OLIIM DK . L84 19 19 a outi s\ 'Ar.\y ,< CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY a 1924 074 309 893 Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924074309893 '.-■1 V' ,' s'.t' 1 , ■ * . \ : mmmEimmMm. ii{>iiiiiiniiiiiii!!iiiininiiiiiiiiWr .1.. ■■:!• M(^mo/r5 of tlie ■ by George V.Lomonossoff , , NEW YORK THE RAND SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE ■illll ■111 •*A«A!rt'Sineu».,'R9aeiHH'"vnoTiHoiT Bpi!RH,Cyafc(5a Pocolw.iacTb rerio»CKO!» HatieaaDstiH.irSaro Harofla.Bce Cynyinee floiwropo na- merd OTewecTBa TDeOVKTB flOEej^eMls boBhh b6 wto (Sir "to hh CTanp flo npdiiHarp;KOH«alf.efcTOKlB sipar* Manpfirfle**. noc/ilia- Hit.cxjx! n y^''tfjiH'80KS vacs.KorAa AO(^JiecTnBJi apui.i naxa coBuicTHO/Cd.'ciiaBB'BUB Boc::'.uii cbtDeBBRaia 'cuoseTS' OKOKuaTejii- 'BpcJiouKSb Bpai*a^Bii €tr pToiin«>»BiiQ Jtut. B£ kkshii Focciii, 'nptait. ffiJ-soJiTMit -corfiCTB ooAOr'urp*- uaponj' .flAfflEny TiOHoe eflHReHte;* esxp^eAla EcixE ciini HapoftHuxs ^jia CKoptUmaro B06TB*eSi?ff nPSiHH ttk' SI caraaciB- ci PocyflapcTBeHHOio ^yKoiD, npiisaajm IM JW asaro oTpaubCK. ots Upeciojia rocyflapcTsa Poc- (jlKCK&ro K caosjnacs CEEB BepxoBHyio sflatTb.He aejiaa pas- oratiiC«..»s jnatfmniin, Oshohd 4AMMS,MH nepeflaesit Hac;iiflie rum EpasTHfimiy BeaRK0HyKH«8W MHXAKjry JUEKCAHAPOBMHy a tfaapireaoBmrairf |t^ Ha, Bp;rjriuieHle na npectoji* TocyAapcTBa B>ccllK?Raro.3aii6B4«yeitt Ep**y.HAIlMy npaBii»b a^JMUIH rocy- japCTBfeBRHUB Bi. noflHowB ir. HeHapymmioui eAHHeHiB c* npeAcia- BBTenjiMB HopoAa bi saKoaoAaMnsRaxi yjpesASHinxi.Ha Tixi nattt;ia».,KeB (SyAm tiun ycTaHOB.;ieHa.npMHeCH.Bt tomi MeHa- pyMuyio npHMry.Bo km ropuHo aiofiHuoB poahkh nFBBUBaeui scm BlpHHX* CHHOBi. (beiecTBa w. acno;iHeHlK> CBoero cbhto' PO AWPa nepeA* nain. nqBUBOBeHieui. i{ap» b* iMKeJiyn uxnyTy BeBKapoAH«t BcmiToHlK ly no^o^i. B^y.BMlcrt ci npoAwaBUTe- JM«i MspoAa.BBBecTM Pooy;i9peTBo PocoincKoo Ra ny^k nofltAH, r.iieKOM. UnaroaaHMBlH b cwBs.Jta noMORcn. TocnoAb Bori Poccli.. ?»IJapTa /5iiBe. miih;,I9I7 r. ^ A Facsimile of the original Act of Abdication of Nicholas. (Translation of the Act of Abdication.) General Headquarters. To the Chief of Staff. In the days of the great struggle against the foreign enemy who, for the last three years, has been trying to enslave the land of our birth, it has pleased Almighty God to lay a new heavy burden upon Russia. The internal and popular disturbances which have started, threaten to react badly upon the further continuation of stubborn war. The fate of Russia, the honor of our heroic army, the welfare of the people and the entire future of our dear Fatherland demand the continuation of the war by all means to a victorious termination. The merciless enemy is straining his last powers and the hour is near when our heroic army, together with our honorable Allies, shall finally and completely break the enemy. In these decisive days in the life of Russia, WE have determined, as a duty of conscience, to help OUR people to undivided unity and the concentration of all the strength of the people for the swift attainment of victory, and, with the approval of the Duma, WE have decided, for the sake of general welfare, to abdicate from the throne of the Russian Empire and to remove from OURSELF the su- preme power. Not wishing to be separated from OUR beloved son, WE give over OUR inheritance to OUR brother, Grand Duke MICHAEL ALEXANDROVITCH and give HIM OUR blessing upon his ascent to the throne of the Russian Empire. WE instruct OUR brother to conduct the affairs of the State in complete and inseparable unity with the representatives of the people in the legislative institutions, on a basis which will be established by them. Having given an inviolable oath in the name of our dearly beloved country, WE call upon all true sons of the Fatherland to fulfill their holy duties toward HIM, to submit to the Tzar in this hard moment, all the hardships of the people, and to help HIM, together with the representatives of the people, to lead the Russian Empire on the path of victory, "prosperity and honor. Almighty God, help Russia. NICHOLAS. City of Pskov. March 24, IS hours, 5 minutes. 