Exactly one month after the shots in Sarajevo, which ended the life Archduke Ferdinand and his wife, Alexander Blok wrote in his diary: "It smells of war (Austria - Serbia - Russia)." However, everyone was talking about her, the accursed one, with growing anxiety.

Today, through the thick of years, one has to bitterly regret not only the outbreak of the war, the numerous sacrifices that it brought, but also that the misfortune broke out when Russia was successfully developing, and the prerequisites for an impressive or even unprecedented economic recovery were created. There is no point in boring readers with figures that confirm this optimistic forecast - anyone can easily find them in open sources.

In 1914, many predicted a bright future for our country. “There was, perhaps, never before such a period when Russia would have been more prosperous financially than at the present moment, or when the vast majority of the people had, it would seem, less grounds for dissatisfaction,” wrote the English writer Maurice Bering.

And here is an excerpt from the work of a French economist Edmond Thierry"Russia in 1914": "If the affairs of European nations from 1912 to 1950 go the same way as they went from 1900 to 1912, Russia by the middle of this century will dominate Europe both politically and in economic and financial terms ”. He predicted that by the middle of the century - of course, without assuming that bloody revolutions, devastating wars and other cataclysms lie ahead - the population of Russia will exceed 343 million people. At a great distance will be Germany - 100 million. The population of England, according to Thierry's forecasts, will be 60 million, Italy and France - respectively - will exceed 45 and 42 million.

We know what happened in 1914 and what happened in 1917. But we do not know what could have been ...

On the eve of the war Valery Bryusov wrote a poem "Old Question", in which he talked about the historical role of Russia - who are we "in this strange Europe?" A horde breathing with fury that destroys everything in its path, a great people that gave the world Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky or the sentry people, "who held back the Mongols' onslaught, who stood alone under a thunderstorm in centuries of difficult trials?" The answer to this old question was to be found in the near future:

“No arrogant words,

There is no need for a stately boast,

We will show before the face of the ages,

What is our people's right ".

On July 19, 1914, an event occurred about which a British politician David Lloyd George said, "This is the most magnificent act of national heroism I have ever known." On that day, Nicholas II issued a decree banning the production and sale of all types of alcoholic beverages throughout Russia until the end of World War II.

In February 1917, the Provisional Government canceled many of the decrees Nicholas II but the restriction on alcohol - bold and timely - upheld. The Bolsheviks, who soon came to power, did not touch the tsarist document either. The bans were lifted only in August 1923 - the decree on the resumption of production and trade in alcoholic beverages was signed by the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Alexey Rykov... The people in a peculiar way thanked him and called the new Soviet vodka "Rykovka".

Since then, alcoholic money has been pouring into the state treasury in an endless, stormy stream.

In early July 1914, Nicholas II, as usual, with his family rested on the imperial yacht "Standart" in the Finnish skerries. At the same time, a French delegation headed by the President of the country arrived in Russia. Raymond Poincaré... It was clear that he had come to check the mood of the future allies. However, in the diary of Nicholas II there is not a word about the content of the conversations. As always, the tsar was more interested in purely everyday, secular problems than political problems: "Grigorovich brought President Poincaré on a yacht ..."

The visit of the Parisian guest was long - more than five days, magnificent, including countless celebrations, meetings, receptions, dinners, and was widely covered in the press. On the heels of the prime minister, many photographers followed, leaving dozens, if not hundreds, of photographs capturing what was not at all a fateful event.

However, there is an opinion that it was Poincaré's visit, who, by the way, did not sign any important documents, that provoked the war. They say that the rulers of Germany and Austria-Hungary, angry that the Entente was forming a bloc against them, began to actively prepare for military operations ...

But this is only a fragile version. Many historians have long been inclined to think that the First World War was inevitable in any case. Even if the Sarajevo tragedy had not happened, William II would still find an excuse to light the giant fuse. The Kaiser learned of the assassination attempt in Sarajevo during the Fleet Week celebrations in Kiel. Hiding a satisfied smile under his curled mustache, he wrote three words in the margin of the message: "Jetzt oder niemals" - Now or never.

Well, the historic murder in the capital of Bosnia might not have happened. After all, the Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pasic, and Russian intelligence reported to Vienna about the impending assassination attempt. But the Austrians either did not pay attention to these warnings, or they deliberately ignored ...

For war - and precisely with Russia (the Kaiser has repeatedly admitted his hatred of the Slavs), Berlin also prepared German society. General Alexey Brusilov recalled that while vacationing at a resort in Kissingen in May 1914, he attended a city festival. A large model of the Moscow Kremlin was built on the square, which was then burned to the enthusiastic roar of the crowd.

The Kaiser, it is true, was thinking about the war in July 1914 as well, gazing with malicious joy at the attempts of politicians and diplomats, writing blissful letters to his cousin Nicholas II. But "sincere and devoted friend and brother Vili", as he signed, was playing for time, swearing in kindred feelings, assuring that he was making every effort to preserve peace. But these were nothing more than gimmicks, behind which one goal was hidden - that Russia, having delayed the deployment of troops, was less prepared to repel a German strike.

There is another eloquent fact that speaks of Wilhelm's unwillingness to keep the peace. He did not even respond to the proposal of the Russian Tsar to transfer the conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary to the consideration of the Hague Conference. You can also recall the words of a professor at the University of London James Joll: "The cost of weapons and the economic tension of German society were so great that only a war, in which all the rules of orthodox financing stopped, saved the German state from bankruptcy."

Berlin's drive for war was irresistible, even though the Russian army militarily posed a considerable threat to Germany's large, well-trained and well-trained army. "The Russian colossus had a magical effect on Europe," she wrote in her book "The August Cannons" Barbara Tuckman... - On the chessboard of military planning, the huge size and manpower of this country had the greatest weight ... Cossacks and tireless millions of stubborn, patient Russian men, ready to die, created a stereotype of the Russian army. Its number was terrifying: 1,423,000 people in peacetime, another 3,115,000 during mobilization.

The Russian army seemed like a gigantic mass in a lethargic sleep, but, awakened and set in motion, it would uncontrollably roll forward, wave after wave, despite the losses, filling the ranks of the fallen with new forces. "

The Russian army was armed with a three-line Mosin rifle of the 1891 model, the Nagant revolver of the 1895 model and the Maxim machine gun, improved by the Tula gunsmiths, the 1910 model. This weapon was better, or at least not worse than foreign counterparts. The regiment had eight machine guns - like the Germans and the French. In total, the Russian army had 7030 guns - of which 240 were heavy. For comparison: in Germany - more than nine thousand guns - 1300 heavy and 996 siege weapons, in Austria-Hungary over four thousand - 960 heavy and 338 siege weapons, in France - 4800 - and only a few heavy ones.

The Russian fleet had excellent seaplanes M-5 and M-9, which were considered the best in the world. Before the war, the Russian-Baltic plant designed the multi-engine aircraft "Russian Knight", then the bomber "Ilya Muromets". The army had over three thousand vehicles - while the Germans had just over eighty.

… "When in the anguish of suicide the people were waiting for the German guests," Moscow lived a familiar, carefree life. In long lines, reckless drivers, troikas and cars rushed along the evening streets - they were heading to the restaurants "Yar", "Metropol", "Prague", the Hermitage ", taverns Gurin, Egorova, Testova... The Bolshoi Theater gave the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila, and the Maly Theater the comedy Our People - Let's Numbered. At the Operetta Theater on Dmitrovka in "The Merry Widow" the title role was performed by the handsome baritone Mikhail Vavich, new films with a still unknown Vera Cold and the idol of the public Ivan Mozzhukhin.

Unusual excitement reigned in Moscow gramophone shops - the Pate brothers on Tverskaya, Robert Kenz on Myasnitskaya, Alekseev on Kalanchevka. There was a rumor that new records would be on sale in the next few days. Nadezhda Plevitskaya and Fyodor Chaliapin... Ladies besieged fashionable ateliers on Kuznetsky Most and Arbat. On vacation abroad, say, in the Austrian Karlsbad or in the German Baden-Baden, they would look simply breathtaking ...

The Russian national football team returned from a tour of Scandinavia, having played a draw with the teams of Norway and Sweden. An unfortunate misunderstanding occurred in Stockholm. The guests were leading the score, however, according to an eyewitness, “for some reason the referee considers it necessary to add an extra 5 minutes of play and 1.5 minutes before their expiration the Swedes equalize the result, scoring an obvious offside”. It turns out that the judges disliked us a hundred years ago! But why, gentlemen? ..

Peacetime is steadily counting down the last hours. The country awaits the fateful announcement of the outbreak of war with mixed feelings of fear and relief. Numerous noisy processions take place in St. Petersburg from morning to evening - people sing "God Save the Tsar!", Carry flags of Russia and its allies, and icons. The demonstrators glorify Serbia and its army, shouting insults at Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Finally, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The next day, the bombardment of Belgrade by ships of the Danube flotilla and batteries of the Zemlin fortress, located on the other side of the Danube, began.

After that, Nicholas II announced a partial mobilization.

Soon Anna Akhmatova will write:

“Only the adversary will not share our land for fun.

The White Mother of God will spread a great plate over the sorrows.

Juniper smell sweet from the burning forests flies.

Soldiers are moaning over the guys, the widow's lament rings throughout the village.

It was not in vain that the prayers were served, the earth yearned for rain.

The trampled fields were warmly sprinkled with red moisture ... "

Instead of an afterword

The long-suffering Serbia was subjected to aggression twice more in the twentieth century. In 1941, it and other republics that were part of Yugoslavia were attacked by Nazi Germany with its allies along the "axis" - Italy and Hungary. After ten days of fighting, the Belgrade government surrendered.

In 1999, 85 years ago after the outbreak of the First World War, the countries of the Atlantic Alliance attacked Serbia. The formal reason for the outbreak of hostilities - casus belli - was the failure to comply with NATO's demand to withdraw Serb troops from the Serbian autonomous region of Kosovo.

Neither in the first nor in the second case did Russia come to the aid of the Slavic brothers. True, in 1999, our paratroopers, having made an unexpected march from Bosnia and Herzegovina, occupied the Slatina airfield near Pristina. But this operation had only a weak psychological significance. By that time, NATO's aggression against Yugoslavia had already ended.

The days when strong powers defended weak countries are long gone. The place for mercy and nobility gave way to practicality, political expediency.

But in the summer of 1914, Russia was not looking for benefits and sacrificed itself without hesitation. But was she entitled to do so?

CHAPTER SEVEN

FIRST WAR WITH GERMANY

July 1914 - February 1917

Illustrations can be seen in a separate window in PDF:

1914 year- the beginning of the First World War, during which and, in many respects, thanks to it, there was a change in the state system and the collapse of the Empire. The war did not end with the fall of the monarchy, on the contrary, it spread from the outskirts to the interior of the country and lasted until 1920. Thus, the war, in total, went on six years.

As a result of this war, the political map of Europe ceased to exist at once THREE EMPIRE: Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian (see map). At the same time, a new state was created on the ruins of the Russian Empire - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

By the time the World War began, Europe had not known large-scale military conflicts for almost a hundred years, since the end of the Napoleonic Wars. All European wars of the period 1815 - 1914 were predominantly local in nature. At the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. the illusory thought was in the air that war would be irrevocably banished from the life of civilized countries. One of the manifestations of this was the Hague Peace Conference of 1897. Noteworthy, in May 1914 in The Hague, in the presence of delegates from numerous countries, the opening Peace Palace.

On the other hand, at the same time, the contradictions between the European powers grew and deepened. Since the 1870s, military blocs have been forming in Europe, which in 1914 will oppose each other on the battlefields.

In 1879 Germany entered into a military alliance with Austria-Hungary against Russia and France. In 1882, Italy joined this alliance, and the military-political Central Bloc was formed, also called Triple alliance.

In contrast to him in 1891 - 1893. the Russian-French alliance was concluded. Great Britain entered into an agreement in 1904 with France, and in 1907 - with Russia. The block of Great Britain, France and Russia was named Of heartfelt consent, or Entente.

The immediate reason for the start of the war was the murder by Serb nationalists 15 (28) June 1914 in Sarajevo, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, presented an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia accepted most of the terms of the ultimatum.

Austria-Hungary remained dissatisfied with this, and began military operations against Serbia.

Russia supported Serbia and announced first partial and then general mobilization. Germany presented Russia with an ultimatum demanding that the mobilization be canceled. Russia refused.

July 19 (August 1) 1914 Germany declared war on her.

This day is considered the date of the beginning of the First World War.

The main participants in the war from the Entente were: Russia, France, Great Britain, Serbia, Montenegro, Italy, Romania, USA, Greece.

They were opposed by the countries of the Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria.

Military operations took place in Western and Eastern Europe, in the Balkans and in Thessaloniki, in Italy, in the Caucasus, in the Middle and Far East, in Africa.

The First World War was notable for its unprecedented scale. At its final stage, it was attended by 33 states (out of 59 existing then independent states) with population of 87% population of the entire planet. The armies of both coalitions in January 1917 totaled 37 million people... During the war, 27.5 million people were mobilized in the Entente countries, and 23 million in the countries of the German coalition.

Unlike previous wars, the First World War was total in nature. Most of the population of the states participating in it was involved in it in one form or another. It forced the transfer of enterprises of the main branches of industry to war production, and put the entire economy of the belligerent countries into service. The war, as always, gave a powerful impetus to the development of science and technology. Previously non-existent types of weapons appeared and began to be widely used: aviation, tanks, chemical weapons, etc.

The war lasted 51 months and 2 weeks. The total losses amounted to 9.5 million killed and died from wounds and 20 million injured.

The First World War was of particular importance in the history of the Russian state. It became an ordeal for the country, which lost several million people on the fronts. Its tragic consequences were revolution, devastation, civil war and the death of old Russia. "

PROGRESS OF COMBAT OPERATIONS

Emperor Nicholas appointed his uncle, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr., commander-in-chief on the Western Front. (1856 - 1929). From the very beginning of the war, Russia suffered two major defeats in Poland.

East Prussian operation lasted from August 3 to September 2, 1914. It ended with the encirclement of the Russian army at Tannenberg and the death of the general from infantry A.V. Samsonov. Then there was a defeat in the Masurian Lakes.

The first successful operation was the offensive in Galicia September 5-9, 1914, as a result of which Lvov and Przemysl were taken, and the Austro-Hungarian troops were pushed back across the San River. However, already on April 19, 1915, on this sector of the front retreat began Russian army, after which Lithuania, Galicia and Poland came under the control of the German-Austrian bloc. By mid-August 1915, Lviv, Warsaw, Brest-Litovsk and Vilno were abandoned, and, thus, the front moved to the territory of Russia.

August 23, 1915 year Emperor Nicholas II removed the lead. book Nikolai Nikolaevich from the post of commander-in-chief and took over the powers. Many military leaders considered this event fatal for the course of the war.

October 20, 1914 year Nicholas II declared war on Turkey, and hostilities began in the Caucasus. The commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Front was appointed Infantry General N.N. Yudenich (1862 - 1933, Cannes). Here, in December 1915, the Sarakamysh operation began. On February 18, 1916, the Turkish fortress Erzurum was taken, and on April 5, Trebizond was taken.

May 22, 1916 years on the Southwestern Front, the offensive of Russian troops began under the command of cavalry general A.A. Brusilov. It was the famous "Brusilov Breakthrough", but the neighboring commanders of neighboring fronts, Generals Evert and Kuropatkin, did not support Brusilov, and on July 31, 1916, he was forced to stop the offensive, fearing the encirclement of his army from the flanks.

This chapter uses documents and photographs from state archives and publications (Diary of Nicholas II, Memoirs of A. Brusilov, Verbatim records of State Duma meetings, verses by V. Mayakovsky). Using materials from home archives (letters, postcards, photographs), you can get an idea of ​​how this war affected the lives of ordinary people. Some fought at the front, those living in the rear participated in helping the wounded and refugees in the institutions of such public organizations as the Russian Red Cross Society, All-Russian Zemstvo Union, All-Russian Union of Cities.

It's a shame, but just during this most interesting period in our Family Archives, no one has survived diaries, although perhaps no one was leading them at the time. It's good that my grandmother kept letters those years that her parents wrote from Chisinau and sister Ksenia from Moscow, as well as several postcards by Yu.A. Korobyina from the Caucasian front, which he wrote to his daughter Tanya. Unfortunately, the letters written by herself have not survived - from the front in Galicia, from Moscow during the Revolution, from Tambov province during the Civil War.

To somehow make up for the lack of everyday records of my relatives, I decided to search the published diaries of other participants in the events. It turned out that the Diaries were regularly kept by Emperor Nicholas II, and they are "posted" on the Internet. Reading his Diaries is boring, because from day to day the same small everyday details are repeated in the entries (like got up, "Took a walk" took reports, had breakfast, walked again, swam, played with the children, dined and drank tea, and in the evening "Dealt with documents", in the evening played dominoes or dice)... The emperor describes in detail the reviews of troops, ceremonial marches and ceremonial dinners given in his honor, but speaks very sparingly of the situation on the fronts.

I want to remind you that the authors of diaries and letters, unlike memoirists, don't know the future, and for those who read them now, their "future" has become our "past", and we know what awaits them. This knowledge leaves a special imprint on our perception, especially because their "future" turned out to be so tragic. We see that the participants and witnesses of social catastrophes do not think about the consequences and therefore do not know what awaits them. Their children and grandchildren forget about the experience of their ancestors, which is easy to see when reading the diaries and letters of contemporaries of the following wars and "perestroika". In the world of politics, too, everything is repeated with amazing monotony: after 100 years, the newspapers again write about Serbia and Albania, again someone bombs Belgrade and fights in Mesopotamia, again there are Caucasian wars, and in the new Duma, as in the old, members are engaged in verbiage ... It's like watching remakes of old films.

PREPARATION FOR WAR

The diary of Nicholas II serves as a background for the publication of letters from the Family Archive. The letters are printed in the places where they chronologically coincide with the entries from his Diary. The text of the records is given with abbreviations. Italic highlighted daily used verbs and phrases. Subheadings and footnotes are provided by the originator.

Since April 1914, the royal family lived in Livadia. Ambassadors, ministers and Rasputin, whom Nicholas II calls in his diary, came there to the Tsar. Gregory... It is noticeable that Nicholas II attached special importance to meetings with him. Unlike world events, he certainly noted them in his diary. Here are some typical entries from May 1914.

DIARY OF NICHOLASII

May 15th.Walked in the morning. Had breakfast Georgy Mikhailovich and several lancers, on the occasion of the regimental holiday ... In the afternoon played tennis. Was reading[documents] before lunch. The evening was spent with Gregory, who arrived in Yalta yesterday.

May 16th. Went for a walk quite late; it was hot. Before breakfast accepted Bulgarian military agent Sirmanov. Played good tennis in the afternoon. We drank tea in the garden. Graduated from all papers. After lunch, there were the usual games.

May 18th. In the morning I went with Voeikov and examined the terrain of the future large carriageway. After mass was Sunday breakfast. Played during the day. B 6 1/2 took a walk with Alexey along the horizontal path. After lunch ride in the motor in Yalta. Have seen Gregory.

THE KING'S VISIT TO ROMANIA

May 31, 1914 Nicholas II left Livadia, moved to his yacht "Standart" and, accompanied by a convoy of 6 warships, went on a visit to Ferdinand von Hohenzollern(b. in 1866), which became in 1914 Romanian king... Nikolai and Koroleva were relatives along the line Saxe-Coburg-Gotha At home, the same one to which both the ruling dynasty in the British Empire and the Russian Empress (Nikolai's wife) belonged on the mother's side.

