CHAPTER XXIX
ZEPPELIN RAIDS ON FRANCE AND ENGLAND
The idea of warfare in the air has been a dream of romancers from a period long before Jules Verne. Indeed, balloons were used for observation purposes in the eighteenth century by the French armies. The crude balloon of that period, in a more developed form, was used in the Franco-Prussian War, and during the siege of Paris by its assistance communication was kept up between Paris and the outside world. Realizing its possibilities inventors had been trying to develop a balloon which could be propelled against the wind and so guided that explosives could be dropped upon a hostile army. Partially successful dirigible balloons have been occasionally exhibited for a number of years.
The idea of such a balloon took a strong hold upon the imagination of the German army staff long before the Great War, and Count Ferdinand Zeppelin gave the best years of his life to its development. From the beginning he met with great difficulties. His first ships proved mechanical failures, and after these difficulties were overcome he met with a series of accidents which almost put an end to his efforts. By popular subscription, and by government support, he was able to continue, and when the war began Germany had thirty-five dirigible balloons of the Zeppelin and other types, many of them as much as 490 feet long.
The Zeppelin balloon, called the Zeppelin from the name of its inventor, was practically a vast ship, capable of carrying a load of about fifteen thousand pounds. It would carry a crew of twenty men or more, fuel for the engines, provisions, a wireless installation, and armament with ammunition. For a journey of twenty hours such a vessel would need at least seven thousand pounds of fuel. It would probably be able to carry about two tons of explosives. These Zeppelins could travel great distances. Before the war one of them flew from Lake Constance to Berlin, a continuous flight of about one thousand miles, in thirty-one hours.
These great aerial warships were given a thorough trial by the Germans. They disliked to admit that they had made a costly mistake in adding them to their armament. It soon turned out, however, that the Zeppelins were practically useless in battle. Whatever they could do, either for scouting purposes or in dropping explosives behind the enemy's lines, could be better done by the airplane. The French and the English, who before the war had decided that the airplane was the more important weapon, were right. But the Germans did not give up their costly toy so easily, and they determined to use it in the bombardment of cities and districts situated far away from the German line, in dropping bombs, not upon fortifications, or armed camps where they might meet with resistance, but upon peaceful non-belligerents in the streets of great unfortified cities.
It was their policy of frightfulness once again. And once again they had made a mistake. The varied expeditions of the Zeppelin airships sent from Germany to bombard Paris, or to cross the Channel and, after dropping bombs on seaside resorts, to wander over the city of London in the hope of spreading destruction there, did little real damage and their net effects, from a military point of view, were practically nil.
The first Zeppelin raid upon England took place on January 19, 1915. The Zeppelins passed over the cities of Yarmouth, Cromer, Sherringham and King's Lynn. On this expedition there were two Zeppelins. They reached the coast of Norfolk about 8.30 in the evening and then steered northwest across the country toward King's Lynn, dropping bombs as they went. In these towns there were no military stations and the damage suffered was very slight. Nine persons were killed, all civilians. This raid was followed by many others, which at first usually wasted their ammunition, dropping their bombs on small country towns or in empty fields.
On the 31st of May an expedition reached London and killed six persons in the east end. The result of this raid was to stir the English to intense indignation. Mobs gathered in the London streets, and persons suspected of being Germans, or with German sympathies, were attacked. Other raids followed, none of them doing serious military damage, but usually killing or wounding innocent non-combatants. The stupid policy of secrecy which they maintained during the first year of the war unfortunately permitted great exaggeration of the real damages which they had suffered.
During the first year, according to Mr. Balfour, in eighteen Zeppelin raids there were only seventy-one civilian adults and eighteen children killed, one hundred and eighty-nine civilian adults and thirty-one children wounded. No soldier or sailor was killed and only seven wounded.
In France similar attacks had been made on Paris and Calais. On the 20th of March two Zeppelins dropped bombs on Paris, but Paris, unlike London, was a fortified city, and the sky soldiers were driven off by the anti-aircraft guns. The French also devised an efficient method of defense. On the appearance of an airship great searchlights flashed into the air and the enemy was made at once a target, not only for the guns of all the forts, but also for airplane attack. In order to attack successfully a Zeppelin it was necessary that an airplane should attain a position above the enemy. For an airplane to rise to such a height time was required, as the airplane rises slowly. The French, therefore, devised a scheme by which two or more airplanes were kept constantly circling at a very great height above the city. Relays were formed which relieved each other at regular intervals. When an airship approached it would therefore be compelled in the first place to pass through the fire of the guns on the great forts, and then would find in the air above airplanes in waiting. The Germans, therefore, practically gave up attacks upon Paris. They were dangerous.
London, practically unarmed, seemed to them an easy mark. But the British Lion was now awake. The English had been taken by surprise. They attempted at first, in an unorganized way, to protect their city, and, though occasionally successful in destroying an airship through the gallantry of some individual hero, they soon found that their defense must be organized, and Admiral Sir Percy Scott was entrusted with the task. Lights were extinguished on the streets and screened on the water front. Illumination for advertising purposes was forbidden; windows were covered, so that London became at night a mass of gloom. The Zeppelins, compelled to fly at a very great height, because of anti-aircraft guns, were blinded. As in Paris airplanes were constantly kept on the alert and searchlights and anti-airship guns placed at every convenient point.
The suggestion was made that the English should undertake reprisals, but the suggestion was strongly opposed on the ground that the British should not be a "party to a line of conduct condemned by every right-thinking man of every civilized nation."
The effect of the English improved defenses was soon obvious, when the German expeditions began to lose airship after airship. Under the new regime, when such an attack was signaled, the whole city immediately received warning and the sky was swept by dozens of searchlights. Safe retreats were ready for those who cared to use them, but ordinarily the whole population rushed out to watch the spectacle. Airplanes would dash at the incoming foe; the searchlights would be switched off and the guns be silent to avoid hindering the aviators. Then would come the attack and Zeppelin after Zeppelin would be seen falling, a great mass of flames, while their companions would hurry back across the Channel. Even there they would not be safe, for many an airship was brought down on English fields, or on the waters of the sea.
The Germans, however, did not confine their policy of frightfulness in the air to the performances of their Zeppelins. Before the Zeppelins had crossed the Channel their airplanes had visited England. On Christmas Day, 1914, an airplane attacked Dover, doing, however, no damage. Other airplanes also visited the British Isles from time to time, dropping bombs, and as the Germans began to lose faith in the efficacy of their Zeppelin fleets they began more and more to substitute airplanes for their airships.
On some of these expeditions much more damage was done than had ever been done by the Zeppelins. The airplane expedition grew serious in the year 1917; between May 23d and June 16th of that year there were five such aerial attacks. The airplanes could not only move with greater speed but with better direction. An attack on May 25th resulted in the killing of seventy-six persons and the injuring of one hundred and seventy-four, the principal victims being women and children. This was at the town of Folkestone on the southeast coast. In this attack there were about sixteen airplanes, and the time of the attack was not more than three minutes. Scarcely any part of Folkestone escaped injury. The attack was methodically organized. Four separate squadrons passed over the city, following each other at short intervals. It was impossible to tell when the attack would end, and people in shelters or cellars were kept waiting for hours without being able to feel certain that the danger had passed.
