An Ambassador's Memoirs: Difference between revisions
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<center><FONT SIZE="+2" FACE="Times">VOL. I. (July, 1914-June 2nd, 1915)</FONT></center> | <center><FONT SIZE="+2" FACE="Times">VOL. I. (July, 1914-June 2nd, 1915)</FONT></center> | ||
<center><B>I.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1" FACE="Times | <center><B>I.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1" FACE="Times">[[JULY 20--23, 1914]]</A></FONT></B> | ||
<br><br>St. Petersburg to Peterhof---The Tsar takes me on his yacht | <br><br>St. Petersburg to Peterhof---The Tsar takes me on his yacht | ||
Line 41: | Line 41: | ||
of impressions.---A sea trip.---Return to St. Petersburg. | of impressions.---A sea trip.---Return to St. Petersburg. | ||
<center><B>II.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1" FACE="Times | <center><B>II.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1" FACE="Times">[[JULY 24--AUGUST 2, 1914]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
<br><br>Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum to Serbia.---The Russian Government | <br><br>Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum to Serbia.---The Russian Government | ||
Line 59: | Line 59: | ||
ceremony at the Winter Palace: the oath of 1812. | ceremony at the Winter Palace: the oath of 1812. | ||
<center><B>III.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times | <center><B>III.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times">[[AUGUST 3--17, 1914]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
<br><br>The war creates a wave of patriotic enthusiasm among the whole | <br><br>The war creates a wave of patriotic enthusiasm among the whole | ||
Line 74: | Line 74: | ||
the Polish nation. | the Polish nation. | ||
<center><B>IV.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times | <center><B>IV.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times">[[AUGUST 18--SEPTEMBER 11, 1914]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
<br><br>The Tsar at Moscow.---Imposing ceremonies.---Popular excitement.---Memories | <br><br>The Tsar at Moscow.---Imposing ceremonies.---Popular excitement.---Memories | ||
Line 86: | Line 86: | ||
Prussia.---The victory of the Marne. | Prussia.---The victory of the Marne. | ||
<center><B>V.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times | <center><B>V.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times">[[SEPTEMBER 12--OCTOBER 28, | ||
1914]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | 1914]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
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of the Russian armies in Poland and Galicia. | of the Russian armies in Poland and Galicia. | ||
<center><B>VI.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times | <center><B>VI.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times">[[OCTOBER 29--NOVEMBER 30, 1914]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
<br><br>Sudden attack by Turkish destroyers on the Russian fleet at | <br><br>Sudden attack by Turkish destroyers on the Russian fleet at | ||
Line 119: | Line 119: | ||
canonization of Saint Seraphin and the birth of the Tsarevitch. | canonization of Saint Seraphin and the birth of the Tsarevitch. | ||
<center><B>VII.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times | <center><B>VII.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times">[[DECEMBER 1-31, 1914]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
<br><br>Oppressive activities of the Russian administration in Galicia.---The | <br><br>Oppressive activities of the Russian administration in Galicia.---The | ||
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with the Empress.---The end of the year; gloomy forebodings. | with the Empress.---The end of the year; gloomy forebodings. | ||
<center><B>VIII.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times | <center><B>VIII.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times">[[JANUARY 1--FEBRUARY 13, 1915]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
<br><br>Opportunity for a separate peace with Austria-Hungary.---The | <br><br>Opportunity for a separate peace with Austria-Hungary.---The | ||
Line 148: | Line 148: | ||
instructs me to obtain his pardon. The Emperor's magnanimity. | instructs me to obtain his pardon. The Emperor's magnanimity. | ||
<center><B>IX.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times | <center><B>IX.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times">[[FEBRUARY 14--MARCH 31, 1915]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
<br><br>Precipitate retreat of the Russians in East Prussia.---The | <br><br>Precipitate retreat of the Russians in East Prussia.---The | ||
Line 170: | Line 170: | ||
Jews of Poland and Lithuania. | Jews of Poland and Lithuania. | ||
<center><B>X.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times | <center><B>X.<FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1"FACE="Times">[[APRIL 1--JUNE 2, 1915]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
<br><br>Easter services. The Priory of Malta; the Tsar Paul I's illusion. | <br><br>Easter services. The Priory of Malta; the Tsar Paul I's illusion. | ||