1917. * Minister of the Imperial House, Adjutant-General Count Fredericks. • 3.05 P. M. 55 after nine, having lost patience, I took an automobile and went to the Warsaw station. It was a clear, frosty morning; but you could already feel Spring in the air. The city was wholly covered with red flags. There was a tremendous mass of people and the nearer we got to the station the denser became the masses. Slowly the auto crawled through this living sea towards the station. Suddenly I saw Lebedeff approaching, walking slowly in his sporty fur overcoat with a turned-up collar. I gave a joyful cry, but he was disturbed and motioned to me to keep quiet. I ordered the chauffeur to turn, which was a difficult task in this mass of people. Finally we turned and on the other side of the bridge, in the place where Pleve was killed, we caught up with Lebedeff. He stepped into the automobile, his face very perturbed. "Where is the Act? Where is Goutchkoff?" "Here is the Act," said Lebedeff hoarsely, giving me a paper. "Goutchkoff's arrested by the workmen." "What?" I stuttered, putting the Act of Abdication into the left-hand pocket of my coat. "I will tell you all in the Ministry." We silently entered Boublikoflf's office. Dobrovolsky and a number of employees were sitting there. "Well, what?" "Nothing, but . . . Alexander Alexandrovitch, I have some- thing very confidential to tell you." "Excuse me, Gentlemen, for one minute. No one is to be admitted." We four remained, Boublikoflf, Dobrovolsky, Lebedeff and myself. "What is the matter?" "Goutchkoff is arrested . . . Here is the Act of Abdication." As sensational as was the news of the arrest of Goutchkoff, the eyes of all of us focused upon the paper which I place'd upon the table. • "Finally got there ...» said Boublikoff after a few min- utes silence. "So we shall give an oath to Michael . ? Yes but what about Goutchkoff?" "When his train arrived in Petrograd a mob met him," began Lebedeff. He delivered two speeches at the station . . . and then went to a meeting in the shops." "An old adventurer," muttered Boublikoff. 56 • -L "When I arrived, he was already in the shops and Schulgin and a Member of the Duma, Lebedeff, together with the high officials were sitting in the office of the Chief of the Station. It was known that there was unrest in the shops. The atmo- sphere was alarming. Then it was said from the shops that Goutchkoflf had been arrested, that the Act of Abdication had not been found on him and that they were going to search other Deputies to destroy the Act." "What for?" "The 'Comrades' Bookbinders want to remove the Tzar and all the rest . . . An abdication is not enough for them." "And then?" "Then Deputy Lebedeff turned over the Act to me and I quietly and surreptitiously ran away." "And Goutchkoff and the other Deputies?" "I do not know." "I will talk it over with Rodzianko and you, gentlemen, find out what has happened to the other Deputies." The Commissars shut themselves in and we went to our own rooms. The Act of Abdication actually burned my left side. We were informed by telephone that Goutchkoff had been liber- ated and that, with Schulgin and Lebedeff, he had gone to the Duma. With this news I went to the Commissars. They pre- sented a complete contrast. Calm, I might even say indifferent, Dobrovolsky, dressed like a fashion plate, was absent-mindedly inspecting his finger nails. Boublikoff, completely lost, untidily dressed, his face showing lack of sleep, was running about the room darting glances here and there and cursing like a pagan. From their quite incoherent words I understood that in the city the situation was approximately the same as at the station. The majority of workmen were against abdication. Hot dis- cussions about it had been going on in the Duma between the Committee and the Soviets since early in the morning, or rather since night. The Soviet had been strengthened by soldier de- -piities. "The Act of Abdication is being searched for throughout the city. Possibly they will come here." "Where is it?" asked Dobrovolsky. "In my pocket." "This won't do. It must be hidden." - "Put it in a safe? Put a guard over it?" 57 "No, put it in a most inconspicuous place and not in this room. ... Of course, the saving or destruction of this document will not change the situation, but nevertheless . ., . First, the abdication releases the troops from their oath . . . secondly, its destruction would only