Therefore, he writes: "In the pavilion of the Queen had breakfast as a family». In the morning 2 June Nikolay arrived in Odessa, and in the evening got on the train and went to Chisinau.

VISITING CHISINAU

3rd June... Arrived in Chisinau at 9 1/2 on a hot morning. We rode around the city in carriages. The order was exemplary. From the cathedral with a procession, they went to the square, where the solemn consecration of the monument to Emperor Alexander I in memory of the centenary of the annexation of Bessarabia to Russia took place. The sun was hot. Accepted there and then all the volost elders of the province. Then let's go to the reception to the nobility; from the balcony they watched the gymnastics of boys and girls. On the way to the station, we visited the Zemsky Museum. In an hour 20 minutes. left Chisinau. Had breakfast in great stuffiness. At 3 o'clock we stopped in Tiraspol, where made a review [hereinafter, the listing of parts is omitted]. Received two deputations and got on the train when the refreshing rain began. Until the evening read papers .

Note by N.M. Nina Evgenievna's father, E.A. Belyavsky, a nobleman and a full state councilor, served in the Excise Department of the Bessarabian province. Together with other officials, he probably participated in the “celebrations of the consecration of the monument and in the reception of the nobility,” but my grandmother never told me about this. But at that time she also lived with Tanya in Chisinau..

June 15 (28) 1914 in Serbia, and the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was killed by a terrorist in the city of Sarajevo Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Note N.M... From 7 (20) to 10 (23) July the visit of the President of the French Republic Poincaré to the Russian Empire took place. The President had to persuade the Emperor to enter the war with Germany and her allies, and for this he promised the help of the allies (England and France), to whom the Emperor was in an irrevocable debt since 1905, when the bankers of the United States and Europe gave him a loan of 6 billion rubles under 6% per annum. In his Diary, Nicholas II, naturally, does not write about such unpleasant things.

Strange, but Nicholas II did not note in his Diary the assassination of the Archduke in Serbia, therefore, when reading his diary, it is not clear why Austria presented this country with an ultimatum. But he describes Poincaré's visit in detail and with obvious pleasure. Writes , how "a French squadron entered the small raid of Kronstadt", with what honor the president was greeted, how the ceremonial dinner with speeches took place, after which he names his guest "Kind president ". The next day they ride with Poincaré "For review to the troops."

July 10 (23), Thursday, Nicholas escorts Poincaré to Kronstadt, and in the evening of the same day.

THE START OF THE WAR

1914. NICHOLAS'S DIARYII.

July 12th. On Thursday evening Austria issued an ultimatum to Serbia with requirements, of which 8 are unacceptable for an independent state. Obviously, everywhere we talk is only about this. From 11:00 to 12:00 I had a meeting with 6 ministers on the same issue and on the precautions we should take. After talking, I went with my three older daughters to the [Mariinsky] theatre.

15 (28) July 1914. Austria declared war on Serbia

July 15th.Accepted representatives of the congress of the naval clergy with his father Shavelsky in charge of. Played tennis... At 5 o'clock. let's go with our daughters to Strelnitsa to aunt Olga and drank tea with her and Mitya. B 8 1/2 accepted Sazonov, who said that Austria declared war on Serbia at noon today.

July 16th. In the morning accepted Goremykina [Chairman of the Council of Ministers]. In the afternoon played tennis... But the day was unusually restless... I was constantly called to the phone by Sazonov, or Sukhomlinov, or Yanushkevich. In addition, he was in urgent telegraphic correspondence with Wilhelm. In the evening was reading[documents] and more accepted Tatishchev, whom I am sending to Berlin tomorrow.

July 18th. The day was gray, the same was the inner mood. At 11 o'clock. a meeting of the Council of Ministers took place at the Farm. After breakfast I took German ambassador. Walked with daughters. Before lunch and in the evening was engaged.

July 19 (Aug 1) 1914. Germany declared war on Russia.

19th July. After breakfast I called Nikolash and announced to him about his appointment as supreme commander in the future before my arrival in the army. Went with Alix to the Diveyevo monastery. Walked with the children. Upon returning from there learned, what Germany has declared war on us. Dined... In the evening I arrived English Ambassador Buchanan with telegram from Georgie. Long was together with him answer.

Note by N.M. Nikolasha - the uncle of the king, led. book Nikolai Nikolaevich. Georgie - Cousin of the Empress, King George of England. The beginning of the war with the cousin "Willie" caused Nicholas II to "lift his spirits", and, judging by the entries in his diary, this mood persisted to the end, despite constant setbacks at the front. Did he remember what the war with Japan that he had started and lost had led to? After all, after that war, the first Revolution took place.

20th July. Sunday. A good day, especially in the sense uplifting... At 11 went to mass. Had breakfast alone. Signed a manifesto to declare war... From Malakhitova they went out into the Nikolaevskaya hall, in the middle of which the manifesto was read and then a prayer service was served. The whole audience sang “Save, Lord” and “Many Years”. He said a few words. On their return, the ladies rushed to kiss their hands and battered Alix and me. Then we went out onto the balcony on Alexandrovskaya Square and bowed to a huge mass of people. We returned to Peterhof at 7 1/4. We spent the evening calmly.

July 22nd. Yesterday Mom a came to Copenhagen from England via Berlin. From 9 1/2 to 1 o'clock continuously took... The first to arrive was Alec [the Grand Duke], who returned from Hamburg with great difficulty and barely reached the border. Germany declared war on France and directs the main onslaught on her.

July 23rd. I learned in the morning kind[??? – comp.] message: England declared war on Germany for the fact that the latter attacked France and in the most unceremonious manner violated the neutrality of Luxembourg and Belgium. The campaign could not begin in the best possible way for us. Took all morning and after breakfast until 4 o'clock. The last one I had French Ambassador Palaeologus, came to officially announce the break between France and Germany. Walked with the children. The evening was free[the Department - comp.].

July 24 (Aug 6) 1914. Austria declared war on Russia.

July 24th. Today Austria, finally, declared war on us. Now the situation has been completely determined. From 11 1/2 I had meeting of the Council of Ministers... Alix went to town in the morning and returned with Victoria and Ella. I took a walk.

Historical meeting of the State Duma July 26, 1914 With. 227 - 261

STENOGRAPHIC REPORT

Greeting Emperor NicholasII

The State Council and the State Duma,

Acting Speech Chairman of the State Council Golubev:

“Your Imperial Majesty! The Council of State casts down before you, the Great Sovereign, loyal feelings imbued with boundless love and all-subject thanksgiving ... The unity of the beloved Sovereign and the population of His Empire aggravates its power ... (etc.) "

Speaker of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko: “Your Imperial Majesty! With a deep sense of delight and pride, all of Russia listens to the words of the Russian Tsar, calling his people to complete unity .... Without differences of opinion, views and convictions, the State Duma on behalf of the Russian land calmly and firmly says to its Tsar: dare, Sire, the Russian people are with you ... (etc.) "

At 3 hours 37 minutes. the meeting of the State Duma began.

M.V. Rodzianko exclaims: "Long live the Sovereign Emperor!" (Long incessant clicks: hooray) and invites Messrs. Members of the State Duma standing to listen to the Supreme Manifesto of 20 July 1914(Everybody gets up).

Supreme Manifesto

By God's Grace,

WE ARE NICHOLAS II,

Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia,

The Tsar of Poland, the Grand Duke of Finland and so on, and so on, and so on.

“We declare to all our loyal subjects:

<…>Austria hastily launched an armed attack, opening the bombardment of defenseless Belgrade... Forced, due to the circumstances, to take the necessary precautions, We ordered to bring army and navy to martial law. <…>Germany, allied to Austria, contrary to Our hopes for centuries-old good neighborhood and not heeding Our assurance that the measures taken by no means have hostile goals, began to seek their immediate cancellation and, having met with a refusal, suddenly declared war on Russia.<…>In the terrible hour of trial, let internal strife be forgotten. May it be strengthened even more closely the union of the King with His people…

Chairman M.V. Rodzianko: Hurray to the Emperor! (Long incessant clicks: Hooray).

Clarifications of the ministers about the measures taken in connection with the war follow. Speakers: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Goremykin, Foreign Secretary Sazonov, Minister of Finance Barque. Their speeches were often interrupted. stormy and prolonged applause, voices and clicks: "Bravo!"

After the break M.V. Rodzianko invites the State Duma standing to listen second manifesto of July 26, 1914

Supreme Manifesto

“We declare to all our loyal subjects:<…>Now Austria-Hungary has declared war on Russia, which has saved it more than once. In the upcoming war of nations, We [that is, Nicholas II] are not alone: ​​together with Us [with Nicholas II] stood our valiant allies [Nicholas II], also forced to resort to force of arms in order to finally eliminate the eternal threat of the German powers to the common world and calmness.

<…>May the Lord Our Almighty bless [Nicholas II] and our allied weapon, and may all of Russia rise to the feat of arms with an iron in his hands, with a cross in his heart…»

Chairman M.V. Rodzianko:Long live the Emperor!

(Long incessant clicks: Hooray; voice: Hymn! Members of the State Duma sing folk anthem).

[AFTER 100 YEARS THE MEMBERS OF THE DUMA OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ARE ALSO GLORIFIED "STATE" AND SING ANTHEM !!! ]

Discussion begins on the clarifications of the government. The Social Democrats are the first to speak: from the Labor Group A.F. Kerensky(1881, Simbirsk -1970, New York) and on behalf of the RSDLP Khaustov... After them, various “Russians” (Germans, Poles, Little Russians) spoke out with assurances of their loyal feelings and intentions “to sacrifice life and property for the unity and greatness of Russia”: Baron Felkersam and Goldman from Kurland province, Yaronsky from Kletskaya, Ichas and Feldman from Kovenskaya, Lutz from Kherson. Speeches were also made: Milyukov from St. Petersburg, Count Musin-Pushkin from Moscow province., Markov 2nd from Kursk province., Protopopov from Simbirsk province. other.

Against the background of the loyal verbiage that gentlemen Members of the State Duma were engaged in that day, the performances of the socialists look like the exploits of the Gracchus brothers.

A.F. Kerensky (Saratov province): The labor group instructed me to read out the following statement: “<…>The responsibility of the governments of all European states is inescapable, in the name of the interests of the ruling classes, which have pushed their peoples into a fratricidal war.<…>Russian citizens! Remember that you have no enemies among the working classes of the belligerent countries.<…>Protecting to the end everything that is native from attempts at capture by the hostile governments of Germany and Austria, remember that this terrible war would not have happened if the great ideals of democracy - freedom, equality and brotherhood - guided the activities of governments all countries».

―――――――

Poems:“You are all cold, // Far from ours.

Can't be compared to sausage // Съ Russian black porridge.

Notes of a Petrograd inhabitant during the Russian-German war. P.V. With. 364 - 384

August 1914.“The Germans are waging this war like the Huns, vandals and desperate super-scoundrels. They take out their failures on the defenseless population of the regions they occupy. The Germans mercilessly rob the population, impose monstrous indemnities, shoot men and women, rape women and children, destroy monuments of art and architecture, burn precious book depositories. In support of this, we cite a number of excerpts from correspondence and telegrams for this month.

<…>Confirmed is the news from the Western Front that German troops set fire to the town of Badenville, shooting women and children in it. One of the sons of Emperor Wilhelm, arriving in Badenville, delivered a speech to the soldiers, in which he said that the French are savages. "Exterminate them as much as you can!" Said the prince.

Belgian envoy cites irrefutable evidence that the Germans maim and burn the villagers alive, kidnap young girls, and rape children. Near Lensino villages there was a battle between the Germans and the Belgian infantry. Not a single civilian took part in this battle. Nevertheless, the German units invading the village destroyed two farms, six houses, gathered the entire male population, put them in a ditch and shot them.

London newspapers full of details about the terrible atrocities of the German troops in Louvain. The pogrom of the civilian population continued incessantly. Moving from house to house, German soldiers indulged in robbery, violence and murder, sparing neither women, nor children, nor the elderly. The surviving members of the city council were herded into the cathedral and stabbed there with bayonets. The famous local library, containing 70,000 volumes, was burned. "

It is done. Rock with a harsh hand

Raised the veil of time

Before us are the faces of a new life

Worried like a wild dream.

Covering capitals and villages

The banners flew up, raging.

According to the pastures of ancient Europe

The last war is going on.

And everything about which with barren heat

Fearfully they argued for centuries.

Ready to give a blow

Her iron hand.

But listen carefully! In cramped hearts

Summon the Tribes of the Enslaved

Bursts into a war cry.

Under the stomp of armies, thunder of guns,

A buzzing flight underneath the Newports,

All that we talk about, like a miracle,

Dreamed, maybe it gets up.

So! for too long we stagnated

And Belshazzar's feast continued!

Let, let from the fiery font

The world will be transformed!

Let the bloody fall

The shaky structure of centuries, -

In the wrong illumination of glory

The world to come new!

Let the old vaults collapse

Let the pillars fall with a roar;

The beginning of peace and freedom

Let there be a terrible year of struggle!

V. MAYAKOVSKY. 1917.TO ANSWER!

The drum is thundering and thundering.

Calls iron to stick alive.

From every country for a slave to a slave

throw a bayonet on the steel.

For what? The earth trembles hungry, stripped.

Vaporized humanity in a bloodbath

just to someone somewhere

got hold of Albania.

The anger of the pack of men clasped,

falls on the world after blow blow

only in order to free the Bosphorus

someone's trial took place.

Soon the world will have no unbroken rib.

And they will pull out the soul. And they will trample t a m her

just for so someone

I took control of Mesopotamia.

In the name of what does a boot trample the ground with its creaking and rude?

Who is freedom above the skies of battles? God? Ruble!

When you get up to your full height,

you who give your life Yu them?

When you throw a question in their face:

what are we fighting for?

1882 g.- Germany concluded the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy.

1904 g.- England and France created an alliance called "Entente" (from fr. - agreement))

July 19, 1914 - November 11, 1918- Chronological framework of the First World War. The military operations were attended by: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria since 1915) and the Entente (England, France, Russia, Serbia, Japan, Italy - since 1915, Romania since 1916, the United States since 1917, etc.), 38 states in total.

23 August 1915- Removal by Nicholas II of the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich from the post of commander-in-chief and taking over his powers.

February 26, 1917- The shooting of a workers' demonstration. The beginning of the transition of the reserve regiments of the Petrograd garrison to the side of the insurgent workers.

February 27, 1917- The uprising in Petrograd. The capture of the Arsenal by the rebels, a number of public buildings, the Winter Palace. The arrest of the tsarist ministers. The victory of the rebels. Formation of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, headed by the Menshevik NS Chkheidze. Creation of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma under the leadership of its chairman M.V. Rodzianko.

March 1, 1917- The Petrograd Soviet issued Order No. 1 for the Petrograd Military District, according to which in the army and navy, elected committees, subordinate directly to the Soviet, were created from representatives of the "lower ranks". Military weapons were placed at the disposal of these committees. Political and civil rights were granted to soldiers and sailors, rude treatment was prohibited, the titling of officers was abolished, and a single address "master" was introduced.

Arrival of the tsarist train at the headquarters of the Northern Front in Pskov.

March 2, 1917–Nicholas II signed an act of abdication in favor of his brother Michael. But Mikhail Romanov refused to become emperor, announcing that the question of power should be decided by the Constituent Assembly, the Monarchy in Russia fell.

March 2 - end of April 1917- Activities of the first Provisional Government headed by Prince G. Ye. Lvov. The government included ministers: foreign affairs - P.N. Milyukov (cadet), military and naval - A.I. Guchkov (Octobrist), communications - N.V. Nekrasov (cadet), trade and industry - A.I. Konovalov (progressist), finance - M.I. Tereshchenko (non-party), education - A.A. Manuilov (cadet), agriculture - A.I. Shingarev (cadet), justice - A.F. March SR) and others.

March 8, 1917- The arrest of Nicholas II by the commissars of the Petrograd Soviet in Mogilev, imprisonment under house arrest in the Tsarskoye Selo palace of members of the royal family.

April 4, 1917- Lenin's speech to the Bolsheviks with the April Theses, which set out the task of preparing the conditions for a socialist revolution.

April 18, 1917- Note by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government P. N. Milyukov to the governments of the Antanga countries on the continuation of the war by Russia and its loyalty to allied obligations.

April 20-21, 1917- The crisis of the Provisional Government, caused by a note from the Minister of Foreign Affairs P. N. Milyukov.

April 24-29, 1917- VII All-Russian Conference of the RSDLP (b). Support for Lenin's political course in preparing for the socialist revolution.

May 4 - July 2, 1917- Formation and activity of the new composition of the Provisional Government (the first coalition) under the chairmanship of G. Ye. Lvov (he is also the Minister of Internal Affairs). The composition of the government: A. F. Kerensky - Minister of War and Marine; P. N. Pereverzev - Minister of Justice; MI Tereshchenko - Minister of Foreign Affairs; N. V. Nekrasov - Minister of Trade and Industry; A. A. Manuilov - Minister of the Environment; A. I. Shingarev - Minister of Finance; V. M. Chernov - Minister of Agriculture; I. G. Tsereteli - Minister of Posts and Telegraphs; MI Skobelev - Minister of Labor; A. V. Peshekhonov - Minister of Food; Prince DI Shakhovskoy - Minister of State Charity; V. N. Lvov - Chief Prosecutor of the Synod; I. V. Godnev - Minister of State Control.

June 3-24, 1917- I All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies in Petrograd (285 Social Revolutionaries, 248 Mensheviks and 105 Bolsheviks out of 822 delegates). Lenin comes up with the idea of ​​the sovereignty of the Bolshevik Party.

July 3-4, 1917- Mass demonstrations in Petrograd against the Provisional Government and the Council supporting it. The Bolsheviks use these actions to strengthen their influence on the masses. Riots in the city resulted in human casualties. Petrograd was declared martial law. The arrests of the Bolsheviks began, the workers were disarmed, and the "rebel" military units were disbanded.

July 3-4, 1917- An armed demonstration took place in Petrograd. Its members demanded that the leaders of the Councils take all power into their own hands. The Bolshevik leadership was accused of attempting a coup d'etat. Mass persecutions began, Lenin went into an illegal position and secretly returned to the capital only on October 7.

6 July 1917- Decree of the Provisional Government on the arrest of the Bolshevik leaders. The Provisional Government called Lenin, Zinoviev and other Bolsheviks agents of Germany, referring to the conditions of their passage through Germany, Lenin goes into an illegal position.

7-8 July 1917- The announcement of the defeat at the front and the retreat of the Russian troops led to the resignation of Prime Minister G. Ye. Lvov. A.F. Kerensky became the head of the government.

Finland, which declared its country's independence from Russia.

July 18, 1917- The Supreme Commander-in-Chief A. Brusilov was removed, and General L. G. Kornilov was appointed to his place.

July 24, 1917- Kerensky announces the composition of the new (second) coalition government (it lasted until August 26). It consisted of 4 Cadets, 2 representatives of the Radical Democratic Party, 7 Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, and 2 non-party people. Most of the posts in the government were occupied by socialists.

July 26-August 3, 1917- The VI Congress of the Bolshevik Party took the course of an armed uprising.

August 12-15, 1917... - A State Conference was held in Moscow with the aim of strengthening the position of the Kerensky government. It was attended by 2,500 people representing all segments of the population of Russia. AF Kerensky spoke in favor of the continuation of the war and firm power. The state conference resorted to the "strong hand" of the military to restore order in the country. General Kornilov was assigned the role of such a "hand".

August 25, 1917- Speech by General L. G. Kornilov, who sent troops to Petrograd in order to prevent a possible action by the Bolsheviks and establish an open military dictatorship. The general demanded the resignation of the socialist ministers and the hardening of the internal political course.