Line 191: | Line 191: | ||
18, 1916)</FONT></center><br><br> | 18, 1916)</FONT></center><br><br> | ||
<center><B><FONT SIZE="+1" FACE="Times">I.</FONT><FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1" FACE="Times | <center><B><FONT SIZE="+1" FACE="Times">I.</FONT><FONT FACE="Times"> </FONT><FONT SIZE="+1" FACE="Times">[[JUNE 3--AUGUST 24, 1915]]</A></FONT></B></center><br><br> | ||
<br><br>National feeling roused.---Unrest in Moscow.---The Minister | <br><br>National feeling roused.---Unrest in Moscow.---The Minister |
Latest revision as of 16:19, 25 January 2009
(Last French Ambassador to the Russian Court)
THE TSAR NICHOLAS II
St. Petersburg to Peterhof---The Tsar takes me on his yacht
to meet the President of the Republic.---Conversation with His
Majesty on the subject of William II.---In Cronstadt Roads.---Arrival
of the warship France.---First meeting of the two heads
of State.---Banquet at Peterhof.---The Tsaritsa Alexandra Feodorovna.---The
Russian Court.---The President of the Republic discusses general
politics.---The President's visit to St. Petersburg.---The fortress
of SS. Peter and Paul.---At the tomb of Alexander III.---Diplomatic
reception at the Winter Palace.---The President's conversation
with the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador.---Banquet at the Embassy.---Disorderly
strikes in the industrial quarters.---Luncheon at Peterhof.---The
Minister of the Court.---At Krasnoïe-Selo camp.---Evening
service.---Banquet given in honour of the President and the Tsar
by the Grand Duke Nicholas.---The Montenegrin Grand Duchesses.---Review
at Krasnoïe-Selo.---Farewell banquet on board the France.---The
toasts.---Last meeting of the President and the Tsar.---The French
squadron leaves.---I accompany the Tsar on his yacht.---An exchange
of impressions.---A sea trip.---Return to St. Petersburg.
Austro-Hungarian Ultimatum to Serbia.---The Russian Government
at once adopts a conciliatory attitude.---Vain efforts of Sazonov,
the Minister for Foreign Affairs, to induce England to range herself
immediately on the side of Russia and France.---The uncompromising
tone of the German and Austro-Hungarian Ambassadors.---At my request
Sazonov agrees off-hand to all the steps France and England think
likely to avert war.---General mobilization of the Austro-Hungarian
army.---Threatening action of the German Ambassador.---Military
preparations of the Russian General Staff.---Bombardment of Belgrade.---The
Russian Government's last effort for peace. ---Exchange of telegrams
between the Tsar Nicholas and the Emperor William.---The German
ultimatum to Russia.---The declaration of war.--- "There
is a divine justice!. . ."---General mobilization of the
French army.---The Tsar's proclamation to his people.---Religious
ceremony at the Winter Palace: the oath of 1812.
The war creates a wave of patriotic enthusiasm among the whole
Russian nation.---The Grand Duke Nicholas is appointed Generalissimo.---England
ranges herself on the side of France and Russia.---The Tsar receives
me at Peterhof: his gratitude to France.---The general scheme
of military operations; a fight to the death.---The Grand Duke
Nicholas then receives me.---Promise of an immediate and direct
offensive against Germany. ---Austria-Hungary declares war on
Russia.---Enthusiasm of the Russian army. ---Meeting of the Duma
on August 8: all parties united.---The Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna.---Slavism
and Germanism; German influences in Russia.---General offensive
of the Russian armies.---The Grand Duke Nicholas's manifesto to
the Polish nation.
The Tsar at Moscow.---Imposing ceremonies.---Popular excitement.---Memories
of 1812.---Sazonov's views on the future of Germany.---Death of
Pope Pius X.---The German march on Paris.---The Russian offensive
in East Prussia.---The Soldau disaster: "We owe this sacrifice
to France. . ."---The capital of the Empire henceforth to
be called Petrograd.---The character of Nicholas I.---His superstitious
fears bred of his ill luck.---The Declaration of London: no separate
peace.---Operations of the Russian armies in Galicia, Poland and
Prussia.---The victory of the Marne.
Rasputin's return to Petrograd.---Conversation with Count Witte:
his pessimism.---" This stupid adventure must be liquidated
as soon as possible." ---At St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery;
Russian piety. A performance at the Marie Theatre: Life for
the Tsar.---General Sukhomlinov, the War Minister.---The Russian
offensive against Germany.---Rasputin reappears; his past; his
influence at court.---Turkey closes the Straits.--- The Grand
Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna.---Moscow, the Sacred City: "God's
Kingdom on Russian Soil."---The assassination of the Grand
Duke Sergius in 1905; Tanganka prison; the Grand Duchess's visit
to the assassin; the execution in Schlusselburg prison; her farewell
to the world; the Convent of Martha and Mary.---The general offensive
of the Russian armies.---The Polish question and dreams of Constantinople.---The
death of King Charles I of Rumania.---The anarchist Lenin.---The
Holy Synod and the Marseillaise.---Patriotism of the students.---Successes
of the Russian armies in Poland and Galicia.
