Two days later an all-Russian Conference of Bolsheviks and Internationalists opened at Petrograd. Yet Russia was still nominally at war ! Elections at certain factories at Petrograd showed a great increase in Bolshevism.
The capital was outwardly quiet, but there were no signs whatsoever of the garrison being taken in hand. A garrison order complained—without effect—“ Sentries have lost all military appearance; they sit, smoke and quit their posts of their own free will.
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
Kerensky seems to be above the law, despite the fact that these winners fought for overruling anarchy with the Law.
The victory of counter-revolution is fragile and short-lived. Our future lies with a new revolution. Only the rule of the people can give peasants their land, fix the country’s economy and secure the peace that all the suffering people of Europe need so much.
I had heard a lot about the “wonderful Russian spirit” since the Revolution, but that I thought less of it since I had seen crowds of able-bodied men lounging, chewing sunflower seeds every day, and watching women train to fight while they shirked their duty. I had never seen or heard of any tribe in India or elsewhere which allowed its women to do its fighting.
During the night it rained, and the day was considerably fresher. During the day we worked on the small path; we cut down and sawed up two small fir trees. Alix sat with us in the forest. After dinner, the Benckendorf couple visited us. During the evening The Luck of the Vails.
My beautiful Chifu died last night. What grief! Both my Cossaks were very compassionate, they brought her to me in a basket. We buried my beautiful Chifu after tea.