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diff --git a/78075-h/78075-h.htm b/78075-h/78075-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e72a9e2 --- /dev/null +++ b/78075-h/78075-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,22500 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> + +<head> + +<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> + +<link rel="icon" href="images/img-cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + +<meta charset="utf-8"> + +<title> +The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Eclipse of Russia, by E. J. Dillon +</title> + +<style> +body { color: black; + background: white; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-left: 10%; + font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; + text-align: justify } + +p {text-indent: 1.5em } + +p.noindent {text-indent: 0% } + +p.t1 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 200%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + text-align: center } + +p.t2b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 150%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t3 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: center } + +p.t3b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 100%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t4 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + text-align: center } + +p.t4b {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 80%; + font-weight: bold; + text-align: center } + +p.t5 {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 60%; + text-align: center } + +h1 { text-align: center } +h2 { text-align: center } +h3 { text-align: center } +h4 { text-align: center } +h5 { text-align: center } + +p.poem {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; } + +p.thought {text-indent: 0% ; + letter-spacing: 2em ; + text-align: center } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.hang {text-indent: -5%; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.footnote {text-indent: 0% ; + font-size: 85%; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-right: 5% } + +.smcap { font-variant: small-caps } + +p.transnote {text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.index {text-indent: -5% ; + margin-left: 5% ; + margin-top: 0% ; + margin-bottom: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.quote {text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.report {text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +p.report2 {text-indent: 4% ; + margin-left: 10% ; + margin-right: 10% } + +p.finis { font-size: larger ; + text-align: center ; + text-indent: 0% ; + margin-left: 0% ; + margin-right: 0% } + +.pagenum { position: absolute; + left: 1%; + font-size: 95%; + text-align: left; + text-indent: 0; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; } + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78075 ***</div> + +<h1> +<br><br> + <span style="font-size: smaller">THE</span><br> + <span style="color: red"> + ECLIPSE OF<br> + RUSSIA<br> + </span> +</h1> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + BY<br> +</p> + +<p class="t2"> + E. J. DILLON<br> +</p> + +<p class="t4"> + AUTHOR OF<br> + "OURSELVES AND GERMANY"<br> + "RUSSIAN CHARACTERISTICS"<br> + ETC., ETC.<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + 1918<br> + LONDON & TORONTO<br> + <span style="color: red">J. M. DENT & SONS LTD.</span><br> + PARIS: J. M. DENT ET FILS<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + TO THE MEMORY OF<br> + MY FRIEND AND RUSSIA'S UNIQUE STATESMAN<br> + S. I. WITTE<br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3b"> + CONTENTS<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="noindent"> + CHAP.<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent" style="line-height: 1.5"> + I. <a href="#chap01">THE RUSSIAN ENIGMA</a><br> + II. <a href="#chap02">THE RUSSIAN MIND</a><br> + III. <a href="#chap03">LACK OF RUSSIAN UNITY</a><br> + IV. <a href="#chap04">THE TSARDOM</a><br> + V. <a href="#chap05">SOME PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS</a><br> + VI. <a href="#chap06">THE RULE OF THE BUREAU</a><br> + VII. <a href="#chap07">THE ADVENT OF NICHOLAS II</a><br> + VIII. <a href="#chap08">THE RULE OF NICHOLAS II</a><br> + IX. <a href="#chap09">THE BEGINNINGS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT OF 1905</a><br> + X. <a href="#chap10">FATHER GAPON AND AZEFF</a><br> + XI. <a href="#chap11">WITTE CONDEMNED TO DIE</a><br> + XII. <a href="#chap12">RASPUTIN—A SYMBOL</a><br> + XIII. <a href="#chap13">RUSSIA'S INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS</a><br> + Including <i>The Tsar's Plot to seize the Heights of the Upper<br> + Bosphorus—The Story of Kiao Chow</i><br> + XIV. <a href="#chap14">THE LAST STATESMEN OF THE TSARDOM</a><br> + Including <i>The Hague Conference Mystification</i><br> + XV. <a href="#chap15">RUSSIA IN THE FAR EAST</a><br> + XVI. <a href="#chap16">THE SECRET TREATY OF BJÖRKE—I.</a><br> + XVII. <a href="#chap17">THE SECRET TREATY OF BJÖRKE—II.</a><br> + XVIII. <a href="#chap18">THE SECRET TREATY REVEALED</a><br> + XIX. <a href="#chap19">THE DOWNFALL OF THE TSARDOM</a><br> + <a href="#chap20">POSTSCRIPT</a><br> + <a href="#chap21">APPENDIX—DETAILS OF THE SECRET TREATY</a><br> + <a href="#chap22">INDEX</a><br> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> + ERRATA<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> + Page 2, line 18, <i>for</i> "statesments" <i>read</i> "statements."<br> + Page 22, line 18, <i>for</i> "have" <i>read</i> "has."<br> + Page 26, line 13, <i>for</i> "and to observe" <i>read</i> "and observed."<br> + Page 28, line 22, <i>for</i> "armoured" <i>read</i> "armed."<br> + Page 48, line 6 from foot, <i>for</i> "moral" <i>read</i> "a-moral."<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +[Transcriber's Note: the above Errata have been applied +to this ebook's text.] +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap01"></a></p> + +<P> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P1"></a>1}</span> +</P> + +<h1> +THE ECLIPSE OF RUSSIA +</h1> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER I +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE RUSSIAN ENIGMA +</p> + +<p> +The misfortunes of Russia and the disillusions of the +nations that trusted her promises and relied on her help +are attributed to no one circumstance more markedly than +the failure of the interested statesmen to grasp the purely +predatory character of the Tsardom, its incompatibility with +the politico-social ordering of latter-day Europe, the +pressing necessity on the one hand and the almost insuperable +difficulty on the other of remodelling and adapting it to its +European environment. It is no exaggeration to affirm that +the history of drifting Europe—excluding the Central +Empires—during the past quarter of a century, and of the +outbreak of the awful struggle at its close, is the story of a +tissue of deplorable mistakes—a tragedy of errors culminating +in a catastrophe. The delusion of statesmen about the +Tsardom, its origins and its drift, are the least blameworthy. +For Russia is a cryptic volume to Slav nations, and to +Britons a book with seven seals. Her own ruling class +constantly misread the workings of her peoples' mind. Even +the close observer who classified the strange phenomena +that unfolded themselves to his eye seldom traced them back +to their causes or realised their various bearings. Between +Slav and Saxon, in particular, there yawns a psychological +abyss wide enough in places to sunder two different species +of beings not merely two separate races. And of all Slav +peoples the Russian is by far the most complex and pulling. +He often raises expectations which a supernatural entity +could hardly fulfil, and awakens apprehensions which only +a miracle could lay, yet somehow neither hopes nor fears +are realised and, as they fade away, one wonders how they +could ever have been entertained. In truth, Sarmatia is a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P2"></a>2}</span> +realm of illusions where the goddess Maya is hardly less +active or thaumaturgic than in the Buddhist world of shows. +</p> + +<p> +Unsophisticated foreigners are bewildered by the contrasts, +subtleties, and contradictions that mark the thoughts +and acts of the articulate, to say nothing of the inarticulate, +Russian nation. In vain they strive to disentangle the skein +of events and episodes in which these utter themselves. Nor +do they perceive their own errors until it is too late. It is a +noteworthy illustration of the easy-going ways of the Entente +Governments that they should have accepted as adequate +accounts of things Russian the fanciful pictures reflected in +the minds of foreigners ignorant of the country, the history, +the people, and the language. It fell to my lot more than +once to hear the wildest theories propounded by responsible +ministers during the war on the strength of such misleading +reports, and I have seen political measures adopted which +were bound to defeat the objects for which they were planned. +</p> + +<p> +Even Russian statements have to be placed, so to say, +in quarantine and truth sifted carefully from fiction. I +remember an interesting illustration that came under my +cognisance one evening soon after the promulgation of the +Constitution of October, 1905, which was extorted from the +Tsar by Count Witte. The press was discussing the question +of how the future Duma should be elected, by direct universal, +equal, and secret suffrage or otherwise. I was sitting +in the Winter Palace with Witte when Count B. and Prince +U., both of whom were afterwards elected to the first Duma, +were announced. They were shown in. "We are come," +said Count B., "from the country where we enjoy the +confidence of the peasant population, and we wish you to know +that we are absolutely opposed to direct universal suffrage. +Absolutely. Under no conditions will we accept it, because +it would lead to the ruin of the Empire. So true is this and +so firm is our resolve to save the country from this calamity +that if you make the suffrage direct or universal we two will +march to Petersburg at the head of our armed peasants and +will fight until the decree is rescinded. Please communicate +this respectfully to his Majesty." +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P3"></a>3}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Witte calmed the fiery passion of the count and the two +visitors left. A fortnight later there was a dispute among the +cabinet ministers on the subject of the suffrage. The Tsar +displayed his interest in the matter, and Witte decided to +send for Count B. and Prince U. and to give them an +opportunity of laying before the sovereign the views of the +population in that province of Central Russia. But when +they arrived he stood aghast to hear Count B. inveigh in +unmeasured terms against those short-sighted individuals who +dared to restrict the suffrage and deprive the Tsar's loyal +subjects of their right to vote for, or against, a candidate. +"But," expostulated Witte, "was it not you who fourteen +days ago said the very opposite and threatened to march on +the capital at the head of the armed peasants if we enacted +what you now demand?" "Yes, yes, I know all that. But +during that fortnight I have been among the peasants and +asked them for their views. And what is more, I can tell you +that most Russians of the intelligentsia are of the same mind. +And I am anxious to tell his Majesty how they think and feel +on the subject." +</p> + +<p> +As I was very well acquainted with Count B. I took him +aside and taunted him with his sudden change of front, but +he defended himself, urging quite seriously, "Most of my +friends are for universal suffrage. So is the general public. +Surely that is a good reason for yielding to the consensus of +opinion." Down to the Revolution Count B. played a +prominent but not a helpful part in Russian politics. +</p> + +<p> +The struggle which, since the year 1904, has been going +on in the Tsardom was so tremendous, the interests involved +were so many and mixed, and the vicissitudes of the contest +so frequent and sudden, that to be understood even +approximately they need to be approached from more than one +angle. The analyses made by the Russian people themselves, +which are among the most instructive, are not by any means +the most trustworthy. For class misunderstands class +hopelessly. Indeed, the extent to which Russian observers have +gone astray in their appreciation and forecast of events and +situations, and in their interpretation of the nation's ideas +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P4"></a>4}</span> +and aspirations, would astonish the reader if it could be set +forth in detail. A few of the more striking instances may +here suffice. +</p> + +<p> +In the 'seventies the two main parties that advocated a +revolution were anxious to get hold of the emancipated +peasants and to energise them. But they had no knowledge +of the people, whose soul was, to use a Russian saying, a +dusky forest. They agreed, therefore, that their best plan +would be to merge themselves in the peasantry, to live the +unenviable life of the tiller of the soil, and to interest them +actively in the upheaval that would bring about the millennium. +Representative men and women of all the "intelligent" +classes accordingly swelled the ranks of these apostles, +and with alternating self-denial and self-indulgence, devoid +of measure, self-discipline, and coherency, took to the life of +squalor and hardship to which the <i>mooshik</i>[<a id="chap01fn1text"></a><a href="#chap01fn1">1</a>] has for ages +been inured and diversified it by bouts of looseness and +back-sliding. Adoration of the people whom they hoped to +indoctrinate and inspire was the new religion which the +"intellectuals" preached and for a time endeavoured to +practise. They looked upon the nation as a body mystical, +somewhat as Roman Catholics regard their Church, but +they went further than the Roman Catholic and worshipped +the object of their veneration, sacrificed their ease to it, and +in some cases died for it. Yet they were aggressive atheists +withal, and atheists who took their dogmatic negation +second-hand from foreign writers without verification or study. +With no attainable goal, no lode star in their strivings, no +inspiring dogma to sustain them, no cleanliness, moral or +ethical, in their habits, with hardly a trace of conscience and +no sense of individual duty,[<a id="chap01fn2text"></a><a href="#chap01fn2">2</a>] they fancied that having +fashioned a deity they could yoke it to their char-à-banc and +drive to a marvellous Utopia. Everybody who disagreed +with them was anathema, and even those who were not +actually with them were under their ban. For they were the +most intolerant of despots. My friend Leskoff, one of +Russia's most gifted novelists, whose politics were colourless +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P5"></a>5}</span> +rather than reactionary, was systematically ignored by +them, and none of the Liberal reviews or newspapers would +dare to publish a favourable notice of his works. Vladimir +Solovieff, Russia's unique philosopher, was sneered at as a +visionary, and Dostoyeffsky set down as an obscurantist, +because they reproached those self-made missionaries with +harbouring a fundamentally false idea of the Russian people +and with being ignorant of its aims and aspirations. These +courageous writers added that it was mischievous presumption +in men of unclean lives, changeful purpose, and misty +notions of science to hope to bring about the transfiguration +of the masses and lead them to an enchanted, unpromised +land. +</p> + +<p> +After a long series of disillusions, rebuffs, and humiliations, +the zeal of the revolutionary <i>Narodniki</i>[<a id="chap01fn3text"></a><a href="#chap01fn3">3</a>] cooled. They +were forced to the conclusion that their reading of the +peoples' strivings was wrong, that their own impulsive action +was distinctly baleful, and that the success of the cause for +which they had sacrificed so much must lie in other +directions. +</p> + +<p> +Years after,[<a id="chap01fn4text"></a><a href="#chap01fn4">4</a>] my friend Witte, together with several of his +colleagues, when preparing the electoral law for the first +Duma, fell into a like error. Regarding the peasants as the +most conservative element in the Empire he gave them the +preponderance in the Chamber and then found that he had +wholly mistaken their temper and misinterpreted their aims. +The mistakes made by the Kadets[<a id="chap01fn5text"></a><a href="#chap01fn5">5</a>] ever since they +organised their party were equally glaring and much more +sinister. More than once this influential party had their own +object and seemingly the fate of the nation well within their +reach, but by misreading the character of their people and +shaping their tactics congruously with this false conception +they forfeited their chances. The first of these missed +opportunities occurred immediately after Count Witte had +jockeyed the Tsar into limiting his absolute power and +convoking a representative assembly. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P6"></a>6}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Entrusted with the task of governing, Witte's immediate +aim was to establish on a solid basis constitutional +government of a kind adapted to the nation's needs as he +understood them, and he agreed with me in thinking that to give +the peoples of Russia universal suffrage and parliamentary +government, such as obtains in Britain, Belgium, and Italy, +would be to feed a new-born child on roast beef and plum +pudding. A Russian adaptation of the Prussian, or at most +German, constitution, but without universal suffrage, +seemed to him to meet the case adequately. But he could +not hope to carry his programme without the support of +public opinion, and public opinion, as he well knew, was +eager for a democratic regime to be instituted at once and +was, therefore, opposed to his tenure of office on the Russian +principle that no bread is preferable to half a loaf. He +requested me to sound my friends, the Liberals and the +Jews, and to endeavour to secure their support. I was +empowered to dangle before their eyes the perspective—which +was no will-o'-the-wisp—that the power which his health +would not allow him to retain more than eight or ten months +would immediately pass on to them and that they would +thank him right cordially and deservedly then for not having +thrown open the sluices to the anarchic flood misnamed +democracy. +</p> + +<p> +I first addressed myself to the Jews, some among whom a +couple of months before had assured me that they would +accept gratefully a representative chamber, even if its +functions were circumscribed, provided it was a viable organism +of growth. But now scarcely had I opened my mouth when +I received the emphatic answer, "No. The Jews will give +no support to Witte. He is not their man. He is a mere +bureaucrat, and no bureaucrat can play the rôle of +reformer." Thereupon I tried suasion and held up before the eyes of +the Jewish leaders the prospect of a Liberal cabinet after +their own heart taking over the seals of power from Witte +within a twelvemonth. This outlook soothed the hearts and +sweetened the words of my friends, but their message was +still a refusal, only it now ended with the words, "If Witte +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P7"></a>7}</span> +had made his proposal sooner—it might have met with a +different reception. But now—now the Jewish cause is +indissolubly bound up with the revolutionary Bund. The Jews +will owe their emancipation to force, and they will see to it +that the force is sufficient to burst their bonds and give them +all their rights." "And if they fail and <i>pogroms</i> recommence +will the condition of the Jews be better?" I asked. "That +is an unlikely supposition, in the Russia that has received the +October Manifesto. Anyhow we are willing to run the risk." +</p> + +<p> +I next went to the Liberals, who afterwards became the +Kadets, and made my proposals to a group including +MM. Petrunkevitch and Roditcheff. The conversation +moved over the same lines as when I had reasoned with the +Jewish leaders, with this difference, that the Liberals were +more curious and asked for greater details. They finally +said, "Witte is insincere. He is a bureaucrat. He is playing +for his own hand. He flatters now the Tsar and now the +intelligentsia. He has no programme; if he had, you would +be able to unfold it even though he might not be able to +publish it. You cannot give us any details. Therefore we +will not support him. Let him resign and people may believe +in his sincerity." "He will resign after the loan is floated +next spring," I said. "And if in the meanwhile you do not +support him, you will then have reaction." Never shall I +forget the explosion of laughter produced by my words. +"Dr. Dillon, we thought that you, at least, knew Russia well +enough to grasp the fact that the days of reaction are over. +Henceforth a reactionary movement in Russia is +inconceivable." "If your assumption is correct," I retorted, +"your decision is statesmanlike": and I took my leave and +went back to the Winter Palace to carry the fatal message. +</p> + +<p> +Witte, when I delivered the answers, said, "I am not +altogether surprised that the Jews have thrown in their lot +with the revolutionary gang, but I am pained. They received +provocation enough to make them impatient, but none the +less they are only making bad worse. They cannot win by +force because the army is on the other side. As for the +Liberals they are a conceited, short-sighted, unpractical lot. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P8"></a>8}</span> +You who know the situation are aware that I cannot stand +the strain of office much beyond April next, when I hope to +float the biggest loan recorded in history. After that I would +have retired in favour of the Liberals. But if in the +meanwhile they are against me I shall be thwarted and they will +not be benefited. What fools they are! They are of the same +clay as the men who made away with Alexander II. on the +day when he had signed the decree promulgating a constitution. +As for reaction, if only they knew how the high priests +of the reaction are weaving their spells and uttering their +incantations in the palace even now, and how impatient the +Emperor is to give them their innings, salutary fear of the +reaction would, of itself, have sufficed to convert the Liberals +into supporters of my cabinet. But we shall all see how their +attitude works out—and then the experience will be of no +avail. It is an awful tragedy!" Not only did the Kadets +not support Witte's domestic policy, but a number of their +adherents repaired to Paris and endeavoured to dissuade the +French government from advancing the money demanded +by the Russian Premier! And the Jews played the same game +in Berlin. On the part of candidates for power these tactics +are unintelligible to the Western mind. +</p> + +<p> +In the following summer those same Liberals, who had +since formed themselves into a parliamentary party under +the name of "Kadets," gave further proof of their lack not +only of political sense but also of practical acquaintance with +the bulk of their own people. They publicly promised the +land to the peasants, whetting appetites and stirring up +tumultuous passions which made the country deaf to the +finer vibrations of the political voice, and ended by +swamping all political issues and their exponents. It was the +evocation of a spirit which they were unable to lay. Again, +when the first Duma was dissolved by a quaking cabinet +and an irresolute Tsar who had decided to entrust the reins +to the Kadets, these amazing tacticians fled to Vyborg in +Finland, set the imperial decree at naught, and threatened the +government with penury, confident that the nation, whom it +exhorted to pay no taxes, would make good the threat at any +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P9"></a>9}</span> +and every cost. But this draft on the peoples' devotion was +dishonoured. Taxes were collected as successfully as before, +and the main results produced by the audacious move were +the elimination of the Kadets from the ranks of candidates +for the government which was about to have been handed +over to them and the disqualification of some of their best +men for seats in the Duma. +</p> + +<p> +Finally it was the Kadets and their parliamentary friends +who, when the March revolution of 1917 was in progress, +weakly acquiesced in the abolition of the monarchy and the +extinction of the Duma, reckoning upon the self-discipline +and moderation of an anarchist people which acknowledged +no restraints and knew not what measure means. But they +knew not what they did. +</p> + +<p> +It is hardly too much to affirm that if the parliamentary +parties had understood their own people better they would +not have swept away the regime root and branch, dissolved +the Duma, which might conceivably still have been able to +keep the various Russians together, and broken up the +greatest political community in Europe. +</p> + +<p> +The history of the revolution of 1917 in its technical +aspect is the tale of a fatal psychological error and its sequel. +It was the currency of the notion that the peasant was aware +of the causal nexus between his situation of inferiority in the +community and the vicious system of governance under +which he lived that induced in the Duma leaders the belief +that the political revolution which they were shaping and +circumscribing would be welcomed as a boon by the masses. +In itself the change as projected by them would have been +beneficial. To free the country from the parasitical +bureaucracy, to restrict the power of the Tsar, establish +parliamentary government, and admit the people to a share in +public affairs proportionate to their mental and moral +equipment were among the aims of the Duma leaders. +But the whole conception, elaborated by lawyers and professors, +bore the stamp of the legal rather than the psychological +temper. It lost sight of the peculiar workings of the +peasants' psyche and of the narrowness of their intellectual +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P10"></a>10}</span> +horizon. Its authors forgot that hardly one of the +institutions of the Empire, economic or political, was rooted in +its essential fitness and utility, and that the function by which +society can assimilate what is helpful and reject what is +pernicious was long since atrophied. They had no inkling of +the decisive fact that the predatory character of the State had +long since been assimilated by the people who were accustomed +to rob the land of its fertility and were impatient to +deprive the nobles of the land. +</p> + +<p> +The second error flowed from the first. It was taken for +granted that the masses were self-disciplined enough to +accept just what was offered them and be content with that. +On this assumption, and by way of winning their support, +the Duma leaders promised them the land belonging to the +great landowners provided that they would wait until the +Constituent Assembly should meet and lay down the conditions +of expropriation and transfer. But the Bolsheviks at +once outbid the Kadets, took the people into partnership +with themselves, and practically offered it the situation of +national parasite from which the bureaucracy had just been +ousted, the only difference being that the body on which the +people was to prey was that of the well-to-do section of the +community. This aspect of the revolution—which has also +other and nobler facets—may be aptly described as "the +democratisation of parasitism which had theretofore been +confined to the administration and its branches."[<a id="chap01fn6text"></a><a href="#chap01fn6">6</a>] A glance +at the work of spoliation by beings who display no trace of +conscience or moral sense, who pounce like beasts upon +their prey, torturing and slaying the defenceless and the +well meaning, deaf to pity and heedless of the morrow, will +suffice to justify that somewhat hard definition. It is owing +to the characteristics enumerated that "Russia is a poor +country in spite of her riches, uncultured notwithstanding +her talents, an amazing mixture of the sublime and the +savage in which, however, the simply civilised element is +wholly absent."[<a id="chap01fn7text"></a><a href="#chap01fn7">7</a>] It is a land of cultural no less than climatic +extremes. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap01fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap01fn1text">1</a>] One of the Russian words for peasant. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap01fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap01fn2text">2</a>] Cf. <i>Landmarks</i>, 1910. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap01fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap01fn3text">3</a>] So called from the word <i>Narod</i>, a nation. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap01fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap01fn4text">4</a>] In 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap01fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap01fn5text">5</a>] Constitutional Democrats. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap01fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap01fn6text">6</a>] Cf. <i>Gazette de Lausanne</i>, 7th January, 1918. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap01fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap01fn7text">7</a>] <i>Ibidem.</i> +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap02"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P11"></a>11}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER II +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE RUSSIAN MIND +</p> + +<p> +Ever since the dawn of her history Russia has vegetated, +rather than lived, apart from the main European currents—social, +religious, political, and scientific—untouched by the +prevailing tendencies of the times and with a decided drift +of her own to political decomposition. As the democratic +spirit progressed in the rest of Europe, Russia more and more +resembled the iceberg floating into warm climes and thawing +as it moved. Her rulers would appear to have had no clear +conception of the baleful kind of international entity into +which their predatory State had become, of its essential +antagonism to the European community of nations, or of the +utter collapse of the whole fabric that must ensue upon a +serious endeavour to change its nature and bring it into line +with the communities of the West. It was only by dint of +circumstance and brute force that the people, naturally +rebellious to social discipline, had been knit into a loose +organisation which aimed not merely at protection from +outside aggression but also and especially at territorial +expansion, and in this way had to dispense with creating +conditions favourable to the highest social life. +</p> + +<p> +The most merciless, if not the most convincing, analyses +of the national character have been made by Russians +themselves, who are prone to morbid introspection and also +to exaggeration and often indulge in self-abasement. Take, +as example, the utterance of Peter the Great, "Other +European peoples one can treat as human beings, but I +have to do with cattle." The celebrated Tshaadayeff, who +headed the reform movement in the reign of Nicholas I. and +bade his countrymen look to the West for light and guidance, +described Russia as a superfluous member of the body of +humanity. "No great truth," he affirmed, "ever came +from out of our people. We have discovered nothing, and +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P12"></a>12}</span> +from all the discoveries made by other nations we have +borrowed only the outward simulacrum of useful luxury."[<a id="chap02fn1text"></a><a href="#chap02fn1">1</a>] For +these and similar opinions Tshaadayeff, the officer of +the Guards, was shut up in a mad-house. It may not be +amiss, therefore, to quote one of the few native psychologists +who is free from those defects of self-castigation and +over-statement and paints the generality of his countrymen +in colours the effect of which is relatively bright. "The +Russian man," writes M. Nikitenko,[<a id="chap02fn2text"></a><a href="#chap02fn2">2</a>] "knows neither law +nor justice. His morality is the outcome of his good humour, +which being neither developed nor strengthened by +conscious principles, sometimes sprouts forth into an action, +but is frequently swallowed up by other and more savage +instincts. A Russian may steal and booze and cheat until +you find it irksome to live with him. And yet in spite of it +all you feel that there is something in him that captivates +and draws you towards him, something good, intelligent, +fraught with promise, something that raises him above the +level of every German, every Frenchman, and even Englishman +you ever met."[<a id="chap02fn3text"></a><a href="#chap02fn3">3</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Now that undefined something is, I take it, the psychical +undercurrent inherent in certain representatives of the race, +the latent spiritual force which assimilates fleeting moods or, +as mystics would say, fleeting moods to fitful memories of +a pre-natal state or fleeting presentiments of a wondrous +future. For the higher type of Russian, educated or illiterate, +is attracted, at least speculatively, to lofty ideals, and is also +capable of striving after them for a time with a superb +contempt of consequence, heroically heedless of the route he +traverses, but without method or perseverance. The result +is often as tragi-comical as was that of the genius who with +his gaze fixed on the stars tripped and fell into a boghole. +The limits of the sphere of dream and waking, the bounds +of true and false, the line of demarcation between the sublime +and the ridiculous, pale and vanish as the fanatical Russian +follows a Jack-o'-lantern into the enchanted land of fantasy. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P13"></a>13}</span> +On the absurd incongruities and follies to which visionaries +are led by these vain strivings to bring down the ideals of +the millennium to the earth and clothe them in the garb of +every-day reality it is needless to dwell. One has but to +cast a glance at the horrors enacted in Petrograd and Odessa +after the Maximalist revolution or, indeed, to recall certain +of the other revolting exhibitions that followed that sinister +outburst. +</p> + +<p> +Some observers are struck with what they consider the +contrast in the Russian people between the effects of historic +forces on the one hand and those of racial tendencies on the +other. I venture to think that these effects were largely +caused by the blending of widely different races. That they +exist and that Russia is the synthesis of contradictions cannot +be gainsaid by those who have studied the origins of her +people. "Meekness and brutality, communism and the +most advanced individualism, the strongest state and the +weakest political consciousness, absence of race-hatred and +the most cruel pogroms, the deepest religious nature and +the most abject superstition, an all-pervading democracy +and the most absolute monarchy, all these contradictions +and more are the result of this unique jostling of mythical +antiquity and stark reality—an eternal and inextricable +enigma to the Western observer."[<a id="chap02fn4text"></a><a href="#chap02fn4">4</a>] After ages of spiritual +stagnation and politico-social bondage the Russian man is +still half a child and half an imperfectly tamed beast. But if +he lacks culture he has a rich experience and a stoical +life-philosophy enshrined in picturesque proverbs of which the +basis is resignation to Fate and pity for his ill-starred fellows; +his language is rich, coloured, and forcible, but his thinking +lacks sequence and his reasoning logic; his action begins in +hesitation, is continued with intervals of quiescence, and +almost always ends before achievement. Deeds belie words, +means hinder ends, indifference compensates for lack of +constancy. In his dealings with his fellows the Russian +often runs through the entire gamut of temperament from +feminine gentleness to bestial ferocity. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P14"></a>14}</span> +</p> + +<p> +To bring out these characteristics of the dominant race, +foremost among which is a marked tendency to embroider +truth and subject the call of duty to the passing mood, and +to trace them to their sources was one of the objects of a +book of mine[<a id="chap02fn5text"></a><a href="#chap02fn5">5</a>] written many years ago which has since +received the hall-mark of approval from the greatest Russian +authority[<a id="chap02fn6text"></a><a href="#chap02fn6">6</a>] on these questions.[<a id="chap02fn7text"></a><a href="#chap02fn7">7</a>] I there pointed out that a +careful survey of the leading elements of social life in that +country must convince the unbiassed of the need of a +standard of judgment wholly different from that which we +are wont to apply to other European races, the Russian being +still, so to say, in the gristle, not yet hardened in the bone +of manhood. +</p> + +<p> +By nature the Northern Slavs are richly gifted. A keen +subtle understanding; surprising quickness of apprehension—a +changeful temper; an inexhaustible flow of animal +spirits; a rude persuasive eloquence; and a capacity for +self-denial equalled only by that of the early Christian ascetics +and for fiendish cruelty comparable to that of the Redskins +of North America,[<a id="chap02fn8text"></a><a href="#chap02fn8">8</a>] to which may be added an imitative +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P15"></a>15}</span> +faculty almost simian in range and intensity—constitute an +adequate equipment for the discharge of what worldly-minded +statesmen were wont to term their "heaven-sent +mission to civilise the world." But these and other gifts +were blighted and turned into curses by influences—natural +and artificial—that made their free exercise impossible and +rendered their possessors as impersonal as the men who +raised the pyramids in the desert or the builders of the coral +reefs in the Pacific. The resultant is an easy-going, patient, +shiftless, ignorant, unveracious, and fitfully ferocious mass +whom the German writers flippantly connect by an isocultural +line with the Gauchos of Paraguay. +</p> + +<p> +Incapacity to gauge and maintain the proper relation in +which words should stand to things lies at the root of one +Russian quality hardly distinguishable from the mythopœic +faculty among primitive races, but which Anglo-Saxons +bluntly label unveracity. It is beyond question a trait of the +Northern Russ. The masses display scant reverence for +facts, refuse to acknowledge their finality, and argue as +though they could be safely disregarded, nay, even altered +at a pinch. Their imagination is powerful enough to fuse, +recast, and readjust them to their velleities. To time, space, +and causality they ascribe but a shadowy existence, and even +that they often ignore in practice. Thus a whole generation +of professional revolutionaries passed their time fruitlessly +operating with words and doing nothing. The life of the +reformer Bakunin was a continuous battle—fought with +empty phrases for a mere negation. +</p> + +<p> +Congruously with this mental cast the Russians are free +and easy in their use of words as exponents of facts, or +symbols of ideas, and set so much less value than Western +peoples on assurances and promises, however solemn, that +they rob praise of its worth and calumny of its sting. I shall +never forget an anecdote told me many years ago by my +friend the novelist, Leskoff, of an Englishman invited to +Russia by Nicholas I. for the sole purpose of becoming +acquainted with Gogol's story <i>Dead Souls</i>, which had not +yet been translated into any foreign tongue. A nobleman +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P16"></a>16}</span> +equally well at home in English and Russian was told off by +the Emperor to visit the new-comer daily and translate the +book orally chapter by chapter. At the farewell audience +accorded to him on his departure the guest was asked by +the Tsar how he relished the novel. The Briton reflected a +moment and then exclaimed with an air of deep conviction, +"The Russians, sire, are unconquerable." "Unconquerable?" +queried the Tsar, puzzled by the seemingly irrelevant +reply. "I don't quite see the nexus." "Well, your +Majesty, no other people on the face of God's earth could +have produced such a consummate cheat as Gogol's hero. +The nation that brought him forth is sheer unconquerable." +</p> + +<p> +Thus hampered alike by their qualities and their defects, +the bulk of the nation—I am dealing now exclusively with +the Great Russian, who represents only 48 per cent. of +the population[<a id="chap02fn9text"></a><a href="#chap02fn9">9</a>]—is obviously still unfitted to discharge +the functions that devolve upon a self-governing democracy. +And interest as well as duty made it incumbent on the +popular leaders to give practical recognition to this decisive +fact while endeavouring to modify it by educating the people. +This step presupposed a high degree of moral courage; and +it was never taken. One prominent man, my friend, Maxim +Kovalevsky, fearlessly proclaimed the truth and garnered +in unpopularity. And yet a policy of this limited scope need +not have damped the reformers' ardour nor affected their +ultimate aims. After all, politics is the art of the possible, +and the possible is gauged by studying the material to be +handled, and is attained by accepting compromises after +having balanced the inconveniences. But even the educated +class of the Russian population, the "intellectuals," are +admittedly deficient in political sense as well as in +deep-rooted concrete interests. One cannot affect surprise at this, +considering their origin as a class, their status in the +community, and the ruthless way in which the Tsar's government +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P17"></a>17}</span> +suppressed the application of individual thought and energy +to all national and most international concerns. Neither is +it to be wondered at that so many Russian reformers were +impractical day-dreamers, willing to sacrifice the feasible +good for the unattainable best, and always liable to run off +at a tangent in quest of some secondary aim. Had it been +otherwise, had the party chiefs, who in October, 1905, aspired +to lead the Russian masses, drawn a lesson from the events +of that time and borne that lesson in mind in 1917 when +surveying the new situation and gauging its trend and +possibilities, they would have shrunk from the destruction of +their last plank of safety, the Duma, and the abolition of the +Tsardom, and abstained from the acts that led up to these +suicidal measures. For say what we may, the blast that +destroyed the monarchy and shattered the nation came +directly from the Duma leaders, semi-consciously aided and +abetted by the simple-minded representatives of the Entente, +whom history may come to regard as drowsy, if not sleeping, +partners of the active plotters. +</p> + +<p> +One can feel for the Entente powers who nobly set out +to do battle for the weak and oppressed nationalities in the +company of the greatest oppressor of weak nationalities the +world had ever seen—the one predatory State in Europe +which glutted its piratical appetites not only on foreign +peoples but also on its own. It was like the shepherd's dogs +taking a pack of wolves with them to look after the +defenceless sheep. And the Entente governments were painfully +alive to all that was ridiculous and embarrassing in their +position, especially when they had been bullied into promising +Constantinople to Russia and agreeing to treat the fate +of Poland as a domestic Russian concern. Naturally they +were impatient to see the Tsardom democratised and, +ignorant of the State structure with which they were dealing, +they bent its pillars and pulled down the whole fabric. +</p> + +<p> +Not only were the character and defects of the predominant +element of the population—the Russian race—uniformly +misunderstood by the chiefs of the parliamentary +party in Petrograd and their friends abroad, but the further +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P18"></a>18}</span> +all-important circumstance was unheeded that there was no +ethnic unity in the Empire, nor anything more politically +than a loose amalgam of conflicting nationalities and mutually +conflicting classes knit together by awe of imperial authority +and the pressure exerted by an omnipotent bureaucracy. +Internal cement there was none. For ages the souls of the +many subject races had been waiting for some great crisis +to fuse them in one and embody them anew in the product +of a cultural blend. Some onlookers imagine that the present +world-war was destined to be the Medea's cauldron that +would transform or kill, but, whether this was likely or not, +it behoved those politicians who imagined that they held the +nation's future in their hands to eschew everything calculated +to intensify the mutual aversion of the ethnic ingredients +whose fusion was the preliminary condition to the formation +of a homogeneous people in a united and indivisible Russia. +The chiefs, however, unconscious of the danger and +solicitous about their parties, suddenly removed the one +force that could have kept the nationalities and classes +together, whereupon these collapsed like the staves of a barrel +from which the hoops have been knocked off. And their +collapse was so natural, so necessary, the elements being +juxtaposed as they were, that it could and should have been +foreseen. One of the main objects of my articles and book +written in the years 1891-93 was to prepare the public for the +downfall of the Tsardom. +</p> + +<p> +It is fair to say, however, that the coalescence of all +Russia's peoples being neither feasible nor desirable, that +of the principal culture-bearers would have sufficed. Slav +and Turk, German and Calmuck, Jew and Mongol, Tunguz +and Georgian, Armenian and Bashkir, display physiological +and psychical differences so vast that the resultant of +assimilation must be in every respect unsound. In all such cases +the moral grade is lowered, for great racial divergences in +the elements of an ethnic blend necessarily beget degeneration. +In a ruling or self-governing race it is basic character +that regulates the morality of the community, shapes its +destinies, determines its place in the world. Consequently +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P19"></a>19}</span> +history is at bottom the manifestation of national character +rather than of average intelligence, the working of the moral +bent much more than of the intellectual gifts and attainments +of the people. And under normal conditions neither in the +race nor in the individual is character liable to change. It is +my belief, however, that an exception is made by the +character of the Russian which is marked by variability. +Soft, receptive, and pliant it lacks grit and backbone. In +initiative, self-mastery, and staying power the individual is +sadly deficient and the people have less than an average +nation's share of cohesiveness. To use a picturesque +American expression they are not "self-winders." Indeed, +one might aptly term Russia "the boneless man of Europe." +</p> + +<p> +Of all the individual and, therefore, also racial traits of +the Northern Slav the most noteworthy to my thinking, and +one to which I have never seen any allusion in books or +articles, is precisely this variability of character. I mention +this peculiarity only after long years of observation and +merely as a surmise which still needs verification. +Impressibility to certain classes of motive and corresponding +indifference to others constitute the woof and warp of human +character, and character—the bedrock of personality—is +deemed to be almost as unchangeable as the inherent +properties of things. It may sound rash, therefore, to affirm +that the Russian differs from other Europeans in the inconstancy +of his impressibility to a given class of motive in its +liability to vary in response to inner and outer influences +which generally elude analysis. But to my thinking the facts +warrant the assumption. And for this reason the most careful +estimates of what a Russian will do under a given set of +circumstances, even though his antecedents be known and +examples of his past conduct be there to guide one, cannot +be taken as trustworthy and are often belied by the event. +</p> + +<p> +When during a critical stage in the process of racial +amalgamation a politico-social upheaval brings turbulent +chaos in its train, as in the year 1917, the danger is indeed +formidable. It is then touch and go with the inchoate nation. +The ethnic elements either combine definitely, forming a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P20"></a>20}</span> +<i>tertium quid</i> as did the heterogeneous races of France, or else +repel each other violently as do the nationalities of Austria. +The former result was rapidly brought about by the French +Revolution which smoothed away the jarring traits of +Picards and Normans, Bretons and Provençals, Flemings +and Basques, producing a one-souled, united French people. +The latter consummation is now making headway in Russia, +whose Germans, Jews, Finns, Tartars, Mongols, Armenians, +Georgians, scornfully refuse to commingle with, and lose +themselves in, the passive unassimilating Slav. Their racial +and political differences are accentuated as never before, +the general tendency is centrifugal, and the desire for union, +where union until recently seemed possible, is weakened or +gone. +</p> + +<p> +But a still worse calamity threatens the inhabitants of the +new republic. Baleful though a revolution may be, it does +not necessarily involve the ruin of a country. Indeed, it +very often clears the way for a fresh period of evolution under +the sway of a new idea. National upheavals generally coincide +with the spiritual seed-time of which later generations +reap the harvest. In Russia's case, however, the germs of a +new order are as yet nowhere visible. Far from this, the +loosening of all social and other bonds is the inevitable if +not the wished-for goal. No positive idea has been +propounded, no constructive effort put forth by any one there. +Dogmas on which a section of the nation has been living for +ages are now thrust aside as antiquated prejudices and their +negatives are gaining a temporary hold over the minds of +earnest and hot-headed men. But only their negatives. It +is not as though new, untried ideas were sprouting up, from +which in time good fruit might reasonably be expected. +The barren denial of old ones is judged sufficient, as though +mere negatives could serve as the groundwork of a vast social +and political structure. The attempted realisation of these +negations is now turning the country upside down and inside +out; and there is reason to fear that the one practical +outcome will be a superfluous and catastrophic demonstration +that a mere negation is not a constructive force. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P21"></a>21}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Since March, 1917, the sole effect of these solvents has +been to produce that anarchic decomposition the germs of +which were inherent in the Tsardom ever since its birth. +In lieu of an ideal leaven to raise and lighten the inert lump, +we descry only powerful explosives capable of shattering it. +The leading classes had long since forsaken the old tenets, +religious and political, and their example contributes to +undermine the unreasoning faith of the common people, +whose selfish savage instincts superstition or force had so +often checked without transforming. Crude notions of an +anthropomorphic God and of an apotheosised Tsar continued +to be the Hercules' Pillars beyond which the benighted +peasant seldom ventured before his emancipation by +Alexander II. They marked the end of his world of ideas—the +Chinese wall that shut in his horizon. But after that +reform they imperceptibly began to lose their significance +as moral or political boundaries. In September, 1917, I +wrote: "Now that the Tsar is thrust aside and Russia's +gods are dead or dying, it is become manifest that there is +no more powerful solvent of human communities than the +dust of dead divinities. Bestial passions, formerly subdued +by ascetic self-restraint or physical fear, are now unleashed; +all deterrents are gone since that of capital punishment was +abolished, and for the time being anarchy is supreme. The +nation is suffering from <i>delirium tremens</i>. If Russia has not +yet touched bottom in the Slough of Despond her frenzied +chiefs may yet sink her deeper. Her revolutionary leaders +have no longer a living faith in the principles that lie at the +roots of civilised community life, and without the faith which +justifies hope even nations cannot be saved." +</p> + +<p> +What part, one may fairly ask, had all those unheeded +traits of the Russian people in bringing about the March +revolution, and what were its more proximate causes? When +and why did the minds of the people first begin to ferment +and effervesce, and who was responsible for under-estimating +the intensity of the fever and doing nothing to allay it? +Does the movement which has culminated in the overthrow +of the Tsardom and the disruption of the State involve the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P22"></a>22}</span> +utter ruin of both, or is it only one of those violent breaks in +the continuous development of a community which mark +the close of an epoch of decadence and the opening of an +era of fresh vitality and energy? Are the proletarian +republics ruled by Lenin, Trotsky, and the more obscure +administrators the types of State best adapted to the new +cultural plane in which humanity is about to enter after the +great world war? To suggest tentative answers to these +questions is the main object of the following pages. +</p> + +<p> +The simplest and most reasonable account of the matter +would seem to be that a number of widely different causes, +racial, political, religious, and others, combined to form both +the ethnic clay and the political mould, the material and the +instrument, for the work of the fashioning potter, and the +finished product could not possibly live in the democratic +environment of to-day. Now so far as I know the part +attributable to the inborn predispositions of the people +has in no previous analysis been clearly stated, nor even +the influence of institutions on their leanings, ideals, and +moral temper. The lightning-flare of the revolution by +revealing the ex-subjects of the Tsar in an unfamiliar, not +to say repellent, aspect has whetted curiosity as to the +sources whence the race drew its social life-current. And I +have long believed that the best materials for a satisfactory +answer to this question might be found in a study of its +racial origins and transmitted tendencies. +</p> + +<p> +When assigning to political institutions their part in +bringing about the great national crisis, native and foreign +writers are wont to lay all the stress on the practical abuses +of the administration which in the last two reigns were in +truth not only at odds with the spirit of the age but almost +absolutely unbearable. I venture to go further and maintain +that not merely the human instruments but the system itself +was vicious, and that it was easy to see that the administration +at its best, when public servants were, not indeed more +honest, but less recklessly dishonest, when the problems +confronting them were fewer and simpler, and when control +by the central government was easier, was rooted in conceptions +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P23"></a>23}</span> +which rendered its maintenance in an enlightened +community of nations sheer impossible. For Russia never +ceased to be what its founders had made it, a predatory +State without, like Prussia, and a predatory State within, +unlike any other out of Asia. All its internal arrangements +were adjusted to foreign conquest, which lent to its policy +a steadfastness and uniformity that were currently attributed +to the fixity of a grandiose Machiavellian scheme. The +internal ordering of the country, the suppression of free +speech, the prohibition of education, the racking of the +peasantry, and the persecution of religious nonconformity +were more or less effective means to the unchanging end. +To have purified such a system from the abuses introduced +by personal negligence, greed, or depravity would, therefore, +not have altered its trend nor saved the country from +the disaster towards which it was steadily wending. +</p> + +<p> +It is impossible to approach the ethnic enigma with any +sense of reality without allowing largely for the circumstance +that the Russians, far from being pure Slavs, absorbed the +various indigenous races, mostly Finnish nomads, whom +they found in the land between the Upper Volga and the +Oka. And the descendants of these various and disparate +elements inherited many of the salient intellectual and moral +as well as physical traits of the lower races, their lack of +social cohesiveness, their leanings towards anarchism—their +restlessness, intellectual and physical, displayed in biting +criticism of all social and political arrangements and by an +irresistible passion for roaming. The Russian is a born critic +and satirist. An illiterate peasant from the remote and +uncultured provinces who drives a public conveyance will turn +to his fare and in picturesque, richly-coloured phrases utter +severe strictures on everything that is. To him nothing is +sacred. Again, a lad from a squalid hamlet will pass through +the school and university into the civil service, and in the +course of his career be sent from Ryazan to Samarkand, from +Odessa to Archangel, thus moving thousands of miles about +the country, yet he never thinks of going back to end his +days in his native village. In this and most other things he +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P24"></a>24}</span> +offers a striking contrast to the Teuton who is hierarchical, +attached to his birthplace, imbued with a sense of measure, +and contented with the relative bliss of domesticity. +</p> + +<p> +The Russian is never settled; he is so frequently stung +with the mania for travelling that it seems to be the call of +the blood. He will sometimes rise up suddenly, start off as +if in response to a mystic impulse, and wander for days or +months or years. The lower orders are oftener possessed by +this overmastering passion than their superiors. They are +constantly changing their places of abode. It was for their +benefit that merely nominal charges were fixed for such long +journeys as that from Petersburg to Vladivostok or to +Kharbin. And when they had not the wherewithal to buy +even these cheap tickets, they would bribe the conductor +with sixpence or a shilling to let them travel for nothing +and to hide under the seat when the controller came around. +Thousands of them flit from western Russia to eastern +Siberia, others pilgrimage to Jerusalem and back again to +their respective hamlets, then after an interval of rest they +trudge to Kieff, afterwards to the Sviatya Gory, next to the +northern shrines, and so on they keep roving until they lie +down and die. Sectarians scour the country in every +direction, preaching, teaching, proselytising. One sect has +a rigid rule forbidding its members to tarry longer than +three days in one place. I met one of those fanatics at the +holy shrine Sviatya Gory many years ago and he explained +to me how his co-religionists arranged to be together and to +meet from time to time. For eight years he himself had +never sojourned longer than three days anywhere. A +well-to-do Russian whose sons were grown up would often +distribute his property among his children, take a wallet and +a staff, and spend the remainder of his days pilgrimaging +from shrine to shrine. +</p> + +<p> +Nomads are not usually builders; they usually prey on +those who are. Like the Kurdish mountaineers among whom +I sojourned several years ago, listening to their tales of +predatory expeditions against the Armenian husbandmen, they +pillage and destroy. Love of destruction is ingrained; only +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P25"></a>25}</span> +generations can expel it from the blood. This also is a moral +twist that often breaks through in the Russian. Take the +merchants, for example, who formed the most conservative +class in the Tsardom.[<a id="chap02fn10text"></a><a href="#chap02fn10">10</a>] When a merchant and his friends +went out to drink, he would kick over the traces. His idea +of amusement was to smash the costly mirrors in hotels and +restaurants, to break the furniture, to maul the waiters or +the proprietor, and to ask that these items be included in the +bill. The peasants dance and skip for joy when they can +pillage, demolish, burn. Whenever the police relaxed their +hold, they delighted in breaking into manors, smashing the +furniture, cutting the pictures into shreds, burning the +houses. In the pogroms against the Jews the same passion +for destruction overmastered and goaded them to crimes +against property and the person. "We must destroy all the +imperial institutions, pulverise them, leave nothing standing," +exclaimed a revolutionist, whose parents were nobles, +to me. "And what will you put in the place of what you +destroy?" I queried. "Nothing yet—that is until we think +it out. But that will come in time." In 1905-6 as in 1917 +the main achievement of the revolutionists was destruction. +And what fiendish joy they displayed in 1905-6 in roasting +men alive, or setting them barefoot on sheets of hot iron! +And in 1917.... +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn1text">1</a>] Cf. <i>Russian Heads</i>, by Dr. T. Schiemann, p. 231. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn2text">2</a>] <i>Russian Antiquity.</i> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn3text">3</a>] Cf. <i>Russian Antiquity</i>, May, 1891. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn4text">4</a>] Leo Wiener, <i>An Interpretation of the Russian People</i>, p. 15. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn5text">5</a>] <i>Russian Characteristics</i>, by E. B. Lanin. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn6text">6</a>] Professor Milyukoff, ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn7text">7</a>] Leo Wiener, Professor of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the +Harvard University, in his admirable book +<i>An Interpretation of the Russian +People</i> (London, 1915), writes: +"Several years ago I asked Professor +Milyukoff, the distinguished historian of civilisation, +what English book he +considered the best as regards its analysis of modern Russia. +Without a moment's +hesitation, and with a twinkle in his eye, +he answered: 'E. J. Dillon's +<i>Russian Characteristics</i>.' The reply betrayed +a distinct Russian attitude +towards censure, for a more incisive condemnation +of everything Russian could +hardly be imagined, and any one other than +a Russian would have blushed +with shame and burned with indignation +at the very mention of that +brilliant Irishman's mordant attack upon his nation. +But Milyukoff does not +stand alone in his conviction, for although +Dr. Dillon is known to Russian +society and to the Government as the author +of these sketches he continues +to live in Petrograd as an honoured man and +perfectly secure in his Avestan +studies." +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn8text">8</a>] The manner in which the officers were tortured +in 1877 cannot even be +described in Western countries. +General Korovichenko in Tashkent was +horribly maltreated until he was agonising. +Then he was laid on the floor of +his apartment and the crowd was admitted on payment +of 30 copecks to enter +in and spit on his face. Cf. <i>Le Temps</i>, 10th January, 1918. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn9text">9</a>] There are 48 per cent. Great Russians. +The remaining 52 per cent. is +split into three groups: (1) The White +or Little Russians; (2) The non-Russian races of the Caucasus, +East Russia, and Silesia; and (3) races of the +West (Poles, Lithuanians, Letts, Esthonians, Finns, Swedes). +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap02fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap02fn10text">10</a>] They were fast losing this conservatism +in the cities and towns before +the war. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap03"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P26"></a>26}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER III +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +LACK OF RUSSIAN UNITY +</p> + +<p> +It is well to remember that the anarchist bias inherent in +the Russian race has never been uprooted nor even +systematically countered. The bulk of the people are hardly any +better equipped for the life-struggle than they were in the +days when the Mongols of the Golden Horde held sway +among them and compelled their princes to lick horses' +slaver. +</p> + +<p> +One of the most powerful engines for preparing, maturing, +and consummating the politico-social cataclysm was the +university, together with the numerous tag-rag and bobtail +of loosely-thinking, wildly-speaking humanity that centred +around it. I had the honour to be a member of one of the +foremost Russian universities and observed this puissant +influence at close quarters. The university is essentially a +western institution specially adapted to the requirements of +western youth reared according to certain traditions and +indoctrinated with certain beliefs. Transplanted to Russian +soil the university brought forth unfamiliar—Dead Sea—fruit. +And it could not well be otherwise. The Russian +student was at bottom one of those peasants whose qualities +and defects I have just been endeavouring to outline. +Endowed with marvellous receptivity, a hypercritical cast of +mind, impatience to learn everything, combined with +insuperable sloth and infirmity of purpose, he was filled with +awe for science, took for granted western theories, principles, +and ideas, and applied them as standards of comparison to +the institutions and doctrines of his own country. Capable +of a passion for the abstract he worshipped western science, +or rather pseudo-science which he understood more easily, +as a tribesman on the shores of Lake Baikal worships his +fetish. For synthesis, for constructive work, he lacked the +materials, the training, and the capacity. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P27"></a>27}</span> +</p> + +<p> +These young men, most of whom never completed the +high-school curriculum, were turned loose upon the country +to sow seeds of discontent and rebellion whithersoever they +went. Looking around him the student perceived the vast +contrast between the western principles which he revered +as dogmas and those that underlay the odious ordering of +things in the Tsardom. And his soul revolted. In economics +no law was respected. There was no consideration for the +peasantry on whom the dead weight of the Empire pressed. +The masses were kept not only without political rights but +in utter ignorance of the circumstance that they had any +claim to them. And the embargo was issued with wanton +cynicism. The peasantry was no more than a wealth-creating +machine for the behoof of the ruling class, and the rulers +took so little thought even of their own less pressing interests +that they failed to keep the machine properly lubricated or +in smoothly working condition. And everywhere the same +piratical instincts of the autocracy and its instruments met +the eye. When the student, who was himself a peasant and +whose father and uncles and brothers were still on the land, +had assimilated the doctrines of the west and transmuted +them into a religious creed, his feelings towards the men and +the institutions that had systematically violated them for +centuries and had ground his own class in the dust were +those of the religious fanatic who would fain condemn +heresiarchs even on earth to the unimaginable tortures of +eternal damnation. Nothing that the autocracy or its +confederate, the bureaucracy, did was in his eyes other than +a heinous sin. The administration was constitutionally +incapable of a noble, a praiseworthy, or even a morally +indifferent act. +</p> + +<p> +That combination of the eastern political system with the +scientific ideas and progressive principles of the west, +working upon the Russian mind with its peculiar bent, +produced the revolutionary spirit as inevitably as the mixing +in certain proportions of charcoal, sulphur, and saltpetre +produces gunpowder. +</p> + +<p> +The intelligentsia had no roots in the people. Its members +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P28"></a>28}</span> +were severed and sundered from it, but they resembled one +of those preaching orders which were founded in the Middle +Ages whose energy and success largely depended on their +complete detachment from every class and concrete interest. +The scraps of western theories and systems which they +scattered broadcast over Russia about "the rights of man," +the origins of autocracy, the only true basis of human society, +the necessity of liberty of conscience as a correlate of +personal responsibility, and other matters were totally ignored +by the peasant and the merchant classes, but became a +source of inspiration to individuals among them and served +with frequent modifications as the revolutionary creed. The +intelligentsia was the order from which two mutually hostile +bodies were recruited, the apostles of revolution and the +leavening elements of the bureaucracy. It was the +intelligentsia who sowed the revolutionary seed and watered it. +It was from their midst that schoolmasters and professors, +physicians, men of letters, publicists, lawyers, were taken, +most of whom contributed something to the general ferment. +It was especially the publicists, journalists, and literary men +who did most of the spade work and sowed the seed which +at last sprang up in the shape of armed men. They dealt +in abstractions, operated with western theories, transplanted +fragments of Hegel, Marx, Kautsky, Mill, Buckle, to Russian +soil and pushed each proposition to the Ultima Thule of its +consequences. Although they belonged to different schools +of thought they united for purposes of destruction. The +Kadets, who deserved their reputation of being the best +organised party in the Empire, had no firm hold on the +nation because they were not of it; they could not place +themselves at its angle of vision, were incapable of +appreciating its world philosophy, were not rooted in the people. +Hence they did not enlist the peasant or the working man +in their party and stood only for themselves. When the +tillers of the soil and the factory hands had each formed its +own organisation, then the Kadets took them as allies. +But an alliance may be abandoned at any moment, especially +in Russia. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P29"></a>29}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The dissolution of the Russian Empire may unmistakably +be traced back to the shape definitely given to the Tsardom +by its two eminent founders, Ivan and Peter. Its character, +internal and external, was incompatible with its survival into +a democratic era of European development. For internally +it was a growing realm with serfdom for its groundwork, +and even after the emancipation of the serfs it still remained +in spirit what it so long had been in fact. The bulk of the +population toiled and moiled for the privileged few and was +treated as an inferior race, and was hindered systematically +from rising as a class to the level of its rulers in any sphere. +Externally it was a predatory society which looked for its +present well-being and future prosperity to the triumph of +force, and bent all its energies to the transformation of its +resources into instruments of offence and defence. In a +word the development of the Tsardom postulated a state +of warfare with its neighbours and a condition of chronic +artificial inequality among its own peoples, and all its +arrangements, financial, economic, military, and political, were +carefully accommodated to those two aspects. This was nothing +new to the people who between the years 1228 and 1462 +had waged ninety civil wars and a hundred and fifty-eight +foreign campaigns. +</p> + +<p> +Roughly speaking there are two main types of States +which one may distinguish by the names European and +Asiatic. The former may be said to concentrate its energies +upon the ordering of domestic affairs for the behoof of the +community. It creates efficient machinery for the purpose +of maintaining order and insuring the safety of the person +and of property, translates the customs formed by necessity, +expediency, or taste into laws and institutions, and has for +its real, as well as its ostensible, aim the general progress of +the whole people. The Asiatic State on the other hand, +solicitous chiefly about foreign wars and international +relations, takes little thought about the internal arrangements +of the nation, the training of upright administrators, +the adjustment of institutions to the temper of the people +and to the permanent conditions that govern their development, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P30"></a>30}</span> +and scorns to economise labour by distributing rôles +and setting up appropriate organs to harmonise order and +progress. Assuming that the international community lives +and will continue to live in a state of latent or open war, +one of its main objects is to conquer foreign territory and +to exploit foreign peoples and countries. In essence this is +the idea of Hohenzollern rule, but without its redeeming +features of just administration, national education, and State +encouragement to commerce, industry, literature, and art. +It was in accordance with this simplicist conception that the +Mongols of the Golden Horde, having subjected Russia, +left things there just as it had found them, spending no +thought on assimilation or denationalisation, contented with +imposing a tribute on the defeated people and making the +native prince their chief collector of that annual impost. +The Turks in like manner when they annexed the territory +they now occupy made no systematic endeavour to denationalise +the natives or exercise permanent control over +domestic affairs. In all such matters the people enjoyed a +large measure of liberty and their conquerors exploited them +economically. And the Russian State was modelled on the +Asiatic.[<a id="chap03fn1text"></a><a href="#chap03fn1">1</a>] +</p> + +<p> +This had not always been the case. The first beginnings +of the political community in Russia—during the eleventh +and twelfth centuries when the tribes were homogeneous +and purely Slavs—took place on European lines, and the +Grand Dukes of Kieff were admitted into the family of the +eastern emperors and the western kings. But in time Kieff[<a id="chap03fn2text"></a><a href="#chap03fn2">2</a>] +having been captured and destroyed the inhabitants of the +Dnieper valley migrated to the north-east, intermarried with +the Finnish nomads of the country between the Upper +Volga and the Oka, and the resultant of the blend was the +hybrid Great Russian race. To this day their characteristics +are still imperfectly understood. It is not sufficiently borne +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P31"></a>31}</span> +in mind that the Finns whom these Slavs from the south +assimilated were nomads and what I should like to term +a-political, that is, they evinced no desire or ability to form +themselves into compact communities viable and +self-defensive. At any rate one hears nothing of any states +formed by them on the Volga. Personal interests, family +feuds, fighting, hunting, trekking, and singing the legendary +feats of great warriors and magicians would appear to have +called forth and absorbed their energies. This impression +is not materially altered by what we know of the development +of the Finns in the one political society to which they +have given their name. It is true that the principality of +Finland was governed first by the Swedes and then by the +Russians, and is only now become independent, and this +condition of subjection may partly account for the fact that +they left to the Swedes the task of carrying social and +political progress a stage further. This spiritual leadership +of the Scandinavian continued unbroken throughout the +Russian domination. +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar's rule over the principality was at first Asiatic +in type in the sense that it abandoned to the people +themselves the work and responsibility of administering their +own affairs. But of the two races in the country only the +Scandinavians bestirred themselves to some purpose. It +was they who acted as cultural seed-bearers from the west +to the north-east. When the Finnish nationalist movement +started, some of the leading Swedes, in order to get more +elbow-room for action, changed their Scandinavian names +into Finnish equivalents as the Jews and the Germans do in +Hungary, but the ethnic leaven still remained the same. +Many years ago I had a long talk on this subject with the +one statesman Finland produced, Mechelin, and he listened +with interest, and I think I may add with acquiescence, to +this view of the matter which I put before him in outline. +Once the real Finnish democracy took or received freedom +of action, after the fall of the Tsardom, any stirring of sound +political sense or of organising capacity that may have been +felt among the Finnish elements of the republic were lost +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P32"></a>32}</span> +in the welter of anarchy that ensued. The great war put the +political aptitudes of peoples and regimes to a severe test, +and the surprises that have followed the ordeal are, to put it +mildly, humiliating. It looks as though certain European +peoples are constitutionally averse to social collectivity, and +that force alone can keep them together. +</p> + +<p> +It was with these a-political, nomadic Finnish tribes, then, +that the Slav wanderers from the south intermarried, and it +was from them that the new Russian people, which can hardly +since then be regarded as Slav,[<a id="chap03fn3text"></a><a href="#chap03fn3">3</a>] inherited some of their more +striking traits. The invasion of the Tartars, who kept the +country in subjection for two centuries, also made a +noteworthy contribution to the influences that moulded the +Russian people. It is true that the Khans who lived and +ruled at a distance never meddled in the home concerns of +their vassals, contenting themselves with a yearly tribute. +But they left permanent representatives, listened to +complaints made by one Russian prince against another, and +encouraged secret intrigues. It was during this long +servitude that the people became past masters in guile, trickery, +intrigue, bribery, and all the tactics of the weak who have +to defend themselves against the strong. It was during this +period that the Moscow princes familiarised themselves with +the Tartar type of State and imbibed its spirit of conquest +without, its scorn for a living elastic organisation within to +preside over and shape general progress on pacific lines. +And Ivan III. embodied these exotic ideas in the simple kind +of community which he established. He beheaded all the +Boyars who were obnoxious to him, broke the power of the +class as a factor in the realm, incited one set of his subjects +to decimate another, and confronted the benighted population +with an absolute monarch whose behests and whims +were carried out by a body of soldiers—<i>opritchina</i>—who +shed the blood of proscribed individuals at the tyrant's nod. +</p> + +<p> +Bound by oath to carry out all the monarch's commands +the <i>opritchniki</i> were an agency apart, whose interests were +different from, nay, contrary to, those of the population. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P33"></a>33}</span> +That aloofness is expressed by the very name opritchina.[<a id="chap03fn4text"></a><a href="#chap03fn4">4</a>] And +that extra-national force contained the germs of the +formidable army established later by Peter the Great, and +also of the bureaucracy which this emperor modelled on his +army. These are the institutions which imparted to the +Russian State that peculiar character which has been +unfolding itself to the eyes of a wondering Europe ever since. +Even after the triumph of the Bolsheviki, whose doctrine is +international pacifism, the relations of the State to the +population remained what it had been under the Tsars, +and Ivan's opritchniki were represented by Lenin's Red +Guards. +</p> + +<p> +Peter was unquestionably a political genius, but the +material in which he worked, the mould fashioned by his +predecessors, the pressure of foreign wars and internal +troubles, and the manner of life he led made it impossible +for him to delve deep enough into the political soil to lay the +foundation of a new structure. He found the Asiatic type +of State ready to his hand as it had been handed down by +his predecessors, and he set himself to accommodate it to +the changed requirements. That was all. Thus he perceived +the necessity of a fleet and of a well-trained army and he +provided both. He also grasped the need of a body of public +servants who should keep the army and navy provided with +necessities and should conduct the general business of the +nation. And for his model he chose the most efficient +bureaucracy of Europe—that of Prussia. But the predatory +nature of Peter's Tsardom cannot be disputed. He equipped +it with new and temporarily effective organs, strove to +modernise its administration, and brought it formally into +line with its neighbours. But he left the essence of the old +Asiatic State intact. Peter's way of grafting the new +bureaucratic institution on the State resembled that of the Slavs +of Novgorod who in the ninth century despatched an +embassy to the Varangers inviting them to come and put +things in order and rule in Russia. Peter likewise turned +to the west, employed foreigners wherever he could, and in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P34"></a>34}</span> +particular favoured Germans whose capacity for organisation +he appreciated. +</p> + +<p> +From those days onward, the Germans played a predominant +part in the Russian civil administration, in the +army and navy, at the court, in schools and universities, in +science and letters, in journalism, in trade and industry, +everywhere, in a word, except in the Church. They have +often been accused of acquiring the defects of the Russians +and of contributing to demoralise these. It is true that like +the Russians they did not scruple to cheat the treasury when +opportunity offered, but justice compels one to add that +they had at least a certain sense of measure which the Russian +bureaucrat too often lacked. They sometimes appropriated +funds, but generally limited the sums to their actual needs +instead of making them commensurate with their grandiose +opportunities. They served their Russian sovereign loyally, +favoured men of their own race and religion, and stamped a +Teuton impress on most things in the Tsardom. In the +army, in the navy, in the administration of provinces, in the +central ministries, in the schools and universities, on the +estates of the great landowners, at the head of factories, on +the boards of companies and banks, in apothecaries' shops +and bakeries—were Germans. Whithersoever you went the +majority of the men who transacted Russia's business, +public and private, had German manners, spoke the German +tongue; one must also confess that on the whole they did +not disappoint the expectations of the Tsars who favoured +and protected them. +</p> + +<p> +Alexander III. was not of this number. From the line +followed by his predecessors he swerved perceptibly. He +entertained a dislike for the Teutons and, indeed, for all +foreigners. For he was a nationalist and held that orthodoxy, +pan-slavism, and autocracy constitute the trinity, belief in +which would one day raise the Russian people to the highest +pinnacle of glory, and that no foreigner could worship at its +shrine. Hence he withdrew many of the privileges theretofore +enjoyed by his German and other non-Russian +subjects. It has been alleged that his excellent intentions +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P35"></a>35}</span> +led to disastrous results, that the Russification of the national +services was far from being a benefit, was, in fact, a serious +disadvantage, not only to the civil administration, but also +to the army and the navy. This contention has been so lately +put forward that the materials for dealing with it decisively +are not yet available. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the builders of the State, famous and obscure, +stamped the Tsardom with the impress of Asia, infused into +the organism they were forming a predatory soul, and accustomed +it to look for honour, glory, and even the satisfaction +of growing economic needs to territorial expansion at the +cost of its neighbours. They poured around those who +thought, spoke, and acted for the community an atmosphere +that warped their judgment and obscured all issues alien to +the only kind of progress which they were capable of +appreciating. The standards by which they gauged international +and national situations and crises, and the principles by +which they shaped their foreign relations, were adjusted to +the ideals set before the community at its origin. This +direction, long ago imposed upon the main current of +national life, continued down to the reign of Alexander I. when +for the first time it was slightly checked by economic +forces pressing upon the population at home and cutting the +tether which had fastened the peasants to the soil. But the +spirit persisted even then, and the Slavophil party with +Aksakoff at its head, which gradually drove Alexander's +pacific government into war with Turkey, was undoubtedly +the true exponent of "Russia's" aspirations. For the political +community under the Tsar, like that of Athens or Sparta in +the days of Plato or Pausanias, was restricted to the +privileged minority of the population, and extended only to a +fraction of these. In these circumstances every one of +Russia's public men gifted with real vision, whose political +energies were suffused with the "national" spirit, took +refuge from insoluble internal problems in venturesome +foreign enterprises. That was the mainspring of Plehve's +eagerness to launch out into a war against Japan, and of +Sazonoff's reluctance to allow Austria-Hungary to elbow his +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P36"></a>36}</span> +country out of the Balkan Peninsula, of Pobiedonostseff's +curtailment of religious liberty, of the educational limitations +introduced by Tolstoy, of Vyshnegradsky's exploitation +of the peasantry, of the financial system based on the +inebriety of the people. The policy of all these statesmen, +however opposed it might seem to reason, stood rooted in +the deepest sentiment of the articulate community and +harmonised with the spirit infused into it by its celebrated +founders. The almost unflinching persistence of the different +governments in this predatory line of action suggested to +foreign observers two absurd legends, one respecting the +deep and far-reaching vision of Russian statesmanship +deliberately concentrating its attention and its energies upon +a remote aim, and the other respecting an imaginary testament +of Peter the Great enjoining on his successors the +steady expansion of the Empire at the cost of its weaker +neighbours. In truth the ministers who transacted Russia's +foreign business from Peter's death down to the deposition +of Nicholas II. were, with the sole exception of Witte, very +humdrum bureaucrats who themselves were borne along on +the unseen current that moved beneath the surface of events. +This a-moral system, which differed considerably for the worse +from the Prussian, had one vulnerable point through which +the Tsardom was bound to be hit mortally in the course of +time and most automatically by the mere progress of +European civilisation. The ethnic fragments and the Russian +classes and masses instead of being fused were, as we saw, +very loosely bound together with military withes by the +State. Cut these withes and the seemingly compact bundle +falls to pieces. And the adoption of western institutions +would necessarily sever these ties and break up the Empire. +That was the ever-present danger which waxed more and +more imminent and menacing as time went on and the joists +and girders of the days of yore showed signs of giving way. +Some of the rulers perceived it clearly; others felt it +instinctively. A few were for borrowing props and supports +from the west; others for fortifying the ancient structure +congruously with the style of architecture in which it was +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P37"></a>37}</span> +built. But the fatal outcome of these alternating expedients +was discernible, was in fact perceived by Witte, the one +commanding statesman possessed by Russia since the days +of Peter. +</p> + +<p> +Autocracy was as much a religion as a political system. +Rooted in theocracy it claimed to regulate life as a whole, +taking in every one of its needs and faculties. Therefore, it +held together and could not be divided into political, +economic, and religious parts. To swerve from it in one +particular was to break with all. This master fact was at the +root of Pobiedonostseff's policy. None the less Alexander I. was +at one time prepared to introduce liberal institutions +on the advice of his minister Speransky. But later on more +logical spirits like Pobiedonostseff and his fellow workers +would fain have it fenced in by coercive legislation. To +them it was evident that so long as the bureaucracy ruled +there was no room in the country for any other influential +institution. Moreover, any liberal institutions accorded to +the nation would constitute an irresistible lever in the hands +of the non-Russian nationalities, such as the Poles, the +Germans, the Lithuanians, the Finns, whose culture was +superior to that of the ruling race. On the other hand +pressure of all kinds was rendering a modernisation of the +State a necessity. Between Scylla and Charybdis a middle +course, proposed years before by the eminent Moscow +journalist Katkoff, was struck out and certain western +institutions were accorded to the population of central Russia +but refused to the more advanced inhabitants of the borders. +Nay more, many of the rights which these had theretofore +enjoyed were withdrawn from them. This sorry pettifogging +merely served to disclose the straits to which the autocracy +was reduced. +</p> + +<p> +The first Alexander's innovations were symptomatic rather +than real, and their visible sign was the Council of the +Empire—a legislative body appointed by the Tsar to study, +recommend, and draft bills which the monarch vetoed or +ratified at will. It was the substitute devised at the eleventh +hour for a legislative chamber which the Tsar had +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P38"></a>38}</span> +contemplated introducing. His successor, Nicholas I., felt the +urge of economic needs and might, had he lived, been forced +to set the serfs at liberty as a mere matter of material +interest, but the reform was reserved for Alexander II. As +soon as this potentate had emancipated the serfs, as the first +of a series of reform measures, the inevitable happened: +autocracy as represented by the central authorities lost its +grasp of the reins of power which fell into the hands of a +myriad of obscure and irresponsible individuals throughout +the Empire, and the framework of the State became top-heavy. +</p> + +<p> +That courageous act let loose a number of ethnic forces +by which in time a new Russia or rather several new Russias +were imperceptibly fashioned. The nuclei of the new +entities were formed by the freed peasants, their ecstatic +worshippers among the "intellectuals," and by the +non-Russian nationalities who eagerly joined in the subdued +agitation against an obsolete and oppressive regime. In the +ensuing semi-articulate demand for the abolition of the +autocracy—though not perhaps for all that it connoted—progressive +Russians were at one with Poles, Jews, Armenians, +and Moslems. The German element alone continued to do +battle for Tsarism. +</p> + +<p> +The relief accorded to the serfs made one far-reaching +change in the administrative machinery: it removed the +great landed proprietors, the nobility, from the position they +had occupied theretofore in their collective capacities as +intermediaries between the central government and the +masses. That displacement called for a corrective, as +otherwise the power once vested in the head departments would +be scattered all over Russia and dissociated from responsibility. +In the minds of Alexander II. and his principal +advisers the correlate of his great reform was the extension +of the powers of the newly created zemstvos, the forging +of an organic link between them and the ancient institutions, +and the creation of political representation. My former +colleague and friend, Professor Maxim Kovalevsky, held +that if those intentions had been carried out the Russian +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P39"></a>39}</span> +mediæval State "would have been transformed" into one +that harmonised with the requirements of modern civilisation. +Perhaps it would, but only, I venture to hold, as a +preliminary to the break-up of Russia. Kovalevsky himself +admitted that the people of Russia were not ripe for such +reforms as direct, equal, and universal suffrage. If then it +had been established the State would have been dismembered +by the centrifugal force of its nationalities which constituted +52 per cent. of the total population, whereas if it were +withheld the effort to wrest it from the Government would have +provoked coercion and revolution. Moreover, the bureaucracy +was the backbone of the Russian State, and it brooked +the creation of no institutions that could impair its influence +or diminish its prestige. No one who saw deeply into the +spirit of the Tsardom at any epoch of its existence could +fail to perceive how difficult and dangerous it would have +been to tackle the work of transforming it congruously with +modern requirements. Witte might possibly have succeeded +if he had been given a free hand, ample time, and especially +if he had been allowed to begin under the reign of +Alexander III. +</p> + +<p> +The reform movement that now began was discreet and +timorous by compulsion, but aggressive and intolerant +wherever it had scope. It claimed the allegiance of every +member of the intelligentsia in every walk of life and +punished non-conformity wherever it manifested itself, not +only in politics, but in literature, science, and art whither +politics had to take refuge from persecution. He who was +not with the Liberals was against them, and chastised +accordingly. Some of the consequences of this absolutism +were incongruous. A Congress of Physicians seriously +declared in 1905 that medical men could not properly attend +to their professional duties so long as the power of the +autocrat was not limited. A municipality passed a resolution +to the effect that the high mortality in southern Russia was +a direct and inevitable result of the antiquated form of +government. A congress of elementary school teachers laid +it down that to teach reading and writing with success to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P40"></a>40}</span> +children was, and would continue to be, impossible until +absolute government was abolished. On the other hand +some of the men who earnestly desired to prolong the days +of the Russian Empire, to revive its waning strength, to keep +its ethnic elements and disparate classes together, turned to +foreign battlefields in search of territorial expansion and +distraction. Aksakoff, Pobiedonostseff, Plehve, Sazonoff, were +all true representatives of Holy Russia. That instinct came +from the deepest spirit of the men who had built up the +Tsardom. +</p> + +<p> +Witte's statesmanship differed widely from theirs. It may +be described as a systematic endeavour to conciliate and +satisfy the two tendencies, the democratisation of the regime +and expansion abroad. Hence it was essentially synthetic. +I think I am fairly interpreting my friend's central idea by +likening it to that of Frederic when he proceeded to make +Prussia thoroughly independent without and well compacted +and united within. Witte himself never used any such +ambitious comparison even when thinking aloud in my +presence, but the likeness disengages itself automatically +from much that he did say. In his confidential talks with +me he often emphasised the remarkable fact that Russia +occupied a place in the hierarchy of nations to which her +specific gravity nowise entitled her. And if ever the +discovery were made by the Kaiser, he added, its consequences +might be calamitous. The Tsardom was weak, disunited, +ready to explode into tiny fragments, and a campaign, +especially against a power like Germany, would reveal this +condition very quickly. Therefore it must be shunned—all +wars must be shunned because of that fatal revelation to +which they would lead. Russia's economic needs in the +East could be provided for by pacific penetration and +railway building, and her requirements in the West might best +be supplied by a coalition with Germany, Austria, and +France. Those being the great land powers, their interests +could be made to run fairly parallel with each other, +whereas those of Great Britain were often peculiar to +herself alone. Still the object of the league would not be +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P41"></a>41}</span> +war but a stable peace and no territorial changes were +contemplated. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime he would have set about changing the +domestic regime as radically as appeared feasible without +provoking violent reactions. +</p> + +<p> +Witte's method consisted of a series of economic, social, +and political changes gradually adopted. For one thing he +would have educated the entire people and endeavoured to +qualify the State, or a department of it, to discharge the +function of social direction. Why, he asked, were the +Germans so much superior to their neighbours in general and +technical education? Because of the solicitude of their +rulers? Were their rulers distinguished from those of other +people by their moral ideals? Nowise. But they had clearer +vision, greater initiative, and were possessed of faith in the +dogma that the destinies, if not the character, of men are +modifiable without end by education, instruction, and social +direction. He himself caused technical schools and colleges to be +opened and endowed whenever and wherever it was possible. +</p> + +<p> +Witte grasped the master fact that the emancipation of +the serfs was the liberation of an elemental force which like +fire or water must be kept under control if it is not to become +destructive. He knew that it would entail a sequence of +fateful innovations which according to the form imparted +to them by the legislator might make or mar the Empire. +He was eager, therefore, to produce a set of conditions, +economic and political, in which the newly qualified elements +of the community could grow and equip themselves morally +and intellectually for the leading part they would one day +be called on to play in Russia and perhaps in Europe. And +he desired that the central authorities should be dispensed +from the barren task of entering into the details of local +needs. To say to the myriads of freed men as did +Pobiedonostseff, Dmitry, Tolstoy, and Plehve, "Thus far and no +further," smacked of the spells employed by the Boxers in +China to prevent bullets from entering their bodies. The +State must turn over a new leaf. Education was become a +manifest necessity; it had been discouraged, penalised. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P42"></a>42}</span> +Political enfranchisement was a corollary of emancipation +from serfdom. The press had been forbidden to discuss it. +The initiation of the peasants into the duties of citizenship, +into collective work carried on under personal responsibility, +was a preliminary condition of national progress, but even +to moot such an innovation has been punished as treason. +At the very least freedom in the choice of means by which +the emancipated millions might wish to satisfy their +consciences and save their souls was a postulate of healthy, +moral development, but not only was it persistently +withheld from the <i>mooshik</i>, it was not accorded even to the +intellectuals. The one was forced to remain in the State +church because without compulsion the State church, now +hardly more than a police department, might soon be devoid +of a congregation, and the other were only permitted to +choose between orthodoxy and atheism, and most of them +chose atheism. +</p> + +<p> +From this coercive system Witte turned away in angry +disgust. With repression he had no sympathy. But his +policy was inspired by considerations more respectable and +more conducive to social well-being than mere personal +likes or dislikes. He saw clearly the thinness of the bonds +that held the various nationalities, and the various classes, +and the populations of the various territories and climates +together in a single community which had no common +denominator, no point of convergence but a frail and irresolute +monarch. Intuitively he gauged the force of the national +bent towards territorial expansion, and by experience he +knew that economic pressure would soon compel the rulers +to choose between a series of reforms with which foreign +conquests and even the perpetuation of the regime would be +incompatible, and a system of coercion which would cause +Russia to be outlawed by the nations of the world. And his +way out of the difficulty, had he been authorised to take it, +was to begin to introduce the most urgent reforms without +delay, to place them once for all beyond the reach of the +reactionary; to substitute law for caprice; to safeguard the +liberty and cultivate the dignity of the individual; and parallel +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P43"></a>43}</span> +with these measures to strengthen by legislation the levelling +influence of the economic forces which his financial and +industrial policy was rendering operative. Towards the +non-Russian races, whose national spirit had been intensified and +made aggressive by persecution, and who were now less +likely than ever to coalesce voluntarily with the ruling +people, he advocated a policy of generosity, a standing appeal +to their nobler instincts and solidarity of interests. Thus he +would have conciliated the Finns and quickened their +advance along the road of civilisation. To the Poles he +would have conceded a large measure of real autonomy. +From the Jews he would have struck off their degrading +fetters. The Armenians and all the other Caucasian peoples +he would have left in peace. Lastly he would have striven +to still the nation's greed for territorial aggrandisement by +introducing intensive culture among the peasantry and thus +removing one of its causes—dearth of land—by fostering +Russian industries, and by opening vast new markets in the +East for Russia's produce through railways and "peaceful +penetration." That was the key to his grandiose schemes of +railway building and also to his less commendable dealings +with China. On those lines Witte's policy was laid. How he +applied it to the grouping of powers, European and Asiatic, +is another question with which I am not now concerned. +</p> + +<p> +I do not for a moment suggest that Witte ever seriously +approached this comprehensive problem of Russia's past in +relation to her future as a whole. This would have been +wasted effort in the reigns either of Alexander III. or +Nicholas II., and he was not a man to throw away his time +in unproductive speculation. But I know that some of its +aspects were always before him and none of them was wholly +missed. He had, however, greater and more numerous +obstacles to surmount than any of his predecessors, not only +because he was swimming against the main Russian stream, +but also because his promotion to the highest position in the +Empire drew upon him the opposition, the hatred, the +calumnies, and the insidious machinations of a host of +enemies to whom the last of the Tsars readily gave ear. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P44"></a>44}</span> +Under Alexander III. the great statesman was not permitted +to venture even upon a temporary excursion into the domain +of political reforms, and any headway he may have made in +that direction was indirect. And to my knowledge Nicholas +II. assured the chiefs of two States from whose lips I received +the statement that he never from the first had the slightest +confidence in Witte, never willingly gave him a free hand, +nor trusted him as a public servant or a private individual. +</p> + +<p> +I often told Witte that his hopes and aspirations were +doomed to disappointment, and his natural sagacity made +him aware of the fact. But he never wholly abandoned hope. +He used to say that if Alexander III. had lived, or if his son +Michael had succeeded him or were yet to come to the +throne, much might be changed for the better and Russia's +international position strengthened. My objection was that +it was much too late. The Tsardom's sands were running +down. And he sometimes agreed with me during those fits +of dejection which often came over him of late years, +especially after an animated talk with the Emperor or the +discovery of a fresh intrigue against himself. +</p> + +<p> +The thin flickering flame of democracy was fed with solid +fuel when the army ceased to be professional. To my +knowledge the significance and weight of this innovation as a +factor in the destinies of Russia was not discerned at the +time or since. Witte never once alluded to it. And yet, to +my thinking, it imparted a tremendous impulse to the forces +that first weakened and then broke up the Tsarist State, +The professional army was a terrible weapon, an enlarged +and perfected <i>opritchina</i> whose units were just human +enough to take and execute orders, but were machines in +every other respect. A soldier served for a quarter of a +century. When he donned the uniform he quitted not only his +family but the civil community for good. He became a unit +in an organism, a function. He was severed from the nation +as were Ivan's opritchniki, tempered, trained, attuned to +a life apart. Military discipline was as severe as it must have +been in the days of Rameses of Egypt or Nabonassar of +Babylon. Punishments were ferocious, fiendish. Soldiers +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P45"></a>45}</span> +thus kneaded and moulded could do great things and did +them. For they were soldiers and nothing more. They loved +only to fight, and had ceased to be peasants once they joined +the ranks. There were no reserve officers then. An officer +had as little to do with the people as had the soldier. Neither +officer nor private felt any solidarity with the people. But +with the change of the system of recruitment, the whole +character of the army changed and also its capacity for +military achievement. Compare closely the wars of Peter, +Catherine, Paul, Alexander I., and Nicholas I. with the +Turkish war of 1877 and the Manchurian campaign of +1904-5 and the difference will stand forth in relief. That, +however, was the only one and the least momentous +consequence of the change. +</p> + +<p> +The democratic method of universal and short service +having been established the traits of the peasantry were +transplanted to the army and navy: the querulous, critical, +satirical vein, the lack of finality in obedience and in +everything, the anarchic tendency in a word. And as time went +on the efficiency of the Russian soldier diminished +perceptibly. Their generals, too, seem to have remained below +the former high standard. But what is more to the point, +the old army of Nicholas I. would have interposed an +impassable barrier to a popular revolution. Under Nicholas +II. the March explosion would have been stifled if the army +had been opposed to it. But the peasant army which was +sent against the German invaders was not steeled like the +warriors who had made Russia's name famous in the +eighteenth and in the early days of the nineteenth centuries. +They hated war, were impatient to return to their fields, +and took the first opportunity—when capital punishment +was abolished—to fling their rifles in the bushes and go +back to their families. And when appealed to by their +hungry brethren to turn their rifles against the authorities +and to merit the long promised land, they hearkened to the +call and exploded the legend of the Little Father. +</p> + +<p> +Those were some of the remoter and deeper causes of the +Russian revolution. Their force was enhanced by the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P46"></a>46}</span> +impolitic action of the Tsar's ministers in allowing the relations +between the central authorities and the masses—now growing +more conscious and exacting—to be broken by myriads +of irresponsible and unscrupulous petty officials instead of +charging the zemstvos and the municipalities with the work +of carrying them on. For the scandalous improbity of these +unjust stewards embittered the peasants and the workmen, +fanned the embers of discontent, and materially aided the +professional revolutionists of the intelligentsia. It was this +enormous disadvantage of the autocracy and the instinct of +self-preservation which it quickened that moved its champions +to overstep all bounds and found an order of men for +whose iniquity western languages have no adequate name—men +who enlisted conspirators, hatched damnable plots, +coaxed and paid young lads to execute them, and as +opportunity served either seized these tools and sent them to +death or looked on while they committed the wanton +abominations assigned to them. Reading or hearing about +the foul deeds of miscreants like Azeff, Gapon, and Rasputin, +and of the torture and horrible deaths of their victims, I am +reminded of the lines which the poet Swinburne wrote at +my request on an article of mine about Russian prisons: +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "Earth is hell, and hell bows down before the Tsar,<br> + All its monstrous, murderous, lecherous births acclaim<br> + Him whose Empire lives to match its fiery fame.<br> + Nay, perchance at sight or sense of deeds here done,<br> + Here where men may lift up eyes to greet the sun,<br> + Hell recoils heart-stricken; horror worse than Hell<br> + Darkens earth and sickens heaven; life knows the spell,<br> + Shudders, quails, and sinks—or, filled with fiercer breath,<br> + Rises red in arms devised of darkling death.<br> + Pity mad with passion, anguish mad with shame,<br> + Call aloud on justice by her darker name..."<br> + <i>Fortnightly Review</i>, August, 1890, p. 166.<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap03fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap03fn1text">1</a>] Shtshedrin's satirical sketches throw +a flood of light on the predatory +nature of the Tsardom, and in particular +one satire entitled <i>The Tashkentians</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap03fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap03fn2text">2</a>] In the year 1240. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap03fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap03fn3text">3</a>] The White Russians are undoubtedly pure Slavs. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap03fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap03fn4text">4</a>] Opritchnik means an outsider, an outlaw, +one who keeps or is kept aloof. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap04"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P47"></a>47}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER IV +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE TSARDOM +</p> + +<p> +Among all the odd freaks in the political domain, comparable, +say, to the leaning tower of Pisa in the architectural sphere, +the most amazing was the mighty Tsardom. For it was +a synthesis of contradictories. A number of ethnic fragments +without inner cohesiveness, with mutually conflicting +tendencies, were loosely fastened together and wrought +into a vast political organism. Out of a race prone to anarchy +and devoid of political sense, an omnipotent bureaucracy +was formed which claimed to regulate not only the business +of the State, but the acts, the words, and the thoughts of the +individual. Assuredly it was no small feat to knead a +peasantry that loathes war and abhors discipline into one +of the finest armies in Europe. Yet it was achieved by the +Russian Tsars who preceded Alexander II. Viewed from +without, the strong amalgam as contrasted with the smallness +of its parts, suggested the pudding stone that consists of +rounded pebbles embedded in flinty matrix. Contemplated +from within, it might be likened to a political cord of sand, +twisted by some mysterious spell. This rope of three strands, +orthodoxy, autocracy, bureaucracy, or, as the Government +put it, God, the Tsar, and the fatherland, with their army +and bureaucracy, held together the mutually hostile elements +of the Empire. And the strongest of the three was the +bureaucracy which with its sixteen grades was created by +Peter the Great after the Prussian model. Before it became +a mere parasite, the bureaucracy democratised the nobility, +ennobled individual peasants, and prepared the population +for the action of the Church, thus enabling the Empire to +attain high place in the hierarchy of nations. So powerful +had this political entity grown by the middle of the eighteenth +century that Catherine II. said, "If I could but reign +two hundred years, all Europe would have to bend its neck +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P48"></a>48}</span> +under the sceptre of Russia." Yet the bulk of Russians were +confirmed pacifists and inarticulate anarchists. After the +death of Nicholas I. the autocracy was never more than a +name for a regime which, itself free from checks and +independent of control, pressed heavily on the population and +saddled one man with a-moral responsibility for decisions +which he always lacked the data and often the will to take, +while reducing him to the status of a figure-head. +</p> + +<p> +The negative side of the Russian bureaucracy should not +prevent us from seeing that it had a positive side as well, +which was especially apparent when Peter first instituted it, +or that the services it rendered to the country—in a clumsy, +dilatory way—were real, and to a certain extent, educative. +The wrench by which the imperial reformer dragged Russia +from the deep rut into which she had fallen on to the +highway of cultural progress unleashed powerful forces which +might have shattered the State fabric but for the moderating +action of the bureaucracy. It was the <i>Tshin</i>,[<a id="chap04fn1text"></a><a href="#chap04fn1">1</a>] too, that +brought out the constructive quality of Peter's measures +and gave form to the rude ideas of justice and morality +which assuredly underlay his fundamental innovation. The +Russian bureaucracy, foredestined to become in time a huge +vampire, was at first an imitation of the bureaucracy of +Prussia which raised that country to the highest place among +the military nations of the world by dint of its conscientious +service and marvellous organising powers. The difference +between these two institutions lay less in the designs of their +founders, or in the form of their organisations, than in the +nature of their respective materials and of the framework in +which they were set. It is the difference between the +conscientious, plodding, resourceful Prussian, and the +easy-going moral, anarchic Russian. This difference, ever in +evidence, has been brought into sharp relief since the +bureaucracy vanished and the masses have had their innings. +And one can well understand the fierce desire of those +who lived through the months of terror of 1917, the details +of which are too horrid to be even hinted at, to bring back +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P49"></a>49}</span> +the old system or a derivative in order to recover the limited +tranquillity which they once enjoyed without appreciating. +</p> + +<p> +As for the Church, it was a mere museum of liturgical +antiquities. Vladimir Solovieff used to liken it to a casket +for an orient pearl whose lustre was dimmed by a thick +crust of Byzantine dust. Its function in the State was never +much more than that of a police department for the control +of the kind of thought that is least open to regulation from +without—that which speculates on problems of religion. +The clergy, with the exception of a few self-mortifying +anchorites and ascetics, were a body of social parasites, poor, +squalid, grasping, and ignorant, their lives challenging and +receiving alternate pity and contempt from the benighted +flock whose shepherds they set up to be. +</p> + +<p> +From the very outset the Russian Church was the +repository of petrified forms to which a magic virtue was +ascribed. No life-giving spirit ever animated that rigid +body, for Byzance was powerless to give what it did not +possess. How completely the spiritual energies of which +a church is supposed to be the source were superseded +by mechanical devices may be gathered from the well-attested +fact—one of many—that the second Tsar of the +House of Romanoff, Alexis Mikhailovitch, being a "truly +religious monarch," was wont to bow down reverently +before the holy images, his forehead striking the cold stone +floor one thousand five hundred times every morning. +Saintly prince! +</p> + +<p> +The religion of the Russian people—indulgence towards +the erring and fellow-feeling for the suffering—has always +been so much more than the resultant of Christianity that +I feel disposed to regard it as wholly independent of that +doctrine. Many years ago I had warm discussions on this +subject with Count L. Tolstoy, who then held that the +common Russian at his best was a living illustration of the +transformation miracle which Christianity, rightly +understood, could work in the rawest ethnic material. Unable +to endorse this thesis, I got together such cultural vestiges +of Russia's pre-Christian era as were available, and also +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P50"></a>50}</span> +certain other data, which in my judgment go to show that +the Russians' religion—like that of other peoples—is very +largely the outcome of that nethermost permanent soul-current +which is the appanage of race. And I may add that, +after a series of animated talks, Tolstoy admitted that my +theory was quite tenable and offers, perhaps, the best +explanation of all the facts. +</p> + +<p> +How completely the soul and mind of the people were +confined in the darkness and bereft of spiritual nutrition, +especially since Boris Godunoff bound the peasant to the +glebe, may be illustrated by a few concrete examples. There +is an anecdote told of how Peter the Great, when in +Copenhagen, ordered one of his subjects to throw himself from +the top of a high tower there just to show his spirit of +submission. But it is apocryphal. Another story, historically +vouched for, depicts the great Tsar, whose curiosity knew +no bounds, as requesting the Elector Frederick III. to give +him an opportunity of seeing how a man behaved when +broken on the wheel, and by way of simplifying matters he +offered one of the members of his own suite for execution. +The following is also an attested narrative of a scene enacted +during a review of the recruits in Vilna, shortly before +Nicholas II. came to the throne. I was in Russia at the +time. "What is military discipline?" the commanding +general asked one of the new soldiers. "It means, your +Excellency, that a soldier has got to do exactly what his +superior officer tells him, only nothing against the +Tsar." "Right, and now let us work it out. Take your cap, bid +farewell to your comrades, and go and drown yourself in the +lake there. Look sharp!" Tears glistened in the poor +fellow's eyes, he gazed prayerfully at his commander, turned +suddenly right about, made a dash for the lake, and was +on the very brink when recalled by the sergeant sent to +prevent the involuntary suicide. +</p> + +<p> +This blind obedience of the peasant was at the root of the +military efficiency of the Russian soldier before universal +service was made obligatory. For dash in battle, endurance +of hardships and suffering, and contempt of death that old +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P51"></a>51}</span> +army occupied a foremost place among the forces of the world. +This transmutation of individual pacifism and fatalism into +warlike virtues is one of the ironies of circumstance. After +generations of frightful discipline, the average Russian was +no longer conscious that he had any claim to justice or pity. +Taking everything for granted he accounted for his own +misery by ascribing it to Fate's iron decrees against which +it would be vain as well as wicked to murmur. "Why," +writes the famous Saltykoff, "why does our peasant go in +bast shoes instead of leather boots? Why does such dense +and widespread ignorance prevail throughout the land? +Why does the mooshik seldom or never eat meat, butter, or +even animal fat? How does it come to pass that you rarely +meet a peasant who knows what a bed is? Why is it that we +discern in all the movements of the Russian mooshik a +fatalistic vein, devoid of the impress of conscience? Why, +in a word, do the peasants come into the world like insects +and die like summer flies?"[<a id="chap04fn2text"></a><a href="#chap04fn2">2</a>] And again: "The common +Russian man not only suffers, but consciousness of his pain +is singularly blunted, deadened. He looks upon his misery +as a species of original sin to be borne instead of grappled +with, as long as his staying powers hold out."[<a id="chap04fn3text"></a><a href="#chap04fn3">3</a>] He was to +be pitied in his misery, and is to be redoubted in his +emancipation. Like fire or water, he is a good servant but a bad +master. +</p> + +<p> +The story of the emancipation of the serfs, from conception +to realisation, brings to light a number of curious +illustrations of the temper of the peasants, of their crass +ignorance and of their absurd opposition to the measures +taken to relieve their distress. Nicholas I. harboured the +intention of raising the status of the peasant, tied at that +time to the glebe, from bondage to relative liberty, and to +make a beginning with the serfs of the imperial domains. +But the first obstacle he encountered was raised by the +serfs themselves. Some eight thousand of the soil-tillers +whom he was about to set free decided to offer passive +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P52"></a>52}</span> +opposition to the arrangements. And they withstood their +imperial emancipator with stoicism. The officer of the +gendarmes, Stogoff, appeared on the scene with twelve +gendarmes shouldering loaded guns to bring them to +reason in approved Russian fashion. +</p> + +<p> +Stogoff first addressed the peasants, about half of whom +were Tartars, and asked them whether they would reconsider +their decision and knuckle down. "No," was the curt +answer given in unison.[<a id="chap04fn4text"></a><a href="#chap04fn4">4</a>] "'Well, children, you know that I +shall have to shoot, congruously with the terms of the +law.' 'Shoot then, little father, the bullet will find the guilty +ones, as God wills.' 'Now, brethren, listen.' Here I +doffed my hat, turned devoutly towards the church, made +the sign of the cross, and exclaimed: 'Like you, brethren, +I am orthodox. It is never too late to fire. We are all in the +hands of God. If an innocent man be shot, I shall be called to +a strict account by God. In order, therefore, to make no +mistake, I am going to put the question to each of you in +turn. And he who will not bow to the law will only have +himself to blame.' +</p> + +<p> +"I then turned to the first, 'Will you obey the law?' 'No, +I won't.' 'But the Tsar is the anointed of the Lord. +You are disobeying God.' 'I won't obey.' Thereupon I +delivered the peasant to a gendarme with the words, 'Well, +don't blame me now.' The gendarme handed him over to +another, and so he was passed on till he got to a covered +courtyard where they filled his mouth with tow, bound his +hands with straps and his feet with cords, and stretched him +on the floor. I had the patience to put the same question to +every peasant, and from every one I received the same +answer, and each one was duly tied and laid on the floor. +This procedure lasted until the evening church service. +The last ten, half of them Mordvins, half Russians, submitted +and were allowed to go home. That night I neither slept, +nor ate, nor drank, for in a business of that nature +everything depends on the speed with which you act. +</p> + +<p> +"When I entered the courtyard, it was filled with the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P53"></a>53}</span> +mutineers bound hand and foot. 'Rods,' I cried. 'Bring +up the first.' And they produced an old man of seventy. +'Will you obey?' 'No, I won't.' 'Flog him then....' The +old man raised his head and besought me saying, +'Order him to deal the strokes quicker.' But it was out +of my power to help him, because one really could not +forgive the first man, as everything would then be lost. +At last, however, the old fellow was dead and I ordered them +to put the hand-cuffs on the corpse. In this way, after, +the other thirteen were beaten until they were dead. The +fourteenth moved forward and exclaimed, 'I submit!' 'Ah, +you scoundrel, why didn't you submit before? If you +had, then the others would have obeyed who have been +beaten to death. Here, give him three hundred strokes.' +That clinched the matter. All those who lay on the ground +cried out, 'We all submit. Forgive us!' 'To forgive you +is out of my power for you are guilty in the eyes of God +and the Tsar.' 'Well, then, punish us, but be merciful.' +</p> + +<p> +"One should understand the Russian man," adds Stogoff. +"He is frank, submissive, and calm when punished for a +fault, but without the punishment his promises are worthless, +he waxes restless, waits for what may yet turn up, and +commits fresh follies. But he who has been chastised is +afraid to offend again and he calms down. I ordered the +soldiers to break up into groups and to inflict a hundred +strokes on each of the mutineers, under the eyes of the +superintendent, then I called them all together and said, +'I have done what the law obliged me to do. Only the +governor can forgive. He can also shut you all up in prison +and leave you there till you rot.'