give new hopes to the black powers." "And shouldn't we take a few copies of the Act first, Ana- toly Alexandrovitch ?" (Dobrovolsky). "Yes, but no one must know about it. We will make up a Committee of Three for the preservation of the 'lost Act'." "No, of four. Lebedeff saved it." "Correct. Call him in." Lebedeff came in. He was informed of the situation and we went with him to the Secretariat room to make copies. The Commissars began to receive reports from the different depart- ments of the Ministry. Lebedeff was dictating while I wrote. When the copy was ready, I called in the Commissars. All four of us certified the copy and we hid the original between some old, dusty official newspapers which were on the bookcase in the room. "Now we may begin to publish from the copy," said I. "No, it is necessary to ask the Duma," argued Dobrovolsky. "What for? The sooner the Act is published the sooner this turmoil will end. And then the composition, proofreading and publishing will require time and beside that the printers are waiting." "No, we must ask." In a few minutes an order followed : "Do not print, but the printers are not to leave." Counting the number of words in the Act of Abdication I nevertheless went to the Ministerial printing ofifice to confer with the manager of it as to how to organize the work. I was soon called out from there. A new order from the Duma— to take the Abdication to 21 Milionaya. "What is this for?" "That is the apartment of Michael Alexandrovitch." (Grand Duke Michael). (Later it proved to be the apartment of Prince Putiatm, which had been offered by him to the Grand Duke for his pourparlers with the representatives of the Committee of the Duma.) "Do as you please, gentlemen," I protested. "But after the Abdication has once been in such danger, to subject it to such 58 danger a second time is unpardonable. Michael will believe our copy." So it was decided. Lebedeff took a copy to that address. From the Duma they called again and said that we would re- ceive the order for publication from the apartment on the Mi- lionaya. _ In the printing shop everything was in readiness. We waited. Lebedeff called. "I turned over the copy. The conference began. I was asked to wait to return the copy to you for publication. Our telephone is so and so." We were getting inquiries as to the situation from all parts of Russia. We decided not to answer until the result of the con- ference in the Milionaya should be known. "What is going on there?" We called up. Lebedeff gave evasive answers. Evidently he did not want to speak on the telephone. BoublikoflE sent Sidelnikoff there. Our entire at- tention was concentrated on Milionaya. The conversation in- voluntarily turned to the events possibly taking place there. The basic question, just as in the morning, was the same: "Ab- dication or removal?" Michael could abdicate also. Only one man, Roulevsky, was determined upon removal, and then only conditionally. AH the rest were for abdication. Of course, re- moval was much more effective and more spectacular. But who is to think of spectacles at present? The country was at war and removal would only cause conflicts in the army. No. Ab- dication and only abdication. And what then? Practically all of us were for a Constitutional Monarchy. "The people need a Tzar. They are used to the symbol. Now, under the presure of events, we may make up almost any sort of a Constitution that suits us." "You don't live by a Constitution. You must also put life in order. At present we have a problem and warfare ..." "Do you know what the soldiers say about Michael ? 'Horse radish is no sweeter than plain radish . . .' Michael or Alexis, —it's all the same. The peasant has only one thought— land." "A Parliamentary regime means extensive reforms, univers- al ballot, land reforms first of all, and the Tzar is a historic emblem of power." "Uriy Vladimirovitch, you are asked to come to the prmt shop." 59 I went. It wias already about two o'clock. The printers were protesting. I tried to explain and convince them of the historic importance of the moment and gave them money for Returning from the print shop, I found Inspector Nekras- soff. He told in detail of his journey with Goutchkoff. Of most interest, of course, was the incident of the arrest. "We came to the meeting. One orator after another spoke. Goutchkoff went over to the Chairman. At first he was polite and asked him to wait and then he said, 'Who are you?' 