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Originally published in 1923 - translated from the French by F. A. Holt, O.B.E.
Main Menu - Table of Contents
Volume 1:
I. JULY 20-23, 1914 | II. JULY 24-AUGUST 2, 1914 | III.AUGUST 3-17, 1914 | IV. AUGUST 18-SEPTEMBER 11, 1914 | V. SEPTEMBER 12-OCTOBER 28, 1914 | VI. OCTOBER 29-NOVEMBER 30, 1914 | VII. DECEMBER 1-31, 1914 | VIII. JANUARY 1-FEBRUARY 13, 1915 | IX. FEBRUARY 14-MARCH 31, 1915 | X. APRIL 1-JUNE 2, 1915
Volume 2:
I. JUNE 3-AUGUST 24, 1915 | II. AUGUST 25-SEPTEMBER 20, 1915 | III.SEPTEMBER 21-NOVEMBER 8, 1915 | IV. NOVEMBER 9-DECEMBER 31, 1915 | V. JANUARY 1-26, 1916 | VI. JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 24, 1916 | VII. FEBRUARY 25-MARCH 22, 1916 | VIII. MARCH 23-MAY 3, 1916 | IX. MAY 4-JUNE 15, 1916 | X. JUNE 16-JULY 18, 1916 | XI. JULY 19-AUGUST 18, 1916
Volume 3
I. AUGUST 19-SEPTEMBER 18, 1916 | II. SEPTEMBER 19-OCTOBER 25, 1916 | III. OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 22, 1916 | IV. NOVEMBER 23-DECEMBER 24, 1916 | V. DECEMBER 25, 1916-JANUARY 8, 1917 | VI. JANUARY 9-28, 1917 | VII. JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 21, 1917 | VIII. FEBRUARY 22-MARCH 11, 1917 | IX. MARCH 12-22, 1917 | X. MARCH 23-APRIL 6, 1917 | XI. APRIL 7-21, 1917 | XII. APRIL 22-MAY 6, 1917 | XIII. MAY 7-17, 1917
CHAPTER II
AUGUST 25-SEPTEMBER 20, 1915
The Emperor decides to relieve
the Grand Duke Nicholas of his functions as generalissimo and
take command of his armies in person. - Influence of the Empress
and Rasputin. - Public anger with the staretz. - The Emperor
consults me about the decision he has just taken: "Perhaps
a scapegoat is needed to save Russia... ." - Mysticism
and policy. - A prophecy of revolution. - Prince Vladimir Orlov
dismissed. - The Emperor takes command of his armies. - The Grand
Duke Nicholas leaves for the Caucasus. - Dismissal of General
Djunkovsky, Commander of the Gendarmerie; growing influence of
Rasputin. - Critical position of the Russian armies in Lithuania. - The
"Cadets" and their political ideals: His Majesty's
"Opposition." - The Duma is prorogued. - Strikes in
Petrograd. - Entry of the Germans into Vilna.
Wednesday, August 25, 1915.
When I went in to see Sazonov this morning, he said at once
in the official, non-committal tone:
"Ambassador, I have to inform you of an important decision
His Majesty has just come to, but I must ask you to keep it a
secret until further notice. His Majesty has decided to relieve
the Grand Duke Nicholas of his functions as generalissimo, and
appoint him Lieutenant-Governor of the Caucasus, in succession
to Count Vorontzov-Dashkov, whose health has compelled him to
retire. His Majesty will take command of his armies in person."
"It's not merely an intention, but a definite decision
I asked.
"Yes, an irrevocable decision. Yesterday, the Emperor
notified the Council of Ministers accordingly, adding that the
matter was not open to discussion."
"Will the Emperor actually take command?"
"Yes, in the. sense that in future he will reside at General
Headquarters, and the higher direction of operations will emanate
from him. But, as regards the details of operations, he will refer
to the new Chief of Staff, who will be General Alexeiev.
G.H.Q. is also to be brought nearer Petrograd; it will probably
be established at Mohilev."
We were silent for some time, gazing intently at each other.
Then Sazonov resumed:
"Now that I've told you officially all I had to tell,
I can certainly admit, cher ami, that I greatly regret
the step the Emperor has just taken. You will remember that at
the beginning of the war he was anxious to put himself at the
head of his troops, and that all his ministers - and I myself
more than any of them - begged him not to do so. The arguments
we then used have even greater force to-day. In all probability
our trials are by no means at an end. It will take months and
months to reorganize our army, and supply it with the means to
fight. What may happen before that time comes? How far shall we
be compelled to retreat? Isn't it terrifying to think that henceforth
it is the Emperor who will be personally responsible for all the
misfortunes with which we are threatened? If the inefficiency
of one of our generals involves us in a disaster, it will be not
merely a military disaster but a political and social one at the
same time."