[Illustration: Photograph]
AN AIRPLANE ALARM
Sailors dashing to the fighting tops of a battleship and putting an
anti-aircraft gun in action to repel a hostile airplane.
[Illustration: Painting]
LONDON'S WELCOME TO A ZEPPELIN RAIDER
In the early part of the war Zeppelin raids on England were frequent.
The rapid perfecting of searchlights, anti-aircraft guns and airplane
defenses soon discouraged them. This picture shows an airplane about
to attack with flaming bullets.
[Illustration: Photograph] GUARDING PARIS FROM THE HUN Observation post fitted with instruments for gauging the height and speed of enemy aircraft, a giant searchlight, a listening post and a "75" gun installed on the outskirts of Paris.
It is probable that one of the motives of these raids was to keep at home fleets of English airplanes which might be more useful on the front. Indeed, many Englishmen, alarmed by the damage, urged such a policy, but the good sense of the English leaders prevented such a mistake from being made. Pitiful as must have been the suffering in individual cases, the whole of the damage caused by the German frightfulness was but a trifle as compared with the usefulness of the English air-fleets when directly sent against the German armies. Nevertheless, every squadron of German airplanes sent to England was attacked by British aviators, and in those attacks the Germans suffered many losses.
[Illustration: Map]
THE FIRST GERMAN ARMY WHICH INVADED FRANCE (1,200,000) WOULD HAVE
STRETCHED FROM PARIS INTO RUSSIA (1,200 MILES) IF MARCHING IN SINGLE
FILE
The worst raid of all those made was one on June 13th, which was directed upon the city of London. On that occasion ninety-seven persons were killed and four hundred and thirty-seven wounded. These airplane operations differed from the Zeppelin expeditions in being carried on in the daytime, and this raid took place while the schools were in session and large numbers of people were in the street. Only one of the attacking airplanes was brought down. The raiding machines were of a new type, about three times the size of the ordinary machine, and there were twenty-two such machines in the squadron. The battle in the air was a striking spectacle and in spite of the danger was watched by millions of the population. The raiders were easily seen and their flight seemed like a flight of swallows as they dived and swerved through the air.
The raids on England were not the only raids conducted by the Germans during the war. Paris suffered, but as soon as the warning sounded, the sky over the city was alive with defense airplanes. An attack on the French capital took place on the 27th of July and began about midnight. The German airmen, however, never got further than a suburban section of the city, and their bombardment caused but little damage. In one of the suburbs, however, a German flyer dropped four bombs on a Red Cross Hospital, killing two doctors, a chemist and a male nurse, and injuring a number of patients. The raider was flying low and the distinguishing marks of the hospital were plainly apparent.
Almost every day during the bitter fighting of 1918, reports came in that Allied hospitals had been bombed by German raiders. Attacks on hospitals were, of course, strictly forbidden by the Hague Convention, and they caused bitter indignation. Such attacks were of a piece with those upon hospital ships which were made from time to time. From the very beginning of the war the Germans could not understand the psychology of the people of the Allied countries. They were not fighting with slaves, ready to cower under the lash, but with free people, ready to fight for liberty and roused to fury by lawlessness.
CHAPTER XXX
RED REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA
The Russian Revolution was not a sudden movement of the people. Long before the war it had raised its head. The Duma itself came into existence as one of its fruits; but when the war began all parties joined in patriotic support of the Russian armies and laid aside for the time their cherished grievances. The war was immensely popular. Slavonic nationalism turned against Austria-Hungary and Germany who were bent upon crushing the Slavonic sister state, Serbia. The Liberal elements saw in Germany the stronghold of reaction and of militarism, and trusted that its downfall would be followed by that of Russian autocracy. But so glaring was the incapacity of the old regime, that a union was formed during the war by all the Liberal parties. This group united on the single aim of pushing on the war, and silently preparing for the moment when the catastrophe to Czarism was to come.
This was long before the revolution. But a conviction of the necessity of immediate change gradually came to all. The Czar himself brought matters to an issue. His vacillation, his appointment of ministers who were not only reactionary, but were suspected of being German tools, were too much for even honest supporters of the Imperial regime. Some of these reactionaries, it is true, were easily driven from power. In 1915 Sukhomlinov and Maklakov were overthrown by the influence of the army and the Duma. But in 1916 the parasites came to life again. M. Boris Stuermer became Prime Minister, and appointed as Minister of the Interior the notorious Protopopov. On November 14, 1916, Miliukov, the leader of the Constitutional Democrats, or Cadet Party, attacked the Premier in one of the fiercest speeches ever made in the Russian Duma. Stuermer was compelled to resign, but his successor, M. Trepov, though an honest man with high ambitions, was forced to retain Protopopov at the Interior. For a moment there was calm. But it was the calm before the storm.
The Russian Revolution, now recognized as the most bloody revolution in history, began with the assassination of a single man. This man was Gregory Novikh, known throughout the world under the name of Rasputin. A Siberian peasant by birth, immoral, filthy in person, untrained in mind, he had early received the nickname of Rasputin, which means "ne'er-do-well," on account of his habits. A drunkard, and a libertine always, he posed as a sort of saint and miracle worker, let his hair grow long, and tramped about the world barefoot.
Rasputin had left his district of Tobolsk and at Moscow had started a new cult, where mystical seances were mingled with debauchery. Through Madame Verubova he had been introduced to the Empress herself. He became the friend of Count Witte, of Stuermer, and Protopopov was his tool. Rumor credited him with exercising an extraordinary influence upon the Czarina, and through her upon the Czar. This influence was thought to be responsible for many of the Czar's unpopular policies. In times of great public agitation the wildest rumors are easily taken for truth and the absurd legends which were easily associated with his name were greedily accepted by people of every rank. The influence of Rasputin over the Imperial family was denied again and again. It has been said from authoritative sources that the Czar did not know him by sight, and that the Czarina knew him only as a superstitious and neurotic woman might know some fortune teller or other charlatan. Nevertheless the credulous public believed him to be the evil spirit of the Imperial circle, and every false move, every unpopular act, was ascribed to his baneful influence. But such a career could not last long, and the end became a tragedy.
Several times Rasputin had been attacked, but had escaped. At last, on the 29th of December, 1916, Prince Yusapov, a young man of wealth and position, invited him to dine with him at his own home. The Prince came for him in his own car. Entering the dining-room, they found there the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovitch. M. Purishkevitch, a member of the Duma, had acted as chauffeur, and he followed him in. The three told him that he was to die and he was handed a pistol that he might kill himself; instead of doing so, he shot at the Grand Duke, but missed, and then was shot in turn by his captors. The noise attracted the attention of the police who inquired what had happened. "I have just killed a dog," was the reply.
His body was taken in an automobile to the Neva River, a hole cut in the ice, and weighted with stones, it was dropped into the waters. On the next day his executioners notified the police of what they had done, and the news was announced at the Imperial Theatre, whose audience went wild with enthusiasm, and sang the National Hymn. No legal action was ever taken against Rasputin's executioners. His body was recovered and given honorable burial. The Czarina, according to report, following the coffin to the grave. And so disappeared from the Imperial Court one evil force.