Sudden attack by Turkish destroyers on the Russian fleet at
Odessa.---Allied rupture with Turkey.---A Rasputin logograph.---Victory
of the Russians in Galicia.---They resume their offensive in Poland.---The
utopias of Slavism; the Byzantine dream.---Intrigues of Count
Witte.---England spontaneously abandons Constantinople to Russia.---An
audience with the Emperor. Nicholas II gives me his views on the
terms of the future peace.---The Battle of Lodz: a victory is
prematurely announced by the Russians who let it slip from their
grasp.---A forerunner of Rasputin; the magician Philippe; the
canonization of Saint Seraphin and the birth of the Tsarevitch.
Oppressive activities of the Russian administration in Galicia.---The
Germans resume the offensive in Poland; the Russians evacuate
Lodz.---Pope Benedict XV and the Truce of God.---Wave of pessimism
in Russian society.---Victory of the Serbs at Valievo.---The Russian
operations suddenly stop.---No more rifles or ammunition.---The
curse of a system.---At Kutosov's tomb.---Courage and gentleness
of the Russian soldier.---Madame Vyrubova; her close friendship
with the Empress.---The end of the year; gloomy forebodings.
Opportunity for a separate peace with Austria-Hungary.---The
Empress's patriotism.---The Okhrana: its origin, prerogatives
and power. The palace police and the Emperor's personal police.---French
policy and Austria-Hungary.---Religious feelings of the
Russian people.---Evangelism and mysticism.---The sects.---At
the Hermitage.---Ceremonies at Tsarskoïe-Selo on January
1st (O.S.). The Emperor's firm declaration to me.---Madame Vyrubova
and Rasputin.---Intelligence of the Russian peasant.---Autocracy
and orthodoxy; the doctrine of pure Tsarism.---The Russian students;
the University proletariat; the women students.---The moujik's
charitable instincts.---The Polish question. Discovery of
a telegram from the Tsar to the Emperor William; Germany's responsibility
increased.---Reopening of the Duma; the dream of Constantinople.---A
hero of revolutionary Socialism: Bourtzev. The French Government
instructs me to obtain his pardon. The Emperor's magnanimity.
Precipitate retreat of the Russians in East Prussia.---The
Grand Duke Nicholas and Rasputin.---Catherine II and the Jewish
question.---Suspicious attitude of Bulgaria.---The Duc de Guise's
mission to Sophia.---My meeting with Rasputin. His extraordinary
conversation: "For more than twenty years we shall harvest
nothing but sorrow on Russian soil."---An Anglo-French fleet
tries to force the Dardanelles.---Russia claims Constantinople
officially.---General Pau's mission; I present him to the Emperor,
who declares his intention of annexing Constantinople.---The Persian
agreement between England and Russia.---Lieutenant-Colonel Miassoyedov's
treachery; the traitor's antecedents; his conviction.---I visit
General Headquarters at Baranovici to confer with the Emperor.
---France's rights in Syria and Palestine.---The Russian armies
prepare a general offensive in the direction of the Oder.---The
Grand Duke Nicholas's alarming remarks.---Russian music and the
Russian soul. Khovantchina; the "Red Death."
The susceptibility of the masses to emotional outbursts.---An
Austrian peace-feeler; the aberrations of French policy.---The
Jews of Poland and Lithuania.
Easter services. The Priory of Malta; the Tsar Paul I's illusion.
Russian churches and church music.---The Grand Duke Sergius and
the munitions crisis.---A Pushkin joke; the proportion of German
and Russian blood in the family of the Romanovs.---The question
of the Ukraine.---The Russian armies begin their general offensive
in the direction of Silesia. The Okhta powder works blown up.---Rasputin
causes a scandal in Moscow.---The counter-offensive of the Germans
and Austro-Hungarians in Galicia. The Battle of the Dunajec. General
retreat of the Russians. Negotiations with Rumania. Italy declares
war on Austria-Hungary.---Rasputin's intrigues against the Grand
Duke Nicholas. A secret rival of the staretz : the youridivi
Mitia Koliaba.---Petrograd and Venice: the estuary of the Neva.---An
alarming prophecy.
.
National feeling roused.---Unrest in Moscow.---The Minister
of the Interior replaced.---Obsequies of the Grand Duke Constantine.---The
cathedral of the fortress; memories of Kropotkin.---Launching
of the cruiser Ismaïl.---The War Minister replaced: General
Sukhomlinov's responsibility for the defeat of the Russian armies.---Negotiations
with the Balkan States.---The Emperor's appeal to his people.---Tsar
Ferdinand of Bulgaria; private reasons for his hatred of Russia.---Antagonism
between Moscow and Petrograd.---The Duc de Morny; as Ambassador
to Alexander II; his marriage.---The Council of War at Chantilly:
decision to help the Russian army.---Fresh Austro-German successes.---The
Procurator of the Holy Synod replaced.---Rasputin is banished
from Petrograd; his farewell to the Empress.---Launching of the
cruiser Borodino.---Reopening of the Duma.---Public feeling aroused.---The
Germans enter Warsaw.---The Jewish question before the Duma.----Cloistered
life of the sovereigns in their palace; contrast with the Court
in previous reigns.---"Liberal nationalism"; the dream
of a national coup d'état.---Stormy session of the Duma.---Progress
of the German offensive in Lithuania. ---Rasputin's return to
Petrograd.