"But what are the Emperor's reasons," I said, "
for deciding upon so grave a step, without even desiring to hear
his ministers on the subject?"
"He has several reasons. In the first place, the Grand
Duke Nicholas has not succeeded in his task. He is energetic,
and enjoys the confidence of the troops; but he has neither the
necessary knowledge nor vision to direct operations on such a
scale. As a strategist, General Alexeiev is far above him.
From that point of view, I should have quite understood if Alexeiev
had been appointed generalissimo."
1 persisted:
"What other reasons are there for the Emperor's decision
to take command personally?"
For a moment Sazonov gazed at me with a gloomy and melancholy
look. Then he hesitatingly replied:
"No doubt the Emperor wanted to notify us that the hour
had come for him to exercise his highest prerogative power: the
command of his armies. Henceforward no one will be able to doubt
his determination to continue the war, cost what it may. If he
has any other reasons, I prefer not to know them."
On these sibylline words I left him.
This evening I have learned-from the most trustworthy source
that the dismissal of the Grand Duke Nicholas is the result of
long-continued machinations by his archenemy, General Sukhomlinov,
ex-Minister for War, who has secretly saved his credit with his
sovereigns, notwithstanding his scandalous failures. The course
of the military operations, particularly in recent months, has
given him only too many pretexts for attributing all the disasters
to the army to the incapability of the generalissimo. He it is
again who has been helped by Rasputin and General Voyeïkov
to make the Emperor and Empress believe that the Grand Duke Nicholas
is trying to acquire a mischievous popularity in the army, and
even the country, with the ulterior design of being put on the
throne by a revolt. The enthusiastic cheers with which the name
of the Grand Duke was more than once greeted during the recent
disorders in Moscow have given his enemies a very potent argument.
But the Emperor hesitated to take a step so serious as a change
in the post of Commander-in-Chief during the most critical phase
of a general retreat. The authors of the intrigue then represented
to him that there was no time to lose. General Voyeïkov,
one of whose responsibilities is the personal safety of his sovereigns,
went so far as to claim that his police are on the track of a
plot against them, and that the arch-conspirator is said to be
one of the officers attached to their personal service. As the
Emperor still offered resistance, an appeal was made to his religious
emotions. The Empress and Rasputin kept dinning into him that
"when the throne and country are in peril, the post of a
Tsar autocrat is at the head of his armies. To yield that post
to another is to disobey the will of God!" In any case, the
staretz, who is a natural chatterbox, is making no mystery
of what he has been saying at Tsarskoe Selo; he was talking
about it only yesterday at a meeting of his cronies, which he
harangued for two hours on end with that sprightly, impassioned
and open-hearted verve which sometimes makes him very eloquent.
As far as I can judge by the fragments of his discourse which
have reached me, the arguments he has used to the Emperor have
gone a long way beyond immediate considerations of policy and
strategy. What he has done is to put forward a religious dogma.
From his picturesque aphorisms, many of which have probably been
suggested to him by his friends in the Holy Synod, there emerges
a doctrinal theory: "The Tsar is not only the temporal guide
and head of his subjects. The holy unction of coronation confers
upon him a far higher mission, for it makes him their representative,
intercessor and surety before the Sovereign judge. It therefore
compels him to take upon himself all the iniquities, as well as
all the trials and sufferings of his people - to answer to God
for the former and bring the latter to His notice." I can
now understand a remark of Bakunin's, which struck me forcibly
some time ago: "In the vague conscience of the moujiks
the Tsar is a kind of Russian Christ."
Thursday, August 26, 1915.
The Germans have captured Brest-Litovsk; the Russian army is
retreating in the direction of Minsk.
Friday, August 27, 1915.
In spite of the strict secrecy enjoined by the Emperor, his
decision to take command of the army has already leaked out among
the public.
The news has produced a deplorable impression. It is objected
that the Emperor has no strategic experience; he will be directly
responsible for defeats, the danger of which is only too obvious,
and, lastly, he has the "evil eye."
In a somewhat more indefinite form, the news has spread even
among the masses. The impression there is even more lamentable;
it is being said that the Emperor and Empress do not think themselves
safe now at Tsarskoe Selo, and are anxious to seek refuge
in the bosom of the army.