But his tool, Alexander Protopopov, still survived. Protopopov was an extraordinary man. In 1916 he had visited England and France and made a splendid impression. His speeches, full of fire and patriotism, were regarded as the best made by any deputation that had come from Russia. But on his return to Petrograd he fell completely into the hands of the Court party. He became associated with Rasputin, and his wild talk and restless conduct suggested to many that his mind had become affected.
After the death of Rasputin, the meeting of the Duma, which should have taken place on January 25, 1917, was postponed for a month. The censorship was drawn tighter, the members of the secret police were greatly increased, and a deliberate endeavor, under the direction of Protopopov was made to encourage an abortive revolution, so that its overthrow might establish the reactionaries in power. But the attempt failed.
During January and February the people were calm. No one wanted revolution then. On February 9th, the labor members of the War Industry Committee were arrested. This was regarded as plainly provocative, and M. Miliukov wrote appeals to the people for patience. These were suppressed, but no disturbance ensued. A British Commission, then on a visit to Russia, reported that there was no danger of revolution. But the people were hungry. Speakers in the Duma discussed the food problem. It became harder and harder to procure bread, and little that was practical seemed to be done to improve the situation, though in some parts of the country there were large surplus stocks. On March 8th crowds gathered around the bakery shops, and looted several of them. The next day the crowds in the streets increased. Groups of Cossacks rode here and there, fraternizing with the people. They, too, were hungry. In the afternoon two workmen were arrested for disorder by the police. A band of Cossacks freed them. Street speakers began to appear here and there, and crowds gathered to listen to their fiery denunciations of the government.
On March 11th, General Khabalov, military governor of the city, issued a proclamation announcing that the police had orders to disperse all crowds, and that any workman who did not return to work on Monday morning would be sent to the trenches. The main streets of the city were cleared and guarded by the police and soldiery. The crowds were enormous, and disorderly, and more than two hundred of the rioters were killed. Yet it seemed as if the government had the situation in a firm grasp, though an ominous incident was that the Pavlovsk regiment on being ordered to fire upon the mob, mutinied and had to be ordered to their quarters.
Meantime Rodzianko, the President of the Duma, had telegraphed to the
Czar:
Situation serious. Anarchy reigns in Capital. Government is paralyzed. Transport food and fuel supplies are utterly disorganized. General discontent is growing. Disorderly firing is going on in streets. Various companies of soldiers are shooting at each other. It is absolutely necessary to invest someone, who enjoys the confidence of the people, with powers to form a new government. No time must be lost, and delay may be fatal. I pray to God that in this hour responsibility may not fall on the wearer of the crown.
The Prime Minister, Prince Golitzin, acting under powers which he had received from the Czar, prorogued the Duma. But the Duma refused to be prorogued. Its President, Rodzianko, holding in his hand the order for dissolution, announced that the Duma was now the sole constitutional authority of Russia.
During the night following, the soldiers at the Capital, and the Socialists, decided upon their course. The soldiers determined that they would not fire upon their civilian brothers. The Socialists planned an alternative scheme of government.
On March the 12th, the city was taken possession of by a mob. The Preo Crajenski Guards refused to fire upon the crowd. The Volynsky regiment, sent to coerce them, joined in the mutiny. Followed by the mob, the two regiments seized the arsenal. A force of 25,000 soldiers was in the revolt. At 11 A. M., the Courts of Law were set on fire and the fortress of SS. Peter and Paul was seized. The police, fighting desperately, were hunted from their quarters, their papers destroyed and the prisoners, political and criminal, released from the jails.
During the day the Duma kept in constant session, awaiting the Emperor, who did not come. Telegram after telegram was sent him, each more urgent. There is reason to believe that these telegrams never reached the Czar. When information finally did come to him it was too late. Meantime the Duma appointed an executive committee. Their names were Rodzianko, Nekrasov, Konovalov, Dmitrikov, Lvov, Rjenski, Karaulov, Miliukov, Schledlovski, Schulgin, Tcheidze and Kerensky. The workmen and soldiers also formed a committee, which undertook to influence the troops now pouring into Petrograd. But the center of the revolution was still the Duma, and crowds gathered to listen to its speeches. In the evening Protopovo surrendered to the Russian guards, but General Khabalov still occupied the Admiralty building with such forces as were faithful.
On March 13th it became evident that the army in the field were accepting the authority of the provisional government. The Duma committee was composed mainly of men of moderate political views. They moved slowly, fearing on the one hand the Reactionaries who still preserved their loyalty to the Czar, and on the other hand the Council of Labor, with its extreme views, and its influence—with the troops. The siege of the Admiralty building was ended by the surrender of General Khabalov. The police, however, were still keeping up a desultory resistance, but the mob were hunting them like wild beasts. On Wednesday, the 14th of March, the revolution was over.
The Executive Committee of the Duma and the Council of the Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates, now universally known as the Soviet, were working in harmony. Every hour proclamations were issued, some of them foolish, some of them, it is thought, inspired by German agents, and some of them wise and patriotic. One of the most unfortunate of these proclamations was one to the army directing that "the orders of the War Committee must be obeyed, saving only on those occasions when they shall contravene the orders and regulations of the labor deputies and military delegates." This same proclamation abolished saluting for private soldiers off duty. It was the beginning of the destruction of the Russian military power. The proclamation of the Duma committee itself was admirable:
CITIZENS: The Provisional Executive Committee of the Duma, with the aid and support of the garrison of the capital and its inhabitants, has now triumphed over the baneful forces of the old regime in such a manner as to enable it to proceed to the more stable organization of the executive power. With this object, the Provisional Committee will name ministers of the first national cabinet, men whose past public activity assures them the confidence of the country.
The new cabinet will adopt the following principles as the basis of its policy:
1. An immediate amnesty for all political and religious offenses, including military revolts, acts of terrorism, and agrarian crimes.
2. Freedom of speech, of the press, of associations and labor organizations, and the freedom to strike; with an extension of these liberties to officials and troops, in so far as military and technical conditions permit.
3. The abolition of social, religious, and racial restrictions and privileges.
4. Immediate preparation for the summoning of a Constituent Assembly, which, with universal suffrage as a basis, shall establish the governmental regime and the constitution of the country.
5. The substitution for the police of a national militia, with elective heads and subject to the self-governing bodies.
6. Communal elections to be carried out on the basis of universal suffrage.
7. The troops that have taken part in the revolutionary movement shall not be disarmed, but they are not to leave Petrograd.
8. While strict military discipline must be maintained on active service, all restrictions upon soldiers in the enjoyment of social rights granted to other citizens are to be abolished.
Meantime the Emperor, "the Little Father," at first thoroughly incredulous of the gravity of the situation, had at last become alarmed. He appointed General Ivanov Commander-in-Chief of the army, and ordered him to proceed to Petrograd at the head of a division of loyal troops. General Ivanov set out, but his train was held up at Tsarkoe Selo, and he returned to Pskov. The Czar himself then started for the city, but he, too, was held up at the little station of Bologoi, where workmen had pulled up the track, and he returned to Pskov.