August 27, 1917- AF Kerensky declared Kornilov a rebel, a traitor, removed from the post of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The Cadet ministers, expressing their solidarity with Kornilov, resigned. A government crisis erupted, along with a political crisis that grew into a national one. Kerensky appealed for support to the Soviets, which sent units of the Red Guard to repulse the military units sent to Petrograd.

August 30, 1917- Acceptance by AF Kerensky of the duties of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (Commander-in-Chief). The elimination of a military mutiny.

September 1, 1917- The proclamation of Russia as a republic. Before the creation of the new government, power passed to the "Council of Five" (Directory): the minister-chairman - Kerensky, the minister of foreign affairs, the minister of war, the minister of the sea, the minister of posts and telegraphs. General Kornilov has been arrested.

September 9, 1917- The Bolsheviks take control of the Petrograd Soviet. Leonid Trotsky became the Chairman of the Council.

September 13, 1917- Lenin appeals to his comrades-in-arms in the party with an appeal for the immediate organization of an armed uprising.

September 14-22, 1917- An All-Russian Democratic Conference has been convened in Petrograd to resolve the issue of organizing state power in the new conditions. It was decided that the future government should be responsible to the representative body of democracy - the Pre-Parliament, formed from among the deputies of the Democratic Conference. In parallel, the leaders of the Soviets agreed with the cadets to create a new government coalition.

September 25, 1917- AF Kerensky (the minister-chairman and the Supreme Commander) formed the third coalition government (it included 6 cadets, 1 SR, 3 Mensheviks, 2 Trudoviks, 1 "independent" and 2 military specialists).

October 7, 1917- The secret return of Lenin to Petrograd from Finland, where he was hiding from the authorities.

October 7, 1917- Opening of the Pre-Parliament. On the first day of his work, 53 Bolshevik deputies headed by Trotsky, at Lenin's demand, demonstratively left the hall of the Council of the Republic. The third coalition lasted only a month. Real power in the city was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the Bolshevik Petrograd Soviet.

At the end of August - September 1917- The Bolshevization of the Soviets began.

September 15, 1917- The Central Committee of the Bolsheviks discussed Lenin's proposal for the immediate preparation of an uprising and did not support its leader.

October 10, 1917- Meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b). A decision is made to prepare for an armed uprising. G. Ye. Zinoviev and LB Kamenev spoke out against them, hoping that the Bolsheviks would be able to gain power peacefully, from the Constituent Assembly.

October 12, 1917- The Petrograd Soviet, headed by L. D. Trotsky and under the full influence of the Bolsheviks, elected a Military Revolutionary Committee (VRK). Under the flag of defending the city from the Germans, the Bolsheviks transform the BRK into a headquarters for the preparation of an armed uprising.

October 16, 1917- At an enlarged meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), a Military Revolutionary Center was formed to "party leadership" in the course of the uprising.

October 22, 1917- The Military Revolutionary Committee sent representatives to the military units of the Petrograd garrison, putting them under control.

October 24, 1917- The beginning of the uprising: detachments of the Military Revolutionary Committee, consisting of revolutionary soldiers, sailors and Red Guards workers, began to occupy the most important points of Petrograd: train stations, bridges, telegraph, power plants, State Bank, etc.

Night of October 25, 1917- The capital was actually in the hands of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, except for the Winter Palace.

"To the citizens of Russia", which said that the Provisional Government was deposed and power passed into the hands of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee.

Night from 25 to 26 October 1917- The storming of the Winter Palace and the arrest of the Provisional Government.

October 25, 1917- The II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies has opened. It was attended by 625 delegates. Of these, 390 were Bolsheviks, 179 were Left Social Revolutionaries. The Congress of Soviets resolved questions: about power, about peace, about land, about the bodies of power and government. The congress took full power into its own hands.

Night from 26 to 27 October 1917- Adoption by the II Congress of Soviets of Decrees on Peace, on Land.

The congress formed the provisional (until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) the first Soviet government headed by V.I.Lenin - the Council of People's Commissars, which included only the Bolsheviks. The Left SRs refused to enter the government, believing that it should represent a coalition of Soviet parties.

From late October 1917 to February 1918- Soviet power established itself in most of the former Russian Empire.

October 25, 1917- Dispersal of the Pre-Parliament, arrest of the Provisional Government and the proclamation of the Russian Republic as the Republic of Soviets.

By early December 1917 (old style)- The elections to the Constituent Assembly are over. The votes were distributed as follows: 62% - for the socialists, 25% - for the Bolsheviks, 13% - for the liberals.

January 5, 1918- Opening of the work of the Constituent Assembly in Petrograd. The meeting did not recognize the legality of the Council of People's Commissars and the decrees of the Soviet government. On January 6, 1918, the Constituent Assembly was dispersed by order of the Council of People's Commissars.

The diaries of P. E. Melgunova-Stepanova (1882-1974), the wife of the historian and publisher S. P. Melgunov, cover the period from July 19, 1914 to her arrest in 1920, and describe the situation in Moscow and St. Petersburg during the Revolution, World and Civil wars. The diaries represent a rich source of information about the everyday life of the Russian capitals of that time, both socio-political and the private circle of the family and acquaintances of the Melgunovs. Of particular interest are the notes on rumors and gossip circulating in society.

A series: Living history (Kuchkovo field)

* * *

company liters.

Book one

Germany declared war on Russia. The mobilization began in two days. Collection of horses and people. Polyakov went today - he says a lot of nonsense. They dragged it for three days, no one knew anything. Exhausted. Episodes: 1) with a horse, which did not allow to look at its teeth, - an old woman, leading her away: “let's go, father”; 2) to a volunteer who wanted to donate a horse: “the commission does not accept gifts,” he: “I give it for 20 rubles,” they: “we take it for 50 rubles,” so for 50 rubles. and took it. Horse 3000 rub. worth it. There is crying in the villages, there is no rise.

We went from the village to Moscow. From Mozhaisk the train had to leave at 6 am, and had to wait until 12 noon. The train came packed with the last ones from abroad; had to stand in the aisle. We met Lednitsky A.R., Kissingen... Kolya was taken as a soldier, he is depressed, but invigorated.

Baba in the village said that the war was due to the fact that the Serbs killed the Austrians "tsarenko", they say: "where you want to take, and serve the tsarenka."

Here (in Moscow) we dined at "Prague". Someone demanded the anthem (three times), then - "Marseillaise", the English anthem, and finally the Serbian.

N. V. Sinyushin says: “everyone d [must] serve, no patronage,” we asked for Kolya.

There are a lot of rumors.

The commander-in-chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, they say, is rude. On the train, I heard officers talking about the maneuvers, when in the dark, in the bushes, someone grabbed Nikolai Nikolayevich by the leg (meaning capture), he shouted so: “Go away, you sons of bitches” that all the “enemies” crumbled.

Moscow has a strange look: on Tverskoy Boulevard there are carts taken for mobilization under escort; at Patriarch's Ponds - an artillery train; everywhere soldiers or spare parts, who are driven in droves; I saw the spare at Pokrovka today, driven to the IV men's gymnasium. Kolya stands with his regiment in the seminary on Sennaya Square; buildings are occupied almost by force (Sandstrem spoke about Kuvshinov's factory - they said that they would take the vacated premises by force for military needs, if they were not allowed to go). LP Gendrikova on Saturday 19 th was traveling from St. Petersburg with the last train going on schedule; the crowd besieged, as on our road. One tenant of our house arrived on the roof of the carriage. In Germany, the Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich was taken prisoner, our rage for this turned to the German substitutes, who were expelled from Moscow.

Yesterday there was one continuous torment: in the morning after registration S. was summoned to the police station and handed over a draft receipt for the 26th, since they were not informed about his release. He went to the military commander (in Krutitsa [kiy] barracks), there was a crowd, and only achieved that he should appear in the evening at 6 o'clock. In the evening we went together. The alley in front of the barracks will be tied with ropes from the cabbies; the policeman will not let the policemen farther away from the people. For some reason, then he immediately let everyone in. There is incredible confusion: a huge courtyard in which it would be easy to give all the information without a crush, and they are issued in a tiny room, which is besieged by the crowd. Women immediately sign up for benefits. Nobody can achieve anything. There is not that high spirits about the growth of which Tikhon Ivanovich spoke about (if there is one, then in other circles - among the Cadets, etc.), there is simply grief and grief. Only two small “volunteers” (13-14 years old) yelled with pride, but they did not achieve anything - “we will come tomorrow”; another group of volunteers - 5–6 people (17–18 years old), the bailiff sent them off until “after the 28th, when the call ends; someone half-ironically greets them "bravo", but no one paid attention to it. V.I.Pichet achieved nothing there. S. finally made his way inside and two hours later got the paper, although they didn’t give it to his hands. I relieved my heart, otherwise it was very bad. The clerk received 10 rubles. for showing Serezha the papers that he took the receipt from S.

Rumors and rumors, but no information, nothing is written about the Russians in the newspapers. Prince G. Eugene. Lvov said that Peterhof and the forests had been cut down, and fortifications were being built around Petersburg. The main headquarters will move to Moscow on Saturday. They say the tsar ordered Countess Kleinmichel to be hanged for espionage. The Tsar is being taken to Moscow. They say that in St. Petersburg everyone was assigned to the headquarters for bribes, and then they were immediately sent to the army. Bribery is well developed.

All the last week before the war, bread was transported from Russia to Germany - the Germans were buying up, and they say there is famine there. In Austria, in Vienna, they say, posters are posted about complete anarchy in Russia, about the murder of a "colonel" (Nicholas II), failure of mobilization, etc. They say that mobilization in Penza and Tambov caused riots. They say that there is an uprising in Poland. Many people say that K [onstantin] K [onstantinovich] was led [of] the prince [ide], but Kasso is sitting there.

There is no cotton wool or gauze at all. There were 35 poods in Moscow - all have already been bought up by the Red Cross and the All-Earth Organization. There is almost no gauze. There are no stretchers, and meanwhile Moscow is considered the first evacuation point after the battle line. Only in Moscow did Nik [olai] Nik [olayevich] allow public assistance to the wounded, while the army decided to give everything to military hospitals. Everyone is sure that when the business starts, he will change his mind and let the All-Zemsky organization, which will unite with the city and provincial m. (Probably on the 30th). Tikhon Ivanovich is tipped to be the chief of the evacuation in Moscow. He has already set to work, but nothing can be obtained. They say that they will send for everything to America and Japan, but they have already sent to Sweden.

Yesterday there was a crowd of people at the Juncker Bank, everyone was taking everything, even 25 rubles. do not agree to leave the book to save.

From Riga (from the Riga coast) N. M. Iordansky arrived with terrible difficulty - 300 rubles. it cost him the road, and all the luggage remained in Riga.

Aunt Liza arrived today, summoned by the board of directors by telegram - it turns out, for the placement of troops in the school, and immediately learned that at her school it was recognized as impossible.

Tikhon Ivanovich says that 500 people each sign up to work in the Society of the Territorial Organization, which are already working in many houses. Chili (aunt Liza) rode on a train carrying the wives and children of employees there who were being evicted from the border and from Poland. The train was packed. It takes seven days to leave the border. Five from Poland. From Riga they travel on the roofs of carriages. Chile received a letter from Mashusi from the 1st from Zurich, and after the postcard that arrived on the 19th, nothing. Although I learned something from her letter. S. and I also decided to buckle down to some work in the O [general] Z [emskaya] O [organization], when everything would be settled for them. Sinyushin is good with his chauvinism - it turns out that he lives in Blagoveshchensk - he feels good. Nicolas at Anya said: "We'll throw our hats over." Gubsky's wife is unknown where - she was in Germany. The shooting of Liebknecht made a terrible impression.

Something starts to rise in price. People are starting to come to Moscow. Kolya is obviously performing tomorrow, because] they have a prayer service at 7 o'clock in the morning (usually before a performance), they all fled to their homes for the night; but where they will be sent is unknown. Two nephews from "Zadruga" were taken from Marya - both Pavel and Andrey. Abram (d [octo] r Zalmanov) says that he can get the latest information from the headquarters. “Russkiye Vedomosti” agrees to publish an addendum if fidelity is guaranteed - he has a friend there, supposedly - we'll see.

Yesterday we went to the Tugarinovs, said goodbye to Lenya (leaving for the war). Persistent rumors that the former St. Petersburg mayor Drachevsky was shot for espionage, and Countess Kleinmichel was hanged; they say she gathered everyone in her salon, watered, fed and paid for information. In the evening we went to see Schubert. On the way we met a demonstration at Tverskaya: a crowd was walking, an officer was on horseback in front, flags were being carried behind him, they were singing something, they were walking from the Strastnoy Monastery to the Skobelev monument. We learned from Schubert that Mikhail Mikhailovich Schubert slipped into Stockholm, but how is still unknown. Alexander Mikhailovich Schubert says that they have a terrible mess in the headquarters wagon train, and it's enough that he is sent to the shops to buy oats and straw - even the delivery is not organized. Chile summoned the government from the village by telegram - they want to deploy troops in schools, but they immediately admitted that it was impossible to visit it. The most interesting thing today: I spoke on the phone with El. Al. Nikitina, who returned from abroad yesterday. I traveled from Paris to St. Petersburg for 8 days, and left Kalisz an hour before the declaration of war. It was calm at the train station in Berlin, and the porter tried to persuade her and her companion to stay. They decided, but when they went out into the street, they suddenly saw Wilhelm and the Crown Prince and others driving, the crowd shouted: "hoch". They asked the porter what it was, he said that Berlin was declared a state of siege and Wilhelm was going to speak to the troops. In the streets, people are shouting, shouting and singing. They went to the Russian embassy, ​​where the windows were boarded up, the flag was removed. We decided to finally go, but we ate freely at the restaurant. In Skalmerzhitsy (at the border), they were offered to walk six miles to Kalisz, and they left their luggage and went, and already to the passengers of the next train, a German officer with a watch in his hands announced that he would give them three minutes to cross the Russian border (1-1 , 5 versts from the station), so they abandoned everything and started running. In Kalisz, it turned out that the entire city was being evicted, and the passengers were told that they would not be taken, but left to their own devices. They barely managed to get them into the carriages after spending four hours in Kalisz. There were 2000 people [sheep] in eight cars, and the local residents were carrying all their belongings. Already from Kalisz to Petersburg, they stood all the way. In Warsaw, the story is the same: only local residents are not allowed on the train. Money Russians neither in Kalisz, nor in Warsaw they take it, but the Germans willingly. The panic in both places is terrible. Horror in front of the Germans and the confidence that they will take everything. Above El. Al. and an officer took pity on her companion and took them with him, bought them tickets, since they did not take her francs there. He advised to go to Petersburg, warning that in Brest, as a fortress, they would not be ashamed of them and would detain them. All went to Petersburg standing, hungry. It is also difficult to get out of St. Petersburg to Moscow - they wait in line for two days to get a ticket. In Paris, the bank did not agree to change her 500 francs. the ticket, and only for 10 francs was finally changed by the minister. The result of such a move - the swelling of the legs is the strongest - she will have to lie with her legs up with compresses for several days.

In Paris, they talked about the war, but the Germans on the way to Berlin claimed that it was the French who were inventing that nothing would happen. She admired, she says, their endurance: “this is their strength” - her words. In Warsaw, General Zhilinsky (one of the commanders of the 3rd Army; others - Ivanov, who is greatly praised, especially his chief of staff Alekseev, and Rennenkampf - a drunkard and brave, but everyone, like Zhilinsky) ordered to shoot two people who refused to take the Russians money, and Eating. Al. I had to pay 3 rubles for the ticket, because they didn’t give change, saying “no”.

Went to the main post office and telegraph office this morning. I asked both there and there if letters and telegrams were going to Switzerland. At the post office they said that they were sending through Sweden, but that there were a lot of complaints about not receiving answers, but at the telegraph they said that they were sending without a guarantee delivery, they were sending to Petersburg, and then they did not know how it was going; they do not advise sending urgent ones, they will still go for a long time. In the newspapers, the touching union of the cadet with the Union of the Russian People (Markov II and Milyukov, etc.) is an abomination that has no limits. And the speech of the colonel (Nicholas II) is all that a test has been sent down to him.

Yesterday Lenya left for the Voronezh province to the militia warriors.

The execution of Liebknecht made a terrible impression. About Drachevsky gov. everyone, they say that they found a lot of proclamations calling for a strike in St. Petersburg, and the same in the German embassy allegedly! It is said that Count Kleinmichel was captured at the train station at the time the information was sent.

The gymnasiums are occupied by soldiers, they say there will be no training.

Borozdin told Vishnyakov that Kasso was beaten in order by the Germans when, in order to leave (from Germany), he declared that he was a minister. Borozdin was given this by the district trustee himself. Vishnyakov said that the mobilization in Orekhovo-Zuev was proceeding calmly, with a sense of the matter, and that the spare were going calmly; knowingly, he sees their sympathy for the "brothers-Slavs", and S. sees a dislike for the "German" on economic grounds (our Olga, etc.), they think that he makes money here and does not give the Russians a run at all. Gubsky received a telegram from his wife - she got out of Germany, in Torneo now.

In Russkiye Vedomosti yesterday, a meeting of shareholders established, in view of the war, to remove (from the editors) Ignatov, and in his place - Manuilov, and Ignatov was supposed to be editor before September 1.

Prices are starting to rise. (A bottle of Essentuki cost 15 kopecks, now it is 18).

The cabbies are mad.

Kolya says that all the unloved officers have been reshuffled, they are afraid for their safety. Zvyagintsev said today that 120 out of 160 city teachers have been recruited into soldiers. Learning, they say, will be. They say (Wolf) that the Germans lured our detachment into a cruel obstacle (a ditch with stakes, etc.), then the rest of ours went into a rage and killed their regiment. Yesterday all Austrians and Germans were invited by the mayor to appear before the military commander as prisoners of war.

I have already heard about women’s revolts against rising prices twice. One was at the Sukharev Tower - the doorman saw Chilin - fifty women attacked carts with potatoes and overturned everything, because prices rose from 60 kopecks to 1 ruble 20 kopecks per measure. The merchants got scared and fled. Another at the Kursk railway station - Olga was told by her relative - was the same.

Vodka is not for sale, but yesterday I saw a completely drunk soldier - there was a crowd around, the policeman gently persuaded him to get up and walk, he gathered his strength - got up, and as he waving his hands, apparently, imagining that there were enemies around, and then he thumped again, so they left him. I saw two more drunken men holding on to a soldier who was unsteadily on his feet, very gloomy, probably from the consciousness of his guilt.

Today Zhivmerev said that the mass of the called-up soldiers perishes under the trams on which they are carried for free. They take a great risk and fall under the carriages - these cases are repeated every day.

S. had Svatikov from abroad. He said that in Berlin he saw Liebknecht, who argued that the workers were against the war. There is a terrible panic in the border towns, because the Russians are waiting for the invasion, but we have a panic in Poland (in Germany there were already posters about the capture of Warsaw). He achieved everything everywhere, albeit with difficulty; crowds everywhere. They drove from Brest in a roundabout way - Bryansk, Orel, Yelets, Moscow - it seems that way.

Gubsky's wife returned through Sweden, there were many hardships, but the Germans were not rude, but disgusting, because they treated with contempt and did not help in anything. Everyone travels from the Baltic Sea with terrible difficulty. From Kolya a letter from Tver. Yesterday Praskovya Andreevna Genkina called and asked how to telegraph the Erismans because her son Mitya had disappeared in Leipzig. Was supposed to leave on the 17th, and there is neither him nor news, she thinks that something can be learned from Switzerland.