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.
Bulgaria mobilizes against Serbia.---An Anglo-French contingent
is sent to the Balkans.---Dissensions in the Russian Government.
Joint letter from the ministers to the Emperor.---Nicholas II's
categorical reply.---Feeling roused among the Russian people by
Bulgaria's "fratricidal" action.---The French Government
demands the military co-operation of Russia against Bulgaria;
telegrams passing between the President of the Republic and the
Emperor.---Progress made by reactionary influences at Court.---Dismissal
of the Minister of the Interior and the Procurator of the Holy
Synod.---My audience of the Emperor; a promise of military co-operation
against Bulgaria.---The Empress exhorts the Emperor to absolutism.---Rasputin's
prayers; his sincerity in asserting his supernatural powers.---Devastating
Bulgarian offensive against the Serbians.---The Emperor's manifesto
on the subject of the Bulgarian felony.---The Russian fleet bombards
Varna.---Negotiations with the Rumanian Government with a view
to obtaining permission for a Russian army to pass through Moldavia
on its way to help the Serbs. The Rumanian Government refuses.
Reactionary tendencies on the increase.---A trait of Russian
character: nomadism. Wandering pilgrims.---Winter melancholy:
general depression.---Comparison between the present war and that
of 1812.---Tsar Ferdinand of Bulgaria: "When I leave this
world's stage. . . ."---Russia and America: two types of
humanity.---The Russian disposition to resignation.---The Governor
of Ufa. Dreamy idealism uppermost in the Russian habit of mind;
the invisible city of Lake Svetloyar.---The clergy losing credit
with the masses; wretched condition of the priests.---Spiritualism;
Russian interest in the supernatural.---The Salonica expedition.
Unforeseen difficulties: the British Government suggests immediate
evacuation; the French and Russian Governments insist upon the
enterprise being continued.---A theme of German propaganda: "France
is letting Russia carry the whole burden of the war. . . ."---A
piece of history: the personal intervention of the Emperor Alexander
III in the preliminaries and conclusion of the Franco-Russian
alliance.---The sect of the Sloptzy. The martyr Selivanov; a fantastic
legend. A terrible liturgy: "The Keys of Hell."---A
souvenir of Dostoïevski: the funeral parade of December 22,
1849.---The French Government asks that Russian troops shall be
sent to France: Senator Doumer's mission.---The Tsarevitch seriously
ill; Rasputin's intercession.---Insidious approaches of Germany
to Russia with a view to the negotiation of a separate peace:
Count Eulenburg's letter; Mlle. Vassiltchikov's mission. Nicholas
II's steadfast loyalty to the Alliance.
Heroic retreat of the Serbians through Albania.---Revolutionary
conference in Petrograd: programme of a socialist peace.---Rasputin
and the Russian clergy. A canonization imposed by the Emperor;
opposition of the Holy Synod; the Procurator dismissed.---Activity
of the Russian armies in Galicia. The Anglo-French troops evacuate
the Gallipoli Peninsula. The Austrians enter Cettinje.---Characteristics
of Russian women.---Threatening attitude of the Central Empires
towards Rumania.
The Russian General Staff draws up a scheme for a military
convention with Rumania.---State meeting between the Emperor William
and the Tsar Ferdinand at Nish; a reference to Versailles; infamy
of the Bulgarian sovereign.---The Russians greatly affected by
oratory; their imagination riots 'm vague perspectives.---Retirement
of the President of the Council GoremyIdn; his place is taken
by Sturmer; dismissal of the Minister of the Interior, Khvostov;
Rasputin's influence in these decisions.---Antecedents and character
of Sturmer; his close colleague, Manuilov.---Rasputin and the
monk, Heliodorus; an Okhrana melodrama.---The romance of the Grand
Duke Michael, the Emperor's brother; the Countess Brassov.---The
Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna dines at the embassy; her opinion
of the Emperor and Empress.---The great problems of domestic politics:
the agrarian and labour problems.---Miserable condition of the
Russian peasants.---Definition of imperial autocracy.---Instability
of the Russian character: the sudden volte face.---Reopening of
the Duma. A theatrical stroke: the Emperor goes to the Tauride
Palace. Great effect of this demonstration.