In view of all this, the President of the Council has begged
the Emperor at least to defer the carrying out of his resolution.
The Emperor has consented "for a very short time."
Sunday, August 29, 1915.
For the first time Rasputin has been attacked by the press.
Hitherto the censorship and the police had protected him against
newspaper criticism. It is the Bourse Gazette which has
opened the campaign.
The man's whole past, his ignoble beginnings, thefts, drunken
bouts, debaucheries and intrigues, the scandal of his relations
with high society, officials and clergy, are ruthlessly exposed.
But, cleverly enough, no allusion is made to his intimacy with
the Emperor and the Empress.
"How is it possible?" writes the author of these
articles.
How has an abject adventurer like this been able to make a
mockery of Russia for so long? Is it not astounding to think that
the official Church, the Holy Synod, the aristocracy, ministers,
the Senate, and the numerous members of the Council of Empire
and the Duma have demeaned themselves before this low hound? .
. . Is it not the most terrible charge we can level against the
regime? Only yesterday the political and social scandals which
the name of Rasputin conjures up seemed perfectly natural. To-day
Russia means to put an end to all this... ."
Although the facts and incidents related by the Bourse Gazette
enjoy the widest notoriety, it is certain that their publication
has had a great effect. The public is praising the new Minister
of the Interior, Prince Stcherbatov, for allowing this diatribe
to appear in print, but everyone is agreed in predicting that
he will not hold office for long.
Monday, August 30, 1915.
I have had a talk with General Bielaïev, the chief of
the General Staff of the Army. I give a summary of his replies
to my questions:
(1) The losses of the Russian army have been colossal. From
350,000 men a month in May, June and July, the figure has risen
to 450,000 in August. Since the first defeat on the Dunajec the
Russian army has thus lost approximately 1,500,000 men.
(2) The daily supply of artillery ammunition is now 35,000
rounds; it will soon be 42,000.
(3) Russian factories are now producing 67,000 rifles a month;
foreign factories are sending 16,000, giving a total of 83,000.
Production will remain at that figure until November 15. From
that date onwards imports from abroad will be 76,000 a month.
The Russian infantry will thus be able to count on a monthly
supply of 143,000 rifles.
(4) The German armies operating in the region of Brest-Litovsk
do not appear to constitute a threat to Moscow, partly because
of the distance (1,100 kilometres) and partly owing to the natural
obstacles and the state of the roads in autumn.
(5) For the defence of Petrograd four armies, comprising sixteen
corps under the command of General Russky, are disposed along
the line Pskov-Vilna. When the Dvinsk-Vilna sector is no longer
tenable, the four armies will retire, pivoting on Pskov. In view
of these dispositions, and also the imminence of autumn, it is
not probable that the Germans will capture Petrograd.
Tuesday, August 31, 1915.
General Polivanov, the War Minister, was sent to give the Grand
Duke Nicholas the letter in which the Emperor relieves him of
his command. After reading the imperial missive, the Grand Duke
made the sign of the cross and simply said: "God be praised!
The Emperor releases me from a task which was wearing me out."
Then he talked about something else, as if the matter did not
concern him. So signal a humiliation could not have been accepted
with greater dignity.
Wednesday, September 1, 1915.
The General Assembly of the "Industrial and Commercial
Society of Moscow" finished its work to-day by passing a
motion in which it declares that (1) the vital interests of Russia
require that the war shall be carried on to victory; (2) that
it is necessary at once to place in power men enjoying public
confidence, and give them a completely free hand. The Assembly
ended up by expressing its conviction that "the loyal voice
of the people of Moscow will be heard by the Tsar."
This appeal to the Emperor to establish a responsible ministry
at once is particularly significant because it emanates from Moscow,
the sacred city, and the very heart of Russian nationalism.
What was even more significant was the comments accompanying
the vote on the motion, comments the publication of which has
just been forbidden by the censorship. The present ministers were
treated to violent criticism, and allusions were made to the Emperor
himself.
I hear of agitation in working-class centres.
Can the Germano-Bulgarian compact have been sealed already?
I am strongly inclined to think so. It is announced from Sofia
itself that Duke Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg-Schwerin has
just arrived there, accompanied by a high official of the Wilhelmstrasse.