He sent for Ruzsky and declared that he was ready to yield to the Duma and grant a responsible ministry. Ruzsky advised him to get in touch with Rodzianko, and as a result of a telephone communication with Rodzianko and with several of his trusted generals, it became clear that there was no other course than abdication. Guchkov and Shulgin, messengers from the Duma, arrived on the evening of March 15th, and found the Emperor alone, except for his aide-de-camp, Count Fredericks.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked.
"You must abdicate," Guchkov told him, "in favor of your son, with the
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch as Regent."
The Emperor sat for a long time silent. "I cannot be separated from my boy," he said. "I will hand the throne to my brother." Taking a sheet of paper he wrote as follows:
By the Grace of God, We, Nicholas II, Emperor of all the Russias, to all our faithful subjects:
In the course of a great struggle against a foreign enemy, who has been endeavoring for three years to enslave our country, it has pleased God to send Russia a further bitter trial. Internal troubles have threatened to compromise the progress of the war. The destinies of Russia, the honor of her heroic army, the happiness of her people, and the whole future of our beloved country demand that at all costs victory shall be won. The enemy is making his last efforts, and the moment is near when our gallant troops, in concert with their glorious Allies, will finally overthrow him.
In these days of crisis we have considered that our nation needs the closest union of all its forces for the attainment of victory. In agreement with the Imperial Duma, we have recognized that for the good of our land we should abdicate the throne of the Russian state and lay down the supreme power.
Not wishing to separate ourselves from our beloved son, we bequeath our heritage to our brother, the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch, with our blessing upon the future of the Russian throne. We bequeath it to him with the charge to govern in full unison with the national representatives who may sit in the legislature, and to take his inviolable oath to them in the name of our well-beloved country.
We call upon all faithful sons of our land to fulfil this sacred and patriotic duty in obeying their Emperor at this painful moment of national trial, and to aid him, together with the representatives of the nation, to lead the Russian people in the way of prosperity and glory.
May God help Russia.
So ended the reign of Nicholas the Second, Czar of all the Russias. The news of the Czar's abdication spread over the world with great rapidity, and was received by the Allies with mixed feelings. The Czar had been scrupulously loyal to the alliance. He was a man of high personal character, and his sympathies on the whole, liberal; but he was a weak man in a position in which even a strong man might have failed. He was easily influenced, especially by his wife. Warned again and again of the danger before him, he constantly promised improvement, only to fail in keeping his promises. He deeply loved his wife, and yielded continually to her unwise advice.
The Empress Alexandra Feodorovna is but another instance of a devoted queen who dethroned her consort. She believed in Divine Right and looked with suspicion upon popular leaders. Her one object in life was to hand on the Russian crown to her son, with no atom of its power diminished. She surrounded herself and her husband with scoundrels and charlatans.
On the whole, the feeling among the Allies was one of relief. There was a general distrust of the influences which had been surrounding the Czar. The patriotism of the Grand Duke Michael was well known, and a government conducted by him was sure to be a great improvement. But it was not to be. Before the news of the abdication reached Petrograd a new ministry had been formed by the Duma. Miliukov announced their names and explained their credentials. The Prime Minister was Prince George Lvov. Miliukov was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guchkov Minister of War and Marine, Kerensky, a new name in the government, Minister of Justice. The ministry included representatives of every party of the left and center.
Miliukov declared that their credentials came from the Russian revolution: "We shall not fight for the sake of power. To be in power is not a reward or pleasure but a sacrifice. As soon as we are told that the sacrifice is no longer needed, we shall give up our places with gratitude for the opportunity which has been accorded us."
He concluded by informing his hearers that the despot who had brought
Russia to the brink of ruin would either abdicate of his free will, or
be deposed. He added that the Grand Duke Michael would be appointed
Regent.
This announcement at once produced an explosion. A ministry of moderates and a continuance of the Imperial government under a regency stirred the delegates of the workmen and soldiers to revolt. For a time it seemed as if the new government would disappear in the horrors of mob rule. But Kerensky saved the situation. Making his way into the meeting of the Soviet he burst into an impassioned speech.
"Comrades!" he cried, "I have been appointed Minister of Justice. No one is a more ardent Republican than I, but we must bide our time. Nothing can come to its full growth at once. We shall have our Republic but we must first win the war. The need of the moment is organization and discipline and that need will not wait."
His eloquence carried the day. The Soviet passed a resolution supporting the provisional government with only fifteen dissenting votes. But it had been made clear that the people did not approve of the regency, and on the night of the 15th of March, Prince Lvov, Kerensky and other leaders of the Duma sought out the Grand Duke Michael and informed him of the situation. The Grand Duke yielded to the people, and on Friday, March the 16th, issued a declaration which ended the power of the Romanovs in Russia:
I am firmly resolved to accept the supreme power only if this should be the desire of our great people, who must, by means of a plebiscite through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly, establish the form of government and the new fundamental laws of the Russian state. Invoking God's blessing, I, therefore, request all citizens of Russia to obey the provisional government, set up on the initiative of the Duma, and invested with plenary powers, until within as short a time as possible the Constituent Assembly elected on a basis of equal, universal and secret suffrage, shall enforce the will of the nation regarding the future form of the constitution.
With this declaration the sacred monarchy had disappeared. In one week the people had come to their own and Russia was free. But what form of new government was to replace the old regime was still the question. There were two rival theories as to the principles to be followed, one that of the Moderates, the other of the Extremists. The Moderates, who controlled the provisional government were practical men. They realized that Russia was at war and that efficient administration was the great need.
The Extremists of the Soviet were a different type of men. They were profoundly ignorant of all practical questions of government; their creed was socialism. The Socialistic party in Russia may be divided into three different groups. The first, the Social Revolutionary party, came into prominence in Russia about 1900. It was composed of followers of the Russian Lavrov who believed in the socialist state, but a state which should not be a tyrant overriding the individual. Liberty was his watchword and he made his appeal not only to the workmen in the shops but with a special force to the peasant. He did not preach class war in the ordinary sense, and believed in the value of national life. To this party belonged Kerensky, more and more becoming the leader of the revolutionary movement.
The second group of the Socialist party were the Bolsheviki. This group were followers of the German Karl Marx. The revolution which they sought was essentially a class revolution. To the Bolsheviki the fate of their country mattered not at all. They were eager for peace on any terms. The only war in which they were interested was a class war; they recognized no political boundaries. The leader of this group was Vladimir Iljetch Uljanov, who, under his pen name of Lenine, was already widely known and who had now obtained the opportunity which he had long desired.
The third group were the Mensheviki. The Mensheviki believed in the importance of the working classes, but they did not ignore other classes. They were willing to use existing forms of government to carry out the reforms they desired. They saw that the Allied cause was their own cause, the cause of the workman as well as the intellectual.
The Soviet contained representatives of these three groups. It did not represent Russia, but it was in Petrograd and could exert its influence directly upon the government.