Primitive mentality of the moujiks; different courses
of evolution of the upper classes and the rural masses: "a
terrifying abyss."---The Battle of Verdun; it makes a great
impression in Russia.---Philippesco, formerly Rumanian War Minister,
visits Petrograd; our conversation, as the result of which Sazonov
tells him that the Russian General Staff is prepared to enter
into a military convention with the Rumanian General Staff.---The
Emperor invites me to a cinematograph show of the French front
in his palace. He gives me an official audience next morning to
discuss the Rumanian and Asia Minor questions; gives me a very
warm reception and reminds me of common memories.---The House
of the People. Shaliapin in the part of Don Quixote; Cervantes'
hero and the Russian spirit.---Songs of the steppe and isba; eloquence
and beauty of the popular melodies: one of Maxim Gorky's peasant
scenes.---General Sukhomlinov, ex-Minister for War, is brought
before a military court.---Enthusiasm of the Russian people for
the Verdun epic; the Emperor's congratulations to the French army.---Boris
Godunov at the Narodny Dom; obscure influences and
the power of the masses in the history of Russia.
Fresh wave of pessimism in Russian society; the Æschyline
view of Fate.----Demoralisation of the Russian clergy; wretched
poverty of the priests: Dostoïevsky's "humbled and abased."---Sturmer's
reactionary policy: five socialist deputies sent to Siberia.---Comparative
losses of the French and Russian armies.---General Polivanov,
the War Minister, is sacrificed as being too favourable to the
Duma; his place is taken by General Shuvaïev.---Coldness
of liberal circles towards France: the grievance of 1906; ill-feeling
still exists.---Success of the Russian army in Asiatic Turkey;
capture of Trebizond.---Easter services; Russian piety.---A paradox
on Peter the Great: " the precursor of modern revolutionaries."----Easter
communion at the Feodorovsky Sobor.---Rasputin's sinister
prophecy.---The moujik's belief in the supernatural, and views
on the miraculous.---Unexpected demands of Rumania as the price
of her military co-operation.
The mission of Viviani and Albert Thomas to Petrograd; I present
them to the Emperor. The questions of Poland and Rumania, and
of sending Russian troops to France.---Conference at General Headquarters.---Banquet
given by the Duma. The speeches: the Russians greatly moved by
the magic of eloquence. Shaliapin and the Marseillaise. The
French mission leaves a turmoil of excitement in its wake.---Faith
in the Tsar among the masses.---General Brussilov's brilliant
offensive in Volhynia and Galicia.---Russian nomadism.
The magic of solstice nights.---A lesson from the Iliad.---The
Byzantine dream evaporates.---Another sketch of the Russian woman.---The
Empress's relations with Rasputin: Sister Akulina.---The brilliant
offensive of the Russian armies in Galicia.---The Grand Duke Nicholas
Michaïlovitch and the Emperor; the Kaiser's demonstration
at Tangier in 1905.---Visit of the Russian deputies to the West.---Further
successes of the Russian armies in Galicia; their offensive develops.
The Allies put pressure on Bucharest.---The ministers summoned
to the Stavka. The autonomy of Poland; the Emperor supports
Sazonov's liberal programme.
.The Empress and Rasputin
force the Emperor to dismiss Sazonov and put Sturmer in his place;
a very serious change.---Negotiations with Rumania. By the terms
of a military convention signed by Colonel Rudeanu at Chantilly,
the Rumanian army is to attack Bulgaria at once.---Secret negotiations
between Bucharest and Sofia; Bratiano throws over the Rudeanu
agreement.---Russian victory at Brody.---Sazonov's dismissal.---Future
prospects; an historical precedent: the Seven Years' War.---Rumania
hesitates again---A telegram from the President of the Republic
to the Emperor.---Autocracy and regicide.---Polish uneasiness
about the fate of their country; the reactionary party regards
the settlement of the Polish question as the basis for a reconciliation
between tsarism and the Teutonic empires.---Rumania joins our
Alliance.---The Treaty of Bucharest.
17, 1917)
The Empress's camarilla: the direction in which she
endeavours to influence Russian diplomacy.---The Salonica army
ties down the Bulgarians on the Macedonian front in order to cover
the mobilization of the Rumanian army. The political education
of Nicholas II: "The Emperor will always be Pobiedonostzev's
pupil!"---Victories of the Russian army in Upper Armenia.
---The Empress and Sturmer; he treats her as the regent.---Exhaustion
of the Russian forces on the Galician front.---One of the Russian
regiments sent to France mutinies at Marseilles.---The arrest
of Manuilov, director of Sturmer's secretariat.---Ennui,
the chronic disease of Russian society.---Influence of the Jewish
question on relations between Russia and America.---The perilous
situation of Rumania; the action at Turtukai; invasion of the
Dobrudja; the Russian General Staff studies the possibility of
sending an army to help in the Danube region.---The strategic
plan of Marshal Hindenburg.---Rasputin and Sturmer; their conferences
in the Fortress of SS. Peter and Paul.---Russian notions of time
and space.