[<a id="chap04fn5text"></a><a href="#chap04fn5">5</a>] 'Little father,' they +cried, 'you are our real father. Intercede for us. Turn +wrath into mercy as God does.' I made them fall on their +knees, taught them how to beg for mercy, and promised to +take their part, but added that the governor was very angry." As +a matter of fact the governor was in bed, ill from fear. +Stogoff concerted a little farce with him and afterwards, in +the presence of the peasants, undertook to vouch for their +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P54"></a>54}</span> +future good conduct. He then took his leave and started for +Petersburg, taking with him the blessings and thanks of the +peasants![<a id="chap04fn6text"></a><a href="#chap04fn6">6</a>] +</p> + +<p> +For ages the grip of the ruling caste, even on the souls of +the people, was everywhere firm except where religious +fanaticism loosened it. For there were always some millions +made of the stuff of martyrs who clung to their faith through +ruthless persecution and cruel torture, even when that faith +differed from the State creed only in the most trivial details, +such as making the sign of the cross with two fingers instead +of three, or repeating Allelujah in the liturgy twice in lieu of +thrice. And yet, to my recollection, a community of Old +Believers in Kursk once resolved to display their joy at the +escape of Alexander III. from an attempt on his life which +had killed many of his suite[<a id="chap04fn7text"></a><a href="#chap04fn7">7</a>] by abandoning their own +religious creed and embracing that which had the honour +to reckon his Majesty among its members. The number of +souls who thus risked their salvation for the Tsar was 1146, +and they received the thanks of the sovereign for their +loyalty. It is no exaggeration to say that at times the bulk +of the orthodox nation were of no stronger fibre than those +Old Believers who merited the name of "Jellymen." +</p> + +<p> +The material on which the rulers had to work was +uncommonly tough and intractable, but for a long time their +endeavours were not altogether fruitless. Even later, if the +government had taken its rôle seriously and endeavoured to +engraft on the people habits of sobriety, thrift, self-help, and +to promote their welfare within certain broad limits, one +might wink at some of the practices which had for their +object the interests of the autocracy at the expense of the +nation. But the system was immoral, infamous. I witnessed +its operations at close quarters, having been consecutively +a student, a university graduate, a doctor, a professor, a +member of the staff of two journals and the editor of a third. +When I occupied the chair of Comparative Philology in the +Ukrainian University of Kharkoff, the central government, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P55"></a>55}</span> +then represented by Count Delyanoff,[<a id="chap04fn8text"></a><a href="#chap04fn8">8</a>] an Armenian, +created the office of moral censors known as "beadles," +whose function was to watch over the morality of the +students and see that the influence of the professors over them +was not politically baleful. In truth they were spies and +fomentors of discord. As they were hated alike by the +students and by the faculties, I at first disbelieved the +sinister stories about them which sounded like wild fabrications. +But a colleague of mine, a scholar of insinuating ways, +concerted with me to send for the two Catos who had charge +of the morality of our University of Kharkoff to win their +confidence and have a friendly chat with them on the subject +of their past. Having first dealt generously by the needy +officials, we cross-questioned them in a friendly way, +whereupon they unburdened their souls freely, in Russian +fashion. Turning to one of them my colleague asked, +"What profession did you follow last year, before you were +appointed beadle?" Unabashed, he made answer, "I was +fairly well off until my illness. I had a lucrative situation as a +waiter in the T. dancing tavern where free-and-easy women +of the town drop in of a night to earn a little cash from the +loose fellows who have too much of it. And I used to come in +for a fair share of money and money's worth myself, you +know. But I got into trouble and..." "And you?" +inquired my friend, nodding to the other beadle. "I was +a—chucker-out in a brothel in X Street, you know the +one I mean, it is near Y X Square on the left, you remember? +I also had an interest in the concern myself, but unluckily it +went smash owing to a misunderstanding with the police +and then I lost my daily bread. But God was merciful and +He sent me this post, blessed be His name." I repeated this +story later to his Excellency, the Curator of the University, +with a view to have these two moral mentors appointed to +situations better adapted to their special qualifications than +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P56"></a>56}</span> +that of educators of the young. But he laughed till he nearly +fell off the ottoman. "Just the right kind of fellow to drill +the blackguard students and teach them the way they should +go," he said, and the tears rolled down his venerable cheeks. +In truth the mechanism of government had run down and +there was no one to wind it up. That was the clue to the +situation. One does not need to be told how corrosive the +influence of agents of this kind must have been on the youth +of the country. Here one finds the line of cleavage between +the Russian and the Prussian State. +</p> + +<p> +In those and later days when occupation of some kind had +to be found for the educated youth of the country, the +authorities, from the ministers in the capital down to the +beadles in the provincial universities, encouraged the rising +generation to expend their superfluous or even vital energy +in drinking, profligacy, and kindred vice, that being the +easiest way to stifle the revolutionary impulse. Every species +of delinquency found forgiveness or connivance barring +disaffection to the autocracy. The political dissident critic and +grumbler were unprincipled mischief-makers for whom no +punishment was too severe. When after the Crimean war +the Russian press received relative freedom of political +opinion it was restricted to foreign politics. Publicists were +permitted to describe, analyse, and appreciate the forms +and defects of the government of Naples, Spain, Britain, or +France, but the Tsardom was a sacred domain into which it +would have been sacrilege to penetrate. This perpetual +restriction was one of the sources of the mischievous influence +which internal questions came at last to have on Russia's +international relations, which in turn contributed to shape +the government's home policy. The formula of the latter +nexus would seem to have been this: every shock and concussion +from without, such as an unsuccessful war, had as its +inevitable correlate a loosening of the grip of the bureaucracy +on the nation. And in effect political concessions of various +kinds and degrees followed almost at once upon each +unsuccessful military expedition, and every pretext was utilised +that subsequently offered to withdraw or whittle down the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P57"></a>57}</span> +reforms thus conceded. In this systole and diastole of +autocracy Russia's history since the beginning of the +nineteenth century is epitomised. +</p> + +<p> +By the time when the struggle between the old spirit and +the new was growing deadly, the bureaucracy already +regarded the backwardness of the people as an indispensable +condition of its own existence. In home affairs, the nation +was an adjective which had no other use than that of qualifying +the substantive which was the State. Hence, economically, +the Russian people was treated as a wealth-creating +mechanism whose worth was measurable by the value of its +labour after taking off the cost of production. From the +peasantry on whose shoulders rested the weight of Empire +the authorities extracted everything they could, giving back +little or nothing in return, and the peasant dealt in a like +manner with the soil he tilled; putting nothing into it, he +took out all it could be made to yield. Abhorring intensive +culture, he thus plundered the land, exhausted its fertility, +and then clamoured for more. That was one source of the +outcry for more land, the truth being that, during the second +half of the reign of Nicholas II., the average amount of land +possessed by the peasant ought to have sufficed, had it been +tilled as in Prussia or Belgium. The government for the +service of its public debt was accustomed to export large +quantities of corn to its foreign creditors, thus leaving the +native producer face to face with a food deficit that rendered +famines periodical as the snows, or rather perennial like the +Siberian plague. Hunger-stricken peasants thus furnishing +foreign peoples with abundant and cheap food-stuffs was +another bit of that irony that so often, in Russia, aggravated +suffering and intensified resentment. How could the +simple-minded peasants, accustomed to see such iniquities +perpetrated in the names of God and the Tsar, be expected to +obey divine or human law? Direct taxes were gathered with +the lash, and indirect contributions to the Treasury +extracted through the tavern. For the duty of drinking vodka +was sedulously inculcated upon the tillers of the soil, and +temptation was set before them by guile and by force at the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P58"></a>58}</span> +behest or with the connivance of the authorities who +professed to be bringing them up by hand. "It is a matter +of surprise," exclaimed a well-known writer, "that a people +should continue even to exist which is thus ground down on +all sides and ruined."[<a id="chap04fn9text"></a><a href="#chap04fn9">9</a>] And yet minister after minister +managed to solve the puzzling problem of extracting out +of these lack-alls the money which they did not possess. +"These men," wrote another publicist,[<a id="chap04fn10text"></a><a href="#chap04fn10">10</a>] "can scarcely be +called human beings. They are more like machines for the +payment of taxes, half-conscious creatures who fancy +themselves created for the purpose of working on in hopeless +toil." Utterances like these remind one of Arthur Young's +remarks about France on the eve of the great Revolution, and +the facts they comment upon partly explain how insensible +Russian peasants proved, on the outbreak of the revolution, +to the œstrum of moral responsibility. +</p> + +<p> +For a long while it seemed to the Russians themselves +that there was no hope of betterment. I remember talking +the matter over with the zealous Archbishop of Kherson and +Odessa, Nikanor, many years ago. He shook his head +mournfully and reminded me of what he had said publicly +on a very solemn occasion a few weeks before: "Altogether +the state of things in Russia is superlatively sad. The +people's minds are terribly dark and there is no sign of the +coming dawn." Mental darkness and moral obliquity were +the postulates of the Tsarist State. Remove them and the +fabric was bound to fall. In an article which I wrote in the +reign of Alexander III. on the obscurantist policy of +Pobiedonostseff, I put forward the view which subsequent events +have borne out, that that statesman took the most efficacious +means to achieve his end. +</p> + +<p> +In spite of the listlessness and resignation of the peasantry, +their land hunger gradually placed them in opposition to +the State whose greed of agricultural produce made its rule +arbitrary and ruthless. But the authorities shifted the odium +from themselves to the landowners. The masses hung their +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P59"></a>59}</span> +faith and their resignation on the fiction which they firmly +believed that the Tsar was desirous of bestowing all the +land on them, but was temporarily thwarted, partly by +maleficent officials and very largely by the landed proprietors. +Against these an angry feeling was engendered among the +Tsar-fearing people, which, on occasion, spurted up in the +form of riots and necessitated occasional sops in the shape +of shadowy reform measures. +</p> + +<p> +But in the long run the demoralising influence of a system +of governance which took no thought of the people's interest +was sure to produce its own antidote. It first provoked a +number of partial explosions which the bureaucracy refused +to construe as warnings, and then produced the volcanic +outburst of fire and flame and liquid lava which has reduced the +state organism to a heap of ghastly ruins. Out of these it is +now hoped that the nation will arise one day radiant and +with strength of wing for a long and lofty flight. +</p> + +<p> +The catastrophe would have occurred last century had it +not been for the circumstance that the Russian people +remained moveless and cataleptic in their mediæval groove +in consequence of their isolation from western Europe. +Although they received from abroad most of what they +prized and had nothing cultural to offer in return, they were +long beyond the reach of the fertilising currents that flowed +through the continent from the French side of the Pyrenees +to the mountains of Transylvania and even to the basin of +the Vistula and the plains of Poland. The Byzantine Church, +with no international centre, cut off from communion with +other Christian denominations and devoid of its own springs +of learning and culture, bulked large as a barrier between +East and West and kneaded its adepts until they became +amenable to the stupefying sedative of numbing doctrines. +Everything that tended to break down that barrier, to burst +the dam and let the stream of western culture into the +Tsardom, was welcomed by the intelligentsia and repressed +by the authorities as a force on the side of the people against +the prevailing system of masked servitude. One of the +oldest and most elusive of these was religious sectarianism. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P60"></a>60}</span> +In time these forces waxed numerous and formidable. The +introduction of foreign capital into the Empire by Count +Witte and together with it of western conceptions of living +and working incompatible with the traditional ordering of +the community; the spread of industries; the formation +of a floating class of workers who spent the winter in +factories and the remainder of the year on the land, a new +body of skilled artisans wholly cut off from the land, freed +from the fetters that hampered the peasant and initiated +into the system of organised self-help by co-operation and +self-defence by strikes—generated new material conditions +to which the others tended to conform. The progress of +education, technical and general, and the influence of +literature and journalism which flashed powerful searchlights on +revolting episodes of the people's life, radiated new ideas +about the relations between rulers and subjects, employers +and labourers, and filled men with resentment against the +class that had theretofore governed the Empire. Further, +the religious spirit, quickened with a solvent critical quality, +gave rise to new sects of a rationalistic and therefore +iconoclastic character that sapped the awe which the man of the +people had long entertained of his masters, and loosened +the conception of authority generally to a degree unimagined +in the West. Military service, too, which abounded in +splendid opportunities for revolutionary propaganda, +furnished a suitable body for the new spirit of rebellion that +was gradually taking possession of the generation contemporary +with Nicholas II. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn1text">1</a>] A Russian name for the bureaucracy or for one of its grades. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn2text">2</a>] Signs of the Times, by M. Saltykoff. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn3text">3</a>] <i>Letters about the Provinces</i>, by M. Saltykoff, p. 260. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn4text">4</a>] What follows is related in the words of Stogoff himself. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn5text">5</a>] The time was the year 1838, the place the province of Simbirsk. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn6text">6</a>] Cf. <i>Russian Heads</i>, by Dr. T. Schiemann. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn7text">7</a>] At Borki. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn8text">8</a>] Minister of Public Institution. An amiable man +in social life, but a semi-educated +snob, who looked upon education as a means +of enlisting the +intelligent classes on the side opposed to the people, +and even this view he +borrowed from Count Dmitry Tolstoy. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn9text">9</a>] <i>The Messenger of Europe</i>, pp. 781-782, October, 1890. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap04fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap04fn10text">10</a>] In <i>The Messenger of Europe</i>, 1890. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap05"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P61"></a>61}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER V +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +SOME PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS +</p> + +<p> +When I first went to Russia the Liberal movement that +had been making headway ever since the death of Nicholas +I. was in full swing, and in spite of such set-backs as the +reaction caused by the abortive attempt on the life of +Alexander II. was perceptibly nearing a climax. I came in +contact with many of the eminent men of that epoch, and +also with the type of Nihilist described by Turghenieff.[<a id="chap05fn1text"></a><a href="#chap05fn1">1</a>] In +the course of those years I also had ample opportunities +to study the Russian character in various types and in +various social layers, and despite its defects, some of which +are repellent, I felt drawn towards it irresistibly. The charm +it sometimes possesses is hardly definable and yet at its +best is positively captivating. Some Russians—Vladimir +Solovieff was an instance—carry with them a mystical and +subtle atmosphere of the marvellous, which throws work-a-day +concerns wholly out of the perspective, seems to melt +solid obstacles, to shrivel up space, do away with time, and +imbue one with the airy spirit of a thaumaturge. And yet +the very essence of the spell is unaffected simplicity. +</p> + +<p> +One of the first phenomena that pressed its unfamiliarity +upon my attention was the privileged status of educated +women and the sterling qualities by which some of them +justified and maintained it. Their minds were worthy of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P62"></a>62}</span> +their hearts, the true sources of that natural religion of +sympathy and pity which seldom fails to captivate the +foreigner. Another peculiarity that arrested my attention +was the political division of the population into classes and +castes, among which by far the worst off were the peasants +and the Jews. In the province of Kieff I was favourably +situated to study at close quarters the disabilities of both. +</p> + +<p> +One of the phenomena that struck me most forcibly as +characteristic of the political regime was the sharp division +between the classes and the masses or, as the two were then +termed, between society—meaning the thinking and writing +sections—and the people. My first impression was that of +a conquered race and its foreign masters, the latter living +upon the substance of the former and giving little or nothing +in return. This impression was deepened by what I learned +of the rôle of the bureaucracy which soon appeared as what +it really was—parasitic. A petty official was in some respects +a tsarlet. He could achieve certain difficult feats that were +beyond the power of the Emperor, and was often able to +shield the guilty, condemn the innocent, perpetuate crying +abuses, and ignore the commands of the Tsar. All these +impressions were the results of experiences at various times +and places. +</p> + +<p> +One of my first experiences illustrated the hapless lot of +the peasantry in one of the southern provinces where they +were much better off than in the north. The incident +happened near the village of Nabutoff, in the province of +Kieff, many miles from a town. One Sunday afternoon I was +wandering alone in the steppe, resting between whiles and +dipping into a book, when I became aware all at once that a +group of half-sober peasants were at my heels. They yelled +out menacingly, called me a Turkish spy, and ordered me +to halt. Instead of complying, however, I moved rapidly +towards the river that separated me from the distant manor +in which I resided, but finding no boat to carry me across +I surrendered to the peasants whose numbers had grown +considerably and whose hostility was no longer masked. +They charged me with being a Turkish spy, and some of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P63"></a>63}</span> +them wanted to drown or hang me without further parley. +And I believe they would have done it on the spot but for +the warning of one individual who affirmed that he had seen +me before, knew I was English, and that none of them would +escape severe punishment if they harmed me. They then +emptied my pockets, abstracted all the money I had—some +fifty roubles—and with great reluctance allowed me to send +a messenger to the owner of the house where I was staying. +After a couple of hours I was finally released, but the +peasants had spent my money and were unable or unwilling +to refund it. Two days later the village elder paid me a +visit, offered his excuses, and informed me that three of the +villagers had been soundly flogged by his orders and in his +presence, and he wished to know whether I should like any +more of them subjected to the same punishment. If so, he +would fix the time to suit my convenience so that I could +watch the execution if I desired. I expostulated with him, +told him that I disapproved of flogging, and discoursed to +him on human dignity, but he only remarked that a mooshik +who has never been flogged is good for nothing. +</p> + +<p> +In the following year I was at the University of St. Petersburg +studying Oriental languages and I had the good fortune +to meet prominent men of all classes and parties, including +the novelists Dostoyeifsky, Gontshareff, and Leskoff.[<a id="chap05fn2text"></a><a href="#chap05fn2">2</a>] One +afternoon, in the interval between two sections of one of the +fashionable open-air concerts that were daily given at +Pavloffsk, near Tsarskoye Selo, at which several grand dukes +and many court dignitaries and ministers were present, I +was in a group the centre of which was the Minister of the +Interior,[<a id="chap05fn3text"></a><a href="#chap05fn3">3</a>] when an acquaintance of mine, Count A., came +up, took the minister aside, and in my presence complained +of the intractable disposition of his nephew, to whom I had +given tuition. "The long and short of it is," he concluded, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P64"></a>64}</span> +"that he is a scapegrace and bids fair to become a criminal, +and I can do nothing with him. He borrows money from +the servants, spends it in houses of ill repute, drinks, gambles, +and is not amenable to reason, and I want you to help me. +</p> + +<p> +"With pleasure," the minister replied. "Only tell me in +what form you wish for help. I can shut your nephew up if +that would meet your wishes, but I suppose you would draw +the line at incarceration. If so, I can bundle him off to +Siberia, or Archangel, or the Caucasus, or Central Asia." +</p> + +<p> +"Central Asia! That's it. Send him there. But how +will he live?" +</p> + +<p> +"Oh, I'll put him into the army in Tashkent and his +superior officer will do the rest. He will certainly strike the +fear of God into his soul and see that his body is fed and +clad, I answer for that. The day after to-morrow then at +nine in the morning a gendarme will fetch him, and you +need worry no more." +</p> + +<p> +The uncle uttered his thanks and the conversation took +another turn. Two days later the prodigal youth was duly +transferred to Tashkent and I never had tidings of him +again. I referred to the subject later on, when I had come +to know the minister better, and I asked him whether the +law really invested him with the power he had invoked. +He replied in the affirmative, quoted a clause of the statute, +and remarked that what with the code of laws and the vast +discretionary powers conferred on ministers to deal with +persons administratively, the liberty of the subject was no +better guaranteed in Russia than in France of Louis XIV. when +<i>lettres de cachet</i> opened the Bastille to so many +members of the aristocracy. He added that neither he nor, +so far as he knew, his colleagues would employ that power +without first satisfying their consciences that they were not +the instruments of personal hatred or injustice. +</p> + +<p> +I have little doubt that M. Timasheff was a conscientious +official in the Russian sense of the word, as was also the +Minister of Justice, Count Pahlen, who had recently +resigned. But none the less the system which they +represented was weighing heavily on the nation. Cases of crying +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P65"></a>65}</span> +injustice perpetrated by provincial organs of the central +government occasionally came to my knowledge. At the +university espionage and its by-products were occasional +phenomena. It is fair to say, however, that I always found +those ministers to whom I had access ready to listen to any +appeal on behalf of victims if grounded on fact. Once when +the "Liberals," as the revolutionary students were then +euphemistically termed, were hard pressed by the police +most members of the group with which I often mixed were +arrested one after the other. My card having been found +on one of the accused, he was plied with questions as to my +opinions and actions, and I was cautioned by my friends to +make ready to be arrested. But it was the unexpected that +happened. One morning professors and students were +thunderstruck to learn that one of the most promising +students of the university had disappeared, nobody knew +how. Alexeyenko—that was his name—had never been +suspected by any of us. Apparently, and so far as we knew, his +was the scholar's temper of mind rather than the +revolutionary's unmeasured zeal for the welfare of his fellows. He +had been regular in his attendance at the mathematical +faculty and successful in his special studies there. He was +in his fourth and last year and his professors were proud of +him. Yet he was spirited away so mysteriously that some +days elapsed before we learned that he had been kidnapped +by the police in the street when returning home after +midnight. As it was known that I was personally acquainted +with the Minister of the Interior I was asked by a colleague +and friend, who has since become one of the pillars of the +autocracy, to appeal to him for the release of the prisoner, and +I accepted the mission. On this occasion, however, I failed +to see Timasheff himself, but I gave the message to his +brother-in-law, who shortly afterwards brought me this +answer: "The minister has no knowledge of the arrest. +Give him details, and if Alexeyenko be as innocent as you +maintain he shall be restored to his home and his studies." The +students to whom I communicated these tidings were +delighted. A few days later came another message from +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P66"></a>66}</span> +Timasheff exhorting me to pursue the matter and let him +know the result. The idea that an all-powerful minister +should apply to a mere student for information about official +acts amused me. But the prisoner could not be traced. At +last a smuggled missive reached one of his university friends +to the effect that he had been conveyed from gaol to gaol +and was in the prison of X in western Siberia at the time +of writing. I communicated this information to the minister +who certainly fulfilled his promise and opened an inquiry +into the facts, but with what result I never learned. Nor +did I ever hear of Alexeyenko any more. +</p> + +<p> +Although at first things in the Tsardom attracted my +attention less in proportion to their specific weight than to +the freshness of the impressions they produced, I felt at +every hand's turn the consequence of Russia's long +inaccessibility to western influences, and was struck with the +complete cultural separation of class from class in the +Empire. As for the lower orders their entire mental structure +seemed different from that of the "intellectuals." At that +time the merchants formed almost a close corporation of +their own with hallowed traditions, recognised customs, +class jealousy, and even a remarkable literary exponent in +the person of the playwright Ostroffsky, who has left a +complete and realistic picture of their every-day life then on +the eve of its transformation. The secular clergy, too, were +still a caste, their very language being tinged with +mediævalism, and their principal sources of training were +ecclesiastical schools and seminaries where instruction was +superficial and theological. But the most isolated and +peculiar of all were the peasants. So long as they were +serfs they had the landlord's advice, which was a benefit +when he was enlightened and well disposed, but after their +emancipation the villages were proclaimed independent and +"self-governing" and closed to all outside influences. +Thenceforth only a peasant might vote in the village +assembly. Representatives of the upper and better informed +classes, like the squire, the parish priest, the doctor, even +though they had resided for years in the village, were not +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P67"></a>67}</span> +entitled to take hand or part in arranging its affairs. Their +moral influence was rigorously excluded, and the ignorant +soil-tillers became the wards and the prey of their own more +cunning and unscrupulous members, who embezzled and +cheated and committed every kind of enormity unchecked. +For the <i>Mir</i> in those days had the power to deport any of +its members to Siberia without giving him the benefit of +trial or alleging any legal charge against him, and a clever +Machiavellian elder had but to supply his fellow-villagers +with copious draughts of vodka to get them to pronounce +any decree within their competence. This type of man was +commonly termed a <i>Koolak</i>, or fist, to symbolise his utter +callousness to pity and ruth. And of all the human monsters +I have met in my travels I cannot recall any so malignant +and odious as the Russian <i>Koolak</i>. In the revolutionary +horrors of 1905 and 1917 he was the ruling spirit—a fiend +incarnate. +</p> + +<p> +At the university I found myself in contact with apostles +of revolution who talked as though society were a mass of +clay capable of being fashioned at will by the social potter. +History they despised without knowing, and the theory of +evolution they treated as a disembodied fancy of the +pseudo-scientific brain. Crass ignorance, ingrained prejudice, and +inability to face adverse facts were characteristics of the +leaders of the movement at the university. I remember one +in particular who frankly admitted that he never opened a +book nor attended a lecture, but simply lived for and on the +coming revolution. This typical youth, who had entered the +university from an ecclesiastical seminary, had no fixed +abode, nearly always carried with him forbidden leaflets, +proclamations, and newspapers hidden inside his scanty +clothing, yet he had the good fortune to be always arrested +when he chanced to have none of these compromising +evidences on his person. From time to time we met to +discuss general principles—I was not a member of the inner +circle—to formulate the ideals of the nation, and analyse the +means proposed for attaining them. Letters were then read +from ardent spirits who had devoted their lives to the people, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P68"></a>68}</span> +were living among them in isolation and hardship, and +fancied that they could fathom the ideas and divine the +real sentiments of the peasant. Several of these men, who +were always accompanied and keyed up by resolute, selfless, +and enthusiastic young women, were pale reflections of +Turghenieff's Rudin, but more than one yielded to temptation, +turned against their comrades, and delivered them up +to the authorities. Many settled down in time and became +respected bureaucrats. Naturally I admired the ardour and +self-denial of the few, the champions of a popular cause, who +stirred in men and women a sense of the vast potentialities +of their nation and the human race, and for a time I accepted +their definition of Russia's aims as correct. +</p> + +<p> +But it gradually dawned on me, and also on my close +friend, the future pillar of Panslavism and autocracy, that +whatever one might think about the social and political +theories of the revolutionaries, they were uniformly wrong +in their facts and forecasts. Thus their anticipation of the +peasants' attitude towards the government were invariably +belied by events. Tshernyshevsky, for example, whose +writing we secretly read and warmly discussed, had staked +his reputation and also the fate of his scheme on the postulate +that the peasants would not accept their emancipation as +offered by Alexander II., but would rise in arms and +overthrow the government. He next believed that their calm +resignation was but temporary, and that within two years' +time the long hoped for rebellion would convulse the Empire. +All the expectations and most of the assumptions of Bakunin +and Herzen had also vanished at the touch of reality, and the +Russian peasantry remained the impenetrable Sphinx it had +been before. Nobody then nor, indeed, for forty years longer +could put into words the ideals of the people—and had they +divined them, no apostle, no idealist, could have utilised +them for the purpose of arousing enthusiasm and generating +the motive power for a revolution. The groundwork of the +peasants' own scheme for his well-being is formed by what +diplomatists would term "healthy robust egotism," and his +cherished method is expropriation. The picture which was +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P69"></a>69}</span> +commonly drawn of the tiller of the soil by the "intellectuals" +was the projection of a poetic brain, a synthesis +of the qualities adequate for the founders of a latter-day +Utopia. In a word, the so-called leaders of the nation had +not the remotest conception of the nation's world-philosophy, +instincts, or strivings. +</p> + +<p> +Looking back at their words and acts I can affirm that +they created an imaginary nation after their own heart, and +worked by fits and snatches and with unsuitable weapons +for the welfare of that. And from that day to this the chasm +between the two has never been bridged. +</p> + +<p> +The abortive revolution of 1905-6, the failure of the +constitutional parties to hammer in the adamantine wedge +which the defeat of the bureaucracy by the Japanese had +inserted into the State framework, and finally the Kadets'[<a id="chap05fn4text"></a><a href="#chap05fn4">4</a>] +ignorance of the movement that culminated in the outburst +of March, 1917, their helplessness in face of a set of +circumstances which, rightly handled, would have kept the Empire +for a time intact and placed its social and political ordering +in their own hands, but, botched as it was, opened the +sluice gates to the floods of anarchy—are all object lessons +on the difficulty of interpreting aright the spiritual and +material needs and longings of the Russian people. These +requirements and strivings are, to my thinking, largely +conditioned by the historical factors already enumerated, +and in especial by the numbing influence of ages of cultural +isolation. There is a thick substratum of primeval savagery +in the peasant's composition not at all far from the surface +which separates him widely, not only from western peoples, +but also from the intellectuals of his own race as they appear +in their public words and acts. The revolting behaviour of +the soldiery and the peasantry to their own kith and kin +during the nation's <i>delirium tremens</i> after March, 1917, which +even revolutionary history is too prude to record, offers +irrefragable evidence of the deplorable fact that the bulk +of the Russian people is still in that primitive stage when +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P70"></a>70}</span> +self-government, even in the diluted form in which it is +vouchsafed to some continental nations, would harm in lieu +of helping it. Education and careful training will in time +qualify the people for an ever larger share in the conduct of +its affairs, but in the meanwhile its spokesmen and trustees +are tearing the political organism into shreds. Under a wise +and strong government the peasants become as clay in the +potter's hands—plasticity being one of the racial traits +common to them with all their race. But take away the +compelling force and they become human frenzies. The +Northern Slav is an amalgam of contradictions: he can put +forth stupendous efforts for a short while, but is incapable +of sustaining a moderate endeavour perseveringly until the +object is achieved. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the types of the rising generation with whom I +was thrown into contact at the university would have +exercised the ingenuity of the most experienced psychologist +and tempted a literary portraitist like Balzac. The +procession of them that passed before my eyes kept my +mind constantly in an active mood ever seeking for labels +and sometimes finding none that were applicable. I remember +in particular the following incident characteristic +of much. I had asked a professor to read the book of Genesis +with me in Hebrew and to give me the benefit of his special +knowledge of that subject. He agreed to do this, provided +that I found three other students willing to join me, and +that he might deliver the lectures every Monday morning +at nine in his own private dwelling. The hour was +repellent to many, considering that we were then in the +height of the winter season, but I contrived to persuade two +students to join the class. To get a third, however, seemed +impossible. At last I besought one of our comrades, a fine, +tall, well-built youth who was studying Chinese and Mongol +and, unlike so many others, was well-to-do, content with the +world, and shy of politics. But when he learned the hour of +the lecture and the place—which was very remote from the +street in which his own rooms were situate—he refused +categorically to join the class. And all my suasion was in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P71"></a>71}</span> +vain. Somehow I mentioned casually it would be only once +a week, every Monday morning, and he at once exclaimed, +"Oh, Monday morning? Yes, of course, I can come. +Nothing easier. You see every Sunday I spend the night +in a house of—of—amusement a stone's throw from the +professor's place, and I get up about eight or half-past eight, +so that I can be at his rooms by nine without an effort. I +will oblige you." Accordingly he too came—straight from +his dissipation—and we had our lecture on Genesis. One +day he was late and the professor, in consequence of some +jocular allusion of ours, the point of which he missed, put +a plain question and wormed the secret out of us, and on +learning the motives that had determined his fourth student +to frequent his lectures on Genesis he laughed heartily. +</p> + +<p> +The oriental faculty was the least political section of the +university. Its students held aloof from revolutionary +meetings, and either worked very hard or enjoyed life to the +top of their bent. Our friend of the Monday morning +lectures having burned the candle at both ends and also +in the middle, melted away rapidly and was buried within a +twelvemonth. +</p> + +<p> +With the bureaucracy and its workings I became acquainted +under the guidance of a few of its gifted members, +one, the celebrated Tertius Philippoff, imperial comptroller, +who took me into his department, gave me a post there, and +initiated me into the psychology of the <i>tshinovnik</i>; another, +Basil Grigorieff, Professor of Oriental Languages and +Director-General of the Censor's Department; and a less +exalted but more highly endowed censor, who had fought +in the Crimea and was one of the most gifted, typical, +devil-may-care, captivating Russians, and one of the most +plausible Nihilists I ever met. S.K. had witnessed the utter +breakdown of the bureaucratic war machine under Nicholas I. and +had contemplated the misery it inflicted on the soldiers +whose heroism, unrequited and unrewarded, was +unparalleled. He had observed the progress of revolutionary +propaganda in the army, among Russian soldiers, in +Bulgaria and in Warsaw; and in his capacity of censor he was +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P72"></a>72}</span> +continually reading revolutionary leaflets, manifestos, +newspapers, and books, and discussing them with hardly veiled +sympathies. He supplied me with the forbidden works of +Dobroliuboff, Tshernyshevsky, Herzen, and others, and +gradually filled me with pity for the victims of the +autocratic Juggernaut and with loathing for the idol and its +priests. In speculative matters there were no bounds to +S.K.'s enterprise: he would call in question the holiest +institutions, attack the root dogmas of Christianity, or the +morality of remaining alive in this world of misery and +squalor, but he discharged the duties of censor efficiently and +with a breadth of view in which his colleagues were lacking, +and always congruously with the letter of the law. He was +at once a most successful apostle of Nihilism and one of the +most efficient servants of the State. +</p> + +<p> +In those days I used frequently to visit the palace of +Tsarskoye Selo, accompanied by a member of a family which, +at that time, was living on terms of close friendship with +that of the heir apparent, afterwards Alexander III. The +Tsarevitch and his consort called occasionally at the villa +where the head of the family resides, and it was there that +I first saw and spoke to him. When S.K. heard of my visits +to the palace he exclaimed, "Look well at the children of +the Tsarevitch Alexander Alexandrovitch. None of them +will ever reach the throne. Mark my words. I think I know +my country." I noted his prophecy which was not fulfilled, +but it came very near to the mark. I watched the children +of the Tsarevitch and speculated in my mind on their future. +In particular I made inquiries respecting the character and +mental outfit of him who I afterwards saw crowned as +Nicholas II. As it happened I was present at every great +event in his life down to a short time before the outbreak +of the war. +</p> + +<p> +Echoes from the subterranean forge where seismic +explosions were being prepared reached us periodically in +the halls of the university, and more than once I arranged +for a private meeting (skhodka) to be held in the auditory +of the oriental faculty which, being somewhat distant from +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P73"></a>73}</span> +the principal lecture rooms, was not likely to be invaded by +the authorities. We there listened to wordy debates about +the duty of patriots to forego their individual life-schemes, +settle down among the peasants and working men, and discharge +the function of leaven to raise them to the revolutionary +pitch;[<a id="chap05fn5text"></a><a href="#chap05fn5">5</a>] about the relative merits of a social and a +political upheaval; about the separation of the working +man from the intellectuals; and about the part which +terrorism should be made to play in the coming purification of +the Russian world. My friend the student B. and I never +actually joined any secret society, but we listened to the +general discussions with something more than mere interest, +and we never hesitated between a political change and the +social debacle preached by the uncompromising pioneers +who quoted Bakunin. S.K. on the other hand, ever +uncompromising in theory, favoured Bakunin's programme, and +often quoted these words of the master, "Let us put our +faith in the eternal spirit which pulls down and annihilates +only because he is the inscrutable and creative source of all +life. The desire to destroy is at the same time a creative +desire." Among an extreme section of the party known as +"The People's Will" this doctrine was assimilated and +when possible practised with deep-reaching consequences. +The seed sown in those days produced the fruits we beheld +in 1905-6 and in 1917. +</p> + +<p> +The first attempt at terrorism that took place while I was +in the country was made by Vera Zassulitch who, belonging +to no party, travelled on her own initiative all the way from +the Volga to the capital, fired at the Prefect of St. Petersburg, +General Trepoff, and severely wounded him because, according +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P74"></a>74}</span> +to statements published in the daily paper, he had had +a political prisoner flogged. This audacious deed sent a +thrill of satisfaction over the entire nation. The girl was +tried for the offence before a jury and acquitted, whereupon +excitement rose to white heat. The authorities ordered her +immediate re-arrest, but she was nowhere to be found. The +Minister of Justice, a conscientious German, Count Pahlen, +had to resign. The police arrested crowds of people, many +were deported to Siberia without trial, and terror from +on high begot terror from below. I well remember the +August day when Stepniak stabbed Mezentseff in +St. Petersburg, and the flushed cheeks and flaming eyes of +S.K. who hastened to me with all the particulars at his fingers' +ends and assured me that this was but the overture. In +effect the Tsar himself was the next target of the terrorists +and a student his would-be assassin. Five shots from a +revolver were fired at the Emperor from a moderate distance, +but Alexander's hour had not struck. The attempt was not +unforeseen. The revolutionists had formally condemned +the monarch to death, apprised him of the sentence, and +added that his only hope of escape was to bestow constitutional +government on the country. This move bespoke a +change of programme. Instead of social, political renovation +was now demanded. The terrorists who had been theretofore +working exclusively for a social burst-up won the +support, by accepting the aims, of the Liberals who +clamoured for the establishment of a constitutional monarchy. +The Liberals testified their reconciliation by a bootless +effort to induce the government to commute the death +sentence on the would-be assassin of the Tsar into +banishment to Siberia. +</p> + +<p> +For victory in the struggle that now ensued the secret +police of the "Third Section" relied on its spies, agents +provocateurs, and its power to punish the discontented +administratively. But the conspirators were dauntless and +resourceful in their schemes against the monarch's life, +which, although baulked continually, were resumed with +unflagging ardour. Time after time a chance discovery, a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P75"></a>75}</span> +precaution neglected, a trick of fate saved the Emperor—some +unforeseen accident always—who had been encouraged +to believe that the danger he ran was only apparent. +But when one evening the apartment under his dining-room +in the Winter Palace was blown to splinters at the moment +when he would have been sitting at table had he not been +delayed unexpectedly, he awoke to the conviction that the +only way to ensure his safety and escape his enemies was to +look into their demands and see how far he could prudently +go towards satisfying them. This conclusion marked a +turning point in his policy. He promoted the Governor-General +of Kharkoff, Loris Melikoff, to be president of a +committee to carry on the home government, invested him +with almost dictatorial powers, and ordered him to elaborate +a project of far-ranging reform. Unfortunately this good +resolution was unknown to the terrorists, who fancied that +the external change meant but greater intensity in coercion. +</p> + +<p> +Loris Melikoff was well intentioned and fairly well +informed, but the revolutionary party knew of no reason why +it should trust him. An early and hasty attempt was even +made on his life. I, who was living on a footing of cordial +friendship with the leading Armenians of St. Petersburg, +with Delyanoff, the Esoffs, Patkanoff, etc., etc., learned a +good deal of what was going on behind walls and doors. +From the utterances of Professor Gradoffsky on the other +hand, who was spoken of as Melikoff's secretary, I could +gauge the suspicions of the Liberal party, and by S.K. I +was apprised in a general way that a wide web was believed +to be woven by the terrorists round the Tsar, in the meshes +of which he would probably be caught. +</p> + +<p> +Melikoff's conception was businesslike and his way of +executing it tactful. On the one hand he was loth to scare +the Emperor by a far-reaching project sprung upon him +without warning, and on the other hand neither the gist nor +the details of his moderate scheme must be allowed to leak +out prematurely lest the reactionary press, headed by the +redoubted Katkoff, should organise a national opposition. +What the virtual dictator had in view was to increase the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P76"></a>76}</span> +powers of the zemstvos, to authorise them to co-operate +with each other throughout the Empire, and thus to enable +them to create an intelligent representative assembly. That +seemed to outsiders who were free from bias to be the right +step at that conjuncture. I confess that my own mind was +not quite made up at the time, partly because I was not sure +of the data, and partly because I was a reader of the writings +of Katkoff whom I knew personally. I also enjoyed the +advantage of listening occasionally to Dostoyeffsky's diatribes +and perusing his dull periodical, and S.K. was never tired +of telling me that nothing must be expected from the crown +except decrees of banishment to Siberia, nor from the +revolutionists barring the martyrdom of some and the +treachery of others. One thing alone was clear to me: a +social upheaval would endanger the very existence of the +Empire. The utmost that the cultural level of the nation +would admit of was a moderate political change. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime, the two enemies went their respective +ways, the terrorists plotting the death of the Tsar, and the +Tsar making up his mind to yield what the terrorists had +demanded, and even to contemplate its corollary, a genuine +parliament. At last Loris Melikoff completed his project +and secured the Emperor's assent to it about the same time +that the conspirators had put the final touch to theirs. On +Saturday, 12th March, 1881, I was sauntering down the +Nevsky Prospekt with my Professor of Armenian, Patkanian, +and we were about to cross the Morskaya, a street leading +to the palace, when the police suddenly stopped us in order +to let the imperial sleigh glide past. At close quarters we +saluted Alexander II. Mechanically he returned the +greeting, looking pensive and weary as he glided shadow-like +from before our eyes. "I should feel sorry to be in that +man's shoes to-day," whispered Professor Patkanian to me, +as we moved out of ear-range of the police. "Why to-day?" +I asked. "Don't you know," he replied, "that Loris +Melikoff is very anxious about the Tsar's safety? They have +discovered another plot, this time a formidable affair, and +have arrested the principal conspirators. But the others are +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P77"></a>77}</span> +still at large, and may yet carry out their scheme unless Loris +baffles it. He is all the more worried about it that the +Emperor refuses to submit to rational measures of precaution. +He has besought him to stay indoors for a few days, +but the Tsar is reckless. Loris is worried." +</p> + +<p> +The next day I was in the mined house[<a id="chap05fn6text"></a><a href="#chap05fn6">6</a>] which would +have been blown to smithereens had the Tsar, who had +just signed and sanctioned the desired reform, driven down +the Nevsky. But instead he went along the Moika. I reached +the fatal spot a few minutes after the bombs had exploded, +the victims had fallen, and the dying Tsar had been taken +to the Winter Palace. I saw the blood on the snow and +crowds of old women dipping handkerchiefs or clothes in it +and reverently making the sign of the cross. I stood in front +of the palace an hour or two later in the midst of a dense +throng waiting for the monarch to show himself, for he was +believed to have escaped intact or with a slight wound. And +I then had another opportunity to observe the peasant's true +character as it revealed itself when temporarily freed from +outside restraint. As I stood that memorable afternoon +among the crowd in the snow, my eyes fixed on the balcony +from which the monarch was wont on exceptional occasions +to greet or address the people, there were two students near +me who were talking in a tone that denoted indifference, +callousness, or satisfaction. Now and again they broke into +a laugh. I could not hear anything they were saying, but I +noticed that the one nearest to me was particularly light-hearted +and blithe. All at once I heard the rasping tones of +a dvornik's[<a id="chap05fn7text"></a><a href="#chap05fn7">7</a>] voice shouting, "What do you mean?" +followed by the subdued response of one of the students, +then a chorus of angry voices waxing louder and louder +around the pair. A violent push past me where the students +stood, a hustling movement, some cynical ejaculations, and +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P78"></a>78}</span> +then a sequence of awful screams that froze one's blood +were the only sights and sounds that reached me of the +revolting tragedy that had been enacted almost by my side. +The two students had been seized first by the ears which +were pulled away, and then torn limb from limb. Sick at +heart I returned home to learn that a blood bath was +apprehended, as the dvorniks and other peasants had announced +their intention of killing every well dressed person in the +capital. That was my first insight into what is connoted by +the elemental ferocity of the people. I began to understand +how essential are outward restraints to good, nay, to human +behaviour in those benighted masses. Neither the doctrines +of Christ nor the instincts of humanity had been cultivated +by their leaders. The people had for ages seen robbery, +murder, in a word all kinds of crime, political, private, and +absolutely wanton outrages perpetrated in the name of God, +the Tsar, and the fatherland by their own educated and +spiritual guides. Is it to be wondered at that whenever they +had the chance in turn to rob and burn and torture and kill +they used it to the full relentlessly? +</p> + +<p> +As soon as the Emperor's death became known, Petersburg +fell into a state of chaotic confusion. The city was +surrounded by a military cordon. Incongruous +self-contradictory measures were framed, discussed, adopted, and +dropped. The brains of the rulers seemed paralysed. But +one official remained as cool and detached as if nothing had +happened. This man of nerve and resource was Plehve, the +public prosecutor, destined soon to become Director of the +Police Department, then Dictator of Russia and an instrument +of Fate in her downfall. A thousand tongues anathematised +the regicides and discussed ingenious measures of +public safety. Students were badly mauled in the streets of +the cities and a publican mistaken for a student was beaten +to death before my eyes. From out of the din and tumult +two alternative policies took definite shape and presented +themselves to the new Emperor—the execution of his father's +plan or a fresh spell of "resolute government," and he +unhesitatingly announced his preference for the former. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P79"></a>79}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Many of the eminent people whom I met most frequently +in those days, Katkoff, Pobiedonostseff, Philippoff, the +Metropolitan Archbishop of St. Petersburg, Delyanoff, +Komaroff, were ranged on the side of the autocracy and +preached a crusade against the reform scheme which the +Tsar proposed to carry out. Impressed by their attitude he +first submitted it to his ministers in order to learn from their +lips what results they expected it to yield. A majority warmly +declared for it and, curiously enough, the Grand Duke +Vladimir was one of its most convinced spokesmen. I was +personally acquainted with most of the others,[<a id="chap05fn8text"></a><a href="#chap05fn8">8</a>] but nearly +half the votes were on the opposite side. +</p> + +<p> +The leader of the dissentients, the celebrated +K. Pobiedonostseff, whose disinterested brooding over the cavernous +deeps of human nature impressed the Emperor, was a host in +himself. It was my privilege to meet this remarkable man +over and over again during those historic days and later. +After the Council of Ministers[<a id="chap05fn9text"></a><a href="#chap05fn9">9</a>] at which Melikoff's reform +project was debated, I heard him on the subject and watched +him intently while he talked. For he looked like a man +possessed. His eyes were wild and his voice hollow like that, say, +of Samuel raised from the dead. One such scene in +particular made a deep dent on my memory. He had been +inveighing against Loris Melikoff, and asserting that the +outcome of his project would be to turn over the Empire and +its destinies to the scoundrels who had slain its protector and +Tsar, and would fain annihilate all checks and restraints, +divine and human. And clutching his head with his hands +he repeatedly exclaimed, "They are mad, stark mad." Bessarion +Komaroff who was present remarked, "It is for +you to protect your imperial pupil from their folly." "Ah! if +only the Emperor would listen to me." "Have you doubts +about it then?" "I am sure of nothing. The decision lies +with him. He has heard my views and also those of Milyutin +& Co. And he is hesitating between the two courses. +At first he seemed ready to ratify the sinister scheme, but +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P80"></a>80}</span> +happily he postponed the execution. And now we can still +hope, but only hope." Then turning to Komaroff, the editor +of the oldest journal in St. Petersburg, and to myself, who +was then one of its leader writers, he said, "The press has +much to answer for and much to make good. You must go +to work and help us. There is no time to be lost." The press +had already gone to work with vigour and, in the case of +the Moscow thunderer Katkoff, with virulence. Intrigues +increased and multiplied and were conducted with profound +secrecy by the reactionaries. The Liberal ministers were +listless and self-satisfied, relying upon the Tsar's approval +of the reform, expressed after his father's death and +accompanied by his promise to carry it out. He would not go back +on his word after that, they said. They also thought he +needed time to accustom himself to the concession. And +they waited. The others worked. +</p> + +<p> +While the Tsar was hesitating between two courses Fate +in its ironical mood played a trick which probably decided +him. The reform which had actually been assented to by +Alexander II. had, as we saw, been hindered by the very +men who were sacrificing money, liberty, life, to attain +it—the revolutionists. And now again, just when it was about +to be confirmed, had, in fact, been confirmed in writing by +the Tsar[<a id="chap05fn10text"></a><a href="#chap05fn10">10</a>] and the ministers, these same revolutionists +through their executive committee sent him a long-winded, +arrogant, and argumentative letter[<a id="chap05fn11text"></a><a href="#chap05fn11">11</a>] taking credit for the +murder of his father, but assuming that the son would see +eye to eye with them and concede to vulgar threats what +they fancied had been denied to reason. They ended their +missive with a demand for a representative body to be +chosen by free general election and, until the voting ceased, +for liberty of the press, of speech, and of meeting. I received +a copy of this curious document from S.K., who remarked +that its effect on the Emperor would be like that of the red +cloth on the bull in the ring. "There is now no hope of a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P81"></a>81}</span> +constitution," he added. "The executive committee of the +revolutionary party is composed of downright fools." +</p> + +<p> +Rumours which ran wild in those troublous days credited +the celebrated General Skobeleff with a sudden dictatorial +impulse to which he was said to be giving reinless scope when +chance or design removed him from the scene. There was +no doubt that he was supremely dissatisfied with the course +things political were taking, and it was known that he had +sulkily refused a post offered to him by Loris Melikoff. I, +who was then one of the representatives of the anti-German +tendency in the Russian press, and was also in touch with an +officer who was Skobeleff's intimate friend and boon +companion, was well aware of that. According to the improbable +story current, he harboured a plan to march at the head of +a body of devoted troops, surround the Winter Palace, +arrest the Tsar, and proclaim a constitution. In order the +better to execute this scheme he took Count Nicholas +Ignatieff, who had been Ambassador to Russia, into his +confidence, and Ignatieff first approached Melikoff on the +subject, but receiving no encouragement from that quarter, +and fearing to be compromised, he denounced the plot to the +Tsar. Such was the rumour. But the project was so utterly +out of touch with all the circumstances that in the absence of +good evidence, which is lacking, I shrink from ascribing it to +a man like Skobeleff. For although ambitious he was also +shrewd, had everything to lose by the probable failure of the +scheme, and little or nothing to gain by its success which was +doubtful. His sudden death, attributed to poison, has been +instanced as a corroborative circumstance, but Skobeleff's +life—a life like that of my fellow-student at the lectures on +Genesis—explains his death quite as satisfactorily as the +assumption that he fell by the hand of a member of the Holy +League.[<a id="chap05fn12text"></a><a href="#chap05fn12">12</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Nearly two months passed in doubt and hesitation before +the new Tsar made up his mind what course to strike out. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P82"></a>82}</span> +In the end Pobiedonostseff won him over to autocracy and +received the order to draw up a manifesto to the nation +announcing the fateful decision, which was duly signed and +promulgated.[<a id="chap05fn13text"></a><a href="#chap05fn13">13</a>] Loris Melikoff and some of his colleagues, +who had not been informed of the Emperor's gradual +conversion to the old ideas and had no foreknowledge of the +manifesto, resigned and fell into disfavour. The +revolutionists were roused to fury by the new course which was +entered upon after so much deliberation, persevered in with +firmness, and sustained with more method and thoroughness +than is usual in Russian politics. Their anger was impotent, +however, against the systematic precautions adopted by the +new government, and they no longer had the sympathy of +the people, without which no great Liberal movement could +lead to practical results. The terrorists had overshot the +mark and defeated their object, and new problems of absorbing +interest in the economic domain received actuality and +diverted public attention to other channels. Thus closed a +thrilling chapter of Russian history which may be epitomised +as a waste of energy for lack of vision. The government +reproached the revolutionists with being out of touch with +the people whose aims and strivings they misunderstood, +and the revolutionists hurled back the taunt. Both were +right. In the meanwhile the people's attitude towards the +two adversaries resembled that of Candide towards Pangloss +when he set forth his proofs that this is the best of all possible +worlds, "Cela est bien dit, mais il faut cultiver notre jardin." +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn1text">1</a>] By way of preparation I had studied Slav languages +at the University of +Innsbruck, and afterwards under Leskien at the University +of Leipzig, and +the first period of my sojourn in Russia was spent +on the Steppes of the +Ukraine where I acquired the language of the province. +Since then I lived +and worked for years in close contact with the Liberal +movement under +three Tsars, and in various capacities as a student, +as a graduate of two Russian +Faculties and Universities, as Professor of +Comparative Philology at the +University of Kharkoff, as the author of several +literary and scientific works, +as leader-writer of two Russian newspapers and editor +of one, as representative +of the Daily Telegraph, and adviser +to my eminent friend Count Witte. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn2text">2</a>] Others were Russia's only philosopher, +Vladimir Solovieff, who afterwards +became a close friend of mine; Katkoff, +the greatest journalist Russia +ever had, the editor of the principal +Moscow daily paper; and Bilbassoff, +editor of the Petersburg <i>Goloss</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn3text">3</a>] Timasheff. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn4text">4</a>] The "Kadets" are the Constitutional Democrats +presided over by +M. Milyukoff. The name arose from the initial letters +of the two words—K.D. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn5text">5</a>] This injunction was religiously carried out +by a number of ardent spirits +of both sexes who grudged no effort, +shrank from no sacrifices to reach the +hearts and brains of the lower classes. +Sophia Perovskaya went among the +working women of the capital, subsequently +joined the terrorists, and finally +was hanged for the murder of Alexander II. +I looked upon her face as she +was being taken to the place of execution. +Officers like Shishka abandoned the +army and became factory hands. +Altogether no fewer than three thousand +apostles thus went among their own and their +own received them not. The +peasants and the workers looked with +contemptuous wonder upon these +political missionaries. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn6text">6</a>] In the same house there was a joint-stock +concern of which Patkanian was +a director, and I had an appointment there with +him at the very hour when +the whole place was to have been blown up had +the Tsar returned that way. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn7text">7</a>] A dvornik, literally the "gate keeper," +is one of several house janitors +whose duties were to carry fuel to the flats, +take the passports to the police, +watch at the gates all night, and spy +on the inmates of the house. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn8text">8</a>] Saburoff, Nabokoff, Solsky, Abaza, and Milyutin. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn9text">9</a>] Held on 30th March, 1881. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn10text">10</a>] By a remark penned on the project and +by his announcement to the Grand +Duke Vladimir. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn11text">11</a>] Dated 10th/22nd March, 1881. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn12text">12</a>] A secret society for the protection +of the person of the Tsar, consisting +of members of the nobility presided over +by the Grand Duke Vladimir, who +agreed to adopt the methods of the terrorists, +but appear to have shrunk +from redeeming their pledge. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap05fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap05fn13text">13</a>] On 11th May. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap06"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P83"></a>83}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER VI +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE RULE OF THE BUREAU +</p> + +<p> +"My ideas about a change of regime and the kindred +proposals that have been the cause of so much hatred and +bloodshed," said Pobiedonostseff, the Mentor of Alexander +III., "are neither new nor complex"—he was talking to a +knot of three or four persons including Komaroff and +myself. "What a government ought to aim at is the +happiness of the people. Now the elements of happiness vary +with the different peoples and with their degrees of culture. +What is needed in a legislator, therefore, besides a knowledge +of the nation's actual requirements, is skill in adjusting his +measures to these—this rather than a spirit of system. The +Russian people differ widely from western nations both to +their advantage and their disadvantage, and because they +differ no one formula can be safely applied to both. Call +our peasants unsophisticated or uncivilised in the European +sense, if you will, the fact remains that neither their spiritual +instincts nor their moral restraints are adequate to subdue +the ferocious passions that lie dormant in their breasts +without the aid of physical sanctions. That is the leading +fact and it should receive due weight. To a large extent our +Church is answerable for this backwardness. What any +government worth its salt must do, then, is to see that the +Christian spirit is infused into the Church and keep the +revolutionary poison from entering the veins of the nation. +This does not involve stagnation. Progress there certainly +must be, but it will have to be marked by ordered gradation. +The triumph of Liberalism to-day would be the dissolution +of the bonds that keep the community together and would +entail decomposition." +</p> + +<p> +These were the maxims that inspired Pobiedonostseff's +policy at its best. But they remained maxims to the end. It +was not until the middle of the next reign that he regretfully +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P84"></a>84}</span> +admitted the impossibility of carrying out any coherent +policy of regeneration for lack of qualified instruments. And +these he had failed to find in Russia. What he had also +overlooked was the impossibility, under his own system, of +obtaining such agents, and if there had been any, of setting +them feasible tasks. For the autocracy had by this time +become a mere name for government by myriads of petty +officials, each of whom worked separately under hardly any +local and no central control, actuated by sordid motives and +devoid alike of loyalty to the State and of a sense of duty. +If the constitutional reform approved by Alexander II. had +been embodied in institutions, and if the zemstvos, entrusted +with fuller powers, had then been allowed to co-operate +organically with each other, effective supervision and fruitful +government would have been at least possible during a brief +period of transition. By Pobiedonostseff's methods they +were eliminated. The innovation inaugurated by this statesman +consisted of a set of artificial checks and counter-checks +of which the only justification was the perpetuation of the +autocracy—and the principal result was to fortify the bureaucracy +and render it more of a parasite than before. It is fair +to recognise that the State at that epoch had no other means +of defence at its disposal. The curse of Russia had from the +beginning of her history been the absence of effective moral +restraints and the operation of mechanical substitutes. And +now by way of bettering the plight to which the nation was +thereby reduced it was proposed to increase the mere +mechanical deterrents. Accordingly the individual and the +community were called on to surrender their interests, aims, +thoughts to salaried conscience-keepers, who were bereft of +self-respect and often of moral integrity. General +dissatisfaction was the immediate consequence; the final outcome +was the abysmal plunge. +</p> + +<p> +None the less the experiment was protracted throughout +the entire reign of Alexander II. and a great part of that of +his successor. The new Tsar, who had refused to consolidate +the State and weaken the bureaucracy by means of the +zemstvos, which he considered dangerous, appointed a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P85"></a>85}</span> +complete set of chiefs for every department of public life +and for every class of the population. Take one instance. +The peasants, when serfs, had had but slight relations with +the State and only indirectly through their masters. From +the autocratic point of view this was a distinct advantage, +for it simplified government by centralisation. But it lasted +only as long as serfdom. Now that the emancipated peasants +were being disaffected by terrorist propagandists and others, +the Home Secretary devised a class of guardians[<a id="chap06fn1text"></a><a href="#chap06fn1">1</a>] to shield +them, whose sole qualification was nobility of birth, officials +who were answerable only to the minister, and to these +power was given over the bodies and souls of nine-tenths of +the population. It was within the discretion of the new +chiefs to rob and flog and persecute their wards; many of +them used the power without ruth, and went so far as +deliberately and arbitrarily to hinder even agricultural +development, the spread of instruction, and liberty of religious +thought and creed. This new order of bureaucrats was in +the nature of a final touch to a policy which drove the country +out of its natural course and set it moving towards the abyss. +For the emancipation of the serfs by bringing the government +and the masses into direct communication necessitated +a vast increase in the number of officials, each of whom, +more or less independent of the government, wielded a +certain degree of irresponsible power. So enormous was the +mass of reports, edicts, warnings, and comments which +passed between the centre and the circumference that the +former could not possibly exercise supervision over the +latter. The crying injustice and the farcical intermezzos +that resulted would fill volumes. +</p> + +<p> +I remember vaguely the case of a landed proprietor who, +having mortgaged his estate and become insolvent, was +unable to pay the interest to the State Bank. After the usual +formalities the land and manor were to be put up for auction. +He appealed to the Emperor for time to scrape together the +amount of his debt, but in vain. One of his friends then +advised him to go to a certain <i>pissar</i>[<a id="chap06fn2text"></a><a href="#chap06fn2">2</a>] in the department—an +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P86"></a>86}</span> +amanuensis who received some sixty pounds a year—and +offer him a hundred roubles for his help. He took the +advice, paid the money, and had ample time to collect the +requisite sum. The pissar through whose hands the order +passed deliberately transformed the address on the envelope +into a town in eastern Siberia by the change of two letters. +The decree ordering the sale was despatched to the far east +of the Tsardom and several months elapsed before the +"mistake" was discovered and corrected. In this way the +estate was saved. +</p> + +<p> +It was the segregation of the bureaucracy and the immense +power it conferred upon irresponsible nobodies that +ultimately drove in the wedge between it and the crown which +finally contributed to split the structure of the State. If +instead of devising the class of district chiefs or local tsarlets +who made the confusion much worse than before, the +government had reverted to the scheme of Alexander II. and +set existing public bodies like the zemstvos to discharge +the functions of intermediaries and to co-operate with each +other, a step would have been taken in the right direction, +but it is doubtful whether at that late period Russia's +evolution would have progressed in its historic course. Count +N. P. Ignatieff, who became, for a short time, Minister of the +Interior, discerned this possibility and suggested to Alexander +III. the adoption of the political reform drafted by Loris +Melikoff. But the idea was scouted by the Tsar's reactionary +counsellors, Pobiedonostseff and Dmitry Tolstoy, whereupon +Ignatieff had to withdraw into private life for the +remainder of his days. Thus at irregular periods from the +reign of Catherine II. downwards, Russian monarchs manifested +velleities of internal reform, but the piratical spirit of +the State stifled all such beginnings. +</p> + +<p> +Too much stress cannot be laid on the fact that from +time immemorial political Russia has consisted of two +classes, the masters and their workers, between whom +yawned an abyss almost as wide as that between Spartan +citizens and helots. +</p> + +<p> +Military force and a certain proportion between the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P87"></a>87}</span> +rulers' striving for territorial expansion and their +achievements kept the arrangement from breaking down. From +early days onward to the reign of Ivan the Terrible the force +was directed mainly against internal enemies, independent +principalities, or the Tartars, while the masses were left +largely to their own resources. The ruler invariably struck +up a tacit partnership with the soldiers, his instruments for +the extension and maintenance of his power, and in virtue +of this partnership they became materially interested in his +success, being certain of a large part of the booty. It should +be borne well in mind that this co-operative system, with +seasonable modifications, has been the type of regime in +Russia down to the revolution of 1917. Thus Ivan the +Terrible was served by his guards—opritchniki—who benefited +very extensively by his conquests. Peter transformed +the opritchina into an army, and the rude system of civil +service into a bureaucratic hierarchy whose principal +function it was to bind together the conflicting elements of the +Empire and keep their centrifrugal tendencies permanently +under control. +</p> + +<p> +This system yielded for a time all the good of which it +was capable, but it was always in danger of degenerating into +organised parasitism. So long, however, as the central +authority was able to survey and direct the doings of its +agents the mechanism worked with passable smoothness. +But the bureaucracy was swamped by a deluge of new +officials after the emancipation of the serfs by Alexander II., +and when his successor aggravated the evil by appointing a +host of intermediaries invested with practically unlimited +power the bureaucracy ceased to be the organ of the +autocrat, and rapidly became a monstrous parasite which preyed +on the body of the Russian nation and lived for itself alone. +</p> + +<p> +In this respect there was a striking contrast between the +Tsardom and the Kaiserdom. For in spite of its kinglets, +princes, and grand dukes, Germany is a federation of +twenty-six independent States governed each one by its own +conscientious administration which is thoroughly acquainted +with its needs, capacities, and temper, and is able to play +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P88"></a>88}</span> +upon all its chords with the certainty of evoking the +wished-for response. Nowhere do the Saxons, the Bavarians, or the +other independent peoples come into actual contact with the +obnoxious forms of imperial absolutism. These are caught +and transformed by the local government organism which +has the welfare of the people at heart. The Tsardom, on the +contrary, lay heavy on each province, nationality, religion, +tribe, and individual, and rendered progress well-nigh +impossible and existence difficult. +</p> + +<p> +It was to free the people from that mighty vampire that +the revolution was conceived by the intellectuals. The +fundamental error committed by its promoters was that +they treated the masses as Ivan the Terrible had treated his +opritchniki, and offered them a share in the booty—the +land—whereupon the people contented itself with reversing +the existing system, or rather democratising it, and took to +preying on the classes that possessed land, fortune, culture. +</p> + +<p> +Among the various revolutionary agencies which were at +work since I first went to Russia, the most unpretending, +indirect, and effective were certain religious sectarians. For +many years I was the spokesman in the west of religious +communities which were being ground in the dust by +Pobiedonostseff's autocratic steam-roller.[<a id="chap06fn3text"></a><a href="#chap06fn3">3</a>] Roman Catholics, +Lutherans, Old Believers, Stundists, Dookhobortsy were all +in turn the victims of oppression. But the sects which were +penalised with the utmost ferocity of theological hatred were +those rationalistic creeds which apply unrestricted criticism +to revealed religion, freely draw their own practical +conclusions and apply these to all the problems of life. For the +Russian is a born dialectician who pursues an argument to +its uttermost corollary without qualification or reserve. He +recoils from no conclusion. The circumstance that the +upshot is an absurdity is, in his eyes, no test of the falseness +of his premises. Hence the astounding tenets and brutal +practices of many of the most wide-spread religious +communities such as the self-mutilators, the suicidal sects, and +the Khlysty from whom Rasputin took some of his doctrines. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P89"></a>89}</span> +Now the rationalistic denominations made no distinction +between politics and religion in the application of their +critical solvents. They applied the same test to both. Some +of them, like the Dookhobortsy, denounced war as a crime, +forbade their adepts to don military uniform, refused to pay +taxes, and generally prescribed limits beyond which obedience +to the State became sinful. Obviously these rivals to the +government could not be tolerated by Pobiedonostseff, +engaged as he then was on a delicate experiment of the +highest import. But he made no distinction between these +groups and others whose members were more law-abiding. +Hence the history of the religious movement of the reign is +a chronicle of relentless persecution on the one hand and of +Russian heroism on the other, and in its political aspect a +chapter of the origins of the breakdown of the entire +framework of Tsarism. +</p> + +<p> +Coercion in religious matters did more to spread political +disaffection than the most enterprising revolutionary +propagandists. It turned the best spirits of the nation against +the tripartite system of God, Tsar, and fatherland, and +convinced even average people not only that there was no +life-giving principle in the State, but that no faculty of the +individual or the nation had room left for unimpeded growth. +Whithersoever one turned progress was barred by artificial +obstacles. Schools, universities, the bar, the law courts, +the press, the church and the chapel, the peasants' reunions, +the zemstvo assemblies were so many narrow cages in which +thought as well as action were caught and confined. The bulk +of the nation felt the economic pressure of this gigantic +incubus most painfully, for except in the religious domain it +was rare that curiosity of an intellectual character made itself +felt among the peasants, and then it generally assumed +grotesque shapes. The moral and intellectual condition of +the people had not perceptibly changed since their first +appearance in history, and it was clear to the student of +national psychology that its manifestations, whenever the +tight bonds of the bureaucracy should snap, were certain to +vie in lawlessness and savagery with those of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P90"></a>90}</span> +pre-Christian era. This was a momentous aspect of the problem +which was entirely neglected by all countries of the west. +Another was to be found in the unwonted social conditions +which were being created and fostered by Witte's policy of +industrialisation. The need for canalising and regulating +the new forces thus springing into life was fast growing +peremptory, but the only agencies devised by the government to +cope with them were those of the police and the Orthodox +Church. By these queer educators myriads of the Tsar's +subjects were being systematically pinioned and cooped in +ways so hateful that vast forces of revolt and destruction were +generated and stored up against the day of reckoning. +</p> + +<p> +It was the regenerated Church that Pobiedonostseff hoped +to use as a compensating counter-force to the defects of the +State and the drawbacks of its new economic policy. But +the instrument broke in his hands. The orthodox Russian +Church could not yield the regenerative virtue which itself +did not possess. For it was but an interesting relic of the +past. Even when first brought from Byzantium to Kieff it +was little more than a set of old forms and ceremonies which +the primitive Slavs were forced by their ruler to adopt. The +one spark of vitality that still glowed among its dry ashes +was the spirit of asceticism that dovetailed admirably with +the natural religion of the tribes which Vladimir, their prince, +drove into the Byzantine fold. An intimate friend of mine, +one of the most Christian distinguished members of the +Russian Church, whose life was dedicated to the work[<a id="chap06fn4text"></a><a href="#chap06fn4">4</a>] of +freeing it from the deforming crust of ages, affirms that it +lacks a truly spiritual government. "The Russian Church," +he wrote, "bereft of support and of a centre of unity +outside the State, became of necessity subject to the secular +power ... and unavoidably ended in anti-Christian +absolutism." From the tenth century, when it was transplanted +in Slav soil, down to the present day Russian orthodoxy has +been singularly devoid of intellectual and, indeed, moral +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P91"></a>91}</span> +life and movement. The gropings of individual and collective +God-seekers among the ignorant people proceeded—as I +maintained against Tolstoy's Christian theory—from the +natural bent of the Slav character towards mysticism and +morbid introspection pushed to its extreme consequences. +Hence the multiplicity of strange barbarous sects that bring +one back, not only to the feats of Simon Stylites, but to the +still more awful penances of the great Indian ascetics who +by dint of cruel self-torture surmounted titanic obstacles +and won for themselves the state of godhead. +</p> + +<p> +The organisation of the Russian Church, but not its dogmas +or practices, has varied with that of the secular governments. +Since the days of Peter, who tolerated no rivals, it has had +no visible head other than the Tsar. By that reformer the +patriarchate was abolished and a synod of bishops instituted +in its stead, to each of whose members an oath was +administered by which he acknowledged the sovereign as the +supreme judge of the convocation. And by way of stifling +all tendencies to independence the hierarchy of the clergy +was divided into ranks corresponding to the military grades, +so that a metropolitan archbishop is equal to a "full +general," an archbishop to a lieutenant-general, whereas a +secular clergyman, do what he may, cannot hope to swing +himself into a higher rank than that of colonel. +</p> + +<p> +I long occupied a favourable post of observation from +which to study the working of the Church mechanism, for I +was honoured not only with the friendship of Vladimir +Solovieff, the one great theologian[<a id="chap06fn5text"></a><a href="#chap06fn5">5</a>] and moral philosopher +Russia has produced, but also with that of Isidore, the +Metropolitan Archbishop of Petersburg and Finland, of +the Metropolitans Plato of Kieff, Ambrose of Kharkoff, +Nikanor of Kherson, Michael of Serbia, and of the +clerical laymen Tertius Philippoff, Professor Cayetan +Kossowicz, Athanasius Bytchkoff, and others. I was the +private adviser of the Metropolitan Isidore during one of the +most interesting epochs of his life, heard his criticism of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P92"></a>92}</span> +Pobiedonostseff, who vainly endeavoured to get rid of him +by sending him to a monastery, and his shrewd observations +on the Tsar Alexander III. and the Tsaritsa. A certain +amount of his foreign correspondence passed through my +hands. I once composed an encyclical letter in his name +addressed to all orthodox and other Christian Churches +throughout the world, and having had it approved by him +and signed for promulgation, it occurred to me that +Pobiedonostseff would protest against the innovation, which implied +a sort of supremacy of the metropolitan over the Russian +Church, and would force the prelate to resign. Without +giving this as my reason for withholding the letter which I +still possess as a curiosity I wrote a differently worded +and less ambitious pastoral over the archbishop's signature +which was duly published.[<a id="chap06fn6text"></a><a href="#chap06fn6">6</a>] +</p> + +<p> +I also carried on a correspondence, on behalf of that +prelate, with several representative members of the Anglican +Church, including bishops and archbishops, mainly on the +subject of the reunion of their respective communions. In +the intervals the archbishop and myself calmly talked the +matter over in its theological and political aspects. The +prelate was a shrewd self-educated peasant whose acquaintanceship +with theology and Church history was superficial, but +whose knowledge of Russia and human nature was thorough. +He saw distinctly that the line of cleavage between the two +Churches was not really theological, and that even if it were, +it could not be obliterated for lack of a central authority to +pronounce judgment. As the problem was largely political +he knew that even Pobiedonostseff himself was powerless +to solve it. Finally he perceived that the Russian Church +could not move in the matter without the support of the +other branches of orthodoxy which might not be obtainable. +And he nearly always ended up these discussions with the +words, "We need not insist on these things in our +correspondence. They—the Anglicans—must not be scared. +After all they are well-meaning and also, I am told, generous +people, and I want to appeal to them for help for my +orthodox mission in Japan. Lay stress, therefore, on our +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P93"></a>93}</span> +desire to work for reunion and allude to the question of +orders which is admittedly a solid hindrance." +</p> + +<p> +This venerable prelate, who captivated me by his racy +language, his rare shrewdness, and his delightful +outspokenness, was wont to say that no one could understand the +Russian people who had not studied their religious +conceptions. A friend of his once suggested that I should apply +for a professorship which had fallen vacant at the +theological academy of Petrograd. Although I had no positive +grounds for believing that it would be given to me, some +friends urged me to present my application in writing, +together with my qualifications, to the President of the +Academy, Yanysheff, who was a <i>persona grata</i> at court in +spite of his Lutheran leanings in theology. This I accordingly +did. After the lapse of a considerable time he sent for +me and said that a preliminary condition to my admission +to compete for the professorship would be my conversion +to the State Church. In vain my friends pointed out that a +Jewish professor was actually teaching Hebrew there. The +answer was that there was no parity between Hebrew and +philosophy. The rule, therefore, was upheld and my +candidature fell to the ground. +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon my friend, the archbishop, strongly urged me +to devote part of my life to the study of religion in Russia +and to pay special care to the origins, growth, and influence +of the various sects on the character and habits of the people. +The speculations of Vladimir Solovieff, combined with the +metropolitan's advice, led me to inquire closely into the +history of the orthodox and heretical communions in the +country, to read the epistles, narratives, and discourses of +the early Russian writers, ecclesiastical and lay, to investigate +the curious problems suggested by the countless and grotesque +sects, and to find out from the sectarians themselves what +human or peculiarly Russian needs were satisfied by their +respective tenets and practices. In obtaining materials for +these investigations I was assisted by the metropolitan +archbishop and the Home Secretary, Count Dmitry Tolstoy, +an atheist and ex-head of the Russian Church, through +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P94"></a>94}</span> +whose intervention a number of important secret reports on +sectarianism in the Empire[<a id="chap06fn7text"></a><a href="#chap06fn7">7</a>] were communicated to me, +bearing mainly upon what one might term the grotesque in +religious aberrations. +</p> + +<p> +It was while I was engaged in these studies that the work +of regenerating the Russian people was undertaken by +Pobiedonostseff, who had, meanwhile, become chief of the +Most Holy Synod. This statesman hugged the delusion +that political and social betterment in the autocratic sense +would result from that uprising of religious sentiment which +he was exerting himself to effect. He was an honest, selfless +fanatic who would set his eyes on a goal and move towards +it with steadfast tread without paying heed to the pitfalls +in his path. Pobiedonostseff the layman was one of the few +educated clericals in the Orthodox Church. To this institution +he allotted a state mission for which, in so far as it was +compatible with its natural functions, it could not be fitted +in less than two or three generations. I may say at once +that I was favourably impressed by his intentions and amazed +by the warp that vitiated his judgment. He was the victim +of an idea which, after the manner of so many of his countrymen, +he deemed capable of universal application, the fusion +of autocracy, orthodoxy, and nationalism in one trinitarian +conception. This it was that stirred in him a praiseworthy +endeavour to infuse religious ichor into the Church, which +would enable it to accomplish its lofty mission and render +the Russian people a sharer in mysterious grace of which it +would have become the repository. +</p> + +<p> +As liberty of conscience would be tantamount to the +abandonment of this object it was withheld. In view of the +process of disintegration going on in the Church and of +the weakness of its spiritual and moral fibre, such freedom +would sap its foundations and those of the autocracy with +which it was indissolubly bound up. Moreover, disbelief in +Church dogmas, especially when accompanied, as in the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P95"></a>95}</span> +rationalistic sects, by a critical attitude of mind towards all +institutions and traditions, is, it was argued, hardly to be +distinguished from disloyalty to the Tsar. Accordingly +Pobiedonostseff refused to make a distinction. And yet he was not +characterised by hardness of heart, but the problem which +he tackled bristled with difficulties and provoked acts which +put him often in contradiction with his better self. These +painful dilemmas were sometimes reflected in official records. +The Ober-Procurator of the Most Holy Synod, who, unlike +his atheistic predecessor,[<a id="chap06fn8text"></a><a href="#chap06fn8">8</a>] was a fervent believer, published +every year a report on the progress of orthodoxy, the vicissitudes +of its struggle with the revolted sectarians, and a plan of +campaign for the immediate future. In these annuals he +invariably underlined the necessity of "influencing the erring +ones by meekness and mildness, in the spirit of tolerance, +of Christian love and indulgence." On the other hand, +however, he was wont to complain of the indulgence +displayed by the secular arm, of the inaction of the civil +administration, and of the apathy of the tribunals which, he +maintained, sometimes connived at and even helped to +spread the false doctrines. Education, religion, toleration, +freedom of the press, co-operation of any kind among +citizens, excepting Church sodalities, were judged to be +incompatible with the good ordering of the realm. +</p> + +<p> +I was much struck with the contradictions between words +and deeds in which this policy involved Pobiedonostseff. +In the year 1883 a law was passed allowing the Stundists—a +sort of Baptist sect—to meet in and possess prayer halls on +the same footing as the Old Believers,[<a id="chap06fn9text"></a><a href="#chap06fn9">9</a>] and it also implicitly +permitted members of the State Church to join their +community. But in reality hard labour, banishment to a deadly +climate, and loss of the custody of their children were among +the penalties inflicted on those who forsook orthodoxy for +Evangelical Christianity. The Stundists were on the +blackest books of the Synod. "Uncommonly pernicious +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P96"></a>96}</span> +ecclesiastically and politically" was the label affixed to them +by Pobiedonostseff. A Russian press organ of high standing[<a id="chap06fn10text"></a><a href="#chap06fn10">10</a>] +brandmarked later on the action taken against these and +other religions as disgraceful. These sectarians, we read, +"are not only prosecuted, but are hounded down after the +fashion of the Middle Ages. Banishment to Siberia and +Transcaucasia, confinement in monastery prisons, scourging +with Cossack whips, military repressions like that of the +Dookhobortsy in 1895, arbitrary in justice like the removal of +the children of the Molokani from their parents' custody in +1897, frequent lynchings of sectarians by the artificially +incited masses as in 1901,[<a id="chap06fn11text"></a><a href="#chap06fn11">11</a>] these are a few of the facts which +outline the legal status, or rather the outlawing of religious +dissenters."[<a id="chap06fn12text"></a><a href="#chap06fn12">12</a>] +</p> + +<p> +One can readily imagine the influence on the impressionable +population of Russia of these fanaticised people when +forcibly dispersed over the Empire. For they were respected +by their fellow-subjects, unlike the Dookhobortsy who +refused to serve in the army, were flighty, and liable at times +to fits of religious mania. The example of the Stundists was +bracing. Their farms were well kept, their houses clean, their +word was respected. Yet 200,000 of them were at one time +making ready to emigrate in batches. To my knowledge +many quitted their country. One of the most influential +organs of the press wrote of them: "The Stundists have +never refused to serve in the army or to pay taxes. They +were and still are the most peaceful of our citizens; they +are characterised by sobriety and clean living, by industry +and love of order ... and none the less they were accused +of various 'propensities,' political and social, and the +opinion of the Committee of Ministers[<a id="chap06fn13text"></a><a href="#chap06fn13">13</a>] stigmatised them +as 'especially pernicious.' Since then they have been +deprived of their rights of praying together even in private +apartments, huts, and other dwellings. Is such a state of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P97"></a>97}</span> +things normal, nay, is it even bearable?"[<a id="chap06fn14text"></a><a href="#chap06fn14">14</a>] And yet it was +in truth a necessity—if the Tsarist State was to be preserved. +</p> + +<p> +The immediate consequence of this legislation was +systematic law-breaking which, becoming a meritorious act, +had a demoralising effect upon large sections of the population, +and a further result was utter contempt of the government. +Compelled to choose between a violation of what +they believed to be God's precept and of sinful man's +vagaries or malice, these latter-day saints made short work +of the latter. In the sectarian diocese of Nishny Novgorod +there were only twelve Stundist meeting places licensed by +the authorities for about 75,000 persons, whereupon 172 +others were opened illegally. Sixty such prayer halls were +secretly established in the province of Vyatka. In this way +millions of dissenters were turned into political offenders +and the country was honeycombed with disaffection. For +the principle of the State was that all Russians should be +gently or roughly pushed into the true fold and get into +contact with the Creator through the conducting medium of +His lieutenant the Tsar. +</p> + +<p> +The Old Believers, with whom I was in close contact, were +in numerous cases forbidden to marry in their own church. +Those who disregarded the prohibition were punished by +a decree declaring their children bastards and their wives +concubines. A Russian publicist who for years evinced an +enlightened interest in ecclesiastical matters wrote of these, +"They are devoid of the right of bringing up a family; +they are debarred from the civil service; they are disqualified +from praying.... All this I affirm positively, and without +diverging a hair's breadth from the reality. When I +read a letter from the Ural that the marriages of the Old +Believers—whose domestic life is assuredly more serene, +more modest, more pious than ours—are not recognised; +that their wives, their mothers, their grandmothers, +continue to be officially set down as spinsters; that the union +of the husband and wife who have been married in accordance +with the old Russian liturgy is termed fornication, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P98"></a>98}</span> +just as are the unchaste bonds that link the drunkards and +the thieves down in Gorky's Depths, I confess it made my +hair stand on end. The Depths of Gorky, indeed! Here +are the real depths. It is not merely that these people are said +to live badly; but the law defines, classifies, and establishes +such rules and regulations for them as though they were dogs, +and denies them civil rights, even such an elementary right +of mankind as that of having a family. +</p> + +<p> +"The State is only wielding its right when it disqualifies +for its service alike the hooligan from the depths and the +honourable dissenting merchant, whom in this respect it +sets on a level with the thief. For it may do what it likes with +its own. But let the savage Samoyede from the Arctic circle +on the one hand set about marrying his Samoyed woman, +and the Russian nonconformist on the other hand wed the +dissenting girl, and see then what happens. The former, +as is known, prays to a wooden doll, and the latter to +St. Nicholas the Wonder-worker.[<a id="chap06fn15text"></a><a href="#chap06fn15">15</a>] Yet the State says, 'I +recognise the Samoyed marriage, but I declare that the +dissenters are living in forbidden unchaste intimacy, and +this mother of six and that mother of ten children are but +spinsters guilty of fornication.'"[<a id="chap06fn16text"></a><a href="#chap06fn16">16</a>] +</p> + +<p> +The extent to which the persecution requisite to the +success of Pobiedonostseff's campaign was carried is hardly +credible to any but those who witnessed it. I was asked once +to approach that statesman or one of his colleagues on +behalf of an orthodox priest named Tsvetkoff,[<a id="chap06fn17text"></a><a href="#chap06fn17">17</a>] whose fixed +idea was to emancipate the Church from her subservience to +the lay elements and in particular to the State. Like so many +of his countrymen he was a dialectician. He pointed out +that one of the recent heads of the Most Holy Synod[<a id="chap06fn18text"></a><a href="#chap06fn18">18</a>] was +an atheist, that simony is a common and anti-Christian +practice, that the Holy Synod is less a channel of divine +grace than a department of the police, and that an œcumenical +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P99"></a>99}</span> +council should be summoned without delay. It is not +to be wondered at that the Holy Synod condemned Tsvetkoff +to be interned in the monastery prison of Suzdal.[<a id="chap06fn19text"></a><a href="#chap06fn19">19</a>] He +was met at the threshold by the abbot, an ex-artillery colonel, +who welcomed him with the words, "Hitherto you have +been singing! Eh? Well, henceforth you will have to +dance." The story of this priest's experience is valuable for +the light it sheds on the ecclesiastical spirit that prevailed +during the reign of Alexander III. and the first period of that +of Nicholas II. and for the partial explanation it contributes +of the upheaval that followed. For although it is true that +the political and social revolutions of the year 1917 were at +the outset the work of a minority, it may be laid down as an +axiom that in the long run no political movement of +importance could hope for even partial success unless it had +the tacit support of the bulk of the people. +</p> + +<p> +Tsvetkoff wrote down his impressions at the time and +they were sent on to me. Here is the thrilling story in his +own words: "A horrible feeling crept over me when this +grave opened to receive me. It became more awful still when +I began to realise where I was: I occupied a cell between +two men who were stark mad. There was a little aperture +in each door, and from time to time one or other of my +neighbours would approach this opening and scream at the +top of his voice. His ravings would be interlarded with +horrible curses wreaked upon my head, the head of an +impious heretic, and these shouts which gave me the shivers +were kept up for thirty or forty minutes and more. Even +now I shudder when I call them to mind. The soldiers on +guard outside would gaze at me intently through the aperture, +but none showed any pity. I used to ask them whether +they suspected me or had anything to say to me, but then the +eye at the hole would vanish for a time to appear soon after +again. That, too, was torture. +</p> + +<p> +"The military had it in their power to poison a prisoner's +life, and they utterly poisoned mine. We were left entirely +to their charge by the monks, who scarcely ever meddled. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P100"></a>100}</span> +Hence the soldiers could hinder a man from walking in the +corridor, could prevent him from getting tea, and generally +embitter his existence by petty persecution. But it was quite +easy to win their favour by bribing whenever a prisoner had +anything to give. I had nothing. I remember Podgorny, +a member of the mystic sect of the Khlysty, who was +imprisoned there, and as he had wealthy friends outside he +often received cakes and other delicacies. +</p> + +<p> +"At last I discovered from scraps of conversation among +the soldiers that they took me for a madman. That was +probably what they had been told. That discovery nearly +unhinged my reason. When living outside I had often been +threatened with imprisonment in Suzdal monastery prison, +but I had never once realised that in that fortress there were +veritable graves for the living. Now I knew it and shuddered. +I was buried alive. +</p> + +<p> +"The casemates of the fortress are dreadful stone cages. +When I had spent a few hours in mine I thought I could +not remain another month there and survive. But weeks +passed and many months more. And day after day I had the +feeling that I might break down at any moment, that I must +break down very soon. In this way a twelvemonth lapsed +and then another. I feared my reason was going. I was +becoming desperate, and I took a desperate resolution after +I had been about two and a half years in that miserable den. +</p> + +<p> +"I wrote a declaration to Abbot Seraphim, setting forth +that, although I had never been tried on any charge, yet here +I was being punished as though guilty of infamous crimes. +That was unjust, I said, and I protested against it with +vigour. If I had done wrong let it be shown in what I had +offended and I would bear my punishment as becomes a +man. I therefore asked to be tried in public, and if not found +guilty to be set free. But I must refuse to die piecemeal in +a dungeon. Life was bereft of its meaning for me. It was +more than I could bear. I informed the abbot, therefore, +that unless I were shortly tried or set free I would abstain +from food and die of hunger. +</p> + +<p> +"To that letter I received no answer. I waited, but +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P101"></a>101}</span> +Abbot Seraphim made no sign. It was as though he were +leagues away. Then I set about fulfilling my resolution. +On 13th November, 1903, I resolved to eat no more. +Thenceforth the food which was brought to my cell remained +untasted. My health began to ebb and soon failed. I ceased +to move about. Languor and dreaminess came over me, and +then the burning pangs of thirst. Hunger was terrible, but +thirst was maddening. My tongue dried up, my lips were +parched, and I thought I could see madness as a spectre. +It was agonising torture. Then I pulled myself together, +got up, and walked as well as I could to the end of the ceil +and reached up to the window where owing to the cold and +dampness icicles were hanging down. I managed to break +off some and melting them in my palms quenched my +thirst. I knew a day would come when exhaustion would +keep me lying down and I should have no icicles to quench +the fire in my vitals. It was a horrible thought; altogether +it was a painful process to die thus inch by inch, to lose hope +after hope, without human sympathy or spiritual consolation, +abandoned by heaven and earth. That is how it seemed +at times when the outlook was most dismal." +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile Abbot Seraphim grew alarmed. A prisoner +under his care was slowly starving himself to death in order +to obtain justice. A word in time might hinder the tragedy. +And it was his duty to get this word pronounced. He +accordingly despatched a telegram to the Most Holy Synod, +unfolding the facts and asking for instructions. Father +Tsvetkoff was refusing food—would die of hunger in a few +days unless he were removed from the fortress. Was it the +will of the exalted body, which stands <i>in loco Christi</i>, that +this man should be saved from death by an act of common +justice, or that he should die? Those were certainly not the +exact terms of his message, but they give the tenor of it. +The answer, as he probably anticipated it, was not doubtful. +Christian charity enjoined mercy as a duty and worldly +prudence suggested it as a policy. Seraphim took the answer +for granted, and removed his prisoner from the fortress to +a monk's cell. And it was not a moment too soon. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P102"></a>102}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Eighteen days of fasting and abstinence[<a id="chap06fn20text"></a><a href="#chap06fn20">20</a>] had worn the +priest to a skeleton. Pithless, bloodless, pinched, and +powerless, he lay on the hard couch in his new abode. "I knew +I should die if I ate much," he remarked, "so I took a little +gruel that day and a little more on the day following. I +meant to go back very gradually to normal diet." Meanwhile +the reply from the Most Holy Synod was hourly +expected. The Abbot Seraphim had telegraphed on the +2nd December, but strange to say the 4th December +brought no answer before sundown. In the evening, +however, a telegram was received from the Most Holy Synod. +The abbot opened it, read it, and grew very agitated. It was +impersonal, and these were the words of it: "The priest, +Tsvetkoff, is to be again put back in the prisoners' section, +and if he dies of hunger the Most Holy Synod is to be +immediately informed, so that measures may be taken on +its behalf relating to the funeral." +</p> + +<p> +These instructions came like a thunderbolt from an azure +sky. Even the shifty abbot, who thought he knew the world +and the Most Holy Synod, was taken aback. The priest +... merely steeled his will to die. He announced his +determination to refuse food once more. Abbot Seraphim had no +choice but to obey instructions, but he expressed his +sympathy for his prisoner and assured him that he would at +once write to St. Petersburg and leave nothing undone to +have the cruel order rescinded. The danger was that success +might come too late. Tsvetkoff continues: "I read that +telegram as though it were my death warrant. Hopelessness +mingled with the gloom and damp of my cell, but before +abandoning myself to my fate I wrote my last will, requesting +that no requiem service[<a id="chap06fn21text"></a><a href="#chap06fn21">21</a>] be held for the repose of my +soul. Then I settled down to the process of dying by hunger. +One day[<a id="chap06fn22text"></a><a href="#chap06fn22">22</a>] I was roused from my torpor and unexpectedly +set free. Seraphim's advocacy had triumphed. I was +released from the hateful fortress, but was compelled to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P103"></a>103}</span> +occupy a cell in the monastery where I am still. I can take +no step, say no word, cast no glance, but it is noticed and +recorded. My health? It is broken up, I fear, for ever." +</p> + +<p> +It should not be forgotten that these revolting iniquities +were literally beyond count, nor that they were perpetrated +with the approbation and for the behoof of the Church and +the autocracy, the two sources of authority in the Empire. +And yet Pobiedonostseff was not naturally a harsh man, he +was only a Russian dialectician, a man who, when pressed +into a tight place, confronted with a logical but absurd +conclusion from his premises, and asked whether he will admit +that, exclaims, "Well, and why not?" To me his answer +when I approached him on the subject of the sectarians was +exactly the same that I received several years later from the +men who afterwards became Duma leaders when I adjured +them to support Witte's administration and promised them +on his behalf the power within a twelvemonth, "It is +impossible." "But if you persist," I argued, "you will ruin +your own cause, you will bring about results that must +destroy it." "Well, Dr. Dillon, I really thought that you +at least understood the character of our people. But now I +see that I was mistaken." +</p> + +<p> +Pobiedonostseff's instincts were on the side of organised +authority, religious, moral, and political, and he honestly +believed that its most effective organ is a single person. +Unlike many other reformers he was not personally ambitious, +in fact he merged his personality in the cause. He might +have had the pick and choice of offices in the administration, +but he contented himself with the least and kept as far in +the background as was compatible with the exercise of his +functions. He aspired to place the Russian State on a solid +foundation, derived from its historic past, and to raise it +to the highest place among the nations of Europe. This, +too, was the principal object on which his colleague, Count +Dmitry Tolstoy, as Home Secretary, exercised his ingenuity +and concentrated his energy. They both saw clearly that +the emancipation of the serfs had effected two great changes +to the detriment of the autocracy. On the one hand it had +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P104"></a>104}</span> +increased the numerical strength and extended the +independence and irresponsibility of the bureaucracy so that +the organism that should have supplied progress with +motive power degenerated into a monstrous parasite that +sucked the life blood of the nation. On the other hand it +ruined the nobility economically and therefore politically, +and compelled Tsarism either to seek the support of the +masses or to revive the order of nobles, if indeed that order +was still capable of coming back to life. +</p> + +<p> +The two statesmen chose different props for the institution +they wished to safeguard: Tolstoy, the atheist, put his +trust in the nobility and began by bettering their material +condition, founding a bank to minister to their needs, giving +them exclusive rights to occupy posts as district chiefs and +bend the peasantry to the government's aims, and he ended +by awakening to the fatal circumstance that the nobility was +politically dead and could not be resuscitated. Pobiedonostseff +came slightly nearer to the correct formula, but was +still so far off that the difference between them was negligible. +Aware that the bulk of the nation was still backward and raw, +he imagined that the Orthodox Church, which was identified +with the principal organs of the national life, could win +opinion and sentiment to the autocratic ordering of political +and social arrangements and enable Tsarism to lean upon the +bulk of the Russian nation. His ideal of the State was a sort +of Slav Paraguay directed by the Orthodox clergy. He, too, +was doomed to disappointment and failure because, for one +thing, the Orthodox Church had never been an organic +power in Russia, but a mere State department which +invariably condemned dissent in the political sphere far more +severely than conflicts in the region of belief. The notion +that such an artificial institution should be able to leaven, +transform, and ennoble the befogged anarchist masses and +form a pedestal out of them for Tsarism was the golden +dream of a visionary. +</p> + +<p> +One day I expressed all this in courtly phraseology and +in the form of an objection made by his opponents. "They +are just as little acquainted with the Russian masses," he +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P105"></a>105}</span> +answered, "as foreigners are. Our people differ from all +others, and must be handled differently. What is meat to +the British is poison to the Russian." The truth is that +Pobiedonostseff, like his political adversaries and indeed +like all Russian "intellectuals," misread the basic character +of his own people and—what is still more extraordinary—of +some of its most significant manifestations. He does not +seem to have fully understood the nature of the State or the +instincts of the masses. A lover of forms and a skilful sophist +he was incapable of singling out the central issue of any +problem. +</p> + +<p> +I last met him at the close of his life when the grasp of +autocracy on the country was loosening and the twilight of +orthodoxy had set in. Pobiedonostseff, then in delicate +health, was gloomy, querulous, despondent. But although +he may have had an inkling of the magnitude of the +calamities that were about to overwhelm his country, it may +well be doubted whether he reckoned his own life-work as +one of their contributory causes. And yet it is patent that +his ideas were dissolvent and that the attempt to realise them +by force accelerated the break-up of a society already +profoundly disorganised. Autocracy, it is true, had long since +become incompetent for any positive function, and the +Russian Church had never been fitted for its spiritual +mission. The sectarians, who at first had asked only to be +allowed to pray and were being persecuted in the name +of God and the Tsar, turned to political propaganda in +order to obtain religious freedom, and in doing this tainted +the masses with disaffection. +</p> + +<p> +Politically the Russian people, since their appearance in +history, have oscillated between absolutism and anarchism, +and in the religious domain between sectarian asceticism and +rank unbelief. What Pobiedonostseff did was to compromise +orthodoxy and autocracy, to damage the cause of +religion and of the Tsardom, to strengthen the bureaucracy +at the expense of the monarch, to favour its parasitic instincts, +and to undermine the principle of authority at its source. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn1text">1</a>] <i>Zemskiyé Natshalniki</i> or district chiefs. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn2text">2</a>] Scrivener, copyist, amanuensis. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn3text">3</a>] The articles in question appeared in the <i>Fortnightly</i>, +<i>Contemporary</i>, and +<i>National</i> Reviews. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn4text">4</a>] Vladimir Solovieff. I possess two studies +of his on theological questions +which he wrote in my note books during the meetings +at which he, A. Pashkoff, and myself were wont +to discuss philosophical, theological, and political +questions in St. Petersburg. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn5text">5</a>] Before I met Solovieff, in the reign of Alexander II., +I had studied the +theological writings of Khomyakoff. +But they are the work of an amateur +who read a number of foreign treatises on Church history. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn6text">6</a>] At first in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn7text">7</a>] I was allowed to retain some of these reports +only after having taken an +oath and signed an undertaking to keep them +always under lock and key. +One work in especial, on the Sect of the Skoptsy, +with copious illustrations, +contains amazing revelations of the unnatural +lengths to which a warped +religious spirit will go. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn8text">8</a>] Count Dmitry Tolstoy. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn9text">9</a>] A section of the Orthodox Church which differs +from it only on trivial +points of form. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn10text">10</a>] <i>Russkia Vedomosti</i>, 16th December, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn11text">11</a>] In the provinces of Kieff and Kherson. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn12text">12</a>] <i>Russkia Vedomosti, loco cit.</i> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn13text">13</a>] The body which legislated for religious +sects "in a tolerant spirit." +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn14"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn14text">14</a>] <i>Russkoye Slovo</i>, 19th February, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn15"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn15text">15</a>] The difference in the intercessors may appear, +perhaps, less important +to western peoples than to the eminent Russian writer. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn16"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn16text">16</a>] V. V. Rozanoff, <i>Novoye Vremya</i>, 17th February, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn17"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn17text">17</a>] Of the province of Tamboff. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn18"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn18text">18</a>] Count Dmitry Tolstoy. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn19"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn19text">19</a>] In the province of Vladimir. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn20"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn20text">20</a>] From 15th November to 3rd December. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn21"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn21text">21</a>] Coming from an orthodox priest this was an odd, +an heretical, injunction. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap06fn22"></a> +[<a href="#chap06fn22text">22</a>] 13th December. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap07"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P106"></a>106}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER VII +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE ADVENT OF NICHOLAS II. +</p> + +<p> +During the latter years of the tranquil reign of Alexander +III. the drift of the Tsardom was manifestly in the direction of +political change, but the course taken was mainly economic. +Witte succeeded in introducing the gold standard which so +many of his colleagues had declared impossible. Railways +were rapidly being constructed, trade enlivened, and +industries created and protected. The problems of wages, +housing, and hygiene were openly mooted if not practically +dealt with, and the standard of living for that section of +the peasants which eked out their incomes from the land +with the wages paid at the factory was rising fast, and the +resentment of the many who had no resources but those +which they drew from the soil sought passionate utterance in +vain. Literature and journalism continued to radiate +subdued heat as well as light, and the conduct of the +international affairs of the nation was the stock text for the +discreet strictures aimed at the State fabric. Publicists—I +myself was at that time one of the fraternity—laid hold on +every pretext and used all the skill they had acquired in the +difficult art of writing forcibly between the lines to scatter +the seeds of rebellion. And the seeds sank into the receptive +minds of their readers to germinate with all the wildness +and colour of Bakunin's ideas. In all this there was no +attempt at limitation, at self-discipline, at what might be +termed conservative reform. Even the oneness of the +political organism with itself came in for no consideration—the +centrifugal forces were fostered and strengthened, +whenever and wherever possible, irrespective of the +consequences. +</p> + +<p> +Alexander III. was a physically sane, ethically upright, +mentally shallow-brained man who behaved well according +to his lights, which unhappily were dim and flickering. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P107"></a>107}</span> +Conscious of his mental limitations, he was honestly +desirous of substituting the farthest reaching intellectual +lights he could find for his own. But he chose in the main +so badly that the mental element in the social organism was +as warped as the ethical. When the tidings of his illness +were flashed over the wires one might have distinguished, +amid the excitement and curiosity of the nation, the stir of +expanding human life and of wide interests that had ever +been inarticulate. +</p> + +<p> +I travelled to the Crimea to be near him, having been +privately informed that he was seized with his last illness. +Among my fellow-travellers in the train was the celebrated +Father John of Cronstadt, a priest whom the irreligious +described as a hypocritical knave and the pious revered as a +latter-day saint. In spite of certain idiosyncrasies he had +never separated himself from the Orthodox Church and he +had conferred upon it the embarrassing privilege of having a +worker of miracles in its fold. I had met him before in +private houses, whither he had gone to pray and if possible +to heal. He sometimes announced a cure and sometimes +hinted at an approaching dissolution, but never laid claim +to superhuman powers. So eagerly was he sought after that +a female impresario arranged the order of his visits weeks in +advance, and precedence was generally accorded to those +who made the largest donations—for works of charity.[<a id="chap07fn1text"></a><a href="#chap07fn1">1</a>] The +Emperor had a lively faith in the holiness of the priest +and invited him to the Crimea. There was, however, nothing +mystical in the relations between the two, as there afterwards +was between Nicholas II. and Philippe. At one of the +railway stations the passengers left the train for their midday +repast when a curious ceremony attracted my attention. +John of Cronstadt, who occupied the head of the table and +was surrounded by God-fearing ladies, took his dish of soup, +blessed it, raised a spoonful to his lips, partook of it as +though it were the communion, and handed the dish on to +his neighbour. She reverently crossed herself, absorbed a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P108"></a>108}</span> +spoonful, and passed on the vessel. When it came to a certain +Crimean landowner who was a good acquaintance of mine,[<a id="chap07fn2text"></a><a href="#chap07fn2">2</a>] +he took the plate and handed it to a fellow-passenger, but +without tasting the contents. At this there was a loud +murmur of indignation. +</p> + +<p> +A day or two later Father John delivered a sermon, in +Yalta to a great multitude, of which I was a unit. He said, +"The Tsar is necessary to Russia, to Europe, to the world. +He is the peacemaker of the human race. Therefore fear not +that he will die. It is God's will that he should live. Be of +good heart." After this the monarch lived ten days or a +fortnight. I next heard the wonder-worker preach after the +Emperor's death, also in the open air, and this is what he said: +"God has called his illustrious servant away because you +lacked faith. Had you believed that he would live when I +announced it, your great Emperor would have been living and +working among you to-day. Ye are people of little faith." As +a matter of fact, the bulk of the people, moved though +they undoubtedly were by the passing away of their semi-mythical +chief, who had led as lonely a life as that of Dejoces +the Mede, regarded the event with curiosity as to its political +consequences rather than with genuine grief. +</p> + +<p> +A short time before his death, the Princess Alix of Hesse, +who was about to wed his son, arrived in Yalta. The exact +date of her disembarkment may not have been known in +advance, it certainly was not prepared for. Taken +somewhat by surprise, and unprovided with ladies to wait on +the princess, the court officials had the choice of various +expedients by which to extricate themselves from the +difficulty. It is characteristic of the a-morality of thought, +unrelieved even by a workaday sense of propriety, that of all +issues open to them they chose or rather invented the worst. +In a fit of coarse humour, which to many may seem to +epitomise the court, the country, and the decadent epoch, +Prince Y. went out into the city and invited young ladies of +Mrs. Warren's profession to come to the palace and wait +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P109"></a>109}</span> +upon the future empress until ordinary tirewomen could +relieve them of their unwonted duties. And it was these +courtesans who received, dressed, and waited upon the lady +who was afterwards to exercise such a blighting influence +upon the nation into which she was about to be adopted. I +saw two of these improvised maids enjoying the court sweets +they had received from Prince Y. and his friends and +criticising the palace arrangements. Years after—in the +spring of 1913—meeting the prince at lunch in Petersburg, +I reminded him of these extravagant freaks of his unregenerate +days, but he still took pleasure in the recollection and +asked me questions to freshen his memory. +</p> + +<p> +Altogether, the beginnings of the public career of the +imperial couple were marked with what superstitious +Russians term sinister omens, like those of Richard II. of +England, Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette of France, and +they were bruited abroad freely and interpreted by young +and old from Riga to Astrakhan. +</p> + +<p> +At the outset of his reign the young Tsar, who was +believed by some of those who knew him best to be wholly +wanting in that fellow-feeling for others which the Buddha +makes the groundwork of all morality, gave a striking proof +of his inaccessibility to human sorrow. Among the festivities +that marked his coronation was a popular fête in which +a Muscovite custom of olden days was partly revived. Food +and sweets, a pocket handkerchief and an enamelled goblet +with the imperial arms were offered by the monarchs to all +their subjects who should come at the time fixed. Merry-go-rounds, +theatres, booths, various entertainments, and bands +were provided on a generous scale. Hundreds of thousands +of peasants, artisans, and mendicants from near and far +flocked to the ancient capital to enjoy the national holiday. +By nightfall on the eve the approaches were blocked to the +vast field of Khodynka—the scene chosen by the authorities—and +for miles the pressure of the throng was tremendous. +In singing, shouting, jesting, and horseplay the cool May +night was spent. At first waggon after waggon laden with +food passed through the dense gathering, provoking screams, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P110"></a>110}</span> +yells, and hurrahs, the people surging and jostling each other +in order to make way; now and again a Cossack or a gendarme +came dashing along on horseback frightening, maiming, or +killing some of the weary watchers, for the crowd grew +denser and more compact as night wore into morning. By +sunrise the pressure at the entrances was become formidable, +but the gendarmes and Cossacks contrived to keep back the +people until the early afternoon when the imperial couple +took their places on the stand. The military band struck up +the National Anthem and selections from the well-known +opera, <i>Life for the Tsar</i>. While half a million voices +acclaimed the young autocrat of Holy Russia and his +consort the police threw open the entrances which were +arranged to admit at the turnstiles one person after another. +But the swaying and surging human sea swept away some +of the barriers and burst into the enclosure, wave dashing +against wave, breaking into bloody froth and foam, amid +soul-searing shrieks, agonising cries, and the joyous strains of the +military music. Soon the ground was strewn with several +thousand mangled corpses. A battlefield it seemed to the +elder officers, a pandemonium to the masses. The number +of persons killed, crushed, trampled, smothered, never +accurately ascertained, was variously estimated at three, +five, seven thousand.