The attitude of the provisional government toward the Imperial family was at first not unkindly. The Czar and the Czarina were escorted to the Alexandrovsky Palace in Tsarskoe-Selo. The Czar for a time lived quietly as plain Nicholas Romanov. The Czarina and her children were very ill with measles, the case of the little Prince being complicated by the breaking out of an old wound in his foot. The Grand Duchess Tatiana was in a serious condition and oxygen had been administered. As his family improved in health the Czar amused himself by strolls in the palace yard, and even by shoveling snow. Later on Nicholas was transferred to Tobolsk, Siberia, and then, in May, 1918, to Yekaterinberg. His wife and his daughter Marie accompanied him to the latter place, while Alexis and his other three daughters remained in Tobolsk. On July 20th a Russian government dispatch announced his assassination. It read as follows:
At the first session of the Central Executive Committee, elected by the Fifth Congress of the Councils, a message was made public that had been received by direct wire from the Ural Regional Council, concerning the shooting of the ex-Czar, Nicholas Romanov. Recently Yekaterinberg, the Capital of the Red Urals, was seriously threatened by the approach of Czecho-Slovak bands, and a counter-revolutionary conspiracy was discovered, which had as its object the wresting of the ex-Czar from the hands of the Council's authority. In view of this fact the President of the Ural Regional Council decided to shoot the ex-Czar, and the decision was carried out on July 16th.
The wife and the son of Nicholas Romanov had been sent to a place of security. In a detailed account of the execution, published in Berlin, it appeared that the Czar had been awakened at five o'clock in the morning, and informed that he was to be executed in two hours. He spent some time with a priest in his bedroom and wrote several letters. According to this account, when the patrol came to take him out for execution he was found in a state of collapse. His last words, uttered just before the executioners fired, are reported to have been "Spare my wife and my innocent and unhappy children. May my blood preserve Russia from ruin."
The Russian press, including the Socialist papers, condemned the execution as a cruel and unnecessary act. The charges of conspiracy were utterly unproven, and were merely an excuse. The Central Executive Committee, however, accepted the decision of the Ural Regional Soviet as being regular, and a decree by the Bolshevist Government declared all the property of the former Emperor, his wife, his mother and all the members of the Imperial house, forfeit to the Soviet Republic.
Meantime the provisional government, which had taken power on the 16th of March, seemed as if it might succeed. Miliukov, whose announcement of the Regency had made him unpopular, declared for a Republic. The great army commanders for the most part accepted the revolution. The Grand Duke Nicholas was removed from his command and the other Grand Dukes were ordered not to leave Petrograd. Alexiev became commander-in-chief; Ruzsky had the northern group of armies, Brusilov the southern; Kornilov was in command of Petrograd, and the central group was put under the command of Lechitsky. Reports came that discipline was improving everywhere on the front.
[Illustration: Map of Petrograd]
CAPITAL OF THE NEW REPUBLIC OF RUSSIA
The plans of the government, too, met with general approval. Their policy was announced by Prince Lvov. "The new government considers it its duty to make known to the world that the object of free Russia is not to dominate other nations and forcibly to take away their territory. The object of independent Russia is a permanent peace and the right of all nations to determine their own destiny."
Kerensky, in inspiring speeches, encouraged the country to war, and declared against a separate peace. The new government announced that Poland was to receive complete independence, with a right to determine its own form of government, and its relation, if any, to Russia. In Finland the Governor, Sein, was removed. A Liberal was appointed Governor and the Finnish Diet was convened. A manifesto was issued on March 21st, completely restoring the Finnish constitution. To the Armenians Kerensky expressed himself as in favor of an autonomous government for them, under Russia's protection, and on March 25th, absolute equality of the Jews was proclaimed by the new government. A number of Jews were made officers in the army, and two Jewish advocates were appointed members of the Russian Senate and of the Supreme Court. On April 4th full religious liberty was proclaimed, and on the same date the Prime Minister promised a delegation of women that women would be given the right to vote.
These acts caused a general subsidence of unrest, and public good feeling was increased by the return of the political exiles and prisoners from Siberia. A full hundred thousand of such prisoners were released, and their progress across Siberia to Russia was one grand triumphal march.
The most celebrated of these political prisoners were two women, Catherine Breshkovskaya and Marie Spiridonova. Catherine Breshkovskaya was known as the grandmother of the revolution. Forty-four years of her life were spent in exile. When she reached Petrograd she was met at the railroad depot by a military band, and carried in procession through the streets. Equally popular was Marie Spiridonova, who, though still young, had suffered martyrdom. She had been tortured with cruelty that is unprintable. Her face had been disfigured for life. The agents who had inflicted the torture were assassinated by the revolutionists.
It was a great day for Russia, and the outlook seemed full of promise.
CHAPTER XXXI
THE DESCENT TO BOLSHEVISM
The hopes entertained for the new Republic of Russia were doomed to disappointment. For a short time, under the leadership of Lvov, the Russians marched along the path of true democracy. But the pace became too rapid.
The government prospered in Petrograd, and the economic organization of the country proceeded with great speed. An eight-hour day was introduced in the capital and in many other cities throughout the republic. The fever of organization spread even to the peasants. They formed a Council of Peasants' Deputies, modeled after the Council of Workmen and Soldiers. On the 13th of April, 1917, came the first meeting of the All-Russia Congress of Soviets, and with it a revival of the differences of opinion which ultimately were to destroy the government. The great majority were for war, but the minority, led by Lenine and the Bolsheviki element, demanded an immediate peace. They declared that the enemies of the Revolution were not the Central Powers; but the capitalists in all countries, and not least the Provisional Government of Russia.
Some clew to the meaning of the Bolsheviki movement in Russia is to be found in the life of Lenine, its leading spirit. It has been charged that he was the tool of the German Government. He undoubtedly received facilities from the German Government to return to Russia from Switzerland immediately after the Revolution in March. His whole career, however, suggests that he was not a tool, but a fanatic.
He was born in Simbirsk, in Central Russia, in the year 1870. Lenine was only one of the several aliases that he had found it necessary to adopt at various times. He was of good family, and received his education at the Petrograd University. From the very beginning he took an active interest in the political and social problems of the day. In 1887 his brother, A. Uljanov, was arrested, and after a secret trial condemned to death and hanged as a participant in a plot to wreck the imperial train carrying Alexander III. Lenine was also arrested, but was released on account of a lack of evidence. At this time the Russian Socialistic movement was still in its infancy.
[Illustration: Photograph: About 50 women in military uniforms.] Copyright Underwood and Underwood, N. Y THE WOMEN'S "BATTALION OF DEATH" IN NATIONAL DANCE A unique outgrowth of the Russian revolution was this organization of women which came into prominence at the beginning of the Russian front's break-up.
[Illustration: Photograph]
Copyright Underwood and Underwood, N. Y
DEMONSTRATION OF CITIZENS BEFORE THIS WINTER PALACE
The formation of the Red Guard adopting the propaganda of the
Bolshevists resulted, which drove Russia into a chaos of Revolution.
[Illustration: Photograph]
Copyright International Film Service.
SPOILS OF THE VICTORY AT ST. MIHIEL
The Germans left everything behind when they fled to avoid being
trapped in the St. Mihiel salient by the swift American advance. This
shows a soldier examining an abandoned German machine-gun, fully
loaded and not a shot fired.
[Illustration: Photograph]
AN AERIAL BOMB
British airmen examining a huge bomb which later scattered death among
the Huns.