'I am Member of the State Council Goutchkoff.' 'How can you prove it?' Goutchkoff began to explain but the mass of people began to shout, 'Arrest him, arrest him!' At this time I jumped up on the table and began to argue that all Russia knew Goutchkoff and that we had brought with us the Act of Abdication . . . Pour- parlers began. We were politely kept another twenty minutes and then liberated." Lebedeff appeared. "Well, what, what?" "Michael has abdicated in favor of the Constituent Assem- bly. Nekrassoff is writing the act. A Provisional Government will be formed." Boublikoff was informed of the same from the Duma. Prince Lvoflf was to be at the head of the Provisional Government. Evidently the Duma had decided upon it some time ago and that fact, namely that Prince Lvoflf was appointed by the Tzar President of the Council of Ministers, points to the fact that between the Duma and Nicholas II, there were certain relations unknown to us. Most likely, the communication had been through General Russky by telephone between Pskov and General Headquarters. "And thus the monarchy in Russia has fallen," I said, full of thought. "Doubtful," answered Lebedeflf. "Michael, by his gentle- manly action, has considerably strengthened his chances for election." "Possibly . . . Tell us the details." 'The apartment is quite plain. Two maids were serving breakfast as though nothing had happened." "Did you see Michael?" "I did. His appearance was quite contented. He was walk- mg around the room unperturbed. It was not even necessary 60 to argue with him. 'You, gentlemen, see better what is the wish of the people.' " "Who sees it? The people, as Pushkin says, are inarticu- late. Petrograd is not the whole of Russia." But in general the feeling was one of joy and exaltation, as in a dream. Provisional Government, Constituent Assembly ... all holy words and here they were being transformed into life. I went into the Commissar's. Boublikoff was just finishing a conversation with somebody on the telephone. He hung up the receiver and began to laugh. "Guess with whom I have just been talking." "I don't know." "With former Minister Trepoff. He begs to be arrested." "What for?" "He says it is frightful. Soldiers may break in. . . . Tell the Rotmeister to send soldiers." "Alexander Alexandrovitch, Trepoff wants to speak to you again." "I listen. . . . Krivoshein and your brother have come to you. ... I understand. . . . Arrest them also? With pleasure." Not an hour had elapsed before our involuntary guests had arrived. They were brought into the Commissar's and offered tea. It was getting dark. The rays of the setting sun were giv- ing the room a fiery red illumination. The guests felt wonderful. . . . Brrrrr! Boublikoff was informed from the Duma of the composition of the Provisional Government. All were atten- tion. He dictated freely. "The President — Prince LvofF. He is also Minister of the Interior. Minister of Foreign Affairs — Milukoff. Military and Naval — Goutchkoff. Agriculture — ShingarefT. Finance — Tere- shtchenko. Who? Michael Ivanovitch? Yes, Tereshtchenko. Commerce — Konovalofif. Ways of Communication — Nekras- soff. Justice — Kerensky. State Comptroller — Vladimir Lvoff. Education — not yet known. All were silent. The first that broke the silence was Krivoshein. Not speak- ing to anyone, he said, "This government has one serious . . . very serious fault. It is entirely too conservative . . . Yes, con- servative. Two months ago it would have satisfied everybody. It would have saved the situation. Now it is too moderate and 61 in this is its weakness. Now you want power . . and thus, gentlemen, you are sacrificing not only your child, revolution, but our common Fatherland, Russia." I was surprised at the words of this old Minister of the Tzar, experienced as he was in life. One heard in them not only wisdom but real truth as well. Possibly, besides that, my egotism, that of a practical "creator" was hurt. But the whole composi- tion of this Ministry did not please me. Pray, what kind of a Minister of Finance was Tereshtchenko? A nice, cultured youth, always nicely