10 September 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

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

"On my calling on Tereschenko this morning I found him much preoccupied by the turn which events have taken. General Alexeieff, he told me, had arrived at midnight and had urged the adoption of a poUcy of conciliation. The Government were considering the question when they received the new^s that Korniloff had proclaimed himself dictator and that he had, in the manifesto which he had issued, accused them of having provoked the crisis by sending Lvoff to the Stavka as an agent provocateur. He had further in- structed General Krimoff to advance on Petrograd with a cavalry corps and artillery, which were at Luga at a couple of days' march from the capital. This meant the beginning of civil war, and it was, therefore, impossible for the Government to have any further dealings wdth him. I'he advance on Petrograd would be resisted by force, but he was afraid that the conse- quent cutting off of supplies would provoke a Bolshevik rising that would end in a Commune. He would there- fore advise the diplomatic body to leave at once for Moscow or Finland, and on hearing from me he would make the necessary arrangements for their doing so. I told him that I could not possibly run away and leave the British colony unprotected, and that there was not sufficient time to arrange for the evacuation of all the Allied colonies. I would call a meeting of the heads of missions and let him know their wishes, but I would, at the same time, urge on the Government the necessity of a reconciliation with the commander-in-chief and of sending General Alexeieff as an intermediary to arrange terms with him. As he held out no hope of any such step being taken, there is nothing to be done but to await events and to trust that Korniloff will be strong enough to overcome all resistance in the course of a few days.

On returning home I endeavoured to persuade my wife and daughter to go to Finland, but, with characteristic courage, they absolutely refused to leave me. At the meeting of the heads of missions, held at the Embassy in the afternoon, it was decided that we should remain at Petrograd in order to ensure pro- tection for our nationals; while the Allied representa- tives subsequently passed a resolution tendering their good offices, as mediators, in the conflict that had arisen between the Provisional Government and the commander-in-chief, with the sole object of averting civil war and of serving the interests of Russia and her allies."

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Nadezhda Krupskaya

Emelyanov's apt., Razliv station, Russian Empire

Kornilov’sCommander in Chief of the Petrograd command - from 18 March 1917 advancement towards Petrograd has begun. Workers from Petrograd and Vyborg have all rushed, of course, to Petrograd’s defense. We sent our agitators toward Kornilov’s troops, his so-called “Savage division”.

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Olga Rozanova

Vladimir, Russian Empire

If you want to be healthy and well-proportioned, drink carrot coffee! Cut the carrots into very small pieces, let them dry out, and then fry them in a pan on your kerosene stove, but be careful not to let them burn! In this dried (or at least browned) form, the carrots can be brewed like coffee, and you can drink the result. You don’t even have to brew them—just put them in the teapot on your samovar just like you brew tea and, as they say, you’ll end up with a delicious and hearty drink!

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Nicholas II

Tobolsk, Russian Empire

This morning I learned of the death of E. Tatishchev from his son, who had received a telegram eight days after his father's death. The weather was fresh but overcast. Alix got up and walked around her room. The girls also had colds, but they went out into the garden. Naturally no one was sitting on the balcony. I read a lot.

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Alfred Knox

London, United Kingdom

On arrival at noon at 10, Downing Street, I found a press telegram reporting the outbreak of the open quarrel between Kerenski and Kornilov. It was too late. After all, the sending of a note was only a gamble, but in war, it is always better to do something than to let things take their course, and it was very certain that if Russia had been Germany’s ally Germany would never have allowed matters to lapse to their present chaos.

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