1-7 January 1917
- By Mark Sutcliffe
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- 07 Jan, 2017
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Final weeks of the Russian monarchy
(photo State Archive of the Russian Federation)
The rapidly increasing disorganisation of transport, the unchecked orgy of abuses by unscrupulous men in every branch of commerce and industry, and in public and political life as well ... the dishonesty of minor government officials in the provinces - all these things have led to an unfair distribution of foodstuffs and articles of prime necessity ... The population of the capital and large cities are in fact already suffering from hunger. [...] There is little doubt that rumours [that Russia is on the eve of a revolution] are exaggerated as compared with the actual conditions, but nevertheless the situation is serious enough to deserve immediate attention. [...] one is forced to admit that there is a great deal of truth in the pronouncements of the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party who maintain 'that events of primary importance are approaching, events which are entirely unforeseen by the Government, which are bewildering and terrible, and at the same time unavoidable.'
(Report on the political situation in Russia on the Eve of the Revolution of February as Viewed by the Police, October 1916)
1 January
Nicholas II's diary entry for the final New Year of his reign
At six o'clock we went to church. In the evening I worked. At ten to midnight we went to the service. I prayed fervently to the Lord to have mercy on Russia.
(Sergei Mironenko (ed.), Nicholas and Alexandra: The Last Imperial Family of Tsarist Russia, London 1998)
Alexander Benois, St Petersburg artist and critic, writes in his diary on the same day
What will the coming year bring? If only it would bring peace, the rest would follow. But for there to be peace, people must come to their senses, there needs to be a 'will for peace' ... This should be clear even to such blockheads as Milyukov and his ilk [Pavel Milyukov, leader of the Constitutional Democrats, or Kadets, was a staunch advocate of Russia's role in the war; he subsequently became Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first Provisional government] who are leading Russia to destruction in the name of the heresies they preach! And yet the idiocy of man is limitless and all-powerful, and it is entirely possible that we will end up in general ruin and cataclysm!
(Alexander Benois, Diary 1916-1918, Moscow 2006)
Pyotr Gnedich, art historian, critic and dramatist, writes in a Petrograd newspaper
New Year. And the cruel, bloody war still goes on. For the third year in a row we greet the New Year surrounded by the ghosts of its nightmares ... There can be no return to the past. Our boats are burned. We have to accept that the old order is collapsing like a decrepit piece of junk that's no good for anything. A new structure will emerge ... The New Year is a milestone, a turning post at which we measure the path we've trod ... There are many sorrows and horrors ahead, but we must bear them and emerge from the quagmire to a brighter way.
(Pyotr Gnedich, 'At New Year!', Petrogradskaya gazeta, 1 January 1917)
Diary entry of Georges-Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia
Today, the first day of the New Year according to the orthodox calendar, the Emperor received the congratulations of the Diplomatic Corps at Tsarskoe Selo. The cold is intense - minus 38! [...] As usual Nicholas II was kind and natural and even affected a certain care-free air; but his pale, thin face betrayed the nature of his secret thoughts. While he was making his rounds, I talked to my Italian colleague, the Marchese Carlotti, and we simultaneously passed the same observation: among the whole of the Tsar's brilliant and glittering suite there was not a face which did not express anxiety...
(Maurice Paléologue, An Ambassador's Memoirs 1914-1917, London 1973)
2 January
Diary entry of Captain I.I. Rengarten of the Baltic Fleet
They say that the empress has a strong will and that the sovereign does as she says; that all the ministers, if they don't want to be sacked, have to report not just to the sovereign but to the empress as well. So that in effect she is ruling. There's also talk of her distinctly German sympathies... The scoundrels! What are they doing to my country!? Just thinking about it makes your head spin.
(Diary of I.I. Rengarten, The February Revolution in the Baltic Fleet)
Report in The Times headed 'Rasputin Dead'
The body of the notorious monk Rasputin was found on the bank of one of the branches of the Neva this morning. An enquiry has been opened. Gregory Rasputin, the peasant 'fakir', whose death has been previously reported on more than one occasion, exercised for several years a sinister influence in Russia. He was a favourite at Court, and enjoyed the patronage of the Empress, who is believed to have attributed the birth of the Tsarevitch to his intercession. [...] Handsome, with long reddish hair and beard, broad shouldered, vigorous and erect, Rasputin had an extraordinary personality, and his so-called religious salons at Petrograd were frequented by all sorts and conditions of people, from generals to beggars.