<A HREF="pal3-02.htm">SEPTEMBER 19--OCTOBER 25, 1916</A>
The heralds of winter.---The Church of the Saviour-on-the-Waters.---The
Emperor is often charged with being heartless.---The combined
effort of the Allies to relieve Rumania.---Public education in
Russia: the primary schools.---Ignorance of the rural masses;
a contrast with the brilliant development of science, letters
and art.---A political crisis in Athens; Venizelos goes to Crete.---Prince
Kanin's visits to Petrograd: the reflections of a moujik.---Another
Minister of the Interior: Protopopov; his relations with Rasputin.---Sturmer's
treachery; the intrigues of which he is the centre.---Clandestine
activities of the socialist leaders.---Successive defeats of the
Rumanian army; a very grave situation.--- General Berthelot passes
through Petrograd on his way to take command of the French mission
in Romania.---My Japanese colleague, Viscount Motono, is approinted
Minister for Foreign Affairs; a great authority on Asiatic and
European problems.---The Minister of Communications, Trepove,
boldy attacks Sturmer; his confidence in the Emperor.---German
agents in Petrograd: dinners at the house of Manus, the financier.---Constanza
captured by the Austro-Bulgarians; the Rumanians evacuate the
Dobradja.
The Empress's increasing influence on the government of the
Empire.---Strikes in Petrograd: the troops fire on the police.---Frequency
of divorce in Russian society; deterioration of moral standards
since Anna Karenina.--Count Witte's crime in 1914.---The
Central Powers proclaim the autonomy of Russian Poland under an
hereditary monarchy.---Indignation in Petrograd and Moscow at
this news.---Protopopov's reactionary policy: memories of the
"Black Bands."---Opening of the Duma: the government's
declaration; the ministers leave the chamber; Miliukov's violent
indictment of Sturmer; various expressions of public opinion.---Frequency
of suicide in Russia; a symptom of social disintegration.---The
magician, Papus, and the Russian sovereigns: a spiritualistic
séance at Tsarskoïe-Selo in 1905; a prophecy
of revolution.---Death of the Emperor Francis Joseph.
<A HREF="pal3-04.htm">NOVEMBER 23-DECEMBER 24, 1916</A>
Sturmer's dismissal; the Empress's irritation.---Trepov is
appointed President of the Council; the appointment a guarantee
for the Alliance.---General Alexeïev is replaced by General
Gourko for reasons of health.---Conflict between the Duma and
the Minister of the Interior; fierce attacks on the "occult
forces which are ruining Russia."-- Public opinion loses
interest in Constantinople and the oriental dream.---The massacre
of French sailors at Constantinople.---Consideration of the measures
to be taken to deal with Greece.---The Empress's camarilla.
Who are its real leaders? Germany invites the United States to
open negotiations for peace; the motive which inspires this step.---Pokrovski,
the Comptroller-General of the Empire, is appointed Minister for
Foreign Affairs. His first meeting with the Duma the patriotic
fervour of his speeches. I discuss with him the situation arising
out of the German proposal.---Position of the allied armies in
Rumania the transport difficulty.---With a view to the reply to
the German proposals, the French Government defines the "higher
war aim" which the Allies have taken as the goal of their
common effort: the reorganization of Europe on the principle of
nationality, the rights of the nations to unhampered economic
development, etc. Gokrovaki accepts every article of this programme.---The
Emperor prohibits the use of German terms in the nomenclature
of official titles.
<A HREF="pal3-05.htm">DECEMBER 25, 1916--JANUARY 8, 1917</A>
The Emperor's manifesto to his armies; Nicholas II reaffirms
his confidence in victory and announces his unwavering determination
to restore Poland and gain Constantinople. I see a hidden meaning
in this manifesto.---The Russian General Staff's real share of
responsibility for the Rumanian disaster.---Proposal to call a
conference of the Allies at Petrograd.---Personal relations between
my English colleague, Sir George Buchanan, and the opposition
parties: unfounded charges made against him in this matter.---Murder
of Rasputin; mysterious setting of the drama. The Empress's despair.
Prince Felix Yussupov, the Grand Duke Dimitri and Purishkevitch
(deputy of the Extreme Right) are soon indicated as the murderers
or accomplices.---Arrest of the Grand Duke Dimitri. Effect on
the public of the assassination of the staretz. The discovery
of the corpse in the Neva; it is conveyed to the Tchesma Home.