[<a id="chap07fn3text"></a><a href="#chap07fn3">3</a>] I was requested by the censor either +to abstain from commenting on the "deplorable incident" +or else to paraphrase the official account without additions. +I did neither. +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar was severely blamed in secret for allowing the +festivities to continue in face of this disaster. But he seemed +incapable of realising the depth and force of public opinion +otherwise than by notional assent. Anyhow, the next day[<a id="chap07fn4text"></a><a href="#chap07fn4">4</a>] +he entertained 432 guests to dinner, and the day after the +Grand Duke Sergius gave a gorgeous entertainment, which +was followed on the 21st by the ball of the nobles and then +by a dinner offered by the British ambassador, and so on +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P111"></a>111}</span> +till the end of the programme. It is affirmed, on good +authority, that when the review took place, exactly a week +after this terrible mishap and on the same field, and the +'quality' foregathered for pigeon shooting, royalties, +grand dukes, princes native and foreign, luminaries of +diplomacy, and gallant warriors who had come to amuse +themselves were pained and angered to note that the dead +were still lying side by side along the barricades or were +being carted away to improvised graves, and the odour +emitted by the corpses could hardly be supported. As for the +inarticulate masses, they went their own way, drawing from +their stores of superstitious lore the standards by which to +interpret these untoward occurrences. The heavy loss of +human life they construed as an evil omen presaging a +terrible end to a reign that had such a sinister beginning, and +the shooting of the pigeons, a week later imparted to what +after all might have been but a mere accident the character +of a deliberately malignant crime. For few Russians have +the heart and fewer still the sacrilegious daring to harm +pigeons, many regarding them as sacred birds, while some +have a vague belief that they are the souls of erring Christians. +On this very occasion I heard two mooshiks and their women +folk debate the whole subject with animation and pathos on +lines recognised by the bulk of the nation, and one of them +closed the discussion with this sweeping dictum: "Say +what you like, those heathen devils slew their bodies last +week and are trying to kill their souls to-day. The devils!" +</p> + +<p> +To the diplomatic representative of one of the great +powers the Tsar in the course of conversation mentioned +the matter casually, but with an expression of regret, +whereupon the ambassador, assuming that Nicholas II. was deeply +moved by the disaster and might be tranquillised by +historical comparisons, assured his imperial interlocutor that +accidents of this painful nature are almost unavoidable at +such national festivities especially if popular enthusiasm and +loyalty are exceptionally fervid and run wild. "It was just +the same," he blandly remarked, "during the festivities +that accompanied the crowning of Louis XVI. Your Majesty +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P112"></a>112}</span> +may remember the details. And as you know, the <i>contretemps</i> +was soon forgotten. The population idolised the young +monarch, their joy was excessive, and in manifesting it a +number of loyal people lost their lives. No importance +attaches to such happenings. They are cloudlets that vanish +almost before they are perceived. Who to-day even among +historians dwells for a moment on that regrettable accident? +Altogether there is a great resemblance between the opening +days of Louis' reign and those of Nicholas II. In +fact, ..." but Nicholas II. cut him short. +</p> + +<p> +In the salons of the day, particularly in that of the +accomplished Countess Levashoff, the solace offered by this Job's +comforter was as much the subject of caustic comment as +the shortsightedness of the authorities who were responsible +for the accident that had elicited it. The countess, who knew +the youthful Tsar intimately and saw him at close quarters +during those strenuous days when amusement was become +an irksome task, told me at the time that so far as she could +judge he was more concerned about the effect which the +narrative would have upon others than about the misery +caused to the families of his ill-starred subjects. +</p> + +<p> +The reign of Nicholas II. is largely the resultant of the +clashing of two forces: one which had its origin in the new +spirit of the age and was to some extent represented by +Witte, who stood for steady progress of every kind +compatible with the political system; and the other emanating +from the historic past and personified by the men behind +the Tsar, whose paltry expedients generally proceeded from +bottomless ignorance and were often divorced from judgment +and patriotism. Witte was a commanding spirit who +made himself for a time— +</p> + +<p class="poem"> + "what Nature destined him,<br> + The pause, the central point of thousand thousands."<br> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +He fascinated those who knew him intimately, and he fascinated +them by his typically Russian qualities and defects, +the fellow-feeling, the ready pity for suffering, the humane +equalising touch, the union of contrasts, the suddenness with +which his moods, and sometimes even his opinions, alternated, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P113"></a>113}</span> +touching one extreme at this moment and its opposite +at the next. But he attracted and commanded still more +through the medium of judgment by his lucidity of vision, +by his capacity of surveying a subject all round, not only in +the smallest details of its internal properties, but also in its +external bearings. Above all he impressed those who had +to do with him by a permanent substratum of tendency +amid all the changes, by the existence of certain fixed points, +by currents set in one and the same direction. He could be +relied upon within certain definable limits. For instance, his +striving to safeguard peace was a factor that never changed. +This limited constancy is a trait he may have inherited from +his Dutch ancestors. +</p> + +<p> +Witte long had the feeling that the social and political +molecules of which the Tsardom was composed, and which +were ever forming and re-forming themselves into fleeting +shapes, might be attracted and held permanently together by +the central force of a grandiose economic transformation +and the interests which that would create and foster, +seconded by educational influences properly systematised. +The resolution taken early in his ministerial career to effect +this transfiguration offers a clue to his policy. He was one +of the few originating statesmen ever possessed by Russia, +and since Peter's day he was unquestionably the greatest. +</p> + +<p> +From the first he was disliked by the shy, secretive, polished +young man who, having inherited together with the Empire +the administration appointed by his father, was willing to +follow his mother's advice and retain it. But Nicholas +II. could not for long hit it off with Witte, who when they +disagreed upon really momentous issues was as unyielding as +the granite. The minister's defects, it must be admitted, were +exactly of the kind that must chafe and ruffle a man like the +Tsar. When discussing a question that moved him, for +example, the minister would sometimes allow emphasis to +degenerate into vehemence, reinforce his arguments with +resonant blows of his fist on the table, and raise his voice till +it could be heard in the adjoining room—tactics that a man +of the Emperor's temperament could not brook. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P114"></a>114}</span> +</p> + +<p> +While it would be a gross exaggeration to saddle +Nicholas II. with the sole responsibility for the dissolution +of the regime and the ruin of Russia, it is fair to say that +no man contributed so materially to bring them about as this +shallow, weak-willed, shifty creature. It was impossible to +trust him either to redeem his word, to stand by the minister +who acted on it, or even to refrain from intriguing against +his own responsible agents for the purpose of undoing the +work which he and they had undertaken and achieved conjointly. +In affairs of State, as in private life, faithlessness was +the trait that vitiated his best actions and aggravated his +worst. As the crowned head of a parliamentary state like +Belgium or Italy, Nicholas II. might have had his defects +neutralised. But alone to preside over the destinies of a +mighty Empire was impossible without revealing the fact +that he was among the least fitted men in his dominions. +What made matters worse was his complete unconsciousness +of his unfitness. That it was which engendered the danger +that always hung over Russia at home and over Russia's +peaceful neighbours abroad. Deep-rooted faith in his own +ability, which increased immeasurably towards the close of +his reign, prompted him to shun the very few men whose +statesmanship might have shielded his people from the worst +consequences of his faults and moved him to choose officials +or rank outsiders whose only qualification was their willingness +to serve as passive tools in his unsteady hands. Consequently +his selection of ministers and of favourites—for he +employed them both—was deplorable. +</p> + +<p> +And yet in spite of the scandalous way in which the +country was misruled, Nicholas II. long escaped the harsh +criticisms of which his father from the outset of his reign +had been the butt. During the first ten years of his life a +most flattering portrait of him was current in the non-Russian +world. He was depicted as a prince of peace, a Slav +Messiah sent for the salvation, not of his own people only, +but of the whole human race. Passionate love of humanity +and selfless devotion to the good and the true were among +the qualities universally predicated of him. And so deep +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P115"></a>115}</span> +rooted was this conviction throughout Europe and America +that when I published my portrait of the Tsar in the +<i>Quarterly Review</i>[<a id="chap07fn5text"></a><a href="#chap07fn5">5</a>]—for which a Russian official of rank +privately accepted responsibility in order to safeguard an +eminent statesman and myself—it provoked an outburst of +righteous wrath among respectable people of all classes of +the population of Britain, but more especially among +nationalists and conservatives there. It was set down as a +gross caricature, untruthful, and politically mischievous. +</p> + +<p> +When he ascended the throne Nicholas II. was still his +mother's darling, passivity his predominant mental feature, +and diffidence one of its transient symptoms. That phase +of his career, however, was brief and the change from the +chrysalis to the butterfly rapid. At the first audience he +accorded the Council of the Empire, which met to do him +homage, he exhibited his early manner. The assembly was +composed of venerable dignitaries of the Empire, their +bodies embellished with gorgeous uniforms and their faces +wreathed in courtly smiles. They were eager to behold the +imperial majesty that hedgeth kings encircling him whose +father and grandfather many of them had served. What +they actually observed was childish constraint, a shambling +gait, a furtive glance, and spasmodic movements. An under-sized, +pithless lad sidled into the apartment in which these +hoary dignitaries were respectfully awaiting him. With +downcast eyes and in a shrill falsetto voice he hastily +blurted out a single sentence, "Gentlemen, in the name of +my late father I thank you for your services," hesitated for a +second, and then turning on his heels was gone. They looked +at each other, some in amazement, many uttering a mental +prayer for the weal of the country; and after an awkward +pause, dispersed to their homes. +</p> + +<p> +The nation's next vicarious meeting with the Tsar took +place a few days later upon an occasion as solemn as the +first; but in the interval he had been hypnotised by +M. Pobiedonostseff, the lay-bishop of autocracy, who had the +secret of spiritually anointing and intellectually equipping +the chosen of the Lord. The keynote of the Emperor's +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P116"></a>116}</span> +second appearance was haughtiness, the nearest approach he +could make to dignity. All Russia had then gathered together +in the persons of the representatives of the zemstvos—we +may call them embryonic county councils—to do homage to +his Majesty on his accession to the throne. Loyal addresses +without number, some drawn up in the flowery language of +oriental obsequiousness, others plain spoken and ominous, +had been presented from all those institutions. One of +these documents—and only one—had seemed to M. Pobiedonostseff +to smack of liberalism. No less loyal in form +or spirit than those of the other boards, the address drawn +up by the council of Tver vaguely expressed the modest +hope that his Majesty's confidence might not be wholly +restricted to the bureaucracy, but would likewise be extended +to the Russian people and to the zemstvos, whose devotion +to the throne was proverbial. This was a reasonable wish; +it could not seriously be dubbed a crime; and even if it +bespoke a certain spirit of mild independence, it was after +all the act of a single zemstvo, whereas the men who had +come to do homage to the Emperor were the spokesmen, not +of one zemstvo, but of all Russia. Yet the autocrat strutted +pompously into the brilliantly lighted hall, and with knitted +brows and tightly drawn lips turned wrathfully upon the +chosen men of the nation, and stamping his little foot +ordered them to put away such chimerical notions which +he would never entertain. +</p> + +<p> +Between those two public appearances of Nicholas II. lay +that short period of suggestion during which the impressionable +youth had been made not so much to believe as to feel +that he was God's lieutenant, the earthly counterpart of his +divine master. From that time forward he was filled with +a spirit of self-exaltation which went on gaining strength +in accordance with the psychological law that pride usurps +as much space as servility is ready to yield. Nikolai +Alexandrovitch soon began to look upon himself as the centre of +the world, the peacemaker of mankind, the torch-bearer of +civilisation among the "yellow" and other "barbarous" +races, and the dispenser of almost every blessing to his own +happy people. Taking seriously this his imaginary mission, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P117"></a>117}</span> +he meddled continuously and directly in many affairs of +State, domestic and foreign, unwittingly thwarting the +course of justice, undermining legality, impoverishing his +subjects, boasting his fervent love of peace and plunging his +tax-burdened people into the horrors of sanguinary and +needless wars. +</p> + +<p> +The dowager empress kept her imperial son in leading +strings for a considerable time after the death of her consort +and seconded the efforts of Pobiedonostseff to impress upon +him the necessity of following in the footsteps of his +"never-to-be-forgotten father." That phrase often and piously +reiterated came to possess a sacramental virtue which he +could not resist, and it is a pathological fact that he strove +earnestly to copy Alexander III. until at last he believed he +had succeeded. In truth the two men were as far asunder in +moral character as in physique. Alexander, sincere, gloomy, +mistrustful, and narrow-minded, felt his limitations and never +ventured out beyond his depth. And he endeavoured +honestly to secure the services of the best men among those +who entered his narrow circle of acquaintances. Moreover, +when he had chosen an adviser, he stuck to him, asked his +advice, and never rejected it without good reason. Lastly, +anything that smacked of perfidy, of disloyalty, of guile, +was an abomination in his sight and he never forgave the +guilty one. His word was better than a bond. And yet it +is a curious characteristic of the country and the people that +even he with his uprightness and probity violated the +covenant of his house with Finland and broke his own +promise in regard to Batoum. But Nicholas II. was the +opposite to his father. Unsteady, self-complacent, callous, +fickle, and polished, he changed his favourites and his +principles with his fitful moods, lacked moral courage, intrigued +against his chosen counsellors, mistook his own interests for +those of the nation, and imagined himself the autocrat of a +hundred and eighty millions. +</p> + +<p> +In the year 1904 I was struck with his predilection for +adventurers of the Cagliostro type, and I expressed regret that +he should allow "a band of casual, obscure, and dangerous +men to usurp the functions of his responsible ministers whose +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P118"></a>118}</span> +recommendations are ignored and whose warnings are +disregarded.... Every candidate for imperial favour whom +the grand dukes present is a specialist who promises to +realise the momentary desires of the Tsar. Thus M. Philippe, +the spiritualist who appeared during the Emperor's +illness in Yalta, promised him a son and heir and was +therefore received with open arms. As time passed and the hopes +which the adventurer raised were not fulfilled, the canonisation +of St. Seraphim was suggested by a pious grand duke +and a sceptical abbot because among the feats said to have +been achieved by this holy man was the miraculous bestowal +of children upon barren women."[<a id="chap07fn6text"></a><a href="#chap07fn6">6</a>] +</p> + +<p> +After the assassination of his second favourite, Sipyaghin, +his choice fell upon Plehve for the post of Minister of the +Interior. Plehve was the official whose self-possession on +the assassination of Alexander II. had strongly impressed +all who witnessed it. This man, probably the cleverest of +all who were within the Emperor's reach, became virtual +dictator of the Empire and one of the most efficient +instruments of fate for pushing the autocracy into the abyss. +Well-informed, conversant with the seamy side of human +nature, cool-headed, and calculating, Plehve knew how to +touch the right chords of sentiment, prejudice, or passion +when moving large bodies of men, and could keep his head +in the most alarming crisis. He was one of those successful +bureaucrats whom it would be impossible to classify by +nationality, genealogy, church, or even party. Of obscure +parentage, of German blood with a Jewish strain, of +uncertain religious denomination, his ethical worth had +been weighed and found wanting by his own easy-going +colleagues long before. +</p> + +<p> +Soon after he had entered on the duties of his new office, a +number of peasants of the Ukraine provinces of Kharkoff +and Poltava showed signs of discontent with their miserable +condition. Although spontaneous and local, the outburst +was dealt with severely and the peasants flogged by the +provincial authorities without instructions from the capital. +Plehve visited the disaffected places, promptly rewarded +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P119"></a>119}</span> +the Governor of Kharkoff for having the malcontents flogged +at once,[<a id="chap07fn7text"></a><a href="#chap07fn7">7</a>] and punished the Governor of Poltava for having +them flogged only as an afterthought. The minister soon +became the most powerful official in the Empire, a sort of +grand vizier whose power was unlimited, but was held at the +pleasure of an absolute and changeful master. He applied +in the spirit of German method the principles propounded +by Pobiedonostseff, and among the concrete results were +pogroms of the Jews, the spoliation of Armenians, the +persecution of Poles and Ruthenians, the exile of liberal-minded +nobles, the flogging of peasants, the reorganisation of +espionage with the notorious Azeff as its moving spirit. +</p> + +<p> +These and other men turned the Tsar's head by their endless +panegyrics. They invented for him a lofty mission and +feigned to admire the masterly way in which he was fulfilling +it. Being the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, and +therefore a Christian, he could not be deified without +blasphemy, but between humanity and divinity he became a +<i>tertium quid</i>. And they venerated him accordingly, anticipating +his wishes, and colouring facts to suit his fancies, for +while he could appreciate effects his faculty of discerning +their relations to causes was almost atrophied. He operated +with phantoms, fought against windmills, conversed with +saints, and consulted the dead. He employed the vast power +of which he was the repository to grind down over a hundred +million men at home in order to obtain the means of killing +or wounding hundreds of thousands abroad. Of the psychology +of foreign nations and of his own he lacked rudimentary +knowledge, and international politics was a region +of darkness in which he groped his way to ruin. When Witte +and two other ministers besought him to redeem his pledge, +evacuate Manchuria and save the land from the horrors of +war, he returned this answer: "I will keep peace and my own +counsel as well." To one of the grand dukes who, on the +day before the rupture with Japan, hinted at the possibility +of war, the Emperor said: "Leave that to me. Japan will +never fight. My reign will be an era of peace throughout." +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap07fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap07fn1text">1</a>] My friend Leskoff entertained the deepest contempt +for John of Cronstadt +and read me a tremendous attack on him wrapped up in literary form. +Part of it appeared later in the <i>Messenger of Europe</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap07fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap07fn2text">2</a>] His name, Blaramberg, is well known throughout Russia +for he was also +a musical composer. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap07fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap07fn3text">3</a>] The number has never been correctly announced. +I was told at the time +by the Moscow authorities—I was present at all the +festivities—that it was +a little over four thousand. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap07fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap07fn4text">4</a>] 19th May. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap07fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap07fn5text">5</a>] July, 1904. I continued the article in the <i>National Review</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap07fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap07fn6text">6</a>] <i>Quarterly Review</i>, July, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap07fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap07fn7text">7</a>] Prince Obolensky, the governor, +received a star from the Emperor for his +energy. Some of the peasants he had flogged +are said to have died in consequence of their punishment. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap08"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P120"></a>120}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER VIII +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE RULE OF NICHOLAS II. +</p> + +<p> +There never was a trustworthy intermediary between the +isolated sovereign and his restive people. Many individuals +there were whom he received and questioned from time to +time, some of whom spoke with a directness, sincerity, and +knowledge worthy of an ancient Hebrew prophet, but the +message they delivered was not only resented and disregarded +by the Tsar, but was also contradicted and neutralised +by equally impressive statements volunteered by interested +politicians or misinformed patriots. And Nicholas II., even +if he had felt the desire, lacked the means of sifting the true +from the false. The upshot was a gulf between the autocracy +and the people nearly as broad and deep as that which +sundered the Dalai Lama from his pious worshippers. An +anecdote which, devoid of foundation in fact, is superlatively +true as a presentment of the paralysis of volition from which +he suffered, was current long before I ventured upon +sketching his portrait in the <i>Quarterly</i> and <i>National Reviews</i>. +One day, the story ran, a nobleman of great experience +and progressive tendencies was received in audience by the +Tsar. He made the most of his opportunity, and laid before +his sovereign the wretched state of the peasantry, the general +unrest it was occasioning, and the urgent necessity of +removing its proximate causes by modifying the political +machinery of government. During this unwelcome <i>exposé</i> +the Emperor, whose urbanity and polish left nothing to be +desired, nodded from time to time approvingly and repeated +often, "I know. Yes, yes. You are right. Quite right." The +nobleman when retiring felt morally certain that the monarch +was at one with him on the subject. Immediately afterwards +a great landowner, also a member of the nobility, was +ushered in, who unfolded a very different tale. According +to this authority things on the whole were progressing +satisfactorily, the only drawback being the weakness and indulgence +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P121"></a>121}</span> +of the authorities. "What is needed, sire, is an iron +hand. The peasants must be kept in their place by force, +otherwise they will usurp ours. To make way for them and +treat them as though they were the masters of the country +is a crime." During this discourse also Nicholas II. was +attentive and appreciative, nodding and uttering the stereotyped +phrases, "Yes, I know. You are right. Quite right." And +the conservative, like the liberal, departed happy. +</p> + +<p> +Then a side door opened and the empress entered looking +grave. "You really must not go on Like this, Niki," she +exclaimed. "It is not dignified. Remember you are an +autocrat who should possess a will strong enough to stiffen +a nation of a hundred and fifty millions." "But what is it +that you find fault with, darling?" "Your want of resolution +and of courage to express it. I have been listening to the +conversations you have just had. Count X. whom you first +received pleaded the cause of the disaffected. You assented +to everything he advanced, telling him he was right, quite +right. Then M. Y. was introduced who gave you an account +of things as they really are, and you agreed with him in just +the same way, saying, 'You are right. Quite right.' Well +now, that attitude does not befit an autocrat. You must +learn to have a will of your own and assert it." "You are +right, dear, quite right," was the answer. +</p> + +<p> +Friends and acquaintances of mine, men of various walks +in life and divergent ways of thought, who had an opportunity +of observing him, all missed in his nature diffusive +sympathy with the sorrows and joys of men and women +and the faculty of concentrating his intellect or his will on +any object but that towards which his whole being was +orientated. "I informed him of the lamentable state of the +district," one of them said to me, "and drew a harrowing +picture of men and women steeped in misery, racked with +pain, but he only answered, 'Yes, I know, I know,' and +bowed me out." Those words, "Yes, I know, I know," have +figured as the <i>finis</i> uttered by the Tsar at the close of +History's Chapters on the Finnish Constitution, the +Armenian Church and schools, the nationality of the Poles, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P122"></a>122}</span> +the Liberty of Conscience denied to his own people. "I +know, I know!" If only he had realised what he claimed to +know he might still be on the throne. Men, like trees, fall on +their leaning side, and in the Tsar's case the leaning side was +not an inclination to assuage human suffering, otherwise there +would have been less misery during the great famine and far +less bloodshed during his ill-starred reign. The unaffectedly +heartless way in which he spoke of the awful catastrophe +during his coronation, of the agonies of his people at the +time of the famine and during the Manchurian campaign, +and of the abortive revolution that followed it, seemed to +indicate that he is deficient in the sensibility which characterises +the average human being. A certain polish of kindliness +marked his casual intercourse with people, but it is to +be feared that it resembled the glitter of the gilt cross on the +mouldering coffin. +</p> + +<p> +And yet in his family relations he displayed qualities that +would have done credit to any private citizen. He was an +uncommonly dutiful son who interpreted filial respect as +generously as the followers of Confucius, having in the +early days of his reign frequently submitted not his will only +but also his judgment to that of his august mother. A model +husband, he left little undone to ensure the happiness of his +imperial consort. A tender father, he literally adored his +children with almost maternal fervour, and often magnanimously +deprived himself of the keen pleasure which the discharge +of the clerical duties of kingship confers in order to +watch over his darling little grand duke and grand duchesses +and to see that sunshine brightened their lives. What, for +instance, could be more touching than the picture—which +courtiers used to draw—of the dread autocrat of all the Russias +anxiously superintending the details of the bathing of his +little son, the Grand Duke Alexis, at the height of the +diplomatic storm raised by the North Sea incident? What +could be more idyllic than the pretty human weakness +betokened by the joyful exclamation with which the great +potentate suddenly interrupted Admiral Roshdjestvensky, +who was making a report on the Baltic Squadron, "But are +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P123"></a>123}</span> +you aware that he weighs 14 lb.?" "Who, your Majesty?" +asked the admiral, his mind still entangled in questions of +displacement, quick-firing guns, and other kindred matters. +</p> + +<p> +"The heir to the throne," answered the happy father. +Touches of nature like this offer a refreshing contrast to +the Byzantine stiffness of the autocrat bending over his +table and writing marginal glosses. +</p> + +<p> +Nicholas II. was a man of destiny in the fullest sense of the +word. Few monarchs known to history did more to transform +the entire structure, political and economic, of society than +he by pushing the conceptions underlying Tsarism to their +extreme consequences. This, it must be added, was due +largely to the circumstance that the reactions provoked by +his qualities and defects among the revolutionists harmonised +admirably with the diseased condition of the body politic. +All the new solvent ideas fell upon grateful soil. His weakness +of will contrasted painfully with his craving for strength +and his endeavours to feign its attainment. Incapable of +perseverance in personal conduct or of system in public +policy, he was uncommonly obstinate in little things. +Gradually, too, he lost much of the power of voluntary +attention in which at the outset he had been nowise deficient. +"Emotions which move the normal man profoundly touch +him but lightly, and for a brief while, so that fitfulness is his +substitute for steadiness, impulse for will, mood for strength +of character. He thinks with the ideas of others, acts at their +instigation or else by impulse, and likes them less for their +qualities than for their manifest disposition towards himself. +It is not an exaggeration, therefore, to affirm that he is +constant only in his inconstancy." Thus I wrote of him as long +ago as May, 1905. "That ailment was aggravated by +injudicious but well-meant efforts to cure it. A soft feminine +voice, uttering loving words and bracing exhortations in the +language of Shakespeare, stimulated him to endeavours +which took a wrong direction. Had he possessed average +intelligence even a Russian Agnes Sorel might, perhaps, +have helped him to co-ordinate the scattered elements of +volition and get him credit for political wisdom; without it +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P124"></a>124}</span> +a Deianira could but operate with that Fate which she fondly +fancies she is out-manœuvring."[<a id="chap08fn1text"></a><a href="#chap08fn1">1</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Like so many statesmen of the end of the nineteenth and +beginning of the twentieth centuries, Nicholas II. appeared +to be cause-blind. He failed to realise the nature of the nexus +between cause and effect. The law of causality entering his +mind was seemingly always refracted like a sunbeam striking +the surface of the water. It changed its direction. It was in +consequence of that defect that, while moving every lever +to produce war, he was purblind to the approach of the +conflict and deaf to the warnings of those who could see. +The dispute with Japan was originally caused by his personal +act of seizing his neighbour's property and believing he +could placate the despoiled people by crying, "No offence +intended!" Well-meaning at bottom, but logic-proof and +mystical, he instinctively followed the example of the vampire +which fans its victims while sucking their life blood. Under +his predecessors Russia had grown and "thriven" in this +way, and why should she not continue to grow in like +manner under him? It was the old spirit of the predatory +Tsarist State revived and embodied for the last time. So +overweening was his confidence in his own prophetic vision +that he was impervious to the arguments of the wisest of his +responsible advisers, and risked the welfare of his subjects +on the slender chance of his being a Moses to his people. +And he resisted his ministers, not with the harmless swagger +of a vainglorious youth, but with the calm settled presumption +which medical psychologists describe as incurable. Like +those Chinese Boxers who, believing their lives were charmed, +smilingly stood up to the bullets of the Europeans, so +Nicholas II. cheerfully exposed, not himself or his imperial +house, but his people to a disaster which his second sight +assured him could never come. For he started with a curious +view of the autocracy. He firmly held that according to +God's will he, the unique absolute ruler of modern times, +should be at once the arbiter of peace and war throughout +the globe and the keeper of the lives, the property, and the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P125"></a>125}</span> +souls of his people at home. And he acted up to this belief, +which marked an advance on that of Ivan the Terrible and +Peter the Great. Thus he took it for granted that as no +foreign power would dare to attack Russia, peace depended +on whether he would attack any foreign power. And as he was +resolved not to declare war, he reasoned that peace was +therefore secure during his lifetime. One difference between +him and the Boxer is, that the Boxer risked only his own life, +whereas Nicholas II. risked and lost those of hundreds of +thousands of his people. And even a capable autocrat, were +he never so wise, ought not to be invested with such +tremendous power. The chasms between Russia and progress, +between the peasantry and well-being, between the Empire +and peace he never bridged nor attempted to bridge, but +contented himself with a pious hope, a shadowy velleity, a +vague irrational impulse. At bottom, however, the conception +of the State entertained by Nicholas II. was the logical +development of that of the founders of the Tsardom. +</p> + +<p> +Over against him stood Witte, who was for long the +power that bent every force, public and private, to collective +ends and overthrew every obstacle in his way. He humoured +the Tsar and his family only in secondary matters, and not +always in these, but his manner, which he was incapable of +adjusting to court exigencies, was resented by the Emperor +and loathed by his consort. One of the characteristics of the +imperial lady was a fatal predisposition to assimilate and +exaggerate the likes and dislikes of the person she loved and +to push them to extreme and sometimes perilous consequences. +It was in virtue of this bias that she grew more +orthodox than the Metropolitan Archbishop and more +autocratic than her husband. To her religion was policy and +autocracy was religion. She could not bear to miss the +outward pomp and circumstance of either, and Witte's presence +was comparable to that of the skeleton at the banquet. +</p> + +<p> +For a long time the Emperor was assisted in the government +by what I termed at the time a "boudoir council" +consisting of his imperial consort, a number of grand dukes, +a spiritist or two, and the favourite man of the moment. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P126"></a>126}</span> +Under Alexander III. the other members of the imperial +family had been kept in their places. Nicholas II. allowed +them a wide scope for activity, political, military, and +commercial. Colouring their plans in the hues of his own dreams, +presenting him with motives that appealed to his prejudices, +they exerted an influence over him that was pernicious. Nor, +until the disappearance of the minister Plehve, which +created a void around him, did they ever seriously exert +themselves to change his suicidal course. The Grand Duke +Sergius, the governor-general of Moscow,[<a id="chap08fn2text"></a><a href="#chap08fn2">2</a>] who was for a long +while the Tsar's expert on religious matters, once proposed +to abolish the Juridical Society of Moscow for its liberal +tendencies, and when it was objected that its members were +scrupulously observant of the laws, he answered, "That's +exactly my point—they are for that very reason all the more +dangerous to the State." +</p> + +<p> +When Russia's unique statesman was dismissed, the Tsar +hearkened to the soft voice from the boudoir. "Show them +that you are a real monarch whose word is law. You have +issued your commands, now see that they are executed. +They taunt you with a weak will. Let them feel its force!" And +Nicholas responded to the stimulus. For if he lacked +the sensitive conscience which wakes the sinner up, he +possessed certain of the virtues which lull to sleep, and +foremost among them that languid sweetness which enables +a husband to spend his life as though it were an endless +honeymoon. And it is possibly to the qualities underlying +this soft passivity—which the son of Priam combined with +personal dash—that Nicholas owed his predilection for the +society of women, priests, charlatans, and children, and his +shyness of the society of strong honest men. Whenever these +conflicting influences clashed, the results were unedifying. +</p> + +<p> +One day a strike of students, professors, and public-school +boys was declared against the prevalent educational system. +The dowager empress on learning what had happened +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P127"></a>127}</span> +counselled forbearance. But the boudoir council decided to +have recourse to coercion. The minister sounded the rectors +and deans, who told him that force would only do harm. But +the inspiriting voices insisted, "Show them that you are a +real monarch. People say you have no will. Let them feel +its force.... Have you forgotten your motto, 'Are you +anvil? Be enduring. Are you hammer? Smite with might'?" Then +the autocrat bade his ministers use sternness and +repression. "Expel the rebellious students; dismiss the +mutinous professors; close the high schools; stop the +salaries." And the behest was executed. Witte, as President +of the Committee of Ministers, then recorded his opinion +in writing to the effect that, as force is no argument, the +authorities should be chary of using it. If the proposed +measures were carried out, all Russia would be moved to its +depths. Let the government, therefore, publicly sanction +and adopt the professors' views. The advice was frank, +forcible, timely. The Tsar read it and bridled up at the very +first words. "It is a piece of bare-faced impudence," he +exclaimed, "to commit such views to paper." And before +the angry flash had gone from his cheeks, he had the whole +question transferred from the competence of the Committee +of Ministers over which Witte presided to the Council of +the Ministers of which he made Count Solsky vice-president +under himself. Events, however, showed that the minister +was right and the boudoir council wrong. The students +finally scored a brilliant victory and the monarch suffered +an ignominious defeat. +</p> + +<p> +In February, 1905, an unprecedented thing took place. +The nation, expecting a ukase to supplement and enlarge +that of the preceding December which had disillusioned all +classes, was astonished to read a manifesto which ran +counter to their anticipations and announced the vigorous +continuation of the war. The ministers were indignant. +Witte told me that morning that he could not believe it was +the work of the Tsar, and before we separated I learned that +it had been inspired by the Tsaritsa and drafted by Prince +Putyatin and Shirinsky-Shikhmatoff—in a word, it was +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P128"></a>128}</span> +a pronouncement of the boudoir cabinet which the Emperor +had been prevailed upon to sign. +</p> + +<p> +According to the fundamental laws of the Empire, never +departed from since the eighteenth century, no imperial +manifesto could be promulgated without the foreknowledge +of the Senate. But this document was sent late at night +to the official journal, the editor of which refused to publish +it because it had not been laid before the Senate. He was +bidden, however, to swallow his scruples and publish the +manifesto. A few days later he was publicly reprimanded +and privately thanked for having disobeyed the law. +</p> + +<p> +The manifesto made short work of the Russian peoples' +hopes at home and abroad. It announced that the principal +war-aim of the Emperor was control of the Pacific, and it +identified the liberty-loving people with the "evil-minded +ringleaders of the revolutionary movement." Witte could +hardly restrain himself that morning. When explaining to +me the heinousness of the act he shouted and struck the +table, vowed that he would vindicate the law and either have +that manifesto withdrawn or else himself withdraw from +public life. He then hurried to the railway station together +with the other members of the Council of Ministers and +before they had reached Tsarskoye Selo he had laid a plan +for the realisation of his object.[<a id="chap08fn3text"></a><a href="#chap08fn3">3</a>] He succeeded in checkmating +the Tsar and obtaining the rescript he wanted. The +Emperor, who had worded it insidiously in the belief that the +ministers would quarrel over it, but was disappointed through +Witte's tactics, signed it most reluctantly. "Never in my +life," one of them afterwards remarked, "even were I to live +a century, shall I forget that remarkable scene. It burned +itself in my memory; the sudden freezing of the features of +the Tsar, the convulsive quivering of the lips, the sickly smile +alternating with the frown, and then his last look when he +handed back the paper, and, as our peasants put it, 'with his +eyes showed his teeth.'" +</p> + +<p> +Thenceforth, a representative assembly was the only +solution to the State problems that had arisen. Witte had +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P129"></a>129}</span> +all along warned the Tsar frankly that unless certain +concessions were made in time representative government would +become a necessity; and that the representative principle, +once officially recognised, the break up of the autocracy would +follow as a matter of course. His advice was rejected, his +prediction had come true, and on this occasion he deliberately +voted for the representative principle. And when a +colleague, in presence of the Tsar, remarked, "But, according +to you, this move is incompatible with autocracy?" he +answered, "Yes, I know it is, but it cannot be withheld any +longer." What his Majesty thought on hearing these words +was not recorded, but what he did will not soon be forgotten +by those who witnessed it. That rescript, courtiers openly +asserted, was the result of a ministerial revolt, a modern +and humane substitute for a palace revolution. The Emperor +presumably took this view for he never convoked the +council again. +</p> + +<p> +That same Friday evening the document was printed and +published and people who, having read the reactionary +manifesto in the morning, perused the liberal rescript in +the evening, asked themselves whether the Empire was +governed, like the Manichæan world, by a good principle +and a bad. For it was now manifest that Nicholas II. was +the nominal chief of two bodies moving in diametrically +opposite directions: of the Council of Ministers in an outer +chamber and of the boudoir council in an inner chamber; +and that within the space of twenty-four hours he had first +sanctioned the views of the one and then assented to the +plans of the other. What was to be the outcome of it all? +</p> + +<p> +From that moment onwards the autocrat struggled to +free himself from the meshes of the net. Whether he felt +humiliated by the successful strategy of his ministers, or was +stimulated by the maxims of the boudoir council, is +immaterial; important is the fact that he repented having +signed the rescript and resolved to undo as far as possible +what he had been constrained to do. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the Emperor continually employed the governmental +machine in such a way that the centrifugal tendencies +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P130"></a>130}</span> +were fast snapping the links that kept class joined with class +and nationality with nationality. The liberty-loving elements +of the Tsardom were struck with the unsteadiness and +irresolution of the government and the weakness of the +State, and were heartened thereby to more vigorous efforts. +</p> + +<p> +The Emperor's inability to govern might, perhaps, have +passed unnoticed if he had allowed any man of intellect and +will-power in his stead to grapple with the jarring elements. +This, however, he refused to permit, while allotting to +obscure soldiers and seamen, tricksters and money grabbers, +an ever larger share of the supreme power to the detriment +of the nation. The mental and moral impotency of this +well-intentioned marplot, who cannot be said to have had even +experience, despite ten years of uniform failure, became +one of the commonplaces of conversation in town and +country. Even the rough-and-ready droshky drivers said of +him that he had been thrust among rulers like a pestle among +spoons. Yet, apprised of his impotence by the boudoir +council, he wished to will and act, and took velleity for the +deed. No occurrence, no event, made a lasting impression +on his mind. Abroad Russia's armies might be scattered, her +ships sunk, her credit ruined; the Tsar was serene in spite of +it all. At home the whole framework of society might be +going to pieces, Nicholas sat still and fondly annotated +State papers, a very Narcissus of the inkpot. In the Tsardom, +whenever the political temperature grew too hot, the custom +had for ages been to break the thermometer, not on any +account to let in the cool air. And the Emperor kept to it +religiously. The results now began to appear. +</p> + +<p> +I wrote at the time, "The position is no longer endurable. +The crisis can now end in one way only—in the disappearance +of that system of absolutism the advantages of which I +hoped—vainly hoped, alas!—to see rescued for the sake of +the nation. At present the one question which to my thinking +may still be profitably discussed is whether, while there +is yet time, the autocrat will voluntarily dissociate the future +of his dynasty from that of the autocracy. Will he cast his +semi-divine privileges overboard in the storm to save his +position in the Empire, and perhaps what he values even +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P131"></a>131}</span> +more than his position? That is a matter which primarily, +almost exclusively, concerns himself and his inspirers of the +boudoir council, who still fancy that windmills may be +turned with a hand-bellows. The other interested party, +the nation, whose prisoner Nicholas II. may be truly said to +be, has already chosen its route—the shortest road to the +goal, and will travel along it resolutely. It is for those who +advise and wish well to Nicholas to say whether he will +desist from the policy of provocation now being pursued in +his name. When the nation has been fully aroused it will be +too late. And the time still left for reflection seems +lamentably short. +</p> + +<p> +"Argument and suasion have unhappily proved fruitless. +To the one he is blind; he is deaf to the other. The belief is +spreading that that is his misfortune, not his crime. Minister +after minister warned him of the dangers fast gathering +round him. "Yes, yes, I understand," was the evasive reply: +and the well-meant intimation left as little trace in heart or +brain as a drop of rain water on the back of a duck. His +nobles petitioned him, his zemstvos memorialised him, +every class, every profession and element of the population, +besought him to reform the administration and admit the +people to a share in the government. For a moment he +appeared to listen, and then turned away. Almost every +nation on the globe adjured him to put an end to the +unprecedented horrors of a wanton war. Again he seemed to pay +attention, but he soon moved aside and talked of something +else. For the whole world is wrong and Nicholas alone is +right. The individual who goes up to the clouds in an +air-filled balloon does not see himself ascending, but only his +fellow-men sinking away in to insignificance. This unnerved +young man, completely shut off from the world and with +hardly a peep-hole to look through, knows better what +should and can be done there than the intellect of the people, +the wisdom of the world. For he is buoyed up by the +encouragement and admiration of the council of the boudoir. +In his thirst for approval he dismissed several advisers and +chose others; but the new ones repeated the warnings of +their predecessors. He then appointed a council of ministers +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P132"></a>132}</span> +in order to escape from the importunity of Witte, but his +entire council as one man, not only offered him wholesome +advice, but took care that he should adopt it. And now he +convokes it no more. Who knows how far it might go? +'<i>Ce n'est que le premier pas qui coute</i>.' His own relatives, the +political grand dukes, have abandoned him. They suddenly +stopped short in their onward course, wheeled round, and +bowing respectfully to the liberals made their profession of +faith. His own mother talked with him, exhorted and implored +him to see things as they are. Then she too finally +ranged herself on the side of the moderate reformers. This +distinguished lady is now in favour of representative government, +strongly sides with those who desire peace, and materially +helped to obtain at least one instalment of justice to the +Finns. She also sympathises with the down-trodden tribes +of the Caucasus and regrets the spoliation of the Church +property of the Armenians. It was largely due to her +influence that Count Vorontseff Dashkoff has been appointed +viceroy there in succession to the madcap Prince Galitzin. +In a word she has made motherly love quite compatible +with plain speaking and a policy of common sense."[<a id="chap08fn4text"></a><a href="#chap08fn4">4</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Von Plehve's tenure of office was rich in amazing developments, +for there is no gainsaying the statesmanlike quality +of his intellect, his German a-morality, or his susceptibility +to all sorts of new impressions. The way in which he strove +to solve the awkward problems to which the labour movement +was imparting actuality was truly Machiavellian, and +the unerring discrimination that revealed to him the value +of a human instrument like Father Gapon bespoke a fine +<i>flair</i> and remarkable courage. But the conditions he found +and had to accept as data hampered him considerably. +Instinctively he felt that the State top must go on spinning to +keep from falling, and he accordingly encouraged the Tsar +in the policy of conquest that culminated in war with Japan. +For Russia's whole ordering was adjusted to expansion by +force. It was largely this and his passion for espionage that +turned Witte against him and made them bitter enemies. +I well remember seeing him killed. I described the murder +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P133"></a>133}</span> +in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>. On the historic day I was driving +over the badly paved streets of Petersburg to the landing-place +for steamers to meet a friend who was coming from +Ireland to stay with me. My droshky was in the street +leading to the Warsaw railway station when two men on bicycles +glided past, followed by a closed carriage, which I recognised +as that of the all-powerful minister. Suddenly the ground +before me quivered, a tremendous sound as of thunder +deafened me, the windows of the houses on both sides of the +broad street rattled, and the glass of the panes was hurled on +to the stone pavement. A dead horse, a pool of blood, +fragments of a carriage, and a hole in the ground were parts of +my rapid impressions. My driver was on his knees devoutly +praying and saying that the end of the world had come. I +got down from my seat and moved towards the hole, but a +police officer ordered me back, and to my question replied +that the minister Plehve had been blown to fragments. The +man who materially contributed to condemn him to death, +and who had the sentence thus effectively carried out, was +the favourite spy of the government and member of the +Social Revolutionary Council, Azeff. In truth it was a mad +world. +</p> + +<p> +Plehve's end was received with semi-public rejoicings. I +met nobody who regretted his assassination or condemned +the authors. This attitude towards crime, although by no +means new, struck me as one of the most sinister features of +the situation, and I gave expression to my apprehension of +its consequences.[<a id="chap08fn5text"></a><a href="#chap08fn5">5</a>] Far more surprising was the attitude of +the government towards its own agent, Azeff, who conceived +and concerted the misdeed and saw it carried out. +This monster was allowed to remain in the government +service, and even after he had the Tsar's uncle, the Grand +Duke Sergius, assassinated he was kept on, and his services +were deemed to be invaluable and indispensable! +</p> + +<p> +When Plehve had vanished, the Grand Duke Sergius +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P134"></a>134}</span> +steered the ship of State, standing harsh and defiant behind +the professional man at the wheel. He had just flung in the +face of the people the accusation which, though resented as +a calumny, was, in a restricted sense, true enough of many of +the revolutionists, that they had sold their Tsar for Japanese +gold.[<a id="chap08fn6text"></a><a href="#chap08fn6">6</a>] And a few weeks later Sergius, like Plehve, was +ruthlessly, criminally cut down in the height of his triumphant +activity, the nation again looking on without disapproval and +the government continuing to fee the chief assassin. +</p> + +<p> +These deaths, which made a deep impression upon all +Russia, left the Tsar undisturbed. Living and working +apart from the currents of the time, he seemed impermeable +to deep impressions. But the disappearance of those two +counsellors left him conspicuously alone. They had no +successors to share with him the moral burden. Skilful +flatterers he had many, but no helpful friend. From motives +which it would be impertinent to analyse, the few he had +had left him for the time or definitely forsook him. The +grand dukes withdrew from the partnership once so lucrative, +now grown so dangerous, taking elaborate precautions +to advertise the fact, <i>urbi et orbi</i>. Some of them pointed to +the sickly figure of the Tsar and all but cried, "<i>Ecce +homo</i>." Almost the first to go was the Grand Duke Vladimir, who +after the massacre of Red Sunday defended himself in +American and English journals. The responsibility for the +shooting, he explained, was not his but that of Prince +Vassilchikoff, who refused point-blank to obey the humane +grand-ducal order to cease firing on the people, and refused +with perfect impunity. Again, after the terrible death of +Sergius, a London newspaper informed all whom it might +concern of the political conversion of Vladimir, who "recognises +that the worship of the idol of absolutism is a worse foe +of the monarchy than anarchy itself."[<a id="chap08fn7text"></a><a href="#chap08fn7">7</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Next among the runaways from the sinking ship of +autocracy was the ambitious Grand Duke Alexander +Mikhailovitch. This personage was the one nationalist member of +the imperial family whose zeal burned for genuine Russian +civilisation untouched by the contagion of Western culture. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P135"></a>135}</span> +He had just displayed his patriotic hatred of foreigners by +organising a raid against their mercantile shipping, and +showed his love of Russia by promoting the Yalu concession, +which was to have enriched himself and weakened Japan. +The political apostasy of this promising prince was perhaps +the unkindest cut of all. For he owed many of the best +things he possessed to the Tsar, while the Tsar was +beholden to him only for some of the pernicious counsels he +had received and of the evil counsellors he had trusted. +Married to the sister of Nicholas II., the Grand Duke +Alexander used and abused his great but precarious influence to +recommend Bezobrazoff and Alexeyeff to his imperial +brother-in-law who, caught in the lime of flattery, allowed +these adventurers to ride rough-shod over Russia. He was +the purveyor of political favourites to the monarch, one of +whom was Admiral Alexeyeff. +</p> + +<p> +This grand duke possessed the open sesame to his +brother-in-law's affections and utilised it constantly. The +Tsar was a frequent guest in Alexander's palace, where he +would amuse himself for hours on end riding in a miniature +train around one of the apartments. And in the intervals of +this innocent fun shared by the children, he would assent to +some important suggestion of the shrewd grand duke, who +in this casual way managed to have a new ministry created +for his behoof unknown to Witte, whom he hated undyingly. +From the authorisation of the Yalu concession, Alexander +Mikhailovitch expected to add millions to his annual income +of 600,000 roubles. But after Plehve's death he became a +liberal and bruited his conversion abroad. Russian newspapers +were full of it, and even revolutionists were apprised +of it. Happily he had a press organ of his own,[<a id="chap08fn8text"></a><a href="#chap08fn8">8</a>] through +which he pointed out to the world the fruits of his +conversion. +</p> + +<p> +Again, it was known that in his unregenerate days this +illustrious personage hated the Jews as Saul of Tarsus had +hated the Christians. But since the deaths of Plehve and +Sergius he had his Damascus, and the scales having fallen +from his eyes he found salvation. He was no longer a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P136"></a>136}</span> +militant anti-Semite. God having presumably made the +Jews, the grand duke was willing thenceforth to let them +pass for men of an inferior race. +</p> + +<p> +But by far the most noteworthy sign of the times was the +departure of the dowager empress herself from the camp of +the absolutists, if one may describe thus clumsily her mild +assent to counsels prompted by common sense, and her +gentle but persevering disapproval of measures which, +besides harming the nation, endangered the dynasty. +Whether solicitude for her son or pity for the people +supplied the motive is a matter of indifference to outsiders; +the step was well warranted by both. This distinguished +lady, whose inborn tact and <i>savoir faire</i> often stood her +instead of political foresight, now sorrowfully parted from +her son and daughter-in-law at the first most critical moment +in their lives. Such a step cannot have been taken with a +light heart. Having journeyed together for more than a +decade in the pursuit of a political will-o'-the-wisp, the +elder of the two empresses, with experience to guide her, +descried an abyss in front and cried, "Halt." And yet that +was the road which she herself had so often exhorted her +son never to swerve from! But her eyes had been opened; +she had lost faith in the policy of putting spokes in the +wheels of time. The beliefs on which the Tsardom reposed +were crumbling away, and she then began to realise the fact. +She felt that the institutions to which her son clung +convulsively, as might a scared seaman to the heavy anchor of a +sinking ship, would drag him down to the depths. And +with the courage born of motherly love she warned him of +the danger. But Cassandra's prophecies were not more +vain or true. The siren's voice from the boudoir of the wife +went straight to the husband's heart. Unhappily, the wife's +exhortations were but the echoes of the son's neurotic +visions. In her naïve dreams there was no place for prosaic +fears, and her fond ambition was blind to obstacles and to +consequences. It would be rash to criticise without knowing +the order of considerations that moved the lady to turn +a deaf ear to the voice of the dowager empress. But it is not +easy to imagine any rational grounds on which her own +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P137"></a>137}</span> +sister reasoning, advising, beseeching, should also have +been put out of court without a hearing. The widowed +Grand Duchess Sergius, whose vision long experience had +sharpened, and whose motives had been chastened by +severe suffering, sought over and over again to impress upon +her crowned sister the fact that there are times when true +conjugal affection is more effectually shown by judicious +hindrance than by uncritical incentive. +</p> + +<p> +Nicholas II., who rejected the promptings of reason, now +began to be regarded by his people as the principal cause of +their sufferings, the embodiment of a system that must at all +costs be overthrown. Pobiedonostseff, without formally +retiring, had done his work, and it remained only for history +to label it. Witte, fretting and chafing against his forced +inaction, gave a loose rein to his criticisms, ostentatiously +connected his policy which had thus been baulked with widely +operating economic laws and began to be identified with +the aggressive desire of moderate liberals to work out the +salvation of the country in spite of its crowned head. The +dowager empress saw him occasionally and made praise-worthy +attempts to bring her son and him together, but +finally discovered that they were as fire and water. In one +conversation she had with the statesman she admitted +frankly that the aversion of the Emperor for his most +eminent subject was invincible. Still his services were not +wholly disdained. Whenever there was a very difficult or a +dangerous task to be undertaken, Witte's name was invariably +pronounced, and for his Tsar's and country's sake he +was exhorted to undertake it. It was thus that he was chosen +to carry on the negotiations with the Kaiser's government +which ended in the hated Russo-German commercial +treaty, to report on the needs of the peasants and +recommend a series of reforms, and to repair to Portsmouth to +conclude peace with the Japanese. Thus from time to time +the two men worked together. For Witte, driven by boundless +ambition, was generally ready to snatch at any chance +of playing a prominent and useful part in the history of his +country. When I pointed out to him—as I sometimes did—the +difficulty I had to harmonise these acts of his with his +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P138"></a>138}</span> +own words, he would return this answer, "You seem to +forget that we live in Russia under an autocracy, and that I, +who have so long been minister, cannot refuse any request +made by the Tsar for my services, if I have reason to think +that they would prove helpful to him or the country. The +unwritten law, the traditions in which I have been brought +up, and my conscience oblige me to respond to the call." +</p> + +<p> +But Witte's counsel on political matters, although reinforced +by events, was almost invariably rejected. The Tsar +had other advisers who drew their political wisdom from the +world of spirits, and to them he hearkened submissively. +Two princesses whom I had known in their school-days, the +French charlatan Philippe, and certain shadowy figures that +flitted across one's field of vision, most of them to sink in +oblivion immediately afterwards, were the intermediaries +between the Supreme Being and his vicar on earth. For the +grim realities around him he had no eyes. He ignored even +the secret council held in Paris some months before[<a id="chap08fn9text"></a><a href="#chap08fn9">9</a>] in +which it was decided to unite a number of powerful Russian +organisations and to get them to bring pressure to bear +jointly on himself,[<a id="chap08fn10text"></a><a href="#chap08fn10">10</a>] and to make the most of the indignation +aroused in the land by the conduct of the Manchurian +campaign and the cruelties committed by the authorities +in dealing with the revolutionists. Congruously with this +secret plan professional congresses were being held everywhere, +a medical congress, a lawyers' congress, a congress +of engineers, a teachers' congress, a peasants' congress, a +postal congress, and, most important of all, a congress of +railwaymen. These organisations represented to my thinking +the forces that would eventually transform the political +and economic ordering of the Tsardom. And I gave public +expression to that conviction. Events confirmed this view. +It was these leagues and the central league of leagues that +brought about the general strike which forced the hand of +the Tsar. Trepoff discerned the power and the future rôle +of the leagues and prohibited them. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn1text">1</a>] Cf. <i>National Review</i>, May, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn2text">2</a>] I was first introduced to him by Princess (Lison) +Trubetskoy, the friend +of Gambetta. He offered me a high Russian order +for the services I was +supposed to have rendered to Orthodoxy as personified +by the Metropolitan +Archbishop. That was in the days of Alexander III. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn3text">3</a>] The story was related in detail +in my article "The End of the Autocracy," +<i>National Review</i>, May, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn4text">4</a>] Cf. <i>National Review</i>, May, 1905, pp. 440 fol. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn5text">5</a>] In the <i>National Review</i>, May, 1905, p. 420, +I wrote: "In that connivance +at lawless violence lurks a danger the insidiousness +of which few people +realise. Personally I fear that unless its progress +be speedily stayed it may +lead to the moral paralysis of the nation." Those +words were penned thirteen +years ago. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn6text">6</a>] The grand duke added "and English gold." In this +he was mistaken. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn7text">7</a>] Cf. <i>Times</i>, 23rd March, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn8text">8</a>] Slovo. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn9text">9</a>] In October, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap08fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap08fn10text">10</a>] The Finnish, Polish socialists and social +revolutionaries entered into this +league. The social democrats condemned it as preposterous. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap09"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P139"></a>139}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER IX +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE BEGINNINGS OF THE REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT OF 1905 +</p> + +<p> +The men who first undertook the spade work and cleared +the ground for the great upheaval were humane, moderate +workers, mostly from the provinces, whose strivings were +free from all taint of crime and whose ideals did not go +beyond a constitutional monarchy. Even parliamentary +government was more than they asked for at first. But like +most Russian politicians they knew not what they were +doing. Plehve was no more. The Japanese war was taking +an unfavourable turn and the head of the government was +anxious to hit upon some <i>modus vivendi</i> with the intelligentsia. +I remember the historic Saturday afternoon[<a id="chap09fn1text"></a><a href="#chap09fn1">1</a>] when +ninety-eight country gentlemen, without a mandate from +the people or permission from the government, met together +in a private flat on one of the quays of St. Petersburg to +discuss the best way of rearranging the relations between the +rulers and the ruled. Their meeting the authorities had +promised to connive at on condition that they should eliminate +all political discussions from their programme, but to +this they refused to agree. I knew many of them for mild +and loyal citizens who were quite ready to pull out the +keystone, but innocently believed that they could still maintain +the arch. In particular, Prince Lvoff and my friend Count +Heyden were paragons of reasonableness. I was not +surprised, therefore, to learn that when the resolution calling +for constitutional government was put to the ninety-eight +members present, twenty-seven considered the demand too +radical and voted against it, while the remainder gave it +their support. The congress was a success. From all +parts of the Empire came telegrams from town councils and +zemstvos endorsing the resolution. The Russian people +were on fire. All sections of society, all classes of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P140"></a>140}</span> +population, drawn from their moorings by the new +current, hastened to avail themselves of the slightest pretext +to come together and demand the abolition of one-man power. +The lawyers of St. Petersburg signed a petition praying for +constitutional government. The working men organised a +vast manifestation in favour of representative institutions. +Authors took to propagating liberal doctrines throughout +the Empire. Journalists vied with authors. Municipalities, +guilds, benevolent associations, seconded the demands of +the zemstvos. A section of students published a manifesto +in which they proclaimed that autocracy must cease to be, +the "infamous war must be stopped, and a Constitutional +Assembly immediately convoked." At first all that the +leaders wanted was practical recognition of the principle +that the time had come for progressive and systematic adaptations +of the State and its institutions to the new exigencies, +as though mere political reforms could now save Tsarism +and the bureaucracy. +</p> + +<p> +All the older parties took higher ground, clamoured for +more radical changes, and looked to the war and its vicissitudes +for some precipitating event that should give them the +opportunity for which they had so long waited in vain. +Symptoms of a change in the mood of labour struck attentive +observers and heightened the gravity of the crisis. Timid +men waxed bold and made public confession of their faith, +regardless of consequences to themselves; princes stepped +forward as champions of the peasants; wealthy landowners +subscribed to the funds for agitating against the regime; +Prince Viazemsky publicly protested against an attack by +the Cossacks on a crowd in front of the Kazan Cathedral in +St. Petersburg and was sent in disgrace to his estate by the +Tsar. Bureaucrats who had theretofore stood by the government +now announced that, come what might, they would +throw in their lot with the people. And of the temper, the +ideals, and the mental workings of the people they had not +even an approximate notion. For instance, an official of +my acquaintance, who was about to be appointed to +the governorship of a certain province, signed a petition +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P141"></a>141}</span> +for a legislative assembly and thereby ruined his career. +The unanimous council of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic +Institute—a model educational establishment founded by +Witte—forwarded a memorial to the Minister of Finances, +recording their firm conviction that technical education was +impossible so long as the political and social conditions +inseparable from autocracy remained unchanged. The +municipality of Yalta telegraphed to Prince Mirsky its certitude +that the high bill of mortality in the towns and cities of +Russia was one of the direct effects of the autocracy, and +could not be bettered until the cause was removed. The +legal bar of St. Petersburg and Moscow sent a deputation to +the capital to petition for representative government. In a +word the reformers—and practically all the intellectuals +were now reformers—made arrows out of every wood that +came handy. +</p> + +<p> +On 12th December the provincial Zemsky Congress of +Kaluga forwarded an address to the Emperor, which created +a stir throughout the length and breadth of Russia. The +members archly volunteered to rally round his Majesty and +support him "against the enemies of law and order," <i>i.e.</i>, +the bureaucracy. They ended their address with a hope that +the Tsar would summon elected representatives of the land +to contribute to its peaceful development and prosperity. +</p> + +<p> +The Moscow Town Council unanimously adopted a +resolution declaring the absolute necessity of such reforms +as the legal protection of the individual against the arbitrary +measures of officialdom; the repeal of those exceptional +regulations which invested the local authorities with power +to imprison or banish anybody without assigning a reason; +freedom of creed, of the press, of meeting, and of association; +a popular chamber to watch over these popular rights +and to supervise the government. The St. Petersburg +municipality adopted a similar resolution. Banquets were +organised at which fiery speeches were delivered, like those +we read of in Paris on the eve of the great revolution. At +one of these festive gatherings in a public hall the guests, +numbering several thousands, covered the portrait of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P142"></a>142}</span> +Tsar with a red flag, on which the inscription was painfully +visible in white letters, "Down with the Autocracy." At +many others the two men who killed Plehve were unanimously +honoured. The counsel for Sazonoff—one of the +two—said in his speech for the defence, "The bomb which +blew M. Plehve to pieces was filled not with dynamite, but +with the tears of the widows and orphans of those whom he +had sent to the scaffold, to dreary dungeons, and to +Siberia." No such plain speaking had been heard since Russia became +an Empire. +</p> + +<p> +The imperial family, in the person of one of the empresses, +had been warned by royalties abroad that it would be greatly +to the advantage of the autocrat, as well as of autocracy, if a +sop were thrown to the popular Cerberus. Good grounds +were alleged for this opinion, and the Tsar was gradually +attuned to a conciliatory mood. He professed his willingness +to make concessions and to promise reforms; but he +would not, of course, put sharp weapons into the hands of +"his children," and "still less would he divest himself of any +of the powers with which God Himself had invested him." That +was the monarch's attitude—unforeseen by many of +the liberals who had looked forward either to frank +opposition or graceful consent. And his acts were in harmony +with it.[<a id="chap09fn2text"></a><a href="#chap09fn2">2</a>] He warmly supported the minister, Prince Mirsky, +against whom an intrigue was coarsely spun by a number of +courtiers and by the ubiquitous grand duke. For a while he +allowed the press to have its fling and the zemstvo +representatives to speak their minds; but there he drew the line. +There must be no tampering with the rights and prerogatives +of the absolute monarchy. Whatever else might go they +at any rate should remain inviolate and inviolable. Neither +must the war be condemned nor peace with the Japanese +advocated. Russia, and more especially the reigning dynasty, +had need, he said, of a decisive victory over the yellow-skins. +The newspapers were accordingly prohibited from +publishing any of the cries for peace which were being +plaintively or menacingly uttered all over the country. +</p> + +<p> +At last the Emperor showed his hand and announced the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P143"></a>143}</span> +measure to which all those petty concessions formed the +prelude. A ukase was drawn up granting certain reforms. +It was to have been promulgated on 19th December, but +almost on the eve considerable changes were made in the +wording and its publication was delayed. In its original +shape it covered the political and agrarian fields, laid down +regulations for the press, defined the rights of religious +non-conformists, introduced State insurance for working men, +theoretically substituted law for caprice, and provided for +the creation of an assembly with a consultative voice in +legislation. Such were the general contents of the nine +clauses of Witte's pristine scheme. The consultative Duma +he proposed to convoke was to be elected, not directly by the +people, but by the Zemstvos for the rural population and by +the municipal councils for the cities and towns. This +assembly would have been devoid of initiative and without +control over the public purse. Its function would be to +examine and pronounce upon bills which had been passed +by the Council of the Empire, but had not yet received the +imperial sanction. As, however, the Council of the Empire +itself possessed no claim to legislate, but only to make +proposals which the Tsar could accept, modify, or thrust aside +at will, the projected Duma, its critics argued, would have +been the fifth wheel in the State chariot. Still, as a pledge of +something more substantial to come, many would have +welcomed it. This ninth clause, which was the pith of the +project, had the approval of Witte, Prince Mirsky, and three +other responsible officials. +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar when he read the draft angrily struck out the +last clause. "It is wasted effort," he exclaimed, "to ask me +to sap or weaken the autocracy." In vain Prince Mirsky +urged that the Duma planned by Witte would leave all his +powers and prerogatives intact. He was unconvinced and +stubborn. And seeing that the Grand Duke Sergius anathematised +the plan as subversive, and had a savage attack on it +published in his own press organ,[<a id="chap09fn3text"></a><a href="#chap09fn3">3</a>] the ninth clause was +expunged. By foolish resistance like this to every proposal +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P144"></a>144}</span> +which, by giving temporary satisfaction to the demands for +reform, would have created a safety valve to carry off +dangerous revolutionary energies, Nicholas II. stored up +the vast forces which ultimately swept the autocracy away. +A ruler of a different temperament, one like the Grand Duke +Vladimir, or even the Tsar's weak and plastic brother +Michael, would have bent to the various storms and prolonged +the life of the dynasty. Nicholas II. was incapable of +any such compromise, because he failed to take in the situation, +to gauge the national and international forces that had +shaped it, to perceive the bearings of these on the regime +and the dynasty, and also because he was wanting in moral +courage and political suppleness. He never represented +anything adequately, not even the petty interests of his own +house. Unlike Witte, who with all his defects impressed +one with the size and quality of an historic force, and for a +while bulked large as the massive centre round which the +hopes and energies of the reforming State-upholders clung, +he stood for himself alone, and had no deep feeling even +for his own cause. Genuine humanity, active benevolence, +social duty received no admission among the motives that +determined his public policy. Of his fellow-men he was +hardly conscious; to their well-being and their sufferings he +was callously indifferent. +</p> + +<p> +It would, however, be rash to conclude that even a +statesmanlike monarch, had there been one in the place of +Nicholas II., would have been able by dint of political tact +to do more than prolong the existence of the autocracy for +a few years more. By its very terms the work of readjustment +to radically changed and changing conditions was no +longer feasible, the utmost still possible being the +postponement of the fatal collapse. For, as already remarked, the +Tsarist State was from the outset informed by the spirit of +territorial conquest and its orientation was towards that, +while at home a victorious race ruled over other races and a +privileged class lorded it over the bulk of the nation. As +long as these conditions—which alone gave cohesion to the +parts—were upheld, things would go on as before, until the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P145"></a>145}</span> +whole organism was destroyed, but once change them, +desist from territorial expansion, cultivate friendly relations +with neighbouring States, introduce at home principles of +equity in economics, of equality in politics, of liberty in +religion, and the cement which alone held the rebellious +elements together would forthwith crumble away. The +State, like a boy's top that ceases to spin, could not but lose +its equilibrium, wobble, and fall. +</p> + +<p> +That was the cardinal truth which ought to have been +grasped by Russian statesmen working for reform. Witte +had lightning-like flashes of it. He at any rate was eager to +substitute in advance voluntary and economic links for the +irksome bonds of union which radical reform measures +suddenly applied would sunder. He snatched at every opportunity +to try the experiment. That was the principle which +underlay his policy towards the Poles, the Finns, the Jews, +the Armenians, and the other non-Russian peoples of the +Empire, whenever he was free to turn his attention to them. +</p> + +<p> +The liberals or intelligentsia started from a different and, +as it seemed to me, entirely false conception of the terms of +the problem. Mere doctrinaires, and moving far apart from +the popular currents, they operated with borrowed theories +and assumed that what was true, say, of France would hold +good of Russia. Successors of the men who had "gone +among the people" only to discover that they could not +fathom the nation's depths, they entirely misunderstood the +ideals and strivings of the peasantry. In their own political +organisation they had enlisted neither peasants nor +working men as members, and yet they came forward as the +authorised spokesmen of both. And that group of westernised +politicians always stood only for the intelligentsia or +foreign political ideal-mongers who had no vested interests +in the country, and dealt mainly in abstractions, imported +conceptions, and exotic theories. This master fact of the +new situation appears to have been wholly missed by our +diplomacy, local and central. For Britain and France took +the liberals, who subsequently became the Kadets, as their +advisers, and made support of the Kadets the corner-stone of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P146"></a>146}</span> +their Russian policy. MM. Milyukoff, Gutchkoff, Rodzianko, +and their friends were the oracles whose utterances +were eagerly sought after and whose counsels were generally +followed—with the deplorable results recorded in recent +history. These were upright, honourable, enlightened men +who lacked political experience and acquaintanceship with +the temper of their own people. +</p> + +<p> +From the first it was certain, if not obvious, that the +radical reform of the Russian regime would entail the +break-up of the State by the dissolution of the cement that +had theretofore held its constituent parts together. That +was the fundamental, ever-present danger inherent in every +reform movement. And this redoubtable consequence was +modifiable only within narrow time-limits, and provided +that the throne was occupied by a statesman or else by a +monarch who had chosen one as his minister, and that the +most stringent self-control and prudence were exercised by +the reformers. As for a violent rebellion with the aid or the +connivance of the army, it was certain—considering the +instincts and the ignorance of the lower classes—to culminate, +not in a glorious revolution, but in swift disruption and +ruin. This was the logical and necessary outcome of the +ethnic, social, cultural, and religious conditions of the +nation. Before the outbreak of November, 1905, I wrote, +"Revolution in Russia will prove to be a very different +process from what it was in France or elsewhere ... it +may at certain stages be marked by a degree of ferocity +which the peoples of the United States and Western Europe +can hardly realise."[<a id="chap09fn4text"></a><a href="#chap09fn4">4</a>] That forecast was published nearly +twelve years before the Bolshevik revolution of September, +1917, which amply confirmed it. +</p> + +<p> +But the leading spirits of the liberal party were dissatisfied +with the reforms outlined in the ukase and with Witte, to +whom the wording of them was attributed. They +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P147"></a>147}</span> +complained that the Tsar was selling dearly and in detail what +they had petitioned him to bestow upon them gratis and +wholesale, and, worse still, that he did not intend to deliver +what he had sold. They had sued for the abolition of classes +and class privileges and he promised the disappearance of +certain legal disabilities which weighed upon the peasants. +They had agitated in favour of liberty of conscience and he +dangled before them the revision of the legislation restricting +the rights of certain nonconformist sects and the removal +of disabilities which did not derive from statute law. +They had prayed for the repeal of the coercion ukase, known +by the name of Protective Regulations, which placed the +liberty and life of all Russians at the mercy of the local +jacks-in-office, and he merely gave instructions to lessen the +number of the districts thus trodden underfoot. They had +besought him to grant liberty of the press, but all that he +undertook was to remove "the superfluous" restrictions +placed upon it, and meanwhile newspapers were being +suspended or suppressed. They had claimed the right of public +meeting and of association, but these claims he wholly +ignored. They had begged that Ukrainians, Poles, Finns, +Jews, Armenians—all the great non-Russian elements, in a +word—might be delivered from the persecution they were +enduring, but the ukase engaged only to strike off those legal +fetters which were not conditioned "by the vital interests of +the State and the manifest advantage of the Russian people." Who +was to define these? The persecuting bureaucracy. +And worse than everything else, the representative assembly, +which was to have been, so to say, the corner-stone of +regenerated Russia, was relegated to the limbo of things that +might have been. +</p> + +<p> +To sum up, the measures announced in the manifesto +would, it was urged, be absurdly inadequate even if they +were meant to be realised. And they could never take root +because they would always be liable to be withdrawn, that +being the end of all reforms in Russia. People called to mind +that several of the more important concessions made from +the days of Nicholas I. had been either formally repealed or +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P148"></a>148}</span> +else cunningly counteracted by the ministers of Alexander +III. or of Nicholas II. The very ukase to which the wretched +serfs owed their emancipation had since then been partially +evaded, and the peasantry were being tied to the soil anew +by M. Plehve when his life was suddenly snuffed out. Yet +those concessions had been not merely promised, but +actually realised; they formed part of the law of the Empire. +That did not save them from partial abolition. Were the +reforms just promised likely to be durable, if those which +were actually embodied in legislation were so successfully +undermined? Russia, in the person of her spokesmen, +answered, "No." +</p> + +<p> +If the reformers were ordinarily exacting beyond measure, +their demands in this case were moderate and their strictures +unanswerable. The first paragraph of the ukase, they +objected, proclaimed the inauguration of a reign of law and +the abolition of caprice. This loud-sounding improvement +was in reality merely a paraphrase of the 47th paragraph of +the fundamental laws of the Empire which Prince Dolgoruki +had termed "la plus volumineuse des mauvaises +plaisanteries"—and it had remained a dead letter for +generations because of the greed of arbitrary power displayed by +the bureaucracy. And as it had been in the past, so it would +be in the future. If the Tsar were in earnest about reform +he would surely have forbidden the punishment of any of +his subjects otherwise than by sentence of the law courts. +That he did not take this direct, simple, and effective method +was, they held, proof that his intention was only conditional. +</p> + +<p> +How superficial was the attention paid by the Tsar to +legislative work may be gathered from the following farcical +<i>quid pro quo</i> which took place when Witte was Minister of +Finances. A bill was introduced in the Council of the Empire +to indemnify landed proprietors in the Baltic provinces for +the losses they had incurred through the government monopoly +of alcohol. Witte held that the payment of a sum of +several millions should be spread over a number of years, the +majority maintained that it ought to be effected at once. The +minister first informed the Tsar of this divergence, and the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P149"></a>149}</span> +Tsar promised to ratify the view of the minority. The +minister then wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Council, +Plehve, telling him that the Emperor had promised to +acquiesce in the decision of the minority as soon as the +documents were placed before him. Plehve freely +communicated this announcement to all the members, whereupon +many officials, seeing that opposition would be fruitless, +changed their views or their votes, so that the minority +unexpectedly became the majority. In the course of time the +documents were laid before the Tsar, who remembered only +that he had pledged himself to Witte to reject the proposal +of the majority. Accordingly, without reading the papers +or taking further thought, he redeemed his promise, and +the wrong bill became law. +</p> + +<p> +In the administration as in legislation he frequently +interposed with like rashness and with untoward consequences. +For the motives that actuated him were generally personal +and sometimes irreconcilable with the principles of justice +which, had he allowed things to take their course, would +have been applied. I remember the case of a journalist with +whom I was slightly acquainted. In a twinkling he was very +suddenly whirled away from Petersburg to Siberia, without +being allowed time to take money or warm clothing with him, +because of an article of his, or rather because of the +interpretation put upon it by the Tsar's confessor, Yanisheff. +Amphitheatroff, the journalist, published a moderately +interesting article describing the home circle of a landed +proprietor, whom he depicted as firm and strict with his +family, and so scrupulous in his dealings with the other sex +that he boiled with indignation if his wife's chambermaid +flirted with any male relative or stranger. He had a +sympathetic son, with eyes like a gazelle's—a well-meaning youth +who wished everybody to be happy, but was devoid of ideas +on practical matters. The kind-hearted mother sat between +father and son, tenderly loving both. It was an idyllic +picture of Russian life at its best—and nothing more. The +censor read it and saw nothing wrong. The minister, +Sipyaghin, glanced at it and passed on cheerfully to his hot +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P150"></a>150}</span> +pancakes and cold caviare. The Tsar himself perused it and +liked it: it was "such a pleasing picture of the serene life of +a Russian squire." But the Emperor's chaplain, Yanisheff, +descried high treason between the lines. According to him, +and he was probably right, the landed proprietor, who +struck the table with his fist whenever he heard of a little +flirtation on the part of his wife's maid, was no other than +the Emperor Alexander III.; the son with the sympathetic +eyes and vacillating character was Nicholas II. As the +portrait, if intended as such, was not flattering, it needed +courage on the part of the priest even to hint that the +ingenuous youth of limited ideas was obviously his Majesty; +and the Tsar must be credited with considerable modesty +to have placed the cap on his imperial head. He at once +summoned and questioned his minister Sipyaghin. "Yes, +I read the feuilleton, your Majesty, but noticed nothing +offensive in it." "Well," replied the Emperor, "you may +take it from me that it is a treasonable skit on my +never-to-be-forgotten father and myself. Send the fellow to +Siberia." And to Siberia he was whisked away, without a chance to buy +warm clothing for the journey or to get money for his needs. +It was not much consolation to M. Amphitheatroff that he +was subsequently pardoned for a mere misdemeanour of +which he said he was innocent and then banished to +Vologda. +</p> + +<p> +Witte, whose steady pacifism stamped a profound influence +on Russian politics generally and gained for his imperial +master the nowise merited reputation of a humane, moral, +and generous monarch, was constantly urging upon him the +necessity of political reforms in the interest both of the +autocracy and the nation. "The autocracy," he would +remark to me in our long conversations, "is but a mode of +conceiving the relations between the ruling board and the +nation. And with vision, enterprise, and resource it can be +made as productive of good as a parliamentary government, +especially in a backward country like ours. But you must +first find a monarch with wisdom, enterprise, and resource, +or with discrimination and modesty enough to select a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P151"></a>151}</span> +statesman who possesses them and to maintain him in +office. Alexander II. was such a monarch and I shall never +cease to lament his death." He perceived with painful clearness +that the elements of the nation were ill-assorted, that +most institutions were disorganised, and that anarchist ideas +fitted in with the social and political conditions. Therefore +he strove to get these changed. A simulacrum of reforms +was, as we saw, dangled before the eyes of the nation in +March, 1903, a mere promise which would, it was hoped, +produce a sedative effect and then pass into easy oblivion. It +was drafted by Plehve, bore the stamp of his inspiration, and +made a considerable stir in Russia and abroad. Taken in +consideration with the high reputation which had been +created for the Tsar it was believed to portend great and +beneficent changes. But stripped of the tawdry wrappings +in which Plehve enveloped it, what it amounted to was the +abolition of the peasants' joint responsibility for taxation and +the removal of some religious restrictions. +</p> + +<p> +Witte, who had a keen eye for religious intolerance and +proselytism by the State, and was never tired of pleading the +cause of freedom, had moved the Emperor to make this sorely +needed concession to the spirit of the time. But beyond the +promise he could not get the bureaucracy or its agents to +move. He would sometimes lose patience utterly and +exclaim to me, "How can I hinder a revolution if even such +anodyne measures are deemed too radical to be carried out? +I begin to despair of the autocracy." In the most sanative +elements of his policy Witte was over-ruled by a crowd of +puny men without responsibility before history or even +before their contemporaries. After the manifesto promising +religious freedom, the Jews were hampered and "squeezed" +perhaps more systematically than before, and by no one more +intensely than by the Emperor's uncle, the Grand Duke +Sergius, the Governor-General of Moscow. Roman Catholics +were also the objects of continual chicanery, especially in the +Polish provinces, and the law obliging those among them +who married persons of the Orthodox Church to bring up +their children in the State creed was applied with rigour. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P152"></a>152}</span> +To belong to the Armenian Church was to be branded with +the mark of Cain, and at times it was worse to be a Russian +nonconformist than to worship idols or to poison one's +neighbour. +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar was smitten with political blindness after the +first year of his reign, and he insisted all the more on moving +about among the institutions of his country, modifying +their working congruously with his whims. On religious +matters in particular he was narrow-minded. At the time of +the manifesto the new Russian penal code was being elaborated, +and the section dealing with crimes against faith was +under discussion. Here the Emperor's supposed mild and +tolerant spirit was expected to bring about great and +desirable changes. But the hope was disappointed. One change +was made for the better, but only one, and that he assented +to most reluctantly. An Orthodox believer who desired to +leave his denomination might thenceforward go abroad and +there change his religion without fear of punishment, whereas +formerly he was liable to pains and penalties. That was all. +But if such a man, being unable to go abroad, should ask a +Russian Lutheran or Roman Catholic priest to receive him +into his Church, the minister in question must refuse. To +comply with the request would entail severe punishment. +</p> + +<p> +There can be no doubt about the Emperor's personal part +in hindering his subjects from serving God in their own +way, for it was vigorous, personal, and direct. Whenever the +existing institutions or the responsible ministers were +inclined to loosen the grip of the law on the conscience of the +individual, the Tsar's veto formed an insuperable impediment. +Here is one instructive example. The edicts dealing +with religious misdemeanours being under discussion a +minority of the Council of the Empire steadily advocated +toleration; but at every turn his Majesty sided with the +majority. Once, and only once, the bulk of the members +favoured a clause which was reasonable and humane; and +then the Emperor quashed their decision without hesitation. +The question was, If a Russian who is Orthodox only in +name and something else—say Lutheran—in reality asks +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P153"></a>153}</span> +a clergyman of his adopted Church to administer the +sacrament to him on his deathbed, should the minister be +punishable if he complies? The Council of the Empire, by +a considerable majority, answered, "No"; and their +arguments were clear and forcible. So plain was the case that +even the grand dukes took the side of the majority. But +the Tsar, putting down his foot, said, "A clergyman who shall +administer the sacrament of his Church to such a man shall +be treated as a law-breaker; it is a crime"; and his decision +received the force of law. As this declaration of the +imperial will was made after the manifesto, we know what to +think of the Emperor's tolerant views as mirrored in that +document. +</p> + +<p> +This other instance took place also after the promulgation +of that "Magna Charta" of Russian liberty. Baron Uexkull +von Gildenband proposed that certain sections of the +population who had been forced several years ago to join the +Orthodox Communion, all of them against their will, and +some even without their knowledge, should now be permitted +to return to their respective Churches if they chose. Some +of these people had been Lutherans of the Baltic provinces, +others had been Uniates of western Russia, <i>i.e.</i>, Catholics +who, with the liturgy of the Greek Church, hold the beliefs +of the Latin and are in communion with Rome. It was an +act, not of magnanimity, but of common justice that was +here suggested. But, when the general debate was about to +begin, the Grand Duke Michael, acting in harmony with his +Majesty's known dispositions, withdrew from the baron his +right to speak in favour of the proposal, which therefore +dropped. +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps the most astounding piece of folly for the +maintenance of which the Emperor was personally answerable, +at any rate during that part of his reign which ended with +the Yalu speculation and the Manchurian campaign, was +his persecution of a very important section of his own +Church, the Old Believers. The members of this +denomination, who were numerous, wealthy, conservative, and +monarchical, differ only in the veriest trifles from members +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P154"></a>154}</span> +of the State orthodoxy. And yet the head of the Orthodox +Church and Tsar of all the Russias, who needed for himself, +his dynasty, and his Empire all the help he could enlist on +the side of autocracy and conservatism, harried those Old +Believers as though they were public enemies. I saw a good +deal of them at this time, listened to and wrote down their +complaints against the Emperor, to whom they remained +loyal in spite of his unwise intolerance. +</p> + +<p> +A monastery belonging to this sect[<a id="chap09fn5text"></a><a href="#chap09fn5">5</a>] was seized by an +Orthodox archimandrite who, at the head of fifty Cossacks, +drove out the monks and took possession of their dwelling. +One of their bishops, Siluan, protested and was thrown +into prison. Yet the archimandrite who had won this easy +victory, not satisfied with his violence against the living, +also wreaked his spite on the dead. Two Old Believers who +had departed this life in the odour of sanctity, Bishop Job +and the priest Gregory, were reputed to be in heaven; and +their bodies were said to be immune from decomposition, a +fact which is taken to point to their saintship. But the Old +Believers could not be permitted to have miracles or saints. +The Orthodox archimandrite, therefore, violated the tombs +and dug up the bodies. He found the latter really intact, and +breaking their coffins, he saturated the boards with petroleum +and then burned the mortal remains of the holy men to +ashes.[<a id="chap09fn6text"></a><a href="#chap09fn6">6</a>] The Tsar had been told of all these grievances, but +he made no sign. +</p> + +<p> +A tragic story, the hero of which was Bishop Methodius, +one of the pillars of the Old Believers, may help to complete +the reader's idea of the cruelty of the system. It, too, was +brought to the notice of Tsar Nicholas at the time without +eliciting even an expression of regret. Born in Cheliabinsk, +Methodius, after having been ordained a priest, zealously +discharged the duties of his office for fifteen years before he +was raised to the episcopal see of Tomsk. One day as bishop +he administered the sacraments to a man who, born in the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P155"></a>155}</span> +State Church, had joined the community of Old Believers. +This was precisely a case of the type discussed in the +Council of the Empire and so harshly provided for by +the Emperor himself. Methodius was denounced, arrested, +tried, found guilty, and condemned to banishment in +Siberia; and the sentence was carried out with needless +brutality. With irons on his feet, penned up together with +murderers and other criminals of the worst type, he was +sent by <i>étape</i> from prison to prison to the government of +Yakutsk. Through the intercession of an influential +co-religionist, he was allowed to stay in the capital of that +province, but soon afterwards, at the instigation of a +dignitary of the State Church, he was banished to Vilyuisk, +in north-eastern Siberia, a place inhabited by savages. The +aged bishop—he was seventy-eight years old—was then set +astride a horse, tied down to the animal, and told that he +must ride thus to his new place of exile, about seven hundred +miles distant. "This sentence is death by torture," said +Methodius's flock. And they were not mistaken. The old +man gave up the ghost on the road (1898); but when, +where, and how he died and was buried has never been +made known. +</p> + +<p> +To the wholesome chastenings of criticism the Tsar was +serenely indifferent. So far as I could learn he never paid +heed to any strictures by whomsoever uttered, with the sole +exception of those of his imperial consort and of Rasputin. +If his repressive measures were conceived without vision +and executed without ruth, the occasional attempts he made +at constructive work were inspired by vulgar superstition +acting upon the intellect of a born dupe. In miracles and +marvels he took a childish delight, and was as ready to +believe the messages from the invisible world which the +spirits sent through M. Philippe in the Crimea as in the +wonders wrought by the relics of Orthodox monks whose +names he himself added to the bead-roll of Russian saints. +His predecessors were more chary of peopling heaven than of +colonising Siberia. Nicholas I. assented to the canonisation +of Mitrophan of Voronesh (1832), whose body was +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P156"></a>156}</span> +found intact after it had lain over a century in its coffin, +but that was the only beatification made during the reign. +Alexander II. allowed the Holy Synod to enrich the Church +with one saint—Tikhon, Bishop of Voronesh (1861); his +successor did not add even one. But Nicholas II. not only +canonised two,[<a id="chap09fn7text"></a><a href="#chap09fn7">7</a>] but he personally ordered one of the candidates, +Seraphim of Saroff, to be proclaimed a saint, in spite +of the disconcerting fact that his body, although buried for +only seventy years, was decomposed. The Orthodox Bishop +Dmitry of Tamboff protested on this ground against the +beatification as contrary to Church traditions, but he was +deprived of his see and sent to Vyatka for venturing to +disagree with the Tsar, who held that the preservation of the +bones, the hair, and the teeth is a sufficient qualification for +saintship; and he was assured by prophetic monks that +God would soon work a miracle and restore Seraphim's +dead body in full. The Deity, however, did not redeem this +pledge. +</p> + +<p> +In these circumstances the impatience of the liberal +leaders waxed aggressive. The action of the war's vicissitudes +on the mood of the whole nation was portentous. And +so swift was the whirl of events that it became difficult to +discern the causal nexus between them. What happened one +day looked as though it had little or nothing to do with the +occurrence of the eve, and could provide no clue to the +eventualities of the morrow. There was no coherence in +things, no union among persons, no centre, no guiding brain. +The Tsar's ukase was actually forbidden by some governors +in the provinces, and Nicholas II. frankly approved the +prohibition.[<a id="chap09fn8text"></a><a href="#chap09fn8">8</a>] This and similar follies indicated his belief that +the autocracy would not stand radical reform, but they also +incensed the workmen of the capital. Labour in Petersburg +had for some time previously been organised and electrified +by the Ukrainian priest, George Gapon, who invited its +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P157"></a>157}</span> +members to follow him in public procession to the Winter +Palace on the historic 22nd January, to which I afterwards +gave the name of "Bloody Sunday." The alleged object +was to lay before the Tsar the needs of the Russian people. +Gapon was a hare-brained, ignorant, conceited young priest +who, to use a Russian expression, fancied that the ocean was +only up to his knees. His ignorance of life was profound and +his velleity to learn fitful and feeble, and his vanity had +no bounds. But his personal magnetism, especially when +addressing a crowd of peasants or artisans, bordered on the +marvellous. While this hypnotic power was taken by many +to qualify him for the leadership of men, his intellectual +shallowness, variations of mood, and utter untrustworthiness +condemned him to lead them to perdition. He was +possessed of many typical Russian traits, such as a habit of +morbid introspection and of plangent reverie, a high-strung +emotional temperament, liability to sudden oscillations +from the heights of exaltation to the depths of despair, and +an absence of all sense of measure. He also laboured under +that kind of ethical Daltonism which hinders some +defectively equipped human beings from discriminating between +right and wrong, so that every movement that promised the +delights of leadership carried him for a while along its main +current. He was emphatically the creature of impulse, and +altogether devoid of those imposing qualities so often found +in Russian reformers which go to make a martyr. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap09fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap09fn1text">1</a>] 19th November, 1904. Cf. <i>North American Review</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap09fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap09fn2text">2</a>] Cf. <i>North American Review</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap09fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap09fn3text">3</a>] Slovo. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap09fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap09fn4text">4</a>] Cf. <i>North American Review</i>, January, 1905, +p. 300. I remembered this +and similar forecasts of mine in the following +year when reading of the unfortunate +men whom the revolutionists set to +dance on hot sheets of iron and +then slowly burned to death. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap09fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap09fn5text">5</a>] The Nikolsky Skeet in the Kuban province. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap09fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap09fn6text">6</a>] This procedure was described in the <i>Grashdanin</i>, +1896, a newspaper which +was read regularly by the Tsar. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap09fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap09fn7text">7</a>] Theodosius, Archbishop of Chernigoff, +canonised 25th April, 1896; and +Seraphim of Saroff, canonised 31st July, 1903. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap09fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap09fn8text">8</a>] Cf. my articles in the <i>North American Review</i>, +the <i>Contemporary Review</i>, +and the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> at the time. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap10"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P158"></a>158}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER X +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +FATHER GAPON AND AZEFF +</p> + +<p> +George Gapon began his public career by joining one of +those amazing organisations which the bureaucracy in the +last days of its decline created for its defence. It came of an +application of the method of exorcising Beelzebub by +Beelzebub. The principle and expediency of borrowing +something from the democratic movements of the west to serve +as a prop for the autocracy of the east had taken root in the +fertile brain of Plehve, the organiser, and he set scores of +agents working at various aspects of this fascinating problem. +I met several of them. One of these was a certain Zubatoff, +who organised the Moscow factory hands into a puissant +association under the unavowed supervision and direction +of the secret police and in opposition to the inchoate unions +directed by the socialists. The project was audacious, for +it included the getting up of economic strikes for higher +wages and better conditions, which the authorities generally +brought to an end by taking sides with the workmen against +the employers. To such expedients was the autocracy +reduced! I had met Gapon once or twice when calling on +Bishop Antoninus, who played a part in the religious +Philosophical Society, but I can hardly say that I was acquainted +with or impressed by him. I distinctly remember, however, +Witte's indignation at the immorality of Zubatoff's +expedient, and at the harm it was inflicting on industry. From +Moscow bitter complaints had been received from directors +and owners of factories, and Witte, appealed to as Finance +Minister, took their part unhesitatingly. "It is not for the +secret police," he once said to me, "to organise strikes +which are forbidden by law. If strikes are desirable, +necessary, or permissible, they should be left to the men whose +interests are furthered by them." Gapon at first worked +under Zubatoff and later alone, and as he confessed to me +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P159"></a>159}</span> +when I pressed the question, he had accepted money from +the secret police, "but all the money advanced by the +government," he argued, "came from the people. And +besides, if I had scrupulously refused it, there would have +been no great movement now against the regime." His plan +and justification, as he explained to others and myself, +consisted in his intention to get the factory hands into his power, +select the most gifted and trustworthy among them, make +them his agents for propaganda, and then when the auspicious +hour should strike, to lead the compacted working +class to victory over the autocracy. It was the scheme of +a visionary who had no eye for realities, the dream of an +ambitious and eloquent greenhorn. +</p> + +<p> +The dismissal of four artisans from the Putiloff Works at +St. Petersburg[<a id="chap10fn1text"></a><a href="#chap10fn1">1</a>] was the occasion that led to the procession +of Bloody Sunday. Gapon proposed that a demand should +be made not only for the reinstatement of the men, but also +for the punishment of the foreman who had sent them away, +and for guarantees that the existing abnormal relations +between employers and employed should be so reformed +as to render such abuses as that complained of impossible +in the future. If this reasonable request were not complied +with, he would not, he said, answer for the maintenance of +public tranquillity. The working men were as clay in his +hands. His success whenever he addressed them had turned +his head and clouded his judgment, for vanity was his +besetting sin. In a few days his economic demands were +reinforced by political pretensions, and he at last exhorted the +men to follow him to the Winter Palace to see the Tsar and +lay before him the needs of the entire Russian people. The +idea was not his own. Who suggested it I do not know for +certain, but I have some grounds for believing, but not +enough for asserting, that it had travelled from the far end +of the globe, whence money was also arriving. +</p> + +<p> +I called on Gapon a few days before the historic Sunday[<a id="chap10fn2text"></a><a href="#chap10fn2">2</a>] +and being myself acquainted with most of the prominent +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P160"></a>160}</span> +liberals not only in the capital but also in the provinces, I +felt curious to ascertain more than I then knew about his +aims, means, qualifications, and antecedents. The last-named +subject was obviously distasteful to him. He reluctantly +admitted as much as he saw that I knew about himself, +but his answers generally, as well as the manner in which he +gave them, left an unpleasant impression in my mind to +which I gave utterance in my estimate of him published +next day.[<a id="chap10fn3text"></a><a href="#chap10fn3">3</a>] I felt that such a man was not fitted to lead the +people in a country like Russia, where punishments for +abortive revolutions was Draconian, and I never could rid +myself of the conviction that he was not to be trusted. +</p> + +<p> +On the eve of the great demonstration I spent the whole +night in the company of Maxim Gorky, Kedrin, and a +number of liberals, who were indirectly helping Gapon by +endeavouring to get the government to keep the troops in +barracks on the morrow and to induce the Tsar to receive, +or send some one to receive, a delegation of the working men. +Witte, who, although not in power, was eager to canalise +the current and render it harmless, telephoned to the +responsible minister, his friend and mine, Prince Sviatopolk +Mirsky, and besought him to intercede with the monarch. +To no purpose. Mirsky, who was a humane, straight, +honourable man, did everything he could to have the +request complied with, but without result. I well remember +Witte's last words to Mirsky at the telephone an hour after +midnight: "Are you really aware how serious the movement +is, and how tragic the consequences of your refusal +may be?" And the answer came: "I am alive to all that, +but I can do nothing to prevent it. The matter is not in my +hands." The delegation then withdrew. Nobody in authority +could be discovered in the capital that night who would +confess to having any voice in shaping the events of the morrow. +Blind fate seemed to be standing at the wheel. +</p> + +<p> +On the Sunday morning I went out to see the demonstration +and was very nearly shot by the Cossacks who fired on a +body of working men and women a few yards from Witte's +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P161"></a>161}</span> +house after having hurriedly warned me to vacate the ground +between them and the crowd. The people, who were +unarmed and peaceful, but excited and wound up by Gapon, +were fired upon without ruth.[<a id="chap10fn4text"></a><a href="#chap10fn4">4</a>] It would have been possible +for the Emperor or a grand duke to conciliate them, or for +a few hundred policemen to disperse them with truncheons, +but counsels of wisdom were rejected, possibly because +Witte who tendered them was disliked by the Tsar. +</p> + +<p> +Military specialists afterwards assured me that if the +workmen, who reached the neighbourhood of the empty +Winter Palace, had been led by a resolute chief they might +have occupied it without the loss of a man and perhaps +turned the riot into a revolution.[<a id="chap10fn5text"></a><a href="#chap10fn5">5</a>] I do not share this view, +which I record as interesting. For the demonstration was a +mad freak. The working men were unarmed, their leader +was self-seeking and pacific, the groups, scattered all over +the city, could not be concentrated, and the attitude of the +crowd was such that the soldiers were certain to disperse it +without a serious effort. This was known to Gorky, Kedrin, +and myself the night before. The priest failed to realise it. +</p> + +<p> +The Cossacks stationed near the bridges and at other +points fired upon the advancing groups and a massacre +ensued. The number of victims as given by some English +and foreign papers amounted to thousands; in reality the +killed did not exceed seventy odd, nor the wounded 240. +</p> + +<p> +Father Gapon in person led a numerous body of men +from a part of the city far distant from the Winter Palace, +and before they had made much progress they were stopped +by the troops who opened fire. Gapon's life was in danger +for a while, but he lay flat in the snow enveloped in his heavy +fur coat during the firing. One of his friends fell dead by his +side. Having escaped the same fate he was taken to a place +of safety by a devoted friend, the engineer Ruthenberg, a +member of a revolutionary society. It came about in this way. +</p> + +<p> +After the third volley the silence was broken only by the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P162"></a>162}</span> +cries and moans of the wounded, who lay wriggling or wincing +in the mottled snow. Ruthenberg raised his head cautiously, +looked round at the prostrate bodies, and seeing beside him +the burly figure of the cleric curled up in the snow, nudged +him violently. From the capacious fur mantle Gapon's +head was lifted slowly. "Are you alive, father?" "Yes." "Shall +we get away from here?" "By all means." And +they went. Hardly had they entered a courtyard hard by +when Gapon theatrically exclaimed, "There's no longer a +God, there's no longer a Tsar." And yet within a twelve-month +he was secretly assuring the authorities that his +veneration for the Tsar was and always had been profound—in +fact it came immediately after his love for God. +</p> + +<p> +The engineer, eager to save the priest's life as the most +precious thing in that motley crowd, took away all the +compromising documents in Gapon's possession and asked +whether he might also relieve him of his long tell-tale hair. +The priest assented. Ruthenberg then took out his clasp +knife for the purpose. It was the knife that contained a pair +of scissors and was to be employed once again on Gapon at +the close of his career and his life and by the same engineer. +Ruthenberg began the operation as though it were the +ceremony of conferring upon a novice the dignity of monkhood. +And the working men, who literally worshipped their leader, +clustered round the pair and stretched forth their hands for the +locks of the precious hair which they received reverently with +bared and bowed heads as though an awe-inspiring sacrament +were being administered. And as they took it, they +muttered, "It is holy." Those locks of Gapon's hair were +treasured up by the working men and their families as sacred +relics[<a id="chap10fn6text"></a><a href="#chap10fn6">6</a>]—for a twelvemonth and a day. From the moment +Gapon rose from the ground he was another man in more +than one sense of the term. Instead of the enthusiastic +leader who had recoiled from no danger he was in mortal +terror of being arrested and hanged. Of hanging he had a +supernatural dread. It might have been a presentiment. +</p> + +<p> +I saw him that same evening. He came disguised to the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P163"></a>163}</span> +Economic Society where a meeting was being held of the +intelligentsia, and his unbridled vanity moved him to deliver +an address, having first had himself introduced to the +audience as a friend of Father Gapon's. He had nothing +of interest to tell his audience, but if I remember right he +asked that the workmen should be supplied with firearms +in order to rebel with success. The historic procession +imparted new vigour to the popular movement and the +massacre of the unarmed citizens inflicted enormous damage +on the cause of the autocracy. +</p> + +<p> +The remainder of Gapon's history had best find a place +here. His friend, the engineer Ruthenberg, who saved his +life near the Narva Gates, stood by him helpfully with +counsel, money, refuge, friends, until he had him safe in +Geneva. There and in Paris Gapon's vanity was fed and +fostered by the reverence with which the Russian colony +received him. He formally joined the socialists, expecting +to rise to still greater fame and break the record he had +already attained. A lady who had been in Petersburg and +on her return from Russia found Gapon still idle and +fretting, cheered him up with the information that the workmen +of his party in the capital literally adored him and were +about to open a subscription to raise a monument to him +during his life. These tidings completely upset his mental +balance. He communicated them to every one he met, +generally with the comment: "It is without parallel in +history." His personal magnetism, which drew and captivated +many of those who came under his influence, enabled +him to live in idleness abroad, supported either by the party +or by individuals, until he published the story of his life, for +which he is said to have received a thousand pounds. A +measure of his powers of suggestion was afforded by the +ease with which he talked over a certain Russian with whom +he became acquainted abroad into making him a present +of fifty thousand francs[<a id="chap10fn7text"></a><a href="#chap10fn7">7</a>] "to organise the workmen of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P164"></a>164}</span> +Petersburg." This money he is alleged to have spent +entirely on himself, and as soon as the party to which he now +belonged heard of what he had done and how he had accomplished +it they asked him to resign. It is worth noting as a +characteristic of the man that about that time, and before +six months had elapsed since the events of Bloody Sunday, +Gapon had again resumed secret relations with the Russian +Department of Police.[<a id="chap10fn8text"></a><a href="#chap10fn8">8</a>] When in Finland later on, a certain +captain remarked to him, "Russia has had her Gapon, but +now she needs a Napoleon." He rejoined, "How do you +know that that Russian Napoleon is not standing before +you now?" +</p> + +<p> +I was once invited to dinner near London by a well-known +Russian revolutionist who enjoys an enviable reputation in +the higher walks of life. I accepted gratefully. Before the +day had come, however, I received another letter informing +me that Father Gapon would be the honoured guest of the +evening, whereupon I begged to be excused, for I felt an +inexplicable antipathy to the man. Later on when he had +returned in secret to Russia[<a id="chap10fn9text"></a><a href="#chap10fn9">9</a>] he sent a message to ask me +whether I would meet him. He also apologised for troubling +one with whom he could hardly say that he was acquainted, +but my close relations with the Prime Minister warranted +him, he thought, in taking this unwonted step. I declined +to see Gapon on the ground that my intimacy with the +Premier would not allow me to enter into relations with an +enemy, real or alleged, of the government without first +informing its chief and obtaining his assent. Gapon sent again +to request me to tell Witte that he was back in St. Petersburg +and had something of importance to say. +</p> + +<p> +I brought the matter up that same night after dinner. +Witte and I were talking about various people when I asked +him his opinion of Gapon, and then inquired when he had +last heard of him. "And where is he now?" I queried. +"He is still abroad, I suppose." I remarked that to my +knowledge he was in the Russian capital. At first the statesman +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P165"></a>165}</span> +thought I was joking. When he saw that I could tell +where the priest was to be found he requested me to give +him Gapon's address. I did not possess it, nor would I have +given it unconditionally if I had had it. I told him, however, +how he could get into communication with him, but only +after he had first promised me not to allow him to be arrested. +Witte apprised me subsequently that he had met his colleague, +Durnovo, Minister of the Interior, next day, and that +Durnovo had casually mentioned Gapon's name to him. +"Gapon is here," said Witte. "Are you certain?" "Quite +certain." "Then I must have the scoundrel arrested." "No, +no, you must promise not to touch him. I have given my +word. I will see to it that he leaves the country." Durnovo +reluctantly agreed to give Gapon twenty-four or forty-eight +hours' grace, and Witte sent him the necessary money from +his own purse to enable him to quit Russia.