dressed, who was employed in a ballet and had tremendous success with ballet girls. But what were Finances to him and what was he to Finances? Russian Finances, un- balanced by the war? And Nekrassoff was a Cadet, a Constitu- tional Democrat, an idealist ... a Professor of Statistics of Construction who was acquainted with railroads in his student years and in the Duma. . . . Could one compare him with krieger? And why should they not take Boublikoflf or Dobro- volsky from the same Duma? Or, from our midst, Voskre- sensky, Schmitt ... or even Shingareff who unquestionably is a man of brains? But he is by education a physician and in the Duma was only a member of the Committee on Finance. And what had this to do with Agriculture and Settlements? The same Krivoshein is so much more able than he. . . . No. It was wrong. Vaguely I formulated my thoughts. "Yes, all are platform social workers," answered Krivoshein, rather to my thoughts than to my words. "The roles have changed. You, gentlemen, accept the Ministerial posts and we will work in social organizations . . . and criticise you." "Only that your criticism will be based on experience. It is one thing to talk and another to know what is practicable and what is not." From the Duma they telephoned that both the Acts of Abdi- cation should be printed on one sheet. I called up the Milionaya. SidelnikoflF had already left. With the Rotmeister I sent down to the printing office and we stationed the guard, a measure, as the future showed,— wholly unnecessary. At three o'clock the Council of Soldiers' and Workmen's Deputies had already issued a hand bill : "Nicholas II has abdicated in favor of his brother, Michael, and he, in his turn, has abdicated in favor of the people." I first read to the compositors the abdication of Nicholas. They 62 listened attentively. One old man was crossing himself. I then began to dictate word after word to six compositors. I was called to the telephone which was guarded by a sentry. "Please, come up." I gave the dictation to a student and went upstairs. There were Sidelnikoflf and my old colleague, Baron V. B. Tisenhausen. "Let's have the Act of Abdication." "It's not here. Taken to the Duma. They will turn it over later. Set up the first." "It is being set up. What are you doing here, my dear Baron?" "I came to ask to be allowed to work for the Revolution." "Excellent. Come with me as an assistant in the composing room. Let us go there." Having regulated the work in the composing room, I again went upstairs. Evening set in. The electric lights were burn- ing. Sidelnikoflf was relating his impressions. "I sat in the hall an 'hour, another hour. I began to get bored. An elderly man in a coat came over to me. We began to talk and then he introduced himself. Grand Duke Nicholas Michailovitch.' * I also bowed and introduced myself as Coun- selor at Law SidelnikoflF and we continued our convention. 'How many times,' he said, 'have I explained to him, the fool, how this would end. He didn't listen to me and here is where he is. In December, for our own sakes, all we Grand Dukes sent him a deputation : 'Imprison your wife, form a responsible Ministry.' He didn't even listen. He was always without a will and his wife took away the last he had. . . ." "Uriy Vladimirovitch, the eschalons on the Vindavskaya are destroying the station." "Well, now they can be taken to their destination." The same disturbances took place on the Nicholaievskaya. " 'When wood is cut, splinters fly.' People break loose some- times. Call up the Duma and let them sign the Act of Abdi- -xation." "Prince Lvofif has the Act of Abdication and he will not arrive at the Duma before eight o'clock. The first meetmg of the Council of Ministers will take place at eight." In a few moments there came another call. They asked us to bring to the meeting the original of the Abdication of Nicho- * A well known historian. 63 /to kAfl4u7^c.'c^ /^.-^^//^ \^^<^-^ 'ju.M^ By order of the Committee of Members of the Duma, I recommend that Automobile No. 1717 with the chauffeur Ivan Rogovsky be allowed to pass throughout the city and into the yard of the Ministry of Ways of Communication. By order of the Committee of the Duma. Official Seal. Member of the Duma Boublikoff. 3-3-17. Chief of Guard Rotmeister Sosnovsky. 