The town was declared a free port until 1886. It functioned as a center of a special military district until being incorporated in the Government of Kutaisi on 12 June 1883. Finally, on 1 June 1903, with the Okrug of Artvin, it was established as the region (oblast) of Batumi placed under the direct control of the General Government of Georgia. Batum was officially granted the city status and the right to elect the city council (duma) on 28 April 1888. On 2 September 1888, Gavronsky elected the first mayor of Batum. On 25 January 25, 1895, Prince Luka Asatiani, former mayor of Kutaisi, was elected a mayor of Batum. He was re-elected in 1898. He presided over several modernizing projects such and suddenly died in 1902. He was succeeded by Prince Ivane Andronikashvili, who remained on this post until 1916 when he moved to Tiflis. The expansion of Batumi began in 1883, with the construction of the Batumi-Tiflis-Baku railway completed in 1900 by the finishing of the Baku-Batumi pipeline. Henceforth Batumi became the chief Russian oil port in the Black Sea. The town expanded to an extraordinary extent and the population increased very rapidly: 8,671 inhabitants in 1882, and 12,000 in 1889. By 1902 the population was 16,000, with 1,000 of them oil refinery workers. Early in the 1900s, Batumi became a focus of Social Democratic agitation, leading to a mass strike at the Rothschild oil refinery in March 1902. Stalin arrived in late 1901 setting up base in Ali, the Persian tavern. He got a job at the Rothschild's refinery.  1 January 1902 (Julian calendar ): Stalin made a speech to 30 party members shouting "We mustn't fear death! The sun is rising. Let's sacrifice our lives!" 4 January: Stalin set the refinery on fire, the workers put it out meaning they are due a bonus which is refused. Stalin got a printing press from Tiflis and called a strike.  17 February: the strikers win a 30% pay increase.  26 February: 389 radical workers are sacked. Stalin calls a second strike.  7 March: strike leaders arrested.  8 March: Stalin leads demonstrations outside the police station demanding their release. The prisoners are moved to a transit prison. Governor general Smagin agrees to meet the demonstrators.  10 March: A mob tries to storm the prison but a renegade tips off the Cossacks and troops who fire on them though some prisoners escape.