Lenine spent his Sundays in a circle of uneducated workmen, explaining to them the elements of socialistic economics. Along with this propaganda work he studied deeply the economic phases of Russian life, being especially interested in its working and peasant classes. He wrote several books on the subject, which are still accepted as valuable representatives of Russian economic literature. Because of his socialistic activities, Lenine was compelled to leave Russia on several occasions, when he lived in Switzerland, France and Austria. From these countries he directed the work of one of the groups of the Social Democratic party, and became an important leader.
In the General Russian Socialistic Convention, held in 1903, this group made a definite stand for its program and policies. This was the time when the word "Bolsheviki" was coined, meaning the "majority," who had voted in accord with Lenine's proposals. Lenine believed in the seizure of political power by means of violent revolution and in establishing a proletarian government. After the Revolution of 1905, the Lenine faction dwindled and it seemed as if Bolshevism was destined to die out. But in 1911, with the awakening of a new spirit in the political and social life of Russia, a new impetus was given to the activities of the Bolsheviki. The first Socialist daily paper, Pravda, ("the Truth,") was one of their efforts. In 1913 the Bolsheviki sent six representatives to the Duma.
At the outbreak of the war Lenine was in Cracow. Like other revolutionary leaders he was compelled to live in exile. He went to Switzerland where he remained until the news of the successful revolution caused his return to Russia. On his arrival in Petrograd he gathered together his followers and began the agitation in favor of the Bolshevist program and of peace.
The first sign of the conflict between the Provisional Government and the Soviet arose in connection with the joint note sent to the Allies by the Provisional Government on May 1st. This note was signed by Foreign Secretary Miliukov. It declared, among other things, that the Provisional Government would "maintain a strict regard for its engagements with the Allies of Russia."
The document aroused strong disapproval among many members of the Council of the Soviet, and serious anti-government demonstrations occurred in Petrograd on May 3d and 4th. These demonstrations were directed distinctly against Miliukov. Detachments of soldiers and workmen gathered in front of the headquarters of the Provisional Government, carrying banners, with inscriptions "Down with Miliukov! Down with the Provisional Government!" Miliukov appealed to the crowd for confidence, and his words were greeted with hearty cheering.
The Soviet Council ultimately voted confidence in the government by a narrow margin of 35 in a total of 2,500. But the agitation against the government persisted, and on May 16th Miliukov resigned. General Kornilov, Commander of the Petrograd Garrison, and Guchkov, Minister of War, finding their control of the army weakened by the interference of the Soviet Council, also resigned.
The situation became critical. As a result of this agitation a new coalition government was formed. Prince Lvov remained Prime Minister. Terestchenko became Foreign Minister. Most significant of all, Kerensky became the Minister of War. The new government issued a new declaration of policy, promising a firm support of the war with Germany, and an effort to call together at the earliest possible date a Constituent Assembly to deal with questions of land and of finance. This manifesto was received coldly by the Soviets and their press.
It was at this time that the Allies sent special missions to Russia to aid the Russian Government in forwarding the fight against the common enemy. The American mission to Russia was headed by Elihu Root, former Secretary of State. It was cordially received, and housed in the former Winter Palace of the Czar. On June 15th the American Ambassador, David R. Francis, presented the Root mission to the Council of Ministers in the Marinsky Palace, and Mr. Root made an eloquent address, declaring the sympathy of the American Republic with the new Russian Democracy. He declared that the liberty of both nations was in danger. "The armed forces of military autocracy are at the gates of Russia and the Allies. The triumph of Germans will mean the death of liberty in Russia. No enemy is at the gates of America, but America has come to realize that the triumph of German arms means the death of Liberty in the world."
At Moscow Mr. Root addressed representatives of the Zemstvo and the local Council of the Workmen and Soldiers. He was warmly applauded, and on motion of the Mayor a telegram was sent to President Wilson, thanking him for sending the Root Commission to Russia. The Root Mission returned to the United States early in August, and reported to Washington August 12th. At a public reception given by the citizens of New York, Senator Root expressed supreme confidence in the stability of the Revolution.
On July 1st, inspired by Kerensky, and under the personal leadership of General Kornilov, the Russian army began an offensive in Galicia. It first met with complete success, capturing Halicz, and sweeping forward close to Dolina in the Carpathian foothills. Then under a very slight hostile German pressure, the Russian armies, immediately to the north and south of Kornilov's army, broke and ran. This action was directly traced to orders subversive of discipline, emanating from the Petrograd Soviet. Kornilov's army was compelled to retire, and by July 21st was in full retreat from Galicia.
The Russian mutiny spread. Regiments refused to fight or to obey their officers.
One of the most picturesque episodes of this phase of the war was the formation of a woman's regiment, known as the "Command of Death," which was reviewed at Petrograd June 21st, by Minister of War, Kerensky. In front of the barracks assigned to this regiment a visitor found posted at the gate a little blue-eyed sentry in a soldier's khaki blouse, short breeches, green forage cap, ordinary woman's black stockings and neat shoes. The sentry was Mareya Skridlov, daughter of Admiral Skridlov, former commander of the Baltic fleet and Minister of Marines. In the courtyard three hundred girls were drilling, mostly between 18 and 25 years old, of good physique and many of them pretty. They wore their hair short or had their heads entirely shaved. They were drilling under the instruction of a male sergeant of the Volynsky regiment, and marched to an exaggerated goose step.
The girl commander, Lieutenant Buitchkarev, explained that most of the recruits were from the higher educational academies, with a few peasants, factory girls and servants. Some married women were accepted, but none who had children. The Battalion of Death distinguished itself on the field, setting an example of courage to the mutinous regiments during the retreat of Brusilov.
With the army thus demoralized the Russian Revolution encountered a perilous period toward the end of July, 1917, and civil war or anarchy seemed almost at hand, when out of the depths of the national spirit there arose a new revolution to save the situation and to maintain order. The country was everywhere the scene of riotous disturbances. Anarchists, radicals, and monarchists seemed to be working hand-in-hand to precipitate a reign of terror, when once more Kerensky saved the situation. On July 20th, it was announced that the Premier, Prince Lvov, had resigned, and that Alexander Kerensky had been appointed Premier, but would also retain his portfolio as Minister of War.
A new government was quickly formed. Kerensky was made practical Dictator, and his government received the complete endorsement of a joint Congress of the Soviets and the Council of peasant delegates. Kerensky acted with the utmost vigor. Orders were given to fire on deserters and warrants issued for the arrest of revolutionary agitators whoever they might be. Rear-Admiral Verdervski, commander of the Baltic fleet, was seized for communicating a secret government telegram to sailors' committees. Agitators from the Soviet were arrested, charged with inciting the Peterhof troops against the Federal Government. On July 22d, the following resolution was passed by the joint Congress.
Recognizing that the country is menaced by a military debacle on the front and by anarchy at home, it is resolved:
1. That the country and the revolution are in danger.
2. That the Provisional Government is proclaimed the Government of National Safety.
3. That unlimited powers are accorded the government for re-establishing the organization and discipline of the army for a fight to a finish against the enemies of public order, and for the realization of the whole program embodied in the governmental program just announced.
