9 April 1917. Alfred Knox

Petrograd, Russian Empire

I arrived at the Embassy to find Kerenski with the Ambassador. Kerenski said that he considered that the Revolution in Russia had brought new capital to the Alliance, as the Russian democracy would act on the German democracy and would bring it to reason without weakening the Russian military machine. He said that all the excitement in the army would pass, and that it would be better as a fighting machine than it had ever been before. There had been propaganda in the army before the Revolution, only it had been secret and no one knew of it.

The offensive which had been prepared for the spring would not have succeeded under the old regime. Russia would never have helped the Allies to win the war under the old regime ; now there was a chance that she might, and he thought that she would. Though there was no assembly in Russia that really represented Russian opinion, Kerenski knew that what Russia wanted was a defensive war, and he hastened to explain that the word “ defensive ” was used in a political sense and did not exclude a military offensive. He said that the military offensive would not be delayed by any attempt to persuade the German Social Democrats. He allowed that the war must be continued till the German people submitted to the will of Europe.

To the remark that no other country at war allowed its Press to attack its Allies, he replied that the paper in question—the Pravda—had no influence and might be disregarded.He thought that the Provisional Government was now master in Russia, and he found it better policy to allow the Sovyet to die a natural death than to resort to force for its suppression. The Provisional Government could depend on the regiments at Petrograd to quell disturbances, but things would not be allowed to go so far.

He said that we must allow that the Provisional Government was composed not of children, but of grown-up men with brains, who knew Russia, and that its members felt that they were pursuing the only course possible to enable them to gain their ends.

He said there was a strong feeling in Russia that England was treating the new Government with coldness, and this attitude increased its difficulties. He asked that we should facilitate the return of Russian political exiles, providing them with ship accommodation. Kerenski seems honest, but he altogether over-estimates any possible effect of overtures from the Russian Socialists to the German Social Democrats, and he altogether underestimates the effect of the rot in the Russian army.To commonsense Allied advice Kerenski, with his colossal vanity, cried " Hands off 1” on the ground that he knew his countrymen, whom he imagined to be super-mortals with none of the ordinary failings of human nature. His suicidal pressure for the return of political exiles led to his own overthrow and, a matter of greater importance, the ruin of Russia.

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Grigory Zinoviev

Zurich, Switzerland

We are going to travel through Germany. Whatever happens, happens, but it is clear that Vladimir Ilyich needs to be in Petrograd as soon as possible. After we have already entered the carriage car in order to travel to the Swiss border, a small group of Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries have staged something like a hostile demonstration. See more

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Vladimir Lenin

Zurich, Switzerland

Travels to Petrograd

Alexandra Feodorovna

Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire

Nicholas and I are allowed to meet only while eating, but not to sleep together.

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Antoni Gaudi

Designs the monument "Prat de la Riba"

Carreter del Carmel, 23, Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain

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Karl Radek

Schaffhausen, Switzerland

So, we have started out. We have arrived on a Swiss train into Schaffhausen where we needed to transfer to a German train. German officers were expecting us. They showed us to the customs hall, where they needed to count the number of “live” shells that they were transporting to Russia. According to our deal, they could not ask us for the passports. Thus, at customs women and men were separated on both sides of the table, so that on our way, no one took flight or switched a Russian revolutionary for a German girl and left an embryo of the revolution in Germany. See more

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George Buchanan

4, Dvortsovaya embankment, Petrograd, Russian Empire (British Embassy)

The Socialistic propaganda in the army continues, and though I miss no opportunity of impressing on Ministers the disastrous consequences of this subversion of discipline, they appear to be powerless to prevent it. Not only are the relations of officers and men most unsatisfactory, but numbers of the latter are returning home without leave. In some cases they have been prompted to do so by reports of an approach- ing division of the land and by the desire to be on the spot to secure their share of the spoils. I do not wish to be pessimistic, but unless matters improve we shall probably hear of some serious disaster as soon as the Germans decide to take the offensive. See more

The Russian idea of liberty is to take things easily, to claim double wages, to demonstrate in the streets, and to waste time in talking and in passing resolutions at public meetings. Ministers are working themselves to death, and have the best intentions; but, though I am always being told that their position is becoming stronger, I see no signs of their asserting their authority. The Soviet continues to act as if it were the Government and has been trying to force Ministers to approach the Allied Governments on the subject of peace.