Duke Johann Albrecht is one of the most distinguished of the German
princes. He successfully held two important regencies, the Grand
Duchy of Mecklenburg and the Duchy of Brunswick. He is the uncle
of Queen Alexandrina of Denmark and Princess Cecilie, wife of
the Crown Prince. Knowing the character of Tsar Ferdinand, and
his overweening notion of his royal prerogatives, I presume that
in order to obtain his consent to the decisive step the Teutonic
Emperors have thought that they could not do less than send him
an ambassador of an ancient royal line. Radoslavov's language
and the tone of the official press also show that Bulgaria is
preparing to attack Serbia.
Thursday, September 2, 1915.
Countess Hohenfelsen, the morganatic wife of the Grand Duke
Paul, who has just been created Princess Paley, telephoned me
yesterday evening to ask me to dine with her to-day; she impressed
on me that I must accept, as someone wanted to talk to
me.
In her drawing-room I found Madame Vyrubova, Michael Stakhovitch
and Dimitry Beckendorff. The Grand Duke Dimitry Pavlovitch, who
arrived here from General Headquarters this morning, was also
of the company.
An atmosphere of gloomy apprehension brooded over dinner. Twice
during the meal the palace Swiss, in his heavy scarlet. gold-braided
cloak, glided up to the Grand Duke Dimitry, hat in hand, and whispered
something in his ear. Each time the Grand Duke Paul gave his son
a questioning look, and the latter simply replied
"Nothing.... Nothing yet!" Princess Paley said to
me under her breath
"The Grand Duke will be telling you why Dimitry has come
from the Stavka; he asked an audience of the Emperor the
moment he arrived. It's been impossible to get an answer. The
Swiss has just telephoned again twice to the palace office to
find out if His Majesty has given any orders. Still nothing! It's
a bad omen!"
While coffee was being served in the drawing-room, Madame Vyrubova
invited me to sit down by her and said, without any kind of preliminary:
"Of course, you know about the serious decision His Majesty
has just taken, Monsieur l'Ambassadeur. Tell me, what do
you think of it? His Majesty himself has commissioned me to ask
you."
"Is the decision irrevocable?"
"Oh, yes! Absolutely!"
"In that case, any objections of mine would be too late."
"Their Majesties will be very hurt if that's the only
answer I may take them. They are so anxious to know your views!"
"But how can I express an opinion about an act when I
do not know the real reasons for it? The Emperor must have had
reasons of vital importance for adding the terrible responsibility
of military leadership to the burden of his usual work. What are
those reasons?"
She was taken aback at my question. Fixing two frightened eyes
upon me, she stammered out something almost inaudible. Then, in
a hesitating voice, she confided in me:
"The Emperor thought that in such a serious crisis it
was the Tsar's duty to place himself at the head of his troops,
and take all responsibility for the war on his own shoulders.
Before reaching that conclusion, he has given much thought and
prayer to the matter. At last, after hearing mass a day or two
ago, he said to us: Perhaps a scapegoat is needed to
save Russia. I mean to be the victim. May the will of God be done.
He was very pale as he said this, but on his face was an expression
of utter resignation."
These words of the Emperor made me shiver all down my spine.
The idea of predestination to sacrifice and complete resignation
to the divine will is only too consistent with his passive nature.,
If our military fortunes continue to prove adverse for a few more
months, may it not be that in submission to divine decrees he
will find a pretext or excuse for slackening in his efforts, abandoning
hope and tacitly resigning himself to any and every catastrophe?
I was silent for a moment, for it was my turn not to know what
to say. At length I said to Madame Vyrubova:
"What you have just told me makes it even more difficult
to express an opinion on the Emperor's decision, seeing that it
is a matter between his conscience and God. In any case, ad the
decision is irrevocable, it would serve no purpose for me to criticize
it; the important thing now is to make the best of it. In his
new post as Commander-in-Chief, the Emperor will perpetually be
having opportunities of making not only his troops, but his people - and
all his people - realize the necessity of victory. To me, as ambassador
of your ally, France, the military programme of Russia is summed
up in the oath which His Majesty took on the gospel and the ikon
of Our Lady of Kazan on August 2, 1914. No doubt you remember
the splendid ceremony in the Winter Palace. When he then renewed
the oath of 1812, and swore that he would never sign peace so
long as there was one enemy soldier on Russian territory, the
Emperor pledged himself to God not to allow his faith to be shaken
by any trial, and to continue the war, no matter what sacrifice
it cost. Now that his sovereign will is to make itself felt directly
in the conduct of operations, that sacred obligation will be easier
to keep. In my opinion, it is thus that he will become the saviour
of Russia; it is in this sense that I take the liberty of interpreting
the message he has received from on high; be so good as to tell
him so from me."