Strange Vasily Ivanovich Semevsky - to S. a request to change the issue of "The Voice of the Past" in order to typeset there articles close to the current moment - he replies that in no case can anything be changed in the August book, and there is nothing - mail goes (this is to his house), in St. Petersburg, where he spent 16 hours, everything is calm. You can insert something into the book in September, and offers to order articles: one in Italy to Schroeder (who asks to immediately send money for the previous one - obviously, not suspecting that the telegrams are also disappearing, and the money is not accepted at all), and the second - in Austria (!) to some of his familiar Poles - the Pole will write! - and how will Semevsky offer him?

Yes, Svatikov also said that in Prussia, closer to the border, there was panic in front of the expected Cossacks, and here in Poland. Anya says that some of their peasants say: "The Frenchman spoils everything, he must be pacified," and no arguments help, so say that "German" is a synonym for "enemy", and maybe this is the result of an inappropriate nickname, this war with some newspaper: "the second patriotic war."

Tikhon Ivan [ovich] was there last night and said that, in his opinion, everyone had a concentrated and serious attitude towards her. But it still seems to me that the people are very against the war. Kolya is already writing from Brest. Will he get somewhere? Perhaps, in the very thick of it.

They say that now the plan has been changed, and not Kovno - Brest will be defended, but Warsaw, because they are afraid of the bad impression of its surrender.

Tikh [he] Iv [anovich], according to the son of Manuilov, says that in Russk [their] Vedomosti there is a direct revolution against Ignatov and Rosenberg. Rosenberg at the meeting gave up all editorial work, while Ignatov is still unknown.

At the Schuberts, Maria Andreevna said that she went to one of the private hospitals and endured very difficult impressions: the ladies are having fun! And in trusteeships in different ways: Chile is working with might and main, recording and already questioning the wives taken to the war, and in Presnenskoye - Tatyana Arkhipovna Okulich came, sees a crowd of women besieging the entrance, and a young lady sits inside, reads something and sends them say that in half an hour she will write them down. When T. A. offered her services, the answer was: "No, why, no matter!" - and all the sentences crashed, both against the wall, and she left, only the address and wrote down. Tikhon Ivanovich said that V.A. task ”, then made it clear that now everyone will be approved, but that they are most pleased with Guchkov. At a private meeting yesterday, the left-wing vowels spoke out decisively against Guchkov. Prince [ide] G. Lvov, as the chief representative of all-land organizations, received a personal telegram from the tsar - Maklakov, the minister, was again bypassed.

Today we visited Filatov, volunteering for the war "for impressions." I talked a lot. He said that Peterhof was not cut down, but 10 versts from it. He said that the defeat of the German embassy was terrible. A crowd of 10,000, urging the "orator" from "Vecherniy Vremya", who came out to her when she was smashing a store, rushed there and literally smashed everything and burned all the things on the square. From 9 pm to 3 am the police were absent, and then they just started to pacify - now those caught are being tried. Rennenkampf ordered to whip and send to the front lines a soldier who spoke against the war in the tram and whom the public had dropped. The order has been published. It is so stupid.

The "Russian Word" has 600 thousand subscribers.

Filatov spoke about the defeat of the German embassy in P [eter] b [urge], which he himself had seen. They smashed the sausage, someone from Vecherne Vremya came out and said that if they smash, then smash the embassy. A crowd of 10 thousand moved there, rushed in and began to throw everything out of the windows and beat everything; both ladies and students were visible there, smashing together with the hooligans, then they lit a fire of things. The police showed up only at 3 am, and the pogrom began at 9 pm. About the manifestation, he said that at first there were only hooligans, then shopkeepers, servants and, finally, workers joined them. Simson said yesterday that Rennenkampf ordered a soldier to be flogged in Vilna and sent to the front lines for speaking on the tram against the war. The order is posted there. This is a very bad measure, to say the least.

M. M. Schubert returned, suffered the same as Gubsky's wife. In France, they assured that there would be no war. There was nothing special about Germany; on the advice of someone from the embassy, ​​he took a ticket to Eydkunen, took it, got into the carriage, went, and suddenly they find themselves in Torne, and everyone is dropped off here: “Go if you want, but we will shoot,” then: “Now at the station the Russians will start shooting, but we will protect you, ”and they set up two cannons, cordoning everyone off with soldiers. After long ordeals and negotiations, they were lucky, packed full and said that they were being taken to Berlin as prisoners of war. A soldier was put in the carriage, who, taking aim, announced: "If you move, I will shoot", the windows were closed and they were taken for a day without food or drink, only once they took pity and gave a bucket of water. The soldier went to bed, asking to wake him up when the lieutenant came. They brought him to the sea in a small town, drove him into the square and into the pigsty, and began selling rotten sausage at exorbitant prices. Then they separated the men from the women, and took them to "shoot," but only scared. Finally, everyone was taken by a Swedish steamer, and in Sweden they were greeted very warmly, they were fed and watered. He traveled from Paris for 12 days. From Stockholm to Torneo three days on the boat, on deck, because everything is packed. Terribly depressed. From Torneo to St. Petersburg on a class III site. Things went all the way down to tame. Celebrates the touching brotherhood of all (the equestrian and the Jew behaved like brothers in the lapserdak).

I visited the Swiss and French consuls today to send letters to their own. The first said that maybe one of these days there will be a shipment (there were already two shipment and the second, it seems, was not passed through Turkey), and asked to come in two or three days later. And the French says that he sent a lot, but he is not sure that they will be allowed through the Bosphorus. I advised you to wire through India - I'll try. Otherwise, there is nothing and there are no telegrams after received on the 22nd at all. There is a hope that the message will be established, because today, for the first time, French and Belgian newspapers have come to Russkiye Vedomosti.

Today Nadezhda Fyodorovna's eldest son Alexander Fyodorovich Grushetsky was seen; he was sent to war, he kept asking everyone (out of stupidity): “What do you think, will they kill me or not?” - he is obviously afraid. He told how he traveled from Germany, also with ordeals, first to Thorn, then to Stettin, to Rügen and to Sweden - only 12 days. In the evening we visited the Gubskys. She looks pretty good, although she drove in agony for 12 days. Already on July 12, she heard on the train a conversation between an officer and his father - the father was horrified by the war, and the officer said: “We have been waiting for her for a long time, today at night everyone should be in their places, now the most favorable moment is famine, cholera, fires in Russia. , strikes; in France - change of ministers, complete collapse and no money; England is not scary - her fleet is far away - this is the most convenient moment. " After that, Gubskaya wanted to go instantly, but her friends persuaded her to stay. Moved on the 18th, the suburban trains were gradually stopped, in the districts already on the 18th from 12 noon. She went part of the way by car. The mood in their town was characterized by the pharmacist, saying goodbye to them: "Goodbye in Moscow." In Berlin we moved from train station to train station. She went to the information bureau, because everyone around was saying that war had been declared, asked how best to leave, and in response received: “Here we go, we’ll help you leave us!” - all this accompanied by abuse. Tickets were issued. The train was directly besieged. In Thorn they were ordered: "heraus" - and in an instant they put out the light. There were already a lot of people there, some of them sat for three days; they didn't give me bread, then they gave me a crumb. We sat for a long time. They were told that the Russians did not accept them, that the path was broken. Finally, they drove into 60 cars, mainly of the IV class, and drove, almost a day, to Stettin, declaring that they were prisoners of war and would live in remote resorts. They did not give expensive water, drink too, but the convoy was kind, from the Poles. One of them wanted to get water for her girl, but did not have time and offered coffee from his flask, but the officer saw it, scattered him and sent him away; another at the stop brought water from the ditch - and drank. The crowd was everywhere hostile to the "Verfluchte Russen" and the fists.

On Rügen, when they were dropped off, three Swedish officers approached them and announced that they would be taken on a steamer, everyone who wanted, the rest would be prisoners of war, because this is the last steamer. The crowd rushed to him, some climbed in; when he left, panic seized the rest, one mother, whose children had got on the ship, threw herself into the water ... Then another steamer came for the rest. In Sweden they were very attentive and helpful. The servant at the hotel in Stockholm refused to tip: "you still need it." They drove through Torneo in terrible conditions, but my soul was calm. There was hostility in Finland, but taciturn. The train stood there at night; there were frequent crashes, but no one paid attention to it. During all 12 days MA had dinner and slept in Stockholm once. In Sweden, they met 10 trains with Germans leaving Russia, who praised everyone's attitude towards themselves. At the Gubskys they talked a lot about Nikolai Nikolaevich's appeal to the Poles, now the cadets have already believed this and are very jubilant. In general, S. and I look at people completely hopelessly. “Speech” was banned, then allowed, and it burst into such a loyal article that it was horrible; the same with this appeal - who will believe it? - after all, it was not until the Poles were needed! And everyone is jubilant, and especially the press. Russkie vedomosti is fading away. Austria also bribes the Poles, promises to give a king, they write that it has already appointed him.

We met the Nikitins - she looks very, very bad - all traces of moving.

Today I saw L. S. Kozlovsky at the meeting of "Zadruga" - yesterday I returned from Galicia; F. rode freely through Austria and Romania. Left Galicia on the eve of Germany's declaration of war on Russia. He says that Austria has no hostile feelings towards the Russians at all, only they are afraid of spies and arrest suspicious ones. In Galicia, the Poles are hostile to the Russians, while the Czechs wait until they are silent and reluctantly join the soldiers, ready to rebel at the first opportunity. In Romania, all the people are against Austria. S. thinks that Kozlovsky spoke about the hostility of the Polish intelligentsia to the Russians, and not the lower strata. K [Ozlovsky] himself is very Russophilic and stands for the annexation of the Poles to the Russians. The appeal of Nik [olai] Nik [olayevich], depressing us as fake, led him to tenderness, but he does not know that Nick [olai] Nick [olayevich] squeezes out the eyes of guilty hunting dogs with his fingers (gov [oril] G. E . Lvov, his neighbor on the estate). Kozlovsky writes a lyrical article about the Poles in Russkiye Vedomosti.

Today is the arrival of the tsar to Moscow. “Russkiye Vedomosti” united the tsar with the people, and “Russkoe slovo” finished the article “Tsar-renovator”.

In my opinion, there were soldiers in two rows with rifles, and there was a decent amount of mounted and foot police, people occupied the sidewalks, and Volk-Karachevsky says that there was no police. The Tsar (gov [yelling] Kolya and Anya) was as pale (white) as a tablecloth.

Kozlovsky said yesterday that he went from "Zadruga" to "Russkie] Vedom [aws]" to take his lyric article back under the influence of my words that all these promises are nonsense. There he was suddenly told that all the editors had been summoned to the mayor, and there Belgard told them that it was in vain they were writing about promises to Poland that they would be given only zemstvo... Then they asked if we could clarify this? - No, this is not for clarification, but for editors' edification.

Letters come from abroad, from Italy, opened by the military censorship, she also demands the signature of the surname on the telegrams. I sent, received the answer on the 4th - the telegram went on for six days. I visited the Swiss consul, he says that he was with the post-director, and he told him that relations were restored through Sweden, Norway and England. I left a letter with him to send if someone goes.

Anya talked about Maria Andreevna's friend in an interesting way yesterday - she traveled only 18 days through Germany from Paris; what is interesting is that she was traveling separately from the parties; there were only six of them. We saw a lot of interesting things. The soldiers talked to them and said that they did not want war, but that the officers wanted it. With them, she saw a positively striking landing on trains: a soldier came to the station with a card that she had the number of the platform, the carriage and the seats in it - they come and sit right down. A German soldier ran a bayonet over Mikhail Mikhailovich's neck, piercing a package hanging on his back. MM is still in a terrible state. An acquaintance of Lydia Andreevna saw in the crowd such Russians how one woman with a child accidentally pushed a German officer, he grabbed the child and threw it at the feet of the crowd. Tikhon Ivanovich is outraged by the editorial in Russkiye Vedomosti about the departure of the tsar - and the editor is Manuilov.

Nekrasov invited S. to edit a weekly military magazine, that is, a magazine about the war. Abram Solomonovich reported today information from the St. Petersburg headquarters of Nik [olai] Nik [olayevich] that France is begging for help, because Germany and Austria moved an overwhelming mass of troops on it, and we can move to Galicia only after ten days (transportation to the border for 30 thousand people a day). Now there are less than a million. Wilhelm II's plan is clear: first France, then Russia, and we will take only by starvation and time; believed to be war for eight months. A characteristic feature: the leader of the prince [ide] Paul and his regiment were deprived of ammunition - not enough for those sent. A day costs us 35 million rubles! Nick [olay] Nick [olayevich] asked the tsar for amnesty, but got nothing. We have introduced a tax on edibles, and therefore Belov stopped selling ham, and Eliseev hangs it with leather (cheaper than their usual price). They say the king goes to the army. Kozlowski saw Poles from Kalisz and Czestochowa - they describe the brutal violence during the occupation, especially Czestochowa.

A. A. Titov introduced himself to the tsar, went to meet him, and so on (nar [one] socialist). He is extremely patriotic.

On the evening of the 6th, he was directly angry at the pessimistic views of S. S. refused to keep the Nekrasov journal, the military censorship became too strict to do what one wanted; if you go against the "rattling and unity" and try to give an advanced view of the war, they will probably close it, and Nekrasov wants to make money. Today S. was at a meeting on the opening of the people's newspaper. There is no money, they also want to be against chauvinism - it is unlikely that anything will come of it. And the employees of Russkiye Vedomosti are organizing a weekly magazine, S. was called by the employees, but Abram (Zalmanov) wants to join it too.

Quiet [he] Iv [anovich] in the zemstvo organization with his head. At first, only the evacuation from Moscow was entrusted to them, now the 2nd evacuation belt (after the field) goes to them, but there is no money. They think that then everything will be handed over to them. It is necessary to arrange hospitals in the zemstvos according to the map marked by the military department. They raised 6 million, and they need 100 m [million]. Lvov talked about this with the tsar, he approved everything, but the money has not yet been given, I don’t know how to proceed. The Polner with the commission invented beds so that the wounded would not be shaken; today, obviously, we went to try them.

Tatyana Arkhipovna Okulich spoke about a rural teacher who had never served, they took him - there was no ammunition, they did not teach, but they persuade him to pass the exam for an officer - there were not enough 25,000 officers.

The mood is gradually depressing. S. and I have very bad and few hopes - in all cases it will be bad. But the “rattling” is also strong. Shakhovskaya, for example, is for the complete unification of all, and many believe, oddly enough, only radicals do not believe. Peshekhonov wrote that, having lost their property, people will get used to the socialist system, and Novoye Vremya picked up and said: "Why not get used to the state of siege?"

Ivan [Ovich] Tikhon still has not clarified the question of the money for the evacuation. But their road bunks turned out to be very good - they themselves went on the test in them to Podolsk. Tikhon Ivanovich very well at home at our outpost responded to the patriotic "rattling" of Titov: "Everything is bad - if we are beaten, the Germans will show themselves to us, and if we beat us, the government will crush us." But Titov, Knyazev told Sergei, was at the meeting of the tsar, - he was completely disgraced, he even felt embarrassed, he felt that he had oversalted with the "Thunder of victory" and the next day he called Serezha and, of course, said, that he was already very upset by S. minor messages. Knyazev also says that it is necessary to act to cool the "unity of the tsar with the people," but how? The meeting of the left, mainly of the cooperators, which S. was attending, wants to publish a newspaper too, to find out, but most likely there will be no money; and they will close it. And the employees of “Russkiye Vedomosti” want a weekly edition - I don’t know if anything will come out. Yesterday Mikhail Semyonovich Genkin called that Mikhailov with Arkadaksky and three others had left through Italy for Russia. I think and hope that ours did not go. Orlova called, her beau frère was taken, and again the same confusion - not an engineer or a sapper, he was taken to a sapper; frightening all the time is a bad sign. And there is not enough ammunition at all. Obninsky was there, waiting for permission to go as a correspondent to Ivanov's headquarters from the Russian Word. Already six are allowed. He will receive 3000 rubles for the first two months, then 2500 rubles for the rest. and 30 kopecks per line. And "Russian Vedomosti" did not even respond to his offer to be their correspondent. He is optimistic. He says that this was decided by agreements, that each country is fighting for itself, and we will move when we align the line along the entire border, which is what we are doing, and, as if the conditions are brilliant for us. I don’t know what? Ivanov has, according to him, the authority to invade Galicia and go to Silesia if Romania does not get involved. I visited S. Ignatov, S. told him that he found that Russkie Vedomosti did not do very well, going into the “rattling”, he was probably glad, because he said that it will no longer be, that it is unacceptable. In the evening I was at the Schubert's. Maria Andreevna is carried away by the hospital, this is obviously fun for her, she is terribly preoccupied with embroidering a hand sling, sewing on aprons, etc.! - and is afraid that the actual wounded will be brought. Anya looks very pessimistic, like us, and does not know what to do. I offered my services to Tikhon Ivanovich, but so far, obviously, it is not necessary, - he is silent. And the wounded and sick begin to be taken. The Samsonovs got out very successfully, passing Berlin, straight to Hamburg, there were no excesses; there were only six Russians; they were already outside Germany and ended up in Zheldor and drove for 16 days. None of the visitors tells anything like the fantastic atrocities described by Nemirovich-Danchenko - ridicule, rudeness - that's all. An acquaintance of the Basanins, Lavrova, said that on their train two went crazy and one died. Now everyone speaks and speaks.

Removed from the repertoire of Wagner and all German plays - that's stupidity! Olga Ivanovna came for several days and said that the mood in the village was the most depressed - everyone believed that they were beating us, that no one would return from the war, that there would be so much blood that “the calf would drown”; the women stubbornly say that they will kill three kings, and then God will release the Antichrist, who is locked up with him; and the Antichrist will give a good life to the peasants, when God notices this, then he will be forbidden again! She was told by her cousin that a lot of women come to Bobrinsky and ask him to take them to black jobs for the war - while they are being recorded. Yesterday from Sonya Petersen learned that Sonya Kolokoltsova's younger brother was killed, killed in the case near Gumbinen, under very wild conditions: the cavalry-guards elite regiment was launched into the attack to take guns at an open 6-verst distance, that [ak] h [that] them they directly mowed down from these cannons, almost all lay down, taking 12 cannons. This is Rennenkampf's trick. They say that he was dismissed on the basis of the report of the regimental commander about the wasted destruction of the regiment and on the complaints of high-ranking officials, whose children were killed. This regiment was an ornament of the army. Obviously, the French are failing, this is felt in the uncertainty of the messages.

Anya is directly outraged by Nicolas, who cries out about the need to destroy all German science and literature, about the failure to teach the German language in schools. Michel (M.I. Taken Boris Mikhailovich Selitsky ... Finally, a postcard from their own, went from July 22 to August 12. Will they really go into this mess, so long as they don't go. And also this fear of hunger in Zurich!

M [oi] are coming - a telegram from Odessa! Already hurry up!

Appeal of the mayor on the organization of private hospitals. There is not enough space. There are a lot of wounded. Zhivmerev said that they stood in the carriages from 1 am to 8 am, waiting for unloading.

Semevsky agreed to everything regarding the magazine's response to the war, perhaps because he had visited St. Petersburg, saw everyone, heard about military censorship and drove back the road while standing - this is also significant.

End their existence "Zadruga" and "Modern World". Olga Ivanovna's cousin said that Lvov was wildly delighted with the tsar after he kissed him. The Schuberts set up an infirmary in an empty 30-bed apartment. Sidorov (NP) is silent, completely in solidarity with S. And Zhitkov is right, because the tsar allegedly said that he was happy with the war, because it would renew Russia. Sidorov says that Zemshchina praises Wilhelm - a real sovereign leader who combines autocratic principles with intelligence and talent. Who are our allies - "France and England".