Kerensky, with whom I had a long conversation yesterday, does not favour the idea of taking strong measures at present, either against the Soviet or the Socialist propaganda in the army. On my telling him that the Government would never be masters of the situation so long as they allowed themselves to be dictated to by a rival organization, he said that the Soviet would die a natural death, that the present agitation in the army would pass, and that the army would then be in a better position to help the Allies to win the war than it would have been under the old regime.

Russia, he declared, Mas in favour of what he termed a war of defence, as opposed to a war of aggression, though a military offensive might be neces- sary to secure the objects of such a war. The presence of two great democracies in the war might eventually cause the Allies to modify their ideas about the terms of peace, and he spoke of an ideal peace as one ' that would secure to every nation the right to determine its own destiny.' I told him that the reply which we had returned to President Wilson's note showed that we were not fighting for conquest, but for principles which ought to appeal to Russian democracy. The question as to whether effect was to be given to the Constanti- nople agreement — about which he and Miliukoff held such opposite views — was a question for Russia to decide. Kerensky next spoke of the hopes which he entertained of influencing the German Social Democrats through the Russian Socialists, contending that Russia had brought a new force into the war which, by reacting on the internal situation in Germany, might bring about a durable peace. He admitted, however, that if these hopes proved fallacious we should have to fight on till Germany yielded to the will of Europe.

It is a misfortune that Petrograd is the seat of Government, as at Moscow and in the provinces the situation is more encouraging, and I fancy that the majority of the nation is as sick of their present capital as I am. It is only here in Petrograd, where there are any number of German agents, that attacks have been made on us in the Press of the extreme Labour party. Otherwise, the general feeling of the country towards us is excellent. There was a great demonstra- tion of some four thousand Cossacks before the Embassy a few days ago. The general in command of these regiments had originally asked me to come and review them on the Champ de Mars, and had kindly offered to place a ' quiet ' horse at my disposal. I had to tell him that this was an honour which I, as Ambassador, could not accept, so it was arranged that the regiments should march past the Embassy instead, while I watched them from the balcony. After the march past the commander, with a delegation of some fifty Cossacks, came up to my study and made a patriotic speech in favour of continuing the war.

Last Saturday I and my French and Italian colleagues were invited to attend a performance at the Opera House that had been organized by the regiment which is credited with having made the revolution, on account of its having been the first to side with the people. We sat in one of the Imperial boxes on the grand tier, while the Government were in a box just opposite us. The central box was occupied by revolu- tionaries w^ho had returned, after long years of exile, from Siberia. They included Vera Figner, who was sentenced as an accomplice in the assassination of Alexander II, and Vera Zasoulich, who made an attempt on Trepoff's life in 1877. After paying a visit, in one of the entr^actes, to the Ministers, we were taken to the central box and introduced to its occupants. No one would have conceived such a thing possible a couple of months ago.

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Nicholas II

Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire

We began to fast. After Mass, Kerensky arrived and ordered the limiting of our encounter, with the children sitting separately; supposedly in order to teach us to keep discipline, the same as Soviet workers and soldiers. We accepted and submitted ourselves to avoid any kind of violence. I took a walk with Tatiana. Olga was better, although she had a sore throat. The rest of us felt fine. At 9:45 I lay down and Tatiana sat with me until 10:30. Then I read for a while and tried to eat, I took a bath and went to sleep.

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8 April

The former Emperor is being badly treated

Stalin is already fighting the liberals

Kerensky addresses the Russian soldiers