64 las. Having consulted with Boublikoff, we decided that I, ac- companied by Sidelnikoff, should take the "lost Act" to the Duma and hand it to the Head of the Government, Prince Lvoflf. I ran again into the composing room, talked again with the railroads and then we began to look for the Act of Abdication. It was not to be found. . . . Here was a case. A second time, a third time. ... I felt cold perspiration on my back. I began to shake every newspaper separately. Heavens, from one of them the Act fell out. We went. The automobile traveled very rapidly. On the Vladimirskaya we were stopped by soldiers. "Get out. The automobile is needed for a special purpose." "We are also going on special business. Here is a pass for the automobile." * "I am an Assistant Commissar. I am going to a meeting of the Council of Ministers." The soldiers began a /consultation. "Let them go, the madmen!" We went on. At the Duma, notwithstanding the late hour there were many people. There was no guard. I entered the half dark Ekaterininsky Hall, dirty, covered with spit. Here in the hall were people selling cigarettes, confectionery and all sorts of rubbish. Everyone of them had established a stand. There were plenty of people conversing in groups. Soldiers were predominating. In the center of the hall Professor Art- emeflf was standing agitatedly. He ran to me and began to explain the significance of the events. I finally got rid of him. I inquired where the Duma Committee was, where were the ministers, nobody knew. I was sent from one place to another. Finally it was explained to me that I should go to the main entrance in the left wing. We went through a corridor. . . . ^ At one of the doors Junkers were standing guard. "Well," I thought, "this is the place." They said "Yes," but would not admit us under any consideration. The situation was a stupid ___jone. It was already half past nine. Suddenly the door opened and there appeared my old ac- quaintance, Deputy Lashkevitch from Kharkoff. I took him aside and explained the situation. He took us to a small room where Deputies and Ministers were sitting around in groups. At the right there was a door into another room. These two rooms w ere the headquarters of the Committee of the Duma? * See preceding page. 65 Why had Rodzianko left his beautiful office? Why was the Committeehidingitself in the back rooms? I felt hurt. _ "Gentlemen," announced Lashkevitch, the Abdication of Nicholas has been brought here." , ^ , „ Milukoflf, Nabokoff, Vladimir Lvoff and Godneft came over to us and began to examine the Act of Abdication. The others continued their conversations. Undecisiveness made itself felt. I had gone to the sanctum of the Russian Revolution, to heroes, and had found frightened pigmies. In our Ministry life was in full swing. Here was a dead kingdom and I felt lost. It was as painful as though I had suddenly come upon the burial of a dead friend. ... To the burial of my dream. Nekrassoft noticed me from the room. He came over and asked me what I was doing there. "I have brought the Abdication of Nicholas." "Let me have it." "Pardon me, but I will give it either to the President of the Council of Ministers, as head of the Russian Government, or to the Minister of Justice, as Attorney-General." "But they are not here. You probably have plenty to do at your Ministry. And then, I am your superior." "In the first place, you have not yet taken office as Minister of Ways of Communication. Secondly, I agreed with the others to turn it in to the head of the government -and thirdly, I must get from Prince Lvofif the text of Michael's Abdication." "Well, do as you please." He shrugged his shoulders and went into the other room. Sidelnikoff and I looked at each other. Laughter could be seen in his eyes. It was already about ten o'clock and the Prince had not yet arrived. Shingareff and Tereshtchenko arrived and then came Konovaloff. From their conversation I understood that there had been two more appointments: Stakhevitch as Minister of Finland, and Kokoshkin as Minister of Poland. One of the Ministers asked me how Kokoshkin could be brought to Petro- grad immediately. ||He is required at tomorrow's meeting." "Quite plain. About eleven o'clock an express train is leav- ing Moscow. In the morning he will be in Petrograd. I will order him a compartment." 