Last night Shakhovskoy told S. that the post-director had told Lvov that Konigsberg had been taken by the Russians with the assistance of the British squadron. Another rumor that Lvov had been taken, Carrick had breakfast with us yesterday, said that in the Samara province there were isolated cases of protest against the recruitment, but then everyone went, and in Astrakhan women gathered in front of the governor's house and asked to tell them about the allowance; one hit the policeman, the troops were called in and fired a volley - he does not know the results. On the appeal of the mayor about giving premises for the wounded, it turns out, there are a lot of proposals paid premises and rooms - it's amazing. The Schuberts are setting up an infirmary in an old apartment. I want to take part. Tikhon Ivanovich does not take intelligent as orderlies - the rule. They still have nothing arranged. Titov says there are already 17,000 wounded, but they hide it. There are few people around"Rattles", only "Russian Vedomosti" took such a tone, yes Titov.

Arrived yesterday mine. Through Constantinople. We drove for two weeks. The conditions were very disgusting: from Constantinople to Odessa on a resettlement steamer, in the hold, on bunks, on straw. Very tired. And how they were released there. Amazing! M. wrote a diary all the time. They will have to recover and rest for a long time. The Romanovs (Nikolai Ilyich with his wife and son) rode with them - all the way together. It was unbearable to stay there, and the threat of eviction of all foreigners in case of hunger. German Switzerland is on the side of the Germans, and French Switzerland is on the side of France. All Switzerland is armed.

Today from Russkiye Vedomosti they said confidentially: there is a telegram that two corps of ours perished completely on the Vistula, fell into a trap, as expected: they rushed to take the fortress on the Vistula, and huge forces fell upon them - even the headquarters was killed. Details are unknown. With Austrians, variable happiness. Radko-Dmitriev is different, but Ivanov seems to be displaced.

There is complete confusion about helping the wounded, especially in many places where linen is prepared - you will not achieve anything, no one is in a hurry, but the preparation is poor and not what is required (there are no dressing gowns).

The Russians took Lvov and Galich. I’m scared for Kolya — he is in the very battle now, with the Austrians. Yesterday and the third day there was a sale of flags in favor of the wounded. In my opinion, a lot of suspicious individuals were sold, thanks to the unification of everyone, including the right-wing organizations. In the evening, Picheta was there, saying that Wilhelm had written to the tsar that, despite the war, they would remain friends, the signature: "your Willie." I talked about German espionage, but I don't really believe him. The French are all retreating. They are waiting for the siege of Paris. The air fleet operates only for the Germans. Karpov is on his way from captivity. Lukovnikov arrived through Switzerland, Holland, England, in Germany he passed Berlin.

Military censorship (information from Russkiye Vedomosti) delays all news that speaks of the humanity of the Germans - and there are cases: a non-commissioned officer who was in captivity in a hotel himself told Titov that he was treated well there, and on the other hand, according to According to Russkiye Vedomosti, Eidkunen was massacred by the Cossacks. In Resser's hospital, a soldier, apart from a wound pierced with a bayonet, is the same German soldier who pierced him while he was lying, brought him gingerbread afterwards, etc.

It is strange that in Switzerland already on the 15th (Old Style) they knew that war had been declared by Germany! We probably hid it.

S. was present yesterday at a meeting of Pirogovsky about [community] va. It turns out that complete disorganization reigns everywhere. 35,000 wounded have already been brought to Moscow: 5,000 of them have been sent further, 10,000 beds have been prepared by the city, and there is nothing else. Yesterday they expected 1000, but they brought 6-8 thousand - there is nowhere to do: they piled them on the floor on straw at the Shanyavsky University: the city is quarreling with the Zemsky Union, they do not know anything, they refuse, saying that it does not depend on them. They quarrel for the championship. The Zemsky Union received 100 thousand rubles, and the city was in a claim. The Pirogov Society wants to organize a Union of Unions from all societies and put forward a public initiative, otherwise the Zemsky Union is censors who hire employees. Only volunteer students at the station work well, even the commandant treats them with respect. Nothing is ready.

They say that it was not Ivanov who was dismissed, but Plehve, who almost ruined the whole affair near Lvov.

Yesterday I visited Anya at a meeting about their hospital - everything is ready, but the administration has not given a doctor for four days already. Finally, today they appointed, but such a beast who yelled at Anya that he wants all the staff to have a paid one, but we have a free one. They asked for another - they appointed, but it is not known what will happen. A lot of people who want to work turn directly to me, because I decided to start setting up a new infirmary through Nikitina; it is necessary to organize everything more broadly.

Anya told that in Manage there are so many people who want to take the wounded home and cannot get warrants to the hospitals, without which the wounded are not given out, and this drags on endlessly. When they give the wounded, they take the obligation that they will not be allowed to bandage him alone and will not be allowed out into the street, because you have to keep them, sort of like under arrest - this is not very pleasant and very difficult ... In general, the city poses a lot of difficulties and gets angry. He was allocated 38 million to help the wounded, and he still tries to shove the wounded away for free, but when he finally gives something, he has to thank. A terrible fool!

At the Higher Women's Courses, patients are dumped and lie without any help, but they are not given to the established hospitals, and when people go to offer their services, they are told: "We have enough." Malinin told the tsar that the city had 50,000 beds ready and there would be 200,000, but in reality only 10,000 out of 35,000 were placed.

Nobody can achieve anything. The government does not give Schubert money for ministers; nothing but a doctor and 33 kopecks. per person (per day per wounded person) “We don't need you; you equipped yourself, you yourself and maintain; it would be better if they gave 1000 rubles ", - they answer all requests. At Okulich, a young peasant girl yearns to work for the sick for free - all organizations refuse her, because a nurse requires a certificate of graduation from a 4-grade school, and she did not take the exam. She is crying. Nurses are paid 10 rubles, but they still require training in 3-4 months, which is simply impossible.

V. M. Kudryavtsev arrived from the Caucasus Stavropol. There the mobilization was restless - they were reluctant: "Nobody asked us if we wanted to fight." Fearing the influence of the city reserves on the villagers, the first were smashed into companies and at night they drove them wherever they wanted from the barracks; and the villagers came with all their families, and lived with them in the barracks, and when they tried to separate them, then they all left the barracks and camped on the boulevard. The chief commander came to bow to them and put them all together again. These elderly people and scientists obeyed: they did not jump like a goose bounce - "We are not frogs", they did not lie down on command - "We are not small guys"; when they were taught to salute, on the tenth they turned and left: “We can do everything”; and, finally, one fine day they went out for training without trousers and boots, because they do not give state officials, and it is a pity for their own. There is so little ammunition that there is one warm uniform and one greatcoat per company, and that is what the sentry puts on at night. And on the train all their families went on with them. In one village they refused to go, they sent soldiers, but from the reserve, they refused to go to the peasants: “We were called to fight with the Germans, and not with our own,” and left. I had to bring the Cossacks. An acquaintance, Vasily Mikhailovich, ended up in such an artillery brigade, in which, instead of 100-something, there are only five cannons, the rest are on paper. The people there do not believe the newspapers, and draw their own conclusions from the telegrams. A cabman, for example, [is], says to you [Elijah] Micah [Ailovich]: "How bad our business is." - "And what?" - "Why, the enemy took Petersburg!" - "How did you get it?" - "Why, the whole government moved to some kind of Petrograd." - "No, it was the tsar who ordered Petrograd to be called in Russian." - "What are you talking about, is it in Russian, but I know from the newspapers." So he stayed with his own.

The zemstvo is delayed to allow assistance to the wounded, everything is given to the Red Cross. And “Russkiye Vedomosti” does not receive telegrams about these harassment, although they did. An eyewitness from Petrakov told Vasily Mikhailovich that the Germans did not commit any atrocities there.

Formalism is stuck - Schubert's infirmary is ready, they submitted an application, sent a doctor, and the wounded according to their law after three days!

They stubbornly say that the Japanese are being brought in through Russia, and that German mortars are coming with them, the strongest ones that the Germans sent them to go against Russia, and they also talk about Indian troops marching through Russia. And the Russians were thrown across England to France. They stubbornly talk about the defeat of two buildings on the Masurian Lakes (from St. Petersburg they said to “Russian [] In [edomosty]” and the dialect [or] from the lawyers) that through the negligence of General [Eral] Agafonov they went so far and stopped next to the iron expensive (½ verst) without destroying it. A armored train came and began to carry it around, everything got confused, they crushed their wagon train, and from 10 miles away invisible artillery completely smashed them. They say that Samsonov slapped Agafonov and shot himself, and so did M., and Agafonov was put on trial and brought to Moscow (30,000 killed and the same number surrendered) ...

The government has been pulling us with tools for three days! Belyaev said that one rich gentleman donated a whole house with equipment for a hospital, but could not achieve anything in the Administration and left. The mess is awful.

In the society of workers of the periodical press S. said that newspapers print the names of foreign firms subject to boycott, and take bribes for non-printing.

Very busy with the hospital. Brought two parties from near Lublin. Some were captured by the Austrians - they were treated well, but they were poorly fed, like their own.

Yesterday they brought it from Prussia. They say that while walking there, it was very good, apparently lived to their heart's content, and were robbed. If they were shot at in the village, they would burn it all and shoot at the inhabitants. We went far to the Masurian lakes, then they began to retreat, and now the Germans have already taken Verzhbolovo, about which they are silent in the newspapers. The fire of their howitzers is terrible; first, airplanes fly, which throw something metal from above, pointing the sight at our infantry, then invisible howitzers begin to smash with such force that the earth exploded by shells falls asleep in the trenches to death. During the retreat, even the women began to shoot at ours - and they went there - they received them well, they gave everything even for nothing. They talked about the wounded Prussians who killed the doctor and someone else.

The Popovs arranged patronage and sent weakly wounded from us. The brother of the Syroechkovskys, a military doctor, said that the wounded Prussians spit in their faces while bandaging, and that when the Prussians fought with the Austrians in the carriage, all 40 of them were immediately shot. Vishnyakov said that in Kaluga, the head of the prison took several prisoners of Prussian officers to an apartment, and they ruined the room in one night, declaring in the morning that this was expressing their greatest contempt. They were transferred to prison. Zinaida Stepanovna Yanovskaya said that the chief of staff, where Shura Schubert, Drewing was killed by a grenade fragment. This is an ideological military man, he wrote that there is such a disgrace happening to us by the higher authorities, in the sense of robbery, that one is horrible. They wanted to appoint Rainbot and Kurlov to Galicia, who were stealing here in all respects, a general outcry of protest arose, and this saved Galicia from them.

The third day S. was at an interesting meeting of writers, scientists, public figures and artists who gathered to protest against the German atrocities. The meeting was opened by Y. Bunin, saying that his brother, Ivan, had drawn up an appeal to the Russian people or to everyone, and that all those present, of course, cannot remain silent and must sign. Yuzhin, the chairman, invited everyone to speak - silence. Then S. said that before discussing, one must know the appeal and asked to read it. Ivan Bunin read a lyrical proclamation. Gruzinsky said that it was wonderful and that it was only necessary to insert two or three words; then Lednitsky pathetically cried out that it was necessary to protest, etc. Shvetsov, shaking his fists, shouted: "Our army must carry this appeal on bayonets!", etc. Then Sakulin stood up and, giving great praise to Bunin's talent, bowing and bowing in front of him, said "but" - if Tolstoy was alive, he would have said his word, and everyone would have heard him, but, unfortunately, there are "no Tolstoy" among us and "all of us together cannot make up Tolstoy", therefore he would suggest speaking in the appeal not about German atrocities, but about atrocities in general, about atrocities of war from all sides. After him, S. began by saying that he agreed with him and that although he did not yet know whether an appeal should be made at all, whether it would play into the hands of the yellow press, he believes that if there is an appeal, it should be addressed to all ... He approached the issue from a historical point of view, referred to the study of the Carnegie Commission on the Balkan atrocities, where eyewitness accounts are so brilliantly refuted, and put forward two points, resolving which, one can make an appeal: 1) proof of the atrocities of the Germans and 2) confidence in the truth that the Russians don't. After him, Veresaev spoke out even more strongly against any appeals, saying that the yellow press would pick it up. Ivan Bunin was offended (he himself said that we did not know much and would not learn because of the censorship). Then the three of them began to be called "defenders of the Germans"; but the mood has already changed. A Pole, an Austrian citizen Tedeusz Mitsinsky, spoke out, who yelled that S. was an occultist and esthete and looked mystically, and that there was life here and the Prussians had to tear the throats of the Prussians, that he would kill his relatives, who are now in a Prussian uniform, when they met. He shouted pathetically out of tune. Lednitsky cried out: "Yes, it is good for S. P. to speak while sitting in his office, but what happened in Kalisz!" - "You were there?" - asked S. - "No, but I have fugitives from there, it's horror, trouble, etc." Yuzhin also said: “I agree with S. P.; but when life itself cries out in the face of this Polish representative, one must protest, "and Yuzhin himself, according to PS Popov, did not shake hands with the artist of German citizenship. Gradually, the majority inclined against the protest, choosing a commission to work out the draft on the 13th. They asked Bunin for his appeal as a material - he indignantly rejected it. Lednitsky approached S. and asked: "Do you blame me?" S .: “I have been amazed at you for three weeks now” (from an appeal to the Poles, to which L [Ednitsky] replied with a sensitive article). L [ednitsky]: “Of course, and I don’t believe anything, you don’t understand, this is politics, you have to shout so that later it would be easier to pull out what they won’t give.” S .: "Well, in that case, it's another matter."

I am very glad that S. defeated these hysterics.

Strauss was deprived of his place as director of the conservatory in Berlin because he was against the expulsion of the music of hostile powers, and we are going, according to Fritsche, to expel, at Yuzhin's suggestion, all Germans from the Literary and Art Circle. Whether it will pass - I do not know. Today I was at S. Potemkin's and said that in Lodz, after the recapture of it, everyone who had a benevolent attitude towards the Germans was taken prisoner, and the property was confiscated (the factories as a whole) for 400 million rubles. I heard from Nikitina that the Germans were approaching Kovno, that the tsar and Nik [olai] Nik [olayevich] were there, and a decisive battle was expected; heavy artillery was allegedly brought there, but one Siberian officer told P. that this was not true, and that the Japanese volunteers had arrived. In our hospital, a wounded man was reading a book about the dangers of socialism; I asked who wrote? Answer: "The Tsar Himself" - because the brochure is called "The Tsar and the People."

Sonya ended up in a military hospital on Catherine Square. For 600 wounded there are eight sisters and three doctors, no dressing material, no linen, no blankets and no beds - nothing. There is an Austrian orderly who was captured with his hospital. When the Russians came, he hid under the bed, the doctors fled; when they found him, they told him to tie his head, and so he ended up as a patient, then they brought him here, and here they are treated, although he is healthy and eager to work, and he is not even allowed to carry the wounded, considering him abnormal.

Theft is in full swing - they send 1000 sheets, 500 comes in, etc., tow instead of cotton wool ... I want to go there.

Already 200 thousand wounded have been sent through Moscow! S. was in the military hospital where Sonya. Doctor Svyatukhin is very nice, he called Sonya yesterday that he was ready to come to us in order to achieve something. He himself took out the linen, he himself begged for dressings. It turns out that these are two field hospitals for forward positions - on the eve of the performance, they received orders to deploy an infirmary here, and they have no tools. They were sent seriously wounded, they are completely helpless. The doctor got to the member of the department Malinin and begged for tools, and now, when the city had a falling out with the military department, he began to demand payment of 500 rubles for the tools, and since the military department does not consider these tools necessary for the "field" hospital, it refuses pay, and the doctor will have to. S. promised to seek an exemption from the fee. A professor by appointment at some station met two soldiers, one of them told the other that he was carrying an encrypted message to the commandant. The professor with the words: "I have never seen the code", snatched it from him and read the dispatch, But, not understanding anything, he returned it. Several stations later he was arrested on the train, and the public almost tore him up as a spy. They kept him in prison for three days, then, with the assistance of the minister, they released him.

Yesterday I was at the military hospital No. 206–207 on Yekaterininskaya Square, where Dr. Svyatukhin is. Immediately I got into the thick of things - one needs to fix the bed, move the other, etc., I had to help drag the seriously wounded to the dressing room. There is a cry of pain, because everything is done without drugs - it's hard to infinity. The Germans (Austrians and Prussians) are still drawn to talk a little in German, because no one understands them that way, none of the three doctors speaks German, there seem to be only two of the sisters. Endless suffering. We arrived there at Seryozha's [other] invitation from Titov and Malinin to inspect them from the city, they (the fool-sisters) were waited for like generals, and they cleaned everything out foolishly; they examined everything in detail and promised everything. Already 1-2 hours after their departure, when Svyatukhin called S [ere], the military department sent them everything, obviously, having sniffed out that the city had interceded, they hurried to send what had been written out in three weeks. Svyatukhin is happy, but the senior doctor stops him, he is afraid that he will fly in (they say that doctors who turn to public help are celebrated and even put on trial). Today the secretary of the duma has already called S [ere] that all the instruments according to yesterday’s resolution of the duma will remain in the hospital for nothing: "In debt without return." And when S., through Polner, turned to Lvov so that the Zemsky Union would give the dressing material, he received in response: “Yes, we will, but we must first ask the military department,” that is, the very ones that didn’t give anything for three weeks. Amazing red tape!

Last night Gubens was with us, she told me what horror is going on at the station when the wounded arrive: they lie on the floor, without bandages, without an overcoat, for hours. There was one doctor in the entire Kursk railway station, spending time in the buffet, and one paramedic. The gendarme colonel rudely cut off those who tried to speak German with the prisoners - spy mania. They say that telegrams of suspicious content are detained by dozens every day. And the prisoners in our hospital are afraid that, after being cured, they will be hanged. "Wird's mit uns kaput?" - They asked Sonya, so she didn't even immediately understand what she was talking about.

Doctor Klimenkov, who is sick, made a very good trip, but I will write about him after seeing his sister-in-law Olga Karlovna.

On the 13th there was again a meeting of scientists, writers, etc., in the Art Circle. A completely new audience came. The commission somewhat corrected the Bunin appeal. S. again spoke against it, then a deep silence ensued, and Yuzhin said: “We have two views - whoever wants to sign it”. S. left.

In the military hospital No. 206–207, a wounded Russian told us that the Cossacks are terrible: they chop off heads, kill prisoners - they will take 20 people, and they will bring two, 18 will kill.

Yesterday we had a meeting organized by Dr. Svyatukhin and me of the "punching" circle in the military hospital.

Svyatukhin told horrors about the structure of his hospital and about the bureaucracy that oppressed them and the legality on the basis of which they release naked people, because it is prescribed to release them in what they appeared in.

The tsar went to war, P. said, and Lvov from Petersburg conveyed that he had left the tsarina, who was sticking to him with the conclusion of peace, and Nikolai Nikolaevich threatened to become a dictator and not obey at the conclusion of peace, but lead the troops behind him; now they say that he is very popular. In our infirmary, a wounded man said that the tsar was a coward and would not go where it was dangerous; the other replied: “And in Kiev, when Stolypin was killed, I suppose he did not go where the troops were stationed, but went where no one guarded him”; the first: "Because he was driving there, they did not expect him there, and if they cooked something, then where the troops were."

