridele' (UCL Discovery author manuscript) ↗