Among my acquaintances, there is a beautiful young woman, the wife of Ensign Kholodny—Vera Kholodnaya. Once, having met her on Kuznetsky Most, where she used to walk every day, I suggested that she tried her luck in cinema. At first, she refused, but then became interested, and I brought her to a cinema studio and introduced her to the director. They liked Kholodnaya. Soon they began to offer her work. Before I could, as they say, blink an eye, she was already acting in picture after picture, and her success with the public grew with every new role.
-3°. I read, drew and wrote. Thank God that we seven are safe and well and together and for having protected us through this year and all those dear to us.
The last day of the old year, and what a year! I remember how, in an article I wrote before the last New Year, I expressed the wish that in 1917, those hopes of 17 October 1905 which had not been made a reality would be brought to fruition at last. How far the present situation has outrun those hopes - and it has destroyed them at the same time, as the tyranny of old has been replaced by tyranny of a small coterie. How sad and lonely it is to see in the New Year in this way. Dolgorukov promised to knock on my wall at 12 o’clock. This is the only communication we are allowed on this New Year’s Eve.
Happy New Year, my darling! Write to me about yourself.
Yours,
Julius Ts.
It's Sunday. It's snowy and windy. There was another pogrom tonight. Apparently, they also wanted to break into a clock store, but the soldiers scared the hooligans away with gunshots. All is not well. Citizens are confused. There's no firm authority or justice. Most people only want one authority - the Constituent Assembly, while the Bolsheviks want to have the Soviets in power, and the People's Commissars. But no one trusts the former. This year has come to an end, the rebellious year that brought so much misery, tears, and death. It seems that the turbulent life will not easily calm down in the new year.
Comrade Sverdlov! Please, have a talk with Ganetsky on sending a delegation from the Central Executive Committee abroad.
Lenin
What will the New Year bring? Everything that we are capable of doing. But, in order to become responsible people, we have got to believe that these crazed, dirt and blood-smeared days are the great days of the genesis of new Russia.
It was not a very cold day with a gusty wind. Toward evening Alexis got up, although he could not put on his boots. After tea we sat up and waited for the New Year.