Letter from Felix Yusupov, one of Rasputin's assassins, to his mother Xenia
Dear Mamasha!
I thank you very much for your letter. I am forbidden to write, and could not do so earlier. I was afraid it would be seized on the way. I am tortured by the thought that you and the Empress Marie will think of the man who did this as a murderer and a criminal, and that this feeling will prevail over all others. However much you may recognise the veracity of this act and the reasons which prompted its execution, in the depths of your heart you will always have the feeling 'But he's still a murderer!' I can say absolutely definitely that he is not a murderer and only the weapon of providence which gave him that inexplicable superhuman strength and peace of mind, which enabled him to carry out his duty to this country and the Tsar, by destroying that evil diabolic power, which was a disgrace to Russia and the whole world, and before which all had been powerless until now.
(Sergei Mironenko, A Lifelong Passion, London 1996)
3 January
Report in The Times headed 'End of a Nightmare'
It is stated that there were three bullet wounds in Rasputin's body, in the head, chest, and side. He was killed at the Petrograd house of one of the most aristocratic families in Russia, and his body was then conveyed to the mouth of the Neva in a motor-car and dropped through the ice. The names of those who took part in the deed are generally know. It is no exaggeration to say that the whole of Russia breathes more freely for the removal of a most baleful influence, recognised as one of the pivots of the Germanophil forces. This hideous medieval nightmare is now dissipating, and no purpose would be served by recapitulating its immoral horrors. One may leave history to marvel at the power wielded by the uneducated Siberian peasant, with his notorious depravity, whose name is execrated throughout the length and breadth of the Empire. His unlimited sway over certain personalities is generally ascribed to hypnotic powers.
5 January
Diary entry of Lev Tikhomirov, revolutionary and later conservative thinker
Incidentally we've got another Minister of War - some chap called Belyaev. Shuvayev's been fired. Private reports say that the inhabitants of Odessa are getting nervous. The Germans are indeed getting closer and closer! Things are not looking good. [...] As for Rasputin's body, the papers are saying that he's been sent off to Siberia, to Pokrovskoe, though private rumours persist that the body was taken by car to Tsarskoe Selo and even buried, it would seem, in Fedorovsky cathedral. What's true or untrue I have no idea, but it can only be a matter of regret that the body was pulled out from the ice. If it had been carried away by the water to the Gulf of Finland, many of these subsequent scandals wouldn't have arisen. But such, it seems, is the will of God.
(L.A. Tikhomirov, Diary 1915-1917, Moscow 2008)
7 January
Extract from a history of the revolution
On January 7, 1917, [Nicholas] received a visit from Mikhail Rodzianko, the Chairman of the Duma. He listened impassively to the familiar warnings, but when Rodzianko urged him not to put the people in a position of having 'to choose between you and the good of the country,' Nicholas 'pressed his head between his hands' and said, 'Is it possible that for twenty-two years it was all a mistake?'
(Richard Pipes, A Concise History of the Russian Revolution, London 1995)
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7 January 2017
That was then, this is now. Just a few extra lines every week, with links to relevant sites about the revolution centenary or events taking place over the year. Hopefully this will be useful, but it's probably best to admit straight up that this blog is essentially an exercise in self-indulgence. Fontanka tried very hard to come up with a good publishing idea to mark the anniversary but it seemed that others had got there first or we couldn't get the backing. So rather than let the year go by unmarked, we thought it would be interesting to trace the course of events in personal testimonies, diaries, newspaper reports and so on - interesting for us, that is. If others stumble across it and find it so, that will be a boon. There's no attempt at historical analysis or balance - like magpies we're just gathering together bits and pieces that catch our eye, hopefully some of which will come from books long forgotten or sources originally in Russian. The only criterion is chronology, and we hope to keep it going through the year on a weekly basis. Some weeks there will be more to read than others, with February and October, of course, being the ones to look out for...
And speaking of chronology, a quick note on dates. Soviet Russia changed from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of 1918, which means that in 1917 the country was still running two weeks behind Western Europe. This can make for some confusion, particularly as some sources use one system and others the other. We'll aim for consistency by sticking to the Julian calendar (the February and October revolutions thereby stay true to their names, rather than slipping over into March and November), but discrepancies may remain. We will do our best to clear and credit all photos; any infringement will be put right as soon as we're notified.