She blinked two or three times, in a patent effort to take
it all in. Then she took leave of me, as if she were in a hurry
to unburden her memory:
"I'm going now to tell Their Majesties what you have just
said. Thank you very much."
While she was saying good-night to Princess Paley, the Grand
Duke Paul took me into his study with his son.
The Grand Duke Dimitry then told me that he came by special
train this morning from the Stavka to inform the Emperor
of the deplorable effect which the dismissal of the Grand Duke
Nicholas would have on the troops. With his back to the fireplace,
and nervously twisting his fingers, he continued to jerk out:
"I shall tell the Emperor everything; I'm determined to
tell him everything. I shall even tell him that if he doesn't
give up this idea - there's still time - the consequences may
be incalculable, as disastrous to the dynasty as to Russia. If
all else fails, I shall propose a compromise which, at a pinch,
would suit everyone. The idea is my own. I've been lucky enough
to get it accepted by the Grand Duke Nicholas, who has once more
shown himself a model of disinterested patriotism. Under my compromise
the Emperor would assume supreme command, but keep the Grand Duke
with him as Quartermaster-General. The Grand Duke has commissioned
me to put this proposal before the Emperor... . But you can
see that His Majesty is in no hurry to receive me. I asked an
audience of him the moment I got out of the train this morning.
It is ten p.m. now. Not a word in reply! What do you think of
my idea?"
"It seems to me excellent in itself. But I doubt whether
the Emperor will agree; I have grave reason for thinking that
he is absolutely set on sending the Grand Duke Nicholas away from
the army."
"Oh, dear!" sighed the grand Duke Paul. "I share
your view, Ambassador, that the Emperor will never agree to let
Nicholas Nicolaïevitch work with him."
The Grand Duke Dimitry angrily threw away his cigarette, strode
up and down the room, then crossed his arms, and cried:
"Then we're lost! Henceforth it will be the Empress and
her camarilla who command at the Stavka! It's maddening."
After a pause, he turned to me:
"May I ask you a question, Ambassador? Is it true that
the Allied Governments have intervened, or are on the point of
intervening, to prevent the Emperor from taking command?"
"No. The selection of a commander-in-chief is a purely
domestic matter."
"I'm glad of that. I was told at the Stavka that
France and England were going to demand the retention of the Grand
Duke Nicholas. It would have been a huge mistake. You'd have ruined
the popularity of Nicholas Nicolaïevitch, and had all Russians - me
as much as any of them against you."
The Grand Duke Paul added:
"In any case, it would have been futile. In the Emperor's
present state of mind he would stop at nothing, and go to any
extreme to carry out his decision. If the Allies objected, he
would abandon the alliance rather than allow anyone to dispute
his sovereign prerogative, which in his eyes has also the character
of a religious duty."
We went back to the drawing-room. Princess Paley asked me:
"Well! What's your conclusion from all you've heard to-night?"
"I haven't any.... When mysticism takes the place of policy
it's impossible to prophesy. I'm ready for anything now!
Friday, September 3, 1915.
Twice during the afternoon - once on Troïtsky Bridge,
and the second time on the quay of the Yekaterinsky Canal - I
passed a Court car, and caught a glimpse of the Emperor and Empress
seated far back, with very serious faces. Their presence in Petrograd
is such an exceptional occurrence that it made everyone they passed
start with surprise.
The imperial couple first went to the Cathedral of the Fortress,
where they knelt in prayer at the tombs of Alexander I, Nicholas
I, Alexander II and Alexander III. From there they went to the
chapel of Peter the Great's house, where they kissed the figure
of the Saviour which Peter Alexeievitch always carried about
with him. Then they were taken to Our Lady of Kazan, where they
stayed a long time kneeling before the miraculous ikon of the
Virgin. All these devotions prove that the Emperor is on the verge
of taking the critical step he considers essential to the salvation
and redemption of Russia.
I have also heard that before leaving Tsarskoe Selo this
morning the Emperor received the Grand Duke Dimitry, and categorically
rejected the idea of retaining the Grand Duke Nicholas at the
Stavka in the capacity of Quartermaster-General.
When I recapitulate all the disquieting symptoms I have recorded
in the past few weeks, it seems plain to me that a revolutionary
crisis is developing in the heart of the Russian people.