In a military hospital, a new officer said that General Agafonov went to the Mazurian Lakes without reconnaissance, relying only on two carts with icons that followed him, and on prayer services that were served in every town - religious madness is true. This officer is completely devoid of moral feeling: “Why do you go after the Prussians and others? - he asked. - All of them would be chopped. Such arouses orderlies against the wounded. He simply said that “all the Jews are spies, and as they go out on the porch, they give signals, and the Russians ransack the houses and find the hiding Prussians who are“ pinned ”. He said with delight that vodka in bottles of narzan was sold at the stations and was called "Narzan for 1 ruble 10 kopecks." Anya's acquaintance received a letter from the officer's husband that their headquarters in the Lubomirskys' castle (?) Was using everything, and that he had cut out all the best pictures in the gallery in order to “sell them profitably” in Moscow - isn't this the same robbery!

Yesterday our circle of military hospitals met, worked out a plan of action - we will help everyone we can. Established in one word and have already begun work - fed a party of 80 people who were serving, bought 5 beds. Then Nikitin said that his comrades, who were wounded from the front, who were in Prussia, who returned from the front, say that it is all one fortress. They went there - they did not notice anything, but when they drove them back, good-naturedness jumped off the residents, everyone, and the women, armed themselves, at each house the facade turned out to be on Russia, a concrete fence, loopholes, wire fences, etc. Captured wounded in our hospital very nice and friendly, some Prussians are glad that nobody was killed, etc. They talk about the popularity of the crown prince, who shares everything with the soldiers.

The Germans are approaching Warsaw, saying that they want to offer peace. A rumor from St. Petersburg, where Witte himself told Manuilov that they wanted a separate peace with Germany, an alliance with her - the tsarina, Rasputin and Witte insist on this. Then the dictatorship of Nikolai Nikolaevich and a strong movement will probably be declared, because war is very popular among the middle classes.

In the Art Circle today a preliminary meeting of members on the expulsion of the Germans and Austrians. It turns out that there are only four of them. Among them: Knebel abroad, the second turned out to be Swiss, the third himself left the membership, and the fourth is the photographer Fischer, who had just received gratitude from the Tsar for his photographs. Whom will they expel?

In the military hospital again a new order: to take away from the prisoners all reading, except for the divine. Constantly new rules. It is terribly unpleasant that Vera will now go to Bonn for Fedya's lectures!

Yesterday was Gubskaya. In "Russkiye Vedomosti" Manuilov was finally elected editor. Rosenberg is an assistant, and Ignatov is nothing. Manuilov was in St. Petersburg, saw Witte, and he told him that he was in favor of a separate peace with Germany and for an alliance with her, the tsarina and Rasputin were behind this. And Nikolai Maklakov, the minister, said that since the revolution cannot be avoided (now, if we conclude peace with Germany, or later, after the end of the war), it would be better now, because now it may still be possible to suppress it; and S. thinks that in the event of a separate peace, a dictatorship will be declared and the soldiers will not shoot at the regiment.

I met a patriotic demonstration of students with a tsarist portrait twice yesterday, and today, grammar school students - God knows what!

It's about calling students to serve. They were on their knees in front of the monument to Alexander II, and today, the cabman said, they ransacked Einem's store in the rows and "ordered" all his shops to be boarded up - the last, that is, how they are boarded up, I saw myself, and I saw the crowd in front of the store in the rows, but they didn’t smash in my presence.

And our hospital, which has just been settled, is sent to Mogilev - it's stupid - it has just been equipped well. A student writes to Sonya from the war that the troops do not want to fight, that the Germans cover everything with shrapnel, and we are only strong in hand-to-hand combat, that everyone is fleeing from their shrapnel, the officers too ...

I haven't written in a long time, there is no time with the hospital. Our 206–207 was sent, now the new one has been re-equipped again. Everything, everything was taken away, and now everything had to be acquired again. During this time, the most difficult impression was made by the pogroms of shops in Moscow, foreign, and after them the Russians, pogroms with robbery, they smashed for two days. The police were inactive (Einem's factory was "guarded" by 12 policemen !!!), then they were banned, and everything stopped. There was hooliganism, but it was hard that students, high school students who plundered Einem's sweets, and students who were kneeling in front of the monument to Alexander II, took part. (In St. Petersburg they were on their knees in front of the Winter Palace.) It was still difficult for this stupid expulsion from the Art Circle of all foreigners, where those who opposed were shouted: "Defenders of the Germans, Germans!" Potresov, for example, agreed to L. Tolstoy, all the same, everything is against him. S. left the circle because of this; they sent him sympathy members of the Cup!

Near the defeated Einem, they laid dummies from the defeated Mandel, took photographs and sent them to Germany - an image of the pogrom with the dead.

The queen is for a separate peace, with her Witte and Rasputin, who is with her all the time. Nikolai Nikolaevich announced that he would go with the troops to Petersburg. They said that part of the French and English squadrons remained when visiting the Baltic Sea, but they deny from small areas, they say (Makotin's wife) that 9 British submarines passed there. Polner arrived, he talks a lot.

Polner tells a lot of interesting things. Ruzsky is in command of nine armies, and Ivanov is in command of three. It's scary to go under Ruzsky. Intrigues are flourishing. They even say that Samsonov was ruined by intrigue. Everything has been trampled behind Warsaw - all 5 provinces ...

The other day S. visited Lednitsky for Kotlyarevsky's report on Galicia, where he went. The report was interesting, but the conclusions of Kotlyarevsky incredible- in Lvov, in his opinion, it is necessary to destroy the university and all secondary educational institutions, it is possible to leave only the folk schools.

Novgorodtsev supported, but Bogdan Kistyakovsky, Petliura and S. objected. Lednicki is between two chairs. In general, the mood of the intelligentsia is militant - to fight to the end, take the straits, destroy Germany, etc., and these people are very left-wing (Nikitin B.D. and others). Obviously, everyone was seized by the psychosis that Vera writes about, as about the opinion of Professor Jung: everything bad is attributed to the enemy, and the same thing is not noticed in herself. Now everyone writes that the prisoners are bad in Germany, but no one says a word about their situation with us, and meanwhile, in Omsk they are dying from the cold on the streets (Sivkova's message), from Petrov, Vladimir province, Rusyns officers write that they were settled almost 100 in a hut, they do not have nothing, mass suicides began. And women and children of colonists from the border - they are being taken in hundreds, frozen, hungry, to the Ufa province. Bobrinskaya Varvara Nikolaevna barely has time to feed them in Moscow. And our doctors (in the military hospital No. 18, where I work) - the four prisoners of the doctor are almost all dragging themselves, they do the operations, they are in the wards. They are only allowed to walk in the courtyard under escort - Blagovolin, the senior doctor, is afraid to take responsibility and at first even took off their pants, leaving them in their underwear. They were completely exhausted. We have become completely stale. Yes, even if only oppression in Galicia, where everyone in society is closed and sealed.

Adding (my) Note to Zemgor on the supply [of] military [military] hospitals.

1) Russian wounded are released naked from hospitals No. 6 (Krutitsky barracks) and No. 10 (Yauzsky boulevard, Serebrenikovsky lane). At the same time, you can send things to No. 6 only in the name of the older sister and unofficially, and in number 10 in the name of the senior doctor d [octo] ra Fechner.

2) There is a great shortage of bed and bed linen (the wounded are not given government-owned linen at all in hospital No. 15, except for extremely severe cases) in military hospitals No. 19 (Butyrsky) and No. 15 (in the Nikolaev barracks). At the same time, at No. 15, send directly absolutely impossible, but it can only be passed on privately through the sister of mercy Elena Vas [ilyevna] Chayanova, daughter of V. Grigoriev.

In No. 19 (Butyrsky), you can send directly to the name of the senior doctor Malyutin.

3) The brigadier commander of the Suzdal regiment, General Golitsynsky, sent his treasurer here with a letter to his wife with a request to get clothes for the soldiers - they are barefoot and without warm. His regiment marched in the first line to Insterburg, then retreated, and now they were again moved forward. The soldiers are terribly cold. Here they turned to the Red Cross - refused; to Elizaveta Fyodorovna - she refused. They don't know where to turn. The treasurer is going back in a week and could take everything with him.

Petersburg

Pencil notes on the sheets of S. P. Melgunov's notebook

We arrived on the 25th. There were a small number of porters. We went in search of a number. The trams did not go. There were few cabs, and they did not want to go along the Nevsky - it was dangerous. Nevertheless, they found the cab. They found a number in San Remo. It was about two o'clock. From the windows we saw a large procession, 5,000 people. There were five or six large red banners. I could read only one inscription: "revolution" and "bread". The crowd marched towards Znamenskaya Square. On the square, as they later said, there was a murder of a bailiff by a Cossack under such circumstances. The Cossacks were ordered to disperse the crowd. They refused. Then they turned to the mounted policemen. Here the Cossacks stood up, and one spear in the forehead killed the bailiff. In general, everywhere the Cossacks behaved well - they did not shoot. They shot when they shot from the crowd. They said: "If you get a provocative shot, give it to us - we will deal with it." The troops were greeted everywhere with shouts of "Hurray!" We can say that the training of the troops was underway. The crowds did not disperse, as if the government was biding its time. On the Vyborg side, the assistant bailiff was killed. Several bakeries were destroyed on St. Petersburg. On the way to the Admiralty we met dragoons. Then at 5 o'clock. near Kazansky (cathedral) speeches were made, the crowd was dispersed with shots. There were wounded and killed. This was the case throughout the city, but they fired mostly with blank charges. Nobody believed in very big events, although the strike was growing. There was no organization, everything was not prepared, by chance, on the basis of the grain crisis.

In the morning we drank coffee on Nevsky. Crowds on the panel. The mass of troops in the courtyards, with officers. They say there are many police officers dressed in military uniforms. On the Nevsky a detachment of mounted dragoons. Shooting in the evening. The beginning of the transition of troops. Rodzianka's telegram that the danger of a fratricidal war, may the crown bearer not be blamed. There appears to be a violent collision on Nevsky. At night, they were not allowed to enter the Nevsky Prospect, the reflector was illuminated, and I had to go through Liteiny. We met large patrols of troops and bonfires.

In the morning on the Nevsky Prospect the picture is approximately the same. We went on foot to the Petersburg side - not a single cab. Only dragoons with the public. On the bridges, they did not let me through and demanded a passport. At that moment on Liteiny there was a defeat of the arsenal, the murder of the chief, as well as the chiefs of two artillery factories. The battle on the Vyborg side. Before the State Duma. Rodzianka's second telegram - the dynasty is in danger. The Provisional Committee (State Duma) and the Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies (one for 1000 workers and one for each company). The situation is becoming formidable. The phone works non-stop. By the evening, the part stops. From 11 o'clock news of a complete uprising, the joining of more and more units of troops: about the battle between old and young soldiers, about the destruction of prisons, the release of prisoners, the release of arrested military units who did not want to shoot. Their release, the disarming of the officers, the murder of some commanders, etc. At night the cannonade - the guns did not go further, because there was shooting all around - in some places there were explosions of shouts of "hurray."

In the afternoon - up to the Neva, we were greeted by soldiers who said that the guards' crew had revolted, that the police on Nevsky were firing machine guns from the rooftops.

At 9 o'clock. In the morning, an agitated Zaitsev runs in to Carrick, where we spent the night, announcing that there is a fraternization of troops with the people, the audience is crying from a touching, idyllic picture. Now the Finnish regiment has joined the rebels on Vasilievsky Island, which fought back for a long time. All the officers laid down their weapons, except for one captain. The colonel and battalion are killed.

Went outside. A crowd of soldiers who are saluting with shots. There are cars filled with armed soldiers and workers with red flags, who are greeted with cheers. Further, the number of cars increases - dozens of cars, trucks, armored vehicles scurry about. They unite the circle along the Nevsky to the sides.

On the ice there are soldiers who refute rumors that some kind of drunkenness is going on.

Isakia has shooting - they take "Astoria", which fires back. "Hooray!" - have taken. The Admiralty has an interesting picture; three sailors are leading three unarmed officers, one apparently wounded. They take them to the Admiralty to meet their colonel, where to place them. Colonel: “I don’t know, we have a lot of space, ask those who have now taken over”. Soldier: "Yes, I want to arrange everything for the best, so that their nobility would be better." The colonel refuses to go to indicate the premises for the prisoners. The officers, the colonel and the insurgent sailors are sent to the Admiralty. We went down the Nevsky to Znamenskaya. A car drives out along Sadovaya, announcing that the newly joined three regiments are following it with music. Wild enthusiasm. Then we meet with music a well-built cadet school. There is only one janitor in front of the Anichkov Palace. Some intelligent worker makes a speech to the crowd: “We don't need Nikolai Romanov and the grand dukes. When we have established our power, then we will come here - then let the great princes come out. " The mass is armed with berdanks, sabers, but not in large numbers. Sometimes shots are heard from the attics, but now shooting and search begin. There can easily be misunderstandings, they start firing in all directions, and panic begins in the public. But I saw only two wounded, I saw two killed horses. Unarmed officers, even a general, appeared in the streets. Occasionally an officer travels in cars with workers and the military.

Chaos on Znamenskaya Square

The station is on fire. The day before, they burned down the entire section of Aleksand [ro] -Nevsky. Burns like a wick, the top is thrown off. The arrested colonel is being carried in a sleigh, surrounded by mounted soldiers. They are leading two gendarme officers, railway officers, they say they were caught setting fire to the station. Is it true? Their faces are pale - I thought that the crowd would tear them apart. They are guarded by soldiers and escorted. Suddenly, machine-gun fire begins. Everyone is running, the square is empty, and we go into the courtyard. They say the police are shooting from a neighboring house. Soldiers are speaking, shelling a house - I saw a woman there. But the shooting is really going on systematically (as it turned out later, from the roof of the hotel). all answer in different directions. Couldn't get to the train station. We went around from Ligovka. The entrance to the gate is free. The ticket office is locked, but the train is leaving. We sit down and go. The conversations in the carriage are very varied. In Lyuban - the usual situation. VM Vitter is met by some kind of military train - they ransacked the shops - the barman took everything away, there was not even tea. It smells of the Petersburg spirit.

In St. Petersburg there are no police, no priests.

The soldiers say - "You workers, get to work, and we will do it."

The first day of the Russian revolution passed calmly, but what will happen next?

Moscow

The editors were at Morozovsky's. Manuilov said that the revolution is made by boys. Removal of Yakushkin from Russkiye Vedomosti because soldiers came and seized a printing house for printing ballots.

End of pencil notes

3 / VIII

I renew the diary after 3 almost years. The revolution has already passed. We have been living in the republic for five months since 1 / III.

The other day S. returned from St. Petersburg - the impressions were the most dismal: he was in all ministries, and only Peshekhonov was not spoiled by the authorities. You can't get to Kerensky. Savinkov accepts from above, commands. At dinner with his mother, he told how he talked with Spiridovich's wife, who had come to ask to release her husband on bail (Spiridovich was the former head of Tsarskoye Selo's security), how he cried, and Savinkov showed her the door. Even his mother was indignant and reminded him of how she once asked for him everywhere. When Burtsev sent a letter to Savinkov: "Dear comrade ..." with a request to release the sick Spiridovich, Savinkov did not answer him himself, but his secretary wrote an official document: "Dear sir!" with a request not to bother the minister with such requests.

In the mines of justice, Demyanov, comrade [arishch] min [istra], greeted Seryozha with a joyful exclamation and immediately said that they had finally managed to secretly obtain the circular that Chernov, in addition to the Council of Ministers, was sending to all land committees - an outrageous circular (disassembled in "Russkiye Vedomosti" in No. ...), they will copy it secretly and distribute it to all the ministers. Seryozha was asked to take on the duties of the army commissar, but he refused, because the commissar was signing the death warrant. Regarding T. Paul [ner], whom the Soviet of Workers 'Deputies decided to deprive of the postponement for "Zadruga", Savinkov said bluntly that he did not care about the Soviet of Workers' Deputies. Obviously, the power of the Soviets does not give. They say that the huge circulation of their Izvestia has dropped to 8000. Probably fatigue and hunger are taking their toll. General Kornilov demands the introduction of the death penalty in the rear. Savinkov says that the army committees demand the same. Savinkov wanted to disperse the Bolshevik congress. The Tsar and his family were exiled to Tomsk. They say that in St. Petersburg there is a legal society for the enthronement of Alexei. Brusilov, however, was allegedly dismissed for the counter-revolutionary organization of the officers on the heels. Savinkov says that they (that is, the government) are most afraid of the demobilization of the army, so they do not talk about peace. There is a lot of talk about the military dictatorship. The industrialists spoke openly at their congress, opened their cards, calling the government a gang of traitors, etc. (see F.V.'s report).

The revolution is proceeding in a strange way, or rather, the way it is everywhere. But people change terribly quickly. At least S. and I were consistent - at the beginning of the war we were against her, and the chauvinistic upsurge did not capture us, then we were defencists, now for defense in the form in which it was necessary. And the others? They went with a portrait of the tsar, then they shouted for the revolution. By the way, all the servants of Livadia enrolled in the Bolsheviks, as well as academic students.

A small Moscow conference, organized by IN Sakharov and VA Maklakov, began yesterday. Even the true cadet Shpolyansky B.S. and he said that it was counter-revolutionary in nature, especially the speech of I. A. Ilyin, who demanded the removal of the entire Provisional Government and the convocation of the National Assembly. The Cossacks united with them, who in the south entered a bloc with the cadets, here also Rodzianko and all the displaced generals (Alekseev, Brusilov, etc.). In our party yesterday there was a meeting of the City Committee, there were so sharply divided opinions: some for the full support of the Provisional Government without any criticism - execution, execution, etc. (Aleksinsky, etc.), others - against and for criticism (Volk- Karachevsky, B. Syroechkovsky), I am for the latter, otherwise everywhere the government can strike counter-revolution without any malicious intent.

Yesterday there was a general meeting of the people's socialists, and Staal made a very interesting report on the small (private) Moscow meeting. The speech of General Alekseev, the former commander-in-chief, was especially typical: since February 28, in his opinion, there has been a malicious destruction of Russia; Kerensky is an ignoramus and a child, Avksentyev is a foreigner who does not like Russia, striving to make a career. We must take the government under the guardianship. The general opinion of the meeting is that the only one who can do this is Kornilov. If he is removed, the Cossacks refuse to support the Provisional Government and "are not responsible for the behavior of individual units" (that is, members of the Provisional Government will obviously be arrested). The Provisional Government must submit on pain of Cossack pressure. The appearance of a deputation from the Cossacks is greeted with a standing storm of applause. On the sidelines, they openly say that Kerensky is a traitor, that he does not want to arrest Nakhamkes, because German money is involved.

Staal also reported that Chernov had sent a telegram to the Ryazan Peasants' Congress, from which it is clear that everything can be taken, except for breeding cattle. In the south of the Moscow District, the peasants redistributed the land and interfere with the allotment of soldiers, because "they cannot work productively for the good of Russia."

S. says that there is a lot of confusion in St. Petersburg. Everyone is very unhappy with Zhitov. Suddenly S. was appointed commissar in the Finnish troops, although he said that he was opposed to the death penalty - they say that it is good for one such.

The most extraordinary preparations for tomorrow's State Conference: do not let the public in, show tickets with passports, they say (Minor reported at the Socialist-Revolutionary meeting) about five Bolsheviks who decided to throw bombs, etc. Dr. Staal secretly told S. that a counter-revolutionary organization of the Cossacks had been opened, they had collected 3 million. Almost all the ministers will come, but only Kerensky, Nekrasov, Prokopovich and Avksentyev will speak.

