29 May 1917. George Buchanan

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

George Buchanan

Petrograd, Russian Empire

On going one afternoon towards the end of the month to call on Tereschenko, I found him in con- ference with the three new Socialist Ministers — Tsere- telli, Chernoff and Scobeleff — who had later in the day to attend a meeting of the Soviet to give an account of their stewardship. Hearing that I was there, they expressed the wish to see me, and I was accordingly invited to join them. After I had been introduced by Tereschenko, Tseretelli, who acted throughout as spokesman, proceeded to catechize me for nearly two hours on various matters connected with the revolution, the war and our agreements. Had the revolution, he asked, had any repercussion in England ; was it likely to bring the views of the British and Russian democracies into harmony, more especially as regarded the war; and did His Majesty's Government really repre- sent British public opinion? I replied that a great revolution like that through which Russia had just passed could not fail to react on all countries to a greater or less extent, and that, as it would certainly exercise a democratizing influence on British public opinion, it would tend to bring our views into closer touch with those of the Russian people. Though w^e had retained the monarchical system, we were the freest people in the world, and we had long since adopted the maxim, " Vox populi - suprema lex.'' I could assure him that no British Government could retain office that did not represent public opinion.

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Vasily Kravkov

7th Siberian army corps

Life has turned into some kind of a crooked mirror, reflecting everything in a distorted way. They are now drawing up “children congresses.” In the press articles have appeared that second grade gymnasium students (and among them all, without exception, are maximalist anarchists) are issuing resolutions on the change of the regime: See more

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Anatoliy Lunacharskiy Anna Lunacharskaya

apt.17, 25/20, Lakhtinskaya, Petrograd, Russian Empire

My dear, beloved daughter, yesterday I was horribly tired (conference in “New Life,” a meeting in the city elections commission, a big female demonstration), and now they are phoning me that a special ship has arrived for me from Kronstadt, where they have invited me to deliver a speech at a large demonstration of soldiers and sailors. Life here is grandiose in everything, and is tragic and tremendous. See more

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Pablo Picasso

is painting a self-portrait

Paris, France

Leonide Massine

Rome, Italy

During this visit to Paris, Stravinsky introduced me to his great friend Maurice Ravel. The meeting took place in his studio, on the outskirts of Paris. The thirty-year-old Ravel, who has already written the music to the ballet “Daphnis and Chloe” was a smart and erudite interlocutor. For a long time we discussed the idea, suggested to me by the painting of Robert Delaunay, of showing a football match by means of choreography. See more

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Vladimir Lenin

Petrograd, Russian Empire

Dear friend! At all cost we need to speed up the meeting of the left, international, and only of the left. Write what you can do to for this: money (the known sum of 3-4 thousand rubles) we will send soon. If the international meeting of the left were soon, then the third International could be formed. See more

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George Buchanan

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

I received the following reply from Lord Robert:

"It is difficult to give you even an approximate date for coming on leave until we see how things shape after Henderson's arrival. In any case, I think it very desirable that you should not start until he has got thoroughly into touch with the Russian Government and the Socialist leaders. See more

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Nicholas II

Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire

It was a nice light day. After noon it got to be 20 degrees in the shade, I took a walk for an hour during the morning while Alexis played on the island, I finished the first volume of Problems of the Russian Army by Kuropatkin and started the second. From 2:15 until 5:00 I worked very hard in the vegetable garden and perspired.

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28 May

St Petersburg, summer 1917: “White Nights and women”

"In the trenches you will see only an armed crowd, corrupted by a dangerously patchy political education”

The Bolsheviks have seized the residence of Nicholas II’s former lover

Map of the Royal dynasties of Europe

Romanovs dangerous liaisons

+14

in Petrograd

+15

in Moscow