The reorganization of the Councils of the All-Russia, and Workmen's and Peasants' Organizations on the 23d, issued a ringing address to the army denouncing its mutinous spirit and warning it of the inevitable result. The Provisional Government also issued a proclamation on July 22d, charging that the disorders were precipitated to bring about a counter-revolution by the enemies of the country. But the army was demoralized. It disregarded discipline and refused to recognize military rule. A general retreat followed. The Germans and Austrians steadily advanced through Galicia and crossed the frontier before the Russian armies could be forced to make a stand.
The death penalty for treason or mutiny was restored in the army on July 25th, when Kerensky threatened to resign unless this was done. On that same date the government authorized the Minister of the Interior to suspend the publication of periodicals that incite to insubordination or disobedience to orders given by the military authorities. By July 28th the situation had become more hopeful. On that day General Ruzsky, formerly commander-in-chief of the northern armies of Russia, and General Gurko, ex-commander on the Russian southwestern front, were summoned to Petrograd. Each had retired on account of the interference of the Council of Workmen and Soldiers' delegates. Their return to the service was a hopeful sign. The Soviet also passed by an overwhelming majority a resolution censuring Lenine, and demanding that he should be publicly tried. Charges had been made that Lenine and his associates were working under German direction and financed by Germans. On August 2d, Kornilov became Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army. A disagreement in the Cabinet led to its reorganization. In the new Cabinet appeared again representatives of the Constitutional Democratic party. Conditions began to show improvement from this time forth.
An extraordinary National Council met at Moscow August 26th, 1917. This conference consisted of 2,500 delegates representing the Duma, the Soviets, the Zemstvos, and indeed all organized Russia. Kerensky opened the conference in a speech of great length in which he reviewed the general situation, declaring that the destructive period of the Revolution had past and that the time had come to consolidate its conquests.
Perhaps the most important address before the Council was that made by General Kornilov, Commander-in-Chief of the army. General Kornilov was received with prolonged cheers, which in the light of his subsequent action were especially significant. General Kornilov described with much detail the disorganization and insubordination in the army, and continued:
"We are implacably fighting anarchy in the army. Undoubtedly it will finally be repressed, but the danger of fresh debacles is weighing constantly on the country. The situation on the front is bad. We have lost the whole of Galicia, the whole of Bukowina, and all the fruits of our recent victories. If Russia wishes to be saved the army must be regenerated at any cost." General Kornilov then outlined the most important of the reform measures which he recommended, and concluded: "I believe that the genius and the reason of the Russian people will save the country. I believe in a brilliant future for our army. I believe its ancient glory will be restored."
General Kaledines, leader of the Don Cossacks, mounted the tribune and read a resolution passed by the Cossacks demanding the continuation of the war until complete victory was attained. He defied the extreme Radicals. "Who saved you from the Bolsheviki on the 14th of July?" he asked contemptuously. "We Cossacks have been free men. We are not made drunk by our new-found liberties and are unblinded by party or program. We tell you plainly and categorically, 'Remove yourselves from the place which you have neither the ability or the courage to fill, and let better men than yourselves step in, or take the consequences of your folly.'"
The conference took no definite action, being invested with no authority, but it served to bring out clearly the line of cleavage between the Radical or Socialistic element represented by Kerensky and the Conservatives represented by the generals of the army.
Immediately on the heels of the Moscow conference an important German advance was made in the direction of Riga, the most important Russian Baltic port. In spite of a vigorous defense the Germans captured the city.
The loss of Riga intensified the political excitement in Russia, and produced a profound crisis. A wave of unrest spread throughout the country. The Grand Duke Michael, and the Grand Duke Paul with their families, were arrested on a charge of conspiracy. The Provisional Government was charged with responsibility of the collapse of the army.
It was on September 9th, that the storm broke, and General Kornilov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian armies, raised the flag of revolt against the Provisional Government. The details of the revolt are as follows:
At one o'clock Saturday afternoon, Deputy Lvov, of the Duma, called upon Premier Kerensky, and declared that he had come as the representative of General Kornilov to demand the surrender of all power into Kornilov's hands. M. Lvov said that this demand did not emanate from Kornilov only but was supported by an organization of Duma members, Moscow industrial interests, and other conservatives. This group, said M. Lvov, did not object to Kerensky personally, but demanded that he transfer the Portfolio of War to M. Savinkov, assistant Minister of War, who all along had supported Kornilov.
"If you agree," M. Lvov added, "we invite you to come to headquarters and meet General Kornilov, giving you a solemn guarantee that you will not be arrested."
Premier Kerensky replied that he could not believe Kornilov to be guilty of such an act of treason, and that he would communicate with him directly. In an exchange of telegrams Kornilov confirmed fully to the Premier his demands. Kerensky promptly placed Lvov under arrest, denounced Kornilov as a traitor and deposed him from his position as Commander-in-Chief, General Klembovsky being appointed in his place. General Kornilov responded to the order of dismissal by moving an army against the Capital.
Martial law was declared in Moscow and in Petrograd. Kerensky assumed the functions of Commander-in-Chief and took military measures to defend Petrograd and resist the rebels. On the 12th it was clear that the Kornilov revolt had failed to receive the expected support. Kornilov advanced toward Petrograd, and occupied Jotchina, thirty miles southwest of the Capital, but there was no bloodshed. On the night of the 13th, General Alexief demanded Kornilov's unconditional surrender, and the revolt collapsed. Kornilov was arrested and the Provisional Government reconstituted on stronger lines.
After the so-called Kornilov revolt, the Russian Revolution assumed a form which might almost be called stable. A democratic congress met at Moscow, September 27th, and adopted a resolution providing for a preliminary parliament to consist of 231 members, of whom 110 were to represent the Zemstvos and the towns. The congress refused its sanction to a coalition cabinet in which the Constitutional Democrats should participate, but Kerensky practically defied the congress, and named a coalition cabinet, in which several portfolios were held by members of the Constitutional Democratic Party. The new government issued a statement declaring that it had three principal aims: to raise the fighting power of the army and navy; to bring order to the country by fighting anarchy; to call the Constituent Assembly as soon as possible. The Constituent Assembly was called to assemble in December. It was to consist of 732 delegates to be elected by popular vote.
Meantime agitation against the Coalition Government continued. On November 1st, the Premier issued a statement through the Associated Press, to all the newspapers of the Entente, which conveyed the information that he almost despaired of restoring civil law in the distracted country. He said that he felt that help was needed urgently and that Russia asked it as her right. "Russia has fought consistently since the beginning," he said. "She saved France and England from disaster early in the war. She is worn out by the strain and claims as her right that the Allies now shoulder the burden."
On November 7th, an armed insurrection against the Coalition Government and Premier Kerensky was precipitated by the Bolsheviki faction. The revolt was headed by Leon Trotzky, President of the Central Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council, with Nicholas Lenine, the Bolsheviki leader. The Revolutionists seized the offices of the telephone and telegraph companies and occupied the state bank and the Marie Palace where the preliminary Parliament had been sitting. The garrison at Petrograd espoused the cause of the Bolsheviki and complete control was seized with comparatively little fighting. The government troops were quickly overpowered, except at the Winter Palace, whose chief guardians were the Woman's Battalion, and the Military Cadets. The Woman's Battalion fought bravely, and suffered terribly, and with the Military Cadets who also remained true, held the Palace for several hours. The Bolsheviki brought up armored cars and the cruiser Aurora, and turned the guns of the Fortress of SS. Peter and Paul upon the Palace before its defenders would surrender.