66 "He will probably not make the eleven o'clock train." "Then I will order a special train if it is necessary." All looked at each other. "How long will that take?" "Well, to order the train, about five or six minutes. But please make arrangements with Kokoshkin by telephone and tell me the exact time he will leave. Otherwise we will cripple traffic." In about five minutes, Kokoshkin notified us by telephone that he would be ready at two o'clock. "It is immaterial whether it is two or three. The special train will connect with the whole series of expresses just the same. I will immediately give orders by telephone for three o'clock. But please notify Kokoshkin not to hold up the train for one minute." I began to dictate on the telephone : "Petrograd. To Nicho- laievskaya. N.* I beg that 'a special train be made up on March 4th, for Minister Kokoshkin, from Moscow to Petrograd, to con- sist of one car, first class, to leave Moscow about three. Passenger arriving in Petrograd about eleven. Tickets as per number of passengers. Inform Minister Kokoshkin by telephone in Mos- cow of the exact time of departure ..." I turned to ask the num- ber of the telephone. The surprise and dread with which the Ministers regarded me as I was performing this simple opera- tion of ordering a train was worth seeing. About half past ten Prince Lvoff showed up, frightened and completely lost. He brought the Abdication of Michael. We waited for Kerensky a short time and then sat down. In order to dismiss us (myself and Sidelnikoff) they began with the question of publishing the Acts of Abdication. "What shall we call these documents?" "In reality these are the manifestos of two Emperors," said Milukoff. -"But Nicholas," answered Nabokofif, "has given his abdica- tion another form — that of a telegram to the Chief of Staff. We cannot change this form. ..." "Right. But the one of decisive importance is the Abdica- tion of Michael Alexandrovitch. It is written in your hand. Vladimir Dmitrievitch (Nabokoff), and we can form it in any * Chief and Director-General of Railroads. 67 y-AfUC- ^^&.. ■e'^-i^ -^K<«!^.^ .^^f/v :y:^^>i:if7^^f>;^ -i^^jr;^ucy .<^^^j^ ^.#!K*«55^ / (Translation of the Act of abdication.) A heavy task has been laid upon ME by MY BROTHER, who has given over to ME the Imperial Russian throne in a year of an unheard of war and of popular discontent. Having the same thought as all other people, that above everything is the welfare of OUR COUNTRY, I have decided to accept the supreme power only on the condition that it should be the will of our great people, expressed through their repre- sentatives in the Constituent Assembly elected by universal ballot to establish the form of government and new basic laws for the Russian Empire. Therefore, calling for the blessing of God, I ask all citizens of the Russian Empire to submit to the Provisional Government which has been created by the initiative of the Duma and which has complete power until the election of the Constituent As- sembly, which election will take place as soon as possible on the basis of universal, direct, /equal and secret balloting and will determine the form of government and disclose the will of the people. MICHAEL. March 3, 1917. Petrograd. way. Write: 'We, by grace of God, Michael II, Emperor and Autocrat of All-Russia, Tzar of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland, etc., etc., hereby make known to all our loyal subjects: the hard times . . .' " "Please, please, but he did not rule." A lively debate ensued. "From the moment of the Abdication of Nicholas, Michael was the actual, lawful Emperor . . . Michael II," Nekrassoff argued. "He was Emperor almost twenty-four hours. ... He only refused to accept the supreme power." "Since there was no power there was no rule." "You are dreadfully mistaken. What about the Emperors -who were feeble-minded and minors?" The debate went deeply into state law. Milukoff and Nabo- kofJ foamed at the mouth trying to prove that the Abdication of Michael had a lawful significance only if it was agreed that he was Emperor. March 4th. Midnight found us in this debate. Finally, about two o'clock, an understanding w^s reached. Nabokoff wrote on two pieces of pao'"'- the titles of the Acts. 69 Act of Abdication of the Emperor Nicholas II, from the throne of the Russian Empire in favor of the Grand Duke, Michael Alexandrovitch. 