21 August 1917. Zinaida Gippius with Boris Savinkov

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

Zinaida Gippius with Boris Savinkov

Sergievskaya 83, Petrograd, Russian Empire

Boris Savinkov has visited us. He was sober and healthy. Our situation as he sketched out for us is dire. Here it is in brief: we are to expect territorial losses. In the north, Riga and further, up to Narva; in the south, Moldova and Bessarabia.

Complete internal economic and political collapse. Every minute is crucial, as each minute is closer to the last. A state of military emergency must be declared throughout Russia.

Kornilov is expected to arrive the day after tomorrow from Central Headquarters. He and Savinkov will present Kerensky with a proposal to introduce serious measures. Crisis talks are expected to take place in Moscow in a few days, and members of the government cannot arrive empty-handed. They must come with a detailed plan of steps to be taken and real authority. The matter in hand is, of course, clear and unavoidable, but what is going on? Where is Kerensky? What has happened? Has Kerensky been replaced, did we not see him earlier? Has the understanding in him grown that he can no longer balk from the necessity of “taking power”? I cannot see. I must find out more. That Kerensky is afraid of something is a fact, but of what? Of whom?

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