[<a id="chap10fn10text"></a><a href="#chap10fn10">10</a>] +</p> + +<p> +I did not know exactly when Gapon entered into relations +with Ratchkoffsky, the head of the Political Police of all +Russia, who, after having been dismissed for sending a true +report about the shady antecedents of the Tsar's first +favourite, the French table-rapper, Philippe, was reinstated +as the cleverest, most resourceful, and most subtle organiser +of anti-revolutionary counter-mines in the Tsardom. And +judging by what he actually accomplished he deserved this +reputation. I, who for years was Witte's most intimate friend, +met him two or three times at the statesman's house and was +surprised to note that he spoke Russian with a foreign accent +and expressed himself slowly, hesitatingly, as though he were +seeking for words. The minister, who was always outspoken +to me when characterising the people he received and had +warned me in advance to keep clear of several because he +suspected them of being spies or blackmailers, expressed +himself thus about Ratchkoffsky: "He is well worth knowing. +He has an extraordinary, subtle mind. The way he gets +round the anarchists is simply amazing." But I fought shy +of Ratchkoffsky, and he of me. He probably remembered +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P166"></a>166}</span> +my dossier. Anyhow, I have no clear-cut impression of +anything but his exterior and his small talk and I found +neither attractive. +</p> + +<p> +I have since learned that Gapon had become Ratchkoffsky's +paid agent some time in the first half of February, +1906,[<a id="chap10fn11text"></a><a href="#chap10fn11">11</a>] that he had written a letter of repentance and promise +of amendment to the Home Secretary, Durnovo, and had +undertaken to seduce and win over to the secret service his +friend, the engineer Ruthenberg; and that was his undoing. +Ratchkoffsky handled Gapon in a masterly way, flattering +him to the top of his bent until the priest began to imagine +that he was about to become one of Russia's greatest men. +Gapon, on his part, retracted all his former opinions, +brand-marked his action of Bloody Sunday, and announced his +resolve to make amends for all his former wickedness. That +was exactly what the Police Director wanted—to bedraggle +the idol of the people with mud and to plunge him in the +lowest depths of degradation. It was with this object and +probably with the ulterior aim of sending the priest to his +death that Ratchkoffsky set him the task of disaffecting +Ruthenberg to the revolutionary movement and securing +his services as a spy. Ratchkoffsky well knew from Azeff +that the engineer had nothing new to reveal, and also that +he would turn upon his tempter. Anyhow, it was the persistent +effort to achieve that impossible and useless feat that +ruined the fickle priest. There is something almost amusing +in the <i>naïveté</i> with which Gapon, when seeking to lure his +friend and saviour, tells of the friendly turn he had done +him in his talks with the head of the political police. "At +first, you know, Ratchkoffsky did not trust you, but when I +assured him that you were straight and honest, and that I +would vouch for you, he was easy in mind!" A certificate +of straightness and honesty from the traitor for the man +whom he hopes to render disloyal comes to a westerner with +an anarchist flavour. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P167"></a>167}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Nothing is more characteristic of the degree of vice and +corruption to which the autocracy, and not the autocracy +only, had sunk at the beginning of the century than the +cynicism with which assassination, cold-blooded treachery, +shameless perjury, and all the abominations of applied +Machiavellism pushed to its uttermost extremes, were +discussed and employed by the State and also by its foes. All +restraints and checks were gone. The Tsar's government +employed unprincipled scoundrels who, like Azeff, cajoled +young men into a secret society, set them to commit +dastardly crimes, and then delivered them up to death, penal +servitude, or exile, and on the other hand the revolutionary +parties were served by the self-same ruffians who proscribed +and murdered grand dukes, ministers, generals. And the +imperial government, which knew that such murders as +those of Plehve and of the Tsar's uncle, the Grand Duke +Sergius, had been planned and organised by the well-paid +State servant Azeff, not only allowed him to remain in its +employ, but continued to pay him royally. These things +enable one to gauge the depths to which moral gangrene +had eaten into the organism before it finally collapsed. +Tsarism was being developed to its extreme consequences. +</p> + +<p> +What could be more artless or illuminating than the +following entry made by the engineer Ruthenberg in his +diary? "February, 1906. I found nobody in Petersburg. +Having learned that Azeff was in Seyversk I repaired thither. +I arrived by the first morning train, about 7 a.m. on the 11th +or 12th February. I narrated everything to Azeff[<a id="chap10fn12text"></a><a href="#chap10fn12">12</a>] (about +Gapon's treason). I told him that as a member of the party +I do not consider that I have the right to take any measures +on my own initiative, so I await instructions from the +Central Committee. Azeff was astonished and disgusted +at what I had recounted. It was his opinion that Gapon +should be done to death like a poisonous viper. In order to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P168"></a>168}</span> +accomplish this I must ask him to meet me, drive out with +him in the evening, taking my own sleigh to the Krestoffsky +Garden,[<a id="chap10fn13text"></a><a href="#chap10fn13">13</a>] remain there to supper and stay late—in fact until +everybody is gone—then drive in the same conveyance to +the wood, plunge a knife into Gapon's back, and throw his +body out of the sleigh. The same morning ... Subbotin +arrived.... In essentials he shared Azeff's opinion that +Gapon must be killed." ... Another council of four was +held next day and opinions were divided, one member +insisting on the murder of Azeff alone and the others +advocating a meeting of Ruthenberg, Gapon, and Ratchkoffsky +at which the engineer should also kill the other two. +</p> + +<p> +Ruthenberg did not venture to assassinate Gapon, who +was literally idolised by the working men, until he could get +their assent. In order to obtain this it behoved him, in his +own interest, first to prove the priest's guilt. With this +object in view he took Gapon out in a sleigh, the driver of +which was one of the factory hands disguised, who was told +in advance to keep his ears pricked, listen to the conversation, +and report it faithfully to his comrades. The talk +consisted of Ruthenberg's various objections to Gapon's +proposal that he should meet Ratchkoffsky and betray his +party, and of Gapon's detailed answers and persuasive pleas. +The priest had at first mentioned ten thousand pounds as +the reward which the engineer might expect for his treason, +but was afterwards obliged to confess that the head of the +political police had refused to pay more than one quarter of +this sum. +</p> + +<p> +Naturally the talk was very open, the names of persons +being clearly pronounced by Ruthenberg so that the driver +heard enough to dispel his doubts. He and his comrades +having subsequently talked the matter over, decided at the +first opportunity to seize Gapon, disarm, try, and execute +him. And for these purposes a wooden house was hired +some ten or twelve miles outside the capital, on the way to +the Finnish frontier, into which he was to be inveigled. It +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P169"></a>169}</span> +was situated in a little village of wooden houses used as +summer dwellings by the poorer middle class of the capital +and left empty in winter. Gapon, however, at first refused +to leave Petersburg under any circumstances, but finally +accepted Ruthenberg's invitation and went without even +taking the revolver which he had never before left behind. +After some conversation with the engineer the pair +approached the shanty, in which a number of workmen were +secretly waiting to discharge the functions of judges and +executioners. +</p> + +<p> +"Is there anybody in the house?" asked Gapon as they +drew near to the dismal-looking, frail, wooden structure in +the deserted snow-covered village. "Nobody," replied his +friend. "Bravo!" rejoined the priest, "you always manage +to get a place where even a dog would not scent your +presence." The members of the improvised areopagus were +meanwhile waiting in a little backroom on the upper story, +and by way of disarming suspicion the door had been shut +and a padlock hung outside as though it had remained locked +ever since the end of summer when all these shabby "villas" +are vacated. The plan was for Ruthenberg and Gapon to +enter this particular room where the priest would be +disarmed, bound, and tried. But Gapon, arriving first, went +into the larger room, took off his fur coat, flopped heavily +down on the sofa, and began to chatter away more cynically +than ever before, fancying that no one but his friend could +hear him, whereas his every word was audible to the men +next door. "Why ever won't you come to terms?" he +began; "25,000 roubles is a respectable sum." "Yes, yes, +but in Moscow you told me that Ratchkoffsky had offered +100,000." And so more and more compromising answers +were elicited by the engineer's tricky questions. For example, +the latter objected that if he betrayed his comrades they +would be hanged and he therefore recoiled from the act. +Gapon urged that once the money was paid by the authorities, +the two could then warn their comrades to escape and +thus save the lambs and feed the wolves. His friend then +insisted that this was not feasible because they would be +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P170"></a>170}</span> +"shadowed" by Ratchkoffsky's detectives and all of them +hanged. "Oh, well, we will arrange their escape somehow," +remarked the ex-priest. "Perhaps part might get away," +said Ruthenberg, "but they'll surely catch and hang the +rest." "That would be a pity," observed Gapon. And so +the fateful dialogue ran on. +</p> + +<p> +In this way the wretched man was tempted and played +with for the space of about half an hour, until he had laid +bare all his crimes against the men who had followed him +and braved death under his leadership and had denied God +and the Tsar at his bidding a little over a year before. +Towards the close of this oblique cross-examination the +engineer struck out a new line in order to reach a climax. +"What would become of you if the workmen, say only those +of your own section, got wind of your relations with +Ratchkoffsky?" "They know nothing about that, and if they +heard anything I would make them believe that I was doing +it for their own good." "Yes, but suppose they were to +discover all that I know about you? ... that you betrayed +me and even undertook to seduce me and enlist me among +the provocateurs and through me to betray the militant +organisation, and that you sent a letter of repentance to +Durnovo? What then?" "Nobody knows those things, +nobody can ever find them out." "But suppose I myself +were to publish them?" "Oh, of course you would never do +such a thing...." Then having meditated a while, "And +if you did I would write to the papers and say you had gone +mad and that I knew nothing of those things. Besides, you +possess no documents, no witnesses to bear them out. There +isn't the shadow of a doubt that it is I whom they would +believe."[<a id="chap10fn14text"></a><a href="#chap10fn14">14</a>] +</p> + +<p> +After this they moved out of the room. Behind a door +Gapon came upon an ear witness, was terrified, and wanted +to kill him on the spot. Thereupon Ruthenberg went to +the door of the little room, pushed it open, and turning to +the priest exclaimed, "Look! there are my witnesses!" Gapon, +turning his gaze upon the man whom he had been +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P171"></a>171}</span> +talking to as his second self, fell on his knees, and exclaimed, +"Martin,[<a id="chap10fn15text"></a><a href="#chap10fn15">15</a>] Martin!" "There's no Martin here for you!" +exclaimed a voice. The workmen, who had with difficulty +repressed their fury during Gapon's unwitting self-accusation, +threw themselves fiercely upon him now and pinned +him to the floor. Then they dragged him into the adjoining +room. Ruthenberg covered his face with his hands and went +out. The first impulse of the men was to shoot the traitor. +But he tore himself from their clutches in the strength of +his despair and adjured them to have mercy. "Brothers, +brothers!" he implored them. "We are not your brothers. +Ratchkoffsky is your brother." "Brothers, I swear to you +that I did it for the sake of an idea..." "Yes, we have +just heard your ideas. We know them now." "Comrades, +in the name of the past, forgive me ... in the name of the +past." But the men went on tying his hands and feet in +silence. "Brothers! Spare me. Remember the links that +bind us to each other." "That's exactly why you deserve +to die," one of the men exclaimed. "You sold our blood +to the secret police and you merit death." ... And +congruously with an unspoken accord they threw the noose over +his head on to his neck and pulled him over to an iron hook +which had been driven into the clothes-rack. +</p> + +<p> +Gapon, already choking and gasping, croaked out, +"Brothers ... darlings ... stop! ... Let me say a +last word!" "String him up!" commanded one of +the men who had walked with Gapon in the procession of +Bloody Sunday. But another comrade interposed, saying, +"Let him have his last word as he asks for it. Perhaps we +may learn something important." ... The pressure of the +cord round his neck was eased and Gapon spoke, +"Brothers! ... Have mercy ... Dear ones ... Forgive me +... For the sake of bygone times." ... But the workmen +jerked the cord and Gapon hung powerless. A few minutes +later he was dead. The shadows of evening were falling. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P172"></a>172}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The workmen, gloomy and stern, went out of the room +one after the other on to the terrace where Ruthenberg stood, +He was trembling all over from an attack of nerves. "Is it +finished?" he asked. All were silent. "You should search +him now," he said. And they all went back to the room +again where Gapon's corpse was hanging. They searched +him and found various papers in his pockets.... Ruthenberg +said, "You ought to cover his face. Cut the cord and +cover up his face." He took from his own pocket and handed +me a clasp knife—writes a workman—which contained a +pair of small, collapsible scissors. "It was with these very +scissors," he remarked, "that I cut his hair on that day +... the 22nd January ... and now it is with the same scissors +that" ... but he did not complete the sentence and went +out of the dismal room.[<a id="chap10fn16text"></a><a href="#chap10fn16">16</a>] +</p> + +<p> +In this dramatic manner poetic justice was done and the +idol of the people was covered with infamy. +</p> + +<p> +Azeff, the paid spy of the government and unmatched +organiser of revolutionary murders, was a party to this +execution. A word from him would have stopped or retarded it. +That he informed his chief Ratchkoffsky of what was +planned is most probable. For Gapon, after his meeting +with Ruthenberg at the fatal village of Ozerky, was to have +returned and given Ratchkoffsky an account of what took +place. And as he did not return the conclusion that he had +been put to death was almost unavoidable. Yet Gapon's +body was allowed to lie for weeks in the empty house where +it had fallen, probably because Ratchkoffsky was anxious +that the crime should be discovered as late as possible. From +the outset the Police Director knew that Gapon had nothing +of importance to reveal and was perfectly useless as a spy, +because the revolutionists had long ceased to trust him. +What he wanted, therefore, was first to discredit the popular +hero of Bloody Sunday—which he had already done—and +then to get the revolutionists to give him a receipt for the +work by putting their ex-hero to death ignominiously. +Conception and execution were worthy of the greatest of Russia's +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P173"></a>173}</span> +secret police organisers. They were also characteristic of +the government, the regime, and the epoch. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as I received tidings of Gapon's death[<a id="chap10fn17text"></a><a href="#chap10fn17">17</a>] I asked +Witte whether it was true. He seemed greatly perturbed +and only said, "I cannot credit it. But I will find out at +once and let you know." The next morning as he and I went +in to lunch together he said, "I am sorry to say that Gapon +has been put to death. Your information was correct. Please +say nothing about it to any one. What a strange man he +was!" He then told me the whole story of Gapon as far as he knew +it and I wrote it down to his dictation. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the system of government at the outset of the +twentieth century was essentially what Ivan the Terrible +had made it in the sixteenth—an agency independent of the +nation, with interests and aims of its own which often ran +counter to those of the people, an organism which had the +strongest motives for keeping the bulk of Russians in intellectual +darkness, political subjection, and in the plague-polluted +gloom of moral degradation. And now that the girders +and joists of the State structure were bending and giving way +under the battering shocks of terrorists who lived and died +for abstractions, the props by which the fabric was being +supported were supplied by Ratchkoffsky, Gapon, Azeff, +Tennenbaum, and such-like beings whose very breath shed +poison and from whose infamous deeds some of the worst +criminals of the west would have recoiled. By the year of +the abortive revolution, which foreboded the fall of the +autocracy, the soul of the ruling class in the Tsardom was +encrusted round with foul leprous stains and the moral +atmosphere of the nation permeated with corrosive vapour. +Brother could no longer confide in brother nor parents in +their sons, so impregnated had the air become with suspicion +and mistrust. +</p> + +<p> +Take as a typical example the case of the notorious Azeff. +A great clumsy, brawny fellow with a big Marat-like head, +an uncommonly low forehead, eyes that seemed starting from +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P174"></a>174}</span> +their sockets, thick lips, very high cheek bones, and a coarse, +sensual look, he was early taken in hand by the Department +of the Political Police and introduced into the holy of +holies of the revolutionary party, there to weave plots that +made men shudder, to enlist intrepid, clever young men—the +pick of Russia's youth—to assign to them parts in +political murders, and to have them arrested on the eve of +their realisation and sent to the gallows, Siberia, or a horrible +prison. The police alone being unable to cope with the +multitude of patriotic lads who, stirred by the spectacle of +their country's woes, and inspired by the vision of its future +bliss, rose up against the accursed system, created the rôle of +the agent provocateur. Ratchkoffsky raised it to the dignity +of an art. The number of provocateurs was great, but the +king of them all was Yevno Azeff, known also as the "Fat +One." The story of the exploits of this miscreant would fill +a large volume. The names of his victims would suffice for +a national martyrology. The authority he enjoyed with the +militant revolutionists on the one hand, and with the Tsar's +bureaucratic defenders on the other hand, constitutes a +psychological wonder. For although the man had no such +charm of person or magic of language as Gapon possessed, +and was physically repellent over and above, he was so +highly esteemed and trusted by both sides that for years +the central committee of the revolutionists refused to entertain +the growing suspicions of certain of his colleagues, or to +take notice of the downright denunciations that came from +the Department of the Political Police itself, while the Tsar's +government, even after it had been proven that Azeff was the +double-dyed scoundrel who had organised the successful +plot against Plehve and the Grand Duke Sergius, not only +refused to bring him to trial or otherwise punish him, but +continued to pay him largely and to keep him in their +employment. Azeff was a Janus, and each of his two faces +possessed the power of fascinating the beholder. +</p> + +<p> +Azeff accepted two influential posts in the revolutionary +camp: he was a member of the central committee of the +Social Revolutionary Party, and he was also head of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P175"></a>175}</span> +militant organisation, so that practically everything was +thought out, organised, and its execution supervised by +him. For seven or eight consecutive years all the threads +of the revolutionary movement passed through his +blood-stained hands; he knew personally every leading +conspirator in the province, and shaped every great collective +terrorist act. It is self-evident that the revolutionists, whose +watchfulness and shrewdness need no eulogium, would not +have maintained him in this position of trust if they had not +had absolute confidence in his zeal for the cause and his +resourcefulness. It is no less clear that he must have justified +this confidence by concrete acts. These two conclusions are +borne out by well-established facts. Of these evidences of +Azeff's devotion one of the most resonant and fruitful was +the death of Plehve, of which I by chance was a witness. +This versatile ruffian carefully laid his plans for the murder +of the minister in whom the brightest hopes of the autocracy +were then centred and who was paying him for protection +against terrorist plots. It is worth noting by the way +that Plehve was one of the highest types of the champions +of Tsarism and a statesman of no mean order. True, the +material in which he worked and the conditions which he +was forced to accept made it not only impossible for him +to achieve great palpable results, but obliged him either to +abandon the task or to have recourse to the most infamous +devices ever employed by a civilised ruler of men. And yet +ethically Plehve was neither worse nor better than the +common run of his class. Intellectually indeed he was far +and away their superior. But the system which he had to +bolster up was already so putrid that it could be upheld only +by communicating its rottenness to the forces that were +preparing to attack it. Any powerful shock would, it seemed +to him and to many of his fellow-workers, overthrow the +dynasty, the regime, and the entire ordering of the political +community. The diversion which he had striven to create +by the Manchurian campaign was harming in lieu of helping +the autocracy. For the first time all Russia was combining +against the Tsarist State, and any day a far-resonant +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P176"></a>176}</span> +crime of the terrorists might prove the precipitating event +that would lead to its overthrow. To hinder this the surest +way, as it seemed to Plehve, would be to contaminate +the terrorists with the canker from which the State was +suffering. In this way the system assimilated its servants +and stamped them with the hall-mark of its own ethical +quality. +</p> + +<p> +Plehve was blown to pieces in my presence, and forthwith +Azeff became a demi-god in the eyes of his comrades and a +future saviour in the eyes of the government. Unable to +satisfy both masters at once, he soon afterwards plotted the +death of the Tsar's uncle and had him too blown to pieces. +It is not surprising, therefore, that when in the latter half of +the year 1905 he was anonymously denounced to one of the +terrorists as an agent of the political police the revolutionary +committee dismissed the charge with supreme contempt. +And yet the denunciation had come in the shape of a letter +sent[<a id="chap10fn18text"></a><a href="#chap10fn18">18</a>] by an unnamed official of the Department of the +Secret Police[<a id="chap10fn19text"></a><a href="#chap10fn19">19</a>] in Petersburg. Moreover, it consisted not +merely in an accusation uttered without evidence; it made +two definite statements of interest to the terrorists, which +on inquiry turned out to be true, and ought therefore to +have stimulated curiosity about the third. It alleged that +among the members of the committee were two agents +provocateurs, of whom one was T., who had recently returned +from Siberia, where he had lived in banishment, and that +the other was commonly known by either of his two +nicknames, "the Fat One" or "Ivan Nikolayevitch." The +indictment actually specified some of the denunciations +which each of the two men had made against his comrades, +and it also described certain details by which they might be +identified. It asserted, for example, that "the Fat One" +had recently spent a fortnight in Moscow under the false +name of Vilenkin. This last allegation was both true and +disquieting. +</p> + +<p> +The member of the committee who had received this +letter showed it at once to Azeff, who grew pale and excited, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P177"></a>177}</span> +and exclaimed, "T. is Tataroff, and A. is, of course, myself, +Azeff." He decided to repair to Moscow without delay, +where he opened his mind to another member of the party, +who comforted him by expressing his implicit trust in his +loyalty and zeal. It was obvious, this comforter said, that +Ratchkoffsky and the government were burning to deprive +the revolutionists of the soul of their organisation, of the +man who had removed first Plehve and then the Grand +Duke Sergius, and given an irresistible impetus to things +political which would carry Russia far towards her goal. +Another member of the party, however, brooded over the +accusation, and was deeply impressed by the fact that Azeff's +false name was known to the police—for that could only +mean either that somebody had informed against him—and +then why did the police not arrest him?—or else that he +himself had informed the police, and then he was their +agent. Other explanation there could be none. And yet... +The second thing that struck this comrade was that the +inquiry opened into the case against Tataroff showed that +the anonymous writer had told the truth, for the accusation +was proved and the traitor was duly put to death by the +organisation. Now if one of the two denounced members +was guilty, was not the presumption grounded that the +other was equally so? But the committee scouted the +notion as an insult. Had not Azeff planned the murder of +Plehve and the grand duke? And if so, what more need be +said? No government would keep an active terrorist like +him in its employ. +</p> + +<p> +In the spring of 1906 in revolutionary circles the rumour +was rife that an attempt would shortly be made on the life +of Admiral Dubassoff, with whom I was then and afterwards +on friendly terms. A fortnight before the date fixed, +a female member of the revolutionary party from Moscow +sought out the mistrustful member of the organisation[<a id="chap10fn20text"></a><a href="#chap10fn20">20</a>] +and narrated a curious incident. She told him that the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P178"></a>178}</span> +conspirators were at their posts the day before when they +were suddenly encircled by spies, so that it needed all their +presence of mind and energy to make good their escape. +Consequently the police knew all about the conspiracy, and +the conspirators were in its power. The man to whom this +fact was communicated ascribed the laying of the spy trap +to Azeff, who intended to make use of the plot against +Dubassoff's life for the ruin of a large number of the hardiest +terrorists. He was therefore in favour of an inquiry. But +the terrorists preferred to wait and see. Azeff was now on +his mettle, and eight or ten days later the attempt on the +admiral's life did take place; he was wounded and deprived +of his hearing, and his aide-de-camp, Count Konovnitzin, +was killed outright. Azeff, who was hard by during +the bomb-throwing, was arrested by the police, but he +showed them his passe-partout and they set him at liberty +at once. It is difficult to realise that such infamies as these +were tolerated, nay, deliberately practised, by civilised +Christian men as methods of educating their 180,000,000 wards. +</p> + +<p> +In the autumn of 1906 Azeff took offence at some remarks +made by a comrade, and laying down his functions for a +time went abroad. During his absence the terrorists +improved the occasion and killed more men of note in the +administration in one month than they had slain in six +months of his tenure of office. And this difference was duly +noted by two suspicious comrades, who drew their own +conclusions. As soon as Azeff returned[<a id="chap10fn21text"></a><a href="#chap10fn21">21</a>] he resumed his +functions, reorganised the central board, went to Finland, and +left instructions that every young member coming from the +provinces for advice or work from him should repair thither. +These instructions, which aroused surprise, were carried +out. There the workers were cordially received and told +what was expected of them, and when they returned they +were arrested on the Finnish frontier by the Russian police +and handed over to the gaoler or the hangman. A large +number of young men were caught in this way and +immobilised by imprisonment or death. After a time the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P179"></a>179}</span> +provincial terrorist chiefs refused to repair to Finland, even +when Azeff himself sent for them. Some of his mistrustful +colleagues now felt surer of their ground. +</p> + +<p> +But it was not until February, 1908, that the eyes of the +committee men began to be opened to the true nature of +Azeff's activity. It came about in this way. A young man +in a provincial town learned from an intimate friend who +was in the service of the secret police that there was an +agent provocateur in the committee whose name was Azeff. +The youth at once set out for Finland and apprised the +committee of what he had heard. But he was sharply bidden +to return whence he had come and to mind his own business +in future. A few days later a large number of arrests were +made by the government, which was impolitic enough to +announce that they had received detailed information +compromising all those who had been apprehended. Who had +given the information? was the question that naturally +presented itself to those who were most nearly concerned. +"It must have been Azeff," said one who knew him, but he +honestly admitted that he was merely guessing. The others +refused to entertain the thought. Then said the first, "As +our young men are all falling into the hands of the +government, why does not Azeff at least suspend the reign of +terror until the danger is past?" For Azeff was known to +be opposed to any such suspension. He had said, "The +terror must be continued. The honour of Russia demands +it." And it was continued. +</p> + +<p> +His mistrustful comrades, and Burtzeff in particular, +brooded over these things and resolved to bide their time +and watch for their opportunity. As an agent provocateur +one of Azeff's functions was to hatch grandiose plots from +time to time which required the services of numerous +conspirators, to assign to each one his part, and to allow the +preparations to be completed and generally the day to dawn +on which the execution was to take place. This was an +essential condition. Then, and not before, the secret police +were to swoop down on the conspirators, seize the +ringleaders red-handed, track the others to the houses of their +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P180"></a>180}</span> +friends, and make an enormous haul. In this way during +the first four years that followed the abortive revolution of +1905 the executioner was kept continually busy. Thousands +of young men, enterprising, fearless, and easily led, were +gathered together in groups and flung to the hangman. +Azeff would explain these mishaps to his comrades as +consequences of the clumsiness of one or other of the +conspirators, of their neglect to carry out his instructions, +of their consequent imprudence in deed or word. It was +always they who were to blame, and it was his part to feel +grieved to death at their foolishness. His judgments on +his victims were invariably harsh. They themselves were +always at fault. His conduct towards the others was +equally callous and cruel. In the intervals between these +frequent harvests of death, a number of young terrorists, +eager for something to do, would be informed that their +services were not required for the time being and that they +must wait and lie low until they received further +instructions. These instructions, however, would either not be +issued at all or not for a long period, during which these +unemployed young men, who had no means of subsistence, +were left literally to starve. For many of them had no +profession, no trade, no training, and very often no passports, +so that even if employment were offered them they could +not profit by it. The funds of the revolutionary +organisation were enormous—to my knowledge one donation +amounted to over a million roubles, and the cabinet of the +day intended to have the donor tried and executed, when +they learned that he had committed suicide. But Azeff had +the disposal of all moneys, and it was he who tightened the +purse strings when solicited to contribute to the support of +the starving executors of his sanguinary behests. So +wide-spread and intense were the hardships to which these +wretched men were exposed that special kitchens were +opened in Finland, at which they could obtain a meal +gratuitously. In these ways Azeff, the revolutionary genius, +played the game of the government most successfully and +spread demoralisation whithersoever he went. And the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P181"></a>181}</span> +system of which he discharged but one of the functions, +hardened, narrowed, and brutalised the thinking public +throughout the Tsardom. +</p> + +<p> +The Emperor has been held responsible for that system. +And in a sense he accepted the responsibility. He was aware +of the infamous nature of the services which Azeff rendered +and was paid for. Burtzeff had publicly accused Ratchkoffsky +and Gerassimoff, who were Azeff's superiors, of connivance +at these abominable crimes and of scattering social +solvents broadcast for no object worth having. In Paris, +London, and New York he had published these accusations. +The Duma had taken the subject up and discussed it. The +ministers had read and answered questions about Azeff and +his victims. I myself had spoken of him to Stolypin, Witte, +Durnovo, Schwanebach, Kurloff, and several of their +colleagues. They must, therefore, have known and did know +exactly for what kind of services he was being paid, and also +how he stood with the two hostile parties. Yet they made no +protest. The truth is that the atmosphere was impregnated +with mephitic gases to which most people had grown +accustomed. Neither Stolypin nor any other average minister +could alter the state of things. The circumstance required +downright fierce resistance or whole-hearted adherence. +And they chose the latter. +</p> + +<p> +The fact is that the whole system was essentially immoral. +The bureaucracy was an organism outside the nation, living +upon it parasitically, interested in obscuring its views, in +clouding its judgment, in impairing or even destroying its +self-reliance, in a word it resembled in fundamentals the +opritchina of Ivan the Terrible. The main structural +differences between the Muscovy of those early times and +the Russia of the last two Romanoffs[<a id="chap10fn22text"></a><a href="#chap10fn22">22</a>] consisted in the +insurmountable obstacle to centralisation which had been +raised by the emancipation of the serfs, coupled with the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P182"></a>182}</span> +refusal of the government to allow part of the work of +administration to devolve upon the zemstvos, the changes +necessitated by Witte's efforts at industrialisation, and the +increase in the number of "intellectuals" from whom the +bureaucracy and the revolutionary party were recruited. Of +one section of the intelligentsia the principal occupation in +the Empire was to spread foreign theories, to sow new and +dissolvent ideas, to seduce officials, soldiers, sailors, to hatch +conspiracies, and prepare a revolution. Another momentous +difference was supplied by the changed atmosphere of +Europe which had become much more favourable to the +diffusion of democratic ideas. But the spirit of the ruling +class had undergone no modification. The bureaucracy—now +supreme and irresponsible—was solicitous about its +own interests which were taken to stand for those of the +entire community, and as opposition to these interests was +intenser than ever before, the old traditional methods were +no longer efficacious. The last vestiges of moral barriers +had, therefore, been pulled down and the agents of the State +went to work with marvellous thoroughness and absolute +unscrupulousness. +</p> + +<p> +The most perfect types of these latter-day defenders of +the autocracy were Plehve, and his agents Ratchkoffsky, +Zubatoff, Gapon, and among the consequences of the system +were the meeting of the two extremes, the effacement of the +line of demarcation between the reaction and the revolution, +the employment of the same agents for crimes devised for +the support of the autocracy and for its overthrow, the +identification of heinous deeds and praiseworthy exploits, +the confusion of evil and good. Thus the State authorities +shrank from nothing. In the provinces and sometimes, it is +said, in Moscow and Petersburg, torture was resorted to +methodically to extort confessions. Several cases which +occurred in the provinces came under my cognisance at the +time, one of which made a deep impression on me because +the central authorities, to whose notice I brought the matter, +could only assure me that they were not directly responsible +for the "hasty deeds of provincial agents working under +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P183"></a>183}</span> +constant fear of death." The chief of the district of +Novominsk was killed[<a id="chap10fn23text"></a><a href="#chap10fn23">23</a>] and four men were arrested on suspicion. +They denied all participation in the crime. Then it was +decided to put them to the torture. Unable to hold out they +made confessions which were used against them and were +put to death. It afterwards turned out that they were not +guilty of the deed. The real murderer was discovered. He +confessed and was executed. The ministers to whose notice +I brought these facts, which they could not deny, regretted +them, but found them explicable and excusable in the +circumstances. +</p> + +<p> +During the first days after Bloody Sunday the government +intensified the measures of repression. In particular it was +strictly forbidden to collect money for the surviving victims +of the massacre. Harmless literary men, professors, and +journalists were imprisoned, and 500 cells were got ready in +the fortress. General Trepoff was appointed to be a sort of +dictator with his residence in the Winter Palace, and +everybody expected a reign of terror. Gapon, who had received a +false passport, succeeded in escaping. But with true Russian +suddenness, Trepoff reversed the machine and did exactly +what everybody thought he would never think of doing. In a +jiffy he became more liberal than the liberals, set free the men +of letters, journalists, professors, and others who were +interned in the fortress, and left the 500 newly prepared cells +empty. Nay, more, he persuaded the Tsar himself to open a +subscription in aid of the widows and orphans of the slain +with a donation of fifty thousand roubles. People thought he +had gone mad. He was only moved by one of the hidden +springs that play such a large part in Russian psychology, +which knows not finality and recks not of coherency. +</p> + +<p> +Public feeling against the Tsar and his advisers now ran +high. The Zemsky Assembly of Kharkoff in an address +plainly told him that the violation of the nation's elementary +rights was unchaining a tempest of bloody civil war which +would subvert his throne. "Do not trust, sire, to negligent +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P184"></a>184}</span> +and wily servants, but repose confidence in the elected +representatives of the nation." From all corners of the Empire +came petitions, addresses, resolutions in the same sense. In +the meanwhile, the secret revolutionary committee +condemned General Trepoff and the Grand Duke Sergius to +death, and published the sentence in leaflets, one of which +I received. +</p> + +<p> +Police, gendarmes, detectives, and spies were unavailing +to save the grand duke, who, perhaps because he anticipated +their powerlessness, took the wise precaution of driving and +walking without his consort. He knew he was doomed to +die by violence, and he faced his doom like a man. He had +been for years the embodiment of the vital principle of the +autocracy. Therefore he was first on the list of the +proscribed. He had misruled Moscow with a rod of iron; he +had persecuted the Jews with a degree of hatred akin to +mania. Nothing that he said or did seemed inspired +by ethical motives or shaped by considerations of justice. +He despised soft-heartedness, ignored scruples, and went +straight to the goal regardless of consequences. +</p> + +<p> +One of his last acts was to give currency to the statement +that Japanese gold had bribed the Russian people to cease +work, hamper the government, and co-operate with the +public enemy. The accusation was badly worded. The gold +was but a help, not a stimulant. His adjutant, Djunkoffsky, +took the telegram containing that terrible accusation to a +newspaper office in Moscow, strove hard to have it accepted, +and finally caused it to be circulated in St. Petersburg, where, +although not printed, it was used to envenom public feeling +against him. That the Japanese had money distributed +among Russian revolutionists of a certain grade and that +considerable sums were laid out in this way is, I am bound +to say, certain, just as German money has been circulating +among them ever since August, 1914. I know the names of +some of those who distributed it. +</p> + +<p> +The degree of responsibility that weighs upon the Tsar +personally has often been debated, and the consensus of +opinion, Russian and foreign, was that he was kept in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P185"></a>185}</span> +ignorance of what was being done in his name and was not +only weak-willed but feeble of intellect as well. Against this +view my articles in the years 1904-7 were directed. For I +knew personally many of the persons who unfolded to him +in great detail the condition of the country and the changing +moods of the people during most of the crises that marked his +reign. I also read and copied hundreds of the annotations +which he himself scribbled on the State papers laid before +him for cognisance or signature. I had seen and described +the manuscript journal which was diligently prepared for +him every day and which contained adequate accounts of the +various political and other movements of the time. And I +had the corroborative testimony of a number of his ministers. +From these and other sources I drew the conclusion that +Nicholas II., who was nowise devoid of intelligence but only +of social sympathy, was profoundly convinced that he was +the vicar of God upon earth, and the spiritual leader, not +merely of the Russian people, but of the civilised races of +mankind to whom he had given light and leading at The +Hague. Flatterers at home and abroad, along with a rare +faculty for self-hypnotisation, confirmed him in that belief. +</p> + +<p> +Much of his time he spent in his cabinet at what he +termed work, which consisted in signing replies to addresses +of loyalty elicited by his own agents and penning comments +on the various reports presented by ministers, governors, +and other officials. His courtiers encouraged him to believe +that all these replies and desultory remarks were words of +wisdom to be preserved for future ages, and he had some +grounds for believing them, seeing that even such trivial +remarks as, "I am very glad," "God grant it may be so," +were, when possible, published in large type in the newspapers, +artistically glazed over in the manuscript, and carefully +preserved in the archives like the relics of a saint. But +the most interesting were never published; and to these +there was no end. Here is one. During the Manchurian +campaign a report of the negotiations respecting the warship +<i>Manchur</i> was laid before him by Count Lamsdorff. The +tenor of it was that the Chinese authorities had summoned +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P186"></a>186}</span> +the <i>Manchur</i> to quit the neutral harbour of Shanghai at the +repeated and urgent request of the Japanese consul there. +On the margin of that report his Majesty penned the words, +"The Japanese consul is a scoundrel." +</p> + +<p> +When I was with Witte at Portsmouth (U.S.A.), the +statesman sent a telegram to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, +Count Lamsdorff, suggesting that Japan's claim to retain half +of the island of Sakhalien and to receive a certain money +compensation for the other half should be seriously +considered. This telegram was laid before the Emperor, who, +as I afterwards learned, wrote upon it: "Neither a rood of +land nor a rouble shall Japan receive. From this position +nothing will ever make me recede." +</p> + +<p> +I possess a large collection of these childish remarks as +well as copies of many of his letters to ministers and others on +public affairs, and it was partly from these, coupled with +his public acts, that I drew my estimate of his character. +Some of his comments on the course of public justice when +it was being systematically deflected from its right course by +the obsequiousness of court flunkeys bear out the charge of +a-morality and callousness which I ventured to reproduce at +the outset. One of these glosses, taken in connection with +the correspondence that preceded it, is an act of protection +extended to deliberate assassination, perpetrated for the +purpose of removing real or supposed adversaries of the +autocracy. I fear it is not possible to acquit the monarch of +this damaging charge. Into this amazing action of the Tsar +I inquired all the more fully because, as already stated, the +third assassination—two men had been successfully murdered, +of whom one was an old friend and the other an old +acquaintance of mine—would have sent me also to the +shades had it been carried out. +</p> + +<p> +All that need be said here is that the Emperor intervened +personally in writing—I possess his exact words among my +documents—to ward off the sword of justice from the +criminals-in-chief. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn1text">1</a>] In December, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn2text">2</a>] The procession took place on 22nd January, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn3text">3</a>] In the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn4text">4</a>] I described the events of these days in telegrams +of many columns in +length which appeared in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn5text">5</a>] The <i>Novoye Vremya</i> also put forward this thesis. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn6text">6</a>] Cf. <i>Byloye</i> (in Russian), Nos. 11-12, p. 35. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn7text">7</a>] The man who gave the money was Sokoff. +There were other wealthy +Russians who, belonging to no revolutionary party, +replenished the funds of +the social democrats or social revolutionists, +and at least one of these gave +as much as a hundred thousand pounds. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn8text">8</a>] Cf. <i>Byloye</i> Nos. 11-12, p. 44. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn9text">9</a>] I have forgotten the date and my diaries +are inaccessible owing to the war. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn10text">10</a>] This would go to show that Gapon's relations +with the police had not +yet been regulated, or else were not known to the minister. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn11text">11</a>] Gapon and Ratchkoffsky had met in January +once or twice, and also in +early February, 1906. Whether the Minister +Durnovo was aware of this I +am unable to say. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn12text">12</a>] Azeff was the notorious revolutionary organiser +and at the same time +the great police spy—a living synthesis +of contradictions. What Ruthenberg +told Azeff were the suspicious admissions made +to him by Gapon who had +already begun the work of seduction. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn13text">13</a>] A place of amusement on one of the islands, +where officers and <i>bons +vivants</i> used to sup, listen to gypsy songs, and +spend most of the night. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn14"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn14text">14</a>] Cf. <i>Byloye</i>, Nos. 11-12, p. 89. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn15"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn15text">15</a>] Martin was Ruthenberg's adopted pseudonym +in the revolutionary +society. The story of Gapon's last moments +I have told in the exact words +of Ruthenberg himself and of one of the workmen +who executed the priest. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn16"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn16text">16</a>] Cf. <i>Byloye</i>, Nos. 11-13, p. 119. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn17"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn17text">17</a>] As my diaries are no longer accessible, +I am unable to determine the +exact date. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn18"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn18text">18</a>] In August, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn19"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn19text">19</a>] Okhranka. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn20"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn20text">20</a>] I am quoting from his own account, +cf. <i>Byloye</i>, 9-10, p. 191, also from +a pamphlet entitled "The Responsibility of the Tsar," +by Vlad. Burtzeff +(in Russian), 1910, pp. 11 fol. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn21"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn21text">21</a>] In the beginning of 1907. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn22"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn22text">22</a>] The house of the Romanoffs became extinct +after the death of the +Tsaritsa Elizabeth I. The house that reigned +since them is that of Holstein-Gotthorp. +Elizabeth's nephew, Peter III., +was the first sovereign of this +dynasty. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap10fn23"></a> +[<a href="#chap10fn23text">23</a>] In 1906. Trustworthy evidence of torture +for political purposes in +Petersburg I had none. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap11"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P187"></a>187}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XI +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +WITTE CONDEMNED TO DIE +</p> + +<p> +One of the most repulsive sides of the reaction of 1906-7 +and of the autocratic regime that engendered it was laid +bare in the course of the investigations which took place in +the latter year into the various attempts made on Witte's +life. Incidentally the iniquity of the hidden workings of +Tsarism burst fitfully into the light and caused even Witte's +faith to waver in the viability of the regime. Those +inquiries were both official and private, and the records of +them passed through my hands. I knew the names and +possessed photographs of the would-be assassins, and I +telegraphed accounts of their misdeeds to London in the +hope of having the penitent criminal sent to Russia for +public trial, and for the exposure of the crimes of his +employers—people in high places—in accordance with his own +desire. The friends of the Tsar had come to the conclusion +that the autocracy would wither and die unless the man +who had concluded peace with Japan and constrained the +Emperor to create the Duma were done to death. +</p> + +<p> +Witte was the one statesman who had arisen in Russia +since the days of Peter. He pursued a fairly coherent policy, +just to the past, congruous with the present, anticipatory of +the future. Its immutable postulate was peace in Europe and +the world. In vain he had endeavoured to carry it out against +the insurmountable difficulties created by the Tsar and the +Tsar's environment, but even in the face of these he had +prevented one war and ended another. Perceiving the +impossibility of saving the Tsardom from anarchy or the +population from ruin under the prevailing regime, he had +worked hard and not unsuccessfully to modify it, and to him +the credit or the blame of having extorted the October +constitution from Nicholas II. was universally attributed. The +achievements he had thus effected despite vast obstacles +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P188"></a>188}</span> +stirred the admiration of all who were capable of +appreciating them. +</p> + +<p> +But for the Tsarist State it was expedient that Witte +should die. And he was accordingly condemned to be +assassinated. The sentence was passed, not by +revolutionists—these had no grievance against him—but by an +association of reactionaries subventioned by the court and +patronised by the Emperor. It was the statesman's belief +that if these reactionaries had had among them men who +like the terrorists were prepared to die for their idea, they +could have made away with him quickly, but being mostly +drawing-room plotters they depended upon mercenaries +to deal the death-stroke and face the danger. That was why +one of them, Kazantseff by name, deluded two or three +shallow-brained louts of anti-Tsarist leanings into believing +that he represented the revolutionary executive which had +condemned certain traitors to die. He then exhorted them +to render a valuable service to the cause by carrying out the +sentence. The dull-witted bumpkins acquiesced and killed +B. Yollos, an old friend of mine, a brilliant publicist and +member of the first Duma who had just invited me to +Moscow. He was shot dead in the broad daylight. A +friend of his, also an old acquaintance of mine, Herzenstein, +was likewise put to death by Kazantseff's orders. +</p> + +<p> +Witte's destruction was devised with method and +deliberation. A plan of his house was made and two infernal +machines timed to explode at 9 a.m. were lowered down the +chimney. Although filled with high explosives which would +have riven the entire wall of the building, the machines, +owing to a defect in the works, did not explode.[<a id="chap11fn1text"></a><a href="#chap11fn1">1</a>] +</p> + +<p> +The next attempt was better devised. When the +ex-Premier was getting into his motor, bombs were to be +thrown at him. And as I accompanied him, I should have +shared his fate. +</p> + +<p> +One Friday morning[<a id="chap11fn2text"></a><a href="#chap11fn2">2</a>] everything was carefully planned +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P189"></a>189}</span> +for the crime, which was to have been committed on the +following day after lunch at about half-past one. And if the +plan had been realised the Premier and myself would have +been assassinated. A soothsayer, Witte remarked, might on +that Friday noon have foretold my future with perfect truth +in some such words as these: "Your life is in danger. The +danger is imminent, and the chances that you will escape it +are exceedingly slight. The assassins are two, their immediate +employer is one, behind him is the greatest power in the +Empire watching, winking, shielding. They have already +been employed on similar jobs. Your friend Yollos was one +of their victims. This time they are to blow up a motor-car +in which you will be seated, you and a distinguished +statesman. The appointed time is to-morrow. He and you have +one and only one hope of escape. It is not in the unsuccessful +explosion—that is eliminated, for the bombs are powerful. +It depends upon a much less likely contingency. In order +that you should come off with your life to-morrow, it is +necessary that the employer, who is safe and sound and sure +of success, should be beheaded by one or both of his +assistants. Nothing else will avail you ought. The outlook is +dismal." +</p> + +<p> +That forecast, had it been uttered on Friday, would have +dovetailed with the facts exactly. For the plot was to be +executed on the following day by the two murderers, who +from a tavern opposite Witte's house were to advance and +throw highly explosive bombs at the motor as he entered. +There was nobody to hinder them. But in the meantime one +of the would-be assassins, Feodoroff, an ignorant dull-witted +lad, had acquired the conviction that he was being duped by +Kazantseff who, posing as a Bolshevik, had told him that it +was the Revolutionary Party that had condemned Witte to +die for having betrayed it by arresting some of its members. +</p> + +<p> +The truth was that Kazantseff was himself the paid agent +of an official in the government service, and they both +belonged to the band of reactionaries known as the League +of the Russian People patronised by the Tsar. +</p> + +<p> +One of the would-be bomb-throwers, Feodoroff, had for +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P190"></a>190}</span> +some time suspected that he was being hoodwinked. After +having murdered a man described to him as a reactionary he +learned from the newspapers that his victim was one of the +most promising Liberal Parliamentarians and publicists in +the Empire, B. Yollos, whereupon he asked his employer, +Kazantseff, for explanations. As the explanations only half +satisfied him, he and his companion kept a watch on their +suborner who next urged them to assassinate a man named +Dr. Belsky and then Count Witte. But opening a drawer of +his table one day during his temporary absence, one of the +murderers found convincing proof among the papers there +that Kazantseff was a member of the reactionary society +known as the League of the Russian People. Thereupon +he decided to kill him. At first Saturday was the day fixed. +</p> + +<p> +I was lunching with Witte on that day and on my arrival +he said, "I must leave the house immediately after lunch +to-day, for there is a sitting of the Council of the Empire at +which I want to be present. You and I shall drive together +there at once after coffee." But before we had left his study +for the dining-room the telephone bell rang. Witte listened, +became anxious, and after a few monosyllabic questions set +down the receiver. Then turning to me he said, "Something +grave is happening. Akimoff[<a id="chap11fn3text"></a><a href="#chap11fn3">3</a>] tells me there will be no +sitting of the Council to-day.[<a id="chap11fn4text"></a><a href="#chap11fn4">4</a>] It appears that some crime +is being devised in connection with the sitting. He cannot +tell me what it is. My impression from what I have just +heard is that the terrorists want to blow up the upper +chamber and all its members." I said, "We shall know, +later. As you have ordered the motor let us use it. Come +with me after lunch to the Exhibition of Motor Cars, +in the Michael Riding School." Witte assented, and when +the repast was over we went. The crime devised was the +murder of Witte. +</p> + +<p> +This attempt, however, was postponed to the day of the +next sitting of the Council, but in the meantime things took +an unexpected turn. Kazantseff went with Feodoroff to a +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P191"></a>191}</span> +place outside Petersburg in a wood where on the eve he had +hidden the explosives for the bombs. Feodoroff and he first +walked along the rails and then turned into the forest. +Kazantseff having found the place where he had hidden the +materials, began to fill the bombs. Feodoroff at first intended +to wait until the work was done, but on second thoughts he +took a dagger and at once plunged it into Kazantseff's neck. +As it chanced it was a weapon which he had received from +his victim a day or two before for a different human sacrifice. +Kazantseff quivered, fell to the ground, and lay motionless +in a pool of blood. Then the murderer began to rifle his +pockets for papers, but the seemingly dead man stirred and +gazed up at Feodoroff weirdly. Losing all self-mastery +Feodoroff seized the dagger and drove it wildly into Kazantseff's +cheeks and neck, having forgotten to take it out of the +scabbard, and in his frenzy he at last dealt such a sweeping +blow with it that the head was severed from the trunk. +Then he went back to Petersburg, gave himself up to the +revolutionary party, confessed his crimes, and asked them +to put him to death. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as I learned the details I communicated them to +London[<a id="chap11fn5text"></a><a href="#chap11fn5">5</a>] in the hope that European opinion might perhaps +constrain the Russian government to accept the offer made +by Feodoroff to surrender himself on condition that he had +a public trial. This I did in concert with Witte, who said +to me, however, "'Please write down this prediction of +mine before you send your telegram: the Russian government +will not bring Feodoroff nor his companion to trial +because if it did it is the Tsar's own environment that +... would be the real accused, and it is they whom the evidence +would condemn. Therefore, they cannot accept your +challenge." And I wrote his prediction down. It came +true. None the less Witte made every effort to have light +thrown on the plots against his life, but to no purpose. +Stolypin and the Minister of Justice[<a id="chap11fn6text"></a><a href="#chap11fn6">6</a>] were determined that +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P192"></a>192}</span> +the matter should be hushed up, so they allowed only a few +formalities to take place before ending the inquiry. Stolypin +himself had requested me, the year before, to use my +influence to keep Witte out of Russia, and answering a direct +question of mine, added that while willing to protect +him if he should come back, he could not promise to do it +efficaciously. +</p> + +<p> +This attitude and all that it was subsequently found to +imply filled the ex-premier with bitterness of soul. He +complained of it to various ministers and dignitaries, and +finally brought the matter to the knowledge of the Emperor. +But he obtained no satisfaction. The official inquiry into +the attempt on his life by means of the infernal machines +was stopped by the public prosecutor on the ground that he +could not find the guilty parties. The investigation into the +other plot likewise became a mere matter of form. I still +possess a long document dictated by the statesman himself +asking me to bring the following facts to the cognisance of +the civilised world:— +</p> + +<p> +"In circles that may fairly be termed official, the various +attempts on my life were spoken of, and in one case written +about, several days before they were actually made.[<a id="chap11fn7text"></a><a href="#chap11fn7">7</a>] You +know the crimes laid to my charge. I was accused of having +made peace with the Japanese and of having destroyed the +autocracy in Russia. And the reactionary hangers-on of the +court were for killing me. The Prefect of Petersburg[<a id="chap11fn8text"></a><a href="#chap11fn8">8</a>] +himself stated that he was aware that an attempt on my life +would be made. The second plot against me was known to +many people in advance: several members of the Council +of the Empire had heard of it. The President of the Council +knew of it and adjourned the sitting on account of it. The +ex-Director of the Department of the Police[<a id="chap11fn9text"></a><a href="#chap11fn9">9</a>] announced it +to the ex-Minister of Finances, Shipoff. I received a letter +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P193"></a>193}</span> +from my would-be murderer demanding 5000 roubles, and +the express carrier who handed me the letter was authorised +to take the money back. I put white paper into the envelope +as though it were banknotes, informed the police agent, and +asked him to have the express messenger followed. My +request was agreed to verbally, but it was not complied with, +lest the criminal should be caught. +</p> + +<p> +"What grieved me profoundly was that a lying report +was spread at the time by the reactionaries that I had had the +bombs put down my own chimney. At present even they +do not dare to repeat it because the conspirators who +committed the crime have since become known. But how +members of the Stolypin cabinet could have given currency +to this black calumny, aware as they were that the Prefect +of Petersburg was cognisant of the conspiracy long before +it was carried out, I cannot understand. +</p> + +<p> +"Why was Kazantseff not arrested after any of his +murders? As you know, he took part in the assassination +of Herzenstein. Of this a gendarme was eye-witness. He +also arranged the plot against my life. He had your friend +Yollos shot in Moscow. Then he came back to Petersburg +to try again to have me killed. The authorities are +conversant with the intention and the endeavours to compass it. +They were also informed of the day, and yet they plead that +they could do nothing to bring the plot-weaver to justice! +And when Kazantseff himself was killed they feigned not to +know who he was. Mark these dates: on the 27th May +(9th June) the murder of Kazantseff became known, yet on +the 15th/28th July the public prosecutor abandoned the +inquiry into the plots against my life. But the authorities +knew all about Kazantseff. They must have known, because +it was in concert with the League of the Russian People that +he had Yollos shot. And when he did this he was a detective +agent; he was in receipt of a salary from a government +official, and he was living on a false passport given to +him by the secret police. In order to be able to entrap +impulsive young men he had been authorised to give +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P194"></a>194}</span> +himself out as a revolutionist, and in this capacity he enlisted +some unthinking lads to execute what he assured them were +decrees of the terrorist organisation. +</p> + +<p> +"The plot to kill me was ingenious. Kazantseff betrayed +a man named Petroff and had him sent to Archangel. This +Petroff had been a member of the council of working men's +deputies who, when I was premier, wanted to arrest me, +but all of whom I had arrested. If Kazantseff's plan had +put me out of existence, how would it have been explained? +Not as a reactionary, but as a revolutionary crime. The +authorities and their press would have pretended that Petroff +had escaped from his place of punishment in order to be +avenged on me. There would have been a tremendous outcry +against 'those mad revolutionists who would not spare +even Count Witte.' Remember, all this took place at the +moment when you were telling me and an unbelieving world +that the second Duma was about to be dissolved. You +remember how your statement was denied first by Nelidoff, +then by the Finance Minister, Kokofftseff, and at last by the +prime minister himself, in spite of which you repeated after +each denial the time limit before which the Duma would +cease to exist. Your prediction was verified. An adequate +pretext was needed for the coercive measures then planned. +A new electoral law, whittling down the franchise, was being +secretly drafted by Stolypin, but there was no specious +excuse for it. The murder of Witte by 'terrorists' would +have supplied one. And how much more stringent that bill +would have been if the murder of Witte had taken place in +time and could have been laid to the charge of those who +were desirous of enlarging the functions of the Duma!" +</p> + +<p> +The chain of thought between what Witte expressed in +this utterance and what he inferred but left unsaid is +sufficiently visible. He often told me that he was convinced of +the complicity of prominent personages in the plot to kill +him. When the official inquiry was at last abandoned he read +me a letter for Stolypin, the Premier, which he had drafted, +and after we had discussed its wording he had it delivered. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P195"></a>195}</span> +He finally contrived to elicit the Tsar's opinion on the matter. +Of that I possess an exact copy.[<a id="chap11fn10text"></a><a href="#chap11fn10">10</a>] +</p> + +<p> +It was an emphatic assertion that ample justice had been +done to Witte, and that the Minister of Justice was right in +quashing the investigation. +</p> + +<p> +In sooth that was the nearest approach to justice to which +the Tsarist State was capable of rising from the depths to +which it then had fallen. It was the perverted social and +moral conceptions embodied in those revolting methods of +Azeff, Kazantseff, and their exalted employers that quickened +in men, even in ardent monarchists, a puissant desire to have +the country rescued at every cost from the choking grip of +this awful nightmare. +</p> + +<p> +The regime having sophisticated the intelligence and +debased the soul of the people had come to be thus destructive +of the foundation of mutual trust. It encouraged private +citizens to form associations for the murder of eminent men +of liberal tendencies. And several of these were now in +existence. Whatever stock of moral force Tsarism may have +had at the outset would seem to have been exhausted at the +close of the Manchurian campaign. And the differences in +the capacities of the various races and social classes of the +community for steady advance along the road of cultured +thought and feeling were by that time become too great, too +fundamental, to warrant hope from any organising policy +with unity as one of its aims. The Tsarist State was +obviously condemned to die. With a genial statesman like Witte +at its head it might still, so to say, have appealed from the +sentence, but only with the empty hope of prolonging life +while the appeal was being argued. With Witte immobilised +it could only drift helplessly towards the abyss. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn1text">1</a>] I held one of them in my hands and carried it +downstairs in presence of +Witte and of the chief police agent. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn2text">2</a>] On the 7th June, 1907. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn3text">3</a>] President of the Council of the Empire. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn4text">4</a>] On the 9th June, 1907. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn5text">5</a>] They were telegraphed by me to the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn6text">6</a>] Shtsheglovitoff, the same minister who arranged +the infamous indictment +of an innocent Jew for an imaginary ritual murder. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn7text">7</a>] I can confirm this assertion for I was present +on some occasions when +Witte was warned. I once warned him myself. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn8text">8</a>] Von Launitz. He was himself assassinated +in accordance with a plot +arranged by the head spy of the government, Azeff. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn9text">9</a>] A. A. Lopukhine. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap11fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap11fn10text">10</a>] I am unable to say whether this judgment +of the Emperor was scribbled +on Witte's remonstrance to Stolypin or on the report +submitted to him by +the Minister of Justice. A complete account +of all the details is among +my papers which for the moment are beyond my reach. +But the main point +is the tenor of the Tsar's judgment, +and that I have reproduced. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap12"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P196"></a>196}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XII +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +RASPUTIN—A SYMBOL +</p> + +<p> +To the ignorant and almost illiterate peasant Rasputin is +attributed a rôle akin to that of Samson in pulling down the +pillars of the Russian Tsardom. His sinister influence on +the conduct of the war, his co-operation, deliberate and +unwitting, with the foreign enemies of Russia, the wrath +which his outrageous conduct aroused against the autocrat +and the autocracy, are set down by contemporary annalists +among the principal causes of the Russian Revolution. +</p> + +<p> +But the evidence adduced in support of this view is +wholly inadequate. If the slovenly mooshik from Siberia +had never existed, other charlatans would have wielded the +sorcerer's wand in his stead. Before he appeared there had +been no lack of them. "If only I have honey," says the +Turkish proverb, "the flies will come from Baghdad." To +the honey in Tsarskoye Selo they came from France and +Montenegro, but competition was open to all the peoples +of the world. +</p> + +<p> +It is my belief that although friends of his—men like +Stürmer, Protopopoff, and the Metropolitan Archbishop +Pitirim—were influential, Rasputin their friend was only a +symbol. +</p> + +<p> +In a little Siberian village named Pokrovskoye, among +the fens of Tiumen (province of Tobolsk), where the +haunts of human beings are few and far apart, Gregory +Rasputin first saw the light of day. The inhabitants, mostly +sons and daughters of convicts, with developed atavistic +tendencies, enjoyed an evil reputation among the +neighbouring hamlets and villages, and prominent among them +Gregory's father, known by the Christian name of Efim, +eked out a precarious livelihood by horse-stealing. Brought +up in this tainted atmosphere, the boy Gregory or Grisha +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P197"></a>197}</span> +readily fell in with his surroundings, and from the time +when he began to strike out his own walk in life—that of a +carter—was known as "Rasputin," an appellation which +comes from the word <i>rasputnik</i>—debauchee. It is alleged +by his enemies that from the first he was a lost soul, utterly +cynical, vicious, and callous, but this is probably an +exaggeration. People found something to like or admire in him +even then. He made at least two friends in his childhood, +the one a gardener named Barnabas or Varnava, and the +other an ordinary peasant Striaptcheff—both hooligans—and +he retained and reciprocated their friendship to the end +of his life. With the former, who subsequently became a +monk, I was personally acquainted before Rasputin had +him raised to the dignity of Bishop of Tobolsk, from which +height he was afterwards gently lowered with the empty +title of "Ex-Archbishop." +</p> + +<p> +It is curious to note how the cardinal doctrine of +Rasputin's later theology embraces and summarises his own +proclivities and practices. It runs thus: "Sin in order that +you may repent and obtain forgiveness." For he appears to +have sinned freely in his unregenerate days and with a zest +which he was wont to avow when answering those who +rebuked him, "A libertine (Rasputin) I am and a libertine +(Rasputin) I will remain!" It is in accordance with the +fitness of things that some of the most helpful documentary +materials for the early life of this extraordinary man should +be laid away in the archives of the criminal court of Tobolsk. +Gossip which would fain pass for history, and for aught we +know is history without its hall-mark, but with some of its +credentials, lays horse-stealing, perjury, and the rape of an +old woman and of a very young girl to his charge. For the +second of these offences he was sentenced to be flogged. +On neither of the other charges was he actually convicted, +but they were not formally quashed until after his tragic +death. If drunkenness were a criminal offence in those +remote regions, Rasputin would have been a hardened +criminal, for that and unclean living were his besetting sins. +The utmost he could accomplish by the most strenuous +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P198"></a>198}</span> +religious effort, after his conversion, was not to eradicate, +but only to restrict and re-label them. +</p> + +<p> +But inebriety and debauch were not his only vices in +those early days. The most quarrelsome among the villagers, +he was the principal figure in well-nigh every vulgar +brawl. Sometimes he would drive his cart to the town of +Tiumen for hay, and return home a few days later drunk +and disfigured, without the hay, without the money, and +occasionally without the horses. And this disordered life +he continued to lead until some fourteen years ago, when he +attained the age of thirty and the state of grace. In Russia, +where spontaneous repentance is generally the ultimate +phase of crime, and religious conversion the last evolutionary +stage of the sinner, touching charity on the part of +the Russian people can be confidently reckoned upon by +the evil-doer expiating his offences. Rasputin was no +exception to the rule, but his spiritual regeneration began at a +relatively early period, while he was still capable of sinning, +having been occasioned by one external influence and +gradually modified by another. +</p> + +<p> +His journey to Damascus, as he is said to have termed it, +consisted of a drive to Verkhoturie, a town some twenty +miles distant from his native village. He was conveying +thither a priest named Zaboroffsky, who is now the Rector +of the Theological Academy of Tomsk, a pious theologian +and zealous churchman, who entered into conversation +with him about the brevity of life, the necessity of +preparing for death, the hideousness of sin, and the means of +achieving salvation. He exhorted Rasputin, whose evil +fame had reached even him, to do penance and lead "the +god-like life," as they term it in Russia. +</p> + +<p> +Like most peasants in the Tsardom, Rasputin evinced a +keen interest in these and kindred subjects, put various +questions to his fare, and by the time he reached his +destination felt moved to his innermost depths. "When I took +leave of Father Zaboroffsky," he told a friend long +afterwards, "I fell into a profound meditation, and at its close +my mind was made up: I resolved to do penance for my +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P199"></a>199}</span> +sins, to lead a godly life ever after, and to help those +who like myself were plunged in ignorance and iniquity." He +naturally had the traditional vision. A saint (Simon) +appeared to him and commanded him to give up his vicious +habits, and as is usual in such cases, the contrite sinner +resolved firmly to repent and turn from his evil ways. This +temporary detachment from all but the cares of death and +salvation meant to Rasputin immunity from the prison +house or the convict settlement. Thereupon the gates of +many a monastery were open to him had he chosen to +become a monk, but whether from a sense of his own +unworthiness, or because he was still too illiterate, or in +obedience to a common Russian impulse to wander, he chose the +painful but varied existence of a pilgrim, tramping from +village to village, from shrine to shrine, without scrip or +purse, barefoot and bare-headed, living on alms and collecting +offerings for churches. Among other places he visited +Jerusalem. +</p> + +<p> +Although he felt no vocation for the monastic life, +Rasputin visited several monasteries and displayed an eager +curiosity to become acquainted with the scriptures and the +fathers of the Church. During a protracted stay in one of +these retreats[<a id="chap12fn1text"></a><a href="#chap12fn1">1</a>] he learned to read, and applying this +accomplishment to the study of the Bible, of Church history, and +of a few of the writings of the fathers, he acquired a smattering +of what his enthusiastic followers ranked as "theology." During +the two years which passed in this preparation for +his mission, he was assisted by the monks, with whom he +was accustomed, after the manner of Russians who brood, +to discuss religious and metaphysical problems with keenness, +interest, and the conceptions of a child. With all this +he never learned to write grammatically, orthographically, +or even legibly. But he did not long abide in those tents of +Kedar which afforded too little scope for a schemer who +may have felt semi-consciously that his oyster was the vast +Empire of all the Russias. Within a few years of his +departure from this peaceful Abalaksky Monastery, he had +soared aloft and was circling above the Tsardom. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P200"></a>200}</span> +</p> + +<p> +It is easy to smile incredulously at the religious conversion +of a low-minded being like Rasputin, who breathed an +atmosphere of vice and bewrayed an inherited tendency to +crime. Reading it in the light of his subsequent conduct, one +feels tempted to label this apparent change for the better as +an act of downright hypocrisy. But such simplicism in +appreciating mixed motives argues unacquaintance with the +intricacy and subtlety of the moral world in general, and of +Russian psychology in particular. Nowhere are good, bad, +and indifferent motives so inextricably interwoven as in +the Russian conscience, nowhere are the conflicting issues of +action harder to size up. The elements of personality which +only in rare critical moments are called into play, to bring +forth the deciding act that shall set its stamp on the moral +individuality, are precisely those which the surface agitations +of every-day existence leave wholly untouched. Hence +they are unknown to the outsider, the friend, the confidant, +nay, to the man himself, until the circumstances arise that +bring them into action. The Russian character is a +many-chorded instrument and the every-day notes, touched by the +ordinary events of a life-time, give no impression of those +other passionate sounds which a sudden and subtle appeal +is capable of evoking. A certain heroic force for good or +evil is often dormant for years in an individual which only +the stress of storm can awaken. In any case, it would be rash +to refuse to Rasputin credit for all the earnestness and +sincerity of which his shallow nature was capable. I have +known many peasants like him in various parts of the vast +Russian Empire who, so far as I could judge by observation, +lacked only the opportunity to rival his feats, but who, for +want of temptation, never swerved very widely from the +line of conduct which they had adopted at their conversion. +Rasputin himself was at no time callous. Even in the days +of his alleged omnipotence he could never dispense with +friendship nor turn a deaf ear to the cries of the suffering. +He was ever ready to hie to the assistance of the poor and +the friendless. When he sat comfortably in his reception +room at the house of the Ober-Procurator of the Holy Synod, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P201"></a>201}</span> +receiving the high and the lowly, he displayed open-hearted +interest in the woes of the latter and readily contributed to +assuage their misery and better their lot. His deepest +instincts were those of his people, and hardness of heart +is assuredly not among their failings. This view is +confirmed by the testimony of adversaries like the Bishop of +Saratoff, Hermogen. +</p> + +<p> +Morbid retrospection is almost an inherent quality of +many Russians and asceticism its ordinary outcome. Debarred +for ages from all forms of activity fitted to satisfy +the mind, the Russian broods over the mental and material +conditions of his existence and analyses his relations to that +unseen world into which his religion gives him a glimpse. +These meditations frequently touch the more timorous souls +with a species of madness, distorting their piety into +superstitious terror and criminal practices. But despite these +spiritual visions, the earthiness +of the individual is still there, +merely dormant. +</p> + +<p> +Rasputin then was no mere hypocrite. For a time at least +he subjected himself to the discipline which he advocated, +and endeavoured in his primitive way to provide individual +life with a spiritual or emotional basis. On his journeys to +Odessa, Kieff, Moscow, and Petrograd, and after his return +home, he distinguished himself by a degree of austerity in +observing the practices of his faith which astonished his +neighbours and set many of them thinking about the meaning +of life and their relations to the Unseen. He was always +the first to enter the church, the last to leave it, and the most +contrite in bewailing his transgressions. He would expose +his half-naked body to the wintry winds, walk barefoot in +the snow, and fast for days. When kneeling before the altar +he would strike the ground with his forehead in the usual +Orthodox way, but with such unusual violence that the blood +trickled down his face. +</p> + +<p> +These and other austerities, coupled with the consideration +in which he was held by some of the villagers, filled him +with spiritual pride. His head was gradually turned. His +knowledge of "theology" and his works of penitence seemed +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P202"></a>202}</span> +to raise him to dizzy heights of perfection. To those who +questioned him about his conversion he gave an account +which set it on a par with that of St. Paul, and hinted in +obscure phrases that the divine light then vouchsafed him +was shining still within, enabling him to discern things +hidden, present and future. His pilgrimage and self-imposed +penances having obtained for him the appellation of +Starets or elder—a name accorded not to monks or priests, +but to laymen who have renounced the world and live only +for God and the salvation of their own souls—he sought to +add to it the titles of wonder-worker and prophet. Whenever +his neighbours put a question to him he would look dreamily +away into the distance, remain silent for several minutes, +and then reply slowly and in disconnected phrases as though +awakening from a trance. The penitent thief was occasionally +merged in the crafty charlatan. +</p> + +<p> +Like so many other notorieties who play a flashy part on +the world's theatre, Rasputin strove to live up to his strange +reputation without doing too great violence to his ingrained +leanings. And he attracted several admiring as well as +believing followers, even in his own native village. For in +addition to remarkable hypnotic power he possessed an +inexhaustible fund of low cunning, was wonderfully quick in +perceiving the weaknesses of his fellows, and supple in +adjusting his action to them. He felt that a considerable element +of mysticism lies dormant in the soul of nearly every Russian +which a death, a disappointment, a bout of illness, or an +earnest word of exhortation may at any moment awaken to +activity, with far-reaching consequences. This religious +temperament explains the number, variety, and strange +character of the sects in the Tsardom.[<a id="chap12fn2text"></a><a href="#chap12fn2">2</a>] Thus there is a sect of +wanderers whose members may never tarry more than three +days in any one place, nor carry any baggage with them in +their life-long peregrinations; a sect of religious Nihilists; +a numerous sect composed of fanatics who mutilate +themselves (Skoptsy) most cruelly, earn their livelihood very +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P203"></a>203}</span> +often as money-changers, help each other generously, and +leave their wealth to worthy public charities; a widely +spread sect of men and women (Khlysty) who pray together, +join hands and dance together, and then extinguish the lights +and give themselves up to wild orgies.... There were +suicidal sects of which the earliest had many adepts in the +north and centre of Russia, and whose cardinal dogma was +salvation by means of the "baptism of fire and water." Hundreds +of members of this fanatical sodality cheerfully +burned themselves alive, chanting pious hymns or shouting +alleiujah as they died. Most Russian sects[<a id="chap12fn3text"></a><a href="#chap12fn3">3</a>] were founded +by ignorant men or women who felt disgusted with the +emptiness or the evils of life, heard the call of divine grace, +and formed the resolution to live for God, but who together +with these moral and religious strands invariably twisted +some of their own weaknesses or vices and produced a +curious cord which linked them to the earth or to the nether +regions sometimes more closely and more firmly than to +heaven. +</p> + +<p> +Rasputin's propensities lay in the direction of the Khlysty, +but that he was ever formally initiated into that community, +as some of his enemies maintain, there is no evidence to +show. Nor is it of moment to decide whether he received +the impulse from without. Religious history and psychology +teach us that mysticism and sensuality are never very far +apart. As concupiscence was the main source of his own +fall from grace, he not unnaturally generalised and taught +that that was the one deadly sin against which the true +Christian's exertions should be unceasingly directed. But +the Khlysty's method he propounded harmonised with his +vicious proclivities and reminds me of the answer once made +by a bright Sunday-school child who, when catechised by +the Roman Catholic priest as to what one must do in order +to benefit by the sacrament of penance, made answer, "You +must first go and commit sin, your reverence." That was +exactly the doctrine propagated by Rasputin, who maintained +that salvation can be achieved only by repentance, and +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P204"></a>204}</span> +that in order to repent efficaciously it behoves one first to +sin. Like the Khlysty, whose sect his own little congregations +resembled, he taught that every act of contrition in common +must be preceded by the commission of sin in common. +</p> + +<p> +Incontinence being the predominant vice against which a +Christian must struggle, the means of combating it were +thus unfolded by Rasputin as they had been taught by the +Khlysty. They commended themselves to the sensual mind +of the teacher who, in these tenets, perceived an easy way +of associating his inveterate vice with godliness, while the +simple souls who gathered around him as their saviour +were amazed at the ease and pleasure with which they could +qualify for the Kingdom of Heaven. +</p> + +<p> +But the hard-headed male peasants of Pokrovskoye +received the stones of Rasputin's marvellous gifts of +prophecy, healing, and second sight with the scepticism which +is part of their upbringing; whereas the hearts of the women +were touched, their faith was assured, their zeal was +inflamed. They bruited abroad the tidings of the new prophet, +whose reputation soon spread to the neighbouring villages +and towns. From time to time the curious and the pious came +to converse with him and returned impressed, some with his +eccentricity, others with his sanctity, all with his personality. +</p> + +<p> +It would be rash to assert that, at this transitional period +of his career, Rasputin's attempts to form a sect were +inspired by motives wholly foreign to what went by the name +of religion. True he was a man of excitable temperament, +strong passions, possessed by one ungovernable vice, and +devoid of a moral standard. But he was profoundly +dissatisfied with his former way of living, and without perhaps +analysing too closely the specific causes of his dissatisfaction +he was sincerely desirous of entering into continuous +relations with the Unseen. He had knowledge of some religious +denominations in which depravity, in particular that form +of it to which he himself had so long been a slave, was +ingeniously grafted on piety and the strange mixture provided +with a sanction termed divine. Thus he had met with +sectarians who, persuaded that to the pure in spirit all things +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P205"></a>205}</span> +are clean and may be made holy, had adopted and hallowed +practices which are penalised by the criminal law. And to +a mind steeped, as his had been, in moral uncleanness, and +twisted by fanatical delusions, it may well have seemed +conceivable that antinomianism in sexual morality is +compatible with and even conducive to true religion. He assured +me that that was his conviction and his accents were sincere. +I have met with other fanatics in Russia who held, preached, +and practised these tenets and appeared not only never to +feel a qualm of remorse or a twinge of misgiving, but to +enjoy a calm of conscience which the truly religious often +lack. And they were ready to undergo the severest pains and +penalties rather than abandon the faith or swerve from the +conduct which they ascribed to divine revelation. It is not +easy for Westerns who have not lived among such people +and become thoroughly conversant with their perverted +modes of thought to weigh their motives and impulses and +determine the parts played by semi-conscious self-deception, +by fanatical delusions, and by hypnotic suggestion. +I feel strongly that beneath the coarseness and selfishness +of such a man's outer life and his vulgar histrionic demeanour +one may fairly admit the possibilities of mystic stirrings and +spiritual aspirations. +</p> + +<p> +The seeds sown by Rasputin fell on grateful soil, the +Russian psyche being prone to mysticism, and he soon +attained the status of local saint. Peasant women journeyed +to Pokrovskoye, bringing with them the halt, the blind, the +sick, and, above all, those who were "possessed by demons"—a +class still deemed numerous in the Russia of to-day. +Rasputin treated some, with results which were thought +to be miraculous, and declared that others were being tried +by God and must bear their cross or respond cheerfully to +the summons calling them to another life. His power over +the spirits of evil was thus recognised, at first by women, and +these enabled him to found a congregation of "Sisters"—the +nucleus of a sect. Now and again he would leave this +flock, retire into the forest for several days to commune with +the deity, with whom his relations were becoming more +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P206"></a>206}</span> +direct and intimate, and then return with a brighter halo to +the little community. Possessing by this time a house of +his own, he had an apartment turned into a small chapel +where religious exercises were carried on. He also dug a +deep cellar on the ground floor into which he daily went +down, remaining there for hours in prayer and meditation, +wrestling, as he said, with the devil, whom he vanquished at +last by dint of superhuman efforts and after many +vicissitudes. In this "dug-out" he was also wont to sleep. +</p> + +<p> +For a considerable period the new sect, which never +openly broke with the Orthodox Church, consisted almost +exclusively of women, most of whom were young, blooming, +and comely. Among the earliest and simplest were Katya, +Dunya, Helen. More interesting than these was Alexandra +Dubrovina, the daughter of well-to-do parents, a healthy +pretty girl, brimful of spirits, whose relations with the +Teacher form a chapter apart. It was only very gradually +and partially that the scepticism of some of the men was +overcome by the frequency of Rasputin's marvellous cures +and the repetition of heavenly signs and tokens. One of the +first male converts was his god-son, another was his cousin +Raspopoff, and these men by their example dispelled the +misgivings of the doubters and drew others to the new sect. +For their lives were exemplary. They had forsworn +alcoholic drinks, were eminently peaceful and law-abiding, +kept regular hours, and were honest and industrious. "By +our fruits you may know us," Rasputin said triumphantly +to those of little faith who were still unconvinced. +</p> + +<p> +It is characteristic of his hypnotic power over women that +the "sisters" displayed towards him the fervour of religious +devotion, intensified by the ardour of a love which tyranny, +physical cruelty of the most revolting character, and frequent +causes for jealousy were powerless to damp. One instance of +this was afforded by his relations with Alexandra Dubrovina, +whose parents were in easy circumstances and whose outlook +upon life was of the brightest. This promising girl +abandoned her home and kindred to seek eternal salvation +or transient happiness in the house and under the spiritual +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P207"></a>207}</span> +guidance of the "saint," to whom western peoples would +give a different name. The girl became passionately attached +to her teacher although he had taken a wife five years before +his conversion with whom he was still living and was the +father of three healthy children. Setting out on a pilgrimage +to the shrines of Kieff, Rasputin took Alexandra with him, +bullied her, terrorised her, tortured her, inflicted grievous +bodily harm on her, and brought her back a mere shadow +of her former self. Her mother exercising her parental +authority insisted on her returning home and refused to +allow her to resume relations with the brutal ruffian who was +posing as the spokesman of God. But the girl was not to +be held back. She insisted on the invincible necessity of +ending her life with Rasputin, for whom her affection was +unbounded. She could not and would not live without him, +and declared that neither filial piety nor bolts and bars would +prevent her from carrying out her decision. Accordingly she +returned to the prophet and soon afterwards breathed her +last, whereupon her younger sister, Irene, rushed off to take +her place, was admitted as a sister, was martyrised in turn +by the sectarian, pined away, and died in a few months.[<a id="chap12fn4text"></a><a href="#chap12fn4">4</a>] +</p> + +<p> +In this way Rasputin took advantage of the generous, +trusting impulse of the untutored young women of the +village and the province, and impressed the coarse veinings +of his degenerate nature on their plastic souls. The seed of +corruption took root and he spanned the community of +which he was the centre with an arc of light emanating from +the phosphorescence of moral rottenness. He now began to +deliver his "divine message" in clearer terms than before. +"In me," he told his hearers, "is incarnate a particle of the +Supreme Being. I am an incarnation of God, and only +through me can you hope to be saved. And the manner of +your salvation is this: You must be united with me in soul +and also in body. The virtue that goes out from me is +the source of light, the destruction of sin." Those who +assimilated this doctrine—and it was accepted by his entire +flock—had no difficulty in believing that to a mortal endowed +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P208"></a>208}</span> +with these privileges all things were permitted. Communion, +nay union, with him was regarded as the one road leading to +eternal happiness; and they took it cheerfully. +</p> + +<p> +The liturgic ceremonies, if one may dignify with such a +name the enormities of Rasputin's sodality, were almost +identical with those of the Khlysty. "Sacrificial prayer" +was the designation given to it by the pontiff. As soon as the +first star became visible in the sky Rasputin, together with +the brethren and the sisters, went down to the underground +room and piled up wood on the hearth. On a tripod in the +centre of the fire was placed a vessel filled with incense and +aromatic herbs. Each brother then took his place between +two sisters and holding hands they all formed a circle and +moved slowly round the fire, chanting as they went the +sacramental formula: "Our sin is for the sake of repentance. +Sin for repentance sake, O Lord!" After a time as the fire +burned less bright the dance became quicker. Sighs, moans, +ejaculations were continuous and the pace grew ever brisker. +At last the logs would flicker and the fire would die. From +out of the darkness Rasputin's melodious voice would then +be uplifted: "Brethren, tempt your flesh." Whereupon +one and all would throw themselves on the floor and the +revolting orgy began. +</p> + +<p> +It was a repetition of the procedure of the Khlysty and a +fresh illustration of the recognised fact that mysticism and +sensuality are so close akin that one feels tempted to call +them correlates. +</p> + +<p> +When judging Rasputin and his followers for these +iniquities, which were not only repeated at regular intervals +but were idealised and hallowed as the essence of the law of +God, it behoves us to remember that a numerous sect exists +and has long existed in various parts of Russia with the same +tenets and practices, while certain other denominations are +more abnormal still. Nor should it be forgotten that +Rasputin was but a Siberian boor who had acquired a +slight tincture of information and misinformation respecting +the Church and its doctrines, and was imitating others +better educated than himself who had sought to consecrate +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P209"></a>209}</span> +their false sentiments or predominant vices by raising them +to the level of divine behests and declaring them to be +conditions of eternal salvation. Rasputin discreetly preached +his doctrine in Kazan, Saratoff, Samara, and Kieff, and made +numerous converts there, some of whom I met at different +times. +</p> + +<p> +His fellow-townsmen of Pokrovskoye, aware of the nature +of "sacrificial prayer," were, with few exceptions, indignant. +They had seen some of their most promising womenfolk +drawn into the seducer's net and their lives complicated and +in several cases wrecked, and fearing that other victims +might follow they cast around for means to rid the village of +the blasphemous debauchee. A formal protest was drawn +up and presented to the authorities, in which the petitioners +set forth that their daughters were being corrupted by +Rasputin, and that new-born children were being abandoned +outside huts and houses. But nothing appears to have been +done by the authorities. +</p> + +<p> +Meanwhile the rising light, whose fame was fast spreading, +had, on his journeys, made the acquaintance of a theologian +of the Orthodox Church and impressed him most favourably, +In Moscow he was presented to various ladies of wealth, +position, title, and influence, who marvelled at his shrewd +remarks, pithy sayings, apposite similes, and intuitive insight +into character and motives, and also at his religious +discipline. His appearance in a salon was undoubtedly striking. +He would enter the room with the air of one who had +usurped an empire and was striving after the prestige +requisite to an emperor, attired in peasant's costume, and +with that scrupulous lack of cleanliness without which his +garb might be deemed affected. His presence overpowered +the "lower natures" with which he came in contact. Their +will sometimes became numbed forthwith. His soft soulful +eyes catching theirs poured forth a magnetic flood which +induced passivity and soul-surrender. Even educated men +of the world like Prince Yussupoff felt its power. His +non-conformity to such social conventions as soap, water, and +brushes impressed many of the weaker vessels and intensified +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P210"></a>210}</span> +their admiration. The Minister of the Interior, +A. N. Khvostoff, said: "He is an extraordinary hypnotiser.... +So powerful is his influence that the most matter-of-fact +police agents surrender to it in a couple of days. Although +these fellows have, so to say, passed through fire and water +we have to change them every few days because they fail +under his power.... Further, as I have said already, he +can stop a flow of blood by his spell."[<a id="chap12fn5text"></a><a href="#chap12fn5">5</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Mgr. Hermogen, Bishop of Saratoff, who was dismissed +and sent to a monastery through Rasputin, was one of the +two men who had helped to thrust him into the limelight +of the imperial palace. The bishop recently said:[<a id="chap12fn6text"></a><a href="#chap12fn6">6</a>] "We, +the representatives of the highest clergy, are more than all +others to blame for having helped him on.... It was we +who pushed him forward.... But to my thinking at the +outset the divine fire glowed in Rasputin's soul. He was +imbued with a certain internal sensibility, and I confess +freely that I experienced his influence on myself. He more +than once responded to my heart-sorrows, and in this way +he conquered me, and in the beginning of his career +conquered others." +</p> + +<p> +One might write a volume about the man who for some +years stood behind the throne of the Tsar and, in a very +limited sense, influenced the destiny of all the Russias, +without satisfactorily explaining to Westerns his strange career +or fully accounting for his power over people. For all the +known facts are inadequate to justify either. Nothing that +Rasputin said will enable one to get at the sources of this +power, and most of the things which he is alleged to have +done seem calculated to seal them up. The well from which +it took its rise was latent, and the words that come nearest +to expressing it are personal magnetism. Rasputin's eyes +were fascinating. His tone was often soft and insinuating, +and his gait was that of one who is conscious of being the +agent of a preternatural power and needs make no apology +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P211"></a>211}</span> +for his existence or his acts. Self-sufficiency and superiority +might be read in his every gesture, and yet a careful observer +would have noted that many of his movements were not +natural. They were vitiated by a touch of the vulgar +familiarity of the bailiff or the blackmailer. To the every-day +type of pithless mankind he communicated his own faith, +and over many society women avid of change and prone to +mysticism his sway was unbounded as that of the Pied Piper +over the children of Hamelin. His habit of mind during this +first phase of his career was a constant implicit reference to +those elusive standards of mysticism which so many Russians +accept without questioning. +</p> + +<p> +Rasputin took nothing for granted, not even the precepts +of Christianity. Facts were as mere potter's clay in his hands, +and he kneaded them to suit ideals which to many became +idols. The law and the prophets were construed by him as +by Mohammed, to suit his predominant passion and his +changing moods, and like the devil he could quote scripture +for his purposes. For he was a law unto himself and a +prophet to the weak willed and the degenerates among whom +he lived and worked. "To the clean," I once heard him say, +"all things are clean," and misgivings, prejudices, and +convictions were dissipated by his utterances; yet the practice +which was under discussion at the time is still brand-marked +as immoral by the elite of human kind. But Rasputin had +only to put the more exacting of his hearers under the charm +of his personality to draw some of them down to the level of +his purpose. The evil proclivities of the others he supplied +with divine sanction, transforming moral perversion into a +virtue. Reasoned discipline was loosened at his words. +</p> + +<p> +One may fitly leave to Rasputin's biographer the task of +following his career through the many dreary sloughs +through which he and his followers—now the unsophisticated +peasants, and later the great ladies of and about the +imperial court—went floundering. His acquaintance with +Bishop Theophan, with the priest John of Cronstadt whose +"communion" service on our journey to the Crimea I have +already sketched, and more particularly with the fiery monk +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P212"></a>212}</span> +Iliodor and with Bishop Hermogen stood him in good stead. +At court he soon filled the gap left by the French spiritist +Philippe, for whose sake the Tsar had exposed himself to +a rebuff from President Felix Faure. The mere touch of +Rasputin's warm rough hand gently stroking the throbbing +brow dulled the sharp pain and soothed the feverish brain +of the Empress and of others. And numerous witnesses who +have never been his partisans attest that he could charm +away with his incantations the bleeding from the nose to +which the heir apparent was subject. If suffering be the +direct effect of sin, was it not permissible to give to its +most efficacious cure the name of godliness? Rasputin's +hypnotic power which he thus employed to ease the Empress' +megrims and her child's frequent maladies, his prophetic +sense which enabled him to forecast the future in so far as +it concerned the imperial family, and the indissoluble way in +which the destinies of himself, the dynasty, and the Tsardom +were bound together in his sibylline utterances sank so +deeply into the morbidly impressible psyche of the Tsaritsa +that she desired nothing better than to become an organ of +his will, and to have those affairs of the Empire in which she +was personally interested conducted by the light of his +intelligence. I once heard him say: "It is none of my +doing that my destiny is interwoven inextricably with that +of the imperial family. I am only the exponent, not the +weaver of Fate. And what I have said, I know." In his life, +characterised by numerous coincidences, the coming to pass +of this prediction was the most striking of all. +</p> + +<p> +In Rasputin, hot, impulsive nature though he was, the +self-assertion of passion was now presumably mastered for +a while by cool reason and patient discipline, which kept +him watching and waiting for the expected coherence of +time with place and opportunity. And when the synthesis +was complete he utilised it for a purpose inconceivably +puerile. But that purpose once achieved his self-discipline +relaxed. Here, as elsewhere, familiarity bred contempt, and +with the growth of his influence his precautions ceased, +his predominant passions reasserted their sways, and the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P213"></a>213}</span> +inspired prophet became once more a drunken, prating +debauchee, who befouled with his filthy tongue the names +not only of the persons whose honour he had robbed, but +also of the few who kept clear of dishonour. On his entry +into the world of greatness through the wicket of the Winter +Palace, Rasputin struck his mysticism several notes above +the pitch to which the august inmates of the palace were +accustomed. He spurned the tables and planchettes which +had rapped or written under the prehensile fingers of +Philippe or of the two grand duchesses who were in daily +converse with the spirits of the great Beyond. Rasputin had +an invisible familiar, one of his own, and he made no secret +of his conviction that this Mentor dwelt high above the +principalities and thrones. For to some followers the +Siberian peasant announced plainly that he was the envoy—and +hinted that he was also an incarnation—of the Supreme +Being, wherefore he needed no histrionic paraphernalia to +put himself in contact with his Inspirer. +</p> + +<p> +Rasputin's force—the operations and effects of which +faintly outlined themselves in the annals of the dynasty—lay +not so much in himself as in the weaknesses of those +who made him what he became. It is but fair to admit, +however, that he was materially aided by circumstances which +to the superstitious were evidences of his preternatural +mission. After the Empress's repeated hopes and disappointments, +he is said to have foretold with positive certitude +the birth of a son.[<a id="chap12fn7text"></a><a href="#chap12fn7">7</a>] He subsequently impressed upon the +lady the conviction that his presence was an indispensable +condition to the well-being of her little Alexis, and indeed +to that of the imperial family generally. And various episodes +in their lives appeared to bear out the belief. Among the +coincidences which invest the prophet's life with the element +of the fantastic were the occurrence of mishaps whenever +he was sent away from the court, and the successful +application of remedial measures followed by the brightening of +the prospect as soon as he returned. Thus it was while +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P214"></a>214}</span> +he was away that the heir-apparent fell ill, and in the +unanimous judgment of the physicians who attended him +recovery, which was very difficult at best, would be +impossible unless the boy were taken abroad. That meant for the +Tsaritsa separation either from her husband or from her +son, both of whom she loved with all the fervour of her +strange nature. Rasputin on his return, when he learned +the lady's distress, wrote to the effect that "she must fear +nothing, take no heed of what the doctors told her, because +above all doctors is their Maker, and He announces through +Rasputin's unworthy lips that Alexis will be restored to +health without journeys or separations. She is to follow his +directions and it will be done with her according to his +word." And this promise, like so many others far more +improbable, was redeemed. I saw the boy before and after +his illness, and from time to time I learned something of +the methods recommended by Rasputin and followed by +the sovereigns. These and similar "signs and tokens" +impressed all who witnessed them. +</p> + +<p> +He treated numbers of people for various diseases, and +according to their own account helped many in marvellous +ways. The efficacy of his incantations was believed in by all +who saw him employ them. Even Prince Yussupoff, in +whose palace he was killed, admits that Rasputin, whom he +began by disliking, conquered his aversion and eased his +asthma. The Minister Khvostoff, who is accused of having +bribed two men to kill him, recognised the power of his +spells. Stolypin, too, is said to have been hypnotically healed +by the mystic after the shock he underwent when his house +was blown up. That weak-nerved women should yield to +his power is hardly to be wondered at. +</p> + +<p> +I was personally acquainted with Rasputin, as I was +acquainted with nearly everybody in Russia who, in my +judgment, was likely to exert perceptible influence, open or +covert, on the course of public affairs. I could not ignore +the man who had the ear of the Tsar and Tsaritsa, who was +humoured by courtiers and ministers, and seemingly +respected even by Stolypin himself. He told me some +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P215"></a>215}</span> +things about himself and many more—that were newer +and to me more interesting—about his religious tenets. I +wrote them down at the time and had them subsequently +confirmed. +</p> + +<p> +Rasputin's career in the Russian capital may be divided +into two periods, of which the longer one came largely +under my personal cognisance, while the other is known to +me only from the narratives of others, and therefore imperfectly +and with gaps. The first ends in April, 1914, when I +quitted Russia together with Count Witte. The second +comprehends everything that took place between that date +and the day of Rasputin's death. During both periods the +peasant-prophet was accused of many backslidings and +some crimes, and as the eminent leader of the Octobrist +party, Gutchkoff, acquired extraordinary popularity by a +tremendous onslaught in the Duma against him and against +the court that protected him, these accusations were +everywhere received as proven. It is well to remember, however, +that in political crises the haste with which damning charges +are gathered and hurled against the biggest targets that offer +themselves explains the lack of substance which so often +renders them useless as historical materials. Nor do they, as +a rule, inflict very dangerous wounds in Russia, where the +line between crime and misfortune is shadowy. As far as +my knowledge went, during the first period of his court +career, Rasputin sedulously eschewed giving advice about +any matters except ecclesiastical, but in dealing with these +he generally had his way. Bishops were consecrated or +transferred at his suggestion, and he at last went so far as to +have first M. Izvolsky's brother and then M. Samarin +removed from the ministerial post of Ober-Procurator of +the Most Holy Synod on grounds which I am unable to +approve. +</p> + +<p> +Gutchkoff's historic attack on the man and, through him, +on the dynasty gave currency to ideas which seemed most +useful to the reform parties of the Duma at the moment, +but are of no avail to the historian. To launch the +thunder-bolt of moral reprobation against a clever histrion like +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P216"></a>216}</span> +Rasputin was incongruous from any point of view but the +political, and even in this domain it was not free from +danger, as the sequel has shown. Even the court, which was +most directly aimed at, could contemplate it from none +other. For the disquieting side of this pseudo-spiritual +movement was that it consisted of ideas, emotions, cravings, +and practices which were widespread throughout the Tsardom, +and many of which lay at the roots of all popular +religion there. One could not well condemn the Tsar, +therefore, without at the same time anathematising tens of +thousands of the intelligentsia and scores of millions of the +peoples who acknowledged his rule. +</p> + +<p> +Gutchkoff's thesis was that Rasputin swayed the Tsaritsa, +who ruled the Autocrat of all the Russias, and was therefore +an ignoble deceiver and a dangerous adviser. He put it to +the Duma that the nation was in peril. I made exhaustive +inquiries into the truth of these allegations at the time, for I +then had ways and means of investigating them. But I +could find no evidence that the Siberian peasant had—with +a single exception—ever interfered in any way at any time +in matters other than ecclesiastical. And continuing my +research down to April, 1914, I was forced to the conclusion +that Rasputin had only once made his influence felt in the +political domain. Only once. And then, I am bound to +say, it was superlatively beneficent. As I heard his own +evidence on the subject as well as that of cabinet ministers +and court dignitaries, I have good grounds for stating that +it was Rasputin who moved the Tsar to turn a deaf ear to +the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevitch, who advocated a +bellicose policy, and persuaded him to steer clear of the +war for which he had been feverishly making ready.[<a id="chap12fn8text"></a><a href="#chap12fn8">8</a>] Into +the charlatan's motives for this advice I am unable to +enter. +</p> + +<p> +This evidence of mine offers no extenuation of Rasputin's +iniquities nor of the folly of those who connived +at them. It is neither more nor less than the statement +of a fact. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P217"></a>217}</span> +</p> + +<p> +During the latter period of his career, which began after +my departure from Russia, and continued until his tragic +death, Rasputin appears to have had a hand in some of the +political as well as most of the ecclesiastical changes that +took place, and while giving pastors to the Church, to have +allowed the old Adam, who had apparently died in himself +at the time of his conversion, to revive in all his pristine +hideousness. A drunkard and a profligate in the eyes of the +profane, he still remained a man of God, a wonder-worker, +and a prophet to the initiated of the court circle, of which +he had now become the centre. All the reformers and most +of the parliamentary parties outside regarded him as the +symbol of all that was unjust, oppressive, and infamous in +the autocracy. And this was his real significance. He was a +symbol for the anti-autocratic parties. But apart from the +utter incongruity of allowing such a clumsy mummer to +have a voice in any of the affairs of Church or State, it has +not yet been proved that his influence on the destinies of +the Empire was as profound or far-reaching as is alleged. +To me Rasputin seems to have been but one of the symptoms +of the disease of which the Tsardom was dying. +</p> + +<p> +He was a reagent that united what was best in the country +against the dark powers of which he stood forth as the +exponent. The Duma, the press, the nobility, the zemstvos, +were all determined to put an end to the outrageous farce +which was being enacted in the midst of a world tragedy, +and to immobilise the wire-pullers who were exploiting it +for their ends. Rasputin's career was the <i>reductio ad +absurdum</i> of the Tsarist State. It focussed multitudinous evils +and seemed to give to the many-headed bureaucracy what +the Roman emperor desired for his peoples, a single neck +that might be severed at a blow. +</p> + +<p> +Several plots were hatched against his life at various +stages of his career. Of these by far the most dangerous was +engineered by a single person—a jealous woman who had +believed in him, lived with him, and loved him for years, +before she became the admirer of his enemy, the monk +Iliodor. One day in the streets she plunged a knife into his +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P218"></a>218}</span> +abdomen and narrowly escaped lynching at the hands of +his worshippers. Rasputin's wound was grievous and he +lay for many weeks in hospital, but his hale, robust nature +finally pulled him through. His fair assailant, K. Gusseva, +whose hero he had been for years, declared at the police +station when charged with the crime that he was no better +than a seducer of women, and that death was what the +impostor had merited. She was sent to a madhouse. On +another occasion a conspiracy was said to have been devised +by no less a personage than the Minister of the Interior[<a id="chap12fn9text"></a><a href="#chap12fn9">9</a>] +whose testimony I adduced above respecting the marvellous +powers of the thaumaturge. This responsible member of +the government, who had often told his friends that +Rasputin's proper place was not with the Emperor of Russia +but with the Emperor of Heaven, is accused of having +suborned the unfrocked monk Iliodor to assassinate the +Starets. It was this same Iliodor who some years before +helped to introduce Rasputin to the court and had latterly +anathematised him as a third-rate anti-Christ. But this +plot was revealed before it could be executed, and the erring +minister was restored to private life. +</p> + +<p> +Around the last conspiracy which terminated the seer's +career legend has spun a web of mystery, patriotism, and +romance which savours of the Florence of the Medici. +Nearly all Russia applauded the heroic deed which sent the +drunken, obscene satyr to his last account at a banquet +worthy of Lorenzo the Magnificent. This universal and +enthusiastic approval of a bloody act of treachery is, in my +judgment, one of the most characteristic traits of Russian +public opinion and sentiment. The attitude of the nation, +which not only forgave but eulogised the crime for the sake +of the murderers' supposed motives, gives one the measure +of public morality and of the rottenness of the State which +could no longer exist without the help of murder and +treachery in high quarters and in low. +</p> + +<p> +Strange echoes of mediæval times are awakened by +Rasputin's life story, which reminds one of the hero of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P219"></a>219}</span> +Calderon's Life a Dream. The worshippers who revered +him as a saint, the court ladies who, at the end of their +letters, kissed the "dear little hands and feet" of the +slovenly, unkempt satyr, the dignitaries and ministers who +sent him respectful telegrams, the bishops and archbishops +who pushed him into the limelight of the court, all knew +his antecedents. They were aware that he had been publicly +flogged for horse-stealing, that he had been arrested for +rape, and that a charge of perjury was hanging over his +head. Deliberately ignoring the conclusions to be drawn +from these facts, they one and all recognised him as their +spiritual leader. +</p> + +<p> +In Britain and France the public is unable to understand +how the lofty, the base, the spiritual, and the sensual can +thus be interwoven together by people endowed with +reason and moral conscience. The answer is that the +Russian psyche is capable of other syntheses even more +difficult to understand than this. Who, for instance, before +the war would have believed it possible for a Russian +government of brotherhood and goodwill to make peace +with the enemy and wage war on their own brethren, to +abolish capital punishment and inaugurate indiscriminate +mass massacres, to preach universal freedom and punish +expressions of opinion unfavourable to itself, to proclaim +government by the people and to chastise the people for +expressing its legitimate wishes, to lay down the right of +every nation to govern itself and to trample on the Ukrainians +and the Finns for attempting to avail themselves of the +principle? Westerns have not yet learned to understand the +psychology of Russia. +</p> + +<p> +Neither can they put themselves in the position of serious +Russians who, like the Minister Khvostoff and Bishop +Hermogen, seem to believe in the virtue of his incantations +and the precision of his second sight. Only Westerns of +intense susceptibility, who have lived in the country among +the people and as one of the people, can come to an +understanding of their old-world mysticism which pictures our +lives as stretching before and behind us into dim regions +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P220"></a>220}</span> +void of time and space. It was through that medium that +his countrymen viewed Rasputin. +</p> + +<p> +The strangest of the many coincidences which stamped +him in their eyes as a seer and a sorcerer was that which +may be discovered between his most audacious prophecy +and the sequel to his tragic death. He had told the Tsar and +Tsaritsa, and repeated to many others as well as to me, that +his destiny was entwined with the destinies of the Romanoffs +and the Tsardom, and that his death would bring doom and +disaster to them all. And hardly was his lifeless body thrust +under the ice when the Empress was taken ill. Soon +afterwards her son and two of her daughters were seized with +illness and confined to bed. Then the sovereign was deposed, +insulted, imprisoned, the army dissolved, the Empire +abolished, and mighty Russia broken up into a number of +fragmentary powerless States into which no new life-current +has entered. What ancient oracle or prophet can point to so +many fateful predictions accomplished? +</p> + +<p> +Rasputin, had he been the ambitious or the calculating +politician portrayed by Gutchkoff and other parliamentary +orators, would have taken the first revelation of his power +over the autocrat for an intimation to use it to the fullest +extent for the common good, or for some great purpose of +his own, and would have composed the remainder of his +career to oneness with that aim. But he did nothing of the +kind. He had no great purpose, good or evil, nothing but +insatiable thirst for coarsest pleasures of sense. He reminded +me of the Ukrainian of whom the story ran that he +exclaimed, "How I should love to be Tsar. I know what I +then would do. I would steal a hundred roubles and from +early morning until late at night I would gorge myself on +bacon. Ah! if only I were Tsar!" +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap12fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap12fn1text">1</a>] In the Abalaksky Monastery. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap12fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap12fn2text">2</a>] For years I made a study of them, +intending to write a history of Russian +sects. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap12fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap12fn3text">3</a>] In Russia there are sects that have come down +from the earliest ages of +Christianity, and that of the Skoptsy is probably one. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap12fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap12fn4text">4</a>] In the year 1908. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap12fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap12fn5text">5</a>] Cf. <i>Byloye</i>, No. 1 (23), 1917, p. 60. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap12fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap12fn6text">6</a>] Cf. "Bishop Hermogen and Rasputin," +<i>Russkoye Slovo</i>, No. 294, +p. 3, 1917. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap12fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap12fn7text">7</a>] I had this from one of Rasputin's intimates +and several of his followers, +not from himself. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap12fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap12fn8text">8</a>] The details of this story are interesting. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap12fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap12fn9text">9</a>] A. N. Khvostoff. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap13"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P221"></a>221}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XIII +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +RUSSIA'S INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS +</p> + +<p> +Between the principles underlying the foreign policy of +the Tsardom and those that shaped the public and private +conduct of its authorised trustees there was an unmistakable +family likeness. The background of the curious +events recorded in this chapter of Russia's international +relations—in so far as these were the results of deliberate +endeavours on the part of the Petersburg Foreign Office—may +be recalled in outline by many readers. The West +European beheld these occurrences through a roseate haze, +which made the Tsardom seem the one deep gambler among +European States and the most astute. And as for the tactics +of the wire-pullers in Petersburg, they were taken to be so +deft and efficacious that a veritable wizard could hardly +detect in them anything to better. However desultory or +aimless circumstance or folly might make the intercourse of +the remaining powers with each other, Russia's course was +believed to be steadfastly directed towards the unchanging +far-off goal fixed for her by the genial Peter. Faith in the +depth of the Tsars' designs and also in the inexhaustible +strength of their countless battalions remained unshaken +even after the Russian defeat in Manchuria. And yet the +previous war against, and victory over, the Turks in the +reign of Alexander II. afforded ample proof that neither +assumption was well grounded. Moreover, no one who had +an opportunity of scrutinising at fairly close quarters the +procession of statesmen who glided across the Russian stage +from Gortchakoff to Sazonoff could discover in the men any +qualities more genial than average mother-wit, or any aims +in their political strategy more subtle than the attainment of +certain secondary objects, the utilisation of casual +opportunities, the fulfilment of a personal desire of the sovereign, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P222"></a>222}</span> +or even the wreaking of vengeance on a rival statesman. In +vain we ransack the records of the past fifty years for +indisputable evidences of the steady political purpose for +which down to the March revolution all Europe gave them +credit. It is humiliating to realise how easily legends like +that which was woven about the sagacity, self-discipline, and +perseverance of the rulers of the Tsardom can be foisted on +mankind as verdicts of history. +</p> + +<p> +During the past three reigns Russia's foreign policy was +made up largely of aims believed at first to be vital, pursued +for a time with vigour, and finally discarded as harmful. +And in the methods employed from Gortchakoff's death +down to M. Izvolsky's advent to power one finds little that +indicates grasp of fact, breadth of vision, or capacity for +construction. And as for the thankless task of grafting +ethical principles upon the stock of Russian politics, it would +not seem to have been undertaken or contemplated by any +one of the ministers who transacted the international affairs +of the Tsardom within the period mentioned. Not to go +back further than the year 1894, I can distinctly call to mind +an experience I had in Constantinople—one of a long series. +I had gone thither to inquire into the truth of the reports +about a massacre of Armenians which it was alleged had +taken place in the district of Sassun. Before I started I had +been assured that there was no truth in the rumours. As +Professor Vamberg of Budapest was one of those who +vouched for this reassuring statement I felt disposed to +accept it provisionally. Before starting for Armenia, +however, I called on a Russian statesman with whom I was en +very friendly terms and requested him to confide to me the +truth. He said, "I will talk to you as a friend. What I say +is for your guidance, not for publication. The massacres +did take place. I will give you some ghastly details, for the +accuracy of which I vouch. We have Armenians in prison +for conspiring against the Sultan. They could not honestly +do otherwise. Your government has asked—and I may say +asked somewhat insistently—for an international inquiry +with a view to a collective intervention of the powers. That +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P223"></a>223}</span> +may be a highly ethical step to take, but believe me it is not +a wise one. It will do harm to the Armenians.[<a id="chap13fn1text"></a><a href="#chap13fn1">1</a>] The French +government and ours, being Christian and European, have +agreed to participate in the step suggested by Queen +Victoria's advisers. That will give employment to the +embassies and consulates of the interested powers. But +your ambassador in Constantinople fancies that we shall also +join in putting pressure on the Sultan. That is an illusion. +We have no such intention. Indeed, we are resolved to +eschew all action joint and isolated. When the inquiry is +over, which will establish the guilt of the Moslem population +of Kurdistan and, I must add, of the Stambul cabinet, +the work of Russia and France will be over together with it. +It will have no practical consequences, and the Sultan knows +it. There, now you have the truth." +</p> + +<p> +But Sir Philip Currie did not know it. And when having +cautiously questioned him on the subject I received his +answer that the three governments would force Abdul +Hamid to rue the day when he prescribed mass massacre, +and to change his tack, I ventured to inquire, "Are you +quite sure of that?" "Yes, do you doubt it?" "I confess +I am not very hopeful." "Well, allow me to be so, and +please give me credit for knowing something more about the +matter than you do." I fear I did not give him credit for +knowing the only thing that mattered just then. I at once +went to Armenia, disguised as a Russian general, collected +evidence about the massacres, made a map of the country in +which they occurred, and had the melancholy satisfaction +to see my friend the eminent statesman's forecast borne out +by events. Thus it was Russia's interest to allow this crying +sin against humanity to go unpunished in order that the +process of decomposition in the Ottoman Empire might +continue unchecked. This attitude was in strict accordance, not +indeed with any testament left by Peter the Great, but with +the whole spirit of the Tsarist State from its first foundation +down to March, 1917, when it was fighting for the goods if +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P224"></a>224}</span> +not the good of some of the lesser nationalities like Poland +and expecting Constantinople for its reward. +</p> + +<p> +Russia's foreign policy in the past, whatever its real +motives, may therefore be summarily described in the light +of its effects as ruinous "protection" of the feeble. It was +the lethal hug of the polar bear. She would shield the +government of a weaker neighbour from the immediate consequences +of its own folly and enable it to go on misgoverning +its subjects, thwarting attempts at internal reform, financial +and administrative. The body politic would thus be left to +decompose until it entered upon a stage sufficiently advanced +to allow of it being digested almost without an effort. Hence +the common argument derived from her alleged peaceful +disposition, put forward by her partisans in England and +elsewhere—who claim that she had no intention to annex +this or that strip of territory, to take, say, Port Arthur until +forced by Germany's aggression in Kiao Chow—however +true in fact, is devoid of force. For part of her plan was +precisely to respect the technical frontiers of the country +which she hoped to subdue and to refrain from snatching +a part in order ultimately to obtain the whole. The seizure +of a country bit by bit would only have awakened feelings +of jealousy and other unchristian sentiments in the hearts of +covetous neighbours. As a cynical diplomatist once +expressed himself, "It is the way of the vulture with the dying +ass: leave the body until it is sufficiently decomposed and +then swallow it all; the vulture's only fear being lest the +jackal should come upon the scene and devour the animal +before the process is completed." It is thus that Georgia, +Persia, Turkey, China, Korea, were dealt with. +</p> + +<p> +Since the partition of Poland, to which the Empress +Maria Theresa once alluded regretfully as "<i>cette division si +injuste et si inégale</i>," Russia's protective policy has undergone +no material change. Catherine, who was then the ruler of +Muscovy, would fain have left Poland untouched, scrupulously +respecting the technical frontiers of the kingdom +while effectually hindering the abolition of the veto and the +introduction of any reform of the constitution. She was +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P225"></a>225}</span> +convinced that when Poland had stewed long enough in its +own juice, Muscovy might then step in and enjoy the +banquet all alone. It was with this object that she bribed a +number of unprincipled Poles to keep the abuses unchanged. +But Frederick, seeing through the plan, baffled it and, +curiously enough, in almost the same way in which his +successor Wilhelm II. discerned the policy which Russia +was pursuing in China, and foiled that by obtaining Kiao +Chow and forcing the hand of the Tsar. +</p> + +<p> +Only once has this method undergone a modification, and +for that there were special reasons. Bulgaria was not +methodically "protected" in the special sense of the term. +Frank Russian diplomatists were wont to explain that +chapter of Russian history thus: "We have only two ways +of dealing with weaker nations, and they are exemplified in +our treatment of Georgia and Bulgaria. The kingdom of +Georgia came to us and asked for an alliance. We made it. +Some time afterwards the Georgians fell upon evil days. +Being attacked by Persia they claimed our active help as +equals and allies. But we answered that we were too busy +elsewhere, and left them to their fate. Thereupon the +Persians fell upon them and killed two men out of every +three, so that the nation was literally bleeding to death. Then +the Georgians came to us a second time, now no longer as +equals and allies, but as humble suppliants. 'Help us,' +they said, 'not as friends aid friends, but as masters rescue +their slaves.' And this time we helped them effectually and +absorbed their country over and above. But in the case of +the Bulgarians we committed an unpardonable blunder. +They appealed to us as brothers, and instead of waiting +until they also had lost two men out of every three, we freed +them from the Turkish yoke without more ado, after which +the little brothers developed into enemies. We shall not +make the same mistake with the Macedonians or the +Armenians." +</p> + +<p> +And the system carried out in Georgia was the same +that was being tried in Turkey and elsewhere. Thus +"protection" was the main principle which underlay the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P226"></a>226}</span> +Hunkiar Skelessi Treaty concluded with the Porte.[<a id="chap13fn2text"></a><a href="#chap13fn2">2</a>] By the +terms of this agreement Russia undertook to "protect" +Turkey from all maritime foes, while that empire was +mouldering slowly away. The Sultan was humoured, +pampered, and his throne propped while his regime was +ruining his people. Armenians, Slavs, and even Mohammedans +were revolted by the system. The navy dwindled to a mere +name; the soldiers were unpaid; fortresses were left without +guns; officials were literally forced to live by extortion. +The Ottoman Empire would soon have been ripe for the +vulture if the jackal had not come unawares to feast on the +remains of the body politic. Germany looked with longing +upon Asia Minor and created commercial interests there, and +the semi-atrophied organs were galvanised by the breath of +new life. +</p> + +<p> +The tripartite Eastern tangle which so long exercised the +ingenuity, and drew out the least estimable traits, of Europe's +diplomatists was to a large extent twisted and coiled by the +Tsars and their State Secretaries. In this respect there was +no essential difference in the treatment applied to the Near, +the Middle, and the Far East. The patient was first coaxed +or bullied into making a will—in diplomatic language, a +secret treaty—in Russia's favour, was then forbidden to +call in a doctor, and in some cases forced to sip slow poison +in lieu of efficacious medicaments. It was thus that as far +back as 1723 Muscovy undertook to "protect" Persia +against the Afghans in return for a secret treaty making over +to her the Persian provinces on the Caspian. And ever since +then, with some pauses and a few failures, the Tsars went on +fostering the process of gangrene which was eating away +the energies, material and moral, of a people, never indeed +progressive or promising, but hardly deserving such a +miserable fate. +</p> + +<p> +The results were striking. Four Persian provinces—Mazenderan, +Khorassan, Azerbeijan, and Ghilan—fell as +completely under Russia's thumb as if they were actually +occupied by her troops. The administrative wires were +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P227"></a>227}</span> +pulled by her representatives in Teheran and the Shah was +enabled to live in luxurious vice while his people toiled and +moiled in squalid misery. Persia was poor, its bureaucracy +corrupt, all officers being bought and sold at the expense of +the masses, justice was poisoned at its source, law was a +myth, the spendthrift Shah was arbitrary and cruel, and the +people periodically famine-stricken. And the Tsars, whose +heaven-sent mission was to diffuse Christian light and truth +and justice, invoked the sacredness of treaties and insisted on +these things remaining as they were. +</p> + +<p> +Lord Salisbury made a praiseworthy effort to change them +by identifying Britain's interests with Persia's material and +moral well-being. As the Shah's government needed money +he volunteered to advance a certain sum and to consent to +Russia supplying as much again on the express condition +that the proceeds of the loan should be spent on the nation's +needs. The exchange of views and shaping of measures to +this end were going slowly forward between London and +Petersburg when, one day, the British Premier learnt to his +dismay that the Russian Finance Minister had surreptitiously +struck up an arrangement with the Shah, supplied him +not merely with Russia's own quota of the loan, but with all +the money that was to be allotted by both governments, and +let him spend two out of the four million pounds on the +gratification of his personal whims and vices. And Persia's +needs? Ways of communication were peremptorily required, +but the Tsars not only connived at the Shah's ministers, who +ignored this, but positively forbade the construction of a +single line and, indeed, vetoed every attempt to better the +country economically. They recognised the need for railways, +but seeing themselves unable to afford the necessary +funds for the purpose would brook no attempt on the part of +others to provide them. And when Lord Salisbury asked the +Tsar's Foreign Secretary for an explanation, this official +made answer that it was the Finance Minister who had taken +the measures complained of, and over him the Foreign Office +had, of course, no authority. In Turkey the same +dog-in-the-manger policy and Spenlow and Jorkins procedure were +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P228"></a>228}</span> +persisted in down to a few years before the war, and even +Russia's faithful ally France, occasionally losing patience, +uttered plangent representations and humble requests and +was grateful for even the slight concessions which +M. Sazonoff made when he was minister. +</p> + +<p> +Under that treatment the Persian body politic was rotting +limb by limb, until M. Isvolsky taking over the portfolio of +Foreign Affairs ordered his diplomatic subalterns to turn +over a new leaf and supplied a fresh proof of the impotence +of individual officials to modify the deep-rooted instincts of +Tsarism. For the most part the Russian employees in Persia +offered passive resistance to their new head. In particular +the Tsar's minister at Teheran, Hartwig, deliberately +perpetuated the abominable system of his predecessors in +spite of the expostulations and remonstrances of his chief. +People asked how he dared thus oppose the Foreign Office on +which he depended. The answer was that he was encouraged +and put up to it by the Tsar himself. And when at last +M. Izvolsky extorted permission to recall the rebellious minister, +Nicholas II. distinguished him, decorated him, told him that +his was the only policy that the Russian nation could pursue +with dignity and profit, and let it be known that it was with +the utmost reluctance that he gave way to Izvolsky. Thereupon +he entrusted Hartwig with the most responsible post +in the Balkan peninsula. +</p> + +<p> +This criticism of the demoralising action of the Tsardom +in Persia, I should like to add, must not be taken to commit +me to any theory which would recognise the present fitness +of the Persians for a parliamentary regime. The Persians +have lived for ages under grinding despotisms and their +mental and moral temper, warped in that crushing mill, +renders it temporarily difficult for them to enter into the +spirit of the democratic regime in vogue in the West. I +am aware that this view may be deemed erroneous—heretical—but +there is a vast array of incontrovertible facts +to support it. Russia profited in her own way by the +helplessness of the Iranian people and Britain followed at +a distance. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P229"></a>229}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Many years ago I gave expression to these strictures on +Russia's methods of shaping her intercourse with nations, +and I stated that in Europe there were "still two predatory +States, the Tsardom and Germany."[<a id="chap13fn3text"></a><a href="#chap13fn3">3</a>] Discussing the chances +of an Anglo-Russian understanding for which I was then +zealously working I wrote: "The difficulties in the way are +of a twofold character: the one formal, emanating from the +awkward fact that Russia has come to look upon engagements +entered into by her Foreign Minister as partial in +extent and temporary in duration; the others have their +roots in the fundamental policy hitherto pursued by the +Muscovite Empire, the character of which seems incompatible +with any parchment limitations."[<a id="chap13fn4text"></a><a href="#chap13fn4">4</a>] And characterising +the government of the country at its best I described +it as "composed of public servants of his Majesty the Tsar, +each of whom conscientiously strives to further what he +deems to be the interests of his imperial master in the way +which he considers most efficacious and without reference +to the views, aims, or obligations of his colleagues."[<a id="chap13fn5text"></a><a href="#chap13fn5">5</a>] +</p> + +<p> +But the governments and the press of France and Britain +took a much more sanguine view of the Tsardom and +condescendingly bore with me as an "incorrigible but +well-meaning pessimist." France had gone so far in her +friendship for the great ally as to shut her eyes to the massacres +of the Armenians and her ears to the piteous appeals for +help made by the ill-starred population of Macedonia. +</p> + +<p> +The methods applied in Russia to international affairs +whenever a foreign government complained of a breach of +treaty or an unredeemed promise I likened to that followed +by the firm of Spenlow and Jorkins. Each minister would +lay the responsibility on some colleague whose engagements +bound only himself. It was thus that when Hayashi called +on the Tsar's Foreign Secretary, Muravieff, and protested +against the despatch of Russian military instructors to Korea, +the answer came pat: "That is a step that was taken by +my predecessor. I have nothing whatever to do with that." +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P230"></a>230}</span> +In all these cases there was no central government, only a +number of isolated State departments not one of which +bound Russia or could pledge her word. +</p> + +<p> +Thus duplicity and guile were the principal means +employed in peace time to effect or prepare for that +territorial expansion which was a standing postulate of the +self-preservation of the Tsardom. Aggrandisement was being +achieved gradually, almost imperceptibly, by means of +railways, of secret treaties, of money lent to needy governments +by the Tsar's ministers who themselves had to borrow it +from France. And on the top of all this came intimidation. +"My government," a Russian diplomatist at Pekin, Tokio, +or Seoul would virtually say, "represents a people of +160,000,000 and disposes of military and naval forces in +proportion. If, therefore, you are bent on quarrelling with +us you know what to expect." And the crestfallen diplomatist +of the little State would give way at the green table lest his +people should have to give way on the field of battle. In +other words, he was beaten by bluff. In this way modern +Muscovy long steered clear of great wars while harvesting +in material successes which no other power could expect to +win by mere diplomacy. In this way, too, she hoped to get +the better of Japan, but that power, refusing to accept +counters for current coin, at last and most unwillingly +challenged her to carry out her implied threats, with the +results which the world has witnessed. The other predatory +State, Germany, put the same method into practice for over +a generation until Russia at last cried, "Halt," but unlike +the Tsardom, Germany's military strength was equal to, +if anything greater than, her prestige and influence in +diplomacy. +</p> + +<p> +Between Russia and Britain a binding agreement existed +and exists respecting Afghanistan. At the time of the Boer +War, however, the Tsar's government came out with the +theory that that covenant, having been struck up at a time +when things were different, had ceased to be applicable, +because "circumstances destroy the binding force of +compacts," exactly the doctrine of the other predatory State, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P231"></a>231}</span> +Germany. Consequently the Petersburg Foreign Office +signified its desire to enter into direct relations with the Emir. +And accommodating action to theory, a letter to the same +effect was despatched by the Tsar's ministers to the Emir's +agent in Bokhara who sent it on unopened to his master. And +at the same time Russia mobilised troops and transferred +4000 men from Tiflis to Kushk on the Afghan frontier. +The Emir having kept the letter for some time in Kabul at +last had it forwarded to Downing Street. Witte intervened, +hindered what bade fair to become an expedition against +Herat, and at my request announced that the real object of +the mobilisation was but to make an experiment, not to +inaugurate a campaign. +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +<i>The Tsar's Plot to seize the Heights of the Upper Bosphorus</i> +</p> + +<p> +One of the most striking exhibitions of the temper of +Tsarism occurred in the year 1896. I guardedly touched +upon it several years later in an article which was necessarily +euphemistic. But people refused to credit the story because +it tended to throw a slur upon the Tsar whose loyalty was +above question in England. Probably at no time and in no +country since the reign of Louis XIV. in France have current +events been so highly coloured, embellished, and grouped in +such an unreal light as during the first ten years of the reign +of Nicholas II. The French press, with the exception of a +few uninfluential journals, was wont to extol him to the skies. +In the comments passed on the various public manifestations +of his policy one looked in vain for traces of average historic +vision. Every move of the Petersburg government that could +be construed as a cultural advance was eulogised and ascribed +to the initiative of the high-minded monarch whose political +wisdom was implicitly taken to be almost equal to his power, +whereas deeds that could not be dovetailed with this fulsome +theory were attributed to malevolent agents or boldly denied. +In Great Britain a somewhat similar, if less inflexible, +attitude was observed and it cost me repeated and strenuous +efforts to enlighten public opinion. When my pseudonymous +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P232"></a>232}</span> +article on the Tsar appeared in the <i>Quarterly Review</i>, its +statements, tone, and conclusions were unctuously +deprecated by a press accustomed to envisage the Russian ruler +as an indispensable member of that happy family of monarchs +who would in time lead Europe sensibly nearer to the +cultural goal. He was the world's peace-preserver and much +else, and only a Thersites could thus misread his acts. The +artificial and precarious character of the apparent unity of +his Empire, the rapacious instincts of the State, the morbid +conceit and profound ignorance of its head, who would insist +on transforming what was good into bad and on turning +bad to worse by his constant intermeddling, were unsuspected +or ignored by the panegyrists, English and French, of the +Russian Tsar. It was they who prodigally conferred +immortality on this pitiful specimen of a ruler, leader, or +reformer, and pleaded in justification his high humanitarian +instincts, his selfless devotion to the common good, and the +courage with which he strove to realise one of the loftiest +politico-social conceptions on record—that of establishing +general peace on earth by quickening the noblest instincts +of individuals and peoples at the first Hague Conference. +</p> + +<p> +Every statement, every opinion that ran counter to this +preconceived theory was thrust aside as malevolent or +unfounded. Time and again I published facts that pulverised +the accepted doctrine and ruined the conventional portrait, +but the articles embodying these unorthodox views were +either blamed as iconoclastic or wholly ignored, and more +than once systematic efforts were put forth to have me +punished by the Tsar's government for my temerity. +</p> + +<p> +Doubtless the policies of Nicholas II. were numerous, +and it was not always easy to reconcile one with the other. +But they were all in keeping with the instincts of Tsarism +or with the impulses and intuitions of its insignificant head, +who did not always act with an intelligible aim and generally +went to work without a measured forecast. The order of +intelligence revealed by most of his international schemes +differed nowise from that which was manifested in his +relations with his ministers and courtiers. Most of these +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P233"></a>233}</span> +designated it by the name of cunning. A noteworthy illustration +of the policy, which likewise throws a strong light on +the politician, occurred at the close of the year 1896. At that +time the most brilliant, cultured, and easy-going of the Tsar's +foreign secretaries was dead.[<a id="chap13fn6text"></a><a href="#chap13fn6">6</a>] His successor, M. Shishkin, +was one of those every-day bureaucrats who lived in a world +of green tables, dusty parchments, sere and yellow leaves, +and are termed by the French <i>ronds de cuir</i>. His intelligence +was absorbed by memory, and his initiative paralysed by +precedent. It was when this colourless official was +acting-Minister of Foreign Affairs that an unqualifiable conspiracy +against international troth and a menace to the peace of +Europe was hatched by the Tsar and frustrated at the last +minute by two statesmen of bitterly hostile camps, of whom +each honestly regarded the other as a scourge of the Russian +people. Witte and Pobiedonostseff alone in this environment +joined hands to restrain Nicholas II. from an act which +would probably have plunged Europe in war, and deserves +to stand on record as one of the most damaging counts in the +long indictment against Tsarism. +</p> + +<p> +In that memorable year Russia's star was in the ascendant. +For her prestige was incomparably greater than her power +and her specific gravity enormously overrated by most +State chancelleries. She easily overawed her rivals, all of +whom took her at her own valuation. Witte, the Finance +Minister, who had a representative of his own in every State +department and who actually wielded much greater power +than his imperial master, had just sown the seeds from which +he might reasonably expect inexhaustible markets and a +flourishing colony in the Far East. All that he now needed +and asked for was peace and foreign money so that the +Tsardom might continue to live on its prestige without +being obliged actually to exercise its military strength. +</p> + +<p> +Lobanoff during his short-lived activity had made +perceptible progress and established his reputation. He had +removed the soreness between the Tsardom and Bulgaria, +struck up a political friendship with Ferdinand of Coburg, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P234"></a>234}</span> +bettered Russia's neighbourly relations with Austria-Hungary, +and maintained in the northern Balkans her +influence well-nigh intact. In the Far East also the Tsardom +towered aloft like a giant among pigmies. Witte had torn up +the treaty of Shimonoseki, deprived Japan of the fruits of her +victory, imposed a ruinous friendship on the Chinese, and +obtained the valuable concession for the construction of the +Chinese Eastern Railway.[<a id="chap13fn7text"></a><a href="#chap13fn7">7</a>] Li Hung Chang was at the back +of the all-powerful Russian Finance Minister, and Japan was +disconsolate at the thought that Korea had been earmarked +for the Tsardom. Witte handled the Orientals[<a id="chap13fn8text"></a><a href="#chap13fn8">8</a>] deftly; some +of their leaders he drove, others he lured into the penfold of +"protected" peoples of whom the Tsar was the titular +shepherd. All that he wanted for the success of his system +was a firm economic foothold, industrial concessions, the +laying of iron rails, and the forging of golden chains. Count +Hayashi writes: "I could not do otherwise than admire his +ability as a statesman. Had his programme been carried out, +as he at first proposed, what would not have been the +result?"[<a id="chap13fn9text"></a><a href="#chap13fn9">9</a>] To my thinking the result would have been +what it has since become, supremely disappointing. For do +what he might the Tsarist State could not long survive into +an era of law, collective effort, and responsibility. It was +foredoomed to break up. I once likened it to the Bologna +phial of unannealed glass which may be flung to the ground, +struck with a hammer, or heavily pressed without undergoing +the least change, yet flies into thousands of little +splinters if scratched with a diamond or a sharp flint. The +surface of the phial, hard as crystal, holds fast the inner +molecules, which tend to fly apart but keep together so long +as the adamantine surface remains intact. And the surface +of the Tsardom would have been scratched by the first +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P235"></a>235}</span> +democratic institution and the molecules would have been +scattered to the winds of heaven. +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar's ambassador in Constantinople at the time +of the story was M. Nelidoff, with whom I was well +acquainted: an average, vigilant, ambitious diplomatist who +managed, together with his German colleague there, to hit +it off with the Sultan. In the previous year he had fought a +fierce diplomatic battle against the British ambassador, Sir +Philip Currie, on the subject of the Armenian massacres, +after which their mutual relations remained strained. As +already narrated, Queen Victoria's representative was +persuaded that if the charges brought against the Sultan were +proven by the international commission at Mush, diplomatic +action of a drastic nature would follow as a matter of +course. I had been authoritatively informed in advance +that this was a gratuitous assumption, that nothing was +further from the intentions of the Russian government, +and that, whatever the merits of the question, the French +cabinet, ever duly ductile, would follow the lead of its great +ally. And that is what actually happened. A ridiculous +tale was also spread in various parts of Central and Eastern +Europe that the excitement over the Armenians had been +designedly got up by English diplomacy in order to +embarrass Russia. That falsehood was circulated and perhaps +imagined by the Russian and German embassies in the +Turkish capital. Prince Ukhtomsky's journal[<a id="chap13fn10text"></a><a href="#chap13fn10">10</a>] wrote: +"England threw obstacles in our path in China and Japan, +in Chitral and Armenia, and now her conduct in Egypt is +growing ever more hostile to Russia. The troubles created +by Englishmen in the Armenian provinces of Turkey were +planned in view of many objects, among others the +establishment of direct communications over land between India +and the Mediterranean." +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P236"></a>236}</span> +</p> + +<p> +It was believed, I do not know on what grounds, by +well-informed statesmen that between the German and the +Russian ambassadors in Constantinople something more +than a mere harmony of views existed on the subject of +Turkey's future. They were credited with preparing to +play the part of fate. The former, it was asserted, had given +the latter an assurance that if Russia were to look upon this +coincidence of favourable circumstances as her long-desired +opportunity to assert a claim which Germany had never +contested, and force a free egress for her warships from the +Black Sea to the Mediterranean, she would encounter no +opposition from the Kaiser's government, and might even +reckon upon its diplomatic support. That was the kernel +of the matter: no opposition and eventual diplomatic +support. +</p> + +<p> +In this scheme M. Nelidoff found room for patriotic duty +and personal ambition. The despatches he sent home were +described as insistent and suasive. He deemed the moment +opportune, and the levers at his disposal adequate. He +possessed the ear of Abdul Hamid, whose personal vagaries +he had abstained from hindering or blaming and whose +public policy he had steadily if secretly supported. In +general outline his object was to get the Sultan to accept +Russia's friendship, protection, guarantee of integrity, and +to pay for these boons with two strips of territory and free +egress from the Straits. And his method was the creation of +an accomplished fact. It involved the seizure of the coveted +territory on either shore of the Upper Bosphorus, and +simultaneously heavy pressure put upon Abdul Hamid. The +Russian fleet would effect the landing and the Russian +ambassador would intimidate the Shadow of God. +</p> + +<p> +To launch a thunderbolt of these dimensions among the +pacific nations of Europe in the midst of profound peace and +despite the most solemn treaties needed an aggregate of +qualities and defects, intellectual and moral, which the +reader can enumerate for himself. +</p> + +<p> +The conspirators were well aware of the way in which +their onslaught against Europeanism and morality would be +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P237"></a>237}</span> +received by the opinion and sentiment of the world. But it +was less this condemnation than the untoward consequences +of premature disclosure that impelled them to keep the +matter dark. Hence, not a single superfluous person was +initiated into it. Herein one recognises the touch of the +imperial hand. Nicholas II. was extremely secretive at the +best of times. One never could tell what schemes he was +turning over in his mind. He often lacked the courage to +dismiss a minister fairly and squarely, and would continue +to exhibit his pristine confidence in him and lead him to +believe that he was indispensable, and then of a sudden +would have a statement published in the official gazette +acceding to the minister's "request to be allowed to resign +on account of ill-health." But when he had something in +hand which might, if discovered too soon, stir up national +or international passion, he was as mute as a fish, and on +occasion would adopt grotesque means of ensuring the +maintenance of the secret, as he did in his behaviour towards +the minister Birileff when conspiring with the Kaiser +against his ally France at Björke. In the present case of the +Nelidoff-Tshikhatshoff conspiracy the stakes were large. For +if the Sultan should prove insensible to caresses and deaf to +threats—as he certainly would if he got wind of the plot +before its realisation—an armed conflict would be almost +unavoidable, and it might be hard to confine it to Russia and +Turkey. Besides, this new departure would entail a +reversal of the system adopted by the Tsardom in its dealings +with the East: to influence and control without actually +annexing or threatening. It was well understood that +England was the one power deeply interested in the strict +preservation of the existing treaties relative to the Black +Sea and the Straits, and it was assumed that a conflict with +her might with Germany's help be averted. +</p> + +<p> +To what extent the Kaiser's government was committed +to the Russian ambassador I am unable to state for lack of +evidence. My personal conviction is that if any such accord +existed, which I strongly doubt, it had been made between +the Kaiser and the Tsar. But so far as I now know the plan +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P238"></a>238}</span> +was exclusively Russian. I vouch for the facts that the plan +worked out by Nelidoff and Tshikhatshoff was approved by +Nicholas II., that all the preparations for its execution were +made, and that Witte with difficulty stifled the enterprise +just when it was on the point of becoming an international +revolution and an insolent challenge. +</p> + +<p> +Contemplated from the point of view of Turkey's internal +condition the conjuncture seemed favourable enough. The +Ottoman Empire—a real Asiatic state in all its nakedness—was +apparently tottering, and might at any moment go to +pieces. Insurrections and risings among the Christians, +massacres by the Kurds and Turks, discontent and sedition +among the Mohammedan elements of the population, +scarcity of money, national humiliations, all impressed +Nelidoff as infallible tokens of the approaching end. At +Zeitoun the Armenians had risen, made a determined stand +against the troops, and were finally induced to surrender +by the powers, who guaranteed an amnesty and the appointment +of a Christian governor. A revolt had broken out +among the Druses of the Hauran. In the district of Van a +fresh outburst of religious and racial fanaticism had +culminated in the violent deaths of many Turks and Armenians. +The Christian Slavs of Macedonia had begun their guerilla +warfare. In August, Constantinople became the scene of such +bloodshed and cruelty as had not been witnessed there +during the nineteenth century. For thirty hours the +Mohammedan mob had the Armenians at their mercy and +slaughtered about 2000 of them in the houses and streets. +In short, Turkey was anarchy incarnate, and the powers felt +that the least they could do would be to present a collective +note to the Porte. This communication was drafted, +delivered, ignored. Another concerted but really drastic +measure was imminent, and it seemed as though in the +natural course of things the last grain of Turkey's sands +would soon have run down. +</p> + +<p> +One day the Tsar learned from Nelidoff's despatches that +his long-wished-for settlement of the Near Eastern difficulties +was at last in sight and could be achieved if his ambassador's +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P239"></a>239}</span> +plan of campaign were carried out immediately. +Well pleased, he ordered Nelidoff to repair to Petersburg, +and Admiral Tshikhatshoff, then chief of the Odessa general +staff, to visit the Turkish capital, and on the way to take +stock of and report upon the strength of the fortifications of +the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles and draw up a plan for +the military descent to be effected in the near future and +under the conditions then prevailing. Carefully though +these ongoings were hedged round with misleading statements, +they did not pass wholly unnoticed; some foreigners +alluded to them as ominous shadows of far-ranging events. +</p> + +<p> +Nelidoff, on reaching the palace on the Singer's Bridge,[<a id="chap13fn11text"></a><a href="#chap13fn11">11</a>] +went over the whole ground with Shishkin, the Dryasdust +of the Foreign Office. Shishkin informed him that the +Emperor desired to have the subject clearly unfolded in +writing, with all the advantages and drawbacks of the +concrete scheme lucidly set forth so that the members of a very +special council, which he would convene for the purpose, +might have adequate data on which to rest their decision. +The ambassador duly presented the memorandum. +</p> + +<p> +That document existed down to the outbreak of the +present war, and probably until the Bolshevik revolution. +It may still exist to-day. It passed through the hands of +Witte and others. I never actually saw it myself, but +according to the description of it which was given to me by those +who did, the preamble was devoted to a cursory description +of the internal condition of the Ottoman Empire, of the +growing ferment in the capital, of the anarchy in the +provinces, and of the daily danger of a formidable insurrection. +Nelidoff laid special stress on the Armenian question as an +irritant and a dissolvent. At that moment it held Constantinople +in a fever of excitement with intervals of panic. He +had reason to apprehend that the Armenian revolutionists +were hatching another plot which would infuriate the +Mohammedans and cause a more fearful slaughter than +any yet witnessed. Again, the Sultan might be deposed, +and in this case popular riots, perhaps even mutiny among +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P240"></a>240}</span> +the troops, might ensue. Abdul Hamid could not be moved +beforehand to take action calculated to dispel these dangers +without creating others more redoubtable. He had no +moral influence over the nation. +</p> + +<p> +As for reforms, only a simpleton would build on them. +The Porte could not carry them out, if it would, because +they would rob the Turkish and Kurdish populations of +their privileges, and as these Moslem peoples outnumber +the Christians, they would oppose the application of the +reforms tooth and nail. Force employed against the +Mohammedans in order to conciliate the Christians would then +remain the only alternative. And Abdul Hamid was too +shrewd a statesman to commit such a blunder as to have +recourse to force for such a purpose. M. Nelidoff averred +that he fully believed in the seriousness of the threats uttered +by the Armenians that they would rise in arms within a +couple of months. In this case Europe would intervene. The +six powers would put pressure on the Porte to have the +reforms practically embodied in institutions. That might be +satisfactory enough from the English point of view, but +would it dovetail with Russia's vital interests? Nowise. Her +security in the Black Sea and her communications with the +Mediterranean would be forfeited for an indefinite span of +time. And the more stable the order established by the +powers in the Ottoman Empire, the more dismal the outlook +of the Tsardom. Some other way out of the difficulty must +be devised. +</p> + +<p> +As the early intervention of the powers was thus practically +certain, and fraught with danger, it behoved Russia to +determine in what way she would protect herself against +its consequences. Nelidoff held that it would not answer +to allow the other states to send their warships before +Constantinople—without taking precautionary measures in +advance. What he had therefore to propose was that Russia +should seize and keep a firm foothold on the shores of the +Upper Bosphorus and wrest from the Sultan the freedom +of the Straits. But the plans must be speedily drawn up and +studied, and then carried out with the rapidity of a lightning +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P241"></a>241}</span> +flash. The squadron and the men requisite for the descent +should be got together and held in readiness to start at a +moment's notice. He himself would give the signal in the +form of a ciphered telegram addressed to Sebastopol. Then +the vessels would cross the Black Sea, and before they +entered the Bosphorus Nelidoff would have put the matter +pressingly before the Sultan and asked him to allow the ships +to pass and the men to take possession of the heights on +condition that the interests of the Ottoman Empire would be +well looked after. If he refused, he must be prepared for +the consequences. At the same time the other powers would +also receive information of what was being done, and an +invitation to come to the Dardanelles if they felt so disposed. +Should they avail themselves of this invitation, the Russian +Mediterranean squadron would accompany them. And if +they landed troops anywhere, the Russian commander +would follow their example. In this way the Tsardom would +have two irons in the fire to one of the other powers. +</p> + +<p> +The abiding consequence of all this would, in the eyes of +the ambassador, be the permanent occupation by Russia +of the Upper Bosphorus and the neutralisation of the +Dardanelles, which would be thrown open to the warships +of all nations. The suddenness of Russia's action would be +justified by her natural apprehensions for the security of her +subjects and her want of confidence in the good-will and +power of the Porte. Nelidoff was very careful to reiterate +and emphasise his belief that not one of the other powers +would venture to offer opposition to the proposed seizure +of territory. Consequently Russia could establish herself +permanently on the Upper Bosphorus and create a Near +Eastern Gibraltar there. That done she might take part with +an easy mind in the international council that would fix the +destiny of Turkey. That in outline was the gist of the <i>exposé</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Such was the machination imagined by Nelidoff and the +Tsar. It would be interesting to know how his recent chief, +Lobanoff-Rostoffsky, would have regarded it were he still +living. But M. Shishkin, who had never displayed the least +initiative, listened approvingly and took the needful measures +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P242"></a>242}</span> +to have the special council convened. This body resembled +all such tribunals formed by the Tsar in this, that it +consisted of members with whose approval he could reckon in +advance. Whenever Nicholas II. wanted to have a pet scheme +of his own stamped with the hall-mark of relative legality +he submitted it to the judgment of a few officials who were +certain to make it their own. It was thus that he had gone +to work in dealing with the various questions that cropped +up in connection with Korea, Manchuria, China, Japan, +Persia, Afghanistan, and Germany. And in this case he +conformed to the same rule. +</p> + +<p> +It was in the early days of December, 1896, that the special +council met to talk over the scheme propounded by Nelidoff. +Probably no such body had ever deliberated with greater +secrecy during the reign of Nicholas II. Even the Tsar's +alter ego, Pobiedonostseff, was kept in complete ignorance +of what was going on. For some days four or five persons +had the fate of the Turkish Empire, and perhaps the peace +of Europe, in their power, and they came to a decision +unfavourable to both. For the secret council with one +dissentient voice commended the brilliant idea propounded by +the Tsar's ambassador. It also authorised him to gauge the +situation in Constantinople and to give the signal for the +descent on the shores of the Bosphorus as soon as the +opportune moment should arrive. The Emperor unhesitatingly +ratified the recommendation of his loyal council, and the +technical part of the scheme was elaborated at once. Shortly +before returning to his post, M. Nelidoff received further +instructions, and contact between himself and Admiral +Tshikhatshoff was made closer and continuous, for the +realisation of the plan was confidently expected to be +accomplished by the new year. From this time forward all power +was vested in the Russian ambassador. Whenever he gave the +signal everything else would follow automatically, so to say. +</p> + +<p> +Time pressed. The danger to Europe was imminent. +But of that none of the conspirators recked. What was much +more serious was the effect of the plot on Russia herself. +It would undo Witte's slowly elaborated scheme of pacific +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P243"></a>243}</span> +penetration, open the door to foreign competition—diplomatic, +economic, and, what was far worse, military. For if +Russia had to make good on the battle-field the influence she +was arrogating to herself in the council chamber, she would +quickly sink to the low level of her own specific gravity. +Of these consequences Witte was painfully aware, and he was +quite ready to protest as energetically as he knew how. But +that was not enough. He had already done all that an +influential minister could effect single-handed, and it fell far +short of what was needed. All that he could still undertake +was to enlist the support of his personal adversary, +Pobiedonostseff, and induce him to awaken the Emperor to a sense +of the enormity he was about to perpetrate. Smothering his +personal aversion as he so well knew how, Witte called on +his implacable enemy, the Ober-Procurator of the Most +Holy Synod, and put the matter plainly before him, appealing +to his patriotism and sense of duty to Russia and the Tsar. +Pobiedonostseff was astounded. He had heard nothing of the +goings on of Nelidoff, Tshikhatshoff, and Shishkin. He +could hardly believe these officials so utterly devoid of +political sense and so incapable of discerning the mischief +they were about to inflict on their own country. He +acknowledged, however, that in view of such a mad scheme Witte's +fears were well founded and his unusual action justified. +He would see the Emperor without delay and leave nothing +undone to have the plot frustrated. +</p> + +<p> +Repairing to Tsarskoye Selo, he laid the matter before +the Tsar who, naturally enough, conjectured that the +Ober-Procurator of the Most Holy Synod had received his +information from Witte. And this act was mentally filed +among the counts of the indictment against the Finance +Minister. Pobiedonostseff's disinterestedness and patriotism +were known to the Emperor. He was a thoroughly honest +man, dry, pedantic, and incorruptible. His motives, therefore, +were above suspicion. And he succeeded in setting the +scheme and its effects upon the Tsar, the dynasty, and the +Russian State in such a forbidding perspective that before +he left the palace the monarch suspended the decision and +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P244"></a>244}</span> +withdrew the powers of independent action with which +Nelidoff was invested. Thus the imminence of the danger +was displaced owing to the timely intervention of Witte and +Pobiedonostseff. +</p> + +<p> +But the Black Sea Squadron and the men told off to occupy +the heights of the Upper Bosphorus were kept in readiness +from that day onward until the outbreak of the war against +Japan absorbed all the warships and fighting men available. +Thus from the year 1896 to 1904 the naval and military +contingents and all the accessories of the expedition remained +in evidence awaiting an opportunity to play their part in +realising that criminal plan. +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +<i>The Story of Kiao Chow</i> +</p> + +<p> +Truth and loyalty were so often eschewed in these transactions +that the historian who is acquainted with the subject +takes their absence as a matter of course. At the close of +the Chino-Japanese campaign, immediately after the treaty +of Shimonoseki became known, another illuminating +instance of unscrupulous dealing occurred in which, however, +as the Russian saying puts it, the scythe came upon the rock, +and Germany received a coin from her own mint. Witte +told me that the idea of depriving Japan of the main fruits of +her victory had sprung up in his own brain and was executed +without opposition because, although he was only Minister +of Finances at the time, his influence over all Russia's public +business was still paramount.[<a id="chap13fn12text"></a><a href="#chap13fn12">12</a>] By the Shimonoseki treaty +Japan obtained Chinese territory on the mainland, and this +was destructive of Witte's scheme of peaceful penetration, +which pre-supposed the integrity of China. Accordingly he +requested Germany and France to join him in compelling +the Tokio government to let go of its foothold there. +Germany regarded the arrangements as a business transaction +and was determined to charge both China and Russia a +reasonable price for the service rendered. When, therefore, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P245"></a>245}</span> +the Tsar's government contemplated the opening of a +Russo-Chinese bank, which, it was anticipated, would acquire the +control of the principal economic and financial resources of +the Celestial Empire, Germany insisted on going halves +with her neighbour and supplying a proportionate part of +the capital. Negotiations were consequently opened with +the Russian Foreign Office which gave the proposals its +"careful and favourable consideration." But while terms +were being solemnly discussed between Petersburg and +Berlin and suasion was apparently making a breach in +Russia's opposition, it was suddenly announced that the +Russian Ministry of Finances had on its own initiative +furnished the entire capital and was no longer open to any +offers on the subject. That was one of the results of the +"autonomy" of the State departments. The Foreign Office +was not, of course, responsible for thus leaving Germany +out in the cold; with finances Count Lamsdorff had nothing +to do, and against an accomplished fact there was no appeal. +That was the gist of the explanations given. But the German +government was not to be thus cheaply fed on fiction. It +was resolved to bide its time and have its innings before the +match was over. And the "leasing" of Kiao Chow was the +result. Driven from the open gate of diplomacy it sought +and found an entrance at another door. +</p> + +<p> +Parenthetically it may not be amiss to reproduce here the +broad lines of Witte's policy in the Far East. He and I +talked it over many a time and I have numerous pages which +I wrote at his dictation, "for the purpose," he said, "of +vindicating me one day should that be necessary." This +then is how he once summarised his aims: +</p> + +<p> +"What I have ever striven for is to create and preserve +conditions favourable to the pacific development of Russia. +That is and was my central aim. Within the fairly broad +limits which it connotes, there would have been ample room +for our expansion especially in the Far East. And as you +know, I had my eyes fixed on China. But I was determined +that, so far as it depended on me, there should be no violence, +no annexation, nothing to provoke the resentment or arouse +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P246"></a>246}</span> +the misgivings of the Chinese, and everything possible to +draw their sympathy and co-operation. Russia was to be +their friend—their intimate and privileged friend—but that +is all. And owing to the place which she occupied and the +prestige she enjoyed among the nations, her paramount +position in the Far East, which was obtained gradually, could +have been upheld pacifically. But on no account did I wish +her to risk having to face the necessity of making good in +war the exaggerated estimate of her military strength. +This general conclusion, but not the specific ground for it, +I often laid before Nicholas II. +</p> + +<p> +"Well, all these plans and combinations were suddenly +knocked on the head by the Emperor's wilfulness or shyness. +As soon as I learned the contents of the Chino-Japanese +Treaty of Shimonoseki, I sought him out and told him that +we must never recognise it, unless we were prepared to face +a war or abandon the markets of the Far East. 'We cannot,' +I went on, 'allow Japan to quit her islands and get a firm +foothold on the mainland. If we do, we shall have wrecked +all that has been accomplished and the still greater things +that are yet to be achieved by the grandiose efforts made by +your revered father. I gave a promise to Li Hung Chang +that your Majesty would not permit Japan to keep Liaotung +even if she obtained it by treaty, and China relies upon you +to fulfil that plighted word. I am the first to proclaim the +necessity of redeeming all our promises to Japan and of +making all reasonable concessions to her needs and aspirations, +but we cannot brook the seizure of any part of China. +We have to stand for the principle of China's integrity just +as firmly as the United States stand for the Monroe doctrine. +And what is more, we ourselves must respect China's +integrity.' The Emperor looked somewhat scared and said, +'But don't you think that if we lay plans to have the treaty +changed now, Japan will grow desperate and declare war?' 'No, +sire, Japan will not declare war, were it only because +that is materially impossible. She lacks the wherewithal +to-day, and later on we can square her if she becomes restive.' +</p> + +<p> +"Thereupon the Emperor asked me how I proposed to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P247"></a>247}</span> +set the wheels of diplomacy in motion. I told him I would +invite Germany and France to join us and that I had no +reason to fear a refusal on their part. Then he gave his +assent and added his 'most cordial thanks,' which he +reiterated with increased warmth when the crisis was over +and the aim achieved. On each of these occasions I said to +him, 'We must of course play quite fair in all this and respect +the integrity which we are upholding, and resolved to uphold, +against all who would violate it.' And the Tsar assented. +</p> + +<p> +"I then arranged the concerted move of Germany, +France, and Russia. This made me feel quite sure of success. +It also served as an unmistakable intimation to all the great +powers that Russia considered the integrity of China as the +ground work of her Far Eastern policy, and would not allow +it to be tampered with; and it also encouraged me to think +that by accustoming all three governments to combine for +European or world objects, I was gradually preparing them +for a closer and less transitory alliance in the future. This +last consideration, however, was a dream rather than a +'plank' in my political programme. What happened after +that and how the Treaty of Shimonoseki was declared null +and void you know.[<a id="chap13fn13text"></a><a href="#chap13fn13">13</a>] What you don't yet know is at least +equally thrilling. +</p> + +<p> +"One fateful day, when Kaiser Wilhelm was on a visit +here, the devil threw temptation in the way of the Tsar who +succumbed to it as he has done more than once since then. +Much water has flowed under the Palace Bridge since that +episode. It was on his first visit to Russia after Nicholas' +accession to the throne. The two potentates were driving in +an open carriage from a review, I think at Peterhof or +Tsarskoye Selo—I forget which. I did not hear a word about +what passed at the time until the consequences became +manifest, and then it was recounted to me somewhat in this +way.[<a id="chap13fn14text"></a><a href="#chap13fn14">14</a>] In the course of conversation with Nicholas the +Kaiser suddenly broke away from the ordinary topics and +exclaimed, 'I want you to do me a favour. You are in the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P248"></a>248}</span> +happy position of being able to help your friends as well as +to punish your enemies. As you know, I am badly in need of +a port. My fleet has no place worthy of the name outside +my Empire. And why should it be debarred? That may, +perhaps, serve the purposes of our covert enemies, but not +Russia's. And I know your friendly sentiment towards me +and my dynasty. I want you now to say frankly, have you +any objection to my leasing Kiao Chow in China?' 'What +name did you say?' 'Kiao Chow.' 'No—none. I see no +objection whatever.' The Kaiser thanked his host profusely +and the imperial pair drove to the palace. The head of the +Foreign Department was Muravieff, the most ignorant and +least cultured of all Russia's Foreign Ministers in the course +of the nineteenth century. He had obtained the post solely +because, when passing through Copenhagen, which was the +stepping stone to the palace at the Singer's Bridge,[<a id="chap13fn15text"></a><a href="#chap13fn15">15</a>] he +displayed the faculty of making a certain class of people of +doubtful taste laugh at his farcical jokes told with somewhat +grotesque gestures. He had the temperament of the clown. +Muravieff probably had never before heard of Kiao Chow[<a id="chap13fn16text"></a><a href="#chap13fn16">16</a>] +and knew no reason which would militate against its being +leased to Germany, and like other and more gifted ministers, +he refrained from asking those who knew. But that is of no +importance, as you shall hear later. +</p> + +<p> +"A few hours afterwards the Emperor met the Grand +Duke Alexei Alexandrovitch who knew a good deal about +sea-ports and their value, and about naval matters generally. +The Tsar said, 'I feel put out with the Kaiser. To-day he +has tricked me into consenting to let him have Kiao Chow. +Of course it is not downright annexation that he aims at. He +is only going to lease it. All the same, it is a nasty +trick.' 'You have not given him your consent in writing?' 'No, +no. Only in words. We were in the carriage driving.' 'But +surely you can withdraw from that one-sided arrangement +all the more that it would put us into a very embarrassing +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P249"></a>249}</span> +position.' 'No, no, I have given my word and I cannot +back out. It is most vexing.' Wilhelm then returned to +Berlin and despatched a squadron to the Far East to obtain +satisfaction for the murder of a couple of German missionaries +which had been committed there. He demanded amends +and his warships having entered the port he refused to +withdraw them. +</p> + +<p> +"Thereupon a council was convoked in Petersburg under +Muravieff. After some preliminary expressions of opinion +Muravieff, calling to mind a warning of mine against +allowing any power to occupy Chinese territory, moved that Port +Arthur should be taken by us as a set-off against Kiao Chow. +I at once opposed the notion vehemently. For I resented +both the remedy and the folly that had rendered a remedy +necessary. I said, 'We should immediately adopt one of +two courses: acquiesce in what has been done and abide by +the consequences or else insist on Germany's withdrawal +from Kiao Chow and take our stand on the ground of the +integrity of China. There is no third way out of the +difficulty—at least none that I can approve. I certainly cannot +perceive the logic of seizing Port Arthur as an answer to the +leasing of Kiao Chow. Are we not on good terms with +China? Why spoil these relations? Have we not a treaty +with China? Why violate it? If we take either of these +courses we put ourselves in the wrong. But if we decide to +advise Germany to quit or else fight her, we should have +reason and morality on the side of our political and economic +interests, and I feel convinced that she would give way.' +</p> + +<p> +"I think the members of the council were impressed, for +they passed a resolution that Port Arthur should not be +taken. I myself drew up the minutes of that sitting and, +what is more, the resolution was approved by the Tsar. I +breathed freely again, for I had had misgivings about his +attitude. Now he dispelled them entirely. But a few days +later, to our amazement our common friend Admiral Dubassoff +entered Port Arthur.[<a id="chap13fn17text"></a><a href="#chap13fn17">17</a>] I was furious. This slyness and +double dealing irritated me. I at once sought out the Tsar +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P250"></a>250}</span> +and showed him that I felt very keenly what had happened, +because I had worked so long and so hard on lines +incompatible with the policy on which he was now launching out +and the results of this policy were now endangered. In +conclusion I said, 'The council decided not to take Port +Arthur and your Majesty ratified the decision of the council.' The +Tsar replied, 'Yes, but are you aware that an English +squadron was about to take the port and that the only +alternatives open to us were to abandon it to the English or +else to go back on the decision of the council and take it +ourselves? It was not until the Minister of Foreign Affairs +told me this that I gave my assent to his proposal. In my +place you would have done the same.' +</p> + +<p> +"I ought to have said that from the council I went +straight to the German Embassy. Von Tschirschky was there +instead of Radolin. I said, 'When Kaiser Wilhelm was last +here, he was very gracious towards me and authorised me +to appeal to him direct if ever I wanted anything. Well, +now I do want badly to petition him for a great favour. He +is taking Kiao Chow. I know he wants to chastise certain +Chinese criminals and to mete out punishment for their +crimes. This is a most legitimate desire. I sympathise with +him. If he were to call for the heads of a hundred or a +thousand Chinamen I would not say a word. But if his Majesty +takes a Chinese port, Russia will be constrained to do +likewise although nothing would be more distasteful to her. +Will you kindly telegraph in cipher what I have just said, so +that the Kaiser may see it at once?' Von Tschirschky +promised. The telegram was duly sent to Von Bülow +who laid it before the Emperor. A few days later Von +Tschirschky called on me and said, 'His Majesty the Kaiser +thanks you very warmly for your frank <i>exposé</i> and wishes +me to say that from the wording of your message he concludes +with some surprise that certain important conditions +governing this matter of Kiao Chow are unknown to you.'[<a id="chap13fn18text"></a><a href="#chap13fn18">18</a>] +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P251"></a>251}</span> +</p> + +<p> +"I was unspeakably angry with Muravieff and I made no +secret of my feelings towards him. Noticing this he +spontaneously offered me explanations. He said, 'I should like +you to bear in mind that this business was not inaugurated +yesterday nor to-day. It was during the Kaiser's first visit +here that he received the Tsar's consent to lease Kiao Chow, +and on his return to Berlin he got the people of the +Wilhelmstrasse to formulate the one-sided arrangement and to +transmit it at the fitting moment to our Foreign Office. The +whole scheme was the handiwork of the Kaiser or, if you +like, of the two monarchs. So please don't blame me. I have +enough to answer for without that.' I rejoined that I +accepted the explanation which I did not know before, and +then I insisted, 'That is all very well for Kiao Chow. I can +see that you had no voice in that matter at all and are not +therefore blameworthy. But surely, surely, you could and +should have hindered the seizure of Port Arthur. Not to +have vetoed that piece of folly was a grave omission for which +I cannot but blame you. And history will be more severe +towards you than I can ever be.' 'But, my dear Serghei +Yulievitch,' he shouted, 'you have missed the point of what +I have just been telling you. Please understand that the +taking of Port Arthur was none of my doing. Let me impress +on you the fact—you may think what you like of it, but it is +the fact—that his Majesty had arranged everything—Kiao +Chow and Port Arthur—long ago when he acquiesced in the +proposals of the Kaiser. That was the fruit of Wilhelm's +first visit to Russia. As for me, I was not of course consulted +and knew absolutely nothing about it. The seizure of Port +Arthur was the direct consequence of the leasing of Kiao +Chow. And it was entirely an imperial deal. Is the matter +clear now?'[<a id="chap13fn19text"></a><a href="#chap13fn19">19</a>] It was clear and made much else clear. I +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P252"></a>252}</span> +trembled for Russia's future when looking back upon her +recent past. I could hardly realise that the young Tsar, with +no experience, little reading, and only modest intellectual +gifts, should have launched forth into acts of that magnitude +almost before he had taken stock of his Empire or realised +the duties which its governance imposed. As for Muravieff, +one could never believe anything he said, unless it was +confirmed by trustworthy evidence. In this case confirmation +was forthcoming." +</p> + +<p> +To-day we are better able to estimate the effect of that +personal intervention in momentous affairs of State which +was one of the most baleful and least known characteristics +of the last Emperor's reign. As the result of a sudden mood, +in answer to a sweetly uttered request, or by way of realising +the wish of a near relation, he would make a sudden descent +into the statesman's workshop and by the graceful waving +of his hand tear the web of the deftest combinations into +shreds. The further we penetrate into the archives of +Russia's foreign policy, even during the enlightened period +which extends over the last two reigns, the more irresistibly +are we forced to admit that the root principles which +presided over the foundation of the Tsarist State and +determined its predatory character remained active and vigorous +to the very last. We may judge Nicholas II. as severely as we +please, but we cannot deny that however puerile or +preposterous some of his methods may have been, his aims +dovetailed with the tendencies that never ceased to accompany +the political activity of the Tsardom. In the nineteenth +century there were two predatory powers in Europe, +Germany and Russia, and the latter was still a clumsy +theocracy from which law as a real restraint, religion as an +emanation of the individual conscience, education as a +State function, and social co-operation as a means of +latter-day progress had not disengaged themselves. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn1text">1</a>] It did them great harm. +Soon after I left Armenia most of my Armenian +friends were massacred, and not my friends only. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn2text">2</a>] Cf. <i>Contemporary Review</i>, July, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn3text">3</a>] Cf. <i>Contemporary Review</i>, June, 1904, p. 803. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn4text">4</a>] <i>Op. cit.</i> p. 812. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn5text">5</a>] <i>Ibidem.</i> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn6text">6</a>] Lobanoff-Rostoffsky died suddenly in August, 1896. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn7text">7</a>] September, 1896. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn8text">8</a>] It may not be superfluous to repeat +what I said before: that I do +not include the Japanese in these allusions +to Eastern or Asiatic races. +They stand in the forefront of civilised peoples +of the world, and whatever +changes may yet be in store for humanity, +are practically certain to be among +the most influential factors of ordered progress. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn9text">9</a>] Cf. <i>Secret Memoirs of Count Hayashi</i>, p. 94. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn10text">10</a>] Ukhtomsky had travelled with Nicholas +II. round the globe when that +prince was heir-apparent, +and the two were mistakenly supposed to be still +on special terms of friendship. +He was proprietor and editor of the oldest +newspaper in St. Petersburg, the +<i>St. Petersburg News</i> (<i>Vedomosti</i>), of the staff +of which I had been a member in the days +when it belonged to the Imperial +Academy of Sciences and was edited by Komaroff. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn11text">11</a>] The Petersburg Foreign Office. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn12text">12</a>] Count Lobanoff-Rostoffsky acknowledged +this to every one who had a +right to talk to him on the subject. +He said so quite plainly to the British +ambassador at St. Petersburg, Sir Nicholas O'Connor. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn13text">13</a>] Japan was constrained to retrocede +the Liaotung Peninsula in return for +an indemnity of thirty million taels. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn14"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn14text">14</a>] The Tsar himself told the story +to several of the grand dukes. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn15"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn15text">15</a>] The Russian Foreign Office. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn16"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn16text">16</a>] When negotiating with a British diplomatist +Muravieff confounded Dairen +(Dalny) and Port Arthur, and the result +was a very unpleasant quarrel. Of +geography the Foreign Secretary had not an inkling. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn17"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn17text">17</a>] Dubassoff himself told me the outlines +of the story afterwards. Port +Arthur was leased to Russia by a deed signed +on 9th April, 1898. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn18"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn18text">18</a>] The supposition to which the late +Count Hayashi gave circulation, that +a secret agreement existed all along +between Germany and Russia about Kiao +Chow and Port Arthur, is, so far as I know, +groundless. I can state positively +that neither Witte nor Muravieff nor Lamsdorff +knew anything about it, and +it runs counter to several well-established facts. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap13fn19"></a> +[<a href="#chap13fn19text">19</a>] It would be unfair to pass over in silence +another story which is absolutely +authenticated and which casts a doubt +on Muravieff's plea of justification. He +met the Russian minister to Hesse at Darmstadt +soon afterwards and boasted +he had had his way about Port Arthur in spite +of the omnipotent Witte, and +he added: "Things are not, however, +going as I hoped they would. My +intention was not to fortify Port Arthur, +but only to hoist the Russian flag +over it and leave a sentry in a sentry box +to guard it. Nothing more." But +Muravieff was one of those misers +who grudge the truth to everybody. To +a foreign diplomatist who hinted that +he had not spoken his thought to the +British government in the matter of Port Arthur +he answered, "Perhaps +not—but I gained a fine port for Russia thereby." +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap14"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P253"></a>253}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XIV +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE LAST STATESMEN OF THE TSARDOM +</p> + +<p> +Those who still imagine that individuals rather than the +character of the Tsarist State were responsible for those +predatory habits and the uniform bad faith which so long +rendered a trustworthy covenant between Russia and any +other government virtually impossible, would do well to +remember that, however widely individual ministers might +differ from each other, the system invariably over-ruled the +best intentions and vitiated the most straightforward conduct +of the statesman in charge. Thus Count Lamsdorff was +known to be a loyal and veracious man, of whom it could be +predicated that his assertions were true and his promises +sincere. But the former were always liable to be belied and +the latter to be violated by his master or his colleagues. And +he could not legally resign because the theory, in the +Tsardom, to which the practice inflexibly conformed was +that a minister is a civil officer whose commander-in-chief +is the Emperor and that without the Emperor's permission—or +in other words until he is dismissed from office—he may +not lay down his functions. +</p> + +<p> +Lamsdorff was an admirable Foreign Secretary, through +whose hands all the important State papers and into whose +ears all the momentous State secrets passed. He had served +under Giers who often consulted him, and under +Lobanoff-Rostoffsky and Shishkin. During Muravieff's tenure of +office he held the post of assistant minister. By them all he +was noted as a discreet, steady, hard-working, conscientious +official, whose thorough knowledge of French and extraordinary +habits of seclusion—Lamsdorff never married—rendered +him incomparably more useful than any of his +colleagues. On Muravieff's sudden death the Emperor +seemed inclined to give the succession to Izvolsky, who was +then Minister in Tokio, but had been in somewhat strained +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P254"></a>254}</span> +relations with the Russian Foreign Office. It appears that +when the famous invitation to all the governments of the +earth to meet at the Hague was sent out by the Tsar under +peculiar circumstances which will be unfolded in a later +chapter, the Foreign Minister, Muravieff, wrote to his cousin +Izvolsky, then minister in Munich, to ask him how the +grandiose idea was received by the Bavarians. Izvolsky—who +can, I am sure, bear out what I say—knew perfectly +that the Hague Conference appeal was a shameful fraud +which Muravieff and the Tsar were practising on the world, +and he refused to humour the vulgar trickster by feigning +to become ecstatic. He had the cruel frankness, therefore, +to throw cold water on Muravieff's sudden fervour and to +apprise him that in Bavaria the summons had been warmly +acclaimed only by hysterical women, Jews, and Socialists. +That response was resented by the vainglorious minister, +who soon afterwards transferred his cousin from Munich +to the Far East. M. Izvolsky, when he reached Yokohama, +on his way to Tokio, learned that Muravieff was dead. And +the Tsar at once turned his eyes towards Izvolsky, but did +not wish to create an accomplished fact without first +consulting Witte, who was very keen to have a colleague in the +Foreign Office with whom he could work in harmony. +</p> + +<p> +The great statesman, whose judgment of others was often +at fault, had a higher opinion of M. Izvolsky's personal +independence than of his statecraft and, what at that time +was much more to the point, he was extremely anxious that +Lamsdorff should take over the post, because he himself +would then, he believed, be able to exert a general directing +influence over the entire business of the Tsardom. As a +matter of fact Izvolsky would have served his purpose better +than Lamsdorff, because being independent he would not +have tolerated, as Lamsdorff did, the formation of a secret +governing board of adventurers behind his back, who +plunged the Empire into war. He would doubtless have +resigned or else obliged the Tsar to dismiss Bezobrazoff and +his confederates. Witte contrived to have devoted agents of +his own in the Ministries of War, the Marine, Justice, Education, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P255"></a>255}</span> +Railways, at court, in a word he possessed a powerful +lever for every State department. And what is much more +characteristic of the man, he had a small fleet of his own, a +railway of his own, an army of his own of which he was the +commander-in-chief, and he wanted to have Manchuria as +his own domain. He built his own city Dalny and lavished +enormous sums on laying it out. Disposing of all these means +of influencing the government, Witte fancied that he could +effectively hinder war and carry out his own scheme of +governance by speedy industrialisation, railway building, +technical and general education, and gradual political reforms. +This, then, was the answer which he returned to the Tsar: +</p> + +<p> +"If your Majesty desires a society man who is also an +official of experience I would suggest Count Delyanoff,[<a id="chap14fn1text"></a><a href="#chap14fn1">1</a>] but +if you prefer to have a diplomatist, I think you will find no +one as well fitted for the post as Count Lamsdorff. He is an +animated archive of State documents. His drawbacks are +an unconquerable aversion to society and all that this +implies, so that he will not be a dispenser of hospitality, but +even that drawback has ample compensations." +</p> + +<p> +Thereupon Lamsdorff was made minister, and from that +day onward he and Witte worked in rare harmony, the latter +being invariably consulted on all questions involving +important international issues. Here then were the two most +influential ministers in the Empire, at one on the Far +Eastern problem and how to tackle it, both resolved to do +everything in their power—Witte alone was thought to be +all-powerful—to hinder war, and yet the insignificant, +untrained youth who occupied the throne frustrated their +every effort with the utmost ease. To such a degree was +the Tsarist State true to its nature. One difference between +Witte and Lamsdorff consisted in the manner in which +they conceived their functions. Lamsdorff was wont to +say, "I endeavour to form a sound opinion on each of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P256"></a>256}</span> +the problems that are become or becoming actual and to +seek for a solution. I then lay my view before the Emperor +as lucidly and also as forcibly as I know how. And there +my duty terminates. For is the Tsar not an absolute +monarch? How and why then should I insist? Why ought +I to resign merely because I differ from him? It is my duty +to stay on and render him such services as he will +accept." Witte, on the other hand, was always insistent and often +dogmatic. He not only advised but drew on the future for +deterrents with which he strove to frighten the Tsar, and his +mode of carrying on a discussion was the reverse of courtly. +Only about one political question had the two friends +ever differed, and that was on the subject of Port Arthur. +When it became urgent Lamsdorff, who was only assistant +Foreign Secretary, held the same view as his chief, Muravieff, +and was opposed to the Minister of Finances. Subsequently +Witte taunted him with his mistake and pointed out the +pernicious consequences that had resulted from it, but +Lamsdorff answered, "I grant you it was an unwise step, +and if I had to deal with the subject in the light of what I +now know, I would certainly take sides with you. But I +cannot admit that it led to war with Japan. This war +was brought about by our impolitic endeavours to grab +Manchuria and Korea." +</p> + +<p> +But do what they might, honest, clear-sighted, and even +genial political spirits made no deep dent on the Tsarist +State. Witte with his ideal of peace resting upon economic +revival, growing industries, larger markets, educational +advance, and political training had just as little success as +Izvolsky, who boldly started from the assumption that Russia +was already a European community and that her policy, +home and foreign, ought to be shaped in accordance with +that—the nationalities being placated at home by reasonable +concessions in the direction of autonomy, and the international +intercourse of the Tsardom regulated in an equally +liberal sense by removing all causes of friction between +Russia and her neighbours and by striking up understandings +with the progressive nations of the world. The Tsardom +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P257"></a>257}</span> +remained to the end what it had been from the first: a +predatory community, and, as the schoolmen used to put +it, its action was congruous with its nature. +</p> + +<p> +When writing and working to bring about an Anglo-Russian +Entente, I took pains to set these facts candidly +before the British public in a series of review articles,[<a id="chap14fn2text"></a><a href="#chap14fn2">2</a>] and +among other expressions of my opinion, which events have +since confirmed, I stated that Russia's policy "is the resultant +of conditions of which some elude analysis, most are bound +up with her internal structure, and all are proof against +diplomatic reagents." ...[<a id="chap14fn3text"></a><a href="#chap14fn3">3</a>] For knowing the men who +successively presided over the Foreign Office I could not +ascribe to them, but only to the mechanism which they kept +going, the pertinacity of the assaults they made upon the +foundations of the European political system and upon such +ethical postulates as are commonly supposed to militate +in favour of its maintenance. In the space of two years +the Tsar's government twice deliberately hoodwinked the +British Foreign Office by means of the illusory hope of an +all-round settlement; the Foreign Minister, Lobanoff, availed +himself of a period of profound peace to organise a coalition +of the great powers against Great Britain, offering Egypt +to France and seeking to bribe Spain with Gibraltar; the +war minister, Kuropatkin, was once on the very point of +taking Herat, fighting the Afghans, and challenging their +British protectors, at another time he laid a trap to seize the +persons of the Emperor and Dowager Empress of China; +the acting minister, Shishkin, in obedience to an imperial +decree, was about to seize Constantinople and cut the +Gordian knot of the Near Eastern Question without a word +of warning to her Majesty's government; in January, 1904, +war with Great Britain was in sight, and in the summer of +the same year the littoral of the Baltic was hurriedly protected +against British warships, and arrangements in Turkestan +were made for an eventual campaign against India. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the aggressive attitude of the Tsardom towards the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P258"></a>258}</span> +European family of nations was seen to be a link in the chain +of politico-psychic necessity forged by its founders. It was +the resultant of a clearly defined set of conditions, not the +creation of the brain of a far-seeing statesman. Those who +fancied that Russia's diplomacy was uncommonly sagacious, +planning ages ahead the moves which would be made by remote +posterity, and crediting Peter the Great with what was +really the work of happy accident or the temporary success +of shifty ministers, mistook a popular legend for an historical +fact. The truth is that, like most other countries, Russia +possessed many diplomatists and very few statesmen, but, +unlike them, she advanced along certain unchanging lines +of action whoever might happen to be at the head of affairs. +It was an instance of <i>vis inertiæ</i>. For her policy was traced +by internal conditions, one of which moved her to withdraw +her main forces, moral and material, from the heart of the +Empire to its extremities. I gave frequent expression to this +conviction in bygone times. "Territorial expansion," I +wrote, "and not internal development is the law which +still shapes her course to-day. Hence the State grows in +extent while the well-being of the people remains stationary. +The government therefore is very wealthy, but the people +exceedingly poor. The State is ever annexing territory, +while the peasants complain that they lack soil to till. The +bulky bags of gold are lavishly spent in Korea, Manchuria, +and the uttermost ends of the globe, while the mooshik feels +the pinch of poverty. In a word, the pent-up energy of the +nation runs along the line of least resistance, which is that +of territorial expansion, and every general, admiral, +ambassador, and consul knows that he may safely try to score a +point in that direction. For if he succeed he will have +merited well of his government, and if he fail he will be +promptly disavowed. +</p> + +<p> +"One of the practical consequences of this state of things +is that the Russian nation appears to the outsider as an +agglomeration of distinct and hostile races, religions, and +interests, which have never been blended, and are loosely +linked together by obedience to one and the same head. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P259"></a>259}</span> +Hence the individual lacks not indeed patriotism, but that +particular and inspiring form of it which is engendered by +the consciousness that the State is to some extent, however +small, the work of his own hands. Thus the Armenian, the +Pole, the Finn, the Hebrew, does not feel himself a Russian +in the same sense in which his compatriot in the United +States feels himself an American. He is an Armenian or a +Pole first and a Russian afterwards. Even the real Russian +does not identify himself with the State, which grows rich +at his expense and pursues ideals after which he himself +has no desire to strive. +</p> + +<p> +"Now to merge all these heterogeneous elements in one +great nation, as the Americans have done, is an arduous +task, to be successfully tackled only by means from which +the government instinctively recoils. For such a change +presupposes the repeal not only of such special legislation +as at present exists for the different nationalities, Poles, +Caucasians, Jews, Finns, etc., but also the removal of class +privileges and disabilities, the spread of elementary, secondary, +and technical education, and the introduction of other +reforms which are eschewed as incompatible with the present +political fabric. All the surplus activity of the population, +therefore, as well as a large part of its financial resources, is +diverted into other channels and utilised for the benefit of +Manchus, Koreans, and other peoples who are neither Russian +nor Christian. The purely mechanical attempts at assimilation, +such as those which are associated with the names of +General Bobrikoff in Finland and Prince Galitzin in the +Caucasus, have hitherto produced only negative results, +estranging and embittering instead of conciliating and +uniting. Thus the Finns are less Russian in sentiment +to-day than they were a quarter of a century ago. The +Armenians, who were once regarded as zealous apostles of the +cause of the Christian Slav in Asia Minor, are deeply +distrusted by official Russia at present. And every new war +renders it more and more difficult to reduce the motley +elements of the population to a common denominator."[<a id="chap14fn4text"></a><a href="#chap14fn4">4</a>] +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P260"></a>260}</span> +</p> + +<p> +How utterly unavailing were the endeavours, not always +systematic, of Russia's genial statesman, Witte, to +harmonise the Asiatic spirit of the old and unchanging Tsardom +with the economic necessities and ethical tendencies of the +new epoch, and to draw its peoples within the pale of +European culture, is brought home to us with irresistible force +in the government's dealings with the Far Eastern States. +The outward and visible sign of the interest taken by the +Petersburg government in the destinies of those remote +countries was the resolve to treat the project of the +Trans-Siberian railways as vital, to build the line within a +relatively short period, and take it through Manchuria. This +was Witte's scheme, for which he soon obtained the approval +of Alexander III. The next link in the chain that +was to connect the interests of these two aggregates of +peoples was an understanding with China. The conversations +that led to it were conducted by the Russian statesman +with the display of all the means that strike the imagination +and paralyse the reasoning powers of the Asiatic. The +history of this bargaining is an epitome of the relations, +cultural and political, between the two. The shrewd, +epigrammatic, old-world sayings of the great Manchu leader, +who was drawn to Russia by golden chains and hypnotised +by fascinating spectres, contrasted with the bold, +business-like language of the illustrious Russian. Although the +Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time was the highly +gifted <i>causeur</i> Lobanoff-Rostoffsky, whom I had known +in Vienna, it was the bluff Finance Minister who carried on +the conversations. +</p> + +<p> +In his secret dispatches from Russia to the Tsung Li +Yamen[<a id="chap14fn5text"></a><a href="#chap14fn5">5</a>] of Pekin, Li Hung Chang put the matter very +simply before his government and sovereign. Here is one +telegram of his which was given to me soon after it had been +deciphered: "I received a visit[<a id="chap14fn6text"></a><a href="#chap14fn6">6</a>] from the Russian Finance +Minister, Witte, who developed his views on the subject of +the Manchurian railway and the route which, in his opinion, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P261"></a>261}</span> +had better be chosen on the score of cheapness and expediency. +Once built, he said, it would lessen the danger to be +apprehended from Japan, but China ought not to be charged +with its construction, because it would take her fully ten +years. I objected that if the choice of a company were left +to Russia she would construct it herself, and that a +precedent would be created for other powers to follow. He +answered that if we dissented China would never make the +railway, and that in any case Russia is minded to extend +her line to Nipchu, and then await a favourable moment, +but that she could not renew her offer to help China. This +view is Witte's, but his ability is made much of by the Tsar. +Lobanoff, whom I have met on two occasions, has never +broached this subject." +</p> + +<p> +The next telegram is dated three days later and runs thus: +"When an ambassador has once presented his credentials +it is not usual for him to receive a second audience. Yet the +Tsar has received me again in his private apartment, my +son, Li Chung Fang, being the only person present. The +pretext was his Majesty's wish to take over the presents. +And this is what he said, 'Russia owns vast territories which +are but thinly populated. Therefore she will not trespass +upon a foot of soil which is the property of others. +Moreover, the ties which bind her to China are very intimate. +Hence her only motive in desiring the junction of the +railways through Manchuria is the quick conveyance of troops +for the purpose of affording effectual help to China whenever +the latter country is hard set. Consequently, it is not +for Russia's advantage alone that the line would serve. On +the other hand, China's resources are not sufficient to +enable her to build the railway. If she handed over the +building concession to the Russo-Chinese Bank at Shanghai, +safeguarding her right of control by means of suitable +stipulations, no difficulties need be anticipated. Such things are +done in every country.' For those reasons the Tsar requested +me to weigh well the proposals, and to adopt +practical means to realise them. <i>He added that China could +not be sure that England and Japan would not brew trouble for +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P262"></a>262}</span> +her very soon, but she could at least enable Russia to come to +her assistance</i>.[<a id="chap14fn7text"></a><a href="#chap14fn7">7</a>] In the execution of my duty, I report +those words for the information of the crown." +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +<i>Li Hung Chang to the Tsung Li Yamen</i> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"27th April, 1896 (old style). +</p> + +<p> +"Lobanoff invited me to dine with him yesterday, and +I met Witte there. The building of the railway was put +forward by both ministers as a matter of extreme moment. +Witte maintained that it could be constructed in three years. +I urged that there were obstacles in the way, but he answered +that he would obviate them by putting on extra labour. +China, he said, lacks the money to build the Manchurian +line, and it would never be even begun if she were charged +with the task of making it. It would therefore be better if +the Russo-Chinese Bank undertook it. I answered that I +would refer the matter to the crown. Respecting the Tsar's +mention of help, Lobanoff told me that he had no +instructions from the crown, and that he would obtain them by +the 29th inst., and resume the conversation then. He thinks +that if China solicited the despatch of Russian troops, it is +she (China) who should undertake to provide them with +food. If China were in straits Russia should come to her +assistance, and vice versa. But the cardinal point was that +railway connection should be made through Manchuria, +and the convention once ratified, a secret treaty might then +be concluded...." +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +Witte's power of suasion had been exerted to some effect +before the next telegram was despatched. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +<i>Li Hung Chang to the Tsung Li Yamen</i> +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"2nd May, 1896 (old style). +</p> + +<p> +"Concerning the treaty, there is little in it to which +objection could be taken, Russia's motive being a desire to +establish friendly relations with China. If we refuse it, her +dissatisfaction will be deep and our interests will suffer in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P263"></a>263}</span> +consequence. Witte was the only person who witnessed +the private negotiations with Lobanoff. He gave me to read +the draft of a contract with the Russo-Chinese Company, +setting out that the capital must be Russian and Chinese +only, the merchants of other countries being eliminated +from the list of subscribers. China would receive an annual +sum of a quarter of a million dollars, whether the enterprise +showed a loss or a profit. There would also be paid to her an +initial sum of two million dollars. The line would be handed +back to her fifty or eighty years after it had been built." +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +It is instructive to note that one of Russia's principal +levers by which this apparently brilliant stroke of national +policy was effected was the fear of Great Britain and Japan +with which she successfully inspired China. Her sole object +in making the Manchurian railway was to shield China from +the infamous designs of the maritime powers, and her +resolve to build it herself was inspired by the wish to get it +done soon enough to counteract the aggressive moves of +Japan and Great Britain, who might brew trouble very soon, +Li Hung Chang was assured. And so anxious was Russia +to discharge this friendly office for China that, unless she +were permitted to do so, she threatened to join China's +enemy, Japan! +</p> + +<p> +I saw and possess the treaty to which these negotiations +led up. In connection with that document an amusing +incident cropped up which brought out Lobanoff's +easy-going unconcern and ready resource. Witte, who had +arranged everything with the Chinese statesman and kept +the Tsar informed of every move, at last had all the points +of the bargain in his head. Nicholas II. approved them, and +said that they were to be communicated to Lobanoff-Rostoffsky. +Witte accordingly called on his colleague and +explained to him in his emphatic staccato manner what it +was that he had induced Li Hung Chang to acquiesce in. +Lobanoff listened and, having heard, at once took a pen, +wrote for a few minutes, and then read out what was a +complete and carefully-worded treaty, divided exactly into the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P264"></a>264}</span> +requisite number of clauses. The first paragraph ran thus: +"This treaty is to come into force whenever in Eastern +Asia Japan violates Russian, Chinese, or Korean territory. +It is stipulated that in this event the two contracting powers +shall forthwith send all their sea and land forces then available +to the front, give mutual aid to each other, and likewise +assist each other to the best of their ability in providing +ammunition and war stores." On the following day +Lobanoff was received by the Tsar, and after the audience he +telephoned from the ministry to Witte saying, "His Majesty +fully approves the wording of the treaty. I am sending you +a copy." Witte, who never grudged any pains when engaged +in official work, scanned the text, and saw that the words +"whenever ... Japan violates" had been changed into +"whenever ... any power violates," etc. Witte objected +to the change for obvious reasons, and he went to the +Emperor and laid the case before him. Nicholas II. upheld +the objection, and said that it must have been merely an +oversight which he would have corrected. Just then +everybody's attention was engrossed by preparations for the +coronation of Nicholas II. and many things were out of +gear. Lobanoff meeting Witte told him that the Tsar had +apprised him of the mistake, but that he had since corrected +it. "The fact is," he explained, "I wrote 'Japan' at first, +but then I deliberately put the case more generally, but on +reflection I find your objection adequate." The day on +which the document was to be solemnly signed came round. +According to custom, a treaty is never read on this last day, +but is merely signed by the contracting parties. In this +case Lobanoff had to put his name first. And he was on the +point of taking his pen to do so when Witte cast his eye over +the open treaty and to his amazement noticed that the +wrong wording was in the new copy. He made a sign and +apprised his colleague. Lobanoff when told of it exclaimed, +"Is it possible? Well, I'll arrange it." He clapped his +hands for the servant, who came in; then turning to Li +Hung Chang, he said, "In our country it is a traditional +custom to eat always before we sign a treaty. It is supposed +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P265"></a>265}</span> +to bring luck to the nations concerned. With your +excellency's permission we shall now proceed to honour the +custom and also drink to the well-being of your great +country." Li Hung Chang bowed, and the party went into +the dining-room and sat down to lunch. By the time the +repast was over fresh copies of the treaty, this time properly +drafted, were on the table awaiting the signatories.[<a id="chap14fn8text"></a><a href="#chap14fn8">8</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Lobanoff-Rostoffsky had a decided turn and some +qualifications for historical research, and was one of the +best-informed, most cultured, and least serious of Russia's +foreign secretaries. He would sometimes conceive a grandiose +plan which resembled a huge joke and, like a child's balloon +brought too near the fire, would collapse on the first +attempt to realise it. It was he who was in power when I went +to Armenia disguised as a Russian general, after having +learned from my friend the "Russian statesman" what +the attitude of the Tsardom was going to be towards the +Turkish murderers of the Armenians of Sassun. My +descriptions of what I had seen in Armenia caused a stir in +England and France. Mr. Gladstone's last great speech at +Chester, devoted to the subject, held up the Sultan to the +contumely of the world. By that time it had become evident +that Sir Philip Currie's optimism was ill-founded, and that +Russia's intention was to treat the butchery as a domestic +matter between the Shadow of God and his subjects, and to +let the Porte have <i>carte blanche</i>. The British people, on +the other hand, were for compelling Abdul Hamid to draw +the line of despotism at the extermination of a race, and +their view was shared by a considerable number of +influential Frenchmen—De Pressensé among others—who were +bringing pressure to bear upon their government in order +to oblige it to take action. "Russia," who was then +identical with Lobanoff, entertained serious fears that France +might combine with Great Britain and thwart the Muscovite +plans in Asia Minor. Hence the minister resolved to +pour out the vials of his wrath upon the British as soon as +he should have an opportunity. Nor had he long to wait. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P266"></a>266}</span> +Public opinion in France was not strong enough to force +the hand of the government; the danger was dispelled, the +republic sided with the autocracy, and the Sultan decimated +the Christian Armenians with impunity. Then the Russian +Foreign Minister, determined to strike the iron while it was +hot, imagined a scheme for a continental coalition against +Great Britain. He would have satisfied France with the +hope of Egypt, Spain with the retrocession of Gibraltar, +and Russia was to have Constantinople and the command +of the Dardanelles. But the plan remained a <i>pium desiderium</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Thus, however profound the changes that might come +over the rest of Europe, Russia's craving for aggrandisement +was chronic and insatiable, and any man who rose up and +undertook to gratify it, whether he was a narrow-minded +minister, an army officer, or a simple bureaucrat, +represented the Tsardom. I commented thirteen years ago on +the significant fact "that Russia must pursue a policy of +expansion in virtue of the sum total of her internal conditions, +and that she is represented at a given moment by the +man or men who are most effectually contributing to the +realisation of that policy."[<a id="chap14fn9text"></a><a href="#chap14fn9">9</a>] For some years General +Kuropatkin was one of these individuals, and during that period +he forced upon his colleagues a forward policy of such an +aggressive character that pursued by any power but Russia +it would have soon culminated in war. It was he, for +instance, who insisted on the seizure of Port Arthur against +the advice of the majority of the ministers whom the Tsar +had consulted, and it was his pleading which was finally +successful. Thus the views of the other official representatives +of the Empire, some of whom were men of insight and +experience, seemed but as dust in the balance when weighed +against the opinion of the man who was bent on helping +his master, the ruler of one-sixth of the earth, to govern +one-fifth. While his star was yet in the ascendant, he +noted without alarm or misgiving the symptoms of the +storm which the Boxers were preparing. Indeed, Catholic +missionaries, who are well-informed, asserted that the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P267"></a>267}</span> +Muscovite authorities were well aware of the troubles +brewing in China, and watchful subjects of the dowager +empress of the celestial kingdom aver that Buddhist priests, +who owed allegiance to the Tsar, went about from place +to place fomenting the discontent and inflaming the passions +of the people. Hence Russia being the friend might play the +profitable rôle of onlooker. It was she who had warned the +unsophisticated Chinese against the secret schemes of Great +Britain, Japan, and the United States, and it was from her +troops that the Manchu dynasty and the Chinese people +would eventually expect and receive timely succour. But +when it turned out that the Boxers were making no +invidious distinctions between Muscovy and the maritime +powers, Russia was alarmed. +</p> + +<p> +General Kuropatkin, whose notions of China and the +Chinese were unobscured by a knowledge of confusing +facts, elaborated a scheme of policy towards that country +which was accepted and partly carried out by Nicholas II. +He was wont to assure his friends that the periodic popular +movements against foreigners there might be aptly likened +to troublesome symptoms in the arm of a human being +arising from the presence of a splinter in the brain. Remove +the splinter and the jerky movements in the arm will +forthwith cease. Now the Manchu dynasty, he would add, is the +splinter, and if Russia once seizes that, the administrative +machine will work quite smoothly, responding to the +slightest touch of the St. Petersburg government. And the +practical corollary which the general drew from this theory +was that Pekin must be taken and the emperor and empress +seized. This was the "splinter theory" to which he won +over the Foreign Minister, Muravieff, and the Tsar, with the +result that Russian troops were despatched to co-operate with +those of the other powers against Taku and Pekin. If the +wily dowager empress and the weak-willed Bogdykhan had +not prudently quitted the capital in time, the course of their +lives, as well as that of Chinese history, would have run +very differently. But when the Russian forces reached their +destination, the "splinter" had worked its way to a distant +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P268"></a>268}</span> +part of the body politic, and was beyond the reach of the +Muscovite surgeon. +</p> + +<p> +Baffled in her attempt to get hold of the heads of the +Manchu dynasty, Russia reverted to her traditional policy +of friendship for the Middle Empire. She withdrew her +embassy to Tientsin, in accordance with the wishes of the +Chinese court, urged the other powers to follow her example, +protested her affection for China, and solemnly declared that +she neither needed nor coveted any territory there, and by +way of proving her disinterestedness promised to evacuate +Manchuria. These tranquillising assurances were repeated +after the Anglo-German agreement was concluded on the +16th October, 1900. +</p> + +<p> +One of the lessons which this seemingly wavering policy +teaches—the only lesson which concerns diplomacy at +present—is that whatever else might change, the fundamental +policy of Russia was immutable. +</p> + +<p> +So powerful was the Tsarist system and so well equipped +for the gratification of its rapacious instincts that any +individual, however insignificant or contemptible, was able, with +its alliance, to nullify the most strenuous exertions of a genial +statesman to transform it congruously with the requirements +of the new age. Now of all foreign secretaries, Muravieff +was unquestionably the most uneducated and shallow-brained. +He could not write half a dozen sentences, French +or Russian, without making egregious grammatical or +orthographical mistakes. He could not carry on conversation for +ten minutes without displaying the pettiness of his mind +and the coarseness of his wit. About international relations +his ideas were misty and incoherent. Yet this cross between +a ninny and a buffoon frustrated Witte's well-laid scheme of +Far Eastern policy with the help of Kuropatkin, the Minister +for War. "In some ways," Witte told me, "Muravieff +reminded one of the German Chancellor Von Bülow, but I +need hardly add that cultural requirements did not +constitute one of them. Indeed, it was well nigh impossible to +talk with him on any serious topic. Not only did he lack +breadth of view, but he lacked cultural varnish, working +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P269"></a>269}</span> +capacity, industry, knowledge of languages, everything. His +one qualification for the office was his apprenticeship at +Copenhagen, but that was considered adequate, and he was +set over Russia. It was he who marred my Far Eastern +policy; not he alone, of course, but in league with others. +</p> + +<p> +"My intention was to take the railway through Manchuria +to Vladivostok, and my objects were primarily +economic, not political. That the latter would eventually +follow from the former is obvious, but I set my face against +annexations, wars, and other acts calculated to culminate in +these. I give little for mere shadows. I contrived to carry +the Emperor with me until Muravieff arrived on the scene +and then a new constellation appeared with him. They +induced the Tsar to take the railway south to Port Arthur +and thus to make the trans-Siberian a manifest instrument +of invasion. You know the sequel. Remember that within +a twelvemonth of this impolitic decision Russian troops +were being landed at Port Arthur,[<a id="chap14fn10text"></a><a href="#chap14fn10">10</a>] and Muravieff issued his +famous communication to the powers respecting the needs +and the means of securing general peace and disarmament. +I need not tell you that neither that document nor the idea it +embodies was Muravieff's, still less, alas! had the alleged +aim anything to do with the real purpose of the invitation +thus solemnly sent out to the nations of the earth." +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t3"> +<i>The Hague Conference Mystification</i> +</p> + +<p> +It is always instructive and sometimes unedifying to trace +momentous and lasting reforms to their veritable sources. +The action and its sequel linked by the causal nexus sometimes +turn out to be two ethical contraries. The revelation +may be calculated to provide pabulum for the cynic and +inspire the unbiassed with a feeling akin to contempt for the +past. To strip such a seemingly noble act as the convocation +of the world's first peace parliament of those associations of +moral and humanitarian sentiments which had raised it to +high rank among the achievements of the nineteenth century, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P270"></a>270}</span> +savours of wanton iconoclasm. But history has to do with +facts, not romance, and, where the former are well established, +cannot choose but assign to them their proper place +among the factors of progress. +</p> + +<p> +Concerning the origin of the first Hague Conference, the +period of public deception has lasted longer than one would +have thought possible, considering that several years ago[<a id="chap14fn11text"></a><a href="#chap14fn11">11</a>] +I did my best to disabuse the world, to reveal the prosaic +motive underlying it, and to set forth the order of events as +they occurred. But mankind prefers romance to reality, +poetry to history. <i>Mundus vult decipi; decipiatur</i>. +Enthusiastic publicists in London, Paris, and Vienna lavished +tributes of unmeasured praise upon the Russian Tsar and +commemorated gratefully, in passing, one or other of his +supposed inspirers, and in particular my old friend Jean +Bloch and the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. But all +agreed that whoever may have created and diffused the +subtle atmosphere of enthusiasm for lofty and generous aims +which must have pervaded the imperial court of Peterhof, it +was the noble-minded sovereign who lived and worked in +its centre, that focussed the forces of righteousness in the +world, and gave them their full momentum. +</p> + +<p> +From this pleasing picture the reality was, alas, widely +different. It reminds me of the dastardly bomb-thrower who +when carrying an infernal machine to blow up a palace +dropped it on the doorstep, was knocked senseless by the +explosion, was then rescued, taken care of, healed, and +signally rewarded because it was charitably assumed that +he was a passer-by who having noticed the explosive laid +down or seen it smoking had risked his life in an heroic +attempt to throw it into the street. What happened at the +court of Nicholas II. that Eastertide of 1898 was briefly this: +</p> + +<p> +At the beginning of the year, the Tsar, despite the protests +of his Finance Minister, Witte, had, as we saw, despatched +a squadron to Port Arthur under the pretext that +China must be protected against her enemies. In truth, +China's spokesmen were actually and vainly beseeching the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P271"></a>271}</span> +Petersburg Foreign Office to display its friendship in some +less aggressive shape. Russian marines were landed in Port +Arthur, the anger of the Japanese was raised to boiling point, +and the civilised world caught a glimpse of the hypocrisy and +perfidy of the Tsardom. Storm clouds hung black and dense +on the horizon. China was then the "sick man" whose +demise, supposed to be impending, aroused the keenest +interest and brought out the least creditable traits of national +character. True, the British House of Commons had passed +a resolution affirming that the independence of China was +a postulate of vital moment to British commerce, but the one +element that could have lent weight to such a declaration—readiness +to fight for the principle involved—being absent, +continental politicians merely shrugged their shoulders and +passed on. The Tsardom had frightened and wheedled +and bribed China into granting her a lease of Port Arthur—the +ice-free port on the Pacific—France had followed suit +and extorted concessions in Yunnan and along the Yangtse. +Even Italy was itching for a coaling station, a railway +compact, or some other trophy to show that she too was a factor +in the larger concerns of the globe. Spain and the United +States were waging a newspaper war against each other, and +their respective governments were at their wits' end to hold +popular passions in check. In South Africa the air was thick +with sinister omens and Kruger's policy, spontaneous or +constrained, was embittering the foreigners and disquieting +the government of Great Britain. The French nation was +riven in twain by the historic Dreyfus trial which had divided +the people into clericals and atheists, nationalists and +republicans, Dreyfusards and anti-Dreyfusards. +</p> + +<p> +The calmest, most active, and most thriving populations +were those of the Central Empires. But their governments +were industriously preparing for the "Day" when it would +rain metal. Germany, ever ahead of the world in things +military—and not only in these—had successfully completed +the laborious and costly process of manufacturing new and +improved artillery and supplying it to the army. This was a +great stride forward in the race of armaments, and it was +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P272"></a>272}</span> +also a warning to all the other competitors in the game of +war preparations. Russia and Austria, true to their +reputations and their past, were behindhand. Neither empire had +made any improvement in field or heavy guns. They were +both alive to the necessity of imitating the Germans, but +unlike the frog in the fable, that sought to blow itself out +to the size of the bull and burst in the exertion, they hesitated +and would fain have postponed the sacrifices involved. +</p> + +<p> +One day, Count Muravieff, the most empty-headed of the +Tsar's advisers, who had succeeded M. Shishkin at the +Russian Foreign Office, called on Witte who, like a masculine +Fate, was spinning the threads of Russia's existence in +his finance department. They were a curious pair, men of +two distinct types, one might almost say of two different +species, the one form without substance, the other amorphous +reality. Witte had conceived an intense feeling, more akin to +contempt than to hatred, for the nonentity who had upset his +Far Eastern plans and gone far to mar his general policy +without comprehending either. Muravieff produced a document, +waved it theatrically before his colleague, said that it +had been drawn up by the War Minister, Kuropatkin, read +with close attention by the Emperor, and sent on for the +Finance Minister to peruse and report on. +</p> + +<p> +"I suppose it is a demand for more money for war +materials?" Muravieff smiled but said nothing. "Unless +it is for something necessary I really cannot and will not give +another rouble." Muravieff muttered something about the +necessity of breaking the eggs if you wish to make an +omelette. Witte took the paper. He had guessed aright: +it was a roundabout demand for a very large sum of money. +The form in which it was put seemed to him at first but the +sugar-coating of the pill. Witte frowned as he read the +report: France and Germany, Kuropatkin wrote, having +stolen a march on the other powers by providing their armies +with the improved guns, Austria and Russia could not and +would not lag behind. But the cost was deterrent, and +was all the more to be dreaded that other and heavier +expenses would have to be incurred very shortly, almost +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P273"></a>273}</span> +simultaneously. Neither Russia nor Austria is wealthy. +The populations of both empires are heavily enough taxed +already. They and their respective governments would +therefore, no doubt, welcome any arrangement in virtue of +which they could escape the taxation which the re-arming +of the national forces would entail. But how could one +devise an effective plan? Could not one hit upon some +simple compromise that would commend itself to both +governments all the more readily that the two empires belong +so to say to opposite camps? Whether you multiply or divide +both the divisor and the dividend by the same number, the +quotient undergoes no change. Apply that proposition to the +case in point. Whether Russia and Austria go to the expense +of supplying their armies with the improved guns or leave +their artillery as it is, the final result, if the two groups of +powers went to war, would be the same. Why then should +they not agree between themselves to keep the money in +their respective treasuries? If we in Russia plunge into the +expense, the Austrians will vie with us and neither they nor +we shall have scored an advantage over the other, yet we +shall both be much the poorer. The Minister of Finance, +who is the money-provider of the Empire and has an +interest in keeping down its expenditure, may be able to +utilise this suggestion. +</p> + +<p> +That was the gist of Kuropatkin's message to the Emperor. +</p> + +<p> +Witte replied with some warmth that the suggestion was +not practical and ought not to have been made. "Just think +it out," he said. "As an abstract proposition, Austria and +Russia can well be imagined falling in with General +Kuropatkin's expedient. But put the invitation in a concrete +shape to the official representatives of the Austrian +government and try to picture to yourself what would follow. +Suspicion would at once be aroused as to the real motive of +the device. Do you fancy they would accept our explanation? +Nowise. They would infer either that our impecuniosity +bordered on insolvency, and therefore that they could not +do better than intensify it by obliging us to invest in the +improved artillery, or else they would conjecture that we +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P274"></a>274}</span> +were preparing to embark on some unavowed and unavowable +enterprise directed against them, for which funds were +needed, and that one of our methods of raising them was by +economising on the new ordnance. In neither case would +they close with our offer, and in either we should have +injured our credit abroad. These are some of the reasons +why I cannot entertain General Kuropatkin's project +favourably. I need hardly add that if the defences of the +Empire really call for the outlay in question, the War +Minister has only to say so and I, as Finance Minister, will +find the money and eschew all dangerous expedients for +getting it." +</p> + +<p> +Witte while thus talking turned the subject over in his +mind and contemplated it from various angles of vision, +giving utterance to his thoughts as they arose. He was +anxious to save as much of the public money as he could, +but it was impossible to allow his government to approach +the statesmen of the Ballplatz with a suggestion as puerile +as that framed by Kuropatkin. That was self-evident. How +then could the Tsar's wish to act upon that suggestion and +his own desire to economise be realised? That was the +problem, and it must be solved on the lines—considerably +widened if needs were, but not otherwise changed—of the +War Minister's scheme. "In other words," Witte +explained to me, "I knew that what was wanted was some +ruse by means of which we could get Austria to stay her +hand and discuss disarmament in lieu of investing in the +improved gun. Within these limits then I had to work. I +walked up and down the room for some time in silence, +pondering the different aspects of the matter and giving +utterance to my half-formed thoughts as they emerged into +the realm of consciousness. They centred naturally and +necessarily around my old pet idea of a league of pacific +nations vying with each other in trade, industry, science, +arts, inventions, and I said to myself that even if the +opportunity had not yet come to draw nearer to that, there would +be no harm in setting the powers talking about it. And that +started me." +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P275"></a>275}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Witte's ideal, I may say in passing, was not identical +with the League of Nations of the latter-day socialists, +nor was his way of achieving it their way. But a +never-fading cloud-picture in that mechanico-mystical style, +rudimentary and defective if you will, not comprehensive +enough for an ideal, nor thorough enough for a viable +organism, and with all the tangled roots of the militarist +order of things about it, but still a generous dream capable +of drawing him onward and upward to a better political +or social ordering than the one over which he presided, +floated constantly in his mind. I cannot assert that it +had much influence over his policy, indeed I know that it +had not. He was much too shrewd a statesman, too clever +a judge of human character, to be hastily sanguine about the +coming of the League of Nations. He was not sufficiently +naïve to imagine that in the minds even of the foremost +peoples of the earth consciousness of their common +paramount interest in a stable peace and a compact system of +international law was sufficiently sharp to nerve them to +the sacrifices involved in political consolidation and social +advance. Moreover, being conversant with the potent +elements of obstruction in his own country and in Germany, +he was patient and not over-hopeful. +</p> + +<p> +Witte grudged every rouble he had to spend on +armaments.[<a id="chap14fn12text"></a><a href="#chap14fn12">12</a>] He loathed the very name of war and was never +weary of denouncing it. "It is my conviction," he wrote in +my wife's album, "that the burden of armaments without +limitations may become more irksome than war itself." To +assert that the groundwork of his policy was the avoidance +of war does not commit me to approval of his political aims, +or of the means by which he would fain have accomplished +them. His most vigorous exertions were made to safeguard +peace, and the war that first marked his failure also ruined +his career and undid his whole life-work. +</p> + +<p> +Pursuing the train of reflections started by Kuropatkin's +memorandum, the Finance Minister reflected that if in lieu +of saving a few million pounds on their artillery for the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P276"></a>276}</span> +benefit of two needy peoples it were possible, as it would be +one day, to economise the countless sums of money that +were being annually squandered on armaments generally, +then the game would indeed be worth the candle. But all +that could be done in his lifetime would be to prepare men's +minds for the general reception of these notions, and in +particular for the axiom that the one deadly enemy to +cultural advance is militarism. Witte did not deny the fine +side of patriotism, nor would he have done aught to weaken +the sentiment, neither would he leave his own country +inadequately prepared for the war which he knew was coming. +"But I often think," he said, turning to Muravieff, "that +the unexampled prosperity of the United States of America +is a direct effect of its immunity from militarism. Suppose +each of the States there were independent as are those of +Europe, would the revenue of North America exceed its +expenditure as it does to-day? Would trade and industry +flourish there as they now do? On the other hand, suppose +Europe could contrive to disband the bulk of her land +forces, do with a mere nominal army, and confine her defences +to warships, would she not thrive in an unprecedented +way and guide the best part of the globe? Can that ever be +accomplished? Who knows?" +</p> + +<p> +The conversation ended thus: "Does his Majesty wish +the money for the new weapon to be provided, or is it on +the War Minister's plan that he lays the chief stress?" "He +desires that General Kuropatkin's scheme should be +discussed in council. It has taken his fancy. And he asked +me to get your general impression in advance. I am sure he +means to carry out the idea in some shape, and he hopes +you will design a practical one." "Well, in that case," Witte +remarked with a smile, "say that I approve the principle +underlying it, but I would apply it not to Austria and +Russia only, but to all the nations of the globe. In this way +we should avoid invidious distinctions and leave no ground +for misgivings. A proposal of this kind might be addressed +to all nations, great and small; it would be welcomed by +many. Whether the few would put off ordering the new +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P277"></a>277}</span> +artillery is another matter. But if that be the theme to which +I am to compose variations, you have them now. There can +be none other." +</p> + +<p> +Muravieff then left, and Witte said no more about the +matter until he attended the special council at which Count +Lamsdorff as Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs appeared +beside Count Muravieff. As soon as General Kuropatkin +had read and explained his project, Witte criticised it +sharply. A lively debate ensued in the course of which the +two Ministers of Foreign Affairs endorsed Witte's view +unreservedly, whereupon the scheme was negatived and dropped. +</p> + +<p> +Then, to the amazement of those present, Muravieff calmly +took out a sheet of paper and read the rough draft of a +circular to the powers on the subject of the limitation of +armaments. It was Witte's proposal put in diplomatic phraseology +by the Foreign Office. It was approved unanimously by all +present. Witte recognised the fruit of his suggestion, and +smiled at the humanitarian wrappings which had thus been +vouchsafed to Kuropatkin's simple ideas, for he knew that +the whole scheme was a piece of hypocrisy and guile. That +rough draft—in its finished form the work of Lamsdorff—was +ratified by the Tsar and subsequently[<a id="chap14fn13text"></a><a href="#chap14fn13">13</a>] handed to all +the foreign diplomatic representatives accredited to the court +of St. Petersburg. Soon afterwards Witte, when making +his usual weekly report to the Emperor, behaving like +one of the sceptical Roman augurs, paid him a handsome +tribute for the warmth with which he had taken up +the great humanitarian idea. And Nicholas II. accepted +the tribute as well deserved. In this first circular the object +of the conference was described as "a possible reduction of +the excessive armaments which weigh upon all nations." And +the way to effect it was "by putting a limit to the +progressive development of the present armaments." But in +view of the recent improvements in artillery, of the +uncertain situation, and of disturbing elements which continued +to agitate the political spheres,[<a id="chap14fn14text"></a><a href="#chap14fn14">14</a>] the Russian government +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P278"></a>278}</span> +took no further steps for a while. People hoped or feared +that the matter would not be proceeded with further. But +after some months' reflection and groping, the programme +was modified, and instead of calling for a reduction of +armaments, all that was now asked for was the maintenance +of the budgetary sums allotted for them at a level which for +a certain term of years must not exceed that of the year +1898-9. +</p> + +<p> +There would in all probability have been no Hague +Conference if General Kuropatkin had asked in the ordinary +way for the necessary credit to enable him to follow the +example of his German colleague and supply the Russian +army with the new gun. It is equally probable that if Witte +had simply accepted or rejected the War Minister's suggestion +of a "deal" with Austria, the peace conference would +not have been convoked or thought of. With a touch of +that irony which generally accompanied his frank talks +about the Tsar with an intimate friend like myself, Witte, +who was sentimental rather than cynical, remarked that the +Tsar's peace proposal was one of the greatest mystifications +known to history, and at the same time a beneficent stimulus. +However high we may rate the contributory causes of the +peace movement inaugurated by Nicholas II., history will +retain the decisive fact that the motive of its prime author +was to hoodwink the Austrian government and to enable +the Tsar's War Minister to steal a march on his country's +future enemies. +</p> + +<p> +This is not the place to pass in review the proceedings at +the first Hague Conference, the inner history of which I +outlined at the time. It rendered real statesmen, of whom +there were two still living, one undeniable service: it +enabled them to see that the abyss between the two groups +of people into which the civilised world is divided was +unmeasured—perhaps immeasurable. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn1text">1</a>] A Russianised Armenian, shallow, snobbish, +and time-serving. He was +my chief when I occupied the Chair of Comparative +Philology at the University +of Kharkoff, but I had known him through +Kossowicz and Philippoff +many years before, when he occupied the post +of Director of the Imperial +Library. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn2text">2</a>] Cf., for instance, the article entitled +"The Obstacles to an Anglo-Russian +Convention," <i>Contemporary Review</i>, June and July, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn3text">3</a>] <i>Contemporary Review</i>, July, 1904, p. 41. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn4text">4</a>] <i>Contemporary Review</i>, July, 1904, p. 45. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn5text">5</a>] The Chinese equivalent of our Foreign Office. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn6text">6</a>] On 21st April, 1896 (old style). +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn7text">7</a>] It ought to be superfluous to state that the italics are mine. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn8text">8</a>] This happened in Moscow. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn9text">9</a>] <i>Contemporary Review</i>, July, 1904, p. 59. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn10text">10</a>] In the year 1897. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn11text">11</a>] In the year 1907. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn12text">12</a>] So did his successor in the Finance Ministry, Kokofftseff. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn13text">13</a>] On the 24th August, 1898. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap14fn14"></a> +[<a href="#chap14fn14text">14</a>] Cf. Count Muravieff's communication +to the ambassador of the French +Republic (11th January, 1899). +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap15"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P279"></a>279}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XV +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +RUSSIA IN THE FAR EAST +</p> + +<p> +No one will be surprised to learn that after these interesting +exchanges of view on a burning topic, which were thus +occasioned by an unavowable motive, the rulers of the +Tsardom wended their way blithely in the same direction +as before, bestowing their immediate attention on the Far +East under the safe guidance of Witte. +</p> + +<p> +The Manchurian branch of the railway was begun in the +year 1899. The Minister of Communications, Prince Khilkoff, +was on the point of travelling from Petersburg to Paris +via Siberia and China, and had asked the Tsar's permission +for me to accompany him and describe my impressions. +The imperial authorisation was hardly given, however, when +the Boxer insurrection broke out, sections of the railway +were destroyed by the rebels, and our plans were upset. I +then received permission to travel over all Central Asia, at +first in a carriage to myself, which I was allowed to have +coupled to any trains I wished, and afterwards in a special +train for myself, which served me as bedroom, saloon, and +kitchen. In this way I visited most places of note in Central +Asia, including Askhabad, Merv, Bokhara, and Samarkand. +After the Boxer rebellion Russian troops occupied +Manchuria. But yielding to China's solicitations, seconded +by Witte, the Tsar consented to a treaty[<a id="chap15fn1text"></a><a href="#chap15fn1">1</a>] recognising +Manchuria as an integral part of China and promising to +withdraw his troops gradually from that province, beginning +at Mukden, which was to be evacuated within six months, +and completing the operation before the expiry of eighteen +months from the date on which the convention was signed. +Why that promise was not kept, and what came of its +breach, are matters of common knowledge. But it was not +General Kuropatkin who contributed to hinder the evacuation +of Manchuria or the settlement of the dispute with +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P280"></a>280}</span> +Japan. On this subject his views were orthodox, for in the +meanwhile the scales had fallen from his eyes and he saw +the error of his former ways. He, and the Foreign +Secretary—Count Lamsdorff—and Witte did what they could to +have the Russian troops recalled and the dispute with Japan +satisfactorily settled, but they failed. For they had <i>ipso facto</i> +ceased to represent Russia and were no longer able even to +influence her policy. +</p> + +<p> +With the utmost difficulty Witte and his fellow-workers, +of whom by this time Kuropatkin was one, contrived by +January, 1903, to get some Russian troops recalled from +the western part of Manchuria, but thereupon the evacuation +of that province ceased. Moreover, Fenhwan and other +points were seized. The Japanese were alarmed, for by this +time it had leaked out that the source from which this policy +of aggression emanated was an obscure group of irresponsible +friends of the Tsar, including Bezobrazoff, Abaza, and +later on Admiral Alexeyeff. These men had obtained a +lumber concession on the Yalu in which certain of the grand +dukes and at last, it is alleged, the Tsar himself took shares, +and this was to be used for the twofold purpose of private +enrichment and territorial aggrandisement. Hence Japan's +claims were to be denied brazenly and unflinchingly, for it +was taken for granted that, come what might, she would not +attempt to enforce them by an appeal to arms. That axiom +lay at the very root of the Tsar's policy. +</p> + +<p> +For many years Nippon had been eager for an all-round +understanding with Muscovy. But her efforts, which were +sincere and strenuous, proved fruitless. It is a well-known +fact, publicly admitted by fair-minded Russian politicians, +that the government of Tokio had left nothing undone to +merit the friendship of Muscovy. The advisers of the +Emperor of Japan desired an agreement; the press warmly +advocated it; the people would have enthusiastically welcomed +it. But Russia, carrying out a policy of aggrandisement, +which was forced upon her by the internal condition +of things, repelled Japan's advances. Thus she insisted on +reserving the markets of the Far East for her industry, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P281"></a>281}</span> +which could not yet be said to exist. Again, she spent large +sums, which might have helped her own needy peasants of +the centre, in order to found a needless school for young +Japanese at Khakodate; she despatched naval officers to +instruct and train the Mikado's subjects in naval matters, +and incurred other expenses in order to prepare the way for +acquiring markets. And yet while the treaty ports of Japan +were filled with the trading vessels of the principal maritime +powers, Russia's commercial flag was absent. +</p> + +<p> +At this conjuncture the Tsar's blinding antipathy to Witte +became intense, owing to his determination personally to +conduct Russia's Far Eastern business free from the irksome +expostulations of that importunate statesman. And in +this resolve he was encouraged by the three greedy parasites +who formed a secret government of their own on which he +conferred power without responsibility. Witte endeavoured +to have these anonymous instruments of the Emperor +dragged from their obscurity and obliged to accept +responsible posts which corresponded to the nature and degree +of their activity. But the Tsar refused to give him +satisfaction, and the course of the Russo-Japanese negotiations +and of the international crisis in which it issued became +entirely independent of the words and acts of the legally +constituted government of the Tsar. +</p> + +<p> +That was not the only historic occasion on which +Nicholas II. intrigued deliberately against his own official +government. And yet he would not allow the responsible +ministers, whom he thus degraded to the level of lay-figures, +to retire with dignity into private life. Witte often answered +my question why he did not tender his resignation by urging +that the theory of autocratic government excluded any such +wilful act on the part of a public servant of the State so long +as he possessed the confidence of the Tsar. Whether his +impressibility to this motive was as strong as he intimated +may well be doubted. When he was ousted from the post of +Finance Minister on account of his opposition to the policy +that entailed the Japanese war, his friend, Count Lamsdorff, +relied on the same plea and remained. His colleague and +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P282"></a>282}</span> +friend, Prince Obolensky, urged him to tender his resignation +and accompany Witte into private life. "If you stay +on," he argued, "you will gain little or nothing, for you too +have steadily discountenanced the Emperor's policy and he +will rid himself of you after the war that is coming." But +Lamsdorff answered, "Don't worry about me. The course +I am taking will, one day, be justified by the documents I +possess. You will then see that I am right in staying +on." "Where are they?" asked Obolensky. "They are all +stored away in my house in apple-pie order. But they will +not be published during my lifetime." +</p> + +<p> +After the war Lamsdorff was brusquely thrust aside +by the Tsar and Izvolsky promoted from the Legation at +Copenhagen to take his place. This ungenerous treatment +practically killed the Foreign Secretary, who soon afterwards +left for San Remo and survived the blow for only a brief +spell. And the justificative documents, where are they? +Nicholas II. had a paralysing fear of tell-tale State papers, +and having learned that his late Secretary for Foreign Affairs +possessed archives full of them, despatched Prince +Dolgoruky and M. Savinsky to take possession of them, examine +them, and send in a report on their nature.... And they +have never since been heard of. +</p> + +<p> +But to return to the Manchu-Korean difficulties. Japan, +now seriously alarmed at the signs and portents noticeable +in Russia, was leaving no stone unturned to discover whither +her policy tended and how to ward off the conflict that was +heaving in sight. And the perplexity of the statesmen of +Tokio was all the greater that they at first took it for granted +that reasons of State and solid motives of national utility +would alone account for the strange oscillations of the +imperial government. In vain Witte besought the Tsar to stay +his hand, let the Yalu lumber concessions go, and arrange a +<i>modus vivendi</i> with Japan. In vain Kuropatkin, committing +his views to paper, stated that the provisional occupation +of Manchuria would become definitive, Japan's misgivings +would be confirmed, the armaments of both empires would +be increased, and the only possible outcome would be realised, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P283"></a>283}</span> +and all for the sake of a few "districts in Korea which have +no serious importance for Russia."[<a id="chap15fn2text"></a><a href="#chap15fn2">2</a>] In one of his memorials +Kuropatkin wrote frankly: "The success or failure of a few +enterprises in Manchuria and Korea, timber, coal, and other +concerns, is much too unimportant for Russia to risk a war +for the sake of them," and he went the length of putting the +question whether it would not be the height of wisdom to +return Kwantung, Port Arthur, and Dalny to China, in order +to keep clear of war. The general's conversion was thorough. +</p> + +<p> +But the political freebooters had an easy task to defeat +the Tsar's ministers and to have treaties and promises rated +on a level with waste paper, for they now had the support of +the minister Plehve, the rising star of the Tsardom. Abaza +in one of his telegrams[<a id="chap15fn3text"></a><a href="#chap15fn3">3</a>] tells Bezobrazoff of a talk he had +with the Tsar, and concludes: "In the course of the +conversation the Emperor emphatically expressed his most +absolute confidence in you." That was the pith of the matter. +The crisis was of the monarch's own making, and the pair +of intriguers, to whom Alexeyeff was afterwards added, in +their quest of pelf plunged the country into a war which cost +hundreds of thousands of human lives and led to the collapse +of the Tsardom before provision could be made for the +organism that was to succeed it. +</p> + +<p> +In one respect, however, my opinion runs counter to that +of some Russian publicists who hotly maintained that +Nicholas II., in company with the three money grabbers +who carried out his behests, "unflinchingly and +consciously led Russia into the war" while hypocritically +asserting his resolve to make his reign an era of peace.[<a id="chap15fn4text"></a><a href="#chap15fn4">4</a>] I +am convinced that the Tsar deemed himself to be what +his foreign friends had proclaimed him, "the mainstay of +the world's peace," and that so long as he was averse to +war no other power would dare to risk it. Few men of his +temperament who had been continually assured, as he had, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P284"></a>284}</span> +that he was the Vicar of God and the recipient of special +divine grace would have thought or felt much differently. +His tearful emotion when the conflict broke out and +confronted him with disaster bears out this theory. At the same +time, I know for a fact that the Russian minister at Tokio[<a id="chap15fn5text"></a><a href="#chap15fn5">5</a>] +was sending despatches of an alarming tenor, foreboding +war and announcing that the only way of hindering it would +be a complete change of policy. These prophecies at length +became unbearable to the Emperor who one day penned his +condemnation of them on one of the envoy's reports, and +Baron Rosen was thereafter constrained to be chary of evil +prognostications. +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar's optimism permeated his private conversations, +his public utterances, and the secret instructions which he +had sent to his agents. His views, for instance, as to the most +suitable tactics to be observed when dealing with the +Japanese were telegraphed by his favourite, Abaza, to the +Viceroy Alexeyeff. They have a sub-Machiavellian savour +that harmonises entirely with the peculiar sort of worldly +wisdom which characterised him throughout his reign. This +is the first maxim, "Russia stands to gain enormously by +every year of peace. Therefore, every effort must be +directed to warding off war, not, however, by concessions +which would surely precipitate hostilities." The second +runs, "This end may most surely be attained by a firm +policy, polite in form and not vexatious in secondary +matters." +</p> + +<p> +A few years before that I had learned that Baron Rosen's +predecessor[<a id="chap15fn6text"></a><a href="#chap15fn6">6</a>] at Tokio had written to his chief[<a id="chap15fn7text"></a><a href="#chap15fn7">7</a>] proposing +that Russia should give Korea to the Japanese, who would +in return allow her a free hand in Manchuria. And the +Russian representative argued impressively in favour of this +transaction which would bestow an ample field on the +colonising faculties of both. The answer of the Foreign +Office was characteristic—characteristic of the man at its +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P285"></a>285}</span> +head, of the Tsar whom he served, and of the Asiatic[<a id="chap15fn8text"></a><a href="#chap15fn8">8</a>] State +which absorbed their activities. "Korea," he said, "must +become to Russia what Bokhara actually is." The minister, +Muravieff, can hardly have realised that geographically +Bokhara is in Russia and is bounded on one side by little +Afghanistan, whereas Korea was outside the Tsar's +dominions and within easy reach of the growing arm of +Japan. +</p> + +<p> +An amazing incident connected with the Emperor's +tactics, as it was the proximate cause of the war and diffuses +adequate light on this chapter of Russian history, may fitly +find a place here. I wrote it down to Witte's dictation. +"Since I had been ousted out of the Finance Ministry I +continued to impress upon the remaining ministers the +views that had led to my dismissal. I exerted myself thus for +the sake of the country. And my exertions were successful. +One day[<a id="chap15fn9text"></a><a href="#chap15fn9">9</a>] the Tsar convoked a special council consisting of +the Ministers of War, the Marine, and Foreign Affairs, under +the chairmanship of the Grand Duke Alexis. The object of +the meeting was praiseworthy: how to steer clear of a +conflict with Japan. The means proposed was an accord. Russia +had already suggested an arrangement which the Japanese +declined because it would have established a neutral zone +bounded by the thirtieth parallel. And now the question was +whether or no Japan's wishes should be respected and the +obnoxious clause expunged. As peace and war hung upon +the issue, the council resolved prudently and almost +unanimously to strike out the paragraph and draft a modified +convention. There was only one dissentient voice—that of +Abaza. This schemer, solicitous only about his commercial +concern, suggested that the clause be retained, but the +boundary altered from the thirtieth parallel to the Yalu +Tsian watershed. As it was highly improbable that the +Tokio Foreign Office would acquiesce in this, and as, if it +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P286"></a>286}</span> +did not, the danger of war would be imminent, the council +negatived Abaza's motion. +</p> + +<p> +"But that intriguer was not to be baffled thus easily. He +secretly saw the Tsar and adroitly led him to believe, +without actually asserting, that the grand duke and the other +members of the council were of his way of thinking about +the contentious provision. That done he requested and +obtained permission to telegraph his draft proposal to the +viceroy for his guidance. And in his telegram he characterised +that proposal as the decision come to by the Emperor +himself. That was a scandalous—an unpatriotic—act; for +the Viceroy Alexeyeff was sure to behave towards the Japs in +accordance with this alleged ordinance of the Emperor. And +lest this consequence should make itself felt too late, Abaza +sought out the Japanese Minister, Baron Kurino, and had +the hardihood to apprise him of the decision! This naval +officer, Abaza, behind the back of the Foreign Secretary, +called on Japan's representative and gave him a message +which—excuse me for the expression—was the diplomatic +equivalent to a vicious kick ... the direct consequence of +which must, under the circumstances, be war." +</p> + +<p> +"Permit me to ask you a question," I interrupted. "How +could Abaza insinuate to the Emperor that his proposal was +approved by the council? Were there no minutes of the +proceedings, and how and why were they kept from the +Tsar?" "There were minutes of the sitting, but they had to be +written with great care and verified, and as the work went +on very slowly it was not until three whole days had elapsed +that they were ready and actually laid before the Emperor. +And then the mischief was done. For before that Baron +Kurino, who knew full well that the policy of Russia was +being shaped without the effective participation of the +Foreign Minister, and who was now informed by the +spokesman and chief of the secret gang presided over by the +Emperor, that Japan's reasonable suggestions had been +spurned, drew the practical consequences from that alleged +decision. So, too, did his government. Thus it was this +untruth, minted by Abaza and passed off on the Mikado's +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P287"></a>287}</span> +government, that caused the war. Before the Tsar had read +the minutes of the council and charged his regular minister +with drafting a note in accordance with their conciliatory +resolution, Japan had recalled her envoy, broken off +diplomatic relations with Russia, and attacked and damaged the +Tsar's fleet. +</p> + +<p> +"As you see, Bismarck's 'doctoring' of the Ems telegram +is having vogue as a precedent. It will probably be +followed again. When hostilities opened our press accused +the Japanese of having begun the war without waiting for the +official answer to their demand which was in preparation +and would, if received, have acted as a sedative. The +allegation is formally true, but you can see for yourself what +it amounts to when analysed." +</p> + +<p> +Another instance of how Nicholas II. interpreted his rôle +and behaved to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lamsdorff, +is worth recording. He had a secret telegram sent to the +Viceroy Alexeyeff of which Lamsdorff never knew anything +until long after the war had begun. It was an important +message agreeing that the Japanese should enter into full +possession of Korea as far as the boundaries of the Russian +concessions on the Tuman-Ula on the north and of the +Yalu on the west, and ordering this decision to be +communicated to the Russian ministers in Tokio, Seoul, and +Pekin. It never was communicated to any of them. Had it +gone through the Foreign Secretary's hands it would have +been brought to the cognisance of the three interested +governments and might have made a good impression. What +Alexeyeff did with it is unknown, but it is certain that he did +not present it. +</p> + +<p> +Witte was so incensed against the gang that was answerable +for the war that he could with difficulty curb his tongue +when talking about them. "To think," he said, "that all +the work I have done for the past twelve years is now being +undone by a few contemptible pettifoggers who would be +nothing without the reflection of the crown! It is maddening. +And when I think of what will happen when the war is +over and the troops come home—well, I cannot tell you how +profound and poignant the impression is—I feel sorry for +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P288"></a>288}</span> +the Emperor then. We shall be spectators of a tremendous +world-tragedy." +</p> + +<p> +The Japanese were accused of hitting below the belt when +they fell foul of the Russian squadron unexpectedly, and the +charge is still believed by many. I feel bound to state that +having followed the ups and downs of the crisis as closely +as my sources of information would permit, I formed the +conviction that from beginning to end in war, as in peace, +the Mikado's government displayed chivalrous loyalty and +moderation. The notion that the Russians would have behaved +differently from their enemies in dealing the first blow +so unexpectedly is, I fear, erroneous. There is extant a +telegram from the Tsar to his viceroy containing this significant +injunction: "If on the west of Korea the (Japanese) fleet +should sail northwards past the 38th parallel, it is open to +you to attack them without waiting for the first shot from +their side. I rely on you. May God aid you."[<a id="chap15fn10text"></a><a href="#chap15fn10">10</a>] +</p> + +<p> +It is needless to recount here the well-known vicissitudes +of the Manchurian campaign. The landmarks of the story +are familiar. Among its most disquieting features to my +thinking was the scope it offered to Russian and Finnish +revolutionists to spread their subversive doctrines and perfect +their plans of violence. It also united all classes and nationalities +in the country, not only against the policy of the State, +but also against the regime. With the exception of a few +members of the Bezobrazoff-Abaza band nobody wanted the +war, and few could account intelligently for the government's +having stumbled into it. One of the least edifying sights that +passed before my eyes was the joy manifested by senators, +professors, students, and other "intellectuals" whenever +tidings were received of a Russian defeat. Many of them +used to rub their hands with glee. Their own countrymen, +their friends, and perhaps their relatives were exposed to +death on the remote millet fields of Manchuria, but they +had consolations: the circumstances that the army which +owed allegiance to the Tsar was being decimated by the +enemy, that the test which every regime has to undergo +when waging war was racking and humiliating the government, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P289"></a>289}</span> +and that it was at last made patent to all that the +position occupied by the Tsardom among the powers was +usurped and out of all proportion to its internal resources +and military strength—were balm to the wounds of the +sorely tried subjects of Nicholas II. In this queer behaviour +nobody discerned moral incoherence or a culpable lack of +patriotism. Even the "moralists" acknowledged that a +military defeat would have its political compensations. And +yet the degree to which the moral tone of the country was +lowered by these exhibitions was considerably less than the +foreigner may imagine who was not acquainted with its +condition before the war. +</p> + +<p> +The campaign brought no respite to those public men +whose plans in peace time had been countered or warped +by the direct and mischievous meddling of Nicholas II. He +would have his finger in every pie, military and civil. The +mere belief that the Emperor took a personal interest in some +particular scheme was enough to render all other projects +abortive, and when he stepped forward with a definite +proposal of which only specialists could appreciate the value, +he was sure to find most of these arrayed in its favour. To +this rule the plan of campaign against the Japanese was no +exception. General Kuropatkin's place in military history is +fixed by this time, and, whether high or low, will not be +greatly changed by anything new that may be disclosed in +these pages. It may not be amiss, therefore, to set down a +most interesting and characteristic account which Witte gave +me of a conversation he had with that general soon after the +Emperor had appointed him to be the commander-in-chief +of the land forces.[<a id="chap15fn11text"></a><a href="#chap15fn11">11</a>] +</p> + +<p> +"Kuropatkin came to take leave of me a few days before +setting out for the Far East. He seemed painfully conscious +of the arduous nature of the task he was set to achieve. His +former buoyancy and self-reliance had given way to an +overpowering sense of responsibility. From an optimist he had +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P290"></a>290}</span> +become a pessimist. He overrated, as it seemed to me then, +the military and other qualities of the Japanese, and as I +listened to his praise of them I recalled to mind the days +when he had been the soul of that policy which brought us +to this pass. After the usual small talk Kuropatkin looked +at me earnestly and said, 'Serghei Yulievitch, do me a +favour. Give me your advice, frankly and fully as a friend. +Heaven only knows what awaits me. Your vision and knowledge +give weight to your counsel. Let me hear it.' 'If I +were a soldier I would with pleasure lay before you my idea +of what your plan of campaign should be, but what can I, +an ex-minister, urge upon you, our most eminent general, on +a subject that lies so far from my ken?' 'Well, then, let me +put a plain question to you. If you were in my place, is +there anything that you would do, any line of action—I don't +mean strategical but general—that you would strike out?' I +thought for a moment and then I said, 'Yes, there is. +And as you have asked me for advice, here it is. As soon as +you get out to the Far East, make straight for the Viceroy +Alexeyeff. Get him into your power. Order your men to +arrest him. Treat him otherwise with all the distinction due +to his position, but send him back to Petersburg. That done +you can...' But Kuropatkin would not let me finish. +'Dear Serghei Yulievitch.' he said, 'I asked you to give me +a piece of serious advice if you would, but you are now +joking on a subject that is serious to the point of tragedy.' +'Exactly,' I retorted, 'it is tragical, and that's why I am giving +you advice which, whether you take it or not, will one day +appear to you most serious and capable of helping you. +Listen. If I were in your place I would arrest Alexeyeff and +send him home. Then I would frame an explanation that +could not be thrust aside, and telegraph it to the palace. I +mean what I say. I would act in this way for the sake of the +country, in the interests of the Emperor himself and of my +own reputation. For Alexeyeff is only a courtier who will +think nothing of marring your plans in order to further +those of the Tsar or his own.' Kuropatkin only shrugged his +shoulders and spoke of other things. Soon afterwards he left. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P291"></a>291}</span> +</p> + +<p> +"In that answer of mine I had pointed to the key of the +situation. Kuropatkin's plan was to let Port Arthur defend +itself as best it could, to concentrate a formidable army at +Kharbin, and to wait for the enemy there. Those were the +tactics of Kutuzoff in the Napoleonic war. The Japanese +would then have to advance into the interior, far from their +base, or dispense with a decision and ruin themselves financially, +economically, and in the end politically as well. But +when he reached the Far East, Alexeyeff, who was his +superior, first advised and then constrained him to alter his +sound plan in order to carry out the Tsar's heart-felt desire +to save Port Arthur. At first Kuropatkin argued, but finally +he gave way, and failed in consequence either to succour +Port Arthur or to realise his plan of campaign." +</p> + +<p> +Witte bore these things in mind at a later date when the +Emperor's orders to him—then Russia's plenipotentiary at +Portsmouth—if carried out would have hindered the conclusion +of peace with Japan. Therefore he discreetly ignored +them. +</p> + +<p> +The Japanese, who during this campaign and the crisis +that preceded it gave unmistakable proofs of striking qualities +which bid fair to make them one of the main factors in +the future ordering of the world, bent their efforts to +revolutionising the Russian working men, the intelligentsia, and +above all else the army. The design was ingenious, but the +technical work of executing it was uncommonly difficult +owing to the ease with which a Japanese organiser of strikes, +demonstrations, or riots could be spotted among white men +and executed. As a matter of fact, a Japanese would not +have been tolerated in any Russian city or town during the +campaign. But through the medium of a number of Finns +and Russians, the problem was tackled satisfactorily and +large sums of money spent on revolutionary propaganda, +which assumed amazing shapes, and in the purchase of +arms, of which great quantities were smuggled into the +country. +</p> + +<p> +In the proneness of the population to revolt lay the +Achilles' tendon of the Tsardom, as the Japanese and the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P292"></a>292}</span> +Germans were aware, and despite the little that one heard +of the results of Japanese enterprise in this direction, the +smouldering hate entertained by the nationalities and the +intelligentsia against the Tsarist State was kept steadily +aglow, and from time to time fanned into flames. The +Russian prisoners were well supplied with literature of a +kind which their native censors would not have tolerated, +so too were the soldiers at the front, and by the time they +returned home many of them held views wholly incompatible +with the kind of allegiance expected of them by the +bureaucracy and the Church.[<a id="chap15fn12text"></a><a href="#chap15fn12">12</a>] +</p> + +<p> +The strikes, the demonstrations, the subterranean agitation, +the spread of revolutionary leaflets, and the brisk, +illegal traffic between Finland and Russia, were in varying +degrees evidences of Japanese propaganda. In Finland, too, +it was eminently successful. The enthusiastic patriotism +of Poland would also have been fanned into a consuming +flame had it not been for the clear vision, ready resource, +and enterprise of Poland's most practical statesman, who, in +the best interests of his countrymen, promptly adopted +efficacious measures to arrest the movement. Thus despite the +difficulties with which the Japanese had to cope, they +contributed perceptibly to the causes that disorganised the +Russian army, cut some of the withes that bound the +non-Russian nationalities together, and rendered the conclusion +of peace a necessity for the dynasty and perhaps for the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P293"></a>293}</span> +State. This necessity was clearly perceived and insistently +relied upon by Witte in his representations to the Emperor, +while the more cautious and tactful Finance Minister, +Kokofftseff, in his confidential reply to the question whether +the war should be persisted in or peace negotiations begun,[<a id="chap15fn13text"></a><a href="#chap15fn13">13</a>] +alleged the condition of things at the front, "and more +particularly in the interior of the country," as grounds for +putting an immediate end to the conflict. +</p> + +<p> +The War Office and the Foreign Office in Tokio took up +this work of propaganda, but disagreed on some important +matters of detail. And, curiously enough, on the questions +which divided these departments the War Office was right.[<a id="chap15fn14text"></a><a href="#chap15fn14">14</a>] +</p> + +<p> +From time to time Russian voices were uplifted against +the continuation of the war. Petitions were sent to the +government asking that peace be concluded. The zemstvos, +which, working assiduously for the well-being of the troops, +were thus rendering noteworthy services to the country, +felt and said that similar services might be expected of them +in peace time if they were permitted to co-operate. But the +authorities refused to follow them into this perilous region. +At last the minister Plehve had to forbid under severe +penalties the discussion of peace at any assemblies, but the Tsar +as an offset was forced to promise a consultative chamber +and certain other concessions. In spite of pains and +penalties, however, peace was ardently desired and frequently +discussed. Sedition was rampant in the country. Japan's +propaganda through Finnish agents made rapid headway. +Now and again a man of courage would point out the danger +to a minister or a grand duke. It is fair to Witte's memory +to affirm that few men were endowed with as much moral +courage as he. He feared nobody, and thought nothing of +the consequences to himself. Here is a letter which he read +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P294"></a>294}</span> +to me before sending it to the Tsar. It will strike many by +its extreme simplicity and bluntness as well as by certain +other qualities. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"28th February, 1905. +</p> + +<p> +"YOUR IMPERIAL MAJESTY,—From the present condition +of affairs the only rational way out is to open negotiations +on the subject of peace terms and to calm Russia, at +least to some slight extent, by working out with the utmost +promptitude to the broadest possible issue the mission +given by imperial rescript to A. T. Bulyghin.[<a id="chap15fn15text"></a><a href="#chap15fn15">15</a>] To go on +with the war is more than dangerous: further sacrifices the +country in its present temper will not brook without +appalling catastrophes. In order to continue the campaign +enormous sums of money are needed, and also the enlistment +of a large number of men. But further expenditure +will entirely upset the financial and economic conditions of +the Empire, and these conditions constitute, so to say, the +central life-nerve of latter-day States. The poverty of the +population will be intensified, and together with it the +embitterment and befogging of their souls will be +aggravated.... A new mobilisation on a large scale can be +effected only by the application of force. In this way the +warriors for the Far East will inaugurate their warlike career +on the very place of their recruitment. If in addition the +harvest should fall below the average and cholera reappear, +agrarian troubles may develop in the country. Generally +speaking, under the conditions now prevailing, the troops +are needed in Russia itself. +</p> + +<p> +"True, it is terribly painful to open peace negotiations, +and it will be necessary to hedge them round with conditions +capable of safeguarding the prestige of imperial power. +But it is better to do that now than to wait until the future +becomes more menacing. Kuropatkin will not be able to +hold his ground at Telin. With the loss of Kharbin the +Ussuri territory will be cut off. Roshdjestvensky cannot +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P295"></a>295}</span> +score success. At the same time Russia has still sufficient +prestige left to warrant the hope that the peace conditions +will not be very irksome. But if we refuse to humble our +spirits congruously with our religious faith now after all +that we have undergone, and to repent before the Most +High, we shall put ourselves into a much more hopeless +plight. Even though the peace terms were utterly inacceptable, +it would still behove us to enter into negotiations. If +they still remained inacceptable in spite of the friendly +co-operation of certain great powers, it is unquestionable that +in this case the entire nation would arise in defence of the +Tsar and its own honour. Then we shall have purified +ourselves. +</p> + +<p> +"All-gracious Sovereign! In all things decision is +requisite. But if decision is indispensable in happiness, it is +doubly necessary in disaster. In disaster, resolution is the +first step towards safety. There should be no delay. Peace +pourparlers should at once be begun, and also at once your +charge to A. T. Bulyghin ought to be carried out, and in a +very generous spirit. Your imperial Majesty! I am of sound +mind and keenly conscious. This submission is not the +letter of a distraught man, but of one who discerns the +situation. It is not illness that moves my hand, but resolve, +resolve to tell you what others are perhaps afraid to tell +you. May God aid you. +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> + "Your imperial Majesty's loyal servant,<br> + "(signed) SERGIUS WITTE."<br> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +That letter, which exemplifies some of Witte's defects +and qualities, had not the slightest effect on the Tsar, who +had been well aware of his eminent subject's opinions and +sentiment on the subject from the outset of the war. At the +end of July of the same year Witte wrote a sharp private +letter[<a id="chap15fn16text"></a><a href="#chap15fn16">16</a>] to Count A. Heyden, from which I extract the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P296"></a>296}</span> +following passage: "I held the opinion that we ought to +have accepted the terms which Japan offered us (Kurino +himself, I may say, made them to me personally) at the end +of July, 1903. These terms were entirely befitting. Had +that been done there would have been no war. Next I was +of the opinion that we should have made peace before the +fall of Port Arthur. Then the conditions offered to us +... would have been somewhat worse. I further maintained +that it was incumbent on us to conclude peace before the +battle of Mukden. Then the terms as compared with those +of 1903 would have been still more unfavourable. It was my +conviction that we ought to have made peace when Roshdjestvensky +made his appearance in Chinese waters. At that +moment the terms would have been almost the same as +after the Mukden engagement. Lastly, in my judgment, it +is our duty to make peace before a fresh battle is fought +with Linievitch's army." +</p> + +<p> +It is known only to a few persons now living that in the +early summer of 1904, that is to say some months after the +outbreak of the war, Witte had expressed his desire to meet +Hayashi in order to consult with him as to the best way to +end it. The Japanese minister consented to meet him somewhere +on the continent, but the matter was then allowed to +drop because the Tsar would not hear of it. +</p> + +<p> +How well the Japanese understood the position of +Russian ministers and their entire dependence on the Tsar +may be inferred from this passage in one of Hayashi's +letters written about that time:[<a id="chap15fn17text"></a><a href="#chap15fn17">17</a>] "I have great respect and +faith in Mr. Witte, but he is not now in a position of +influencing[<a id="chap15fn18text"></a><a href="#chap15fn18">18</a>] the Council of Tsar with his advice, and even +supposing he is in power, yet he can never be his own +master, since Tsar holds the authority to veto whatever +Mr. Witte may do." +</p> + +<p> +This is not the place for a detailed account either of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P297"></a>297}</span> +Portsmouth Peace Conference[<a id="chap15fn19text"></a><a href="#chap15fn19">19</a>] or of the strenuous but vain +efforts which were put forth by a number of private individuals +to end the war sooner. The first man to go to work +earnestly was Witte, who had incurred the Tsar's +displeasure for asking permission to meet the Japanese minister +to the court of St. James, Viscount Hayashi, before the war +was more than five months old. In the following year the +names of a certain M. Galy, Count Benckendorff, the +commercial attaché at the Russian Embassy, M. Rutkoffsky, and +Baron von Eckhardstein of the German Embassy crop up, +but they only write or talk. Nothing can be done. Hayashi +quite naturally connected Witte's name with the idea of +peace, as did most Japanese. His name was a household +word in Nippon. A few years before, when M. Izvolsky was +Russia's envoy plenipotentiary in Tokio, several ministers, +courtiers, and other notabilities had asked him to endeavour +to arrange that Witte should visit Japan, where he was +thought much of as Russia's most eminent statesman. And +M. Izvolsky wrote or telegraphed to Petersburg transmitting +the invitation and urging its acceptance. Witte's reply was +curt, and to the effect that travelling to Japan formed no +part of his business. Later on, however, it turned out +that the only reason why the wish of the Japanese ministers +was not fulfilled was the Tsar's resolve that Witte should +not go to Japan. Here again the personal intervention of +Nicholas II. was felt as an impeding factor. And now once +more Hayashi's wish to meet the statesman in Berlin could +not be fulfilled because Nicholas II. had set his face against it. +</p> + +<p> +On the other hand, Japan was unwilling to take the first +step. "Japan," Hayashi had written in February, "will +welcome peace, and will cultivate friendship with her +present enemy after the conclusion of peace." But, he added, +the proposal must come from the power that began the war. +</p> + +<p> +At last President Roosevelt had the moral courage to take +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P298"></a>298}</span> +the initiative, without which the appalling human sacrifices +in the millet fields of Manchuria might have gone on some +months longer. The two belligerent empires closed with the +proposal unhesitatingly. As soon as the Tsar had thought +the matter over, he offered the dangerous mission to +Muravieff,[<a id="chap15fn20text"></a><a href="#chap15fn20">20</a>] his ambassador in Rome, Nelidoff being unable +for reasons of health to travel so far afield. Lamsdorff had +suggested the name of Witte, but the monarch negatived it +without hesitation. Just when Muravieff had also begged +to be excused, a letter was received by Lamsdorff from +M. Izvolsky, who, it is alleged, was the Tsar's delegate in petto +and was then representing Russia at the court of Denmark. +This missive eulogised Witte, declared that his prestige in +Japan was enormous and would facilitate his task of +peacemaker, and warmly advocated his appointment. Lamsdorff +availed himself of this opening to press the matter again, +and Nicholas II. finally decided to delegate Witte to the +United States.[<a id="chap15fn21text"></a><a href="#chap15fn21">21</a>] He at once sent for me and asked me to say +what answer I, were I in his place, would return to this +offer. That was Witte's usual way of eliciting a frank opinion, +to which he invariably brought careful consideration and a +perfectly open mind. He always consulted those about him +in whose judgment he had confidence, even when he had +strong grounds for presupposing that the advice would be +diametrically opposed to his own leanings or preconceived +resolve. When I had given him my views on the offer, he +said, "That is exactly how I thought you would look upon +it. Now this is what I think: I have been chosen not so +much to render a service to my country as—figuratively +speaking—to stumble and break my neck. They really want +to go on with the war. It is calculated that the chances of +my striking up a peace on really acceptable conditions are +superlatively slight, and that in all probability, therefore, I +shall fail. Then I shall be dead and buried. But my +well-wishers go further and argue that if I should succeed in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P299"></a>299}</span> +ending the war on the terms that unfortunately are +congruous with the military situation, my name will become +odious to every self-respecting Russian." +</p> + +<p> +"And what have you decided to do?" I asked. +</p> + +<p> +"I will accept and go. I hope you will come too and help +me." +</p> + +<p> +I soon saw that President Roosevelt's invitation had +elicited, in the ruling spheres of Russia, the merest notional +assent. In the mind of the Tsar the firm intention of putting +an end to the war can hardly be said to have existed. +Nicholas II. communicated through his ministers with the +principal notabilities, military, naval, and civil, and asked +them to give him the benefit of their opinion on the advisability +of ending the war. And the vast majority of the answers +were distinctly unfavourable. Having perused the secret +reports of Generals Linievitch, Sakharoff,[<a id="chap15fn22text"></a><a href="#chap15fn22">22</a>] Kuropatkin, +Admiral Birileff, and others, I began to fear that the conflict +would go on. The War Minister Sakharoff's report began +thus: "In reply to your letter of the 16th June, No. 1060, +I have the honour to inform you that, in my judgment, under +the present conditions to conclude peace is impossible, +because one cannot admit that Russia should confess herself +beaten by Japan."[<a id="chap15fn23text"></a><a href="#chap15fn23">23</a>] Kuropatkin, who, after the death of the +Foreign Minister, Muravieff, deliberately inclined to a +conciliatory policy in the Far East, and who possessed the ways +and means of knowing the true state of things there, was +enthusiastic in his plea for continuing the war in Manchuria +and for patience in Russia, while his promises of decisive +victory were so confident, so emphatic, so frequent and +circumstantial that it would have been rash were the crown +to treat them slightingly so long as it maintained him at the +head of the forces. +</p> + +<p> +Thus on the eve of the Portsmouth Conference the +chiefs of the army in Manchuria were quite confident of a +speedy victory and ultimate success, and were consequently +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P300"></a>300}</span> +impatient of the folly of the mere civilian "who craved for +peace" before the army had plucked a laurel in the campaign. +Russian military critics, who could and should have +known the real facts, calculated that, as things then stood, +the odds were largely in favour of Linievitch's army, which +was also increasing in numbers much more quickly than the +enemy's troops. Telegrams and petitions were received by +the score from the seat of war imploring the imperial +generalissimo to confide in his soldiers, who were thirsting +for glory and victory. In a word, the decision to close with +Witte's suggestions and enter into negotiations with Japan, +although to the few it seemed obvious, imperative, pressing, +needed more insight and courage than one imagines at +this distance. Those who knew how restless the nation had +grown and what ravages disaffection had made in the army +rated the estimates of Kuropatkin and Linievitch at their +true value, and saw that an immediate peace was Russia's +last hope of salvation. +</p> + +<p> +The Finance Minister,[<a id="chap15fn24text"></a><a href="#chap15fn24">24</a>] who throughout this and the +ensuing crisis behaved most patriotically, wrote a very +sensible answer to the Tsar's question, which concluded +thus, "Generally speaking, in my capacity of Minister of +Finance, I feel compelled to admit that the continuation of +the campaign—things being in the condition in which they +are at the war theatre and more particularly in the interior +of the country—appears extremely difficult, and the conclusion +of peace is, from the financial point of view, supremely +desirable." But the general impression left in the mind of +Nicholas II. by all these expressions of opinion was that +victory was a mere matter of a few months more. And even +later in the year, when Witte was already at Portsmouth +negotiating with the Japanese, he received telegrams +enjoining on him firmness and enterprise on the ground that the +army was now confident of victory. The Marine Minister, +for example, telegraphed to his delegate saying, "Tell (Witte) +that public opinion in Russia, including that of even the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P301"></a>301}</span> +highest circles, holds that no humiliating concessions must +be assented to by us. The temper has changed, patriotism +is aflame. Self-confident tidings are pouring in from the +army." This was the minister whose own patriotism soon +afterwards stood in need of defence and who a few months +before had assisted the Emperor to perpetrate an act which +it is hard not to qualify as treachery. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as Witte had definitely taken upon himself the +conduct of the negotiations and the Japanese government +had nominated the Mikado's delegate he asked me as a friend +whether I would call on the Japanese minister in London, +Viscount Hayashi, and lay before him an important proposal +which, if accepted, would go far to render his labours in +America successful. It was to the effect that instead of +Komura the Marquis Ito should be sent to the peace +conference by the Japanese government, and should be +invested with full powers to arrange not merely such a peace +as is ordinarily possible after a hard-fought campaign, but +also cordial friendship, the outward sign of which would be +an alliance for all purposes of the future development of the +two peoples. This idea had already been suggested by +Witte to Lamsdorff who had formulated it in one of his +instructions. It had also been mooted by Hayashi in a private +letter which Witte had read. The passage ran: "Japan will +welcome peace, and will cultivate friendship with her present +enemy after the conclusion of peace." That, Witte +remarked to me, contained the solution of the Far Eastern +problem and the clearing up of the misunderstandings +between Japan and Russia. The war could not, he added, +be followed by formal peace only; it must be obliterated by +friendship as well. Then, and only then, would peace be +established on a solid basis. That was Witte's view before +he started for Portsmouth, and it became the keystone +of the arch of Russia's foreign Far Eastern policy as +M. Izvolsky envisaged it ever since. +</p> + +<p> +I called on Hayashi and opened to him Witte's desire and +on what public grounds it was that he entertained it. As +a matter of fact, Witte believed that Komura had thrust +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P302"></a>302}</span> +himself forward as Japan's chief plenipotentiary, while others +held that Ito had declined to accept the mission which +Komura had offered him. But whatever the cause of +Komura's appointment may have been it was immutable. +The Tokio cabinet was unable to accede to either of Witte's +demands, and on board the German steamer that was taking +us to New York I gave him a detailed written account of my +conversation with the Japanese statesman.[<a id="chap15fn25text"></a><a href="#chap15fn25">25</a>] Hayashi in his +memoirs alludes to this matter as follows: "I met +(Dr. Dillon) two or three times whilst I was in London. When +Count de Witte proceeded to America as the chief Russian +plenipotentiary to negotiate the terms of peace at +Portsmouth, Dr. Dillon paid me a visit in London, and I had +a long conversation with him on various subjects. The +principal object of his visit to me was to request me to do +everything which I could to induce the Japanese government +to dispatch Marquis Ito to America as the principal Japanese +peace commissioner. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P303"></a>303}</span> +</p> + +<p> +"When the negotiations were proceeding at Portsmouth +it was Dr. Dillon who controlled the American press for the +benefit of De Witte. At that time most of the prominent +British and American correspondents who had collected at +Portsmouth had gone there inclined to be in favour of +Japan. +</p> + +<p> +"Dr. Dillon used these men to publish the real existing +state of affairs without any reserve whatsoever, and was +unrivalled by anybody on the Japanese side in creating a +favourable public opinion. He did it almost entirely by +relying on the influence of the American papers, to whose +correspondents at Portsmouth he always stated the exact +position of affairs. On the Japanese side, on the other hand, +nothing was done like this. True, there was a member of +the Japanese Foreign Office staff attached to the Peace +Commission, and it was supposed to be his duty to receive +the newspaper men. In fact he had nothing else to do but +that. But he made his principal task the denying of every +statement which might appear. +</p> + +<p> +"In view of my experience in diplomacy I considered that +such a course was a matter of the greatest regret. Comparing +the action of the two sides at Portsmouth, as regards the +press, it was only natural that the umpire's fan was pointed +at Japan from the very outset of negotiations, and she was +never able to recover from the unsatisfactory press position +into which she allowed herself to fall, a position which was +principally due to the fact that the Japanese authorities +preserved far too much silence as to the progress of the +negotiations. +</p> + +<p> +"With regard to the Russo-Japanese Agreement, about +which I commenced to speak, Prince Yamagata and Prince +Ito, as well as M. Isvolsky, recognised the absolute necessity +of concluding an agreement such as had been outlined by +Dr. Dillon in his articles to which I have referred." +</p> + +<p> +Seldom has a statesman found himself in deeper or more +dangerous waters than Russia's first representative at the +peace conference, under conditions which were understood +to have deterred professional diplomatists. He foresaw at +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P304"></a>304}</span> +the outset the fate that was expected to overtake him. Having +uniformly pleaded for peace when it could have been had +on advantageous terms, he was now called upon to conclude +it on conditions which must strike every patriotic Russian as +irksome and humiliating. Consequently, if he failed to come +to an agreement, the finger of scorn would be pointed at the +man who had blamed others for not undertaking what he now +admitted to be impossible, while if he succeeded he would +be open to the charge of having betrayed his country. But +there was another consideration more discouraging to him +than these: whatever peace he might make would be no +better than a truce unless he could also strike up a genuine +friendship such as Japan had so often before proffered and +Russia refused. And his proposal to work in that direction +was now vetoed by the Tsar who, seemingly, was indulging +in mental reservation. But was either nation prepared for +the sudden transition from war to friendship? That was the +question to be solved. Witte's very first step, before he had +even set foot upon American soil, was to obtain a clear and +correct idea of the light in which Japan would regard a course +which seemed the outcome of statesmanlike and comprehensive +views. And the result was disheartening. Japan +had changed her mind. That dismal fact was elicited before +the conference met. The outcome of Witte's ruminations on +that reverse was the historic wireless message which I sent +across to London from mid-Atlantic. +</p> + +<p> +The course of the negotiations at Portsmouth and the +creditable part played by President Roosevelt in preventing +their failure have not yet been forgotten. It would, however, +be well worth recording the experiences of Witte during +that trying ordeal, the influences against which he had to +contend, the necessity and the difficulty of winning public +opinion in the United States, and of preparing a way for +Russia's access to the American money market and +conciliating the Jews, with whose leaders there he had a long +talk, ending in mutual promises. The Tsar was particularly +anxious that the failure of the conference, which he deemed +very probable, should not be attributable nor attributed to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P305"></a>305}</span> +the Russians, and the ways and means of bringing this to +pass—while honestly endeavouring to arrive at a satisfactory +agreement—constituted the subject of many of my talks +with Witte in the Portsmouth hotel. This was natural seeing +that it was I who was designated, in case the conference +broke up without a peace treaty to show for its labours, +to write a long explanatory telegram in Russian, addressed +to the Tsar, stating the case for his plenipotentiaries and +exculpating them from all blame for the failure. Witte was +to sign that telegram, of which I would send an English +translation to the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> and enable all other +journalists to telegraph it at the same time to their papers. +All our strategy was inspired by these motives from the day +when Witte through me sent from mid-ocean one of his +most important utterances on the subject of the +negotiations down to his manœuvres at the last sittings of +Portsmouth. +</p> + +<p> +What Hayashi had said of the Russian statesman in one +of his letters before the peace negotiations, that he would +have to bow to the Emperor's will, seemed now to be coming +true. He was constantly receiving messages of which the +only effect and perhaps the main object was to make him feel +this his dependence on the Tsar. Several times Nicholas II., +through Lamsdorff, virtually assumed that the labours of +the conference must come to nought.[<a id="chap15fn26text"></a><a href="#chap15fn26">26</a>] As a matter of fact, +about a fortnight before an agreement was come to Witte +asked me to write in haste the Russian telegram for the Tsar +and to read it to him.[<a id="chap15fn27text"></a><a href="#chap15fn27">27</a>] I did so, and he approved it +fully.[<a id="chap15fn28text"></a><a href="#chap15fn28">28</a>] The main obstacles to peace consisted in Japan's demands +for a money indemnity and for the retention of Sakhalien[<a id="chap15fn29text"></a><a href="#chap15fn29">29</a>] +and the limitation of Russia's fleet in Far Eastern waters. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P306"></a>306}</span> +Witte in a telegram summarised the situation for his +government as follows:[<a id="chap15fn30text"></a><a href="#chap15fn30">30</a>] "We did not agree respecting payment +of military expenses, Sakhalien, restrictions of the fleet, the +vessels in neutral waters; yet on Monday the final sitting +will be held, and for that reason if there is no concession by +one side or the other we shall separate. Japan's intentions +after that are unknown. Probably they will give way on (10) +about ships in neutral waters and on (11) respecting limitation +of fleet. But they won't abandon (5) about Sakhalien, +nor (6) about military indemnity. In view of vast importance +of subject I think it ought to be considered and speedy +resolution taken. Continuation of war would surely be +greater disaster for Russia. We can defend ourselves more +or less, but can hardly conquer Japan. Forecast of a +favourable result may be grounded only on exhaustion of Japan's +resources. Am unable say what sacrifices can be made to +avoid war and its horrors and whether internal conditions +would terminate with unfavourable peace. It is obligation +of imperial government to discuss subject and submit +resolution to Emperor. I venture utter following modest +thought: the fate of ships in neutral waters is important +from point view of national dignity. But has no practical +significance. It is the same with the limitation of our fleet. +For practically we should not be able hold fleet in Far East +capable of fighting Japs. But question of indemnity is +important as touching Russia's dignity and her vital interests +as well. Therefore it disquiets Russia's heart. Sakhalien is +important because it was ours, is rich in minerals, and is a +foreport of Amoor River. But Japs had certain rights there +before ever we had acquired any. We did not utilise its +wealth nor should we do so for very long. Japs are for +guarantee that Sakhalien shall not be used for strategic or +technical purposes against us. Even if island remains ours, +still the straits that can be navigated by great vessels will be +under the power of the Japs. Our main misfortune is that +island is in hands of Japs, and I don't see possibility of +recovering it at least for some decades to come. Deeming +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P307"></a>307}</span> +it my sacred duty to set forth the above I await urgent +instructions." +</p> + +<p> +Lamsdorff informed Witte[<a id="chap15fn31text"></a><a href="#chap15fn31">31</a>] that he was mistaken in +supposing that his powers would allow him to abandon the +island of Sakhalien to Japan. This is by no means the case, +and the Tsar wishes him to treat this explanatory statement +as a supplement to his instructions. Another message[<a id="chap15fn32text"></a><a href="#chap15fn32">32</a>] +expressly forbids him to surrender Sakhalien together with +the neighbouring islands and the railroad from Kharbin to +Port Arthur. On the 13th August a telegram was received +enjoining on him, if the negotiations failed, to arrange so +that they might readily be resumed later on. Then it is the +Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevitch whom the Tsar must +consult before Witte may again meet the Japanese delegates. +The Tsar had written: "Inasmuch as the negotiations are +bound to be broken off in a few days, no armistice must be +concluded."[<a id="chap15fn33text"></a><a href="#chap15fn33">33</a>] On 19th August, Witte telegraphed: "Final +sitting will be Tuesday, 3 p.m., not Monday." On 19th +August he was becoming nervous in consequence of the +attitude of the Emperor and he sent this personal telegram to +Lamsdorff: "In view of the Tsar's resolution on my telegram +No. 15 I consider further negotiations quite useless. Still +I will wait, as you wish, for answers to my telegrams based +on private conversation with Komura. In no case can the +decisions be waited for very long: two or three days after +Tuesday, but no longer. Congruously with your despatch +No. 432 I will endeavour to arrange so that together with the +Japs we may request President to summon new conference +whenever he may deem it opportune—so as not to shut the +door entirely." +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar's resolution which thus discouraged his +plenipotentiary was this sentence scribbled across Witte's +telegram about Japan's demands: "It has already been said: +not a rood of territory, not a rouble of money for military +expenses. On this ground I will stand to the end." The +next notification is that Nicholas II.—for he it was that made +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P308"></a>308}</span> +every decision except the most important one of all, which +as we shall see Witte deliberately wrested from him after +long reflection—refuses to cede the southern half of +Sakhalien and pay for the northern part.[<a id="chap15fn34text"></a><a href="#chap15fn34">34</a>] Then comes the +statement that the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevitch finds +Japan's peace conditions inacceptable, and Lamsdorff adds: +"His Majesty's final decision and the imperial instructions +respecting the breaking off of the negotiations I can +communicate to you only after my personal loyal submission, +probably to-morrow evening."[<a id="chap15fn35text"></a><a href="#chap15fn35">35</a>] +</p> + +<p> +To this Witte pertinently replied: "When conference +is over and world gets insight into our work it will say that +Russia was right to refuse indemnity, but it will not be with +us on question of Sakhalien. For facts are stronger than +arguments and mental combinations, and the central fact is +that the Japs possess Sakhalien and we cannot take it back. +If, therefore, we wish to shift blame for failure of conference +to Japanese shoulders we must not refuse both the cession +of Sakhalien and also indemnity. If we want sympathy of +America and of Europe too we must give definite answer, +taking Roosevelt into account." +</p> + +<p> +At last the knell of the conference appeared to sound. +A telegram was received which after a short preamble +terminated thus: "In view of all this it has pleased +his imperial Majesty to command you to break off further +discussions with the Japanese delegates if they are not +empowered to abandon the exorbitant claims they have put +forward."[<a id="chap15fn36text"></a><a href="#chap15fn36">36</a>] Another despatch of the same date authorises +Witte to apprise President Roosevelt that the Tsar has +ordered the abandonment of the debates, to thank him for +his co-operation, and to hint that under more favourable +conditions Russia would again meet Japan's representatives +and talk the matter over. A third message sent from +Petersburg on the same day enjoins on Witte to inform Lamsdorff +the exact date when negotiations are to be formally broken +off, as the Tsar's government must issue a communication. +</p> + +<p> +But Witte, now in sight of the goal, would not be trifled +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P309"></a>309}</span> +with in this way any longer. He took things into his own +hands and decided on his own responsibility that he would +not carry out the Emperor's instructions and break up the +conference. It cost him a great effort to make this resolve. +Here is an extract from the message in which he announces +it to Lamsdorff: "Congruously with the instructions +received we would break off the negotiations to-morrow and +make due communication to the President. But in view of +the letter received from the President which has been +forwarded to you <i>in extenso</i>, and which calls for a reply from +his Majesty, I consider it inadvisable to end the sittings +before that reply has come. I will try, therefore, unless the +Japs raise difficulties, to postpone the final sitting until that +reply has come. With the Japs I think we have finished, +but to break off before his Majesty's answer is received +would, I fear, be to offend the President. And it seems +advisable to do nothing to drive the President over to the +Japs who, even as it is, have done their utmost to win +America's sympathies." +</p> + +<p> +A curious thing happened on the eve of the agreement +when the Tsar's plenipotentiary, after having painfully +dislodged the mountains of obstacles which had separated him +from the goal, stood at last in sight of it, and within a few +hours of attaining all that Russia could reasonably expect. +Between him and the precious objects for which he had been +working there suddenly arose the insignificant figure of +Nicholas II. commanding him to end everything immediately +on receipt of the despatch and return home. This is +how it came about. On 27th August he had telegraphed to +the Foreign Secretary as follows: +</p> + +<p> +"To-day I was informed through the secretaries that +Takahira wished to speak to me. I signified my readiness to +receive him in my room after dinner. On entering Takahira +said that in view of the fourteen hours' difference in time at +Tokio he had not yet received reply. Therefore, he would +ask me to fix the sitting not for to-morrow but for Tuesday. +I replied I considered I had no right to refuse request. But +I again declared most categorically that on no account will +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P310"></a>310}</span> +we consent to go back upon the decisions taken congruously +with the last imperial instructions, that I will reject every +new proposal without referring it to Petersburg. Therefore, +if he reckons upon our yielding he is wasting his time and +ours and keeping the world on tenterhooks to no good +purpose. Apparently Takahira acquired conviction that I +meant what I said. Having thanked me for postponement +he withdrew. From my conversation with him I came to +conclusion he was acquainted with Tsar's answer to President +and generally with negotiations with Meyer in +Petersburg." The next day Lamsdorff answered thus: "28th +August. On your telegram of yesterday No. 42 it pleased +his Majesty the Emperor to write: 'Send Witte my command +to end the discussions at all hazard to-morrow. I had +rather go on with the war than await gracious concessions +from Japan.'" Luckily for Russia, Witte paid no heed to +this behest and ended everything satisfactorily. +</p> + +<p> +The odd way in which Nicholas II. received the tidings +that his plenipotentiary had secured peace for Russia and +indirectly a new lease of power for the reigning dynasty was +wholly in keeping with that monarch's character. On the +morning when Komura and Takahira gave way and the +terms were agreed to, Witte sent this message to the Tsar: +"I have the honour to inform your imperial Majesty that +Japanese have accepted your demands respecting conditions +of peace, and in this way peace will be restored, thanks to +your wise and firm decisions, and in precise congruity with +your dispensations. Russia will remain in Far East the great +power she was hitherto and will ever remain. We set our +whole mind and Russian heart to the fulfilment of your +behests. We beseech you graciously to forgive if we failed +to achieve more. Your loyal servant, Sergius Witte." +</p> + +<p> +The next day brought an answer. I remember the eagerness +with which my friend snatched it and ran his eye over +it, and then the change that came into his face as he threw +it to me and exclaimed, "Good God! Read that!" This +is what I read:[<a id="chap15fn37text"></a><a href="#chap15fn37">37</a>] "Peterhof, 30th August, 1905. Do not +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P311"></a>311}</span> +sign the conditions of the peace negotiations until amount +for keep of war prisoners is fixed and ratified by me after you +have notified it. Nikolai." That was the imperial message. +No thanks, no tribute of recognition. Not a word more. +Witte's ex-pupil the Grand Duke Michael behaved differently. +From him came these brief but cordial words: "My +heartfelt congratulations on brilliant termination of grandiose +work achieved for well-being of dear Fatherland." +</p> + +<p> +Witte grew impatient and apprehensive. He kept speculating +on what was going forward in Peterhof and Petersburg +and ruminating on the strange mental workings of the +Tsar. And the things he apprehended were dismal, but I +believe quite possible. But I cheered him up and prophesied +that before the end of the year he would have received the +title of Count. This prediction irritated in lieu of soothing +him, for he was prepared for something very different from +that. The nervous strain was great. On the third day, +however, his suspense was ended by a chilling telegram from the +Emperor which grudgingly paid a tribute to the benefactor +of his country and sovereign. It ran thus: "I express to +you my thanks for the able, firm conduct of the negotiations +which you worked out to a good issue for Russia. Convey +my gratitude to Baron Rosen and the remaining delegates. +Nikolai." +</p> + +<p> +It was not until the whole world, including Kaiser Wilhelm, +had sung the praises of Russia's greatest statesman that the +Tsar, unbent a little, joined the chorus of applause, and +seemed to recognise the worth of the service rendered by +his most distinguished subject. But that is another story +which brings us to Björke and the strange doings there +of Nicholas II. and the German Kaiser. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn1text">1</a>] 8th April, 1903. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn2text">2</a>] General Kuropatkin's memoirs about +the Russo-Japanese war (in Russian), +pp. 151, 152. Cf. Burtzeff, <i>The Tsar and +Foreign Policy</i> (in Russian), pp. 13,14. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn3text">3</a>] In July, 1903. A whole series of telegrams +that passed between these +plunder-seekers was collected, and I received +a copy which I still possess. +In some of these despatches the Tsar is alluded +to as the "proprietor." +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn4text">4</a>] Vladimir Burtzeff is one of these publicists. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn5text">5</a>] Baron Rosen, afterwards Russian ambassador +at Washington during the +peace negotiations with Japan. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn6text">6</a>] M. Izvolsky. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn7text">7</a>] Count Muravieff. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn8text">8</a>] Throughout this book I employ the word +Asiatic in the sense in which +it is applied to Turkey or Persia, +not in the sense in which Japan, who unites +the higher qualities of the European and the Mongol, +is an Asiatic State. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn9text">9</a>] On the 28th January, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn10text">10</a>] The telegram is dated 8th February. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn11text">11</a>] I induced Count Witte to narrate it +a few years later to one of our own +most distinguished generals who was writing on the subject. +I tell the story +from memory because the account dictated +to me by the statesman is +among those documents of mine which +are no longer accessible for the +moment. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn12text">12</a>] The Germans have recently had recourse +to exactly the same tactics, on a +more grandiose scale, under more auspicious +circumstances and with far-resonant effects. +On the and November, 1914, the Imperial German Bank issued a +circular letter to corresponding banks +in Stockholm undertaking to supply +the Russian Bolsheviks Zinovieff +and Lunatcharski with money for their +agitation and propaganda "only on the express +condition that this agitation +and this propaganda directed by +MM. Zinovieff and Lunatcharski shall +reach the armies of the front." Another circular +dated 23rd February, 1915, +from the Director of the Press in the Ministry +of Foreign Affairs to all +ambassadors, ministers plenipotentiary, etc., +in neutral countries announces +the formation of offices for propaganda +in the belligerent countries of the +Entente "for the purpose of creating social +movements accompanied by +strikes, revolutionary outbursts, +separatist movements, and civil war, as well +as agitation in favour of disarmament +and the cessation of this sanguinary +war." +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn13text">13</a>] On 20th June and 1st July, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn14"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn14text">14</a>] It turned upon one of the non-Russian +nationalities which was being +incited to rebel. The wished-for consummation +could perhaps have been +achieved without much effort, +but the question was put:—Would it prove a +real advantage to Japan or the reverse? +The War Office held that it would +impair in lieu of furthering the interests +of Nippon. And it was proved to +be right. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn15"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn15text">15</a>] Bulyghin was a minister whose only title +to fame reposes on his association +with the first reform promised +during the Manchurian campaign. The +Tsar charged him with the creation +of a representative assembly to have a +consultative voice in legislation. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn16"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn16text">16</a>] Witte gave me copies of many +of his important letters. A great many +others passed through my hands +when we were putting all his correspondence +in order for his memoirs. +This particular letter to Count A. Heyden is +dated the 17th/30th July, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn17"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn17text">17</a>] Dated 9th March, 1905; London, +4, Grosvenor Gardens. The letter is +addressed to M. Galy. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn18"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn18text">18</a>] I have left the late ambassador's English unchanged. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn19"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn19text">19</a>] I possess all the documents, confidential +and others, that passed between +the interested governments and statesmen +on the subject, from the letters of +M. Galy and Viscount Hayashi in February, 1905, +and those of M. Galy +and Witte, down to the little note scribbled +by the Tsar in pencil inviting the +successful peace-makers to visit him at Björke. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn20"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn20text">20</a>] The ex-Minister of Justice, a clever cultured man +and no relation to the +defunct Minister of Foreign Affairs. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn21"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn21text">21</a>] On 29th June (Russian style), 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn22"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn22text">22</a>] Sakharoff's report was marked +"extremely secret," and contained a +detailed estimate of the Russian +and Japanese troops in Manchuria. It was +dated 18th June (1st July), 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn23"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn23text">23</a>] Sakharoff then goes on to say what +he would advise if his view should +be rejected. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn24"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn24text">24</a>] At that time M. Kokofftseff occupied the post. +His letter is dated the +20th June (old style). +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn25"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn25text">25</a>] Count Hayashi in his <i>Secret Memoirs</i>, +published in London (Eveleigh +Nash, 1915), devotes a couple of pages +to the part I took in Russo-Japanese +relations as he saw it, from which the +following extract deals with the two +treaties concluded between these empires: +"In the beginning of 1907 Dr. Dillon +contributed two articles to reviews +in England, urging the necessity +of a Russo-Japanese rapprochement. +These articles were shown to M. Motono, +our ambassador at St. Petersburg, by M. Isvolsky, who was at that +time the Russian Minister for Foreign Affairs. +These articles were evidently +written after conversation with some high person +in the Russian government, +and M. Motono believed that they indicated +the undoubted intention of the +Russian government of entering into +an agreement with Japan on the lines +laid down in the articles. +M. Motono drew the attention of the Japanese +Foreign Office to the articles and +asked for an opinion on them. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +"I should say something about Dr. Dillon. +His father was an Englishman +and his mother was Irish." [This is a <i>lapsus calami</i>. +It was the other way +round.] "He was educated +at various continental universities, and he +possessed several high diplomas of learning. +For some time he was professor +at various Russian universities and also had been +the proprietor of a newspaper at Odessa. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +"He ... resided in St. Petersburg. +At the time I was minister and +ambassador in London, Dr. Dillon was the +St. Petersburg correspondent of +the <i>Daily Telegraph</i>, and probably is so to-day. +He certainly was most +extraordinarily well acquainted with all Russian affairs, +and any statement +made by him in the <i>Daily Telegraph</i> having reference +to Russia was always +regarded as being based on the highest authority." +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn26"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn26text">26</a>] On the 20th August, Lamsdorff informed +Witte that in case the conference fails the Tsar +wishes him to visit certain centres in the United States +in order to win the sympathy of the population for Russia. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn27"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn27text">27</a>] About the 15th or 16th August. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn28"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn28text">28</a>] It is among his papers. +I also have a copy which is not now accessible +to me. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn29"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn29text">29</a>] The northern half was (as Komura +afterwards explained) to be sold to +Russia for 1,200,000,000 yen. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn30"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn30text">30</a>] 4th/17th August. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn31"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn31text">31</a>] Secret telegram, No. 384, 18th/31st July. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn32"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn32text">32</a>] 12th August. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn33"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn33text">33</a>] 19th August. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn34"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn34text">34</a>] 20th August. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn35"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn35text">35</a>] 21st August. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn36"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn36text">36</a>] 22nd August. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap15fn37"></a> +[<a href="#chap15fn37text">37</a>] The telegram was in Russian, but in Latin letters. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap16"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P312"></a>312}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XVI +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE SECRET TREATY OF BJÖRKE—I +</p> + +<p> +Of all the extravagant and, one might add, irrational acts of +the weak-willed sovereign who at last gave the death-blow to +the Tsarist State the secret treaty, consisting of four brief +clauses, which he concluded with Kaiser Wilhelm at Björke +in July, 1905, occupies a foremost place. Politically it was a +deed of surrender to the only formidable rival of his Empire, +a covenant which crowned the suicidal process he had already +inaugurated when he ordered Witte to accept Germany's +proposals for a commercial treaty.[<a id="chap16fn1text"></a><a href="#chap16fn1">1</a>] The commercial treaty +bound Russia economically to the Teutons, was in fact the +first step towards reducing her rôle to that of one of their +colonies, while the Björke agreement gave official recognition +to the Kaiser's cherished plans for the permanent +reorganisation of Europe, placed the resources of the Russian +Empire at his disposal for their realisation, and implicitly +handed over France to his mercy. Wilhelm II. could not +dispense with Russia's co-operation in the work of constraining +France to enter into an alliance which she would never +have accepted of her own free will, and Nicholas II. foolishly +pledged himself to supply it. From the only other point of +view worth considering, the act marked the Tsar as a +degenerate on whose mind no political ideal, no wise principle +of international policy had stamped itself durably. It may +be worth while to cast a glance in passing at the scheme +which Wilhelm II., as the representative and spokesman of +the German people, had formed and was working +indefatigably and methodically to embody. +</p> + +<p> +The psychological diagnosis, so common in France and +Britain since the outbreak of the Great War, which represents +Kaiser Wilhelm II. as a maniac of some kind and degree, is +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P313"></a>313}</span> +one of the symptoms of the self-deluding propensities of the +Entente nations. It is an injustice to one's people to belittle +their adversaries, and it is self-degradation to defame them. +The Kaiser has probably more to answer for than any other +ruler known to human history, and future generations will +associate his name with the most appalling crime against +mankind ever recorded, but it avails us nothing to gainsay +the fact that in all his exertions for what he supposed to be +the good of his people he had remarkably clear conceptions +and a right understanding of the relation between cause and +effect. The tenacity, resource, and efficiency with which he +worked to perfect his armies, to build a navy, and to arrange +the requisite political conditions for the attainment of his +principal aim challenge recognition which one may bestow +without committing oneself to anything like approval of that +aim. It can hardly be doubted that he himself believes in +its loftiness. Therein lies his force and the force of the whole +German people which shares that belief. They are animated +by that living, incandescent faith which melts away in its +blazing flame all individual and other interests except the +welfare of the collective organism as they misunderstand it. +That is one of the many differences between the Teuton +races and others. Parenthetically, I should like to record my +conviction that the Japanese, in at least as high a degree as +the Germans, are permeated by this sustaining faith which +together with such invaluable qualities as vision, organisation, +grasp of detail, loyalty, and a fine sense of measure +foredestine them, whether or no we like the prospect, to +play a most important part in determining the trend of +human progress. +</p> + +<p> +It is needless to remark that the qualities of unscrupulousness +in the pursuit of ends, insensibility to what Entente +peoples regard as points of honour, coarseness in address, +arrogance towards inferiors and equals from whom nothing +is expected, obsequiousness and flattery towards those who +are to be exploited or duped, and the countless forms of +duplicity and unveracity as helps to success appeal neither +to the Latin nor to the Anglo-Saxon nations. But one would +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P314"></a>314}</span> +do well to remember that this list by no means exhausts +the catalogue of Teuton characteristics; of their positive +qualities as well as of their repulsive defects the war has +given ample illustrations. Adaptability to changing +circumstances is one of the positive forces of the Teuton race. It +runs through their latter-day history like a white thread in +a dark texture. It is their source of elasticity in organising, +of coherence in politics, of docility and buoyancy in battle. +Yet the judgment rashly passed on them by some leaders +of the Entente nations is that they are stiff, unbending, +wanting in initiative, inaccessible to new ideas, easily +disconcerted and demoralised. As a matter of fact it is the +non-Teuton peoples who are slow to quit their habits of +thought and action and accommodate both to the new +conditions of existence. Of the latter-day Teutons at their best +and their worst Wilhelm II. is a type. +</p> + +<p> +In ethics the Kaiser is a law unto himself, and his morality +is in essentials that of the entire German race. He also has +his own ideals of international life which, if I who have +heard and read a great deal about them may venture to say +so, differ in only one or two particulars from President +Wilson's League of Nations. It is superfluous to add that +these differences are momentous. +</p> + +<p> +The German ideal in international ordering is the equivalent +of absolutism in national politics. As the State governs +the nation so a chosen race should direct the Continent and, +if possible, the world, and its instrument at the outset can +only be force. The leading rôle falls naturally to that race +which has given proofs, not only of the greatest, but also of +absolute aptitude to do it justice, and this race is the Teuton. +Opposed to this conception stands that of the democratic +peoples of the world who are for republicanism with a +tendency to anarchy at home and for equality in the dealings +of State with State. Their instrument is law and public +opinion, but their sluggishness in working out this +conception, which they might long ago have done, to a fruitful +solution is apparently invincible. And the reason is not far +to seek. Most of the political organs of these advanced +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P315"></a>315}</span> +communities of the west, such as the monarchy, the republic, +the legislative chambers, the press, appeared to Wilhelm II. as +little better than mere shams. The so-called democratic +peoples exist, he alleged, for the few, and the few are among +the most narrow-minded and ignorant of God's creatures. +Their institutions are in many cases mere veils that conceal +from the people a degree of insensibility to their needs and +sufferings greater far than that which the English and the +French ascribe to the German government. And that is why +they have made no serious effort to draw nearer to the +national and international ideals towards which they profess +to be striving. If their professions were sincere, why, he +asked, have they never been accompanied by an organising +policy? The reason is, he answered, because, if the reform +were carried out, the reformers' easy job would be gone. In +democratic lands the ignorant talker comes nearly always to +the top, and the nation has to be content with appearance in +lieu of reality. Accessibility to new ideas and the systematic +use of the intellect are checked and discouraged there. In +Germany, despite what the French and the English say to +the contrary, it is very different. There the career is really +open to the talents; things, however imperfect, are at least +what they seem, and the rulers are both competent and +efficient. +</p> + +<p> +The Kaiser professed to believe that under the German +system nature is made more subservient to social needs than +under any other, and that the higher and nobler elements +of human character have freer play there. Consequently the +other races, and in particular the Russian, French, and +Italian, would stand to gain by closer intercourse with the +Germans, and would benefit by the incidental advantage of +substituting a moral relationship which would exclude war +for the state of nature that exists at present between them +and all the independent States of Europe. To establish this +intimate intercourse has been the Kaiser's goal ever since +he had a policy of his own. His way of reaching it was to +induce or oblige the continental powers to assent to the +formation of a somewhat looser league than that which keeps +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P316"></a>316}</span> +the component parts of the German Empire together, and +to work on that fulcrum for the elimination of war from +continental politics, and also for the establishment at some +future period of a supreme board of government for all +European nations on which other great peoples would also +be represented, as are Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Saxony, etc., +on the German Federal Council. +</p> + +<p> +Hopefulness and a high degree of faith in humanity thus +organised and directed, or as we should say Teutonised, +marked some of the characteristic speculations in which +Wilhelm II. indulged. The general public has perhaps +forgotten the sensation produced by the picture which he +fathered representing the European nations putting the +"yellow-skins" to flight, with the inscription, "Peoples of +Europe, protect your most sacred possessions."[<a id="chap16fn2text"></a><a href="#chap16fn2">2</a>] On that +canvas, a reproduction of which he sent to President Carnot, +France occupied a foremost place by the side of Teutonia, +whereas Britain was relegated to the background. +</p> + +<p> +Some of the persons who mentally connected this little +incident with the main political movements of Europe +fancied that the Kaiser's ideal was as disinterested and +generous as the kindred visions of Turgot or Condorcet. +I confess I could never bring myself to share this view. +What Wilhelm aimed at, it seemed to me then and seems to +me still, was a vast world-organism such as was dreamed of +by some of the popes, and presided over by the head of the +Hohenzollerns, rather than the revival of the empire of +Charlemagne. It was a vast scheme of polity conceived for +a continent, or rather for humanity in its entirety, and +therefore from a much broader angle of survey than that of +Charlemagne. The marvellous potency with which it +appealed to men of German blood is intelligible to those +who realise the intensity, the passion born of their faith in the +unbounded potentialities of their race. To them they are +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P317"></a>317}</span> +the salt of the earth, capable of progress which has no fixed +limits, and capable too of adjusting the social and political +forces of the world to the magnitude of the community and +the variety of its temperaments, needs, and aspirations. And +in verity this was no mere abstract speculation, no spinning +of theory from the phrase-germs of philosophy, but a concrete +scheme complete in all its parts. And the first nucleus +of the vast society which he was thus eager to build up was, +as I have said, to be composed of the great powers of the +Continent—a league of European peoples of which the +crowned head of the German Empire would be the <i>ex-officio</i> +leader. +</p> + +<p> +For many years I have been acquainted with the gist of +the colloquies which he had with my friend Witte on the +subject, whose temper in some few respects resembled his +own, but who differed from him profoundly in other ways. +The impulsive and unbalanced German monarch is certainly +endowed with some of the qualities which in the times of +yore went to the making of founders of religions—fire and +mysticism, ecstatic vision and shrewd practical sense, +concentrated passion with a slight touch of dreaminess, the +whole combined in a personality who believes that his true +vocation is the handling of men. Wilhelm's plans were +marked by grandeur of conception and solidity of preparation. +Moreover, however low one may rate his administrative +abilities—and many of our people affect to regard +him as little better than a fool—in his mode of tackling the +problem on its feasible side and dealing with the recalcitrant +or indifferent governments whose co-operation he +needed, he knew exactly what it was that he required from +each and how best he could obtain it. In grappling with +Russia, for example, he assimilated the idea which I had +long been recommending to the notice of the British government, +that the only arrangement which could really bind the +Tsardom—if any compact could—must be concluded +directly with the Tsar himself and, if possible, not through +the ordinary diplomatic channels.[<a id="chap16fn3text"></a><a href="#chap16fn3">3</a>] +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P318"></a>318}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The most arduous, delicate, and dangerous part of the +task was the yoking of France to Germania's chariot. For +the wound caused by the amputation of Alsace and Lorraine +had never cicatrised. It still festered and rankled. The +Kaiser employed all the arts of conciliation with which he +happened to be conversant. He lavished honeyed phrases +and graceful compliments on almost every Frenchman that +came in his way from my first French friend, the ex-minister +Jules Simon, to the manufacturer of chocolate. He had +condoled with the widow of Marshal MacMahon, had +pardoned two Frenchmen interned on a charge of espionage, +and for some ten years he applied this system of cheap +beneficence to living down the antipathy which was being +strengthened by the very acts intended to remove it. He +had failed to touch the responsive heart of France. He +had never been able to visit the city on the Seine. His +policy of giving a helping hand to the French in their +efforts to extend their colonial empire had not touched +either the people or their rulers. He never understood +their mentality. +</p> + +<p> +During the Fashoda crisis I felt that he had an exceptionally +favourable opportunity, the like of which might not +perhaps occur again, and I was curious to watch the use he +made of it. But it brought him no returns. Shortly +afterwards another and still more auspicious conjuncture was +formed by the Boer war, when practically all Europe was +arrayed against Britain. Almost automatically the coalition +of continental nations shaped itself. A generous gesture on +the part of Wilhelm II. and he might have effected much of +what he was striving after. But the devices and expedients +which he and others imagined and put in motion during +that period were jejune and barren. Russia's Foreign +Secretary, the vulgar Count Muravieff, was in Paris in +November, 1899, and calling on Delcassé he "suggested" +the advisability of making "representations" to England +in concert with France and Germany. The suggestion, like +so many others that have a Russian, French, or British +appearance, had been "made in Germany," approved by +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P319"></a>319}</span> +the Tsar, assimilated by the Tsar's minister, and reproduced +as a Russian proposal. The idea underlying it was the same +that had actuated the three powers in their intervention to +upset the Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan. +Delcassé answered affirmatively, adding that the representations +which he favoured would be courteous and theoretical, +and would merely offer to the English the assistance +of the republic in concluding an honourable peace. As +this answer was not what had been expected the matter +dropped. In the following year[<a id="chap16fn4text"></a><a href="#chap16fn4">4</a>] Muravieff tried again, and +with somewhat better results. On his way back to Petersburg +he stayed at Potsdam, where he reported to Bülow and the +Kaiser what he had heard and seen[<a id="chap16fn5text"></a><a href="#chap16fn5">5</a>] in the French capital. +They were only half satisfied with the result attained by the +undiplomatic Russian, but resolved to make the best of it. +I have grounds for believing that the lukewarmness of the +French government was less marked than has since been +asserted. The joint move could have been arranged without +difficulty if the Kaiser had had either the enterprise to pay +the full price then and there, or else the patience necessary +to wait until some future time for a more abundant harvest +from the seed he was sowing. The immediate consequence +of what he actually did was to frustrate his whole plan and +estrange France from Germany more completely than before. +He began by impressing the Russian and French governments +with the seriousness of the concerted action contemplated, +the need for a long sustained effort and a united front, and +consequently the removal in advance of all causes that might +lead to differences among the three powers themselves +during their diplomatic crusade in favour of the Boers. And +by way of removing the most dangerous of these causes he +deemed it indispensable that France, Russia, and Germany +should guarantee the integrity of each other's European +possessions. That proposal revealed the cloven foot. Its +acceptance would have meant that the lapse of twenty years +had sufficed to make the French nation resign itself to the +loss of Alsace-Lorraine and ratify voluntarily the treaty that +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P320"></a>320}</span> +gave these provinces to Germany. Thereupon the negotiations +broke down and subsequently the Kaiser had the +hardihood to assert—in order to ingratiate himself with the +British—that his object in laying down that deterrent +condition was precisely to render his own scheme impossible. +</p> + +<p> +But the most favourable moment of all for the execution +of Wilhelm's design was in 1904-5, because Russia, being at +first busied and then crippled by the Manchurian campaign, +France was deprived of her mainstay. And as her diplomatic +position in Europe depended very largely on the worth of +her alliance with Russia, the prostration of this Empire left +the republic almost isolated. As the Kaiser himself wrote +to the Tsar, England "could not defend Paris" with her +fleet. And according to the traditional German idea, the +capture of Paris connotes or entails the conquest of +France. +</p> + +<p> +It was evident, therefore, that the only way to get the +republic to join a combination of the kind which Wilhelm +desired was by constraining it. There was no alternative. +Now constraint could be effected only with the active help of +Russia. And as the Tsar was Russia, he must win over the +Tsar. At the first blush the task seemed easy enough. +Nicholas II. was a timid, shy, insignificant creature who +seemed unable to offer effective resistance to a clever +campaign of suasion and intimidation. Already he had proved +so weak-willed that the Kaiser managed the Kiao Chow +business with ease. But that was Wilhelm's only victory +over his imperial relation. Since then the Tsar had been +careful and kept out of further temptation. He shunned the +society of his Teuton kinsman. Indeed, cordiality could +hardly be said to mark the relations between the two. The +calculating German monarch, who now needed the services +of the Russian Tsar, was resolved to ascertain the reason and +remove it. And he went to work in this ingenious fashion. +Witte was sent to Germany to negotiate with Bülow a +commercial treaty[<a id="chap16fn6text"></a><a href="#chap16fn6">6</a>]—a delicate and momentous task just then +because this accord was foredestined by the Berlin government +to be the groundwork of Germany's future prosperity. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P321"></a>321}</span> +The treaty with Russia was the first to be concluded on the +new lines and was to serve as the model for all others. +Moreover, Witte had been the bitter opponent of all +Germany's rapacious proposals on the subject, and had even +declared that under no conditions would he assent to this +particular arrangement. But the vicissitudes of the war had +made the Tsardom pliant, and it was now willing to pay the +Kaiser's price for the privilege of employing in the Far East +the troops necessary for protecting its frontiers in the +West. And that price was the treaty on Germany's terms. +As Nicholas II. could not well refuse this, he sent Witte +with a number of experts to do the best he could under the +trying conditions. And what this statesman actually effected +was worthy of admiration. +</p> + +<p> +Witte was known personally as well as by reputation to +the Kaiser. He had negotiated through delegates a +commercial treaty with Germany under Alexander III.,[<a id="chap16fn7text"></a><a href="#chap16fn7">7</a>] and +certain of the stratagems he then employed were still talked +of in Petersburg and Berlin. For example, Count Caprivi +was determined that come what might Russia should give +Finland the right of concluding a separate autonomous +treaty with Germany, and Count Shuvaloff, the Tsar's +ambassador in Berlin, apprised Witte of this condition +<i>sine qua non</i>. Witte, without consulting the Emperor, sent +an urgent telegram to the ambassador demanding the +absolute withdrawal of the demand, and in case of a refusal +threatened to recall the delegates from Berlin. No reply +came for several days, and it looked as though Germany +would not give way. Witte became uneasy and said to one +of his friends, "I am anxious, but I have the consolation of +thinking that Caprivi is not less so, and at this moment he +is probably walking up and down in his study like me, +uncertain what to do." At last Shuvaloff telegraphed that the +Kaiser's government would not press the point. Witte +reporting next day to the Tsar confessed that he had exceeded +his powers, but that the Germans had given way. "And +that's as it should have been," responded Alexander +III. who shook hands with him warmly. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P322"></a>322}</span> +</p> + +<p> +But despite this success the negotiations were moving +slowly. Witte was dissatisfied and apprehensive. The +Junkers were obstructive. In order to silence them the +Russian Finance Minister decided to try the effect of a ruse. +He requested his friend Kovalevsky to draft a bill for +presentation to the Council of the Empire forbidding the Polish +harvesters, without whose cheap labour the East Prussian +could not live,[<a id="chap16fn8text"></a><a href="#chap16fn8">8</a>] to hire themselves out of Russia any more, +unless the German government should give way to the Tsar's +ministers on the contentious questions under discussion. +The bill was duly drawn up, printed, signed by the wily +Finance Minister, and then all the copies but two were +burned. Of these two Witte contrived that one should be +stolen and given to Caprivi, while the other found its way +to a Prussian agrarian journal as "a very confidential State +paper." Caprivi laid the important document before the +deputies at a secret sitting and the Junkers gave way all +along the line. Witte had also had interesting talks with the +Kaiser about the reconstruction of political Europe, which +set both of them pondering over the problems involved. +</p> + +<p> +But since that time the Russian statesman had experienced +the inconstancy of the German monarch. Wilhelm II. had, +however, of late frequently lavished genuine praise and heavy +German flattery on the Tsar's most trusted servant. "If you +were my subject," he once remarked, "I would employ your +services as Chancellor, and there is nothing that we two +working together could not accomplish. But men like you +are the world's rarest possessions, and the Tsar is a lucky +monarch." Now Witte was very sensitive to flattery and +could be led, up to a certain point, by a potentate like +the Kaiser who condescended to swing the censer briskly +before his face. Wilhelm more than once expressed his +regret that he could not have the benefit of consulting +the genial Russian whenever he needed advice, and his +hope that Witte himself would not hesitate to offer him +suggestions whenever they occurred to him, especially +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P323"></a>323}</span> +if the matter were important. He would ever welcome his +counsel and feel grateful for it. They must look upon each +other as friends. On Witte this soft sawder produced the +intended effect. The first occasion that arose after that for +appealing to Wilhelm was when the agreement between the +latter and the Tsar respecting Kiao Chow was about to be +executed. The Russian, as I narrated in a preceding chapter, +repaired to the German Embassy, saw Von Tschirschky, +reminded him of the Kaiser's permission to appeal to him, +and said that as the leasing of the Chinese port would bring +disaster to Germany and Russia, he implored the Emperor +to waive his claim to the execution of the compact. The +Kaiser was wild with rage, but answered that Witte was +obviously unaware of the circumstances that preceded and +conditioned the conclusion of the covenant, and he kept +Nicholas II. to his bargain. Witte too was angry and often +complained bitterly to me of the Kaiser's impulsiveness, +fitfulness, and inconstancy. +</p> + +<p> +The former cordiality was not restored until the Tsar's +great subject on his return as peace-maker from Portsmouth +was received by Wilhelm at Rominten, and then it lasted for +less than a week. +</p> + +<p> +But to return to the year 1904. When the Kaiser's promise +to guarantee Russia's western frontier called for some +practical manifestation of Russia's gratitude, Witte was deputed +by the Tsar to repair to Germany to bargain with official +representatives of the government and beat down their +exorbitant demands for concessions in the new commercial +treaty. He afterwards narrated to me his varied experiences +there, and in particular the conversations he had with Von +Bülow.[<a id="chap16fn9text"></a><a href="#chap16fn9">9</a>] +</p> + +<p> +This is not the place to give to the world the details of +the interesting story. It may, however, be permissible to +state that the Kaiser extorted from the Tsardom, for this +mark of his friendship, a tribute which Stolypin and Witte +both assured me was much greater than any war indemnity +on record. I needed no one to tell me that the renewal of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P324"></a>324}</span> +this accord would create friction intense enough to start a +conflagration. In conversation with the Tsar's ministers in +March, 1914, I gave free utterance to this conviction. The +Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs admitted that I was +probably right, but requested me, if possible, to abstain +from drawing public attention to this danger. Witte +confirmed my view, emphatically repeating, "It will assuredly +lead to war." He was right. As a matter of fact, before the +negotiations had begun it became one of the main factors of +the present struggle. +</p> + +<p> +Russia was not a free agent in 1904 when she acquiesced +in Germany's demands. So long as she was unfettered her +resistance had been invincible. But as usual the Teutons +opened their campaign most ingeniously. On old Christmas +Day, 1902, they raised the duty on corn from 43 to 78 per +cent. and enacted that it could not be lowered by commercial +treaties. Owing to this law they could afterwards plead that +their hands were tied. This increase meant for Russia an +annual tribute to Germany—and from one source only—of +eighty million marks which would become greater every +year. Witte responded by raising the duties on German +manufactured goods. When pourparlers began the Teuton +method was again resorted to and the demands preferred +were exorbitant. Russia held out for a lower corn tariff, +Germany for the abolition of the excess duties on manufactured +goods to be levied by the law of January, 1903, and also +<i>for permission for all the Kaiser's subjects, without exception, to +purchase and possess land in any part of Russia on the same +footing as the subjects of the Tsar</i>. +</p> + +<p> +Witte declared that he preferred a tariff war to economic +subjection of that degree and duration. Nothing, he added, +would induce him to entertain the demands of the Berlin +government. But the Tsar's Yalu speculation and its sequel +had bereft his Empire of its independence. The Japanese +were defeating Russia's armies in Manchuria. The nationalities +in the interior and the revolutionists there and abroad +were joining hands and menacing the throne and the regime. +Nicholas II., unable to withstand the pressure exerted by +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P325"></a>325}</span> +the Germans, sent Witte to Berlin to save whatever could +still be saved from the Teuton prehensile hands. The +statesman was welcomed as a messenger of good tidings by the +Kaiser and his Chancellor and cordial relations were +apparently re-established between them. In spite of Witte's +relative success the nature of the concrete result of the treaty[<a id="chap16fn10text"></a><a href="#chap16fn10">10</a>] +may be inferred from this one detail which was typical of the +remainder. Owing largely to the concessions made by this +agreement the Prussian ploughman earned by the same +amount of work as his Russian comrade, and with far less +risk, 400 per cent. more. The Russian press often reverted +to this servitude, characterised it as a crushing war +indemnity,[<a id="chap16fn11text"></a><a href="#chap16fn11">11</a>] and adjured the government not to ratify it for +another term of ten years in 1916. From the end of 1913 a +puissant agitation was going on all over Russia to hearten +and oblige the Tsar's government to adopt a <i>non possumus</i> +attitude when Germany's demand for the renewal of the +treaty for a further period of ten years would be presented +to them officially. Everywhere in the Tsardom voices were +uplifted against continuing to the Germans these same +opportunities of enriching themselves and draining the +country economically. In the month of March, 1904, for +instance, a congress of South Russian exporters passed a +resolution calling upon the Tsar's government to emancipate +the Empire from its economic dependence on Germany +"which is humiliating for a great power." But the Kaiser's +government was firmly resolved, come what might, to insist +on the prolongation of the commercial treaty for another +decennium. In these mutually incompatible aims lay one +of the chief of the proximate causes of the Great War. +</p> + +<p> +But to return to the final negotiations between the German +Chancellor and the first plenipotentiary of the Russian +government. Witte and Bülow were living at Norderney[<a id="chap16fn12text"></a><a href="#chap16fn12">12</a>] +during the negotiations to suit the Chancellor's convenience. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P326"></a>326}</span> +One evening after the work of the day was over Bülow +turned to Witte and said,[<a id="chap16fn13text"></a><a href="#chap16fn13">13</a>] "'The Emperor has a curious and +inquiring mind. He is never satisfied unless he can get to +the bottom of things. Now one of the every-day mysteries, +if I may so term them, which he has not yet fathomed but +hopes to solve with your assistance is this: Your Tsar is +cold and reserved towards him, and apparently as the result +of design rather than temperament. He never unbends. +Cordiality whenever it appears is not real. And yet the +Kaiser is most attentive to Nicholas II., and has been from +the very beginning. He feels drawn towards him. He is +never tired of thinking out ways of being agreeable to him. +He has sent him several deputations, as you know. But do +what he may he never elicits a really warm response. Now +the Kaiser wishes me to ask you, who are a past master of +psychology, why is that? His Majesty hopes you will shed +some light on the subject because by doing this you will be +rendering a precious service to your country as well as to +ours. All that my sovereign wants to know is what attitude +on his part will enable him to establish cordial relations +between the two monarchs and therefore between their +respective peoples.' +</p> + +<p> +"While Bülow and I were together on that island," Witte +said to me parenthetically, "he was receiving every day +communications from the Kaiser. I don't remember any +day that did not bring at least one. And I had the impression +that this awkward question was the result of one of the +latest. I answered it in a friendly spirit. But before I did +so Von Bülow went on, 'Please speak as frankly as you like. +Everything you say will be received with respect and +gratitude, and anything that you suggest will be carried out. +For we have absolute confidence in you.' I then replied, +'The answer to your question is that the Kaiser does not +know the Tsar, does not understand his nature and, +consequently, cannot approach him in the right way.' 'And what +is the right way?' 'If you like, I will give you a recipe for +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P327"></a>327}</span> +dealing with my sovereign.' 'Please do.' 'But I am not at +all sure that I ought. It is a delicate matter, and after all the +Kaiser is a man who has his own ideas of people and +things.' ... 'I assure you he will be delighted.' ... +That evening we got no further, because I deemed it best +to wait and hear. +</p> + +<p> +"Next evening when we had shaken off the heat and the +worries of the day, the Chancellor returned to the charge. +'I can now assure you absolutely that the Kaiser will be +truly obliged to you for your diagnosis and advice. He will +not take offence. I am speaking this evening with first-hand +knowledge.' 'Good, then I will be brief. The Kaiser is too +bluff and too patronising. He is hail-fellow-well-met with +the Tsar, whose conception of his own dignity and of his rôle +in the world is that of the monarchs of the Jewish theocracy. +A soft haze of mysticism refracts everything he beholds and +magnifies his own functions and person. I am sure the +Kaiser has not allowed for this. I daresay he writes, "I +advise you, I suggest, etc." If so, he is making a mistake, +and in the Tsar's eyes a capital one. What he ought to do +is to ask for light, to seek for help, to beg for advice, for +co-operation from one whom he recognises as sagacious and +far-seeing. +</p> + +<p> +"'If I were the Kaiser and had need of his assistance, I +would invent problems to lay before him. I would say, for +example, "I am not sure whether it would be wise to dismiss +Von Bülow after that last injudicious speech of his in the +Reichstag. You who know the world and understand men's +motives so thoroughly could advise me. How does it strike +you?" Now what your Kaiser does is the very opposite. +He treats Nicholas II. as a much younger brother, patronises +him, and rubs him the wrong way. I can give you an example. +It has come to my knowledge that when the Tsar was last +in Darmstadt the two monarchs had a private conversation, +during which your Emperor behaved as though he were a +very big brother and the Tsar a very little one. Part of the +time he held his arm over the shoulder of Nicholas II., and +afterwards, too, he overshadowed and eclipsed him. I +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P328"></a>328}</span> +believe they were photographed together in that posture. +Well, these things hurt. +</p> + +<p> +"'I will give you one more example, and I shall consider +my promise redeemed. Some time ago the Kaiser passed +near Darmstadt without visiting the Grand Duke Ernst +Ludwig. Now that was a slight. You may say that the Grand +Duke is not an equal and that the Kaiser cannot be expected +to treat princelets always as though they were emperors. +That may be true enough in the abstract, and it may apply +to German princes who are this and nothing more, but in +this particular case the person offended was the Tsaritsa's +brother, and the sting was indirectly felt by the Tsar +himself. These may seem, nay they are, small things, but they +tell.'" ... +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn1text">1</a>] That ruinous arrangement was negotiated +between Bülow and Witte and +their expert advisers in the summer of 1904. +It is the same treaty that at +present obtains between the two countries (March, 1918). +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn2text">2</a>] Japan's genial statesman, Ito, +told me in presence of several other +persons, including the late W. T. Stead, +that when he was received by the +Kaiser he espied that picture hanging +in the apartment where they met. +Tact and fine feeling are not among +the qualities of Wilhelm II. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn3text">3</a>] Cf., for example, <i>Contemporary Review</i>, +June and July, 1904, "The +Obstacles to an Anglo-Russian Convention," by E. J. Dillon. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn4text">4</a>] In 1900. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn5text">5</a>] In February, 1900. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn6text">6</a>] In the summer of 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn7text">7</a>] In the year 1893. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn8text">8</a>] In the year 1905 Prussia employed +454,348 foreign workmen, of whom +124,184 were Russian subjects. +In the year 1911 she required 820,831 foreign +working men, of whom 204,522 were of Russian nationality. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn9text">9</a>] All these conversations, +many of which were dictated to me after lunch +or dinner, are extant, +but they are not all accessible at present. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn10text">10</a>] Concluded in 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn11text">11</a>] Cf. the article of A. Stolypin +in the <i>Novoye Vremya</i> of 4th/17th +March, 1914. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn12text">12</a>] An island in the North Sea, province of Hanover. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap16fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap16fn13text">13</a>] What follows was dictated to me by Witte himself, +to be used after his +death, if I should survive him. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap17"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P329"></a>329}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XVII +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE SECRET TREATY OF BJÖRKE—II +</p> + +<p> +Turning to me Witte said, "I had in my mind at the +time, but I did not mention it to Bülow, a much more +striking instance which had made very bad blood at the +Tsar's court. It was an incident—a characteristic +one—which had happened at military manœuvres presided over +by the Kaiser. The Grand Duke of Hesse, who took part in +them, was being caustically criticised by his war-lord who +said, 'So you want to have the Black Eagle conferred on +you, I understand? Very well. Show that you deserve it. +Answer me a question, but answer it at once and without +hesitation. When a hussar mounts his charger which foot +must he raise first, the right or the left? Quick!' The +Grand Duke did not rise to the occasion. He remained +silent. Then the Emperor said, 'You want the Black Eagle +and yet are unable to answer a simple question like that,' and +with a sneer he left the parade ground. That monologue +found its way to Peterhof very shortly afterwards. And it +was brooded over. But I kept that to myself." About six +months later Bülow thanked Witte fervidly for his advice, +which he said was most wise and efficacious. "The Tsar," he +added, "has, as you told me, a great store of <i>amour +propre</i>." "After that," Witte went on, "I must say that the Kaiser's +manner towards Nicholas II. was much less overbearing +than before. He evidently remembered my recipe. He +advised the Tsar not to give way during the Japanese war, but +he gave the advice in an acceptable form. But after all he +was knocking at an open door. For Nicholas II. hated England +then, and for three reasons: first, because of the treaty +she had made with Japan which ruined his own political +schemes; second, because of English liberalism which +sympathised with Russian liberalism and gave asylum to +Russian revolutionaries; and third, because of the growing +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P330"></a>330}</span> +influence of the Jews in Britain. He sometimes spoke as +though all the English were Jews. +</p> + +<p> +"Before I left Norderney I received a letter from the +Russian commercial attaché in London, Rutkoffsky, asking +me whether I could meet the Japanese minister, Hayashi, +with a view to talking over the ways and means of ending +the war. Without mentioning this letter, I casually asked +Bülow what Germany would think and say if peace were +concluded at this conjuncture. He had just received one of +the daily communications from the Kaiser. He answered, +'If I were only a friend of Russia's, I would say without +hesitation or reserve, "make peace." But Germany is not +merely a friend—she is a devoted, a sincere, an intimate, a +unique friend of Russia's, and for that reason she cannot +give such poisonous advice to her. Make peace indeed!' +</p> + +<p> +"Months passed. As you remember I went to Paris, on +my way to Portsmouth, and you went to London to carry +my proposals to Hayashi for the Japanese government. +France was full of her own troubles just then, of which the +source was Berlin and the pretext Morocco. Delcassé had +already been dismissed. I saw Rouvier and Loubet. They +both counselled me to make peace. I needed no stimulus, +however, to move me in that direction. You know what I +felt and thought of that accursed war which may yet bring +others in its train and ruin some of the cultural achievements +of generations. I saw it coming and my exertions to +stave it off cost me my post of Finance Minister. When I +passed through Paris in 1903 I knew it was imminent and +I felt impelled to call on Delcassé, then Minister of Foreign +Affairs, and apprise him. But on reflection I gave up the +idea because Delcassé would not have believed me. But, +instead, I called on Alphonse Rothschild and told him what +my forecast was. Rothschild queried, 'Are you quite sure? +The reason I ask you is because Delcassé is of the opposite +opinion and I should like to have something more than one +opinion balancing another. He swears there will be no war.' I +answered that I had unfortunately no doubt. +</p> + +<p> +"France, were she better informed, might have prevented +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P331"></a>331}</span> +that wanton slaughter—almost without an effort. And she +ought to have prevented it in her own interests, for of all +the non-belligerent nations she had most to lose by it. To +England it seemed rather a gain because it would weaken +her old enemies and render them both more amenable to +reason in the future. To Germany it would bring no loss +and some important advantages, such as the commercial +treaty. It would also relieve her of the necessity of +preparing for a war on two fronts which was the constant fear +before the eyes of the Berlin statesmen. Austria considered +it a boon, the like of which would probably never return for +centuries. And Aehrendial's merit lay in his clear +perception of that fact and the promptitude with which he +acted on it. France alone stood to lose tremendously by +Russia's defeat. Her savings were invested in Russian +enterprises. Her prestige and international status depended +largely on our military strength. But the statesmen of the +republic saw nothing, felt nothing, suspected nothing. By +the beginning of 1905 the upshot was outlined with painful +distinctness. Russia was worsted, the balance of European +power was upset, and France's specific gravity had fallen low. +</p> + +<p> +"France had to find a substitute for what she had lost in +the Japanese war, and she turned towards England. This +was a good enough move in the circumstances. My criticism +of it is that Delcassé allowed himself to be dictated to by +circumstances instead of taking them in hand and directing +them. The Anglo-French understanding, which you had +so often advocated, was at last realised and the Kaiser was +incensed to find himself confronted with an accomplished +fact instead of being told all about it at the outset. A friend +of mine and of his said to him, 'There is nothing in it +except what everybody knows. And that is harmless enough.' But +the Kaiser replied, 'If that be so, why was it hidden +from me? The concealment makes me suspect something +that has not emerged into the light. And whether or no it +is there I am warranted in suspecting it.' +</p> + +<p> +"Then Wilhelm devised the Morocco incident in order +to punish France and test England's loyalty to the republic. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P332"></a>332}</span> +I know that he did not believe that the English would stand +by their late opponents so soon after Fashoda, and he was +not alone in his estimate. But events belied it. That was his +first mistake. Holstein, the spider who spun his webs in the +Berlin twilight, held the opposite view and left no stone +unturned to move his government to act upon it. But the +Kaiser went his own way, as he so often does. His visit to +Tangier and all that came of that is universally believed +to have been the execution of a plan drawn up with deliberation +and neatness. But although his ultimate aims were +definite and can be reconstructed to-day without fear of +error—I have amused myself by putting them in sequence—the +details were often left to chance, and his fateful visit to +Tangier was one of these details. It may be said that these +particulars possess meagre historic interest, but they +characterise the man and help one to appreciate his policy. Well, +I can tell you that he never intended to make that extraordinary +visit until his yacht had actually left Lisbon, and he +did not intend to land even when the yacht was in the +roadstead opposite Tangier until a French marine officer, very +innocently, encouraged him by giving a sanguine view of +the state of wind and wave and weather. That is an absolute +fact....[<a id="chap17fn1text"></a><a href="#chap17fn1">1</a>] +</p> + +<p> +"The Kaiser's visit became a landmark of history, +however, and Europe had to reckon with its consequences. +These might have been less painful for the republic if its +statesmen had displayed more self-discipline and less levity. +But we must take people as they are, and Clemenceau was +true to himself when he unburdened his mind and stated +that France, according to the War Minister, was not prepared +for war. No doubt it was a rash course to run the risk of a +war with no allies except a prostrate Russia and an England +who could help France only with her ships and, as the +Kaiser brutally put it, 'could not save Paris.' Still bluff was +a possible game, but that was not exactly the way to play it. +</p> + +<p> +"When I reached Paris, on my way to the United States, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P333"></a>333}</span> +the people there were engrossed by the Morocco business +and by Germany's daring and successful intervention in the +internal politics of France. And undoubtedly it was an +amazing spectacle. The removal of Delcassé, then a popular +minister, in a country which was proud of being democratic +in spirit and a republic in form, was a marvellous achievement. +True, it was effected only with the co-operation of the +French themselves. But they co-operated with zeal and +perseverance. Rouvier hated Delcassé and wholly +disapproved his policy as chauvinistic, and the Germans, who +are single-minded and united, played off the one politician +against the other, and gained their ends without changing +or even modifying their own plans for either. The only +modification they made came later, after my return from +the Peace Conference at Portsmouth, and then it was brought +to pass by my intervention. I may say that my short-lived +friendly relations with the Kaiser enabled me to ward off a +European war. The play of democratic institutions in +France and Italy—I know England far too little to be able +to speak with first-hand knowledge on the subject—is a +comedy and will continue to be a comedy until it becomes +a tremendous tragedy. It is a repetition on a more moderate +scale of the unedifying doings that went on in Poland shortly +before the first partition. Or look at it if you will in this way: +The Germans are aiming at the same kind of influence over +so-called democratic countries of Europe that Russia and +England are actually exercising in Persia—they hope for a +victory to be scored by intelligence, system, and organisation +over ignorance, incompetence, and lack of cohesiveness. +If the conditions continue unchanged the odds are big in +favour of Germany. Cannot your statesmen be got to +realise that? ... Or has Fate taken the matter out of their +hands? +</p> + +<p> +"The newspapers in Paris published a telegram somewhere +about 24th-25th July, I don't remember the exact +date, announcing that the Kaiser had gone in his yacht on a +visit to the Tsar to Björke. Rouvier was very disquieted at +the news and asked me what it meant. 'How is it possible,' +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P334"></a>334}</span> +he exclaimed, 'that our ally can demonstrate his friendship, +private or public, for the man who is playing havoc with +France's policy and her peace of mind, and is behaving as an +enemy who has not yet declared war against us only because +he is not sure that all the circumstances are auspicious?' I +quieted Rouvier as best I could, saying that the Tsar is not +merely loyal but is punctiliously so, that I felt certain the +visit was one of courtesy and that it was imposed on him by +the Kaiser—as it really turned out to be—and that if he had +declined it the consequences would probably be as +unpleasant to France as to Russia. I talked for some time in +this conventional style, but I did not feel assured myself. I +resembled a lawyer pleading from a brief sent by a shady +solicitor. While I was talking to the Premier, all the +circumstances of the Kiao Chow incident unrolled themselves +before my mind's eyes: I saw the two monarchs with +important mien playing with the lives of a multitude of +men, and one of them hardly conscious of his responsibility, +but both deeming themselves to be beings of a different +species from their fellow-mortals. I also remembered the +Kaiser's question, which Bülow put to me at Norderney, as +to how he should tackle the Tsar, and I wondered whether +the Tsar had again allowed himself to be duped. On +reflection, however, I persuaded myself that that could hardly +be, because there was nothing mischievous left for him to +do—so far as I could then see. But Rouvier, whose thoughts +ran on other lines, was excited, and raising his voice +exclaimed, 'How could such a thing be possible? When you +were leaving Petersburg was it arranged? Did the Tsar tell +you anything about it?' 'No, it was not arranged. If it had +been I should most certainly have known from the Minister +of Foreign Affairs. But I will telegraph to him at once.' +</p> + +<p> +"I telegraphed to Lamsdorff, and received a statement +from him by letter which, as well as I remember, was written +before he could have received my telegraphic inquiry. You +can verify the dates in my papers."[<a id="chap17fn2text"></a><a href="#chap17fn2">2</a>] +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P335"></a>335}</span> +</p> + +<p> +Witte received Lamsdorff's letter from Professor +Martens. It enclosed a copy of the government instructions +to Baron Rosen and contains the following characteristic +reference to the famous interview at Björke. I translate it +literally: "In the evening of the 6th/19th July, his +Majesty the Emperor received a telegram from Kaiser +Wilhelm, from the eastern coast of Sweden, with contents +of a most obliging character. At the end of it[<a id="chap17fn3text"></a><a href="#chap17fn3">3</a>] the German +Kaiser added, 'I should be happy to have the possibility of +meeting the Emperor <i>unceremoniously</i>!'[<a id="chap17fn4text"></a><a href="#chap17fn4">4</a>] Considering that +such an interview would be most useful and important at +the conjuncture through which we are passing, his Majesty +gladly consented and proposed to Wilhelm that he should +repair to Björkesund, not far from Vyborg. The meeting will +take place on Sunday, 10th/23rd July, towards evening, and +will probably extend over a day and a half. It is unnecessary +that I should accompany the Emperor because Bülow is not +cruising with the Kaiser Wilhelm. +</p> + +<p> +"I am of opinion that this event can produce only a good +impression and one that is advantageous to us. Provided +always that Wilhelm does not contrive to elicit one or other +of those assurances and amicable promises which he +afterwards knows how to exploit in such a masterly way. +</p> + +<p> +"I hope that you will have an opportunity of explaining +to the French that the coming together of the two emperors +has an exclusively friendly and family character. One among +other evidences of this is the absence of their Ministers of +Foreign Affairs. In any case, for France the impending +conversations of the two monarchs cannot be other than +helpful." +</p> + +<p> +How helpful they were the public knows by this time. It +may not be amiss to reproduce here the exact text of the +telegram in which the Kaiser practically invited himself to +the Tsar's dominions. It is in the Emperor's English which +diverges occasionally from the King's: +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P336"></a>336}</span> +</p> + +<p> +"I shall shortly be on my return journey[<a id="chap17fn5text"></a><a href="#chap17fn5">5</a>] and cannot +pass across entrance of Finnish sea without sending you best +love and wishes. Should it give you any pleasure to see me +either on shore or your yacht of course am always at your +disposal. I would come as simple tourist without any +fêtes." +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar replied at once as follows: "Delighted with +your proposition. Would it suit you to meet at Björkesund +near Vyborg, a pleasant quiet place, living on board our +yachts? In these serious times I cannot go far from the +capital. Of course our meeting will be quite simple and +homely. Looking forward with intense pleasure to see you. +Nicky." From Nyland the Kaiser replied on 7th/20th July +as follows: "Most happy. Would it suit you if I arrived +at your anchorage—Björkesund—on Sunday, 10th/23rd, +evening? My yacht draws six and half metres water, would +be thankful for a trustworthy pilot to lead us through the +entrance. Please to communicate where you will anchor. +Have kept the whole matter quite secret, so that my +gentlemen on board even know nothing; also at home nobody +informed.[<a id="chap17fn6text"></a><a href="#chap17fn6">6</a>] Am so delighted to be able to see you. Hope +you will not be disturbed by my Nordland's Gessellschaft +who always accompany me since fifteen years. Best love. +Willy." After that the following three despatches passed +between the pair before they came together on the historic +evening of the 23rd: "Shall be Sunday, 10th/23rd, +afternoon, at Björkesund. Have given orders about trustworthy +pilot. Place of anchorage will be between the islands of +Björke and Kavitza. Till now have kept our planned meeting +secret. So happy to see you. Wish you a smooth passage. +Best love. Nicky." +</p> + +<p> +"Most obliged, expect to arrive on 23rd (10th) at seven +evening. Please let pilot meet us off Hochland. Nobody +has slightest idea of meeting; only my captain, who is +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P337"></a>337}</span> +ordered to keep absolute secrecy. All my guests under +impression of going to Visby in Gothland. I am overjoyed +at seeing you again. Have most important news for +you. The faces of my guests will be worth seeing when they +suddenly behold your yacht! A fine lark! Tableaux! +Which dress for the meeting? Willy." +</p> + +<p> +"Steamer with pilots shall await your arrival at south +end of island Hochland 10th/23rd July at sunrise. Micha +will accompany me. Best love. Nicky." +</p> + +<p> +Before touching upon the correspondence that had gone +before, and of which the meeting and the work accomplished +thereat were but the climax, it will be well to quote two more +allusions to the interview which Witte received during his +absence from Russia. The Finance Minister, Kokofftseff, +telegraphing to him about the scheme for a consultative +chamber, to be called the Duma, adds: "All the time the +Emperor is in good humour, being manifestly cheered up +after his meeting with the German Kaiser."[<a id="chap17fn7text"></a><a href="#chap17fn7">7</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Count Lamsdorff in a letter dated 16th/29th July, which +he sent to Witte through the intermediary of the naval +officer Russin, writes: "The Emperor was extraordinarily +pleased with his interview with Kaiser Wilhelm, who in +reality, however, talked little about the war, but expressed +himself in favour of concluding peace with a view to +restoring order in the interior of Russia. What seemingly +touched the Tsar was Wilhelm's proclaiming his firm confidence +in the invulnerability of Russia's might. He considers +the present ferment superficial, and believes that it can +easily be made to subside. I do not know how far this +optimism is sincere, but by means of it an excellent +impression was made on the Emperor. +</p> + +<p> +"They talked of the affairs of Norway-Sweden and of +the relations with France, with whom the Emperor Wilhelm +considers it possible to establish closer intercourse after the +removal of Delcassé", etc., etc. It is my opinion that these +friendly assurances will lead up to more or less definite +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P338"></a>338}</span> +demands, on which it behoves us to look with the utmost +circumspection."[<a id="chap17fn8text"></a><a href="#chap17fn8">8</a>] +</p> + +<p> +How the French government professed to look upon the +Björke interview appears from a confidential report that lies +before me from an eminent diplomatist who will recognise +the words of his own telegram to his government.[<a id="chap17fn9text"></a><a href="#chap17fn9">9</a>] "With +regard to the visit of the German to the Russian Emperor +the French Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs told me +that the Russian government had not notified it, and that +M. Witte was not informed of it before quitting St. Petersburg, +and that it was only after the meeting of the two +emperors that the French government was apprised that the +Kaiser had requested the Tsar to be allowed to pay him a +visit of cordial amity. The Minister of Foreign Affairs +assured me that M. Witte had called on him to explain on +behalf of Count Lamsdorff that the interview of the two +emperors was devoid of political character, and that nobody +could pretend to know the particulars of the conversation +that had taken place between the two sovereigns, although +the rumour had been spread that Germany was aiming at +getting France to strike up an understanding with her in +order to act together in concert on the Far Eastern question. +</p> + +<p> +"I availed myself of the opportunity to ask the Minister +of Foreign Affairs for some information on this subject. He +assured me categorically that no advances had been made to +the French government, and that he himself was formally +opposed to any such understanding, inasmuch as he preferred +to have his hand entirely free on these questions.[<a id="chap17fn10text"></a><a href="#chap17fn10">10</a>] +... Having learned that M. Witte had seen the ambassador of +Germany in France I called on him shortly after my interview +with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The ambassador +of Germany in France told me that ... he could not +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P339"></a>339}</span> +understand how Russians like Witte could misunderstand +the actual situation.[<a id="chap17fn11text"></a><a href="#chap17fn11">11</a>] Respecting the meeting of the monarchs +he told me that it was a visit of courtesy and that it +would be a grave error on the part of the French to ascribe +real importance to it. According to a telegram which he had +received he thinks he is warranted in saying that the Tsar +was entirely satisfied with the meeting. But the circumstance +that Russia and Germany are striving to belittle as far as +possible the significance of this visit seems, to me, on the +contrary, to prove that the meeting of the two emperors +possesses some importance.... I saw the ambassador of +England in France, and he told me that the meeting of the +two emperors was perhaps intended to prepare a cooling +down of the relations between France and Russia, Germany +having already had recourse to that policy in Morocco to +sunder France from England...." +</p> + +<p> +The Kaiser's verbal profession of faith in the firmness of +Russia's might was repeated in a telegram he sent to the +Tsar less than a week after the interview,[<a id="chap17fn12text"></a><a href="#chap17fn12">12</a>] in the course of +which he wrote: "I venture to advise promulgating (<i>sic</i>) +Bouliguine Bill[<a id="chap17fn13text"></a><a href="#chap17fn13">13</a>] as soon as possible. So that the +representatives be elected soon. Meanwhile, till that has taken +place, the peace conference will have been opened and the +conditions become known for both sides." How thoughtful +he was of the monarchist principle even abroad, and of the +policy of attributing all individual successes to the sovereign, +may be inferred from the following allusion to Witte's peace +negotiations: "With the actual spirit prevailing in Russia, +the disaffected masses would try to place the whole responsibility +for all disadvantageable (<i>sic</i>) consequences on your +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P340"></a>340}</span> +shoulders and the successes as results on Witte's personal +manage (<i>sic</i>). It would be excellent as a first task for these +representatives, if you gave them the treaty of peace after it +has been formulated, to vote upon; thus leaving the odium +of the decision to the country and thereby giving the Russian +people a voice in the matter of their own prosperity, which +they so much wish for. The outcome would be their work +and therefore stop the mouths of the opposition. Best love +to Alice. Willy." +</p> + +<p> +In this secret meeting with the Kaiser and the extra +secret doings to which it led we again find the stream of +tendency in the matter of Russia's most momentous dealings +with foreign countries canalised and regulated, not by some +far-seeing statesman or in accordance with any general +instructions attributed to Peter, but by the changing whims +of a puny whipster, of whom the best that one can say is +that he knew not what he did. Befogged with fantastic ideas +fostered by his courtiers, he worshipped himself as the +source of all political wisdom and ignored even those whom +he himself had chosen to advise him. His letters and the +remarks he penned across various reports which are in my +possession depict him as a man whose mind was affected +by the mania of greatness. He resented every human +endeavour to enlighten him. From the viewless spirits, +indeed, he was willing enough to accept lessons whether +they came through a table, a planchette, a medium, or a +hypnotiser like Rasputin, but from a mere mortal, however +experienced and clear-eyed, he would brook nothing short +of acquiescence and obedience. A man of Witte's vehement +pulsing force he could not tolerate in his environment, and +even the meek and mild Lamsdorff, who felt himself exalted +"in bowing down before the Lord's anointed," however +he might counsel and plead and expostulate,[<a id="chap17fn14text"></a><a href="#chap17fn14">14</a>] was not even +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P341"></a>341}</span> +listened to. He was the Emperor's tippet. Nicholas II. had +no minister, Russia no leader. And his schemes were secret, +his plans mysterious, his State actions clandestine. His very +glance was furtive. Although most people around him had +sounded his intelligence and plumbed his character, nobody +whom I met understood him so perfectly as Witte. Not only +could he describe graphically the workings of the Emperor's +mind from their manifestations in his looks, words, gait, +gestures, and voice, but he could often foretell his attitude +in circumstances which were about to occur for the first +time. The greatness, physical, mental, and moral, of Witte +added the element of the grotesque to the smallness, the +pettiness, and the pithlessness of his sovereign. "He has the +slyness of the maniac, and also the method and the stubbornness," +he used to say to me. "There is no trace of high +spirit in anything he undertakes. His best actions are done +as though his conscience pictured them as shameful crimes." But +this solvent analysis did not impair the statesman's +loyalty or sense of duty. +</p> + +<p> +One day Witte and I stood on the captain's bridge on the +steamer that was conveying us to New York looking down +upon a crowd of Czechs, Hungarians, Italians, Norwegians, +Swedes, and Germans sprawling about on the third-class +deck. "Look at these people," Witte said. "There must +be, there certainly is, something radically wrong in the +civilisation that throws them up as scum to its surface. You +may say that they are not the dregs of that society. True, +but that only darkens the colours in which I behold the +sinister phenomenon. If the nations of the earth would only +consent to abandon war as a means of settling international +disputes, what a spring-tide of improvement we should +experience! I don't claim that you can do away with +violence once for all in this imperfect world of ours. But +you can narrow its sphere surprisingly." "By another +Hague Conference?" I inquired. "Don't mention that +ignoble sham, I loathe the name of it," he exclaimed. "But +listen and tell me what you think of what I am going to say. +</p> + +<p> +"When Kaiser Wilhelm paid his first visit to Petersburg +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P342"></a>342}</span> +after his accession to the throne I saw him and we talked, +as you and I are talking now, feeling after some solution to +the great social problems which are far more pressing than +most of our trumpery issues. I remember one occasion in +particular on which we discussed the differences between +Europe and America with a view to examining the source +of the advantages which the United States enjoy. It was in +the German Embassy. The Kaiser said: +</p> + +<p> +"You, M. Witte, are a European authority on tariff and +railway matters. Have you, in the course of your researches, +ever gone into the subject of what should be the normal +economic relations between the two continents, Europe and +America?' 'No, sire. But I am not sure that I have seized +the drift of your question.' 'Well, I'll put it more +concretely. Did you never reflect that America is living on +Europe, drawing the life-sap from its peoples, and that the +process, unless it be stopped in time, may end in +prostration?' Now how can you stop it? There is only one +effectual way, by checking the influx of agricultural produce +and manufactured wares from the United States. I don't, +of course, mean a complete and formal boycott, but a high +tariff that would cause the importation curve to drop heavily.' 'No, +sire. I never thought of that, and now that you speak +of it I am afraid it may prove difficult to find a suitable place +for it among the ideas that lodge in my brain. For with the +people of the United States we in Russia are on friendly +terms. Interest as well as sentiment impel us to remain on +this good footing. If we were to wage a tariff war against +them I realise what we should lose, but I cannot see what we +should gain. So far as Russia is concerned, there would be +neither motive nor aim in the measure.' 'You are mistaken +in thinking that it should be directed against the United +States in particular. What I have in mind, and what could +and should be done in the interests of all our continental +peoples, is to levy a high tariff on all non-European wares. +The American would then be liable as well as those of the +other continents.' +</p> + +<p> +"'That strikes me,' I objected, 'as primarily a political +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P343"></a>343}</span> +rather than an economic scheme, and it would, I feel +convinced, make bad blood between the peoples affected. Our aim +it has always seemed to me ought to be to bring together not +to estrange. Ever since England's war against the people of +the United States that people and we have been fast friends. +And we wish to remain their friends in the future. If I am +right in assuming that at the root of your Majesty's suggestion +lies the sundering of the economical from the political +question, then I am with you. Thus while I see no harm in +our eating American bread, fruits, and other foods, I see no +good in our spending so much European money on preparations +for war that too little remains for these necessaries +and for cultural purposes! +</p> + +<p> +"'It may be true,' I went on, 'that the importation of +American corn challenges and deserves attention. The +budgetary estimates appear to point in that direction. But +even so, that to my thinking is only an imaginary danger or, +at the worst, a very overrated one. The real peril lies in +Europe itself and consists in the never-ending strife and +feuds and wars, and worse than all in the noxious atmosphere +of militarism which is asphyxiating the foremost peoples of +the world. Militarism brings socialism in its train, and +socialism breeds anarchism. The fact is that the armed +peace of to-day is a thinly disguised war—but a war against +civilisation. That is the cancer which is eating away the +vital organs of the nations. So appalling are the sacrifices +it necessitates that war itself would hardly be worse.' I +remember suddenly thinking that my words would sound +like a sermon in the Kaiser's ears and I stopped short, but +he said, 'Please complete your thought.' I went on: +</p> + +<p> +"'Against whom are we making ready for war? Not +against America, but unhappily against one another. Do +we gain anything by these wars? Nothing. In the meanwhile +America and other overseas countries profit by these +our intestine feuds. And by dint of thus losing the best of +what she has and is, Europe will, in time, resemble an +elderly lady who once was beautiful as well as young, and +is now esteemed only for her past. And if this anarchism is +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P344"></a>344}</span> +allowed to continue long enough, Europe as an aggregate +of political communities will have ceased to exist. It cannot +be otherwise.' +</p> + +<p> +"'Then you don't approve the idea of our agreeing about +a European tariff against America, or say rather non-European +produce and manufactures?' 'No, sire. If we cannot agree to +strive after real and accessible boons we shall not unite on +the more difficult problem of making sacrifices for imaginary +or inaccessible advantages. What strikes me forcibly is the +wonderful transformation that union or association would +effect in the political and economic ordering of Europe. +If our continent were one empire or one republic'—the +Kaiser looked sharply at me when I pronounced the word +republic, but he probably saw that in my thought it contained +no application to actual politics—'her voice would +be respectfully hearkened to throughout the world. The +heavy taxes that are waxing heavier every year would +become very perceptibly lighter or else would purchase +invaluable boons in lieu of shells and guns. Europe would +be a syndicate run for the benefit of the whole community. +And what is more, that syndicate could govern, or let us say +guide, the world. But instead of realising that bright +perspective, we in Europe are at the mercy of each other to-day +and may be at the mercy of America to-morrow and of +Japan the day after. For while Europe is decaying new +States are springing up. The United States was but an +English colony a brief while ago. Now she is a world-power. +Japan was a tiny island State quite recently. She is still very +weak, but is growing and may become much stronger and +even very strong in time.' +</p> + +<p> +"The Kaiser said, 'I am delighted to hear you unfold +such excellent ideas because I agree with them in essence. +But schemes are tested by their execution and their working. +How do you count on realising yours? Look around upon +Europe. You know how precarious the equilibrium is and +how far we still are from stability. Propose a workable +scheme. Mine is to make the continent strong by keeping +out ruinous American exploitation. But I want to hear +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P345"></a>345}</span> +yours.' 'I, sire, would make all Europe one.' 'All +Europe?' 'I mean continental Europe. England would have to be +left out. She cannot become a member of the federation so +long as she is a purely maritime power. Her geographical +situation separates her from the continental States. If she +had constructed the tunnel under the Channel and were +thus joined with France her status would be different. +Then she, too, would be a member of the United States of +Europe. To-day she is not European. The sea severs while +it defends her from the Continent.' +</p> + +<p> +"'There,' exclaimed the Kaiser—who at that time was +an ardent champion of an understanding with England—'you +and I are no longer at one. England is quite as much +European as any continental State and may think herself +more so than some; anyhow she must be got to join. Her +adherence is a necessity. A United States of Europe with +England left out would never do.' 'I do not insist, sire. All +that I aspire after is the cessation of armaments by +eradicating their causes. And that could be accomplished by the +strenuous co-ordinated endeavour of the foremost minds +of civilised nations.' 'That is precisely what I am trying to +bring about. I want to do away with wars between European +States and I think I see my way. But, as you say, the +co-operation of the leading spirits of all countries is desirable. +May I count on your help when the time comes?' 'Yes, +sire. I shall esteem myself happy to contribute in any +degree to the attainment of such a desirable end. But I +think time is needed. A social organism cannot be +transformed in a hurry otherwise than superficially. And we +need something more than that.' 'Truly, time is requisite +to weld the nations of Europe into a federation. But we +cannot make too great haste to take the first step. +Afterwards no power or continent will dare to question the +behests of Europe. Economically and politically we shall +lead the human race. Do you agree?' 'Yes, sire, I agree +to everything except the boycotting of America. I also hold +that economic and political measures must be studied apart. +My idea is to begin the work by trying a political experiment, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P346"></a>346}</span> +not an economic one, to bring together Russia, France, and +Germany with as little laboured effort as possible, and that +done we shall have gone far towards achieving the high +purpose for which you are working. France's adherence, +however, is a necessity. With her partnership and +co-operation we cannot dispense. Your Majesty adds England. +All the better if that be possible. I even go further and say +that the first aim must be the establishment of a United +States of Europe. But if we were to begin by what would be +considered a tariff war on America, I doubt whether we +should make much headway.' +</p> + +<p> +"That was our conversation, as far as I can recall it now. +But I have it in writing somewhere and if you remind me +on our return home I will show it to you, It made a profound +impression on me at the time. But let me add a curious +detail which is worth remembering because characteristic. +The conversation must have made a deep dent on the +Kaiser's mind or else he wanted to make capital out of it, +for he at once wrote out an account of it—a one-sided +account in which my objections were slurred over or +omitted, some of my views weakened, my plea for bringing +France into the federation not mentioned, and worst of all +a series of sophisticated arguments put forward for +inaugurating an economic boycott of America. And this +memorandum he presented to the Tsar. At that time the +Kaiser was bitten with a mania for eliminating America +from the European markets. Is it not odd that in his +memorandum to the Tsar he should have passed over in +silence my objections to his plan, and also everything I had +uttered about France? +</p> + +<p> +"The Tsar smiled as he handed me the Kaiser's memoir, +and said, 'Read it at your leisure and tell me what you +think of it. The Kaiser is full of it and wants to indoctrinate +me. Jot down your views briefly when you have time. I +don't agree with him.' Of course I had time. Having read +the paper carefully I went over the ground and with ease +demolished the sophisms with which Wilhelm bolstered up +his plea for boycotting the United States. When I next +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P347"></a>347}</span> +went to the palace to report to the Tsar I put the case in a +nutshell and he accepted my view and thanked me. He +smiled when I grew animated in arguing and said that he +was already convinced. +</p> + +<p> +"The fact is that at this period of his reign the Kaiser +was visibly drawn towards England and earnestly desired +an accord with that country. That explains why he reacted +the moment I remarked that England being an island and +having purely maritime interests to further and safeguard +would hardly be qualified for membership of the League of +European States until her territory was linked by a tunnel +under the Channel to the Continent. He stopped me at +once and fired off his objections one after the other until I +gave way and said that the aim was of greater importance +than the means. In later years he vacillated between England +and Russia, uncertain with which one of the two he had better +strike a bargain. As soon as he decided to weaken Russia +he pushed her into the Far Eastern swamp. Of this I am +absolutely sure. It was he who laid the snare into which +the Tsar fell. It was he who countered and thwarted my +policy of peaceful penetration and no annexation. It was he +who during this very visit duped the Tsar and got him to +agree to the virtual annexation of Kiao Chow. Nay, only +think of it, at the very time when I was gravely discussing +with him the ways and means of setting Europe on a platform +from which she could move towards a higher plane of +progress, in the belief that this ennobling care was engrossing +his thoughts, the unscrupulous schemer was victimising +the Tsar behind my back, pulverising the groundwork of +my policy, and sowing the seed that has since sprung up as +armed men. Wilhelm II. is the author of the war which +we are on our way to America to terminate. That man has +a heavy load on his conscience, but let us hope that he, at +least, believes he is doing the best he can under difficult +circumstances...." +</p> + +<p> +That monologue of Witte's, as he stood beside me on the +captain's bridge, made a deep impression on me. I wrote it +down and had it typed by my secretary, and I told Witte +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P348"></a>348}</span> +that he would do well to bring forward these ideas of his +from time to time in his public utterances. "I am afraid," +he objected, "they would do more harm than good. Being +too early is as harmful as being too late. Everything has its +season. People do not take the time to reflect, they most +often label a man erroneously. Your people in England, for +example, regard me as anti-English. And that is wholly +false." I said that perhaps a few might be under this wrong +impression, but only a few. He answered, "Only the few +that matter. I know for certain that all the crowned heads +who are relatives or friends of the Tsar have been assured +by him that I am a man not to be trusted. Those are the exact +words used by him and repeated by them. In England they +have been amplified and I am set down as a friend to Germany +and an enemy to your country. That is false, as you know. +You and I may and do differ in our ideas about the way to +reconstruct Europe, socially and politically, but we are at +one as to the final aim. And you have never taken me for +an enemy to the British people. You often say that I am +mistaken in my judgment of British policy. And you are +probably right. But I greatly admire English ideas and +methods. What I want, however, is to solve a certain +problem practically. And my way of doing it is by grouping the +great powers of the Continent together. The most difficult +aspect of it is to obtain the adhesion of France. This could +be effected if Germany were wise even to the extent of +discerning her own interests and behaving in the political +domain as a farmer does in the agricultural. When he drops +the seed into the earth he resigns himself to see nothing +more of it for a season. And he reaps the harvest in the +fulness of time. If I were in the Kaiser's place, it is not the +question of Alsace and Lorraine that would keep me from +knitting Europe into a federal State. And yet I am not +blind to the difficulties in the way." +</p> + +<p> +Once or twice again during our absence from Europe +Witte reverted to this theme, and then it faded from my +vision until after our return. When we were on our way +home and nearing Portsmouth I renewed the request I had +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P349"></a>349}</span> +often made to him that he would land in England and make +himself acquainted with persons and institutions there,[<a id="chap17fn15text"></a><a href="#chap17fn15">15</a>] +especially as he would probably be entrusted with the +government of Russia and could not but profit by a personal +knowledge of the country and the people with whom the +Tsar's ministers would of necessity have to come into +frequent contact. He agreed with my proposal in the abstract, +but regretted that for purely formal reasons it could not be +carried out. Despatched by the Emperor on a special mission +it was, he said, his duty, having performed it, to go straight +back to Russia and report to his sovereign. Only the Tsar +could dispense him from that duty, and he himself could +not fitly ask for a dispensation. He promised, however, to +visit England with me later if the internal condition of +Russia, which disquieted him greatly, left him free to do so. +</p> + +<p> +At Portsmouth I took leave of Witte who continued his +journey to France. What he saw, heard, and undertook to +do there, and the nature of the services which he rendered +to the republic, will one day be confided in detail to the +historian. On learning Witte's attitude in all these and +kindred transactions, and the zeal with which he always +threw himself into the service of France, the reader will be +inclined to admit that some of the cut-and-dried stock labels +which had been hastily affixed to the one statesman Russia +has possessed since Peter the Great are but tokens of the +ignorance and incompetence of those who employ them. +Witte was above all things else a Russian and one of the +nation's most perfect types. +</p> + +<p> +Returning to the origins of the secret treaty and the +curious way in which it came to light, I shall endeavour to +reproduce the story as far as possible in Witte's own words.[<a id="chap17fn16text"></a><a href="#chap17fn16">16</a>] +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P350"></a>350}</span> +His success at Portsmouth (U.S.A.) had made his name +famous throughout the world. Every country was anxious +to have him as its guest, and every cabinet desirous of +winning his friendship. But as usual the British Foreign Office, +true to its hallowed traditions, approached him along the +old diplomatic road which he cordially detested. The +cabinet knew that I was Witte's intimate friend and adviser, +that it was I whom he chose to open negotiations with Japan, +and later on to request King Edward to visit the Tsar at +Reval or elsewhere, and to help him in all his undertakings, +home and foreign, but never once did they apply to me for +any assistance or advice. Over and over again I listened +with pain to his severe and merited strictures called forth +by some of their ill-advised acts, but I did not venture to +tread on ground that was holy.[<a id="chap17fn17text"></a><a href="#chap17fn17">17</a>] +</p> + +<p> +"At Portsmouth," Witte said, as soon as I rejoined +him in Petersburg, "I received two invitations which +I deeply appreciated. One tended towards the fulfilment +of your wish that I should disembark in England, +repair to London, and see your men of light and leading. +It was issued on behalf of King Edward and was presented +by that sovereign's friend, the Councillor of the Russian +Embassy in London, Poklevsky-Kozel.[<a id="chap17fn18text"></a><a href="#chap17fn18">18</a>] This diplomatist +also brought a series of proposals respecting a projected +agreement between Russia and England which, he told me, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P351"></a>351}</span> +had the approval of the King and the Foreign Office. It +dealt with the various countries in which the political +interests of the two empires do not run parallel and with +designs which are resented by one side and more or less +sincerely repudiated by the other. In a word it was, or +might have been, the practical outcome of your articles on +the possibility of an accord between the two empires. +</p> + +<p> +"I told Poklevsky that I felt highly honoured by the +invitation which the King had so graciously sent me and +deeply grieved that I could not avail myself of it, because +being the State Secretary of the Tsar I am bound to go +straight home, unless his Majesty ordains otherwise. Perhaps +I may be fortunate enough to see England and her King at a +later date. Thereupon Poklevsky asked me to read and to +give him my opinion about the project of an accord between +Russia and Great Britain which he laid before me. He said +that I was the Premier designate of the new dispensation. +I read it through very quickly. It reminded me of your +own written and verbal proposals for an Entente, the part +about Persia was, I believe, almost the same. It turned +upon the East, Tibet, Persia, Afghanistan, and other +places. Well, I had to tell Poklevsky what I had so often +repeated to you about these plans. I said, 'I am not a +diplomatist, at least not a professional one, and my views +will not help you. I had much rather you submitted the +scheme to Count Lamsdorff. It is he who will have to +report on the subject to the Tsar as soon as the question has +ripened. Still, if you insist on my judgment, you are welcome +to it. The provisions made here for removing the causes +of friction between Russia and England are, I should say, +most moderate and do credit to their distinguished author. +Personally I should be disposed to give Great Britain +considerably more than she demands in this paper, at any rate, when +working out the details. I would certainly make larger +concessions in Persia.[<a id="chap17fn19text"></a><a href="#chap17fn19">19</a>] The English sense of measure is most +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P352"></a>352}</span> +commendable. But I am opposed to alliances. Don't +misinterpret me. I am fond of England. The character, the +temperament of that people appeal to me strongly perhaps +by contrast with my own, and I am penetrated with the +conviction that the two nations must live and work in peace +and amity. Those, therefore, who hallmark me as Anglophobe +are maligners. It is false that I approve any design, any +policy, calculated to cause friction between London and +Petersburg. What is true is that I favour a different method +from yours. That is all. But unhappily mischief-makers +have built upon that fact the fiction that I am an enemy of +Great Britain. +</p> + +<p> +"'The truth is I have always pleaded for freedom from +entanglements in our relations with foreign countries. In +that we ought, I hold, to imitate the United States. On +principle I would not bind our hands unless constrained by +necessity. No close relations, no Entente for me, with any +country whatever for the moment. Nothing piecemeal. +Abstinence from patchwork alliances would strengthen +Russia incalculably.[<a id="chap17fn20text"></a><a href="#chap17fn20">20</a>] I inculcated this principle on +Alexander III. who told me that he endorsed every word I had +said on the subject. And he made it an axiom of his policy. +So, too, did Nicholas II. when he first ascended the throne. +I know for a fact that the Kaiser let him understand that he +would like a formal treaty, but the Tsar, mindful of his +father's line of action, fought shy of it. And I hope he will +continue faithful to this avoidance of complications. You +may ask, if that be so, how I can uphold the alliance with +France. My answer is, I did not make it. I found it +ready-made. I will go further, however, and say that it was +an historic necessity, just as our commercial treaty with +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P353"></a>353}</span> +Germany was a necessity. It had to be accepted. It had +grown slowly until at last it forced itself upon the two +peoples and took the form of a military convention. And +now it is part of the foundation of the loose international +State-system of Europe. Let it stand, therefore, as an +unquestionable postulate. But let it be the only tie of the kind +until Europe is transfigured. Even with France our relations +are not what they might and should be. They are too casual, +too little organic, not properly adjusted to the ends. That is +a defect that I should like to see remedied. But the alliance +with France was a necessity and for the time being no other +alliance is. +</p> + +<p> +"'Please assure King Edward that among Russian +statesmen in and outside the cabinet England has no more +sincere friend than myself. For my country I desire a close +and excellent working understanding with the British people, +and I am certain we shall achieve that in the near future. +But no political partnerships. I cannot second any effort to +bring them about. On principle I will discountenance them +all.' +</p> + +<p> +"That was the tenor of my answer. King Edward when +he received it misunderstood it, as I feared he would. He +did not believe in my friendly sentiments towards his +country." +</p> + +<p> +Witte's notions on all these subjects were a mixture of +genuine wisdom and childish simplicity. His want of +knowledge about some aspects of international law, custom, +and political intercourse was amazing, as were also the +serenity and dogmatism with which he would discourse +upon these as though he were perfectly familiar with them. +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn1text">1</a>] I have had this story, together with +all the details, from two other +independent and absolutely trustworthy sources. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn2text">2</a>] Witte's surmise was correct. Lamsdorff's letter +bears the date of the +8th/21st July, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn3text">3</a>] As a matter of fact the telegram +is much shorter than Lamsdorff's +reference to it would lead one to infer. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn4text">4</a>] In Lamsdorff's letter this word is also underlined. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn5text">5</a>] This message was sent from a little Swedish +port on the Gulf of Bothnia +to the north of Stockholm. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn6text">6</a>] Exactly as when he was on his way to Tangier, +with this difference, that +on that occasion he had not made up his own mind +until the very last minute. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn7text">7</a>] The date of this message is 23rd July (5th August), 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn8text">8</a>] As yet Lamsdorff knew nothing +about the secret alliance concluded by +the two emperors. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn9text">9</a>] I withhold as irrelevant the name +of the statesman, merely affirming that +his report was laid before me at a time +when I had not the honour of his +acquaintance. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn10text">10</a>] This was so obvious that I wonder +the Russian ambassador in Paris +should have had to announce it formally to Lamsdorff. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn11text">11</a>] <i>i.e.</i>, in its bearings on the necessity +of concluding peace without delay. +I omit the passages irrelevant to the meeting +of the monarchs. I need hardly +say that the diplomatist whose words I am quoting +was and is unaware that +I was put in possession of his despatch soon after he had sent it. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn12text">12</a>] On the 16th/29th July. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn13text">13</a>] This was a project for the introduction +of a representative assembly with +a consultative voice in legislation. +It held the field until Witte and the Grand +Duke Nikolai Nikolayevitch wrested +the legislative Duma from the Tsar in +October, 1905. It is to Bouliguine's scheme +that the Kaiser alludes in his +telegrams when he writes of "The Great Duma." +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn14"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn14text">14</a>] Only once, so far as I know, did Lamsdorff +venture on anything +resembling an expostulation. +It was after Nicholas II. had plunged his country +into war and it took the form of +a most loyal submission respecting a series +of "justificative" documents which the +Bezobrazoff gang had printed, and +from which the minister learned +for the first time how cunningly and wickedly +he had been deceived by his imperial master. +I possessed all these documents +since the year 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn15"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn15text">15</a>] Later on I repeated the suggestion +and once I was on the point of +succeeding. I wrote to friends in England, +some of whom kindly promised to +entertain him, but one of them—the one +from whom I had expected most—showed +symptoms of hesitation, and the matter dropped. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn16"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn16text">16</a>] I possess everything in writing, +but not every document is actually +accessible to me now. I kept them +in safe places during my travels, and I +could not always lay my hands on them +at a moment's notice. It is a remarkable +fact that a few years later Witte's memory +played him false in certain +matters with which he was never really conversant. +I have some curious +examples of this. In one case I showed him +published accounts of a political +transaction in which he had played a prominent +part—accounts incompatible +with his own. He declined to accept them. +I then told him an official statement +had appeared which ran counter to his. +He at once exclaimed: "Please +write to my dictation a full account +of what took place from start to finish." I +did. But although correct in every other +particular, it is absolutely wrong +in that important one. His memory was at fault. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn17"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn17text">17</a>] Once only I was requested by a diplomatist, +who was a personal friend +of mine, not by the Foreign Office, +to induce the Russian government to +appoint a certain individual to the post +of minister plenipotentiary to a +country where diplomatic disputes were frequent. +I asked Witte to get Lamsdorff to appoint the man +and he did so. If my friend had foreseen what would +come of it, he would not have made the request. +He and the Russian diplomatist +whom I had had sent as minister quarrelled +hopelessly and the latter +had to be recalled by M. Izvolsky. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn18"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn18text">18</a>] A diplomatist of real worth whose career +in Teheran and Bucharest was +brilliant and useful. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn19"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn19text">19</a>] The same or similar language was addressed +to the British ambassador +by the Tsar's Minister of Foreign Affairs, +M. Izvolsky, when the scheme +finally came up for discussion. +But the British government on behalf of the +Indian government declined to take +all that Russia was willing to offer. This +sounds incredible, but it is true. +They might have had Ispahan in the British +sphere of influence. I do not mention +this refusal by way of reproach. What +is, however, blameworthy is the fact that +a couple of years after the convention +was ratified, the British government asked for some of the things +which it had rejected. And it received a refusal.... +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap17fn20"></a> +[<a href="#chap17fn20text">20</a>] Witte, as I pointed out before, +was always preoccupied lest his country +should be drawn into war, because he realised +how badly prepared it was and +also how deep its fall after a defeat would be owing +to the high position which +it occupied in consequence of its unmerited prestige. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap18"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P354"></a>354}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XVIII +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE SECRET TREATY REVEALED +</p> + +<p> +Witte told me, as follows, the story of how he learned of +the existence of the secret treaty and the means he devised +for the purpose of invalidating it. "I did not know, neither +did I suspect, that the two monarchs had been treaty-making +during my sojourn at Portsmouth. It is true that the +Kaiser had made an allusion to something they had done, +but he did not give me to understand that it was an alliance +or any compact of international moment. The exact words +he employed as they now come back to me were these: +'I have a pleasant surprise for you. We—I mean your Tsar +and I—have taken measures to realise this ideal of ours. If +you are again put in charge of the government machine, are +you prepared to lend us a helping hand towards making it +a practical instrument of international politics?' 'Certainly, +I am,' I replied. 'Good, very good,' he answered, 'I am +delighted. You will see exactly what is required of you +when you are in power again—when you get back to +Petersburg—and then you will frame the measures you deem +adequate. You know how high I rate your talents as a +statesman.' +</p> + +<p> +"That was all. I confess I never once thought of a secret +treaty between the Tsar and the Kaiser, and still less of an +alliance against France and England. I could not imagine +such a thing. +</p> + +<p> +"On my arrival in Russia, I received at Pskoff this +telegram from the Tsar: +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="noindent"> +"BJÖRKE, 15<i>th September</i>, 1905. Midnight. +</p> + +<p> +"'To SECRETARY OF STATE WITTE,—I wish you welcome +on your home-coming from Washington[<a id="chap18fn1text"></a><a href="#chap18fn1">1</a>] (<i>sic</i>) after having +brilliantly carried out the mission of first-class State +importance which I confided to you. I invite you to come to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P355"></a>355}</span> +visit me here at Björke on the yacht <i>Polar Star</i> on Friday. +By my command the yacht <i>Arrow</i> will be sent and placed +at your disposal.—NIKOLAI.' +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +"Before going to Björke, as I had to pass through +Petersburg in any case, I made it my business to see Count +Lamsdorff, as I did not know what might have happened +while I was crossing the Atlantic. I am always in doubt as to +what the Emperor may do when left to himself. It is his +constant aspiration to be free to do as he pleases, and he hates +being guided or counselled by those whose one function is to +counsel him. So I saw the Minister of Foreign Affairs and +had a long talk with him in the course of which we reviewed +the recent past, domestic and foreign, surveyed the present, +and glanced despondently at the future. I may tell you that +I was full of the Morocco affair, highly pleased at the service +I had rendered the French, and anxious that the best use +should be made of the conditions I had thus helped to +create. +</p> + +<p> +"We also talked of Portsmouth, Roosevelt, the Kaiser, +of the formidable difficulties that would face us when the +troops came home, of the Duma scheme, and kindred +matters. But Lamsdorff never breathed a word to me about +a secret treaty. Thus initiated into current affairs I set out +for Björkesund. +</p> + +<p> +"The Tsar received me with that delightful affability of +his which captivates not only all who meet him for the first +time, but even many who, like myself, know the exact worth +of his gestures and phrases. But when with me he can never +entirely throw off a certain feeling of constraint which +enwraps in an atmosphere of insincerity everything he says +and does. After some desultory conversation which +consisted on his part merely of disconnected questions and on +mine of descriptions and comments, he casually turned the +conversational stream on to Rominten. 'And how did you +find the Kaiser?' I described Wilhelm's charm of manner +and how confused I should have felt if I had not attributed +his exuberant cordiality to the circumstance that I +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P356"></a>356}</span> +represented the Tsar. 'Did he say anything to you about +working for a stable peace in Europe?' 'Yes, sire. He never +omits that topic from his conversations with me.' 'Did he +ask you for your views about his scheme?' 'He knew what +my views had been and he asked me whether they were the +same. I said they were and he expressed his satisfaction.' 'I +understand that you approve our having taken the matter +up, he and I?' 'Yes, sire, fully. The aim appeals to me +powerfully. I unfolded it myself to the Kaiser many years +ago.' 'I am delighted. For it has long been my aim too, +but there were always difficulties in the way. Happily we +managed to make a good beginning and I am delighted that +it has your approval. Did the Kaiser explain to you in what +the measures consisted that he and I had taken?' 'No, sire, +he merely mentioned the fact, intimating that on my arrival +in Petersburg they would be communicated to me.' 'So you +did not see the document?' 'None, sire.' 'Hm. You shall +see it.' +</p> + +<p> +"That was all.[<a id="chap18fn2text"></a><a href="#chap18fn2">2</a>] The next day it was Lamsdorff's turn to +go to Björkesund. The Tsar, as I afterwards learned, told +him that he and I had exchanged views on the subject of the +treaty—with which Lamsdorff himself was now acquainted—and +that I had expressed my satisfaction with the aim and +the means of attaining it. Lamsdorff, who, like a typical +diplomatist, spoke without emotion or even accent, asked +what I had said. You know Lamsdorff, and how calmly he +takes things. He needed time to realise the statement that +I approved a most momentous State document, which +reversed the policy of the Empire and was drafted and signed +by the Tsar without the knowledge of his Secretary for +Foreign Affairs, and would bring Russia into universal +odium. It was a repetition of the Kiao Chow business with +this aggravating difference, that the issues were +incomparably more far-reaching. And yet I had brandmarked the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P357"></a>357}</span> +one and praised the other. But Lamsdorff, as you know, is a +mild-mannered man who has his own theory of the rôle a +minister should play in the autocracy. And his theory +dovetails with the system—there is no doubt about that—but is +incompatible with the spirit of the age and with the further +life and prosperity of the Empire. So he once more gave +gentle expression to his views on the subject, without a word +or a tone indicative of undue emotion. He uttered his +apprehension that the alliance concluded by the Tsar could not +stand, because if it did the Franco-Russian alliance would be +abrogated ipso facto. The Emperor made some feeble reply +to screen the position which he really took up and which was +that the treaty was signed, the alliance concluded, and that +what he had done could not be undone now. Some other +solution must therefore be thought out. +</p> + +<p> +"Lamsdorff on his return from Björke saw me. I was +never more surprised than by his manner towards me, his +intimate friend. His coolness was deliberate and marked. +He was as reserved as a diplomatic adversary and dry, almost +cutting, in his talk. To begin with he addressed me by my +brand new title of count. I felt nettled. I could not guess +what had happened to bring about this change. But before +I could articulate a question, he put one to me. 'Is it a +fact, count—I suppose it must be seeing that his Majesty +affirms it—that you approve of the transaction he concluded +with the Kaiser the other day at Björke?' 'Yes, so far as +I know it. That has always been my policy—Europe must +be united somehow or else it will go to pieces politically and +socially. We must get rid of wars, at least on this continent, +and not by unworthy mystifications like the Hague +Conference, but by efficacious measures, otherwise the United +States of America to-morrow, and perhaps Asiatic States +the day after to-morrow, will beat Europe economically and +therefore militarily as well. Once Russia, France, and +Germany are united...' Lamsdorff stopped me, repeating, +'France? What are you talking about? Have we read the +same treaty or different ones?' I answered, 'I have seen +no treaty. I have only heard from each of the two Emperors; +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P358"></a>358}</span> +that they have taken a stride towards realising my conception +of a feasible association of all European nations for the +purposes of peaceful economic development and mutual +protection.' 'Your conception? With France left out? +Did you read the treaty?' 'No. What treaty?' 'Here, +please read the treaty and see what it is that you +applaud.' And removing the document from his drawer he handed it +to me. I took out my spectacles and perused it. I felt a +heaviness at the pit of my stomach. I could hardly realise +what the words implied." Here Witte described the treaty +to me, to the best of his recollection. It was not until later +that I received a copy of it.[<a id="chap18fn3text"></a><a href="#chap18fn3">3</a>] Then he went on: +</p> + +<p> +"Now Lamsdorff and I were back on common ground. +I was furious, and I showed it. Even he, although always +collected and deliberate, displayed unmistakable symptoms +of indignation. I said, 'That was a low trick for the Kaiser +to play, and what are we to think of the destinies of an +Empire which can be duped in that barefaced way and led +to the brink of the abyss?' 'It is a very unfortunate affair,' +Lamsdorff remarked. 'If I had known about it, I would +have stopped it at the first inception. But everything was +done without my knowledge.' 'Well, it must be undone +now,' said I. 'It will lower us all in the eyes of France, for +it is irreconcilable with our treaty obligations to the republic,' +Lamsdorff went on. 'It is worse,' I added. 'It is a piece +of base perfidy on Russia's part—for Russia is unfortunately +compromised.' We then discussed the ways and means of +upsetting the treaty. This was no easy matter because of +the stand taken by the Tsar, who was prompted by the +Kaiser. He maintained that what is done is done and cannot +be recalled or abrogated; that the secret treaty did not run +counter to the Franco-Russian covenants, unless these were +offensive, and therefore pointed against Germany; and that +France should be treated not so much in accordance with +those covenants as congruously with her deserts, and that +she had behaved abominably towards Russia and Germany. +In this connection it is interesting to read a telegram from +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P359"></a>359}</span> +his ever ready prompter who, having received a communication +containing the Tsar's scruples or misgivings, wrote in +a temper: +</p> + +<p> +"'The working of the treaty does not—as we agreed at +Björke—collide with the Franco-Russian alliance—provided, +of course, the latter is not aimed directly at my +country. On the other hand the obligations of Russia +towards France can only go so far as France merits that +through her behaviour. Your ally has notoriously left you +in the lurch during the whole war, whereas Germany helped +you in every way as far as it could without infringing the +laws of neutrality. That puts Russia morally also under +obligations to us; <i>do ut des</i>. Meanwhile the indiscretions +of Delcassé[<a id="chap18fn4text"></a><a href="#chap18fn4">4</a>] have shown the world that though France is +your ally she nevertheless made an agreement with England, +and was on the very verge of surprising Germany with +British help in the middle of peace, while I was doing my +best to you and your country her ally. This is an experiment +which she must not repeat again, and against a repetition of +which I must expect you to guard me. I fully agree with +you that it will cost time, labour, and patience to induce +France to join us both, but the reasonable people will, in +future, make themselves heard and felt! Our Morocco +business is regulated to entire satisfaction, so that the air is +free for better understanding between us. Our treaty is a +very good base to build upon. We joined hands and signed +before God who heard our vows.[<a id="chap18fn5text"></a><a href="#chap18fn5">5</a>] I therefore think that the +treaty can well come into existence. +</p> + +<p> +"'But if you wish any changes in the words or clauses +or provisions for the future or different emergencies—as, for +instance, the absolute refusal of France, which is improbable—I +gladly await any proposals you will think fit to lay before +me! Till these have been laid before me and agreed upon, +the treaty must be adhered to by us as it is. The whole of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P360"></a>360}</span> +your influential press, <i>Nowosti, Nowoie Wremja, Russj</i>, etc., +have, since a fortnight, become violently anti-Germans and +pro-British. Partly they are bought by heavy sums of British +money, no doubt. Still it makes my people very chary and +does great harm to the relations newly growing between our +countries. All these occurrences show that times are +troubled, and that we must have clear courses to steer; the +treaty we signed is a means of keeping straight without +interfering with your alliance as such. What is signed is +signed! and God is our testator! I shall await your +proposals. Best love to Alex. Willy.'[<a id="chap18fn6text"></a><a href="#chap18fn6">6</a>] +</p> + +<p> +"It was a delicate and unenviable task to argue the matter +with the Tsar on those lines. Lamsdorff was too milk-and-watery +to succeed. He conceived his function to be that of +a monitor, or say rather an oracle that uttered the forecast +but took no thought of the action of those who demanded it. +With me he was explicit enough. He said that the first +clause obliged Russia to take up arms against her own ally +France as well as against England in case of war between +either of these countries and Germany. What a schoolboy +ought to have perceived was that Russia would never be +assailed by either France or England. That was as clear as +the noonday sun. All that remained, therefore, of the +eventualities, to provide for which the compact was struck +up, was the case of hostilities breaking out between France +or England and Germany. Consequently it was a one-sided +bargain, of use only to the German Empire. It would bind +Russia's hands leaving those of Germany free. Then again +it was a piece of revolting disloyalty to France, to whom we +were pledged. How could we redeem the two pledges, stand +by France against Germany and stand by Germany against +France? The thing was preposterous. Yet there it was in +black and white, the handiwork of the Kaiser whose respect +for this piece of paper would have been touching were it not +disgustingly hypocritical. To have induced the Tsar to put +his name to this degrading deed was an insult to all Russia. +I could hardly express myself within conventional limits. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P361"></a>361}</span> +The conversation between Lamsdorff and myself ended by +our resolving to leave no stone unturned in order to invalidate +or nullify the pact. +</p> + +<p> +"Heaven only knows what we should have done if we +had not been actively helped by the Grand Duke Nikolai +Nikolayevitch, who was easily convinced of the seriousness +of the position and the necessity of clearing it up. It is my +conviction that neither Lamsdorff nor myself would have +succeeded in moving the Tsar had we not had the co-operation +of the Grand Duke. For when pressed hard by our +arguments the Emperor always managed to slip away on a +side issue. For example, he said, 'The contingency which +would, you say, oblige us to fight against France is so remote +and improbable as not to come into consideration.' In +truth he refused to be convinced or overruled. Now it +was gall and wormwood to the Emperor to be obliged to +acknowledge as true something which he had denied as false, +or to accept as motive or aim what he had rejected as +unreasonable or undesirable. On these points he was morbidly +touchy. And in this case I could see that he was relying on +his power as Emperor: <i>stet pro ratione voluntas</i>. That is where +the co-operation of the Grand Duke came in so appositely. +</p> + +<p> +"The most important exchange of views on the subject +occurred a couple of days after the first conversation. The +place was the Imperial Palace of Peterhof. Present were +the Tsar, the Grand Duke Nicholas, Lamsdorff, and myself. +Lamsdorff was sulky and at first silent, afterwards he spoke +in his usual courtly way, wrapping up hard truths in soft +phraseology. What he actually said was that if it pleased +his Majesty the treaty would hold good. He was the sovereign +and it was for him to decide. Certain formalities were +all that need be observed. For instance, all pretext should be +removed for saying that the treaty annuls the alliance with +France and the accords underlying this. If the Emperor had +had these accords under his eye at the time he would, of +course, have avoided even appearances that might lend colour +to such criticism. At present it was a task for the Minister +of Foreign Affairs, who would have to bring the two deeds +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P362"></a>362}</span> +into harmony, and the way to effect this would be to obtain +the assent of the French to the new arrangement.[<a id="chap18fn7text"></a><a href="#chap18fn7">7</a>] One +would have to reckon with unwillingness on the part of the +French, but one could argue the matter, and if they were +obdurate, Russia would at least be acting fairly and squarely. +</p> + +<p> +"But it was I who did most of the talking, and I uttered +what I thought and called things by their usual names. I +said, 'It is open to your Majesty to do much that none of +your subjects may attempt. You may even stop the hands +of the clock of time for a brief while. You can denounce +existing treaties. You can make alliances and unmake them. +But there is one thing which even the Tsar of all the Russias +may not do, and I may add would never wish to do, and that +is to play your friends false. Your Majesty is incapable of +an act of baseness. It is not in you to break a solemn promise +which was binding on the entire Empire. Well, that is what +the secret treaty makes you do. Of course, your Majesty +was unaware of this. But none the less that document, if +allowed to stand, would make you a party to a deed which +no self-respecting individual anywhere could defend, much +less approve. It would discredit Russia in the eyes of the +world. And for that reason it cannot be upheld. It is +impossible for your Majesty sincerely to promise to defend +France against Germany and at the same time sincerely to +promise to defend Germany against France.' The Tsar, +who had already said in reply to Lamsdorff that he would +never consent to have the French government consulted on +the subject, was obviously angry with me, but did not reply. +The Grand Duke, however, spoke up and said he endorsed +Lamsdorff's judgment and mine. But he proposed—I am not +sure whether it was he or Lamsdorff—that instead of +communicating with the French cabinet it might be well to try +whether sufficient pressure could be brought to bear on the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P363"></a>363}</span> +German Foreign Office to get the deed annulled. Anyhow +I know that it was the Grand Duke who helped us materially, +and practically at last broke the Tsar's resolve to maintain +the treaty in vigour. When we left the Peterhof Palace the +only problem that faced us was one of ways and means. +But even that was puzzling. +</p> + +<p> +"The next move was made by Lamsdorff who had representations +made to the German Foreign Office to the effect +that the accord having been arranged in the absence of the +Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and at a moment when +the Tsar had not access to the documents defining the +obligations of the Empire towards the other powers affected, +it lacked some of the essential elements that impart to such +treaties their binding force, and that the Russian minister +having now taken cognisance of the document and reported +to the Tsar has been commanded by him to adopt the needful +steps to have the treaty annulled. Would the German +Foreign Office take cognisance of this? +</p> + +<p> +"The reply that came from Berlin was characteristic. The +conclusion was the same as that of the last telegram of the +Kaiser to the Tsar. The document in question, it was +argued, had been duly signed by the Emperors. It was they +who had negotiated it. Therefore any question respecting +it was a matter which they must themselves discuss and +settle. Their respective Foreign Secretaries were incompetent +to deal with it. This uncompromising attitude rendered +it incumbent on Lamsdorff and myself to think of the +alternative and arrange to have the facts disclosed to the +French government. But we were alarmed at the consequences. +France would not look upon the act of treason—for +it was nothing less—with indifference and indulgence, +and Russia's moral credit would vanish. We were at our +wits' end when a chance word suggested a key to the +solution. I was saying to Lamsdorff, 'It is all the more +disgusting on the part of the Kaiser that it was he who +pushed Russia into the war with Japan, and now it is he +who is preventing us from establishing peace in Europe.' Those +words reminded Lamsdorff of the third clause of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P364"></a>364}</span> +secret treaty and suggested to him the idea of making that +the lever of our action. It runs: 'The present treaty +receives binding force at the moment of the conclusion of +peace between Russia and Japan.' Lamsdorff had it pointed +out to the German Foreign Office that if they persisted in +their uncompromising attitude and declined to agree to the +abrogating of the secret treaty, Russia, in order to escape +its provisions, would feel bound to postpone the conclusion +of peace with Japan and would decline responsibility for +the consequences. +</p> + +<p> +"Then, and only then, did the answer come acquiescing +in Lamsdorff's request to annul the secret treaty. It came +dished up after the manner of diplomatic notes, and set +forth that the Tsar had no access at the time when he signed +the treaty to the requisite documents, and therefore was not +aware that the terms of the compact ran counter to those of +the Franco-Russian Alliance. +</p> + +<p> +"I want to draw your attention to one interesting point +in this discussion: Lamsdorff's request to the German +Foreign Office was not for the annulation pure and simple +of the treaty. Convinced by me long before that a European +association, call it as you like, would form the most stable +basis for the peace of Europe, he favoured my scheme which +would have embodied this conception. What he demurred +to was the form given to it by the Kaiser—a form which left +France out and impregnated Russia's relations towards her +with a deadly hostile spirit. In his demand, Lamsdorff asked +that the pristine idea be kept in view and proposals be made +for embodying it in a treaty which would be free from the +objections that proved fatal to this one. France must be +consulted from the outset of the negotiations. But to this +proposal the Berlin Foreign Office returned no reply. +</p> + +<p> +"This victory of ours over Wilhelm II. brought down +upon us his fierce hate. Nothing was left undone to oust +Lamsdorff from the Foreign Office. The Kaiser represented +him as the <i>ame damnée</i> of Witte. At Copenhagen +Izvolsky had caught the Kaiser's eye and found favour in his +sight. The long talk they had had there about the attitude +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P365"></a>365}</span> +of the Danes towards an eventual violation of that country's +neutrality in case of war had impressed him favourably, +and he was very desirous of having Izvolsky sent as +ambassador to Berlin to represent the Tsar, just as he was also +very desirous of having Sir Arthur Nicolson appointed +ambassador to represent Great Britain in Berlin. +</p> + +<p> +"From his correspondence with Nicholas II. the Kaiser +learned the part that I had played in getting the secret +treaty annulled. But he made one mistake: he attributed +my action to my partiality for England. He thought that +you had converted me into a champion of Britain. I learned +this from Mendelssohn who visited me here[<a id="chap18fn8text"></a><a href="#chap18fn8">8</a>] and told me +so. Mendelssohn added that he had done what was possible +to set the Emperor right and to make it clear to him that my +attitude was free from duplicity, that I am not for an +alliance or entente with England, and that I am not an +enemy to Germany. But notwithstanding Mendelssohn's +defence, the Kaiser's dislike persisted and he intrigued with +your friend Schwanebach against me. You know how and +with what results. +</p> + +<p> +"When I was floating the biggest loan on record in April +of the ensuing year, at the most critical moment, the Kaiser +induced Mendelssohn to withdraw so that the success of the +operation was temporarily imperilled. You were with me +at the time and you remember how keenly I felt the blow, +which I traced unhesitatingly to the man who had dealt it. +</p> + +<p> +"As you are aware I had to quit office as soon as the loan +was floated. But even without Wilhelm's intrigues I should +have retired. Lamsdorff, my friend, wanted to leave too on +principle, and he actually wrote a petition asking the +Emperor's permission to resign. I besought him not to send +it. He complied with my request, and now note the cunning +of Nicholas II., who was anxious that he should tender his +resignation. When I was bidding good-bye to the Tsar and +receiving his thanks for the loan he suddenly turned to me +and said in his sweetest tones, 'Tell me, count, will you +grant me another favour?' 'Most certainly, your Majesty. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P366"></a>366}</span> +You have only to command,' 'Will you serve me as +ambassador?' 'With the utmost pleasure, sire, but I should +not like to have to travel very far from Russia.' 'Oh, it won't +be far. You will be accredited to a great power in Europe. +But tell me, will you object to go on the score that your +chief, the Foreign Secretary, is a younger man than yourself?' 'No, +sire, not at all. Besides, Count Lamsdorff is not so +much younger than I am.' 'Oh, I don't mean Count +Lamsdorff, but another and a younger man.' I took the hint, +went at once to Lamsdorff and reported the conversation to +him, for I well knew that it had been arranged for that very +purpose. And the whole transaction was devised by the +Kaiser who wanted Isvolsky at the Foreign Office. I then +told Lamsdorff to send in his resignation, which he did. +</p> + +<p> +"In the meanwhile I made inquiries as to what had gone +before the actual drafting and signing of the document. I +like to have a clear and complete picture of such historic +events in my mind's eye. I talked to several persons who, I +thought, might throw some light on the subject, and +gradually I pieced their accounts together and reconstituted +the scene. What I suspected was confirmed: that there +had been a long correspondence by messengers and by +telegraph between the two monarchs, and that their meeting +had been settled in that way with the utmost secrecy. +Nobody was told of it, not even I who had seen and talked +at considerable length with the Tsar before my departure +for America, and who ought to have been primed with +information about such matters. He never breathed a word +of what he was meditating. +</p> + +<p> +"When the two monarchs met and decided to sign the +treaty the Kaiser desired to have it countersigned. The +Tsar who wanted to crown his secret negotiations in a +conspirative way did not see the object of this caution and +said so. But Wilhelm with his business instincts insisted—'for +the sake of the form,' he pleaded. Nicholas II. was put +out by this because he disliked confiding State affairs of this +nature to any one. He is possessed by a mania for secrecy. +But he allowed himself to be overruled by his confederate. +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P367"></a>367}</span> +Then he called up Admiral Birileff and spoke to him on the +subject. These and other details I hold from Birileff +himself. And when I upbraided him with having been a party +to an unqualified and unpatriotic act, he defended himself +saying that if I had been in his place I would have done the +same thing, and that he himself would do it again under like +conditions. 'Could I,' he asked, 'refuse the Emperor who, +looking embarrassed and dejected, made a touching appeal +to my loyalty and devotion and asked me to help him out of +a difficulty?' Birileff gave me his word of honour that he +never read nor saw a line of the document he was signing, +and that he did not know it was a treaty with Germany, +although if he had known it he would have signed it all the +same. The Tsar had begun by asking him, 'Do you trust +me?' and he answered, 'Absolutely.' 'If I were to ask +you to sign a document without reading it, or with your +eyes closed, would you do it?' 'Unhesitatingly, sire.' 'I +knew you would. Well now, look. Here is a paper which I +want you to sign in that way.' 'And the Emperor left +uncovered only the space where I was to write my name. I at +once took the pen and affixed my signature.'" +</p> + +<p> +Witte never wholly relinquished his ideal of a federation +or sodality of European States, nor the hope that through +his agency and that of a few kindred spirits throughout the +world it might be brought perceptibly nearer to its high +consummation. The present ordering of human society +with its huge frauds, its vileness and pettiness, and the +incalculable sufferings thus wantonly inflicted upon mortals +who might be rendered content, kindled his indignation +and a degree of energy for which there was no scope. He +often longed for the post of ambassador in Paris and, as +already stated, the hope was fed by the Tsar—for a strange +personal purpose while Witte's object was to work for the +achievement of his cherished aim. The unbroken sequence +of successes that had crowned his efforts in every department +of public life to which he set his hand encouraged him +to think that with him opportunity would always be attended +by success. Once installed in the Paris Embassy he would +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P368"></a>368}</span> +be able to inaugurate the grandiose work of European +reconstruction. The Tsar on his side was equally resolute, +not only to take into his own hands the direction of the +important public affairs which interested him, but to do this +as often as possible surreptitiously. Conspirative bargaining +and clandestine machinations which clashed with the +official obligations of his government had a fascination for +him which he could with difficulty resist. +</p> + +<p> +Nicholas II. had occasionally sought to win over his +Foreign Secretaries to his own petty political patchwork, +but since Lamsdorff's dismissal he had met with no success. +During the negotiations for the convention with Great +Britain, for example—a convention conceived on generous +lines as a wiping out of all old scores with a view to a settled +friendship—he would insist on giving Russia a frontier +bordering on Afghanistan. This idea had been engrafted +on his mind by the Kaiser in conversation and in letters. +Evidences of the insidious untruths by which it was fed +are found in the Willy-Nicky telegrams.[<a id="chap18fn9text"></a><a href="#chap18fn9">9</a>] It was exceedingly +difficult for M. Izvolsky to hold his own against the +pressure put on him by the Emperor in this direction. +But the minister refused to budge and the monarch ended +by allowing him and the British government to have +their way. +</p> + +<p> +In the year 1910, when visiting the German Kaiser at +Potsdam, Nicholas II. found another opportunity for +modifying international politics off his own bat, and he +utilised it to the full. In spite of the circumstance that he +was accompanied by his Minister for Foreign Affairs,[<a id="chap18fn10text"></a><a href="#chap18fn10">10</a>] while +the Kaiser was surrounded with advisers like Bethmann-Hollweg +and Kiderlen-Wachter, Wilheim II. contrived to +have a quiet after-dinner talk with his guest out of the +hearing of any third person. And he made the most of it. In +essentials the official agreement which the two governments +signed[<a id="chap18fn11text"></a><a href="#chap18fn11">11</a>] was the same that M. Izvolsky had found it necessary +to draft after the convention with Britain, because the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P369"></a>369}</span> +German government refused to be bound by that +convention. But there was a difference. +</p> + +<p> +The Kaiser's ministers had long been asking Russia to +undertake to connect Persia from Khanekin with the Baghdad +railway by a branch line, but M. Izvolsky, when he was +Foreign Secretary, and M. Sazonoff who succeeded him, +refused. Their tactics were to wait until something happened +to enable them to get Germany to withdraw her claim or +to accept compensation elsewhere. But this plan was upset +by the Tsar who, unknown to his minister, acquiesced in the +Kaiser's demand. +</p> + +<p> +On this same occasion, and it may well be during the same +confidential "exchange of ideas," a more fateful covenant +would appear, from accounts published[<a id="chap18fn12text"></a><a href="#chap18fn12">12</a>] since the Tsar's +abdication, to have been agreed to by the imperial host and +guest, the upshot of which was to authorise Germany to +send General Liman von Sanders to Constantinople at the +head of a military mission. This was one of the Kaiser's +moves preliminary to the European war, and the Russian +Premier construed it as such. +</p> + +<p> +On this occasion the Kaiser's method of approaching the +Tsar was in the style of his opening to the conversation +which had culminated years before in the accord about +Kiao Chow. He stated that he had been requested by the +Porte to lend an army instructor to Turkey, and that he +proposed sending General Liman von Sanders to discharge the +functions if the Tsar had nothing to urge against that. And +Nicholas II., proud to be asked to decide such questions +which hardly concerned him, answered that he saw no +reason why he should demur. Thereupon the Kaiser, mindful +of former experiences, expressed a wish to have this +assent in black and white, and a document embodying it was +duly signed. +</p> + +<p> +The Russian ministers had no inkling of what their +imperial master had done. He seems to have informed +none of them. Both the Premier and the Minister of Foreign +Affairs were justly alarmed when they learned that Germany +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P370"></a>370}</span> +had sent a military mission to Turkey under General Liman +von Sanders, who had become commander of the Constantinople +army corps, and therefore the Kaiser's military +lieutenant in Turkey. They did the little that seemed +feasible at the moment in order to have the appointment +cancelled, but in vain. Among other steps they requested +me to advocate publicly and privately the recall of the naval +instructor sent to Turkey by the British government in the +hope that the Kaiser would follow suit and withdraw Liman +von Sanders. As I had strong reasons for not sharing this +hope, I declined to comply with the request. After the lapse +of some time, the Russian Premier[<a id="chap18fn13text"></a><a href="#chap18fn13">13</a>] when passing through +Berlin was asked by the Kaiser why they had made such a +fuss in Petersburg about the German military mission under +von Sanders, and to the Russian's amazement he invoked +the Tsar's written assent. Seeing how surprised the Premier +looked, Wilhelm II. showed him the document. The +resourceful Russian having read it said, "Yes, but the +Tsar's acquiescence had for its object only the appointment +of General von Sanders as military instructor, not as +commander of Turkish army corps." "But that is only a mere +bagatelle," retorted the Kaiser. "Why so much ado about +that?" +</p> + +<p> +On his return to Petersburg the Premier informed the +Minister of Foreign Affairs of what he had seen and heard +in the German capital, and learned that this official had no +cognisance of the document nor of the accord it registered. +After that M. Kokofftseff wrote a report on the episode to the +Tsar and mentioned the constructions he had improvised +and put upon it. And Nicholas II., seemingly unconscious +of the incongruity of his own conduct, annotated the passage +containing his minister's interpretation thus: "I think so, +too!" +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn1text">1</a>] We visited Washington only for a few hours. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn2text">2</a>] My historical sense obliges me to state +that I possess several versions of +this story narrated at various times between +the years 1905-1914 by Witte +himself, and that they are, as one would expect, +divergent in secondary details. +They all agree, however, in the essential point +that Witte did not know of the +treaty before September. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn3text">3</a>] See p. 413. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn4text">4</a>] This refers to the statements +in the press that M. Delcassé when +Minister of Foreign Affairs had obtained +England's promise that she would +land a contingent of troops on the Continent +if Germany went to war against +France. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn5text">5</a>] He would appear to have been deaf +to the vows of France and Russia. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn6text">6</a>] See Confidential Despatch, dated Glucksburg, 29th September. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn7text">7</a>] It has been affirmed that the Russian ambassador +in Paris, Nelidoff, too, +was sounded on this subject +and had banished any hope that the Tsar or the +Kaiser might have cherished. +This was wholly superfluous. Rouvier, who was +perhaps the most venturesome minister +of the republic at that time and had +joined hands with Delcassé's Teuton adversaries, +had, as we saw, declared that +he had rather keep out of a triple alliance +of Germany, France, and Russia. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn8text">8</a>] At Biarritz. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn9text">9</a>] See Appendix. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn10text">10</a>] M. Sazonoff. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn11text">11</a>] Agreement of the 19th August, 1911. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn12text">12</a>] By the influential and widely circulated +Moscow journal, <i>Russkoye Slovo</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap18fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap18fn13text">13</a>] Kokofftseff. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap19"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P371"></a>371}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +CHAPTER XIX +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +THE DOWNFALL OF THE TSARDOM +</p> + +<p> +Tsarism, its own stock of vitality exhausted and with no +outer sources to draw upon, languished and decayed rapidly. +Time and its changes acted on the predatory State as potent +solvents. Every stage in the forward progress of Europe was +a new set-back or a fresh danger to the system. The growth +of manufactures in neighbouring countries; the incipient +industrialisation of Russia; the general rise in the standard +of living; the spread of technical instruction; the improvement +in educational methods and the corresponding sharpening +of commercial and industrial competition; the advance +of social and political sciences; the softening of manners; +the increase of tolerance; the corresponding religious +movements in Russia; and that invisible undercurrent without a +name, which is so often alluded to as the spirit of the age, all +tended to isolate the Tsarist State, render it obnoxious to +the European community, and accentuate the centrifugal +tendencies of its component parts. The work of governing +the 180,000,000 became more and more difficult, seeing that +whatever orientation a minister or a cabinet might now give +to his policy, the general result was invariably negative. +</p> + +<p> +If, for instance, a man took office who, like Pobiedonostseff, +made a vigorous effort to surround the country with a +Chinese wall in order to keep out the destructive tendencies +of the west, he was vehemently decried not only by the press +and the intelligentsia at home, but by all liberal and radical +Europe[<a id="chap19fn1text"></a><a href="#chap19fn1">1</a>] as well. If a narrow-minded bureaucrat like Count +Dmitry Tolstoy strove to hinder the Jews from spreading +cosmopolitanism and religious indifferentism among a people +whose meagre sociability and slight traces of civic virtue +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P372"></a>372}</span> +were derived from ancient custom and Christianity, he and +his government were furiously attacked and discredited +throughout the world. When Alexander III. suddenly curtailed +certain religious privileges of the Baltic barons, the +champions of advanced thought in Germany and also in +England lifted up their voices against the Tsardom and all its +works.[<a id="chap19fn2text"></a><a href="#chap19fn2">2</a>] If on the other hand the sails of the State-ship began +to be filled by a liberal wind, as when Prince Sviatopolk +Mirsky or Witte was the principal representative of the Tsar, +the Jews, the Baltic Germans, the Poles, the Lithuanians, +the Esthonians, the Letts, the Mohammedans, the Armenians, +the Georgians, all, forthwith, raised their hands +and started off in the direction of their several eclectic +affinities, but invariably away from Tsarism, until the +enterprising minister put on the brake. If a spell of religious +tolerance meant a further weakening of the autocrat's hold +on the people, a spurt of persecution had a like effect. In a +word, the rhythms of the multitudinous elements composing +the Tsardom had become so jarring that there was no more +hope of harmonising them. +</p> + +<p> +Nor was it only the diverse races, but also the social +classes of one and the same race, whose fixed tendencies were +opposed to those of the political system. Thus turning from +the nationalities to the bulk of the Russian people—the +agricultural population—one was struck with the circumstance +that it was mediæval in its institutions, Asiatic in its +strivings, and prehistoric in its conceptions of life. The +peasants believed that the Japanese had won the Manchurian +campaign by assuming the form of microbes, getting +into the boots of the Russian soldiers, biting their legs, and +bringing about their death. When there was an epidemic in +a district they often killed the doctors "for poisoning the +wells and spreading the disease." They still burn witches +with delight, disinter the dead to lay a ghost, strip unfaithful +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P373"></a>373}</span> +wives stark naked, tie them to carts, and whip them through +the village. It is fair, therefore, to say that the level of +culture of the peasantry, in whose name Russia is now being +ruined, is considerably lower than that of Western Europe. +And when the only restraints that keep such a multitude in +order are suddenly removed the consequences to the community +are bound to be catastrophic. The peasantry, like +the intelligentsia, is wanting in the social sense that endows +a race with cohesiveness, solidity, and political unity. +Between the people and anarchism for generations there +stood but the frail partition formed by its primitive ideas +of God and the Tsar, and since the Manchurian campaign +these were rapidly melting away. +</p> + +<p> +Wholly indifferent to politics, of which they understood +nothing, but cunning withal and land greedy, the peasants +were only a long row of ciphers to which the articulate class, +mainly officialdom, lent significance. All that they wanted +was land, how it was obtained being a matter of no moment +to them. Their view of property was that their own +possessions were inviolable, whereas those of the actual owners +should be wrested from them without more ado. This +simplicist socialism was the crystallisation of ages of +ignorance, thraldom, and misguidance. It was manifest that the +complete enfranchisement of these elements would necessarily +entail the dissolution of the Tsardom. +</p> + +<p> +This situation and what it portended were plain to me +at the time, and I strove perseveringly and unavailingly to +make them equally clear to the nations and governments +interested in Russia's well-being. My oft-repeated estimate +of the forces that were making for the speedy disruption of +the Tsardom has been borne out by events which are even +now modifying the course of the world's history. Eleven +years ago I wrote: "The agrarian question in Russia is the +alpha and omega of the revolution. It furnishes the lever +by means of which the ancient regime, despite the support +of the army, may be heaved into the limbo of things that +were and are not. So important is the land problem that if +it could be definitely suppressed or satisfactorily solved the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P374"></a>374}</span> +revolution would be a tame affair indeed, hardly as exciting +as was that of one of the petty German States in the last +century. In this case it still might be possible to a clever +statesman, after and despite all that has taken place in Russia +since October last,[<a id="chap19fn3text"></a><a href="#chap19fn3">3</a>] to prop up the bureaucratic system and +renew its lease of life for another generation. For it must +not be forgotten that fully 80 per cent. of the population are +illiterate, and that millions of them are plunged in such +benighted ignorance and crass superstition as foreigners can +hardly conceive of. Hence they sorely need guidance....[<a id="chap19fn4text"></a><a href="#chap19fn4">4</a>] The +cry, 'the land for the peasants,' intoxicates, nay, +maddens them. They are then ready to commit any crime +against property and life in the hope of realising their object. +The explosive force that may be thus called into being and +utilised for the purpose of overthrowing the present social +and political order is enormous. <i>The formidable army of the +Tsar dwindles into nothing when compared to it, because itself +is the source of the army to which it imparts its own strivings +and tendencies</i>."[<a id="chap19fn5text"></a><a href="#chap19fn5">5</a>] +</p> + +<p> +The intelligentsia, whose ideas about human society were +streaked with opinions borrowed from various countries +and left unharmonised, partook of the characteristic traits +both of the people and of the progressive nationalities. +Composed chiefly of theory-mongers who had no roots in the +country and who carried on a continuous anti-monarchist +and communistic or nihilist propaganda in schools and +elsewhere, it was perhaps the most corrosive solvent of all. +</p> + +<p> +To my thinking, then, there was no sovereign remedy for +the malady from which the Tsardom was suffering. It was +mortal, and the utmost that could be aimed at was to postpone +its effects for a few years. And even this would require +higher statesmanship than the Emperor was employing. +Already in February, 1905, I wrote of the incipient +revolution: 'What the least observant can hardly fail to note is +that there is no longer a head shaping and directing the +course of events in the Tsardom. Certain forces are felt, +certain things happen, the entire people drifts. Old and new +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P375"></a>375}</span> +ministers resign, governors-general imperceptibly recede +from their posts, scientific institutions, learned professions, +local councils, members of the nobility, individuals and +guilds of the merchant class, the peasant masses, band +themselves together to struggle against the autocracy, which, +Archimedes-like, is solicitous only for its circles. For Russia +such an unwonted condition of things is truly revolutionary +and chaotic."[<a id="chap19fn6text"></a><a href="#chap19fn6">6</a>] And surveying the revolutionary ferment +with an eye to its probable duration I gave it as my opinion +that "it cannot by its nature be short: but, protean in its +shapes and clumsy in its methods, <i>may last throughout the +century</i>."[<a id="chap19fn7text"></a><a href="#chap19fn7">7</a>] +</p> + +<p> +But that the autocracy was doomed and would not survive +Nicholas II., I felt as certain as one can be of any future +event dependent upon a variety of factors with most of which +one is conversant. As far back as May, 1905, I wrote of +Nicholas II. as the last of the Tsars and added: "Autocracy +has heated its palace with sparks, and must now do +penance in the ashes."[<a id="chap19fn8text"></a><a href="#chap19fn8">8</a>] +</p> + +<p> +But Count Witte looked more hopefully on the situation +as beseems a man of action wont to wield power, to seize +opportunity, and successfully to modify circumstance. He +long clung to the belief that under certain conditions, more +and more difficult to realise, the problem might yet be +solved of welding into one the disparate elements of the +Tsardom and modernising the mediæval State by a home +and foreign policy of his own devising. His plan was to +create common economic interests which would absorb most +of the activity, co-ordinate the efforts, and knit together the +various races and classes of the population. The differences +among these he would have lessened by rendering accessible +to all who were ambitious or gifted commercial and industrial +training in schools and technological institutes.[<a id="chap19fn9text"></a><a href="#chap19fn9">9</a>] Parallel +with this he would have fostered the inchoate native industries +by establishing profitable markets for their output in +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P376"></a>376}</span> +the Far East. And by way of rendering these endeavours +continuous and fruitful, it was his determination to keep +Russia out of war—which he always felt would be her +undoing—by entering into a continental league which would +settle the affairs of the world, not indeed without a backing +of military force, but without actually employing it. +</p> + +<p> +But the people whose vital interest it was that Witte's or +some similar scheme should be worked out to a successful +issue, the Tsar, the dynasty, the Jews, the Liberals, and the +entire intelligentsia, turned against him with rare unanimity +and persistence and thwarted his every project. After 1906, +he had frequent visions of the disastrous convulsions in +which the Tsardom would expire. +</p> + +<p> +Long before that he had foretold the anarchist revolution +which would, he feared, change not only the regime but +the face of Russia. I have a lively recollection of one +prophecy of his made to me in the United States shortly after +the accord with the Japanese, when in one of his moods of +exaltation he said: "When I am at home and watch the +flow of political and social events my attention is almost +wholly taken up by their bearings on each other and by their +nexus with foregoing occurrences, whereas the stream of +general tendency which they also reveal often escapes me. +But looking back now and from this distance at things +Russian, I seem to discern that current more plainly because +I can see the whole community as distinguished from groups +and coteries and classes and nationalities. Well, let me tell +you what strikes me: It is the slow but steady advance of +Russia towards a politico-social ordering very different from +any evolutionary stage of the present regime, possibly +approaching that of America. Are you surprised? Under +certain unrealised conditions it might be a blessing. It is +largely a question of education and training, but also, to some +extent, of inborn capacity. +</p> + +<p> +"The people of the United States have strengthened my +faith in the future of humanity. Their generosity makes me +feel that my idea of the reconstruction of Europe will develop, +no doubt in other hands than mine, into a project for the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P377"></a>377}</span> +reconstruction of the world. From the narrow political angle +of vision, the United States government had much to gain +by letting us go on fighting Japan to a finish. Both +belligerents would have been enormously weakened and +America might then have had the satisfaction of settling the +problems of the Pacific in her own fashion. That was the +selfish, the European way of treating the matter. But +instead of that, President Roosevelt and the entire people +generously put forth their whole-hearted efforts to get both +war-waging peoples to lay down their arms and negotiate +peace. That altruism is worthy of the new era which it +foreshadows. I shall never forget this noble deed. Leagued +with a few such peoples we could safeguard the peace of +the world. But at present that is only a pious desire +... and besides, the Americans have no end of grievances +against us. +</p> + +<p> +"I am now going back home bound by promises to Jews +and Christians here to do my best to modify the repressive +legislation that keeps the people of Russia further apart from +that of the United States than does the ocean.... How +shall I redeem them? You know what it means. The +Americans do not. To abolish even the Jewish Pale of +Settlement is but a fraction of what is expected of me. Yet +that alone would involve a profound modification of the +autocracy as at present established. Here in the bracing +atmosphere of the great republic such a feat may seem +insignificant. But on the other side of Eydtkuhnen[<a id="chap19fn10text"></a><a href="#chap19fn10">10</a>] it is high +treason to think of it. But I will do my best...." He did. +But he was alone, and as the Russians put it, "one man in +the field is not a soldier." +</p> + +<p> +That is why I wrote a few months later: "Witte's views +are immaterial to the issue, for if he were as Liberal as +Abraham Lincoln, he would still be almost as powerless as +a Sioux chief, unless he had a strong Liberal following and +that was denied him chiefly by the Jews."[<a id="chap19fn11text"></a><a href="#chap19fn11">11</a>] He had no +following because of the anarchist or unsocial leanings of the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P378"></a>378}</span> +population. "It is clear," I wrote, "that the Slav nation +lacks political education and self-control; has no idea of +tactics, no habit of discipline, hardly yet a standard by which +to separate the secondary from the essential, the final goal +from those intermediate aims which differ little from the +means. The elements of the population that display an +interest in public affairs are animated by a spirit of +insubordination which makes it hard for them to combine. They +are atoms which would seem to repel rather than attract each +other, so that in lieu of a few strong parties a large number +of little groups are likely to be formed. Moreover they are +more deeply moved by purely personal considerations than +by patriotism, discerning friends and enemies where we +should expect them to see only Russia and her destinies." +</p> + +<p> +The abortive rising of 1905-6, which I watched at close +quarters, convinced me that any democratic revolution, +however peacefully effected, would throw open the gates +wide to the forces of anarchism and break up the Empire. +And a glance at the mere mechanical juxtaposition—it could +not be called union—of elements so conflicting among +themselves as were the ethnic, social, and religious sections and +divisions of the Tsar's subjects would have brought home +this obvious truth to the mind of any unbiassed and observant +student of politics. The mad spectacle which was unfolded +to my gaze by that revolt revealed the further fact that the +army, the workmen, and the peasantry were much more +likely to fraternise with each other and pull down the pillars +of the social fabric than seemed possible to the ministers of +the crown. Nay, the bureaucrats themselves appeared to me +capable of throwing over the Tsar on the spur of the moment +and proclaiming their faith in republicanism or in any other +regime that might take the people's fancy. For nothing +was impossible to their curious psychology. I had had +amazing examples of these sudden conversions before my +eyes when I wrote: 'The capers cut by the officials were +especially amusing. Prematurely giving up the autocracy +as lost, large numbers of them made hot-haste to turn from +what they deemed the setting to the rising sun. They +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P379"></a>379}</span> +announced that they had always been democrats at heart, +had always known that the regime was rotten and would +fall to pieces. The autocracy, on which they had lived and +still were living, they proceeded to scourge with tongues +that stung like scorpions until there was not a sound +place left in it. 'A man's foes shall be those of his own +household.'"[<a id="chap19fn12text"></a><a href="#chap19fn12">12</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Witte, had he had a free hand, the confidence of the +Emperor, and an adequate following from the year 1905 +until his death, might at the utmost have prolonged for a +little the life of the Tsardom while gradually limiting the +power of the Tsar. By the time of Stolypin's violent death +things had come to such a pass that there was no longer +hope for either. +</p> + +<p> +In lieu of Witte's statesmanlike plan, we find a foreign +policy which was deeply marked by systematic disloyalty to +the principal powers with which the Tsardom had friendly +or neighbourly intercourse and a system of home government +destructive of the basis of all morality. Towards +Britain the duplicity of the Tsardom, several instances of +which I have already mentioned,[<a id="chap19fn13text"></a><a href="#chap19fn13">13</a>] was continued down to +the moment when M. Izvolsky exchanged views with King +Edward about the Entente scheme which Poklevsky had +first submitted to Witte. And then the duplicity ceased, but +only in so far as the foreign policy was conducted by the +Tsar's ministers; it remained as trothless as before when +directed by the Tsar himself. It is noteworthy that even +towards Germany, who enjoyed the "traditional friendship +of the Tsardom," a tendency to sharp practice now and again +startled the politicians of Berlin, as, for instance, during the +negotiations about German participation in the Russo-Chinese +bank. So untrustworthy was Nicholas II. in all +his dealings that it is doubtful whether he could always +be true to his own self. Towards China, the Tsardom +and its servants deemed every form of wile and treachery +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P380"></a>380}</span> +permissible. The giving away by Nicholas II. of a Chinese +port to the Kaiser; the seizure of another port by the Tsar +himself, who a short time before had received the use of +Chinese territory for his railway; the infamous plot to +kidnap the Emperor and the Empress of China while bound to +them by ties of intimate friendship, will rank in political +history with the most iniquitous doings of Frederic the +Great. But whereas the Prussian king's obliquity was +invariably a means, and generally an efficacious means, to +an intelligible and patriotic end, the perfidies of the Tsardom +served merely as the measure of its own depravity, pettiness, +and impotence. The reader will not be surprised to +learn that history is unable to acquit the Tsarist State of +what may fairly be termed sharp practice towards +Austria-Hungary in the matter of Bosnia and Herzegovina. +</p> + +<p> +Whithersoever we turn our eyes we are confronted with +the same combination of cunning and deception. While +professing most friendly feelings and cultivating cordial +relations with Turkey, the Tsar, together with Nelidoff and +Tshikhatshoff, planned a treacherous attack on the shores +of the Upper Bosphorus which was with difficulty thwarted +by Witte. While "practising" an intimate alliance with +France, Russia in the person of her Tsar concluded a secret +alliance with France's covert enemy, Germany, thus undertaking +to fight on the side of each against the other. While +the negotiations between the Kaiser and Tsar were going +on with a view to this accord I wrote: "France's position +is unique.... As a nation she is mistrusted for sowing +revolutionary ideas broadcast, but tolerated as the keeper +of the money bags. As a power she is regarded as a <i>quantité +négligeable</i> and is slighted accordingly. Her milliards are so +many hostages which she has given to Russia for her good +behaviour. Autocracy possessed of the calf takes no further +thought of the cow which, however plaintively it may low, +is certain not to stray too far away." +</p> + +<p> +In 1910 the Tsar at Potsdam struck up another compact +with Wilhelm II. according to which neither of them was +to become a member of any combination of powers formed +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P381"></a>381}</span> +against the other. In that same year most of the Russian +troops quartered in Warsaw, Brest-Litovsk, Grodno, which +would, in case of war, have endangered Germany's mobilisation, +were withdrawn. Lastly, when the Germans in their +turn were arranging to take possession of Constantinople, +by the despatch of General Liman von Sanders and his +military mission, the Tsar and the Kaiser came to a secret +agreement approving it. But again the Russian ministers +were kept in the dark about it by Nicholas II. +</p> + +<p> +"The most painful impression of all," Entente publicists +tell us, was made by the perfidious conduct of Nicholas II. in +arranging for a separate peace in the year 1916-17 when +his devoted allies were shedding their blood and giving their +substance ungrudgingly in his cause. I cannot agree with +them. I have made inquiries into this allegation and, although +it is uncommonly difficult to prove a negative assertion, the +upshot of my investigation comes as near to it as one can +reasonably demand. So far as I have been able to ascertain +there is not a tittle of evidence to show that Nicholas II. had +the intention to make a separate peace. That conditions +being what they were his armies could not, with the best +will in the world, have continued to fight much longer on +the same scale as theretofore may be taken for granted. But +it nowise follows that he would have concluded a separate +peace. And from what I know of his mentality, of the +motives to which he was most impressible, and of the +available evidence, I look upon that assumption as most +improbable.[<a id="chap19fn14text"></a><a href="#chap19fn14">14</a>] The fact is that Nicholas II. was waging war +on two fronts, one against our common enemies and the +other against revolutionary bolshevism in Russia, and this +indictment is probably part of the tactics of the bolshevist +offensive which had the support of the English and the +French. I venture to go further and to assert that from the +point of view of the Allies the safest policy consisted in +keeping Nicholas II. on the throne while giving him a cabinet +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P382"></a>382}</span> +of ministers responsible to the Duma. And Great Britain +and France, had each had a supple statesman at their head, +could have accomplished the two-fold task with an intelligent +effort. +</p> + +<p> +The extinction of this gross, widespread, and <i>a priori</i> +credible accusation leaves the unflattering portrait which I +drew of the Tsar in the year 1904 with all its traits intact: +the cunning, the love of secrecy, the self-worship, the pettiness, +the instability, and the deficiency of moral sense. To +end the feeble, shifty, extravagant dynasty of the +Holstein-Gottorps, Fate would appear to have selected its most +typical representative. +</p> + +<p> +If the intercourse of the Tsarist State with other nations +was characterised by systematic bad faith, its dealings with +its own subjects were, as I have shown, destructive of all +morality. By the year 1906 it had fallen so low that +systematic recourse to crime of a peculiarly dastardly kind had +become its mainstay. Conspiracies against the government; +against State dignitaries, and even against princes of the +reigning house were deliberately hatched by State servants +in order to supply them with a pretext for shooting, hanging, +or imprisoning men who only asked for a regime like that +which existed in Austria or Prussia. And in order to enable +the double-dyed miscreants who thus entrapped their +unsuspecting fellows to continue their work of treachery, the +State connived at the execution of several of those abominable +plots against such pillars of the Tsardom as Von Plehve, +the Grand Duke Sergius, General von Launitz, and Stolypin. +</p> + +<p> +Although it was known to the government that their agent +Azeff had had these and other zealous champions of autocracy +done to death in order to maintain his credit with the +terrorists, he was still retained in the service of the Tsar. +And while monarchists were thus slaying monarchists for +the good of Tsarism, Kazantseff and his group of reactionaries +were inveigling ignorant revolutionists into assassinating +eminent liberal reformers, assuring them that they were +executing spies. Life in the Tsardom could not be +contemplated as other than the abomination of desolation. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P383"></a>383}</span> +</p> + +<p> +The main object of these diabolic methods was to +perpetuate a system which for iniquity had no parallel in +Christendom, and to keep 140,000,000 peasants in a plight +which makes one wonder as much at their pre-revolutionary +patience as one has wondered since at their anarchist frenzy. +I once sketched the state of things roughly as follows: "Too +often the Russian peasant dwells in a hovel more filthy than +a sty, more noxious than a phosphoric match factory. He +goes to bed at six and even five o'clock in the winter, because +he cannot afford money to buy petroleum enough for artificial +light. He has no meat, no eggs, no butter, no milk, +often no cabbage, and lives mainly on black bread and +potatoes. Lives? He starves on an insufficient quantity of +them. At this moment there are numerous peasants in +Bessarabia who for lack of that staple food are dying of +hunger. At this moment in White Russia, after the +departure of the reserves for the seat of war, there are many +households in which not even a pound of rye corn is left for +the support of the families who have lost their breadwinners. +And yet those starving men, women, and children had +raised plenty of corn to live upon—for the Russian tiller of +the soil eats chiefly black bread, and is glad when he has +enough of that. But they were forced to sell it immediately +after the harvest in order to pay the taxes. And they sold it +for nominal prices—so cheap that the foreigners could +re-sell it to them cheaper than Russian corn merchants!"[<a id="chap19fn15text"></a><a href="#chap19fn15">15</a>] Such +was the material plight of a large section of the Tsar's +subjects. +</p> + +<p> +As for the fog that enwrapped the souls of millions of +these famished human beings, its denseness may be imagined +when I say that many of them had no standard of right and +wrong. Imagine the mental state of the followers of Father +John of Cronstadt, who, in a village[<a id="chap19fn16text"></a><a href="#chap19fn16">16</a>] worshipping my late +acquaintance as an incarnation of the Supreme Being, +sacrificed a woman in his honour—a woman aged forty-one, the +mother of a family of five! They declared, when questioned, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P384"></a>384}</span> +that this was an offering all the more acceptable to the +Almighty that the victim herself was eager thus to suffer +death for her faith. And so pleased were these pious people +with their weird act of adoration that they were making ready +to sacrifice two other women when the police intervened. +</p> + +<p> +It was to perpetuate this hell upon earth that the government +abolished human and divine law! +</p> + +<p> +The weight of the crimes perpetrated by the Tsarist State +may be said to have dragged it into the abyss. For it fell +mechanically, so to say. Neither in 1905 nor in 1917 was +the revolution methodically planned.[<a id="chap19fn17text"></a><a href="#chap19fn17">17</a>] In the former year +there were only three thousand socialists and one thousand +social revolutionists in the capital, yet even then the +upheaval would probably have been successful if there had +been one strong man on their side. On the other hand, the +outbreak of 1917 might have been repressed if the Tsar +had had a man of grit in his service. In 1905 there were a +number of secret societies in the army spreading sedition +among the soldiers, whereas in 1917 there would appear +to have been none. To method, organisation, or leadership, +therefore, the success of the movement cannot fairly be +ascribed, nor even to the concerted action of the revolutionary +parties. Indeed, it is worth noting that neither in +preparing the upheaval nor in moderating or shaping it +did the so-called revolutionary parties play a prominent +or a perceptible part. Nor was it until the upshot of +the sudden convulsion was manifest and the Petersburg +Council of Working Men and Soldiers was formed that the +groups of the extreme Left bestirred themselves and strode +into the foreground. It is no exaggeration, therefore, to +affirm that the Russian revolution was not the work of the +professional revolutionists, but came to pass independently +of their exertions. +</p> + +<p> +The army as a whole was loyal to the monarchy. The +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P385"></a>385}</span> +officers who desired the deposition of the "Colonel," as +Nicholas II. was commonly called in military circles, were +a very small minority, and, so far as I have ascertained, the +army was free from those secret soldiers' organisations +which spread disaffection and fostered rebellion in the year +1905.[<a id="chap19fn18text"></a><a href="#chap19fn18">18</a>] The street tumults which ushered in the troubles, +for which the minister Protopopoff had made all requisite +preparations, were caused appropriately enough by the +deliberate provocation of his secret police and by the artificial +scarcity of food which he had of set purpose brought about. +Here again we are confronted with that poetic justice of +which we have had so many curious instances since the +year 1914. +</p> + +<p> +If it had not been for the mutiny of the reserve battalions +of the Guards, Protopopoff could and would have carried +out his programme, mown down the discontented citizens +with his machine guns, and proceeded to rule Russia with +a rod of iron. Nay, even if these contingents had remained +inactive, the government would have scored a sanguinary +victory. The soldiers mutinied in obedience, not to an order +from a superior officer, but to a spontaneous impulse of +their own. +</p> + +<p> +These remarks are confirmed by the circumstance that +none of the leaders of the revolutionary or extremist parties +lost their lives in the street-fighting—a proof of the +suddenness and rapidity with which the movement was unchained +and developed. +</p> + +<p> +While the riots in the capital were still proceeding, a +number of prominent party men foregathered in the +Technological Institute and, after the manner of 1905, organised +a council of workmen to control the acts of the government. +But it was the soldiers, not the workmen, who had just +turned the scales against Tsarism, and some one present, +who bore the fact in mind, proposed that the name of +the organisation should be amended to Council of +Workmen and Soldiers.[<a id="chap19fn19text"></a><a href="#chap19fn19">19</a>] The motion was acclaimed, and this +seemingly insignificant addition—"and soldiers"—to the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P386"></a>386}</span> +appellation engendered a far-reaching change in the direction +of the revolutionary stream, which thenceforward flowed +away from the Duma towards the army. +</p> + +<p> +The soldiers whose sudden revolt had defeated the +government were astonished next day to find themselves +thus classed as revolutionaries and made co-heirs of these +in the kingdom of liberty that was about to come. But they +had no lively expectation of speedily entering into their +inheritance, for after a few days' fighting in the streets they +returned to their barracks ready to recommence the old +routine anew. The Tsar was still on the throne. The war +was raging at the fronts. The military organism had undergone +no essential change, and so far as it was concerned the +only difference to be anticipated—after the abdication of +Nicholas II.—was that its supreme head would have been +the military commission of the Duma. That was the goal +towards which things military were manifestly wending. It +was desired by the parliamentary chiefs, it was demanded by +the generals, it was acquiesced in by the soldiers themselves. +</p> + +<p> +But circumstance, stronger than the will of men, impressed +a new movement on the stream of events and changed the +history of Russia and of Europe. The intelligentsia, which +so often in opposition had unwittingly marred opportunity, +baulked statesmanlike effort, and clogged the wheels of +progress, now invested with power, issued the famous +Edict No. 1 "democratising" the army. Elections were +ordered for representatives of the soldiers to the Petersburg[<a id="chap19fn20text"></a><a href="#chap19fn20">20</a>] +Council, military discipline was abolished, and the +nation's weapon, the army, was shattered.... Thus the +Bologna phial of the Tsardom was scratched by the author +of that order and all its molecules were scattered in the winds. +</p> + +<p> +What I had foreseen and foretold twelve years before had +come to pass. The intelligentsia, finding themselves at the +head of affairs, ruined Russia's cause and their own. +Word-weavers and theory-importers, they sacrificed the Duma to +the army, the army to the anarchists, and their country to the +foreign enemy for the sake of the merest claptrap. During +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P387"></a>387}</span> +the attempts at revolution in 1906 I wrote: 'Speaking +of the Russian Empire which Nicholas II. received from +his father, Alexander III., one may say with as much +certitude as such contingent judgments admit, that it could +have been governed at least for another forty or fifty +years without a constitution. But on condition that it was +<i>governed</i>. The Prussians of the days of Frederick the +Great were much more intelligent than the Russians of +to-day, yet they enjoyed absolutism and throve under it. +But then although absolute it was really government, and +justice was its basis. The Russians of to-day—the masses +of benighted peasantry—are unfitted to govern the Empire, +and for that reason a strong autocracy might have long continued +in power. But even peasants will not endure starvation +by inches, which was what absolutism offered to many of +them. Like the worm, the mooshik will turn when trodden +on. The Russian people now demand a constitution, not +because they are already fitted for it, but because the +bureaucracy is no longer capable of carrying on the system +of absolutism. The process by which the necessity of a +radical change has been impressed upon the consciousness +of the people was long and circuitous, but the result is there +and cannot be reasoned away. To the will of the nation the +government can oppose only the bayonets of the troops, and +even the tempered steel of bayonets will not long support a +throne devoid of all other props. And that is now the +relative position of the autocracy and the army. +</p> + +<p> +"The troops are not yet disaffected as a whole. The great +majority of the soldiers are still devoted to the Tsar and +obedient to his officers. But the work of disintegration is +going on rapidly, and may, nay must, in the end prove +thorough.... In five years, three years, or a few months +the army may go over to the enemy. And then? <i>Then the +anarchists will have triumphed</i>. +</p> + +<p> +"The tactics of the revolutionists are, perhaps, efficacious +from a purely party point of view; from the standpoint of +the Empire they are disastrous. They remind one of the +fabulous Chinaman who burned down his hut in order to +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P388"></a>388}</span> +roast a pig. To revolutionise the army is not merely to put +a spoke in the wheel of the monarchy, it is to ruin the whole +nation. For anarchists this policy is conceivable, but not for +any political party, however eager to pull down the prevailing +political system. To sow the seed of disaffection among +the troops is to deprive the nation of its one weapon of +defence, to place the people and all that they possess at the +mercy of the foreign foe."