Sister Akulina prepares it for burial; a letter from the Empress
to the "martyr:" Nocturnal obsequies at Tsarskoïe-Selo.---A
conspiracy against the sovereigns; propaganda among the regiments
of the Guard; the share of the Grand Dukes.---Details of the murder
of Rasputin: the trap; the execution; the corpse is thrown into
the Neva.---The Emperor receives me at Tsarskoïe-Selo; his
anxious and absorbed appearance; the strength of his obsessions;
my gloomy impression of this meeting.---The Grand Duke Dimitri
is sent to Persia and Prince Felix Yussupov banished to the Government
of Kursk.---Postponement of the Allied conference to be held in
Petrograd.
HREF="pal3-06.htm"> JANUARY 9--28, 1917</A>
The imperial family address a joint appeal to Nicholas II;
the Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna confides her sorrows and anxieties
to me.---My English colleague, Sir George Buchanan, tries to tackle
the Emperor on the problems of domestic politics; he receives
cutting replies.---A story-book element in the conspiracy of the
Grand Dukes.---Reception of the Diplomatic Corps at Tsarskoïe-Selo,
on the first day of the orthodox New Year; lugubrious impiressions.---The
Emperor's rage with the Grand Dukes; an historical precedent.---The
Crown Prince of Rumania arrives in Petrograd; cordial relations
between Russia and Rumania.---A talk with the Grand Duke Paul
about his son's share in Rasputin murder.---An A.D.C. General
of the Emperor ventures to advise him to send away the Empress;
Nicholas II's chivalrous attitude.---The ghost of Rasputin; nocturnal
apparitions.---What the magician Papus thought of the staretz;
future miracles.
1917</A>
Allied conference at Petrograd: arrival of the French, British
and Italian plenipotentiaries; the Government of the Republic
sends a former President of the Council, Doumergue, and General
de Castelnau.---The programme of the conference is too vague.---The
plenipotentiaries presented to the Emperor; exchange of trivialities.
Nicholas ll's notion of his autocracy.---General Gourko acquaints
the conference with the strategic intentions for 1917 of the High
Command; great offensives to be postponed. Disappointment of the
delegates.---The Emperor gives Doumergue a private audience; he
consents to all the guarantees on the right bank of the Rhine
which France may think it her duty to exact from Germany.---Banquet
at Alexander Palace.---Slow progress of the conference: "We
are wasting time." Deep impression made on the moujiks
by Rasputin's murder; the first symptoms of legendary transfiguration.---End
of the conference; poor results.---In my last conversation with
Doumergue I beg him to tell the President of the Republic of my
great anxiety about the internal situation in Russia.
Tchadaïev's prophecy.---The Grand Duchess Marie Pavlovna
goes to the Caucasus; she tells me her fears of the approaching
crisis.---The functions of tsarism in the political and social
life of the Russian people. An imaginary hypothesis: the Gunpowder
Plot.---A retrospective survey of the origins of the Russo-Japanese
War: the Emperor William's duplicity.---Cruel sufferings of the
Rumanian civil population and army in Moldavia; famine and typhus.
Noble behaviour of the King, Queen and Bratiano.---Paradoxes in
the Russian character: meekness and revolt.---The military operations
in Rumania and the problem of Constantinople.---The effect of
war on the morals of the moujik; a bishop's complaints
to the Empress.---Disturbances in Petrograd: " Bread and
peace! " The ministers hold a special council. " Perhaps
this is the last social function of the régime." A
warning to the demonstrators: a Guard regiment refuses to fire
on the mob.
<A HREF="pal3-09.htm">MARCH 12--22, 1917</A>
From riot to revolution.---Barricades, looting and fires; street
fighting.---The army fraternizes with the insurgents.---The Government
thrown into confusion.---The ministers appeal to the Emperor.---The
Winter Palace and the Fortress are occupied.---The Duma organizes
an executive committee. ---Further fighting in the streets. General
Ivanov's mission. The last chance of saving tsarism. Rapid progress
of the revolution.---The socialists form a "Council of Working-Men
and Soldier Deputies," the Soviet, in opposition to
the Duma. The vital part of the army in the revolutionary drama.
Shameful behaviour of the Grand Duke Cyril and the Imperial Guard.---The
Emperor, after a futile attempt to return to Petrograd, stops
at Pskov where two envoys from the Duma beg him to abdicate in
favour of his son. A provisional government formed.---Nicholas
II will not consent to be separated from his son and abdicates
in favour of his brother, Michael-Alexandrovitch. Rage of the
Soviet, which demands and secures the renunciation of the
throne by the Grand Duke Michael.----News from Tsarskoïe-Selo;
the Grand Duke Paul informs the Empress of the Emperor's abdication.
---The Provisional Government's weakness in dealing with the Soviet:
the Petrograd garrison extorts a promise not to be
sent to the front.---Miliukov is appointed Foreign Minister; our
first talk: I demand that Russia's new rulers shall proclaim their
determination to continue the war to the bitter end.---A general
summary of recent happenings. Inaction of the clergy in the revolution.
