14 April 1917. Alfred Knox

Alfred Knox

Petrograd, Russian Empire

Colonel Auscn, the Commander of the 1st Lett Brigade, one of the best officers in the army,

was forced to resign because, as a good soldier, he took no interest in politics, and General

Radko Dimitriev, while sighing over the loss of such an officer, considered it politic to meet

the wishes of the men.

The men of a regiment of the 1st Caucasian Rifle Division, when asked why they objected to

their commanding officer, said : “He worries us. He wants the regiment to be always first in

the division. When we are in the trenches he does not want the regiment to be relieved, and

when we are in reserve he wants to get back to the trenches.” This officer had to give up his

command !

<…>

There was a general illogical mistrust of the Command, and the credulity of the men was

fantastic. A N.G.O. of the 144th Regiment told me that he had himself counted 14,000 head

of cattle that were driven to the front by order of the old Government in order that they might

fall into the hands of the Germans when Vilna was evacuated in September, 1915. The men of

the 138th Division expelled the Commander, the Chief of Staff and two out of the four

regiment commanders, the objection to two of them being that they had German names—and

yet these very soldiers were ready to fraternise freely with the Germans.

The men were childlike in their ignorance. General Yermolyaev, the Adjutant-General of the

Northern Front, spent two hours every morning trying to reason with them. Over a month

after the Revolution he asked a man just returned from leave what the news was in his

village, and the reply was : “ Nothing, except some agitators came from another village and

said that the Tsar had been turned out, and suchlike nonsense, but we caught them and beat

them.”

Much could still be done by officers of adaptable temper to regain the confidence of the rank

and file, but the methods employed were obviously unsuited to moments of excitement and

danger, and in any case involved much waste of time.

On another occasion the same Colonel heard that the men of a company wanted to get rid of

their Commander. He went to the company and asked :

“ You want to get rid of your Commander ? Very good, that is your affair, but tell me,

brothers, why you dislike him ? ”

“He hit one man in the face.”

“ Dear me, did he, and when was that ? ”

“A year ago.”

“ Now, whom did he hit ? ”

“ He hit Bublikov.”

“ Where is Bublikov? ”

“ Here,”said the organiser of the whole affair.

“ So he hit you, Bublikov ? ”

“ Yes, he did.”

“ That is very wrong. And why did he hit you, Bublikov ? ”

Bublikov was silent, but some of the men near him smiled. The Colonel repeated the

question, and asked if anyone knew why Bublikov was hit. At last the story came out : “It

was in the fighting last July. The Captain told Bublikov to go to bring up cartridges, and

Bublikov said, ‘ I don’t want to go,’ and then the Captain hit him.’’ “ And why did not

Bublikov wish to go ? ’’ “Because the Germans were firing heavily.”

“ Was it necessary for the company to bring up cartridges ? ”

“Yes, for there were very few left.” “

Then Bublikov should have gone to fetch them ? ”

“ Quite right, Mr. Colonel.”

“ Then don’t you think the Captain should be forgiven, for he was only thinking of the

company being left without cartridges ? ”

“ Quite right, for Bublikov should have fetched them, it being a military duty, but, as the

firing was heavy, he did not wish to go.

, and others

Like

Comment

Elizaveta Naryshkina

Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire

On Easter Saturday I communed with them, perhaps for the last time. The thought of this really moved me. When I returned, I found a magnificent lilac in my room. The Empress had sent me some Easter eggs and a pillow which she had knitted, together with the wounded officers in her infirmary. Easter Matin was solemn, and oh so sad!

, and others

3 Like

Comment

Bertrand Russell

United Kingdom

Munition workers, oddly enough, tended to be pacifists. My speeches to munition workers in South Wales, all of which were inaccurately reported by detectives, caused the War Office to issue an order that I should not be any prohibited area. The prohibited areas were those into which it was particularly desired that no spies should penetrate. See more

, and others

2 Like

Comment

Alexander Kolchak

Sevastopol, Russian Empire

I’m in a very difficult position here. Leading a war and handling domestic politics, while trying to reconcile two such mutually exclusive tasks, amounts to a kind of monstrous compromise. The latter goes against my nature and psyche, and on top of that, I’m having to fight an internal struggle. This complicates everything to the extreme, and domestic politics is growing like a snowball rolling down a hill and is evidently engulfing the war. It’s a shared, unpleasant phenomenon which lies in the deeply non-military nature of the masses, who’ve been impregnated by abstract, lifeless ideas of social doctrines (but of what kind?!).