That evening the Revolutionary Committee issued a characteristic proclamation, denouncing the government of Kerensky as opposed to the government and the people, and calling upon the soldiers in the army to arrest their officers if they did not at once join the Revolution. They announced the following program:
First: The offer of an immediate democratic peace.
Second: The immediate handing over of large proportional lands to the peasants.
Third: The transmission of all authority to the Council of Workmen's and
Soldiers' Delegates.
Fourth: The honest convocation of the Constituent Assembly.
At a meeting of the Council, Trotzky declared that the government no longer existed, and introduced Lenine as an old comrade whom he welcomed back. Lenine was received with prolonged cheers, and said: "Now we have a Revolution. The peasants and workmen control the government. This is only a preliminary step toward a similar revolution everywhere."
Proclamation after proclamation came from the new government. In one of them it was stated "M. Kerensky has taken flight, and all military bodies have been empowered to take all possible measures to arrest Kerensky and bring him back to Petrograd. All complicity with Kerensky will be dealt with as high treason."
A Bolsheviki Cabinet was named. The Premier was Nicholas Lenine; the Foreign Minister, Leon Trotzky. The other Cabinet members were all Bolsheviki, including Bibenko, a Kronstadt sailor, of the Committee on War and Marine, and Shliapnikov, a laborer, who was Minister of Labor. Lenine's personality has already been described. Trotzky, the chief aid of Lenine's rebellion, had been living in New York City three months before the Czar was overthrown, but he had previously been expelled from Germany, France, Switzerland and Spain. His real name was Leber Braunstein, and he was born in the Russian Government of Kherson, near the Black Sea.
When the insurrection occurred, Kerensky succeeded in escaping from Petrograd, and persuaded about two thousand Cossacks, several hundred Military Cadets, and a contingent of Artillery, to fight under his banner. He advanced toward Petrograd, but his forces were greatly outnumbered by the Bolsheviki. At Tsarskoe-Selo a battle took place, the Kerensky troops met defeat, and its leader saved himself by flight.
At Moscow the entire city passed into the control of the Bolsheviki but not without severe fighting in which more than three thousand people were slain. On the collapse of the Kerensky government conditions throughout Russia became chaotic. Ukraine declared its independence, and Finland also severed its connection with Russia. General Kaledines declared against the Bolsheviki, and organized an army to save the country. Siberia, Bessarabia, Lithuania, the Caucasus and other districts declared their complete independence of the Central Government.
The Bolsheviki, in control at Petrograd, opened negotiations with the Central Powers for an armistice along the entire front from the Baltic to Asia Minor, and on December 17th, such an armistice went into effect. Meanwhile they began negotiations for a treaty of peace. General Dukholin, the Commander-in-Chief, on November 20th, was ordered by Lenine to propose the armistice. To this request he made no reply, and on November 21st, he was deposed and Ensign Krylenko was appointed the new Commander-in-Chief. General Dukholin was subsequently murdered, by being thrown from a train after the Bolsheviki seized the general headquarters.
Trotzky sent a note to the representatives of neutral powers in Petrograd, informing them of his proposal for an armistice, and stating "The consummation of an immediate peace is demanded in all countries, both belligerent and neutral. The Russian Government counts on the firm support of workmen in all countries in this struggle for peace." Lenine, however, declared that Russia did not contemplate a separate peace with Germany, and that the Russian Government, before agreeing to an armistice, would communicate with the Allies and make a certain proposal to the imperialistic governments of France and England, rejection of which would place them in open opposition to the wishes of their own people.
A period of turmoil followed. In the meantime elections for the Constituent Assembly were held. The result in Petrograd was announced as 272,000 votes for the Bolsheviki, 211,000 for the Constitutional Democrats, and 116,000 for the Social Revolutionaries, showing that the Bolsheviki failed to attain a majority. Notwithstanding the prevailing chaos, the Lenine-Trotzky Government persisted in negotiations for an armistice, and it was arranged that the first conference be held at the German headquarters at Brest-Litovsk.
The Russian delegates were Kamenev, whose real name was Rosenfelt, a well known Bolshevist leader; Sokolnikov, a sailor; Bithenko, a soldier, and Mstislasky, who had formerly been librarian to the General Staff, but who was now a strong Socialist. Representatives were present of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey and Bulgaria.
After many interchanges of opinion a suspension of hostilities for ten days was authorized, to be utilized in bringing to a conclusion negotiations for an armistice. On December 7th it was announced from Petrograd that for the first time since the war not a shot was fired on the Russian front. Foreign Secretary Trotzky, on the 6th of December, notified the allied embassies in Petrograd of these negotiations and added that the armistice would be signed only on condition that the troops should not be transferred from one front to another. He announced that negotiations had been suspended to afford the Allied Governments opportunity to define their attitude toward the peace negotiation; that is, their willingness or refusal to participate in negotiations for an armistice and peace. In case of refusal they must declare clearly and definitely before all mankind the aims for which the peoples of Europe had been called to shed their blood during the fourth year of the war.
No official replies were made to this note. On December 7th, Generals Kaledines and Kornilov raised the standard of revolt, but reports indicated that the Bolsheviki were extending their control over all Russia. A meeting of the Constituent Assembly took place on December 11th. Less than 50 of the 600 delegates attended. Meanwhile the negotiations for an armistice continued. On December 16th an agreement was reached and an armistice signed, to continue from December 17th to January 14th, 1918.
[Illustration: Map: All of Europe and Asia, showing the Trans-Siberian
Railway and other railroads.]
RUSSIA'S GREAT RAILWAY LINK BETWEEN VLADIVOSTOK AND THE ARCTIC OCEAN
The Czecho-Slovaks took possession of long stretches of the
Trans-Siberian Railroad. Japan lent her aid in the east, and American
and Allied troops swept down from the Murman coast in the northwest.
Within the first month in which the Bolsheviki conducted the government numerous edicts of a revolutionary character were issued. Class titles, distinctions and privileges were abolished; the corporate property of nobles, merchants and burgesses was to be handed over to the state, as was all church property, lands, money and precious stones; and religious instruction was to cease in the schools. Strikes were in progress everywhere, and disorder was rampant.
Kornilov, Terestchenko and other associates of Kerensky, were imprisoned in the Fortress of SS. Peter and Paul; the Cadet Party was outlawed by decree and the houses of its leaders raided. On January 8, 1918, it was announced that the Bolsheviki had determined that all loans and Treasury bonds held by foreign subjects, abroad or in Russia, were repudiated.
During this period the Bolsheviki's Foreign Secretary astonished the world by making public the secret treaties between Russia and foreign governments in the early years of the war. These treaties dealt with the proposed annexation by Russia of the Dardanelles, Constantinople and certain areas in Asia Minor; with the French claim on Alsace-Lorraine and the left bank of the Rhine; with offers to Greece, for the purpose of inducing her to assist Serbia; with plans to alter her Western boundaries, with the British and Russian control of Persia; and with Italy's desire to annex certain Austrian territories. These treaties had been seized upon the Bolsheviki assumption of power, and were now repudiated by the new government.