Supplementary details of the abdication of the Emperor.---Manifesto
issued by the Provisional Government., it contains only a vague
allusion to the prosecution of the war: I protest to Miliukov.---The
Soviet compels the Provisional Government to arrest the
fallen monarchs, Miliukov asks the British Government to give
them a place of refuge in England. Eloquent farewell of the Emperor
to the army.
<A HREF="pal3-10.htm">MARCH 23--APRIL 6, 1917</A>
The British Government offers the Tsar and Tsarina an asylum
on British soil.---A forecast of the development of the revolution.---Rasputin's
body is exhumed by night and burned in the forest of Pargolovo:
a scene from Dante.---The Soviet opposes the departure of the
sovereign.---Official recognition of the Provisional Government,
Kerensky, Minister of Justice, comes to the front.---A reflection
of the opinions prevailing in informed circles: ---"We
cannot continue the war."---lndiscipline spreading in the
fighting armies: Prikaz No. 1.---Agitation among
the subject nationalities: symptoms of national disintegration.---The
new Military Governor of Petrograd tries to regain control of
the garrison.---French opinion goes astray on the subject of the
Russian revolution. Vital differences between the psychology of
the Latin and Slav revolutionary.---The Government of the Republic
sends Albert Thomas on a mission to Petrograd.---The sovereigns
in captivity at Tsarskoïe Selo.---Funeral service for the
victims of the fighting; the interment on the Champ de Mars; the
clergy absent. The moral of this day.---On the frontiers of Kurdistan
, a last exploit of the Russian army.
<A HREF="pal3-11.htm">APRIL 7--21, 1917</A>
The United States of America declares war on Germany.---A concert
at the Marie Theatre an behalf of the victims of the revolution;
Siberian exiles in the imperial box.---Public feeling revolts
against the recent ceremony in the Champ-de-Mars: funeral orations
pronounced over the graves of the victims. ---Russian patriotism
vanishes: " The war is dead. "---Acrimonious disputes
between the Provisional Government and the Soviet on the subject
of "war aims."---Life of the fallen sovereigns at Tsarskoïe-Selo;
a closer guard kept: the Emperor is imperturbable, the Empress
resigned.---Three French socialist deputies, Montet, Cachin and
Lafont arrive in Petrograd.---Easter Sunday: curious appearance
of the churches.---The French socialist deputies get such a frigid
reception from the Soviet that their hearts fail them and they
dare not assert France's right to the restitution of Alsace-Lorraine.---Arrival
of the "maximalist," Lenin, in Petrograd.---Illusions
of the French socialist deputies about the natural tendencies
and guiding forces of the Russian revolutions: our discussions
of the subject.---Lenin's growing ascendancy; his antecedents,
character and ideas.
Albert Thomas arrives in Petrograd.---After telling me I am
shortly to be recalled, he explains the object of his mission.---His
confidence in the revolutionary fervour of the Russian democracy;
our views conflict. He sides with Kerensky and against Miliukov
in the dispute which has just begun between the Provisional Government
and the Soviet.---The Grand Duke Paul and the revolution.---Particulars
of the captivity of the imperial familyPublic processions: the
aesthetic instincts of Russian crowds.---Anarchy makes progress
in the public services and the army.---The 1st May; processions
and speeches in the Champ-de-Mars.---A " concert-meeting
" at the Michael Theatre; political harangues with musical
interludes; memories of The House of the Dead; romantic
speech by Kerensky.---Embitterment of the conflict between
the Provisional Government and the Soviet; Miliukov's brave
resistance; fighting in the streets; Albert Thomas supports Kerensky.
---Russia's future; the inevitable consequences of present happenings;
a Persian parable.
Albert Thomas and I state our conflicting arguments about the
character of the Russian revolution and submit them to the Government
of the Republic.---A farewell visit to the Grand Duke Nicholas
Michaïlovitch: " Marked down for the gallows ".
. . . ---Kerensky's sway over the French socialist deputies; the
magic power of his eloquence.---Lenin and the moujik! symptoms
of an agrarian crisis.---I bid farewell to Russian society. A
last look at the statue of Peter the Great.---I leave Petrograd
in company with the socialist deputies, Cachin and Montet.---Finland
" of the thousand lakes."---A conversation with the
socialist deputies on the conclusions to be drawn from the Russian
revolution: they think that a peace ought to be negotiated in
accordance with the principles of the Internationale.---Crossing
the Tornea on the ice: a convoy of wounded in distress.---The
melancholy prophecy of the yourodivi in Boris Godunov
: "Weep, my beloved Russia, weep! for thou art about
to perish!"