When, in what form, and under what circumstances will the crisis
come upon us? Will the direct and immediate cause be a military
disaster, a famine, a sanguinary strike, a mutiny in some barracks
or a palace drama? I cannot say. But the event seems to me foreshadowed
now with the inevitable character of an historical fatality. In
any case the probabilities are already so impressive that I think
it my duty to warn the French Government. I am therefore sending
Delcassé a telegram which recites the dangers of the military
situation, and concludes in these terms:
As regards the domestic situation, it is anything but comforting.
Until quite recently it was possible to think that there would
be no revolutionary disorder before the end of the war. I cannot
say the same to-day. The question now is whether, in some more
or less distant future, Russia will be still capable of effectively
playing her part as our ally. However uncertain this eventuality
may be, it must henceforth be a factor in the anticipations of
the Government of the Republic and the calculations of General
Joffre.
Sunday, September 5, 1915.
Yesterday, the Emperor left for General Headquarters. He takes
over the command to-day.
Before leaving, he signed a decree which has amazed and horrified
everyone: without a word of. explanation he has dismissed the
director of his military household, Prince Vladimir Orlov.
A personal friend of Nicholas II of twenty years' standing,
his duties brought him into immediate contact with the daily private
life of his sovereign; but, in his dealings with his master, he
never ceased to preserve a certain independence of mind, always
said exactly what he thought, and consistently opposed Rasputin.
Henceforth there will be no one in Their Majesties' entourage
who will or can resist the staretz.
Monday, September 6, 1915.
After taking command of all the military and naval forces,
the Emperor has issued the following Order of the Day:
To-day I have assumed command of all the military and naval
forces operating in the theatre of war.
With firm trust in divine mercy and unshakable confidence
in ultimate victory, we shall fulfil our sacred duty of defending
our country to the death, and we will never allow Russian soil
to be dishonoured.
Given at General Headquarters, September 5, 1915.
NICHOLAS.
He also sent the following rescript to the Grand Duke Nicholas:
At the beginning of the war there were reasons of a political
nature which prevented me from following my personal inclinations
and immediately putting myself at the head of the army. Hence
the fact that I conferred upon you the supreme command of all
the military and naval forces.
Before the eyes of all Russia, Your Imperial Highness has
during the war displayed an invincible courage, which has given
me and all Russians the greatest confidence in you, and roused
the ardent hopes with which your name was everywhere associated
in the inevitable vicissitudes of military fortune. Now that
the enemy has penetrated far into the empire, my duty to the
country which God has committed to my keeping ordains that I
shall assume supreme command of the fighting forces, share the
burdens and toils of war with my army and help it to protect
Russian soil against the onslaught of the foe.
The ways of Providence are inscrutable; but my duty and my
own desires strengthen me in a determination which has been inspired
by concern for the common weal.
The hostile invasion, which is making more progress every
day on the western front, demands above all an extreme concentration
of all civil and military authority, unity of command during
the war, and an intensification of the activities of the whole
administrative services. But all these duties distract our attention
from the southern front, and in these circumstances I feel the
necessity for your advice and help on that front. I therefore
appoint you my lieutenant in the Caucasus and Commander-in-Chief
of the brave army operating in that region.
To Your Imperial Highness I wish to express my profound gratitude,
and that of the country, for all your work in the war.
NICHOLAS.
At the Emperor's express wish, the Grand Duke has gone straight
to Tiflis, without passing through Petrograd.
Tuesday, September 7, 1915.
I called to-day on Baroness M - - and found her alone at the
piano. With splendid entrain and a sweeping sense of mastery
she was playing the fine A flat sonata which Beethoven dedicated
to Prince Lichnowsky.
Her firm fingers were attacking that pathetic second variation.
On a pleading signal from me from the door, she was good enough
not to stop.
When the last chord was triumphantly struck she closed the
piano, offered me her still quivering fingers, and in words that
seemed to leap straight from her heart cried:
"Rather than give up music I'd give up Russia!"
It is true that Baroness M - - is a Livonian by origin. Yet
for more than a century her family has been serving tsarism in
high posts at Court or in the army. But that does not prevent
her from being a stranger to the Russian family. The cry which
her musical emotions wrung from her is only too accurate a gauge
of the degree of patriotism which animates some families of the
Baltic nobility.
Wednesday, September 8, 1915.
General Djunkovsky, one of the Emperor's aides-de-camp, Commander
of the Gendarmerie, representative of the police in the Ministry
of the Interior, the most Powerful official in the empire and,
incidentally, a man who has contrived to win the esteem of everyone
in the performance of his delicate and fearsome duties, has just
been dismissed. He has succumbed to the continual attacks of the
Empress, who formally accused him of inspiring the onslaught on
Rasputin in the press, and secretly promoting the seditious popularity
of the Grand Duke Nicholas.