[<a id="chap19fn21text"></a><a href="#chap19fn21">21</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Trite though these axioms may be they were not assimilated, +and although the consequences of disregarding them +were obviously sinister and manifest, nothing was undertaken +to dislodge their cause. The circumstance that among +the intelligentsia there was no mind receptive, flexible, and +resourceful enough for constructive revolutionary leadership +materially contributed to render the downfall of the Tsardom +tantamount to the dismemberment of Russia. +</p> + +<p> +Thus the upheaval, which lacked a constructive idea and +a statesmanlike leader, was neither organised nor foreseen +nor prepared for. It was a spontaneous movement of the +Russian Enceladus to ease his suffering, and it shook the +politico-social fabric to its nethermost foundations. All +Russia was still one and undivided. Nor was it until the +autocracy had been pulled down by the shock that various +material interests laid hold of the revolutionary forces and +began to use them for particular and unhallowed ends. +What at the outset was the instinctive effort of a gigantic +entity to right and save itself became immediately afterwards +a process of gangrenous decomposition. No sooner had the +whole nation risen up as one man against Tsarism than a +sequence of struggles began of one interest against another, +whereby the chaotic flood which had long seethed and hissed +below the smooth unified surface maintained by the Tsardom +burst into the light of day and overwhelmed the country and +its peoples. +</p> + +<p> +In the Bolshevik movement there is not the vestige of a +constructive or social idea. Even the Western admirers of +Lenin and Trotsky cannot discover any. Genuine socialism +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P389"></a>389}</span> +means the organic ordering of the social whole, and of this +in the Bolshevik process there is no trace. Far from that, a +part is treated as the whole and the remainder is no better +off than were the serfs under Alexander I. and Nicholas I. +For Bolshevism is Tsarism upside down. To capitalists it +metes out treatment as bad as that which the Tsars dealt to +serfs. It suppresses newspapers, forbids liberty of the press, +arrests or banishes the elected of the nation, and connives at +or encourages crimes of diabolical ferocity. +</p> + +<p> +It is charitable to assume that the intelligentsia would not +have abandoned the Duma and the army if they had understood +their own people and foreseen its behaviour in a +state of freedom from restraint. One hopes that they knew +not what they did. One of their own spiritual chiefs now +agrees with what I wrote of them in the days when Alexander +II. was Tsar. "Russians," he says, "readily abandon +themselves to dreams, illusion, and self-deception. They +are easily fascinated by the possibility of speedily bringing +down upon earth the definite kingdom of justice, the social +paradise, but they lack the sterner, the more masculine and +responsible virtues. Deliberate toil has no charms for the +Russian people. They rely for everything upon catastrophic +leaps and bounds from the realm of necessity into the realm +of liberty. The Russians have been demoralised by +autocracy and morally crippled by protracted slavery, by the +ingrained habit of trusting for everything to the ruling and +the predominant classes. And the past has flung its +forbidding shadow across our present and our future. As a +counterweight to the flattery now in vogue it behoves us to +proclaim frankly that in the Russian people there is a fatal +lack of honour, and this defect is a consequence of their long +continued thraldom. This lack of honour and the utter +absence among them of the sense of responsibility and duty +are lightly cloaked with social theories permeated with the +poison of flattery administered to the popular masses."[<a id="chap19fn22text"></a><a href="#chap19fn22">22</a>] +</p> + +<p> +In response to the call of the well-meaning intelligentsia, +who made their evocations efficacious by adding to them the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P390"></a>390}</span> +sacrifice of the Duma and the army, the spirit of anarchy arose +from the deep and cannot now be laid. Chaos may, therefore, +rage on, spreading ruin in Russia until it reaches the point +of self-negation. By that time, however, and congruously +with that disastrous void, the configuration of Europe may +have definitely changed. That is the danger which I have +long apprehended and desired to see warded off. For it +obviously meant internal disruption and German domination. +That is why I wrote when the breakdown of the autocracy +began with the abortive revolution of eleven years ago: +"Without claiming to descry things further ahead than the +average politician, one might make a heavy wager that <i>before +Russia resumes her lost position among the nations of the earth, +Germany will have won for herself at the expense of her +neighbours a position of prestige and power unexampled in European +history since the Middle Ages</i>."[<a id="chap19fn23text"></a><a href="#chap19fn23">23</a>] +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn1text">1</a>] I, who was one of Pobiedonostseff's +unsparing critics, recognised the +man's honesty and the rigorous logic +with which he conceived his aspect +of the problem. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn2text">2</a>] I was myself one of those who exposed +the crying injustice of this coercive +measure which compelled a man like Prince Barclay +de Tolly to have his +children brought up in the Orthodox Russian Church, +to which he did not +belong, because his wife was a member of it. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn3text">3</a>] 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn4text">4</a>] <i>Contemporary Review</i>, August, 1906, p. 283. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn5text">5</a>] <i>Ibidem.</i> +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn6text">6</a>] <i>Contemporary Review</i>, February, 1905, p. 285. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn7text">7</a>] <i>Ibidem</i>, p. 284. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn8text">8</a>] <i>National Review</i>, May, 1905, p. 446. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn9text">9</a>] While Finance Minister he accomplished much in this line. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn10text">10</a>] The German frontier station on the journey to St. Petersburg. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn11text">11</a>] <i>North American Review</i>, February, 1906, p. 469. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn12text">12</a>] <i>North American Review</i>, February, 1906, p. 462. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn13text">13</a>] The Persian loan episode, the seizure of Port Arthur, +the secret letter +to the Emir of Afghanistan, +and the readiness to combine with Germany +against us during the Boer war are instances. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn14"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn14text">14</a>] Certain ignoble charges launched against the Tsaritsa, +whose meddling +in politics was disastrous to the Tsardom, +are equally groundless and even +more characteristic of those who first launched them. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn15"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn15text">15</a>] <i>Contemporary Review</i>, March, 1905, p. 313. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn16"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn16text">16</a>] The village of Upper Yelshanka. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn17"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn17text">17</a>] I received from some of the principal Bolsheviks +letters to the effect that +it would break out at the end of March or the +beginning of April, and taking +these intimations together with other symptoms +I felt pretty sure that the +date was correct. But a wide-awake government +could have adjourned it +until the end of the war. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn18"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn18text">18</a>] Cf. <i>Rasskaya Svoboda</i>, No. 4, p. 21. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn19"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn19text">19</a>] <i>Op. cit.</i>, p. 23. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn20"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn20text">20</a>] The capital is still called Petersburg +by the Bolshevik government. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn21"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn21text">21</a>] <i>Contemporary Review</i>, August, 1906, pp. 286 and 287. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn22"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn22text">22</a>] Cf. N. Berdyayeff, <i>Russkaya Svoboda</i>, Nos. 12-13, pp. 5 and 6. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap19fn23"></a> +[<a href="#chap19fn23text">23</a>] <i>Contemporary Review</i>, August, 1906, p. 271. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap20"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P391"></a>391}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +POSTSCRIPT +</h2> + +<p> +I made that forecast in the year 1906 and everything that +has happened since tended to confirm it. +</p> + +<p> +But what of the future? the reader may ask. Have +Russia's sands indeed run down? Will her dissolution +not be followed by a glorious resurrection? In answer to +these and kindred questions it may be pointed out that the +province of the historian and that of his less ambitious +auxiliaries is to supply the public with relevant and +well-sifted facts, not with forecasts that cannot be verified. +</p> + +<p> +From the partial sketch outlined in the foregoing pages +it may seem to follow that the Russian people has been not +merely knocked out of the lists as a belligerent, but also +permanently incapacitated as a nation for a prominent part in +the politico-social progress of the world. And one may ask +why I have refrained from drawing this conclusion? For if +it be true that the bulk of the population is intellectually +benighted, morally obtuse, politically indifferent, and socially +incohesive, it follows that it is also insensible to the only +motives strong enough to determine such an effort as would +make regeneration possible. Not even an army can be raised +until these conditions are remedied. And an army is but the +first of a long series of conditions requisite for a new birth. +When Russia has national forces again, she will be in possession +of a most important element of renewed vitality, but only +of one. And as yet she is still far removed even from that. +</p> + +<p> +Those who reason thus are assuming that the future +development of mankind will run on the lines of its past +progress. And the grounds for this assumption are +inadequate. Yet oddly enough, many of these critics are also +zealous champions of the supremacy of right over force and +of arbitration as a substitute for war, and these doctrines, +warped it may be and discoloured, are to be discerned at the +roots of Russia's great renunciation. It must therefore be +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P392"></a>392}</span> +acknowledged that the Russian people are in a more fitting +mood to listen to President Wilson's scheme of future +reconstruction than any of their neighbours. That the various +parts of the Tsardom will be put together again and the +breath of life poured into the reintegrated and rejuvenated +organism is to my thinking improbable. The principle of +national self-determination for which the Allies profess to be +fighting is apparently an effectual barrier to this were there +no other. The utmost that one can hope is that the Russian +race will unite and come into its own. +</p> + +<p> +The majority of the nation is still hardly more than +raw material for the State-builder. It lacks almost all the +advantages which religion, education, instruction, political +training, economic development, and intercourse with +progressive peoples have bestowed on its competitors, and it is +hampered with the vices which a grinding and ruthless +tyranny working unhindered for centuries succeeded in +grafting on its impressionable soul. That so much of what +is humane still survives in the Russian—his natural religion +of pity, his pitiless self-criticism, his enthusiasm for noble +causes, his detachment from the grosser sides of life, and the +cheerful alacrity with which he will die for an idea or a +friend—bespeaks an equipment, intellectual and moral, +which if properly cultivated may reasonably be expected +to bring forth excellent fruits. +</p> + +<p> +One cannot fully understand the first act of the Russian +revolution until the curtain has fallen on the last, nor before +one has seen the channels traced by circumstance for the +civilising currents of the future is it possible to divine the +part in the making of history which the nation will be +qualified to play. Ages of ignorance and serfdom may have +suspended but have not wholly crushed the freedom of +spirit, the fellow-feeling for suffering, and the embryonic +humanities characteristic of the race. These qualities, freed +from the many and noxious weeds with which they are still +entangled, may yet make of Russia a potent social force +capable of being directed to a high ethical purpose. +</p> + +<p class="noindent"> +E. J. DILLON. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap21"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P393"></a>393}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +APPENDIX +</h2> + +<p class="t3b"> +DETAILS OF THE SECRET TREATY +</p> + +<p> +Witte narrated to me in detail his experiences in Paris, his +talks with the French Premier, and what came of them. +Suddenly he received from the Russian Minister of Foreign +Affairs the telegram: "Kaiser Wilhelm invites you to visit +him at Rominten. His Majesty the Tsar desires you to +repair thither on your way home." +</p> + +<p> +This imperial behest was the outcome of an exchange of +telegrams that had taken place between Wilhelm II. and +Nicholas II. On 4th September, the Kaiser, who was then +at Rominten, had telegraphed to the Tsar: "Witte is, as I +hear, on his return journey. Would you allow him to visit +me <i>en passant</i> on his way to Russia? as I intend decorating +him on account of the coming into existence of the treaty +of commerce which he concluded last year with Bülow. +Happy cruise! Our manœuvres most interesting in lovely +country, but very wet! Best love to Alix. Willy." On 11th +September Wilhelm again telegraphs: "By your kind order +Witte will be here on 26/13. Is he informed of our treaty? +Am I to tell him about it if he is not? Best love to Alix. +Killed four stags here, nothing specially big. Weather cool +and fine. <i>Waldmanns Heil!</i>" To this question the Tsar +despatched the following answer: "Till now the Grand +Duke Nikolas, the War Minister, the chief of general staff, +and Lamsdorff are informed about treaty. Have nothing +against your telling Witte about it. Enjoying my stay on +the <i>Polar Star</i>, dry fine weather. Best love from Alix. +<i>Waldmanns Dank</i>. Nicky." Consequently Nicholas II. had +no objection to the Kaiser's opening the matter to +Witte. But the evidence goes to show that it was not done. +</p> + +<p> +"After having received this telegram I remained only +two days longer in the French capital and then set out for +Rominten. You know how I was received there. Frederic +could not have been more cordial towards Voltaire when +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P394"></a>394}</span> +the great Frenchman arrived at Potsdam. The Kaiser +seemed transfigured. His face was a sequence of smiles. +His every tone and gesture a spell. He talked of various +topical subjects. But before touching upon that of France +and Morocco, the Kaiser looking at me searchingly asked, +'Do you remember our talk about the new ordering of +Europe some ten years back?' and then he reflected as +though he were brightening up the traits of the picture in +his mind. 'Ten years ago you gave expression to an opinion +that caused me to meditate much and anxiously upon the +affairs of Europe, the decay of the old continent, the rise of +young and robust nations, and the special part which we, +the order-bringing races, are foredestined to play. Let me +recall that conversation. You said that the nations of +Europe should as far as possible imitate the North American +States, combine for a permanent and common end, should +cease to squander the best part of their wealth in arms, and +to risk the noblest of their achievements in intestine wars, +and that they should cease to wage fiscal and economic +struggles as they now do.' +</p> + +<p> +"Here I interrupted him and said that to the best of my +recollection I had pleaded for the separation of political and +economic aims. 'Yes, yes,' he rejoined, 'but that is only a +detail. If we were as free from that exhausting drainage as +the United States are, what a difference it would make to +us and to the world! The price paid for this consummation +would shrink to nothing in comparison with the benefits it +would confer. Europe as a State system might then reckon +on a life of thousands of years, whereas if we go on snarling +and biting as at present the process of decay will not be +arrested. Europe will die as Egypt died, and Assyria and +Rome. Now my people do not want to perish in this +inglorious way. They are capable of great things and burning +to accomplish them. So, no doubt, are yours. Are these +your views still?' 'They are, sire.' 'I am glad to know it. +But it could not be otherwise. Every fair-minded person +who can see the present stagnation in Europe as it really is, +and discern the decay it involves, and who longs for +health-bringing activity, pacific progress, economic order, must +feel drawn towards our ideas. What is wanted is not a holy +alliance or any mere temporary coalition, but something +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P395"></a>395}</span> +grander and more enduring, an organism that can live and +grow and thrive. Mere treaties will not work the +transformation. These outward ties are useful and even necessary +as splints and ligatures to hold the parts together until their +union becomes organic as it now is in the German States, +or if you prefer it, in the United States of North America. +These States are separated by enormous distances. Their +economic interests, far from being identical or similar, are +in some cases in conflict one with the other, and in any case +there are complicating conditions. But the States contrive +to hit it off all the same. Well, the same result might, I am +certain, be achieved in Europe, if the problem were deftly +handled. Why should it not be? It is my conviction that +the time is ripe for such a glorious undertaking. All that we +need are the right men. And if I had such a statesman as +you, I should have no misgivings about the end. I would +appoint you to the chancellorship, give you <i>carte blanche</i> to +realise in your own way my cherished scheme of polity, and +I feel sure that it would assume a shape duly proportioned +to the magnitude of the new political creation. But after all +you are not so very far away. Petersburg and Berlin are +next-door neighbours. And we have the telegraph wires to +keep us in touch. I can always have the benefit of your +advice. +</p> + +<p> +"'By the way, I was much struck with certain remarks +you made when you and I first talked this matter over. You +said that the political and economic aspects of the project +of the United States of Europe ought to be kept apart and +dealt with as far as possible separately. But in this case +they have had to go together. Another observation you +then made appealed to me still more strongly. You talked +of France as an indispensable element of the new federation. +There you were absolutely right. I agree with you fully. +It must be our first aim to win over France. You discerned +that from the outset. You know the temperament of the +French people. And they are your admirers. Your name is +a clarion to them now. They can refuse you nothing. You +rescued Russia, their friend and ally. Well, I want your +precious collaboration. Will you use your influence to do +what is feasible towards furthering the cause of Europe? I +can rely on you?' 'Most certainly, sire, you can. I will do +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P396"></a>396}</span> +everything in my power compatible with my duty to my +country and my sovereign. Your Majesty overrates my +influence, but not my goodwill.' 'You will hold the reins +of power in Russia after your return. Of that there is little +doubt. I have a bit of good news for you. Your Emperor +and I have lately exchanged views on this matter, and we +are agreed with you on the principle, so that the conversation +of ours at Björke marks progress. We have exchanged +ideas on the subject and are decided to act together. You +still hold all your old views?' 'Yes, sire, without +modification.' 'Very well. You have reason to rejoice. We are +making headway. What we are aiming at is, as you yourself +termed it, the establishment of a political syndicate which +is to harness all the social and political forces of the old +continent and to use them to keep the machine of general +government moving for the welfare of all, while leaving +room enough for the play of divergent forces and the +pursuit of divergent interests. You hit the nail on the head +when you likened it to a syndicate.' +</p> + +<p> +"It was in that sense if not in those identical words that +the Kaiser addressed me. He scanned me closely from time +to time while he spoke, and also whenever I replied. He +was nimbler in his movements than I had seen him on +former occasions, and also more visibly preoccupied by his +subject. It seemed a kind of possession. He was also +generous in his praise of the Tsar, and anxious to learn any +opinion about the internal situation in Russia. He +cross-examined me about the French statesmen I had seen, about +Rouvier and Delcassé, about the mood of the French people, +and kindred matters. I gave him my impressions and then +asked him to enable me to do a favour to the French. He +accorded it with the best grace in the world. And I obtained +from him the concession about the Algeciras Conference +which Rouvier had so often asked for in vain. In this way +war was prevented. Altogether the Kaiser treated me during +my visit as though I were a reigning potentate. When we +drove in the motor he himself acted as my chauffeur, and +again reverted to the question of welding continental +Europe into a co-operative association, and to the need of +energetic seconding from me now, and still more when I +was entrusted by the Tsar with the reins of government. I +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P397"></a>397}</span> +remember the last words I uttered to him at this our last +meeting. I said, 'I will do my part. But I would ask you, +sire, to send energetic ambassadors to all the capitals +concerned, ambassadors who will pursue a definite, clear-cut +policy in this direction. And then in ten years the idea may +perhaps be realised. If when your Majesty and I first talked +the project over you had done this, it would probably have +been realised by now!' +</p> + +<p> +"Since then I have corresponded with the Kaiser, but I +have never seen him." +</p> + +<p> +The above account of what passed at Rominten during +Witte's visit was given to me by the Russian statesman +himself on many occasions; three or four times at least he +dictated it, and now and again when talking of other matters +he would add in some new touch. He always assured me +emphatically that the Kaiser never alluded in more lucid +terms than those I have given to the important transactions +that had passed between the two monarchs at Björke. "I +left Russia," he said, "without knowing that an interview +was projected, and I returned home without any information +about the act for which the interview had been brought +about." I knew Witte intimately, and I believed him +implicitly. And yet the Kaiser had asked and received the +Tsar's permission to initiate the future Russian Premier into +the secret. What kept him back? Witte told me that he +attributed this semi-reserve to Wilhelm's apprehension +that Witte would flare up as he had done when he discovered +the Kiao Chow accord, cause great unpleasantness, and +perhaps upset the covenant, whereas if his own Tsar broke +the news to him directly or through Lamsdorff after he had +expressed approval of the principle he would resign himself. +</p> + +<p> +What was that treaty of the existence of which even at +the end of September hardly more than seven persons were +aware? The best answer to that is to be found in the +confidential telegrams which passed between the two Emperors +unknown to the Russian ministers and led to the signing of +the compact. These messages are interesting as human +documents, and also as illustrations of the arbitrary, +underhand, conspirative manner in which Nicholas II. discharged +the functions which had, he imagined, been entrusted to +him by the Deity. They extend over a span of time reaching +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P398"></a>398}</span> +from June, 1904, down to the date of the Kaiser's visit +to Björke, and they afford one a glimpse of the skill and +knowledge of character displayed by Wilhelm II. in laying +his snare for the weak-willed, conceited occupant of the +throne of Peter. The deep instinct of the Hohenzollern for +the promotion of his country's interests in the first place, +and of his subjects' industrial interests in the second place, +was awake from start to finish. It is instructive to watch the +irresolution of the faint-hearted Russian, his willingness to +take a step that might confer on him distinction as a +statesman, his subsequent apprehension of its consequences, not +to his country and people, but to his own puny self, his +desire to confess the delinquency almost as soon as he had +committed it, and to obtain forgiveness from the French, +and of his acquiescence in the overmastering will of the +tempter, despite the promptings of his own instincts. +Whatever one may think of the immorality of the Hohenzollern, +there is little to be urged against his faith in the law of cause +and effect. +</p> + +<p> +The problem Wilhelm II. had to solve was the same that +he had almost settled during the Boer war. Had he then +subdued the impulse of impatience which comes naturally +to his temperament, and gone to work with boldness, tact, +and method, he would undoubtedly have attracted France +to his side again and induced her to work in concert with +Germany and Russia, as Witte had done at the time of +the cancelling of the Shimonoseki Treaty. Muravieff, on +Russia's behalf, was ready to march. M. Delcassé, it has been +affirmed, would have followed his example if he had not +been scared by the prospect of having to guarantee +conjointly with Russia the European possessions of Germany, +including, of course, Alsace and Lorraine. This time the +aim was essentially the same, but the elements of the +problem were more favourable. However, the Kaiser had +a larger choice of means. Russia was engrossed by Japan, +and her power counted for nothing in Europe. Consequently +only France needed to be won over, and the goal +would have been reached. This stroke might have been +effected either by blandishments or constraint. And if +only the Tsar could be enlisted on Germany's side, then, +to Wilhelm's thinking, the rest of the problem was plain +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P399"></a>399}</span> +sailing. For Russia could be used to decoy her ally into the +camp of the Central Empires, or else her own infidelity +would revolt and isolate the French. In the early part of his +reign the Kaiser, in quest of a third ally, had oscillated +between Russia and England, but since the Anglo-French +Entente, and all that that seemed to him to imply, he felt +that Britain was the enemy, and he shaped his action +accordingly.[<a id="chap21fn1text"></a><a href="#chap21fn1">1</a>] This action was directed to the conclusion of a +secret treaty with Russia which, when the opportune hour +should strike—and the sooner the better—would be dangled +before the eyes of the French nation. France would then +have to follow Russia into the Teuton camp or else dissociate +herself from her ally, and the consequences of either +choice would be satisfactory to Kaiser Wilhelm. All the +probabilities, however, as they mirrored themselves in the +mind of the sanguine German, were in favour of a complete +reconciliation with the republic. +</p> + +<p> +But secrecy was of the very essence of success. An +imprudent word, a premature allusion, and all would be lost. +For the French government must be taken unawares, +stunned by the accomplished, the irrevocable fact, and +constrained suddenly to adopt a friendly or a hostile attitude +towards it by sinking into resignation or rising to revolt. +Then and only then could the intended result be secured. +That the Kaiser should have thought it possible to obtain +the willing aid of Nicholas II. for the execution of such an +infamous design on the Tsardom's best friends indicates +his low estimate of the Russian's moral worth and +soundness of intelligence. That he succeeded so completely +demonstrates the correctness of his conception. One cannot +but recognise that, whatever blunders were made by the +Germans before and during the Great War in forecasting +the action of this or that people, the Kaiser in the tactics he +adopted towards his brother sovereign is a master example +of clear-eyed psychological penetration. With his view of +morality he may well take pride in what was undoubtedly a +brilliant feat. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P400"></a>400}</span> +Nicholas II., representing the Tsardom and its peoples, +was on the most friendly footing with France. He had +already committed a grievous blunder, which was hardly +to be distinguished from a crime against the alliance, by +leading his country into a disastrous war against Japan +which had shorn him of his prestige, disheartened his army, +and thrown his entire Empire out of gear. And Germany +had hastened to make capital out of his folly. The Morocco +tangle was held up to be unravelled, and the Kaiser's +ministers insisted that it should be done in their way and +under their supervision. The French Minister of Foreign +Affairs, who demurred and took up the position that ratified +treaties must be respected, was removed by his own +colleagues congruously with the demand made by the German +emissary, Henckel von Donnersmarck, who visited Paris +for the purpose. Since then the French government had +been enduring the tortures of suspense. War clouds hung +heavy in the firmament. The German government had +declared to the French Premier through its ambassador in +Paris that unless the international conference it demanded +were agreed to, "you must bear in mind that Germany +with all its forces is at the back of Morocco."[<a id="chap21fn2text"></a><a href="#chap21fn2">2</a>] The German +Chancellor exhorted the French ambassador[<a id="chap21fn3text"></a><a href="#chap21fn3">3</a>] "not to +linger on a path bordered by precipices and even abysses." +</p> + +<p> +That was the moment chosen by the Kaiser to begin the +weaving of his spells around the soulless figure-head that +sat upon the Russian throne. And the pitiful semblance of +a monarch saw nothing preposterous, nothing incongruous, +in the proposal made to him. +</p> + +<p> +The confidential telegrams are instructive, and from +various points of view well worth studying. The Kaiser's +tone when alluding to "Uncle Albert" or "Uncle Bertie" +(Edward VII.) at first respectful, and then almost unfriendly +as England's influence on Russia becomes more and more +sensible; his assumption that Nicholas II. will not make +peace yet but will risk his entire fleet and sink deeper into +the bog; his tender friendship for his brother sovereign, +which suddenly turns into angry surprise accompanied by +unmistakable threats when a Russian cruiser seizes a German +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P401"></a>401}</span> +steamer[<a id="chap21fn4text"></a><a href="#chap21fn4">4</a>] and commits an act of "piracy," and the +congruous alteration of his signature from Willy to Wilhelm—are +all traits of which neither the politician nor the +psychologist will miss the significance. The anxious solicitude +of the Kaiser for the honour and the military victory of +Russia has a ring about it which recalls some of Mephisto's +phrases, as for example when he urges the Tsar to order +the ships in the Far East to make a supreme dash against +those of the enemy and foretells the result: "The vessels +in the harbour are, of course, the main attraction for the +Japaneses (<i>sic</i>). I hope they will make a try for the Japanese +fleet, and if they manage to run down or smash or damage +the four line-of-battleships left to Japan, though they +themselves may perish too, they will have done their duty: +shattering the strength of the Japaneses' sea power, and +preparing the way for the Baltic fleet's victorious success on +its arrival, in winning easily against a damaged antagonist, +unable to repair his ships or build new ones in time. Then +the sea power is back in your hands, and the Japaneses' +land forces are at your mercy; then you sound the 'general +advance' for your army, and the enemy! Hallali."[<a id="chap21fn5text"></a><a href="#chap21fn5">5</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Again, note how insidiously the descendant of Frederic +the Anti-Machiavellian suggests that the Tsar should hold +out because Japan's resources are fast ebbing and she is +making desperate efforts to obtain peace, and Manchuria, +and is being helped by perfidious Albion: "I think the +strings of all these doings lead across the Channel."[<a id="chap21fn6text"></a><a href="#chap21fn6">6</a>] A +few days later the Tsar thanks him, and says that he is not +quite certain whether "the strings of these doings lead +across the Channel or perhaps the Atlantic. You may be +sure that Russia shall fight this war to the end until the last +Jap is driven out of Manchuria, only then can come the talk +about peace negotiations, and that solely between the two +belligerents. May God help us. Hearty thanks for your +loyal friendship, which I trust beyond anything. Nicky."[<a id="chap21fn7text"></a><a href="#chap21fn7">7</a>] +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P402"></a>402}</span> +</p> + +<p> +That was peculiarly characteristic of Nicholas II., "to +trust beyond anything" the man whose interest it was to +circumvent him, and to distrust and discredit the most +patriotic and genial statesman of his own country. +</p> + +<p> +At all costs the Tsar has to be isolated. Uncle Albert +must be rendered suspect.[<a id="chap21fn8text"></a><a href="#chap21fn8">8</a>] The Americans, too, who in +the person of Roosevelt may bring the Tsar to reason, must +be debarred in advance, and debarred they are accordingly. +Russia has been victimised in English waters, among the +Hull fishermen off the Dogger Bank there was "foul play," +the fishermen themselves "have already acknowledged +that they have seen foreign steamcraft among their boats, +not belonging to their fishing fleet, which they knew not! +So there has been foul play! I think the British Embassy +in Petersburg must know these news." And so this +outpouring of poisonous virus, which the mental organism of +the poor, degenerate Russian was predisposed to assimilate, +went on unceasingly. The august head of the German +people posed before him whom he had recently saluted as +admiral of the Pacific as a sort of head spy who had numerous +other spies under him. And to his beloved friend he hurried +with the precious information thus collected, whenever it +appeared likely to be of use. It was in this unchivalrous +capacity that he discovered the "foul play" of which +Admiral Roshdjestvensky was "the victim" in the North +Sea, and that he was able to write:[<a id="chap21fn9text"></a><a href="#chap21fn9">9</a>] "From reliable source +(<i>sic</i>) in India I am secretly informed that expedition <i>à la +Tibet</i> is being quickly prepared for Afghanistan. It is meant +to bring that country for once and all under British +influence, if possible direct suzerainty.[<a id="chap21fn10text"></a><a href="#chap21fn10">10</a>] The expedition is to +leave end of this month. The only not English European in +Afghanistan service, the director of the arms manufactory +of the Emir, a German gentleman, has been murdered as +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P403"></a>403}</span> +<i>preambule</i> to the action." And four days later he asserts +that: "My statement about India in last telegram are (<i>sic</i>) +corroborated by the speech of Lord Selborne, who alluded +to Afghanistan question."[<a id="chap21fn11text"></a><a href="#chap21fn11">11</a>] +</p> + +<p> +At the same time, with these and similar items of "news," +the Tsar was treated with a constant stream of information, +which was meant to touch him more closely and stimulate +him to make common cause with Germany, who alone was +befriending him in his own and his country's straits. Thus +he complains that the English press "has been threatening +Germany on no account to allow coals to be sent to Baltic +fleet now on its way out. It is not impossible that the +Japanese and British government may lodge a joint protest +against our coaling your ships, coupled with a <i>sommation</i> to +stop further work. The result aimed at by such a threat of +war would be the absolute immobility of your fleet, and +inability to proceed to its destination from want of fuel. This +new danger would have to be faced <i>in community by Russia +and Germany together</i>, who would both have to remind +your ally France of obligations she has taken over in the +treaty of dual alliance with you, in the case of <i>casus fœderis</i> +arising. It is out of the question that France on such an +invitation would try to shirk her implicit duty towards her +ally. Though Delcassé is an anglophile <i>enragé</i>, he will be +wise enough to understand that the British fleet is utterly +unable to save Paris."[<a id="chap21fn12text"></a><a href="#chap21fn12">12</a>] +</p> + +<p> +And these things told. The Tsar, left largely to himself +and his immediate surroundings, with no trusted adviser, is +deeply touched by what he thus learns from this +disinterested friend about the wickedness of England and the +coldness of France. All that was now wanted to crown the +work was one of those unforeseen incalculable incidents +with which war is fraught. And it duly came to pass. +Admiral Roshdjestvensky, in a fit of nervousness akin to +temporary folly, fired on the harmless fishermen off the +Dogger Bank, provoking an outburst of anger in the British +press. Thereupon the Kaiser's victory was secured. "I +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P404"></a>404}</span> +agree fully," the Tsar writes, "with your complaints about +England's behaviour concerning the coaling of our ships +by German steamers, whereas she understands the rules of +keeping neutrality in her own fashion. It is certainly high +time to put a stop to this. The only way, as you say, would +be that Germany, Russia, and France should at once unite +upon an arrangement to abolish Anglo-Japanese arrogance +and insolence. Would you like to lay down and frame the +outlines of such a treaty and let me know it? As soon as +accepted by us, France is bound to join her ally. This +combination has often come to my mind; it will mean peace +and rest for the world. Best love from Alix. Nicky." Here +we have the origin of the secret treaty. "The only way, as +you say." And the Tsar requests his brother potentate who +has had this brilliant idea to formulate it in a treaty. And as +for the republic, which is in a fever of excitement +apprehending an onslaught of the Germans, who are bullying it +incessantly, the solution is facile: "France is bound to join +her ally." Bound. Morally? By treaty? ... What is an +obligation as Wilhelm II. understands it? +</p> + +<p> +Perseveringly the Kaiser went on in his underhand, +sneaking way, fanning the embers until the flame appeared +which was to shrivel and consume the Franco-Russian scrap +of paper. The imperial detective has always a budget of +news ready for his dreamy correspondent and adapted to +the end in view. "I hear from trustworthy private source" +(<i>sic</i>), he writes, "that the authorities in Tokio are getting +anxious at the future outlook."[<a id="chap21fn13text"></a><a href="#chap21fn13">13</a>] No more scientific poisoner +of the wells of public information is known to mankind than +the German Press Bureau in the Wilhelmstrasse, Berlin, +and it may well be doubted whether the cleverest and least +scrupulous member of that institution could successfully +emulate the crowned head of the German State. Here is a +superlatively knavish way of inventing rumours and dishing +them up with his poisonous sauce. "My suspicions accordingly, +that the Japanese are trying secretly to get other power +to mediate because they are now at the height of their +successes, have proved correct. Lansdowne has asked Hayashi +to intimate to England the conditions upon which Japan +would conclude peace. They were telegraphed from Tokio, +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P405"></a>405}</span> +but were so preposterous that even blustering Lansdowne +thought them too strong, and urged Hayashi to tone them +down. When they made a wry face and difficulties, +Lansdowne added, 'Of course England will take good care that +a mediæval Russia will be kept well out of Manchuria, +Korea, etc., so that <i>de facto</i> Japan will get all she wants.' That +is the point the British have in their eye when they +speak of friendship and friendly mediation. France, as I +hear from Japan, is already informed of these plans, and of +course a party to this arrangement, taking—as usual in the +new <i>entente cordiale</i>—the side of England. They are going +to offer you a bit of Persia as compensation, of course far +from the shore of the gulf which England means to annex +herself, fearing you might have access to the warm sea, +which you must by right, as Persia is bound to fall under +Russian control and government. This would give her a +splendid commercial opening, which England wants to +debar you from."[<a id="chap21fn14text"></a><a href="#chap21fn14">14</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Lest this deadly hash of untruths should appear to +Nicholas II. as what it really was, his august friend went on +to remark modestly and offhandedly: "Your diplomatists +will have reported all this to you before, but I thought, +nevertheless, it my duty to inform you of all I knew, all of +which are authentical serious news from absolute +trustworthy sources." Trustworthy sources indeed! +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar's request for the "outlines of a treaty" was +granted speedily. The day after it was received an imperial +messenger left for Tsarskoye Selo, carrying the draft which +the Kaiser had already put together. It had a long preamble +unattached to the document itself—a sort of justification for +it, which the Tsar found "very interesting." What remarks +the proposed covenant elicited I am now unable to say. I +have grounds, however, for believing, and I find among the +notes which are at present before me a statement written +down in the year 1906 that this first draft provided for a +triple alliance for Germany, Russia, and France, whereas the +second project, brought to Tsarskoye Selo on 20th November +by Count Lamsdorff himself,[<a id="chap21fn15text"></a><a href="#chap21fn15">15</a>] left out all mention of +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P406"></a>406}</span> +France except in the last clause, which stipulated that efforts +would be made to induce the French nation to come into +the alliance. +</p> + +<p> +Parenthetically I may say that the first draft was first +given to me by mistake for the actual treaty. But the error +was soon perceived and corrected. Since the revolution +certain Russian newspapers, informed, it has been alleged, +by relatives of an ex-minister, announce that the document +was an offensive and defensive treaty. Others again describe +it as a convention directed against France. My friend Witte +never construed the object of the covenant in that way, but +he argued, erroneously, that the letter of the treaty was +capable of being turned against France and regarded as a +Russo-German agreement with its point aimed at the +republic. And that it was which aroused his indignation. +</p> + +<p> +It may be thought surprising that a monarch like +Nicholas II., who had been brought up in the atmosphere +of the court, taught by men of integrity like Pobiedonostseff +and Witte, and initiated into foreign politics by Lobanoff +and Lamsdorff, should have had his judgment so warped +and his ideas so "coloured" that he failed to suspect the +wiles of his seducer, the drift of the proposal, or the necessary +effect which the projected alliance must have on Russia's +relations with France. It is, however, idle to vituperate the +mental anarchy and moral blindness which prevented him +from seeing how completely he was separating his country +from France, and how impossible it was to distinguish this +abandonment from the blackest kind of treason. Any moral +faculty Nicholas II. may have possessed at the outset of his +reign—and it must have been extremely slight—had long +since been drained by self-worship and presumption. To +one order of considerations he was still, however, susceptible: +the opinion of the chiefs of influential nations who had +trusted him. What he asks himself when he has the fateful +document in its final shape before him is, What will the +French say? How will they judge me? Affrighted by the +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P407"></a>407}</span> +answer he desires to beat a retreat, and with his shallow +cunning he feigns to be especially solicitous about gaining +the support of the French and offers that as a motive for +breaking his promise of secrecy. Yet he has not the courage +to do this without the permission of the tempter in whose +toils he is. +</p> + +<p> +"Before signing the last draft of treaty I think it advisable +to let the French see it. As long as it is not signed one can +make small modifications in the text, whereas if already +approved by us both it will seem as if we tried to enforce +the treaty on France. In this case a failure might easily +happen which I think is not your wish. Therefore I ask +your agreement to acquaint the government of France with +this project and upon getting their answer shall at once let +you know by telegraph. Nicky."[<a id="chap21fn16text"></a><a href="#chap21fn16">16</a>] +</p> + +<p> +Secrecy, as I pointed out, was of the essence of the +scheme. If the French Premier had had an inkling of what +was brewing just then, he would have presented a note +which the Tsar's government would be compelled to treat +as an ultimatum and Nicholas II. would have realised that, +not only the whole civilised world, but his own people, nay, +his own official advisers, were arrayed against him. As it +was, and without any knowledge of these machinations, +Rouvier found much to blame in the attitude of the Russians +and many a time he struck the table with his fist and uttered +unprintable ejaculations addressed to the distant Tsarist +government.[<a id="chap21fn17text"></a><a href="#chap21fn17">17</a>] Deterrent visions of what would take place if +the French got wind of the project flitted before the Kaiser's +mind and he forthwith telegraphed a highly argumentative +plea for absolute secrecy. If the cabinet in Paris were to +suspect what is being done for their benefit and that of +Europe the result would be the opposite to that which the +Tsar is so anxious to promote. This document with its +moral motives will remain on record as a characteristic of +the writer, his family, and his country. Here is the essential +part of it: +</p> + +<p> +"Best thanks for telegram. You have given me a new +proof of your perfect loyalty by deciding not to inform +France without my agreement. Nevertheless it is my firm +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P408"></a>408}</span> +conviction that it would be absolutely dangerous to inform +France before we both have signed the treaty; it would +have an effect diametrically opposed to our wishes. It is +only the absolute sure knowledge that we are both bound by +treaty to lend each other mutual help that will bring the +French to press upon England to remain quiet and keep +the peace,[<a id="chap21fn18text"></a><a href="#chap21fn18">18</a>] for fear of France's position being jeopardised. +Should, however, France know that a Russo-German treaty +is only projected, but still unsigned, she will immediately +give short notice to her friend (if not secret ally) England, +with whom she is bound by <i>entente cordiale</i>, and inform +her immediately. The outcome of such information would +doubtless be an instantaneous attack by the two allied powers, +England and Japan, on Germany in Europe as well as in Asia. +Their enormous maritime superiority would soon make +short work of my small fleet and Germany would be temporarily +crippled. This would upset the scales of the equilibrium +of the world to our mutual harm, and later on, when +you begin your peace negotiations, throw you alone on the +tender mercies of Japan and her jubilant and overwhelming +friends. It was my special wish, and, as I understand, your +intention too, to maintain and strengthen this endangered +equilibrium of the world through expressly the agreement +between Russia, Germany, and France. That is only possible +if our treaty becomes a fact before (<i>sic</i>), and if we are +perfectly <i>d'accord</i> under any form. A previous information of +France will lead to a catastrophe!—should you, notwithstanding, +think it impossible for you to conclude a treaty +with me, without the previous consent of France, then it +would be a far safer alternative to abstain from concluding +any treaty at all. Of course I shall be as absolutely silent +about our pourparlers as you will be; in the same manner as +you have only informed Lamsdorff, so I have only spoken +to Bülow, who guaranteed absolute secrecy. Our mutual +relations and feelings would remain unchanged as before, +and I shall go on trying to make myself useful to you as far +as my safety will permit."[<a id="chap21fn19text"></a><a href="#chap21fn19">19</a>] +</p> + +<p> +There is one point respecting which I should like to make +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P409"></a>409}</span> +a correction on behalf of two men who are now unable to +make it in defence of themselves, Lamsdorff and Witte. +The Kaiser assumes—probably not without what seemed to +him satisfactory evidence—that as he had initiated Bülow +into his scheme and the progress that he was making, so +Nicholas II. had kept his Minister of Foreign Affairs posted +as to what was going on. Now if that had been done—and +the Kaiser seems to have been told that it was—Witte also +would have been apprised of it by his devoted friend, +Lamsdorff, who kept nothing from him, whereas Lamsdorff +himself in July, 1905, was absolutely ignorant of the +transaction. Witte's papers passed through my hands and I know +that he had no inkling of what had been agreed upon until +after he quitted the Kaiser at Rominten and returned to +Russia. His anger when he had read the treaty knew no +bounds, his action was prompt and vehement, and it made +the Kaiser his bitter enemy for the remainder of his life. +</p> + +<p> +The Russian Tsar still stood shivering on the brink of +the Rubicon repeatedly proclaiming his resolve to make the +plunge. He has so much to say on the subject of the treaty +that he cannot trust any one to cipher it. He prefers to write +an autograph letter.[<a id="chap21fn20text"></a><a href="#chap21fn20">20</a>] The Kaiser replies enjoining the +strictest circumspection. "No third power must hear even +a whisper about our intentions."[<a id="chap21fn21text"></a><a href="#chap21fn21">21</a>] +</p> + +<p> +What took place between the Emperors during the ensuing +two months there are no available telegrams to show.[<a id="chap21fn22text"></a><a href="#chap21fn22">22</a>] Down +to Monday, 24th July, 1905, the draft of the secret +treaty remained a draft. I know that the Tsar positively +affirmed this to Lamsdorff, his minister, in answer to +a question as to whether the four clauses of the treaty, +which was actually signed on that day, exhausted Russia's +liabilities as incurred without the minister's knowledge. +</p> + +<p> +The question was necessary because of rumours that were +rife about a secret "Nicky-Willy scheme" to proclaim the +Baltic a closed sea to all warships except those belonging to +the countries whose shores are washed by its waters. It was +whispered that the plan had been mooted at Björke and some +people—for a while Witte was one of them—believed that +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P410"></a>410}</span> +the Tsar was a consenting party. Colour was imparted to +these rumours by the action of the British government which +despatched a naval squadron to the Baltic. Wilhelm +II. commenting on this unsolicited visit in a telegram to the +Tsar writes: "Either England is anxious on account of our +meeting or they want to frighten me!"[<a id="chap21fn23text"></a><a href="#chap21fn23">23</a>] The despatch in +which this passage occurs is worth perusing carefully, +because among other curious things it affords us a glimpse +of the prudential diplomatic measures which the two +imperial conspirators were already taking in view of a war +against Britain to be waged by the Russians and the Germans +and at a moment too when they both regarded France as +virtually England's ally! What Witte afterwards said to me +was that this second plan of a campaign against Great Britain +was without doubt discussed and agreed upon by the two +Emperors, and that the only doubt he had on the subject +was whether or no the result of their accord had been +reduced to writing. Lamsdorff answered this query in the +negative, and Witte's misgivings were laid. What seemed +to me probable at a subsequent date when I was in possession +of further details was that the Tsar had accepted the Kaiser's +proposal for the joint occupation of Denmark, but as in the +case of the secret treaty he felt uneasy about the impression +it would make on his Danish friends, and in order to get on +to the safe side in advance had requested Wilhelm to sound +the King of Denmark. Translated into diplomatic language +this would have meant the adherence of the Danish State +to the Russo-German alliances. And if he failed to lure the +King, he still had the Tsar's approval of the alternative—a +violation of Denmark's neutrality. The sophisms with which +he persuaded himself that after all this violation of the +neutrality of the people who had so often and so long +entertained his father and himself in their hospitable land was at +bottom for their good give one the measure of the +backboneless, or what Russians would term the jelly-like, quality +that unfitted him for any kind of dealings based on the trust +of man in man. +</p> + +<p> +The Tsar's Mentor and seducer, on the other hand, never +loses sight of his goal, never flags in his devotion to his +country, of which he makes a deity to be worshipped and +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P411"></a>411}</span> +conciliated by every kind of sacrifice known to human +religions. Nor can it be gainsaid that in spite of his utter +a-morality—not to give it a worse name—and his organic +incapacity to appreciate men of principle and intellectual +integrity, he is not without a clear conception of how shape +and proportion should be given to his idea of the United +States of Europe. Perverted though his moral sense +undoubtedly is, he is a political prophet with a very definite +faith and a marvellous curiosity for enthusiasm and +self-sacrifice. And history will associate his name in one of its +darkest pages with the Machiavellian devices by which +Russia, the Empire of his "friend," was thrust from among +the potent factors of political Europe. +</p> + +<p> +The conduct and character of the two Emperors and the +parts they played in one of the most momentous crises of +human history reflect in a way the differences between their +respective realms. Germany like Russia is a predatory State, +but within it is a model of order and organisation. The +people are educated, talents are recognised and employed, +the sciences and arts are encouraged, opinions are free, the +egotism of the State is enlightened. The expansion demanded +by Germany is for the good of the race or for its honour and +glory. And if the parliament and other institutions are not +democratic the reason is because the population is not +democratic but hierarchical. +</p> + +<p> +In the Tsardom, on the other hand, we saw rapacity +within and rapacity without and no curb to restrain it +effectively. Government was neither by the people nor for +them, in truth there was no government, but only regularised +anarchy. The social conceptions, the political institutions, +the agencies of cultural advance which in Germany +challenge admiration were in Russia hindrances instead of +helps. And at the head of this vast seething society which +resembled a continent, so numerous were its races, languages, +and religions, stood a man of dwarfish mental reach, +torpid unveracity of heart, and anti-social propensities. Yet +this was the official trustee and spokesman of the community +which was reckoned to be the world's most powerful State, +the man of destiny who dealt the stroke of grace to the +mighty Russian Empire. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P412"></a>412}</span> +</p> + +<p> +THE TEXT OF THE SECRET TREATY signed on the 24th July, +1905, is as follows:— +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="hang"> +"Their imperial Majesties, the Emperor of all the Russias +and the Emperor of Germany, with the object of maintaining +peace in Europe, have agreed on the following points of +a defensive alliance:— +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +1. If any European State attacks one of the two Empires +the allied party will employ all its naval and +military forces to assist its ally. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +2. The high contracting parties undertake not to +conclude a separate peace with any common adversary. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +3. The present treaty will come into force at the +moment when peace is concluded between Russia +and Japan. A year's notice must be given to +terminate it. +</p> + +<p class="hang"> +4. As soon as this treaty comes into force Russia will +take the necessary steps to make France acquainted +with it, and will suggest to France that she should +participate in it as an ally." +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p> +This covenant, so long as it remained in force, annulled +the Russo-French Alliance, so that during the months that +lapsed between the meeting of the monarchs at Björke and +the vigorous sally by which Witte and Lamsdorff cancelled +it, Russia was separated from her official ally and associated +with that ally's enemy. If war had broken out between +Britain and Germany or even between France and Germany, +and if the Berlin government maintained, as it would +have done, that the assailant was Britain or France, the text +of this agreement would have obliged Russia to take sides +with Germany. Probably because of that corollary Count +Witte sometimes spoke of the alliance as aimed against +France, that being the aspect which struck him most forcibly. +As a matter of fact it was against Great Britain, and he knew +it perfectly. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as rumours reached me of the underhand efforts +of the Kaiser, I did what I felt justified in doing to warn the +Entente nations, and my utterances were as clear as I could +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P413"></a>413}</span> +fairly make them. Thus I wrote: "Germany's voice +apparently carries more weight in autocratic Russia than that +of any other power just now. It is soft and sweet and +insinuating, and resembles in other respects that of the +Lorelei."[<a id="chap21fn24text"></a><a href="#chap21fn24">24</a>] Again: "Germany thirsts for Russia's friendship +as King Richard craved for a horse. That friendship +was the making of Germany in the past, and might prove +the unmaking of Germany's rivals in the future. To the +great Slav power whom she coaxed, flattered, reviled, and +injured as her interests demanded under changing conditions, +she owes much of what she is and has. And it is +obvious to every one acquainted with international politics +that without the active and self-denying friendship, or else +the paralysis, of Russia in Europe, Germany will never +work out her glorious destiny as the great Hohenzollern +conceives it. Hence the high bid which she is prepared to +make for Russia's support, and the high hopes she cherishes +of obtaining it. Prudence, however, is indispensable to +success, and <i>secrecy is part of prudence</i>."[<a id="chap21fn25text"></a><a href="#chap21fn25">25</a>] And further: +"As without Mercury's sickle Perseus would never have +contrived to cut off the head of Medusa, so without France's +sword there is little or no hope at present of Germany's +cutting down Great Britain's strength and prestige to the +needful level. France's co-operation is as necessary as +Russia's to the realisation of the Hohenzollern dream of a +world Empire, and Germany cannot have it directly for +love, or money, or threats. Perhaps Russia's good offices +might gain it for her? That expedient, too, has been tried, +is still being tried, and will doubtless fail as signally as the +flourishing of the whip. 'You cannot win love by violence,' +says the Muscovite proverb. Besides, Russia's helpfulness +would necessarily cease where self-sacrifice began, and +sacrifice of a very serious kind would seem to be the +corollary of further efforts in the direction of a +Franco-Russo-German coalition."[<a id="chap21fn26text"></a><a href="#chap21fn26">26</a>] +</p> + +<p> +The gist of one of the Kaiser's arguments to the Tsar I +reproduced in an article explaining that Russia's defeat in +Manchuria tempted Germany in the person of the Kaiser +to use Morocco as a pretext for arranging an alliance with +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P414"></a>414}</span> +France. I wrote: "Figuratively speaking, a pistol was +levelled at the head of the republic, which was accosted +with the words, 'Your property or your love.' Since you +'signed the peace treaty in Frankfort-on-the-Main you have +been conspiring against me, biding your time, preparing +for your opportunity. Dispel your idle dreams, desist from +plotting, and become the sincere friend and helpful ally of +your enemy of thirty-five years ago. We may then both of +us reduce our armies and retrench expenditure. With the +Tsardom you need not break. All three we shall then join +our naval and military forces and obtain for continental +Europe the colonial possessions which it craves and merits, +wresting them from the loose grasp of Britain. If you refuse, +if you still persist in haunting the forests of the Vosges, +then let us try issues and fight it out without delay. Decide +without further loss of time,'"[<a id="chap21fn27text"></a><a href="#chap21fn27">27</a>] +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn1"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn1text">1</a>] I have convincing reasons for saying +that the Kaiser firmly believes, as +do most Britons, that King Edward discussed +with the Tsar at Reval the +attitude which their respective governments +should assume towards Germany. +It is a fact that that topic was never even alluded to. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn2"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn2text">2</a>] Words addressed to M. Rouvier by Prince Radolin on 13th June. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn3"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn3text">3</a>] M. Bihourd. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn4"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn4text">4</a>] The <i>Scandia</i>. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn5"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn5text">5</a>] In the despatch sent from Hubertustock on 25th September +(8th October), 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn6"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn6text">6</a>] Cf. Confidential Despatch of 6th/19th October, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn7"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn7text">7</a>] Cf. Confidential Despatch dated +10th/23rd October, 1904. It is instructive +to watch the way in which suspicion is attached +now to this person, now +to that. The Tsar, Witte complained to me, +made the King of England look +upon Witte as a man not to be trusted. +The Kaiser moved the Tsar to regard +the King of England as insincere and an intriguer.... +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn8"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn8text">8</a>] Cf. Confidential Despatch, No. 15. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn9"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn9text">9</a>] On 2nd/15th November, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn10"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn10text">10</a>] This untruth impressed the Tsar profoundly. +He remembered it when +M. Izvolsky was negotiating +with Sir Arthur Nicolson to arrange a +convention, and he insisted stubbornly +on obtaining for Russia a frontier +contiguous to Afghanistan. +With difficulty M. Izvolsky had his way. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn11"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn11text">11</a>] Confidential Despatch of 6th/19th November, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn12"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn12text">12</a>] Confidential Despatch, No. 13. +The italics are mine. Here the Kaiser +favours intimidation, but it is on the end +that he fixes his gaze, not on the +means. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn13"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn13text">13</a>] Confidential Despatch of 6th/10th November, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn14"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn14text">14</a>] Confidential Despatch of 6th/19th November, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn15"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn15text">15</a>] Not to be confounded with the Russian Minister +of Foreign Affairs, +Count Lamsdorff. The other +was the special representative of the Kaiser +attached to the person of the Tsar just +as Shebeko first and Tatishtsheff later +were personal envoys of the Tsar attached +to the person of the Kaiser. These +double embassies gave the Germans an advantage +over the French which +I was once requested to explain to a certain +French Prime Minister in the +hope that the government of the republic would +introduce a like arrangement. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn16"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn16text">16</a>] Confidential Despatch sent on 10th/23rd November, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn17"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn17text">17</a>] Before and during the Algeciras Conference. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn18"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn18text">18</a>] Already, for the Kaiser's purpose, +England was preparing to pounce on +Germany or Russia and only their alliance +could force her to keep the peace! +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn19"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn19text">19</a>] Confidential Despatch sent by the Kaiser +on 13th/26th November, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn20"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn20text">20</a>] Confidential Despatch sent on 10th/23rd November, 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn21"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn21text">21</a>] Confidential Despatch, 27th November (10th December), 1904. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn22"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn22text">22</a>] From 12th December, 1904, until 14th February, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn23"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn23text">23</a>] Confidential Despatch dated 16th/29th July, 1905. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn24"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn24text">24</a>] Cf. <i>Contemporary Review</i>, November, 1905, p. 610. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn25"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn25text">25</a>] <i>Ibidem</i>, p. 610. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn26"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn26text">26</a>] <i>Ibidem</i>, pp. 611, 612. +</p> + +<p class="footnote"> +<a id="chap21fn27"></a> +[<a href="#chap21fn27text">27</a>] <i>Contemporary Review</i>, August, 1905, p. 295. +</p> + +<p><br><br><br></p> + +<p><a id="chap22"></a></p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum">{<a id="P415"></a>415}</span> +</p> + +<h2> +INDEX +</h2> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Abaza, <a href="#P280">280</a>, <a href="#P283">283</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Abdul Hamid, <a href="#P223">223</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P240">240</a>, <a href="#P265">265</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Aehrenthal, <a href="#P331">331</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Afghanistan, Agreement between +Russia and England respecting, +<a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P351">351</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Afghans, <a href="#P226">226</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Agriculture, <a href="#P57">57</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Akimoff, President of Council of Empire, <a href="#P190">190</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Aksakoff, <a href="#P39">39</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Alexander I., <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P45">45</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Alexander II., <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P21">21</a>, <a href="#P38">38</a>, <a href="#P76">76</a>; assassination +of, <a href="#P77">77</a>, <a href="#P84">84</a>, <a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Alexander III., <a href="#P34">34</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P44">44</a>, <a href="#P54">54</a>, <a href="#P58">58</a>, +<a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P91">91</a>, <a href="#P98">98</a>, <a href="#P106">106</a>, <a href="#P126">126</a>, <a href="#P150">150</a>, <a href="#P260">260</a>, +<a href="#P321">321</a>, <a href="#P372">372</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Alexandra Feodorovna, Empress, <a href="#P270">270</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Alexeyeff, Admiral, <a href="#P135">135</a>, <a href="#P280">280</a>, <a href="#P283">283</a>, <a href="#P284">284</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Alexis, Grand Duke, <a href="#P285">285</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Alexis Mikhailovitch, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P134">134</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Algeciras Conference, <a href="#P396">396</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Alsace and Lorraine, <a href="#P318">318</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P348">348</a>, <a href="#P398">398</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ambrose, Metropolitan of Kharkoff, <a href="#P91">91</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +America, United States of, <a href="#P342">342</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P376">376</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Amphitheatroff, M., <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Anarchist bias in Russian race, <a href="#P26">26</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Anarchy, Spirit of, <a href="#P390">390</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Anglican Church, Correspondence of +Metropolitan Isidore with, <a href="#P92">92</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Anglo-French Entente, <a href="#P399">399</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Anglo-German agreement, <a href="#P268">268</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Anglo-Russian Entente, <a href="#P257">257</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Antoninus, Bishop, <a href="#P158">158</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Armenian Church and schools, <a href="#P152">152</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Armenians, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P119">119</a>, <a href="#P132">132</a>, <a href="#P145">145</a>, <a href="#P222">222</a>, +<a href="#P229">229</a>, <a href="#P235">235</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a>, <a href="#P259">259</a>, <a href="#P265">265</a>, <a href="#P372">372</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Army, Russian, <a href="#P44">44</a>, <a href="#P50">50</a>, <a href="#P384">384</a>, <a href="#P387">387</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Assembly, Constituent, <a href="#P10">10</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Austria, <a href="#P35">35</a>, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Autocracy, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P48">48</a>, <a href="#P129">129</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P140">140</a> <i>sqq.</i>, +<a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P182">182</a>, <a href="#P375">375</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Azeff, Yevno, head spy of Russian +government, <a href="#P46">46</a>, <a href="#P119">119</a>, <a href="#P133">133</a>, <a href="#P158">158-182</a>, +<a href="#P382">382</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Baghdad railway, <a href="#P368">368</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bakunin, <a href="#P68">68</a>, <a href="#P72">72</a>, <a href="#P106">106</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Barnabas or Varnava, Bishop of +Tobolsk, <a href="#P197">197</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Believers, Old (section of Orthodox +Church), <a href="#P54">54</a>, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P95">95</a>, <a href="#P153">153</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Benckendorff, Count, <a href="#P297">297</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bethmann-Hollweg, <a href="#P368">368</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bezobrazoff, <a href="#P135">135</a>, <a href="#P254">254</a>, <a href="#P280">280</a>, <a href="#P283">283</a>, <a href="#P288">288</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Birileff, Admiral, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a>, <a href="#P367">367</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bismarck and the Ems telegram, <a href="#P287">287</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Björke, Secret Treaty of, <a href="#P237">237</a>, <a href="#P312">312-370</a>; +details of, <a href="#P393">393</a>; text of, <a href="#P412">412</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Black Sea, Treaties relative to the, <a href="#P240">240</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Blaramberg, <a href="#P108">108</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bloch, Jean, <a href="#P270">270</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bloody Sunday, <a href="#P110">110</a>, <a href="#P159">159</a>, <a href="#P185">185</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bobrikoff, General, <a href="#P259">259</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Boer War, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P318">318</a>, <a href="#P398">398</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bolshevik revolution of 1917, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P33">33</a>, +<a href="#P146">146</a>, <a href="#P239">239</a>, <a href="#P388">388</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bosphorus, Territory on Upper, <a href="#P231">231</a>, <a href="#P380">380</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bouliguine Bill, <a href="#P339">339</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Boxers' insurrection, <a href="#P41">41</a>, <a href="#P279">279</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bulgaria, <a href="#P225">225</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bülow, Count von, <a href="#P250">250</a>, <a href="#P268">268</a>, <a href="#P312">312</a> <i>n.</i>, +<a href="#P319">319</a>, <a href="#P325">325</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bulyghin, A. T., <a href="#P294">294</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bund, Revolutionary, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bureau, Rule of the, <a href="#P83">83-105</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bureaucracy, <a href="#P9">9</a>, <a href="#P48">48</a>, <a href="#P71">71</a>, <a href="#P140">140</a>, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Burtzeff, <a href="#P179">179</a>, <a href="#P283">283</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Bytchkoff, Athanasius, <a href="#P91">91</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Capital, Foreign, introduced into +Russian Empire, <a href="#P60">60</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Caprivi, Count, <a href="#P321">321</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Catherine, Wars of, <a href="#P45">45</a>, <a href="#P224">224</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Catherine II., <a href="#P47">47</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Caucasian peoples, <a href="#P43">43</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Channel tunnel, <a href="#P347">347</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +China, <a href="#P225">225</a>, <a href="#P260">260</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P279">279</a>, <a href="#P319">319</a>, <a href="#P379">379</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Chinese Eastern railway, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P260">260</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Chino-Japanese campaign, <a href="#P244">244</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Church, Byzantine, <a href="#P59">59</a>; Orthodox +Russian, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P107">107</a>, <a href="#P119">119</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Classes, Two, in Russia, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Clergy, The, <a href="#P66">66</a>, <a href="#P153">153</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Congresses, Professional, <a href="#P138">138</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Constitution of October, 1905, <a href="#P2">2</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Constitutional Democrats, <i>see</i> Kadets +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Constitutional government, <a href="#P6">6</a>; petition for, <a href="#P140">140</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Corn tariff, Russian, <a href="#P324">324</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Council of Empire</i>, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P148">148</a>, <a href="#P152">152</a>, <a href="#P322">322</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Council of Ministers, <a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P127">127</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Council of Workmen and Soldiers</i>, <a href="#P385">385</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Currie, Sir Philip, <a href="#P223">223</a>, <a href="#P235">235</a>, <a href="#P265">265</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Dardanelles, <a href="#P239">239</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P266">266</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dashkoff, Count Vorontseff, <a href="#P132">132</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Delcassé, M., <a href="#P318">318</a>, <a href="#P330">330</a>, <a href="#P337">337</a>, <a href="#P396">396</a>, <a href="#P398">398</a>, <a href="#P403">403</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Delyanoff, Count, <a href="#P54">54</a>, <a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P255">255</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Denmark, <a href="#P298">298</a>; King of, <a href="#P410">410</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dillon, E. J., <a href="#P6">6</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P26">26</a>; Professor of +Comparative Philology at Kharkoff, +<a href="#P54">54</a>; personal recollections of, <a href="#P61">61-82</a>; +at Portsmouth Peace Conference, +<a href="#P299">299</a> <i>sqq.</i>; reference to, in Hayashi's +<i>Secret Memoirs</i>, <a href="#P302">302</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Djunkoffsky, <a href="#P184">184</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dmitry, <a href="#P41">41</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dmitry, Bishop of Tamboff, <a href="#P156">156</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dobroliuboff, M., <a href="#P72">72</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Doctor in Russia, The, <a href="#P66">66</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dolgoruky, Prince, <a href="#P148">148</a>, <a href="#P282">282</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Donnersmarck, Henckel von, <a href="#P400">400</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dookhobortsy, The, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P95">95</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dostoyeffsky, <a href="#P5">5</a>, <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dreyfus case, <a href="#P271">271</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Druses of the Hauran, Revolt among +the, <a href="#P238">238</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dubassoff, Admiral, <a href="#P177">177</a>, <a href="#P249">249</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Dubrovina, Alexandra, <a href="#P206">206</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Duma, The, <a href="#P8">8</a>, <a href="#P17">17</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P337">337</a>, <a href="#P386">386</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Durnovo, Minister of Interior, <a href="#P165">165</a>, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +East, Russia in the Far, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P279">279-311</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Eckhardstein, Baron von, <a href="#P297">297</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Economics, <a href="#P40">40</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Edict No.</i> <a href="#P1">1</a>, <a href="#P386">386</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Education in Russia, Necessity of, <a href="#P41">41</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Educational system, Strike against, +<a href="#P126">126</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Edward VII., King, <a href="#P350">350</a>, <a href="#P353">353</a>, <a href="#P379">379</a>, <a href="#P400">400</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Emir, Relations of Russian Foreign +Office with, <a href="#P230">230</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Empire, Council of the</i>, <a href="#P115">115</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Empress, The, <i>see</i> Tsaritsa +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Empress, The Dowager, <a href="#P117">117</a>, <a href="#P126">126</a>, +<a href="#P132">132</a>, <a href="#P136">136</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Enfranchisement, Political, <a href="#P42">42</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Engineers' congress, <a href="#P138">138</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Entente Powers, The, <a href="#P17">17</a>, <a href="#P314">314</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ernst Ludwig, Grand Duke, <a href="#P328">328</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Esthonians, <a href="#P372">372</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Fashoda crisis, <a href="#P318">318</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Faure, President Felix, <a href="#P213">213</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Federation of European nations, <a href="#P344">344</a> +<i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P367">367</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Feodoroff, <a href="#P189">189</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ferdinand of Coburg, <a href="#P233">233</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Finland, <a href="#P292">292</a>, <a href="#P321">321</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Finns, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P23">23</a>, <a href="#P31">31</a>, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P145">145</a>, <a href="#P178">178</a>, +<a href="#P259">259</a>, <a href="#P293">293</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +France, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P229">229</a>, <a href="#P246">246</a>, <a href="#P318">318</a>, <a href="#P331">331</a>, <a href="#P335">335</a>, +<a href="#P400">400</a>, <a href="#P406">406</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Franco-Russian alliance, <a href="#P357">357</a>, <a href="#P359">359</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Frederic the Great, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P387">387</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +French government and Russian +loan, <a href="#P8">8</a>; and Armenian question, +<a href="#P223">223</a>; and secret treaty of Björke, +<a href="#P338">338</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +French Revolution, <a href="#P20">20</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Galitzin, Prince, <a href="#P132">132</a>, <a href="#P259">259</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Galy, M., <a href="#P296">296</a> <i>n.</i>, <a href="#P297">297</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gapon, Father George, <a href="#P46">46</a>, <a href="#P132">132</a>, <a href="#P156">156</a>, +<a href="#P158">158-183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Georgia, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P225">225</a>, <a href="#P372">372</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gerassimoff, <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Germans, <a href="#P37">37</a>; favoured by Peter the +Great, <a href="#P34">34</a>; aggression of, at Kiao +Chow, <a href="#P224">224</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Germany, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P244">244</a>, <a href="#P246">246</a>, <a href="#P312">312</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Giers, <a href="#P253">253</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gildenband, Baron Uexkull von, <a href="#P153">153</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gladstone's speech on Armenia, <a href="#P265">265</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Godunoff, Boris, <a href="#P50">50</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gogol's <i>Dead Souls</i>, <a href="#P15">15</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gontshareff, <a href="#P63">63</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gorky, Maxim, <a href="#P97">97</a>, <a href="#P160">160</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gortchakoff, <a href="#P221">221</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Government, Representative, <a href="#P128">128</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Great Britain, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P227">227</a>, <a href="#P230">230</a>, <a href="#P235">235</a>, <a href="#P257">257</a>, +<a href="#P263">263</a>, <a href="#P265">265</a>, <a href="#P267">267</a>, <a href="#P271">271</a>, <a href="#P318">318</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P331">331</a> +<i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P339">339</a>, <a href="#P343">343</a>, <a href="#P345">345</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P360">360</a>, <a href="#P365">365</a>, +<a href="#P382">382</a>, <a href="#P399">399</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Grigorieff, Basil, <a href="#P71">71</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Guardians of the People, <i>see Zemskiyé +Natshalniki</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Guards, Lenin's Red, <a href="#P33">33</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gun-power of the various nations, +<a href="#P271">271</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gusseva, K., <a href="#P318">318</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Gutchkoff, M., <a href="#P146">146</a>, <a href="#P215">215</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Hague Conference, <a href="#P232">232</a>, <a href="#P269">269</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hartwig, Russian Minister at Teheran, <a href="#P228">228</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hayashi, Count, <a href="#P229">229</a>, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P296">296</a>, <a href="#P330">330</a>, <a href="#P404">404</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hermogen, Mgr., Bishop of Saratoff, +<a href="#P210">210</a>, <a href="#P219">219</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Herzen, <a href="#P68">68</a>, <a href="#P72">72</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Herzenstein, Assassination of, <a href="#P188">188</a>, <a href="#P193">193</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hesse, Grand Duke of, <a href="#P329">329</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hesse, Princess Alix of, <a href="#P108">108</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Heyden, Count, <a href="#P139">139</a>, <a href="#P295">295</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hohenzollern rule, <a href="#P30">30</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Holy League, The, <a href="#P81">81</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Hunkiar Skelessi Treaty, <a href="#P226">226</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Ignatieff, Count Nicholas, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Iliodor, The monk, <a href="#P212">212</a>, <a href="#P217">217</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Industrialisation, Witte's policy of, +<a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P182">182</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Industries, Russian, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P106">106</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +International relations of Russia, <a href="#P221">221-252</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Iranian people, The, <a href="#P228">228</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Isidore, Metropolitan of Petersburg +and Finland, <a href="#P91">91</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ito, Marquis, <a href="#P301">301</a>, <a href="#P303">303</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ivan, founder of Tsardom, <a href="#P29">29</a>, <a href="#P87">87</a>, +<a href="#P125">125</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ivan III., <a href="#P32">32</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ivan Nikolayevitch, <a href="#P176">176</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Izvolsky, M., <a href="#P222">222</a>, <a href="#P228">228</a>, <a href="#P253">253</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P282">282</a>, +<a href="#P297">297</a>, <a href="#P364">364</a>, <a href="#P368">368</a>, <a href="#P379">379</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Japan, <a href="#P92">92</a>, <a href="#P119">119</a>, <a href="#P124">124</a>, <a href="#P135">135</a>, <a href="#P139">139</a>, <a href="#P260">260</a> <i>sqq.</i>, +<a href="#P280">280</a>, <a href="#P281">281</a>, <a href="#P293">293</a>, <a href="#P319">319</a>, <a href="#P401">401</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Japanese, <a href="#P69">69</a>, <a href="#P137">137</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Japanese War, <a href="#P244">244</a>, <a href="#P285">285</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Jews, <a href="#P6">6</a>, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P62">62</a>, <a href="#P145">145</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P372">372</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +John of Cronstadt, Father, <a href="#P107">107</a>, <a href="#P211">211</a>, <a href="#P383">383</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Juridical Society of Moscow, <a href="#P126">126</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Kadet Party, <a href="#P5">5</a>, <a href="#P10">10</a>, <a href="#P69">69</a>, <a href="#P145">145</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kaiser, <i>see</i> Wilhelm II. of Germany +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Katkoff, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P80">80</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kazantseff, <a href="#P188">188</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P382">382</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kedrin, <a href="#P160">160</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kharkoff, Zemsky Assembly of, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Khilkoff, Prince, <a href="#P279">279</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Khlysty</i>, The, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P203">203</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Khomyakoff, <a href="#P91">91</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Khvostoff, A. N., <a href="#P210">210</a>, <a href="#P214">214</a>, <a href="#P219">219</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kiao Chow, <a href="#P224">224</a>; story of, <a href="#P244">244-252</a>, +<a href="#P320">320</a>, <a href="#P334">334</a>, <a href="#P347">347</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kiderlen-Wachter, <a href="#P368">368</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kieff, Grand Dukes of, <a href="#P30">30</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kokofftseff, M., <a href="#P194">194</a>, <a href="#P293">293</a>, <a href="#P337">337</a>, <a href="#P370">370</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Komaroff, Bessarion, <a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P83">83</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Komura, <a href="#P301">301</a>, <a href="#P307">307</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Konovnitzin, Count, <a href="#P178">178</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Koolak</i>, <a href="#P67">67</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kossowicz, Professor Cayetan, <a href="#P91">91</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kovalevsky, Professor Maxim, <a href="#P16">16</a>, <a href="#P38">38</a>, <a href="#P322">322</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kurds, <a href="#P24">24</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kurino, Baron, <a href="#P286">286</a>, <a href="#P296">296</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kurloff, <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Kuropatkin, General, <a href="#P257">257</a>, <a href="#P266">266</a> <i>sqq.</i>, +<a href="#P279">279</a>, <a href="#P289">289</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P294">294</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Lamsdorff, Count, <a href="#P185">185</a>, <a href="#P245">245</a>, <a href="#P253">253</a> <i>sqq.</i>, +<a href="#P280">280</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P298">298</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P334">334</a>, <a href="#P338">338</a>, <a href="#P340">340</a>, +<a href="#P355">355</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P405">405</a>, <a href="#P409">409</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lansdowne, Lord, <a href="#P402">402</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Launitz, General von, <a href="#P192">192</a> <i>n.</i>, <a href="#P382">382</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Law courts, <a href="#P89">89</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lawyers' congress, <a href="#P138">138</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lenin, <a href="#P22">22</a>, <a href="#P388">388</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Leskoff, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P15">15</a>, <a href="#P63">63</a>, <a href="#P107">107</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Letters, <i>see</i> Literature +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Letts, <a href="#P372">372</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Levashoff, Countess, <a href="#P112">112</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Liberals, <a href="#P7">7</a>, <a href="#P74">74</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Li Hung Chang, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P260">260</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Linievitch, General, <a href="#P296">296</a>, <a href="#P299">299</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Literature, <a href="#P106">106</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lithuanians, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P372">372</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lobanoff-Rostoffsky, <a href="#P233">233</a>, <a href="#P241">241</a>, <a href="#P253">253</a>, <a href="#P257">257</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lopukhine, ex-Director of Police, <a href="#P192">192</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Loubet, President, <a href="#P330">330</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Louis XIV., France of, <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Louis XVI., <a href="#P111">111</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lutherans, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P152">152</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Lvoff, Prince, <a href="#P139">139</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Macedonians, <a href="#P225">225</a>, <a href="#P229">229</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +MacMahon, Kaiser condoles with +widow of Marshal, <a href="#P318">318</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Manchu dynasty, <a href="#P267">267</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Manchu-Korean difficulties, <a href="#P282">282</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Manchurian campaign of 1904, <a href="#P45">45</a>, +<a href="#P119">119</a>, <a href="#P138">138</a>, <a href="#P142">142</a>, <a href="#P153">153</a>, <a href="#P175">175</a>, <a href="#P195">195</a>, <a href="#P261">261</a>, +<a href="#P288">288</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P320">320</a>, <a href="#P324">324</a>, <a href="#P372">372</a>; railway, +<a href="#P260">260</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P279">279</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Maria Theresa, <a href="#P224">224</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Marie Antoinette, <a href="#P109">109</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Martens, Professor, <a href="#P335">335</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Maximalist revolution, <a href="#P13">13</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mechelin, <a href="#P31">31</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Medical congress, <a href="#P138">138</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Melikoff, Loris, <a href="#P75">75</a>, <a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P81">81</a>, <a href="#P82">82</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mendelssohn, <a href="#P365">365</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Merchants, Close corporation of +Russian, <a href="#P66">66</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Methodius, Bishop, <a href="#P154">154</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mezentseff, <a href="#P74">74</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Michael, Grand Duke, <a href="#P44">44</a>, <a href="#P144">144</a>, <a href="#P153">153</a>, <a href="#P311">311</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Michael, Metropolitan of Serbia, <a href="#P91">91</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Militarism and socialism, <a href="#P343">343</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Milyukoff, Professor, <a href="#P14">14</a> <i>n.</i>, <a href="#P146">146</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Milyutin, <a href="#P79">79</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ministers, Council of, <a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P127">127</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Mir</i>, The, <a href="#P67">67</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mirsky, Prince Sviatopolk, <a href="#P141">141</a>, <a href="#P142">142</a>, +<a href="#P160">160</a>, <a href="#P372">372</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mitrophan of Voronesh, <a href="#P155">155</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Monarchy, Abolition of, <a href="#P9">9</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mongols, <a href="#P20">20</a>, <a href="#P26">26</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Monroe doctrine, <a href="#P246">246</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Mooshik</i>, <a href="#P4">4</a>, <a href="#P42">42</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Morocco, Troubles of France in, <a href="#P331">331</a>, +<a href="#P359">359</a>, <a href="#P400">400</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Moscow Town Council petition for +reform, <a href="#P141">141</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Mukden, Battle of, <a href="#P296">296</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Muravieff, Count, <a href="#P229">229</a>, <a href="#P248">248</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P253">253</a>, +<a href="#P285">285</a>, <a href="#P298">298</a>, <a href="#P318">318</a>, <a href="#P398">398</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Muscovite Empire, <a href="#P229">229</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Muscovy, <a href="#P181">181</a>, <a href="#P224">224</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Narodniki</i>, <a href="#P5">5</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nations, League of, <a href="#P275">275</a>, <a href="#P314">314</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nelidoff, <a href="#P194">194</a>, <a href="#P235">235</a>, <a href="#P236">236</a>, <a href="#P298">298</a>, <a href="#P380">380</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nelidoff-Tshikhatshoff conspiracy, <a href="#P237">237</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nicholas I., <a href="#P11">11</a>, <a href="#P15">15</a>, <a href="#P38">38</a>, <a href="#P45">45</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P147">147</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nicholas II., <a href="#P2">2</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P45">45</a>, <a href="#P72">72</a>; +proposed reforms of, <a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P98">98</a>; advent +of, <a href="#P106">106-119</a>; rule of, <a href="#P120">120-138</a>; +promises reforms, <a href="#P142">142</a>; political +blindness of, <a href="#P152">152</a>; narrow-minded +in religious matters, <a href="#P152">152</a>; "vicar +of God upon earth, " <a href="#P185">185</a>; and +Rasputin, <a href="#P214">214</a>; action in Persian +affairs, <a href="#P228">228</a>; plot to seize territory +on Upper Bosphorus, <a href="#P231">231</a>; +secretive nature of, <a href="#P237">237</a>; treaty with +Kaiser regarding Kiao Chow, +<a href="#P244">244-252</a>; Hague Conference, <a href="#P270">270</a>; +lease of Port Arthur, <a href="#P271">271</a>; +antipathy to Count Witte, <a href="#P281">281</a>; +"mainstay of world's peace, " <a href="#P283">283</a>; +policy in Far East, <a href="#P279">279-311</a>; secret +treaty with Wilhelm II. at Björke, +<a href="#P312">312-370</a>; compact with Kaiser at +Potsdam, <a href="#P380">380</a>; waging war on two +fronts, <a href="#P381">381</a>; friendly towards +France, <a href="#P400">400</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Nicky and Willy</i> telegrams, <a href="#P393">393</a>, <a href="#P401">401</a>, +<a href="#P404">404</a>, <a href="#P407">407</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nicolson, Sir Arthur, <a href="#P365">365</a>, <a href="#P402">402</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nikanor, Archbishop of Kherson and +Odessa, <a href="#P58">58</a>, <a href="#P91">91</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nikitenko, M., <a href="#P12">12</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nikolai Nikolayevitch, Grand Duke, +<a href="#P216">216</a>, <a href="#P307">307</a>, <a href="#P361">361</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nippon, <a href="#P280">280</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Nobility, Russian, <a href="#P217">217</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Norderney, Witte and von Bülow at, +<a href="#P325">325</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Obolensky, Prince, <a href="#P119">119</a> <i>n.</i>, <a href="#P282">282</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +O'Connor, Sir Nicholas, <a href="#P244">244</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Opritchniki</i>, The, <a href="#P32">32</a>, <a href="#P87">87</a>, <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Orthodox Church, <i>see</i> Church +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ostroffsky, <a href="#P66">66</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ottoman Empire, <a href="#P223">223</a>, <a href="#P226">226</a>, <a href="#P238">238</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Pahlen, Count, <a href="#P64">64</a>, <a href="#P74">74</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Parish priest in Russia, The, <a href="#P66">66</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Patkanian, Professor, <a href="#P76">76</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Paul, Wars of Emperor, <a href="#P45">45</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Peace conference at Portsmouth, +U.S.A., <a href="#P137">137</a>, <a href="#P297">297</a>, <a href="#P350">350</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Peasantry, Russian, <a href="#P9">9</a>, <a href="#P27">27</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P57">57</a>, <a href="#P66">66</a>, +<a href="#P85">85</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P138">138</a>, <a href="#P383">383</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Penal code, New, <a href="#P152">152</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>People's will</i>, The, <a href="#P72">72</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Persia, Muscovy undertakes to protect, <a href="#P226">226</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Peter the Great, <a href="#P11">11</a>, <a href="#P29">29</a>, <a href="#P33">33</a>, <a href="#P47">47</a>, <a href="#P50">50</a>, +<a href="#P125">125</a>, <a href="#P258">258</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Petersburg Council of Working Men +and Soldiers, <a href="#P384">384</a>; Polytechnic +Institute, Memorial of, <a href="#P141">141</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Petroff, <a href="#P191">191</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Petrunkevitch, M., <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Philippe, M., <a href="#P107">107</a>, <a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P138">138</a>, <a href="#P155">155</a>, <a href="#P165">165</a>, <a href="#P212">212</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Philippoff, Tertius, <a href="#P71">71</a>, <a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P91">91</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Physicians, Congress of, <a href="#P39">39</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pitirim, Metropolitan Archbishop, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Plato, Metropolitan of Kieff, <a href="#P91">91</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Plehve, Public Prosecutor, <a href="#P35">35</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P41">41</a>, +<a href="#P78">78</a>, <a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P126">126</a>, <a href="#P132">132</a>; assassination of, +<a href="#P133">133</a>, <a href="#P142">142</a>, <a href="#P148">148</a>, <a href="#P149">149</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P175">175</a>, <a href="#P182">182</a>, +<a href="#P293">293</a>, <a href="#P382">382</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pobiedonostseff, K., <a href="#P36">36</a>, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P58">58</a>, +<a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P83">83</a>, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P92">92</a>, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P98">98</a>, <a href="#P102">102</a>, +<a href="#P115">115</a>, <a href="#P137">137</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a>, <a href="#P242">242</a>, <a href="#P371">371</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Pogroms</i>, <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Poklevsky-Kozel, 350<i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P379">379</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Poland, Partition of, <a href="#P224">224</a>, <a href="#P292">292</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Poles, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P43">43</a>, <a href="#P119">119</a>, <a href="#P145">145</a>, <a href="#P322">322</a>, <a href="#P372">372</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Police, Russian, <a href="#P89">89</a>; secret, <a href="#P159">159</a>, <a href="#P176">176</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Portsmouth, U.S.A., <a href="#P137">137</a>, <a href="#P297">297</a>, <a href="#P350">350</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Press, Russian, <a href="#P42">42</a>, <a href="#P80">80</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P217">217</a>, <a href="#P325">325</a>, +<a href="#P360">360</a>, <a href="#P406">406</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Pressensé, De, <a href="#P265">265</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Protective regulations, <a href="#P147">147</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Protopopoff, <a href="#P196">196</a>, <a href="#P385">385</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Putyatin, Prince, <a href="#P127">127</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Railway building, <a href="#P40">40</a>, <a href="#P106">106</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Railwaymen's congress, <a href="#P138">138</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rasputin, Gregory or Grisha, <a href="#P46">46</a>, <a href="#P88">88</a>, +<a href="#P196">196-220</a>, <a href="#P340">340</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ratchkoffsky, head of political police, +165<i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Religion of Russian people, <a href="#P59">59</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Religious matters, Coercion in, <a href="#P89">89</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Religious persecution, <a href="#P88">88</a>, <a href="#P95">95</a>, 151<i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Religious sectarians, 88<i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Revolution of 1917, <a href="#P9">9</a>, <a href="#P45">45</a>, <a href="#P69">69</a>, <a href="#P384">384</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Revolutionary movement of 1905, +<a href="#P139">139-157</a>, <a href="#P378">378</a>, <a href="#P384">384</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Revolutionary spirit, <a href="#P69">69</a>, <a href="#P71">71</a>, <a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Richard II. of England, <a href="#P109">109</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Roditcheff, M., <a href="#P7">7</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rodzianko, M., <a href="#P146">146</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Roman Catholics, <a href="#P88">88</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Romanoff, House of, <a href="#P181">181</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Roosevelt, President, 298<i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rosen, Baron, <a href="#P284">284</a>, <a href="#P335">335</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Roshdjestvensky, Admiral, <a href="#P122">122</a>, <a href="#P296">296</a>, <a href="#P402">402</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rothschild, Alphonse, <a href="#P330">330</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rouvier, M., <a href="#P330">330</a>, <a href="#P333">333</a>, <a href="#P396">396</a>, <a href="#P407">407</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Russia, Enigma of, <a href="#P1">1-10</a>; the Russian +mind, <a href="#P11">11-25</a>; nomadic character +of Russian people, <a href="#P24">24</a>; lack of +unity, <a href="#P26">26-46</a>; international relations +of, <a href="#P221">221-252</a>; in Far East, <a href="#P279">279-311</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Russian People, League of the</i>, <a href="#P189">189</a>, <a href="#P193">193</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Russo-German commercial treaty, +<a href="#P137">137</a>, <a href="#P312">312</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Russo-Japanese agreement, <a href="#P281">281</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Russo-Japanese War, 285<i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ruthenberg, "Martin," 162<i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ruthenians, <a href="#P119">119</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Rutkoffsky, Russian commercial +attaché in London, <a href="#P297">297</a>, <a href="#P330">330</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Sakhalien, Island of, <a href="#P186">186</a>, 305<i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sakharoff, General, <a href="#P299">299</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Salisbury, Lord, <a href="#P227">227</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Saltykoff, <a href="#P51">51</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Samarin, M., <a href="#P215">215</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sanders, General Liman von, 369<i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P381">381</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Savinsky, M., <a href="#P282">282</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sazonoff, <a href="#P35">35</a>, <a href="#P39">39</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a>, <a href="#P228">228</a>, <a href="#P369">369</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Schools in Russia, <a href="#P66">66</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Schwanebach, <a href="#P181">181</a>, <a href="#P365">365</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Secret treaty, Details of, <a href="#P312">312-370</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Selborne, Lord, <a href="#P403">403</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Senate, The, <a href="#P128">128</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Seraphim, Abbot, <a href="#P100">100</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Seraphim, Canonisation of St., <a href="#P118">118</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Seraphim of Saroff, <a href="#P156">156</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Serfs, Emancipation of, <a href="#P38">38</a>, <a href="#P51">51</a>, <a href="#P68">68</a>, <a href="#P85">85</a>, +<a href="#P148">148</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sergius, Grand Duke, <a href="#P110">110</a>, <a href="#P126">126</a>, <a href="#P133">133</a>, +<a href="#P143">143</a>, <a href="#P151">151</a>, <a href="#P167">167</a>, <a href="#P184">184</a>, <a href="#P382">382</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sergius, Grand Duchess, <a href="#P137">137</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shah, Russian agreement with, <a href="#P226">226</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shimonoseki, Treaty of, <a href="#P234">234</a>, <a href="#P246">246</a>, +<a href="#P319">319</a>, <a href="#P398">398</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shipoff, ex-Minister of Finance, <a href="#P192">192</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shirinsky-Shikhmatoff, <a href="#P127">127</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shishkin, M., <a href="#P233">233</a>, <a href="#P239">239</a>, <a href="#P253">253</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shtshedrin, <a href="#P30">30</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shtsheglovitoff, Minister of Justice, <a href="#P191">191</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Shuvaloff, Count, <a href="#P321">321</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Siluan, Bishop, <a href="#P154">154</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Simon, Jules, <a href="#P318">318</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sipyaghin, Assassination of, <a href="#P118">118</a>, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Skobeleff, General, <a href="#P81">81</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Skoptsy, Sect of, <a href="#P93">93</a> <i>n.</i>, <a href="#P202">202</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Slavs, <a href="#P14">14</a>, <a href="#P19">19</a>, <a href="#P378">378</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Social Revolutionary Party, <a href="#P174">174</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Solovieff, Vladimir, <a href="#P5">5</a>, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P61">61</a>, <a href="#P90">90</a>, <a href="#P91">91</a>, <a href="#P93">93</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Solsky, Count, <a href="#P127">127</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Speransky, <a href="#P37">37</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Squire in Russia, The, <a href="#P66">66</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Stepniak, <a href="#P74">74</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Stogoff, <a href="#P52">52</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Stolypin, <a href="#P181">181</a>, <a href="#P191">191</a>, <a href="#P214">214</a>, <a href="#P323">323</a>, <a href="#P382">382</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Striaptcheff, <a href="#P197">197</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Stundists (Baptist sect), <a href="#P88">88</a>, 95<i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Stürmer, <a href="#P196">196</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Subject, Liberty of the, <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Suffrage, <a href="#P2">2</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Sultan and Armenians, 222<i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P226">226</a>, +235<i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P265">265</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Swedes, <a href="#P31">31</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Swinburne, lines on Russian prisons, <a href="#P46">46</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Synod, The Most Holy, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P98">98</a> <i>sqq.</i>, +<a href="#P156">156</a>; Ober-Procurator of, <a href="#P94">94</a>, <a href="#P215">215</a>, +<a href="#P243">243</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Takahira, <a href="#P309">309</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tartars, <a href="#P20">20</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tataroff, <a href="#P176">176</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Taxes, Collection of, <a href="#P9">9</a>, <a href="#P57">57</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Teachers, Congress of, <a href="#P138">138</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tennenbaum, <a href="#P173">173</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Theophan, Bishop, <a href="#P211">211</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Third Section</i>, Secret police of the, <a href="#P74">74</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tikhon, Bishop of Voronesh, <a href="#P156">156</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Timasheff, Minister of Interior, <a href="#P64">64</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tolstoy, Count Dmitry, <a href="#P86">86</a>, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P103">103</a>, <a href="#P371">371</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tolstoy, Leo, <a href="#P36">36</a>, <a href="#P41">41</a>, <a href="#P49">49</a>, <a href="#P90">90</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Trepoff, General, <a href="#P74">74</a>, <a href="#P138">138</a>, <a href="#P183">183</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Trotzky, <a href="#P22">22</a>, <a href="#P388">388</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Trubetskoy, Princess, <a href="#P126">126</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tsar, <i>see</i> Nicholas II. +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tsardom, <a href="#P47">47-60</a>; last statesmen of, +<a href="#P353">353-278</a>; aggressive attitude of, +<a href="#P257">257</a>; downfall of, <a href="#P371">371-390</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tsarevitch and the Tsar, <a href="#P122">122</a>; and +Rasputin, <a href="#P214">214</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tsaritsa, <a href="#P121">121</a>, <a href="#P127">127</a>, <a href="#P136">136</a>; and Rasputin, <a href="#P212">212</a>, <a href="#P216">216</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tschirschky, Von, <a href="#P250">250</a>, <a href="#P323">323</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tshaadayeff, <a href="#P11">11</a>, <a href="#P12">12</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tshernyshevsky, <a href="#P68">68</a>, <a href="#P72">72</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tshikhatshoff, Admiral, <a href="#P239">239</a>, <a href="#P242">242</a>, <a href="#P380">380</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Tshin</i>, The, <a href="#P48">48</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tsung Li Yamen, <a href="#P260">260</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Tsvetkoff, imprisonment at Suzdal, +<a href="#P98">98</a> <i>sqq.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Turkey, <a href="#P226">226</a>, <a href="#P242">242</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P369">369</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Turkish war of 1877, <a href="#P45">45</a>, <a href="#P221">221</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Turks, <a href="#P30">30</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Ukase granting reforms, <a href="#P127">127</a>, <a href="#P143">143</a>, <a href="#P148">148</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ukhtomsky, Prince, <a href="#P235">235</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ukraine provinces, <a href="#P118">118</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Ukrainians, <a href="#P147">147</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Uniates of Western Russia, <a href="#P153">153</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Universities, Russian, <a href="#P26">26</a>, <a href="#P67">67</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Vamberg, Professor, <a href="#P222">222</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Viazemsky, Prince, <a href="#P140">140</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Victoria's advisers, Queen, <a href="#P223">223</a>, <a href="#P235">235</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Vladimir, Grand Duke, <a href="#P79">79</a>, <a href="#P90">90</a>, <a href="#P134">134</a>, +<a href="#P144">144</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Vyshnegradsky, <a href="#P36">36</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Wiener, Leo, <a href="#P13">13</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wilhelm II. of Germany, forces Tsar's +hand at Kiao Chow, <a href="#P225">225</a>; secret +treaty with Tsar concerning Kiao +Chow, <a href="#P247">247</a> <i>sqq.</i>; secret treaty of +Björke, <a href="#P312">312-370</a>; and Morocco +incident, <a href="#P331">331</a> <i>sqq.</i>; Witte and, <a href="#P342">342</a> +<i>sqq.</i>; compact with Tsar at +Potsdam, <a href="#P380">380</a>; and Edward VII., <a href="#P400">400</a>; +text of secret treaty with the Tsar, +<a href="#P412">412</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Wilson, President, <a href="#P314">314</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Witte, Count Sergius, Secretary of +State, <a href="#P2">2</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P37">37</a>, <a href="#P40">40</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P60">60</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P106">106</a>, +<a href="#P112">112</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P119">119</a>, <a href="#P125">125</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P137">137</a>, <a href="#P143">143</a> +<i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P150">150</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P158">158</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P181">181</a>; +condemned to die, <a href="#P187">187-195</a>; attempted +assassination of, <a href="#P186">186</a>, <a href="#P233">233</a> <i>sqq.</i>; +policy in Far East, <a href="#P245">245</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P254">254</a> +<i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P279">279</a>; Tsar's antipathy to, <a href="#P281">281</a>, +<a href="#P285">285</a>; letter to Tsar on policy of +Russia in East, <a href="#P293">293</a> <i>sqq.</i>; at +Portsmouth Peace Conference, <a href="#P297">297</a> <i>sqq.</i>; +and the Kaiser, <a href="#P342">342</a> <i>sqq.</i>; success at +Portsmouth, <a href="#P350">350</a>; discoyery of +secret treaty, <a href="#P354">354</a> <i>sqq.</i>; ideal of +federation of European States, <a href="#P367">367</a>; +optimism of, <a href="#P375">375</a>; visit to the +Kaiser, <a href="#P393">393</a> <i>sqq.</i>, <a href="#P409">409</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Women, Privileged status of educated, <a href="#P61">61</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Yalu speculation, The Tsar's, <a href="#P135">135</a>, +<a href="#P153">153</a>, <a href="#P280">280</a>, <a href="#P324">324</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Yamagata, Prince, <a href="#P303">303</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Yanysheff, President, Emperor's +chaplain, <a href="#P93">93</a>, <a href="#P149">149</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Yollos, B., Assassination of, <a href="#P189">189</a>, <a href="#P193">193</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Yussupoff, Prince, <a href="#P209">209</a>, <a href="#P214">214</a> +</p> + +<p><br></p> + +<p class="index"> +Zaboroffsky, Rector, <a href="#P198">198</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Zassulitch, Vera, <a href="#P73">73</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +<i>Zemskiyé Natshalniki</i>, <a href="#P85">85</a> <i>n.</i> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Zemsky Congress of Kaluga, <a href="#P141">141</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Zemstvos, <a href="#P84">84</a>, <a href="#P89">89</a>, <a href="#P116">116</a>, <a href="#P140">140</a>, <a href="#P217">217</a> +</p> + +<p class="index"> +Zubatoff, <a href="#P158">158</a>, <a href="#P184">184</a> +</p> + +<p><br><br></p> + +<p class="t4"> +THE TEMPLE PRESS, PRINTERS, LETCHWORTH, ENGLAND +</p> + +<p><br><br><br><br></p> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78075 ***</div> +</body> + +</html> + diff --git a/78075-h/images/img-cover.jpg b/78075-h/images/img-cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..8e538cd --- /dev/null +++ b/78075-h/images/img-cover.jpg |