, and others

4 Like

Comment

Vladimir Korolenko

1, Malo-Sadovaya st., Poltava, Russian Empire

I find it most interesting to talk to simple people. I recently spoke at a rally in one of the dark outlying regions of the city, where mayhem threatens to creep out on every turbulent day. The audience was attentive. With a glance, I picked out two or three faces with especially uncultured features and spoke as if they were the only people there. It fascinated me. When I saw the attention, followed by interest, curiosity and agreement as I continued, it inspired thought and imagination. I am now working on a pop brochure for the nation, in which I show how the last Romanov broke down and destroyed the autocratic idol (and other expressions).

, and others

1 Like

Comment

Romola Nijinsky

Madrid, Spain

Sergei Pavlovich literally flew into the lobby of the hotel and passionately embraced Nijinsky: "Vatsa, dear, how are you?". The embrace turned out to be so gentle and sincere, as if there had never been an argument between them. It was the real Diaghilev of the past days. They retired to a corner and talked hours and hours, and it seemed that the old friendship had been restored. Since that day, we spent literally all the time with Diaghilev. See more

, and others

2 Like

Comment

Leon Bakst

Rome, Italy

War prevents me from working on my paintings. I have to work on smaller orders that bring me quick money, thereby allowing me to pay the bills.

, and others

1 Like

Comment

Alfred Knox

Petrograd, Russian Empire

Though the average age of the Russian commanders was, grade for grade, younger than that of the opposing German leaders, it had always been considered that the principle of selection had never been given sufficiently free play in the Russian army, and that young and able men had been unfairly kept back.Guchkov and Alexyeev now made sweeping changes.

, and others

Like

Comment

Maurice Paleologue

10, Kutuzova embankment, Petrograd, Russian Empire

Three French socialist deputies, Montet, Cachin and Lafont, arrived from Paris yesterday evening, travelling via Bergen and Tornea; they have come to preach wisdom and patriotism to the Soviet. They are accompanied by two members of the British Labour Party, O'Grady and Thorne. See more

Montet is a barrister; Cachin and Lafont are professors of philosophy; O'Grady is a cabinet-maker; Thorne, a plumber. French socialism is thus represented by intellectuals with a classical education, English socialism by manual workers, "matter-of-fact men." Theory on one side, practice on the other.

My three compatriots presented themselves at my office this morning. My first impressions of them left nothing to be desired. We were absolutely at one about the task that lies before them here. Their main anxiety was to know whether Russia is capable of continuing the war and if we can still rely on her for an effort which will enable us to secure our terms of peace. I told them that if they could win the confidence of the Soviet, speak to it kindly but firmly and succeed in convincing it that the fate of the revolution is bound up with the result of the war, the Russian army would again become an important factor---a factor of mass, if not of shock, in our strategic plans. As regards our peace programme, we must obviously adapt it to the new aspects of the problem. In the West I saw no reason for abandoning our claims or modifying our hopes, as American help must necessarily more or less compensate us for the diminished value of Russia's aid. But in eastern Europe and Asia Minor we should doubtless have to sacrifice something of our ambitions; but I also thought that if we set about the matter in the right way and our diplomacy carried out the manœuvre which will sooner or later be forced on us, in time that sacrifice would not cost France too much. They said they entirely agreed with me.

At one o'clock they came to lunch, as a family party, at the Embassy. All that they told me about the state of public feeling in France is quite satisfactory.

Seeing them thus under my roof, I could not help thinking what a strange and paradoxical spectacle their presence here presents. For the last five-and-twenty years the Socialist Party has never ceased in its attacks on the Franco-Russian alliance. And now we see three socialist deputies coming to defend it---against Russia!

When they left me, they went to the Champ-de-Mars to lay a wreath on the grave of the victims of the revolution, just as in the old days the envoys of the French Republic used to go to the Fortress of SS. Peter and Paul to place a wreath on the tomb of Alexander III. As Sainte-Beuve wrote: "Life is nothing but seeing everything and the reverse of everything."

, and others

Like

1 Comment

13 April

How pleasant was this day with Lenin!

Radek: "Together with Ilyich we went to a Stockholm department store. We bought Ilyich boots and trousers"

Stalin: "This situation cannot continue indefinitely. Revolution is deepening"