Kerensky told Vyrubov (told Polner) that he wanted this conference so that the abscess would burst, so that everyone could speak out. The resignation of Savinkov was allegedly staged for other members of the cabinet by Kerensky, them and Kornilov, in order to introduce the death penalty in the rear, which is opposed by Peshekhonov, Prokopovich and Nikitin.

The pass is huge. Was at the State Conference on August 15, the last day. S. got me a service card. We arrived at 10½ o'clock in the morning; the meeting has already begun. From the stage (where I was sitting) the whole audience and its mood could be clearly seen. In the morning a number of interesting speakers spoke. Kerensky was summoned to the Religious Procession of the opening church cathedral, he was replaced by Prokopovich. Kerensky returned in the first hour, then I got a better look - he grew up very much and acquired a military bearing, if we compare it with last year and especially with the third, when he appeared to me in our room, almost lower than me. He walks like Napoleon with his hand over the side of his jacket, followed by three adjutants. On the first day of the meeting, S. says, they stood all the time behind his chair, and in front of me they were already sitting - standing made a very unpleasant impression. About an hour we made a break for half an hour, and we went to the foyer, and I also managed, thanks to my service ticket, to get into the buffet for honored guests, there S. introduced me to Kropotkin, and he himself argued with Maklakov about his speech, which he did not like very much. Vasily Maklakov claimed that he spoke for Kerensky's dictatorship, but no one understood this.

After the break, General Alekseev made a long speech. Its meaning was that our army was disciplined, at the time of the revolution there was an inspired upsurge in it, then unwanted elements came, and it became corrupted - the old general's technique is clear and his conclusion is to take the measures proposed by General Kornilov.

Among a number of military orators, a representative of the army committees stood out, in a long speech who objected to Alekseev and pointed out that she had corruption in the army before and that army committees were needed as something restraining and guiding.

Before lunchtime, Babushka, Kropotkin and Plekhanov spoke "from history." Grandmother (Breshko-Breshkovskaya) scolded everyone: the workers, the bourgeoisie, and the intelligentsia for the mass of words and lack of action. Kropotkin called for the protection of Russia and proposed declaring Russia a federal democratic republic, like the United States. Plekhanov, as before, did not please me for his theatricality and French pathos. They were unanimously applauded. (We, ns., Dined with Peshekhonov in "Prague." , - "mikhryudka" is real, according to Polner).

After dinner P. P. Ryabushinsky sang sweetly, Bublikov spoke well with numbers in his hands. Finally, a scandal broke out between two streams of Cossacks: when a representative of the front committee, Esaul Nechaev, began to speak from the department that Cossack democracy stood for front-line committees, and generally spoke out against Kaledin, from the Cossack lodge (which, incidentally, was located on the extreme left - the grand ducal the mezzanine box and adjacent to it, then the Council of Soldiers' Deputies followed, and it is characteristic that when one clapped, and occasionally shouted at each other; in one of the Cossack boxes, Karaulov, a member of the State Duma, stood out was all - attention, but sometimes indecently shouted: "lie", "slander", then General Kerensky addressed him directly with an appeal for decent behavior) a voice rang out: "How much is the German mark?" Kerensky interrupted the speaker: "I will ask the one who insulted the Russian army in the person of the Socialist-Revolutionary N. to name himself." There was a movement in the box, someone came out, then Kerensky continued: “I think I will express the opinion of the whole meeting if I call this man a coward,” a general movement of approval. The figure of a wounded Cossack officer advanced to the barrier of the box: “Although I didn’t say those words, I quite join them,” the culprit of the scandal appears next to him. Kerensky, letting N. finish his speech, announced a break. Excitement. They say that the insult was thrown by a dark subject - Sakharov, organizing the counter-revolution. Cossacks and Kaledin are sent to the ministerial team. They say that Kerensky has been summoned to a duel. The wounded officer is intensively campaigning against Kerensky. Finally, the ministers appear, and Kerensky informs the meeting that the incident is over, because it turns out that “due to poor acoustic conditions,” neither he nor anyone else heard what he called himself (the acoustics in the theater are amazing). Kerensky's concluding speech in print is quoted with the omission of the passage that led many to say that he had gone mad. He suddenly, listing all the difficulties presented to the Provisional Government, said: “I am accused of being a dreamer; yes, I might [maybe] b [s], I believed and dreamed too much. You want me to lock my heart, toss the key, so that I am guided by one cold reason (he is interrupted: "No, we need your heart! Long live the Provisional Government!"). Okay, I'll do that, - turning to the bourgeoisie: - Do you want this? That’s what I’ll do. I will give up my faith and dreams, I will give up the key to my heart, "and so on.

The whole meeting was stirred up and, standing up like one person, gave him a loud ovation. S. thinks that his unconscious desire for dictatorship was here, he dreamed, perhaps, that they would shout to him: "Be a dictator!" Some directly stated that he was crazy.

They say that many are transferring money to Minsk, Dvinsk, etc., hoping that the Germans will have them more integral. Peshekhonov resigned. Titov says the Provisional Government has decided to raise the fixed prices by 100%. Titov and other comrades of the minister also resigned. The Peshekhonov system of fixed prices to avoid financial collapse (otherwise the ruble will inevitably fall) met with stubborn opposition, especially from industrialists. And Peshekhonov did not rely on cooperation, considering it not a socialist organization. Staal sneaks into the ministers. Out of nothing, he created a counter-revolutionary conspiracy with the grand dukes, and now they are all being released abroad. I didn’t like some of the features in him: at a dinner in Prague on the 15th with Peshekhonov, he kept saying that the ministers in France were dying for food, and all this with an unpleasant laugh. Then, about his friend Kerensky, he said that he hesitated whether to open the cathedral, and that when he (Staal) told him that Constantine the Great opened, he decided to open it, but did not open it.

Something extraordinary happened today. In the afternoon, S. was informed by telephone that Kornilov had presented the Provisional Government with ultimatum demands, which included the fact that he had the right to appoint all ministers. His demands were conveyed by Vladimir Nikolaevich Lvov, whom Kerensky immediately arrested and informed Kornilov by telephone that he had been removed from the Supreme Command. The Provisional Government resigned everything in order to give freedom of action to Kerensky, who should compose a Directory of 12 persons (Filatyev claims that the number of persons has not yet been established). Kornilov allegedly goes with cavalry to Petersburg, he relies on the officers, according to another version, General Krymov with the Cossacks is going to Petersburg, and two cavalry divisions are stationed near Petersburg. Peshekhonov does not leave because of the moment. Yesterday Kornilov dismissed Verkhovsky and appointed Prince Dolgorukov, but today he (Verkhovsky) did not submit to this. He is afraid of the actions of the Bolsheviks and Black Hundreds, who are conducting a pogrom operation, and somehow disappears.

The excitement among those close to the government is enormous. Kishkin was summoned by Kerensky to Petersburg. Kishkin makes an announcement.

Kornilov issued an ad, which the Provisional Government banned from printing. His troops are marching, and in Luga there was a clash of his troops with the government, they say, bloody, and his troops moved forward, now they are 15 versts from Gatchina.

Metaxa reported that some kind of artillery went over to the side of Kornilov. Here are the details regarding Vladimir Lvov. He appeared to Kerensky and set conditions for him. Kerensky said that it was impossible to agree to them, then Lvov told him that measures had already been taken and that otherwise he (Kerensky) would not leave the Winter Palace.

Then Kerensky, before going to the other ministers, walked along all the corridors and noticed that the wrong regiment was standing on the clock; he telephoned to see if there were any loyal regiments, and the guard was immediately changed. When he returned from the Council of Ministers to Lvov, he told him that 10 ministers had resigned. “That's good,” Lvov said. - So, I can go - everything is done. - “No, wait. And Kerensky clapped his hands. The guard came in. - Arrest him. And Lvov was arrested.

The mood is different. The Bolsheviks spread rumors that Riga was not taken, and that the government, in order to scare, announced its surrender. But still, until they decided not to oppose the Provisional Government; the officers rejoice and greet Kornilov.

Today I. V. Knyazev, who was at the front, told the terrible case of the pacification of the regiment by General Dennitsyn - the mutinous regiment refused to surrender, it was surrounded by artillery and Cossacks. Dennitsyn rode to them with a Cossack, but they refused to surrender. Then he ordered to use buckshot, they did not give up, despite the killed and wounded. Dennitsyn sent Cossacks with whips at them, who, in spite of their guns, beat them up. The regiment surrendered, it was disarmed and began to be loaded onto the train, and at the entrance to each car there were 4 Cossacks and whipped whips at every soldier who climbed in, so much so that after 10 soldiers from the Cossacks sweat poured down. They brought them to Orsha, lined up, and Dennitsyn demanded the extradition of the ringleaders - they were handed over immediately - 25 or 20 people, among them several officers and one staff captain. They were immediately shot, even without bandages. Then Dennitsyn began counting the tenth and they were immediately shot. After that, the regiment pacified, and at the very name of Dennitsyn the soldiers turn pale and shudder. Horrible!!

There are a lot of rumors. Yesterday, at a meeting of the City Committee of People's Socialists, Filatyev conveyed that Tosna had been taken by Kornilov, today Ananov confirmed the same according to the city authorities, adding that all routes to St. Petersburg were cut off. Yesterday the cadets were sent by lorries to Petersburg. Martial law and military censorship have been introduced here - today newspapers are in the old way with white bald patches - and it is disgusting that Kerensky only asks not to publish military news, but here they overdid it and introduced full military censorship on all news. K. d. Refused to participate in the ministries. They obviously sympathize with Kornilov and propose that Alekseev should be entrusted with the compilation of the Cabinet, and he himself is for Kornilov.

Yesterday they were afraid to touch Kaledin - today he has already been arrested. There was an interesting general meeting yesterday at the N [arodno] -s [socialist] party. Chembulov, who spent all this time in St. Petersburg, recounted his impressions. He says that when it was announced to Kerensky from the Council of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies that they were against the Directory, he, slapping himself on the knee with a ruler, excitedly declared: "Gentlemen, this is torture!" - and left. Our party spoke out against the Directory, and he willingly listens to advice - he himself gave up this idea. Seropelko spoke about the message of Grigory Trubetskoy, who came from Headquarters to the Zemsky Union. According to their version, Kerensky, fearing an uprising of the Bolsheviks, sent to Kornilov with a choice: that he either (...) or join the Directory. And supposedly Kornilov, with consent to the latter, sent Lvov to Kerensky; Kerensky, on the other hand, was allegedly attacked by a trance "like at the Moscow conference," he forgot about his proposal and arrested Lvov. But the fact that Kerensky talked for a long time with Kornilov and that Kornilov in his appeals asserts that the Provisional Government is getting in touch with the German headquarters is also at odds with this. The version is sewn with white thread and, perhaps, is based on the fact that Kerensky consulted with Kornilov how to defend Petersburg in the event of a Bolshevik uprising.

The Cadets are not without sin in this matter, and therefore they make it a condition of their participation in the ministry not in-depth searches for the roots of the conspiracy (see PB 31 / VIII).

Staal appealed to the meeting with a proposal to pass a resolution on the full measure of punishment in the court of Kornilov. It turns out (heard S.) that just yesterday Kerensky suggested that Kornilov surrender and promised to release him abroad.

For memory, I want to write down the prices now, for the fourth year of the war in comparison with its beginning: in 1914 low shoes - 12 rubles, in 1915 - 19 rubles, in 1916 high shoes - 27 rubles, in 1917 open simple shoes - 60 rubles. And that's all. A cabby from the station to us - 10–12 rubles. (and in the spring it b [s] - 6 p.). The ruble is falling dizzily. Potatoes 8 rub. measure, and last year a bag, etc. Milk - 60 k. bottle [bottle], and that's it, that's it. Many leave Moscow (NS Denisova - to Omsk, Mosolov - to the Yaroslavl province) because of the high cost. Why Savinkov left is of interest to everyone: some say that, without keeping track of what was the matter with Kornilov, since he had been at Headquarters almost the day before; others - because of resentment that they were not allowed to combine the Minister of War and the General Government. But for some reason it seems to me that he had connections with Kornilov. I correctly predicted contrary to the opinion of S. and others that Kornilov was defeated... I firmly believe in the instinct of the people, which constantly leads and leads out of critical situations. They say that a week ago all the Khodynsk troops were going to go to smash Moscow, they were dissuaded. Kadetka Zalesskaya and many candidates are also in favor of Kornilov. Even a condition of joining the ministry was made not to bring to justice the indirect participants in the Kornilov conspiracy, that is, obviously, theirs?

Staal believes that if the case was hushed up, as required by Rodzianko and Co., then every soldier will have the right to do whatever he pleases. They adopted a resolution: 1) To demand that the perpetrators be brought to trial; 2) Support the coalition ministry; 3) Against repression and the abolition of constitutional guarantees (for which Filatov, now the acting commissar of Moscow, spoke out).

It is very good that the meeting was convened, it united and gave an opportunity for many to express themselves. It was definitely said that Kornilov and I would not go, and that when he met with the revolutionary democracy, we would be on the side of the latter.

Yesterday evening S.P.Simson was with his brother, investigator Fyodor Pavlovich, who is now considering Rasputin's case at the Supreme Investigative Commission. He tells a lot of interesting and terrible things.

Vyrubova served time in prison in the Peter and Paul Fortress. There she was beaten by the soldiers, they wanted to rape her, so she did not sleep all night. Khvostov, whom he visited there, was very depressed, believes that the return of the old is impossible, but that there will still be a lot of blood; from him it smells terribly of garlic, he explained that they are being fed such rotten meat that you cannot swallow without garlic. Vyrubova was fed slop. F.P. says that the notes of Kryzhanovsky, the most intelligent of the former rulers, are terribly interesting. The Sukhomlinov case, like all the others, turned out to be a pouf, there are no special materials. Khvostov says that when he walks down the street, everyone says: "Here is a real bourgeois" - he is very massive. On the way from captivity, the arrested soldiers almost killed him, and only the officers saved him.

Kerensky, according to rumors, divorced his wife a week and married the actress Tim (it turned out to be nonsense). There is already talk of orgies in the Winter Palace. Simson believes that the case with Kornilov is not so simple and that before the investigation it is impossible to talk about the trial. He thinks that Kerensky himself summoned them first. A funny case with Gromoglasov - his suitcase with sour cakes was mistakenly seized under the guise of Sturmer's suitcase and added to the material evidence (both suitcases were on the table side by side), wondering that the cakes were fresh in it, although they had lain for three months. They also wanted to send Khvostov abroad, but the Extraordinary Supreme Commission of Inquiry opposed.

The coalition ministry, which was formed yesterday, collapsed today due to the protests of the Council of Soldiers and Workers' Deputies against the participation in it of the Cadets, allegedly involved in the Kornilov conspiracy (Kishkin should have been there, Kartashev remained, Konovalova was also called, but Smirnov and Buryshkin entered).

Now the Directory of five people was formed - Kerensky, Verkhovsky, Verderevsky, Tereshchenko and Nikitin. Kuskova sent a letter that Kerensky could do nothing. Obviously, Bolshevism is winning. He got up after Kornilov's speech. In some cities, the Soviets have already been declared the supreme body of power (Vladimir), they also issued an arrest warrant (in Vladimir, 1,500 places have been prepared in prisons for the Cadets), closed newspapers, etc. In some cities, it has already been decided to close all bourgeois newspapers. The commune begins. In Moscow, they say, there are intensified arrests, by order not only of the "six" (the chairmen of various democratic organizations and the prosecutor), but some "five", "nine" and "thirteen". They say they will be arrested by dozens. Simson, F.P. said that the Okhranka archive was in a terrible state - everything was being dragged and carried away, and Shchegolev was the first. S. had already submitted a project to unite all the archives under one command, but the ministers have no time, they are engaged in state affairs, it is not for nothing that Yurenev said that he did not have time to do anything, he was conferring everything in the Winter Palace.

IN Sakharov swears that Kornilov is right and Kerensky is lying, but then Kornilov's telegram is incomprehensible. Now he has already been arrested.

Today S. received a telegram from Stepun that it was necessary to resolve the issue of the commissary in Finland, which S. had never officially talked about, and suddenly Titov called through his wife to stop S. from traveling, because he was accused of killing generals by soldiers in Vyborg. , accused on the grounds that he was not present there, and yet no one sent him there. Titov says that S. want to judge, well, this, of course, is nonsense, otherwise Stepun would not have sent a telegram that the issue must be resolved. Today, 5 more Bolsheviks told him that he had been appointed to a high post in Moscow. You will not understand anything! From "Russkoye Slovo" they called Finland about this appointment. It all happened.

Kerensky did not even think of marrying Tim - all evil tongues spread rumors. Nekrasov and Skobelev got married. The Bolsheviks have compiled a list of ministers: chairman - Chernov; internal affairs - Lunacharsky; Foreign Affairs - Ryazanov; food - Kamenev, etc.

Yesterday S. returned from St. Petersburg. Of course, all his accusations turned out to be a lie, an invention of the ladies (Myasnyankina), his refusal was immediately accepted. He was told from all sides that he was being tipped for the ministry of confessions; according to some versions - him, according to others - the minister of public education. In St. Petersburg, life is pretty calm. Was S. in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he was offered the post of Moscow commissar, he refused this unpleasant position - to monitor the legality of the actions of the Duma. This is probably the post that the five Bolsheviks spoke about.

The Kornilov story is as follows: Savinkov proposed to Kerensky to establish a dictatorship of three (Savinkov, Kerensky and Kornilov). Kerensky agreed, and Savinkov told this to Kornilov, while Kerensky, meanwhile, was dissuaded, he abandoned this idea, but Kornilov spoke out: “I don’t want to give up,” he said.

They say that Zarudny left the ministry because he shouted at Kerensky that he himself was to blame for this matter.

And with General Kornilov (Simson spoke) it was like this: Kerensky began to shout at him that he would rip off his shoulder straps, Krymov replied: “Not you, boy, gave them to me, and you will not rip them off,” he turned and left.

They say that the allies gave us an ultimatum: to establish order in two weeks (they did not indicate funds), if it is not there, then according to one version their representatives will be recalled and Russia will be left to themselves, according to the other - they will make peace with compensation at the expense of Russia.

Staal has a very nasty story with B. Dm. Nikitin. BD came to Staal, his former patron in law, to chide him for "putting on a uniform)." He began to tell him that as if from the new "conspiracy" did not come out the same poof as from the previous one. Suddenly Staal switched to a businesslike tone and interrogated Nikitin that he knew about the conspiracy (BD had come from the front), BD refused to answer. “Then I'll arrest you,” Staal said. "Moreover, I won't say anything." Staal called the investigator, but he was not at home, then he himself arrested Nikitin and took him to the "six" for interrogation. She sat in the attic of the general's governor's house. There he was asked if he knew anything from P. Tolstoy and V. V. Vyrubov, then they left and passed a resolution to let him go, since Staal had vouched for him, and Staal was praised for being a “friend did not spare to save the revolution. " Nikitin was completely stunned and wanted to report to the Council, but Filatyev advised him against - everyone, they say, let him defend himself. Staal's strange figure! Everywhere and with Zarudny he had a collision, since, bypassing him, he reported to Kerensky. Today the story of Nikitin will be dealt with in our party committee.

It turns out that Kerensky wanted to bring Savinkov to trial for the Kornilov story. Yesterday, the demonstration of troops took place peacefully here in Moscow.