As a matter of fact, General Djunkovsky was long ago damned
in the Emperor's eyes through having had the courage to denounce
to him the infamies of the staretz, particularly the gross
scene which scandalized Moscow last April.
Thursday, September 9, 1915.
The Emperor has inaugurated his assumption of the supreme command
with the announcement of a brilliant success which the southern
army has just gained over the Germans near Tarnopol. The battle
continued five days along the Sereth; the Russian captures comprise
17,000 prisoners and about forty guns.
This change of fortune, coinciding with the change in the high
command, has caused great rejoicing among the enemies of the Grand
Duke Nicholas. I fear the triumph will be short-lived, as on all
the rest of the front, particularly in Lithuania, the German progress
is becoming more marked every day.
Friday, September 10, 1915.
Sazonov said to me this morning:
"I am irritated beyond words by the information I am getting
from London and Paris about the Bulgarian business. Neither Grey
nor Delcassé seems to realize the seriousness of what is
brewing in Sofia. We are wasting incredibly precious time in Foreign
Office chatter! We ought, without a day's delay, to tell Radoslavov
that the so-called "undisputed" zone in Macedonia shall
be ceded to Bulgaria after the war, and we will guarantee Bulgaria
this accession of territory if the Bulgarian army will attack
Turkey in the near future. I am instructing Savinsky to consult
his allied colleagues at once, with a view to action in that sense....
Shall we get something done, for once?"
Sunday, September 12, 1915.
The situation of the Russian armies in Lithuania is rapidly
growing worse. North-east of Vilna the enemy is advancing by forced
marches on Dvinsk via Vilkomir.
Near Sventsiany his cavalry patrols have already reached the
railway, which is the sole artery connecting Vilna with Dvinsk,
and Pskov with Petrograd. Further south, after fierce fighting
at the confluence of the Zelvianka and the Niemen, he is threatening
the great Vilna-Pinsk road in the neighbourhood of Lida. Vilna
will have to be evacuated at top speed.
I can give certain accurate details of the manner in which
Prince Vladimir Orlov found himself deprived, a few days ago,
of the confidential post he had held for so many years in the
Emperor's personal service.
It was both indirectly and casually that Vladimir Nicolaïevitch
heard of his dismissal. The Tsar, when notifying the Grand Duke
Nicholas of his nomination as Imperial Lieutenant-Governor of
the Caucasus, had added the following post-scriptum to his letter:
"You can have Vladimir Orlov, as you like him so much; he
may be useful to you on the civil side." The Grand Duke,
who was on terms of the greatest intimacy with Orlov, immediately
sent an aide-de-camp to ask him the meaning of this unexpected
decision.
A few hours later Orlov heard that the Emperor, who was on
the point of leaving for General Headquarters, had just struck
his name off a list of individuals warned to join His Majesty's
train. He had no difficulty in concluding that Nicholas II did
not want to see him again. With perfect dignity he abstained from
all complaints or recrimination, and set out for Tiflis.
But before taking his departure, he felt that he must speak
his mind. In a letter addressed to Count Fredericks, Minister
of the Court, he begged the old servant to open the eyes of his
sovereign to the infamous rôle of Rasputin and his accomplices,
whom he roundly charged with being the tools of Germany. He even
had the courage to end his letter by sounding a note of alarm:
"The Emperor has not a day to lose in getting rid of the
occult forces which are strangling him. If he does not do so,
it will be all up with the Romanovs and Russia."
Wednesday, September 15, 1915.
This evening I dined in a non-political house with Maxim Kovalevsky,
Miliukov, Maklakov and Shingarev, who are the General Staff and
leaders of the Liberal party. In any other country this dinner
would have been the most natural thing in the world. But here
the gulf between the official world and the progressive elements
is so wide that I expect to be severely criticized in proper-minded
circles. And yet these men, of unimpeachable honesty and high
culture, are everything but revolutionaries; their political ideal
is nothing more than constitutional monarchy, Miliukov, for example,
the great historian of Russian Civilization, was able to
say at the time of the first Duma: "We are not the Opposition
against His Majesty, but His Majesty's Opposition."