Over the next few weeks we'll mention some of the events marking the Revolution in the UK and beyond, as well as in Russia. The big one to look out for in London is the forthcoming exhibition at the Royal Academy, curated by Dr Natalia Murray - Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932 - which opens on 11 February. More anon.
Have just come across a Russian project marking the anniversary in a similar, though more comprehensive, way. For Russian speakers, see project 1917 which provides day by day extracts and photographs that chronicle the year's events.
as per the Gregorian calendar. 5 November 2017
8 October
Letter from Lenin to the Bolshevik Comrades attending the Regional Congress of
the Soviets of the Northern Region
Comrades, Our revolution is passing through a highly critical period …
A gigantic task is being imposed upon the responsible leaders of our Party,
failure to perform which will involve the danger of a total collapse of the
internationalist proletarian movement. The situation is such that verily,
procrastination is like unto death … In the vicinity of Petrograd and in
Petrograd itself — that is where the insurrection can, and must, be decided on
and effected … The fleet, Kronstadt, Viborg, Reval, can and must advance
on Petrograd; they must smash the Kornilov regiments, rouse both the capitals,
start a mass agitation for a government which will immediately give the land to
the peasants and immediately make proposals for peace, and must overthrow
Kerensky’s government and establish such a government. Verily, procrastination
is like unto death.
(V.I. Lenin and Joseph Stalin, The Russian Revolution: Writings and Speeches
from the February Revolution to the October Revolution, 1917, London 1938)
9 October
Report in The Times
The Maximalist [Bolshevik], M. Trotsky, President of the Petrograd Soviet,
made a violent attack on the Government, describing it as irresponsible and
assailing its bourgeois elements, ‘who,’ he continued, ‘by their attitude are
causing insurrection among the peasants, increasing disorganisation and trying
to render the Constituent Assembly abortive.’ ‘The Maximalists,’ he declared,
‘cannot work with the Government or with the Preliminary Parliament, which I am
leaving in order to say to the workmen, soldiers, and peasants that Petrograd,
the Revolution, and the people are in danger.’ The Maximalists then left the
Chamber, shouting, ‘Long live a democratic and honourable peace! Long live the
Constituent Assembly!’
(‘Opening of Preliminary Parliament’, The Times)
10 October
As Sukhanov left his home for the Soviet on the morning of the 10th, his
wife Galina Flakserman eyed nasty skies and made him promise not to try to
return that night, but to stay at his office … Unlike her diarist husband,
who was previously an independent and had recently joined the Menshevik left,
Galina Flakserman was a long-time Bolshevik activist, on the staff of Izvestia.
Unbeknownst to him, she had quietly informed her comrades that comings and
goings at her roomy, many-entranced apartment would be unlikely to draw
attention. Thus, with her husband out of the way, the Bolshevik CC came
visiting. At least twelve of the twenty-one-committee were there … There
entered a clean-shaven, bespectacled, grey-haired man, ‘every bit like a
Lutheran minister’, Alexandra Kollontai remembered. The CC stared at the
newcomer. Absent-mindedly, he doffed his wig like a hat, to reveal a familiar
bald pate. Lenin had arrived.
(China Miéville, October: The Story of the Russian Revolution, London 2017)
Memoir by the Menshevik Nikolai
Sukhanov
Oh, the novel jokes of the merry muse of History! This supreme and decisive
session took place in my own home … without my knowledge … For such a
cardinal session not only did people come from Moscow, but the Lord of Hosts
himself, with his henchman, crept out of the underground. Lenin appeared in a
wig, but without his beard. Zinoviev appeared with a beard, but without his
shock of hair. The meeting went on for about ten hours, until about 3 o’clock
in the morning … However, I don’t actually know much about the exact
course of this meeting, or even about its outcome. It’s clear that the question
of an uprising was put … It was decided to begin the uprising as quickly
as possible, depending on circumstances but not on the Congress.