The third day there was an important meeting of the City Committee n. with., in connection with the Staal case. First of all, he himself outlined the incident with Nikitin, and said that he believed that he had made a mistake, which is explained by his agitated mood and the fact that it was on the worst days. After which Simson spoke and said that the mistake was legal, because according to the law: 1) the witness has the right not to say what he does not want and 2) it is illegal to arrest the witness. He asked if Staal had called Korenkov, the investigating magistrate. Staal categorically denies this, but Nikitin affirms. Then Seryozha said that Staal had committed an anti-Party act, regardless of the fact that Nikitin, who was affiliated with the party; he himself, as a member of our party, did not act like a true socialist. Bryukhatov spoke from the point of view of violation of the elementary rules of hospitality. Staal replied that Simson's instructions did not matter, because every law disappears at a revolutionary moment. That Bryukhatov's instruction about "Bedouin" morality does not matter to him, since the West has long abandoned it, and only S. the statement about the violation of partisanship matters, and he wants to know how the party views his act. He himself believes that he did not violate either the principles of socialism or the revolutionary ones. I also forgot to say that Filatyev stood up for him (Staal), saying that already the right-wing elements of the legal profession are persecuting him as a socialist, and that since he admitted his mistake, there is nothing more to say. Volk-Karachevsky suggested moving on to the next business, but Staal said that the "tacit" resolution did not satisfy him, and he demanded a resolution. S. asked if he wanted "dots over i". - "Yes". - "Then I must say about the incident with Zarudny, also a member of the party, that all this surprises us very much and makes the party a laughing stock." “If it's just your personal opinion, I don't care,” Staal said. Katz came out in defense of him - everything is already clear from his (Staal's) explanation, and there is nothing to say and demand a resolution “as SP demands,” who did not demand it at all, he protested.

So, with tacit condemnation and stayed.

Yesterday Prince Shcherbatov demanded from S. to save the Historical Museum from destruction, in view of the demonstration. S. swore to him that nothing would happen, but he said that this was not enough for him, he needed guarantees: “You tell them, influence them,” he repeated, and S. “guaranteed”.

Obviously, after all, everything goes to the middle line, and the democratic conference will not be as scary as everyone thought, that is, that the Bolsheviks will win - the cities and the cooperatives have diluted it. Chernov behaves indecently towards Kerensky and "abstains" from all votes.

Petrishchev said the other day that peace was concluded on the condition: restoration of Poland and Lithuania; Courland goes to Germany, Trieste and Trient to Italy, to us - a protectorate over Armenia; Alsace and Lorraine - France, African colonies - Germany; Belgium is recovering. And Serbia will unite with Bosnia and Herzegovina, which were part of the "Triune Monarchy - Austria" as a third part.

Prices - a pound of chocolates - 7–8 rubles, a piglet - 14 rubles, a goose - 15 rubles. At the Saratov railway station, flour and cereals are smuggled - all at insane prices (a pood of wheat flour 80 rubles, etc.). Cabbies from train stations - 15 rubles.

In the society that surrounds Sonya Petersen, everyone is for Kornilov, for strong power and incredible nasty things they say about Kerensky. S., for example, heard: “At night trying on the crown” (!!) What vulgar nonsense! And almost no one notices that Verkhovsky, a suspicious adventurer, is sneaking into Napoleons. Now Chernov is already in favor of Kerensky, and writes that he is “an idealist who has fallen into the hands of crooks,” that is, Savinkov and others — in general, Chernov is a fair goose.

The day before yesterday, Polner dined with us (he came from Petersburg), he says that there is a rumor that the Germans ordered that there should be unrest in the Baltic Fleet in October. They even broke out earlier, but how much is this connected with the Germans? However, espionage and the like are probably very well developed. They also say that in October the soldiers will leave the trenches, they do not want to sit there for another winter. Let's see, because they say much more than they actually have - after all, they said that from September 20 to 25 (Simson) there will be a massacre in Moscow! There is nothing. So many times the day has already been recorded. Yes, Lenya Tugarinov writes about the soldiers from the front. Manyu Petersen was shot at her estate by a seventeen-year-old Kronstadt who had returned to the village - he had been stealing all summer and threatened to kill her. At night, he shot her through the window, the bullet lingered on a chair, table and tablecloths, and only a shrapnel hit her and got stuck on the finger from the peritoneum.

The men, according to her, do not like him very much, but they are afraid, since he also robbed them. In general, morals: out of the three policemen, they have two thieves, one of them from hard labor.

The Democratic Conference has chosen the Pre-Parliament, they want to appoint a government, and the government only wants to be responsible to them. Yesterday Kerensky summoned Kishkin and the others at 2 o'clock, then refused their arrival at 5 o'clock, and then called again. Polner talked about the Senate, and how difficult it was for him there, because he was on trade taxes, with which he was not at all familiar.

Elections to regional councils are today. It is very sad - in our center, 25% vote, and among them there are soldiers who do not skimp. They say that the masses are Bolsheviks. We and they are incompatible. They are politicians; we, perhaps, are too ... Petersburgers say that Kerensky is now lying in the story with Kornilov, because he himself talked about many things with him. Yes, we would willingly break up with the Trudoviks, but they themselves do not want to. Myakotin only dreams of a break. They thwarted the elections to the Central Committee because they saw that they were in the minority.

Elena A. arrived from Kiev. He reports from reliable sources that the Allies decided to fight further, and that for this America took us under its patronage, that it bought all our gold mines for 55 billion and is sending us an army and all equipment. Ate. Al. says that on the Romanian front there was not a single case of flight and that on the southwestern front she herself was present at our very energetic reconnaissance.

When I was last on a subscription to the Bolshoi Theater, from the stage some gentleman made an appeal for a loan of freedom, saying that we are an anvil, over which a German hammer is brought, and that in our power, either the anvil or the hammer will fly apart. A lady rose from the stalls, who all the time was throwing remarks that our freedom is a lie, and loudly addressed the public: "We are being told about the German danger, but tell the truth, gentlemen, do we not all dream of Germans?" - Voices were heard: "Yes, yes", and no one protested; she continued: “There is no freedom, we are cowards and slaves, slaves of soldiers, workers, servants, and the loan money will go to these gentlemen (pointing to the box of the Soviets), and we will wait for our children to be smashed against stones in front of our eyes ... I get 125 rubles and have to support my family. I am not afraid of anything, this is where I am sitting, come and kill me, but I will speak the truth. " On the ground, they were very sympathetic to her and said that "our men are worthless anywhere, even though the lady spoke." All this is very significant.

In St. Petersburg, protection from the Germans was transferred into the hands of the Bolsheviks, something like a Convention of representatives of the Soviets, the Centroflot, and others, and the commander-in-chief must give them a report. And here in Moscow, in Khamovniki and beyond the Moskva River - crowds of people (worker Bolsheviks) go for the whole day after the "Miraculous", newly revealed icon of the Mother of God, who holds a scepter in her hands, and on the back the inscription: "Autocracy" - the clergy take advantage of this. In the party, the Trudoviks protest against S. because of his "despotism." They're coming (...) And then a bloc of cooperators, the working intelligentsia and Unity was formed, the first to put up Plekhanov and Prokopovich, for whom everything was brewed up, and Gurevich has now come out with an indecent article against us, saying that there are only three real lists: k-d, the Bolsheviks and the bloc.

The turn in mood is clearly felt. Our "thermometer" —the workers at the Zadruga printing house — are already speaking differently than before. Until recently, they strove for the "dictatorship of the proletariat", assuring that they would arrange everything perfectly, now it is characteristic that they asked us to give them lectures on various serious issues, namely us, the People's Socialists, and we start.

S. says that they do not feel confident, because there is no money, all the money is hidden by the peasants. S. said that the Soviets came up with two ways to extort money from them: 1) put all the released soldiers in a manufactory so that it would go exclusively to the countryside; and 2) here in Moscow, so that the money for the apartments is deposited in the Duma, it will give out to the owners in kind (firewood, etc.) everything they need, and the money is only interest on income. Witty.

We are threatened with a general strike of city employees, obviously, it will still be averted. Many people dream of Germans. The other day the tram conductor, angry with the drunken soldiers, cried out: "If only the German would come as soon as possible, he would show you here!"

The cadets organized security for the "Green Guard" by the name of Volk-Karachevsky to fight the "Red Guard" - they turned to Panov, he seemed to meet halfway, pointing out a number of our members, but Volk-Karachevsky gave him a decisive rebuff. S. is right that our National Socialists are separated from democracy by a moat - is it really possible to go to such negotiations on the "Green Guard".

26 october

V. Khizhnyakov visited S. yesterday. He himself attended a meeting of ministers, where Verkhovsky proposed ending the "separate peace" (Burtsev made this public, and his newspaper was closed for this), Kerensky exclaimed: "You're out of your mind!" Khizhnyakov says that Kerensky is the only one who does anything in the Provisional Government and understands. In secret, he said that Kerensky even wanted the Bolsheviks to speak as soon as possible in order to end this.

Yesterday the Bolshevik Military Revolutionary Committee in St. Petersburg came out openly against the Provisional Government. In the afternoon, a rumor spread that the Provisional Government had been arrested, that Verkhovsky had declared himself a dictator, and Trotsky had been a minister of war. In the evening, Miller (Trudovik), who spoke on the phone with St. Petersburg, denied this, saying that, on the contrary, the Military Revolutionary Committee was surrounded by troops at the Smolny Institute. Today it became clear that Kerensky in the Council of the Republic made an open statement that it was necessary to fight them. An order was issued for their arrest, and the military council of the Executive Committee of the Soviet of Soldiers', Workers' and Peasants' Deputies took the side of the government and went over to the Mariinsky Palace, in Smolny there were only Bolsheviks.

Rumors all day. First, that the government was in captivity, then Nikitin called from Petersburg from the Winter Palace that they were holding out, that Kerensky was in the army, then that the troops of the Northern Front were already in Petersburg and that the telegraph, telephone and train stations had been released, etc. Then from the Soviet workers' deputies - that the Provisional Government has been overthrown and that everything is in their hands. Miller (director of the post office in Moscow) says the government is holding on, but that the Aurora is shelling the Mariinsky and Winter Palaces. In Moscow, the post office is occupied by the 56th regiment (from the released criminal ones), as well as the Nikolaevsky railway station. But only control was introduced, Miller was asked to stay, but Vedernikov, the government commissar, was assigned to him.

In the Soviet of Workers' Deputies, a seven has been allocated, to which all power has been entrusted, with it some kind of commissar, and the Duma has formed its own Committee of Salvation from all socialist parties.

In Petersburg

On the 24th, weapons were distributed.

From the morning of the 25th in St. Petersburg, Bolshevik cadets were patrolling, until two o'clock, when they began to detain cars and send them to the disposal of the Provisional Government, but soldiers also detained them, demanding the Smolny pass. Prokopovich and Gvozdev were detained and sent to Smolny. Voskresensky in Smolny released Gvozdev, and Prokopovich was also placed under house arrest. Junkers are standing nearer to the palace. In the evening there was a rumor that the bridges would be pulled apart, but the Bolsheviks did not allow it. Divorced one Palace. Shots began. Rumor has it that Kerensky has left. From 7 o'clock the Red Guards walk towards the Winter Palace. The palace is occupied by four armored cars, a cadet, a women's battalion and two guns. One destroyer with red sailors approached, an armored car drove up, and four armored cars went over to their side, then two guns also left, machine guns and rifles remained. The cadets began retreating to the courtyard of the Winter Palace, and the revolutionary soldiers began to fire at them.

At 4 o'clock, the General Staff surrendered without a fight. The phone is working properly. Ask for help. The city duma in full force, and the peasant party deputies also held a joint meeting, informational. The meeting is continuous. Few cartridges. The shelling from military weapons began, they fall into different places. At night, the whole Duma, without the Bolsheviks, marched to the Winter Palace and the remnants (military) with them. They were not allowed in by force, and a few minutes later the Winter Palace surrendered. The Bolsheviks introduced security. The trams were running, and the outside order was not violated. The Mensheviks released "Soldier's Voice"; they announced the composition of the Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland. The Bolsheviks took away this newspaper, snatching it from the hands of those who bought it, and immediately tore it up. An excited crowd was around the Duma. A clash with the Red Guards as a result of their volley, which killed and injured several people. The rumor that the State Duma was arrested, during the defense by the sailors, an armored car arrived. The Revolutionary Committee did not give orders, they were soon removed. Ryazanov appeared as a commissar to clarify the issue of the Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland. He was told that they were not creating a new government, but that they were concerned about protecting the crowd. The crowd grew, and the sailors embittered it. The Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland was transferred to another location. There was a rumor that Kerensky took Gatchina and Tsarskoe Selo and was approaching St. Petersburg — false information. The colonels were very unsuccessful in guarding the Winter Palace. Kerensky had deposed him even earlier, but he ended up at the head of Salvation of the Motherland and the Revolution. He appealed to the cadets, who had already surrendered their weapons, placing them in a special room under the protection of the Bolsheviks. The armored car division promised them help if the Mikhailovskoye School came. They managed to kidnap 6 armored cars with guns from the Vladimir school. They rushed to the guard and repulsed their weapons; armed with machine guns, they were ready for defense. The shelling of the Vladimir school by grenadiers, sailors and Red Guards from two 3-inch and two 6-inch. The cadets fired back and asked Polkovnikov for help. At about an hour they had to surrender, as the walls collapsed and caught fire. They surrendered, they were finished off on the street, the remnants ended up in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Other cadets were also arrested. The Engineering Castle surrendered without a fight. Three armored cars and 300 cadets and K [committee] from [herding] R [odin] Colonel [ikov] wanted to defend. They did not know this and left. This ended the fighting. The socialist ministers were released, but the Cadets remained. Some ministries decided to go on strike until the commissioner was removed. No one appeared in Min [hysteria] of the ways of communication before their arrival and until Friday. Relations with Kerensky were constantly entrenched armies, and trains went to Tsarskoe Selo and back.

The battle began at Pulkovo. Kerensky fled on Wednesday; Finnish artillery on six torpedo boats and sappers came to the rescue. At first he (Kerensky) won, but the Latvian riflemen moved from the flank, and he had to retreat to Gatchina. Two companies of scooters went to the rescue, but went over to the Bolsheviks. Kerensky's advisers are Savinkov, Stankevich, Krasnov and the Cossacks. It was decided that Kerensky should go to the front to fetch his forces before the battle; after the fight he left. The Cossacks refused to fight. Voitinsky was arrested. On Friday, rumor was that Kerensky's new troops had occupied Gatchina, but they sent a train to Moscow. Our members have entered everywhere (?). The Bolsheviks proposed a ministry with the People's Socialists inclusive. Our Central Committee, by 13 votes out of 14, decided not to enter into any relations with the Bolsheviks and to seek a ministry without them. In the evening with [socialists] revolutionaries and Mensheviks - to defend themselves in the Duma. Five revolutionaries did not have a definite decision, five for an agreement with the Bolsheviks, three against, one abstained; three approached - six were against. They were given a reprieve, and our Central Committee decided not to enter into relations with the Bolsheviks and to recall its member from the Vikzhel. The Mensheviks have 11 for and 10 against. These 10 withdrew from the Central Committee, but in the end, and 11 refused, because the Bolsheviks rejected their proposal. The Petrograd troops are all on the side of the Bolsheviks. The inertia of the parties. The committee [is] for the salvation [of] the Rod [s] and the roar [of the olutia] turned into a soldier's anthill from the troops of units - single or from groups, they all asked for directives, but there was no center that would solder them. In Petersburg there are four Cossack regiments and three near Petersburg from Finland, but they agree neither for nor against to act, if the infantry. The order for the arrest of Peshekhonov. Closed "Rech", "Birzhevye Vedomosti" and other "Day" after the verses deciphered in it. Narodnoye Slovo is published, but the Bolsheviks are irritated. The Bolsheviks sent sailors with the order to arrest the editor-in-chief (the chief tycoon). They let him out, but tore up the room, ruined the furniture, tore up the paper, requisitioned the printing house. We left the guards. Then, they say, they broke the cash register, the door was dented. They say: "This is not us, but others." The doorman called, the big cash register was not hacked, but taken from a small one 1000 rubles. Loss of 10,000 rubles. The workers at the general meeting protested against the barbaric treatment, they want to work here, declare their places under a boycott. The next day, the guards were removed. The defeat of the Winter Palace - paintings, chandeliers, dishes, a wine cellar. Bread for 6 days. The Bolsheviks detained two barges and requisitioned what was going to Finland. The representative of the Vikzhel under the Bolsheviks told everything that he saw at Kerensky's. He was expelled from the party by Planson, Peshekhonov, Znamensky, Bernstein, Tchaikovsky - S. S. R. and R. Tokarev and someone else - seven people. A total of 40 people.

End of introductory snippet.

* * *

The given introductory fragment of the book Diary. 1914-1920 (P. E. Melgunova-Stepanova, 2014) provided by our book partner -

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On this day, at 7.10 pm, the German ambassador, Count Pourtales, handed the Russian Foreign Minister Sazonov an official declaration of war.

The first shots of the new war rang out four days earlier - July 15 / July 28 Austria-Hungary, having declared war on Serbia, began bombarding Belgrade with long-range artillery. Attempts to peacefully resolve the consequences of the Sarajevo murder were unsuccessful. However, the Russian emperor did not give up hope that the local Austro-Serbian conflict would not develop into a pan-European war. Since July 15 / July 28 on July 19 / August 1 1914 Nicholas II made every possible effort to prevent further escalation of the conflict.

It was obvious that Austria-Hungary acted with the full support of the German Empire, without whose approval it could not take any serious steps. Emperor Nicholas II clearly understood that peace in Europe could be maintained only through negotiations with Kaiser Wilhelm II. In a telegram from July 15 / July 28 Nicholas asked the Kaiser to mitigate the current situation by influencing Austria-Hungary.

The next day, the Sovereign proposed to William II to transfer the Austro-Serbian conflict to the Hague Conference for consideration. In response, the Kaiser tried to convince the Russian emperor that Austria-Hungary did not plan to annex Serbian territory and called for Russia not to intervene in this conflict, so as not to unleash a war in Europe. This telegram stopped the general mobilization already begun by Nicholas II, which was replaced by a partial one. By such actions, the emperor wanted to influence Austria-Hungary, force her to stop hostilities, indicating his support for the Serbian side. Germany's reaction was quite predictable: Chancellor Bethmann-Hollweg demanded that Russia immediately stop all military preparations. The next day, Wilhelm II repeated the demands of his chancellor in a telegram sent to Nicholas II:

It seems obvious that the German emperor found the current situation most suitable for unleashing a pan-European war, for which Germany had carefully prepared all the 15 years preceding it. However, in order not to turn out to be an aggressor in the eyes of the European community, it was necessary to shift the responsibility for the outbreak of hostilities to the other side - in this case - to Russia. The Kaiser did not want to admit that the Austrian mobilization began earlier than the Russian one and that the actions of Nicholas II in this situation were completely justified and legitimate.

July 18 / July 31 a decree on general mobilization was promulgated. At the same time, the Sovereign on the same day assured the German Kaiser that the Russian troops would not take any defiant action. Wilhelm continued to insist on an end to Russian mobilization. In a conversation with the German ambassador, Count Pourtales, Nicholas II said that for technical reasons it was impossible to cancel the mobilization, and once again assured the German side that the Russian army would not start the war first. Under such conditions, the German emperor probably realized that Russia was the last obstacle on the way to the much-desired war, and that she would not allow Austria-Hungary to deal with Serbia. The next day, July 19 (August 1) 1914 Germany has declared war on Russia. July 20 / August 2 From the balcony of the Winter Palace, the Tsar announced Russia's entry into the war with the German Empire:

References:

1. Airapetov O.R. Russia's participation in the First World War. 1914 .-- M., 2014
2. Multatuli P.V. Foreign policy of Emperor Nicholas II (1894-1917). - M., 2012.
3. Oldenburg S.S. Reign of Emperor Nicholas II. - M., 2016.

03.08.2019

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