When I arrived, I found them all gathered round Kovalevsky,
talking excitedly and looking horror-stricken; they had just heard
that the Government has decided to prorogue the Duma. Thus the
great hopes that were entertained six weeks ago, when the session
began, have already crumbled into dust; the idea of supervision
by the National Assembly has vanished, the establishment of a
responsible ministry is merely a wild dream; the "black bloc"
has gained the day and personal power, autocratic absolutism and
the occult forces have triumphed. The whole of dinner was passed
in exploring the melancholy prospects opening with this counter-offensive
on the part of reaction.
As we rose from table, a journalist came in to say that the
ukase proroguing the Duma was signed this afternoon, and will
be published to-morrow. I took Kovalevsky and Miliukov with me
into a corner. They confessed to me that in view of the outrage
on the national representative assembly, they intended to withdraw
from the mixed commissions recently organized in the War Ministry
with a view to raising output in the factories.
"The help of the Duma is declined. All right! But henceforth
we'll leave the Government the sole and whole responsibility for
the war."
I argued hotly that such a course would be ill-timed, and even
criminal:
"It's not my place to discuss your motives and political
calculations, but, as the ambassador of your ally, France, which
entered the war for the defence of Russia, I've the right to remind
you that you are in face of the enemy, and ought to refrain
from any act or demonstration which might diminish your military
effort."
They promised me to think the matter over. As the evening was
ending, Kovalevsky said to me:
"The dismissal of the Duma is a crime. If they wanted
to precipitate a revolution, this is the right way to go about
it."
"Do you think that the present crisis may lead to revolutionary
troubles?" I asked.
He exchanged glances with Miliukov and then, levelling his
bright, clear eyes at Me. replied:
"So far as it depends on us, there will be no revolution
during the war... . But before long, perhaps, it will no longer
depend on us."
Left alone with Maxim Kovalevsky, I questioned him about his
historical and sociological works. An ex-professor of Moscow University,
he has frequently been persecuted for his independent opinions,
and about 1887 was compelled to leave his country. He has travelled
much in France, England and the United States. He is now one of
the most distinguished figures among the Intelligentzia. His
studies on the political and social institutions of Russia reveal
wide culture, a frank and honest mind and a habit of thought which
is speculative, synthetic and accustomed to the discipline of
English practicality. His party predict a great future for him
when the autocratic regime changes to constitutional monarchy.
I imagine that the part he will play will be confined to influence
and theory. Like all the leaders of Russian liberalism, Maxim
Kovalevsky is too much the dreamer and theorist, and too bookish,
to be a man of action. The comprehension of general ideas and
a knowledge of political systems are not sufficient qualification
for the direction of human affairs; to these must be added a sense
of reality, an intuitive realization of what is possible and necessary,
the capacity for rapid decisions, resolute intentions, a knowledge
of public passions, circumspect audacity - all of them qualities
in which the "Cadets" seem to be entirely lacking, for
all their patriotism and good will.
As I took my leave, I begged Kovalevsky to neglect no opportunity
of advising patience and caution. I asked him, too, to reflect
on the melancholy admission which was sighed out in June, 1848,
by Duvergier de Hauranne, one of the leaders of the old "Monarchical
Opposition," and one of the organizers of the famous "banquet"
campaign: "If we had known how thin the sides of the volcano
were, we should never have provoked an eruption!"
Thursday, September 16, 1915.
The prorogation of the Duma is published.
The Putilov works and Baltic yards have immediately gone on
strike.
Friday, September 17, 1915.
The strikes have extended to-day to almost all the factories
in Petrograd. But no disorder is reported. The leaders say that
they simply wish to protest against the prorogation of the Duma,
and that work will be resumed in two days.
One of my informers, who knows working-class circles well,
said to me to-day:
"There's nothing to fear this time, either. It's only
a general rehearsal."
He added that the ideas of Lenin and his "defeatist"
propaganda are making great headway among the educated elements
of the working class.
Sunday, September 19, 1915.
The Russians are continuing their slow retreat along the whole
of the immense front from the Baltic to the Dniester.
Yesterday, as a result of a bold enveloping offensive, Vilna
fell into the hands of the Germans. The whole of Lithuania is
lost.
Monday, September 20, 1915.
The strikes in Petrograd are over.
In Moscow, the Union of Zemstovs and the Union of Towns have
passed a resolution demanding the immediate summoning of the Duma,
and the formation of a ministry enjoying the confidence of the
country."
The news I am getting from the provinces is satisfactory, in
the sense that it negatives the probability of a revolutionary
movement and, as regards the country generally, reveals an unshaken
resolution to continue the war.
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