(N.N. Sukhanov, The Russian Revolution 1917: a Personal Record, Oxford 1955)
11 October
British Consul Arthur Woodhouse in a letter home
Things are coming to a pretty pass here. I confess I should like to be out
of it, but this is not the time to show the white feather. I could not ask for
leave now, no matter how imminent the danger. There are over 1,000 Britishers
here still, and I and my staff may be of use and assistance to them in an
emergency.
(Helen Rappaport, Caught in the Revolution: Petrograd 1917, London 2017)
Memoir of Fedor Raskolnikov, naval
cadet at Kronstadt
The proximity of a proletarian rising in Russia, as prologue to the world
socialist revolution, became the subject of all our discussions in
prison … Even behind bars, in a stuffy, stagnant cell, we felt instinctively
that the superficial calm that outwardly seemed to prevail presaged an
approaching storm … At last, on October 11, my turn [for release]
came … Stepping out of the prison on to the Vyborg-Side embankment and
breathing in deeply the cool evening breeze that blew from the river, I felt
that joyous sense of freedom which is known only to those who have learnt to
value it while behind bards. I took a tram at the Finland Station and quickly
reached Smolny … In the mood of the delegates to the Congress of Soviets
of the Northern Region which was taking place at that time .. an unusual
elation, an extreme animation was noticeable … They told me straightaway
that the CC had decided on armed insurrection. But there was a group of
comrades, headed by Zinoviev and Kamenev, who did not agree with this decision
and regarded a rising a premature and doomed to defeat.
(F.F. Raskolnikov, Kronstadt and Petrograd in 1917, New York 1982, first
published 1925)
12 October
Sir George Buchanan, British Ambassador to Russia
On [Kerensky] expressing the fear that there was a strong anti-Russian
feeling both in England and France, I said that though the British public was
ready to make allowances for her difficulties, it was but natural that they
should, after the fall of Riga, have abandoned all hope of her continuing to
take an active part in the war … Bolshevism was at the root of all the
evils from which Russia was suffering, and if he would but eradicate it he
would go down to history, not only as the leading figure of the revolution, but
as the saviour of his country. Kerensky admitted the truth of what I had said,
but contended that he could not do this unless the Bolsheviks themselves
provoked the intervention of the Government by an armed uprising.
(Sir George Buchanan, My Mission to Russia, London 1923)
13 October
Diary entry of Louis de Robien, attaché at the French Embassy
Kerensky is becoming more and more unpopular, in spite of certain grotesque
demonstrations such as this one: the inhabitants of a district in Central
Russia have asked him to take over the supreme religious power, and want to
make him into a kind of Pope as well as a dictator, whereas even the Tsar was
really neither one nor the other. Nobody takes him seriously, except in the
Embassy. A rather amusing sonnet about him has appeared, dedicated to the beds
in the Winter Palace, and complaining that they are reserved for hysteria
cases … for Alexander Feodorovich (Kerensky’s first names) and then
Alexandra Feodorovna (the Empress).
(Louis de Robien, The Diary of a Diplomat in Russia 1917–1918, London 1969)
14 October 2017
The BBC2 semi-dramatisation of how the Bolsheviks took power, shown this week,
was a curious thing. Talking heads in the form of Figes, Mieville, Rappaport,
Sebag-Montefiore, Tariq Ali, Martin Amis and others were interspersed with
moody reconstructions of late-night meetings, and dramatic moments such as
Lenin’s unbearded return to the Bolshevik CC (cf Sukhanov above). The programme
felt rather staged and unconvincing, with a lot of agonised expressions and
fist-clenching by Lenin, but the reviewers liked it. Odd, though, that
Eisenstein’s storming of the Winter Palace is rolled out every time, with a
brief disclaimer that it’s a work of fiction and yet somehow presented as
historical footage. There’s a sense of directorial sleight of hand, as if the
rather prosaic taking of the palace desperately needs a re-write. In some
supra-historical way, Eisenstein’s version has become the accepted version.
John Reed’s Ten Days that Shook the World
, currently being
serialised on Radio 4, is also presented with tremendous vigour, and properly
so as the book is nothing if not dramatic. Historical truth, though, is often
as elusive in a book that was originally published — in 1919 — with an
introduction by Lenin. ‘Reed was not’, writes one reviewer, ‘an ideal observer.
He knew little Russian, his grasp of events was sometimes shaky, and his facts
were often suspect.’ Still, that puts him in good company, and Reed is
undoubtedly a good read.