Alexandre Benois

Non-fiction

Project 1917 is a series of events that took place a hundred years ago as described by those involved. It is composed only of diaries, letters, memoirs, newspapers and other documents

Alexandre Benois

38, 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island, Petrograd, Russian Republic

11.01.18

Yesterday I was unhappy to see that the great bulk of the “Aurora” has once more appeared beside the Admiralty Shipyard. Now there are three of these monsters - the “Aurora” and The “Yermak” in the Admiralty Shipyard, and a third ship in the fog on the other side of the Neva. What does this mean? What can we expect from this “expression of democratic will”? Could it mean that there will be some sort of new coup in the next few days? And when, exactly? It is something to do with the convening of the Constituent Assembly, and attempts to prevent it? I went right up close: at that distance, the Aurora, looming out of the fog and covered in frost and ice, looked like an illustration of a journey to the North Pole.

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Alexandre Benois

38, 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island, Petrograd, Russian Republic

03.01.18

A raging snowstorm is pounding at the windows. After yesterday’s somewhat hysterical tone in the news, today’s seems calmer. And it’s about time! Perhaps the last of our common sense has not yet died out, and before people push each other into the abyss, they’ll come back to their right minds and decide to grapple with the conditions of reality. See more

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Alexandre Benois

38, 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island, Petrograd, Russian Republic

30.12.17

Rasputin was killed one year ago today. My God, it's been quite some time, so much trouble has occurred! And so many of his prophecies have come true...

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Alexandre Benois

38, 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island, Petrograd, Russian Republic

27.12.17

I found out that all banks had been sequestrated. It was only yesterday that a baker I know assured me that there was no reason to be worried and advised me against withdrawing money! It's quiet in the streets (I went to the theatre mostly to see "what was going on"). See more

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Alexandre Benois

38, 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island, Petrograd, Russian Republic

08.12.17

Towards midday I set off on foot for the Winter Palace. A barricade has been put up on the Palace Bridge. Only those with passes are allowed through. The path along the fence of the Tsar’s garden is littered with broken bottles. See more

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Alexandre Benois

38, 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island, Petrograd, Russian Republic

05.12.17

1/3

I finished the suits of “Petrushka” with paint and set off to Bertensen to come to agreement about the further. Along the way I bought (on the warrant issued by our house committee, otherwise it is impossible) rubber galoshes in the Andreevsky market; unfortunately, except for the pointy ones, there were no more left.

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Alexandre Benois

38, 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island, Petrograd, Russian Republic

28.11.17

Socialism in the future doesn't really frighten me. Here though, in its pure form, it just doesn’t work! While socialism remains a foreign doctrine, while it remains a dream, it presents itself as something seductive, but when that dream is fully realised, by all manner of disciplinary measures (right the way up to terror), a Russian person will very quickly (or maybe not so quickly) develop an immunity that will be expressed in delinquency, lethargy and cowardice, at least in its most primitive manner.

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Alexandre Benois

38, 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island, Petrograd, Russian Republic

20.11.17

The Au Bon Gout pastry shop, which is in our building, is refusing from now on to bake bread for us. Now our poor servants will have to stand for hours once again in those “lines”! See more

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Alexandre Benois

07.11.17

The background of gunfire was punctuated by several hollower, heavier blasts, and following the last of these came the sound of something collapsing. The Aurora, anchored in the middle of the Neva between the Fortress and the palace, was firing on the latter at point-blank range. My heart sank. Could these really be the last moments of the Winter Palace’s existence? But next door was the Hermitage, home to the Russian state’s foremost treasures, home to everything I hold dearest in the world!

#Revolution. Online

Alexandre Benois

Yablonovka village, Russian Empire

08.08.17

Name days of both my Annas. The manager of the estate, Schleiseine, categorically refuses to send for post to Yablonovka, and for the second day we are sitting without newspapers. But for today’s morning it turned out to be quite opportune. Due to the absence of these vile pieces of paper, it turned out to be particularly sunny, happy, and appropriate for a name day. A true summer feast. Children made a bunch of different presents.

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Alexandre Benois

Yablonovka village, Russian Empire

05.08.17

Most repulsive is the sense of general cowardice. People, after all, aren’t so stupid as to fail to see that the war is the reason for their misfortune; that there can be no hope of setting Russia on the road to recovery without putting an end to said war; that peace with the Germans will not usher in subjugation of any kind, nor herald the “death of the revolution”. See more

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Alexandre Benois

Yablonovka village, Russian Empire

28.07.17

All night, the rain was pouring down and drumming on the roof. At one point it was very cold, and I couldn’t sleep. Luckily the little cat Kuzka honoured me with his company: he heated up my feet and communicated a magical sense of comfort for a bit of the night. See more

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Alexandre Benois

Petrograd, Russian Empire

16.07.17

They took all the passengers off of the trams passengers and the cars are full of armed soldiers driving around the streets. There are the slogans: "Down with the Provisional Government!" and "Down with the Ten ministers." They tried to compel the Pavlovsky regiment to go against the Provisional Government, but they didn’t. From our windows, however, the street looks quite calm. But as I was sitting alone in my bedroom and skimming last summer’s diary, in the distance, from the Neva side, there was a very strong exchange of machine gun fire. It started 14 minutes before 12 o'clock. And ended exactly at midnight. After this, military music was rang out twice, the second time - before ten o'clock. Later I learned that it was the Finnish regiment. It was terrible to hear these sounds.

Especially nauseating was the loathsome feeling of personal and general hopeless impotence.

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Alexandre Benois

Petrograd, Russian Empire

08.07.17

Glorious celestial impressions beyond the Peter and Paul Cathedral. In general, Petersburg is as beautiful as ever. The city’s last summer?

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Alexandre Benois Igor Stravinsky

38, 1st line of Vasilyevsky Island, Petrograd, Russian Empire

06.07.17

Where you are, you imagine that we are living in a kingdom of freedom, but in actual fact, it is a kingdom of nonsense without freedom, or at any rate, without any effective sense of freedom. My dear friend, it is very bad here and very bleak, and Akitsa and I envy you more than ever, for being too far away to see this nightmare in its entirety. See more

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