11^ gf^muid^^'y^-'^iJ^y ^^^^ II. Act of Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch refusing acceptance of the supreme power and acknowledging the full power of the Provisional Government created upon the initiative of the Duma. 70 Above these few lines a heading may be placed, "The result of the first six hours' work of the Provisional Government." With what bitterness I rode to the Ministry. "If this sort of talk is going on in the Cabinet, what will it be like in the Soviet? And what will be the position of this new institution while the Cabinet exists? How will they be able to live side by side? They must either converge into some sort of covenant or one must dissolve the other." I arrived at the Ministry about three o'clock. There I found my wife who had come to see me and had brought me supper. She had been waiting for me since eleven o'clock. Baron Tisenhausen had been keeping: her company and scolded me for being away so long. First of all, 1 ran with Tisenhausen to the print shop to arrange the setting up of the second Abdica- tion. After that I returned to my wife. We talked a little while and then she went to spend the night at the Tisenhausen's. I, on the other hand, went to a room in which there was a divan and called in Boublikoff to' share my supper. In the package I found a chicken, pie, and a half bottle of Madeira. BoublikofI made me wait for some time. "Excuse me, I was talking with the Duma." We ate and drank. "Your health. We must talk seriously. I have had a long conversation with Rodzianko. Probably Nekrassoff will become Minister of Education and I will remain here." "I can only congratulate . . . not you, but Russia." "Yes, the question is one of assistants. You I will ask to remain in your place, that is, to be the Chief Assistant Minister. Another Assistant I also have in view, but who is to be the Director-General of Railways?" "Thanks, Alexander Alexandrovitch. But allow me to be quite open with you. First of all, I would not like to receive anything for my participation in the revolution. Secondly, I do not think that I would be a good Assistant Minister, even with -you. It seems to me that if it is necessary to utilize me, place me as Director-General or even as Chief of the Nicholaievskaya Railroad. I know it." "And who will be Assistant Minister?" ^/ oslcrcscnskv "He will not consent. He was to be a member of the Ministry." 71 "I think he will." "Talk it over with him on the telephone. The conversation dragged on until daybreak. We were compiling lists of appointments and discharges and discussing our first steps. I was called out a few times during this period to the composing room. And nevertheless, I felt a certain bitterness. It would be said that I had staked my head, not for my country, but for a career. Towards morning the Acts of Abdication were printed. Part of them was sent to the Duma, another part by my wife to Tzarskoye, and a third part I myself took to the Ministry of the Interior, distributing some to the people on the street. Firing had completely ceased. It was a sunny day. The streets were overflowing with people and there was general joy. On the way an idea occurred to me to send a few hundred copies of the Acts for distribution at all the stations and shops of the railroads. The idea was original. I wanted to send them with a proclamation to my own people so as to see what was going on there. Boublikoff sanctioned my idea. "That's good," he said, "but, you know, we ought to tele- graph first." "All right. I will write the text." And in five minutes 1 gave Boublikoff the text of the telegram given below. "What's the matter?" asked Dobrovolsky who entered the room. Boublikofif gave him the telegram. "I suppose I have to sign it too." "Please do." They signed it, but I forgot to change the singular for the plural and it was transmitted thus : To all N. Notify on line : Emperor Nicholas abdicated the throne on March 2, in favor of Grand Duke Michael Alexandro- vitch. The Grand Duke, on March 3, refused to accept the supreme power until the establishment of a form of govern- ment by a Constituent Assembly convened on the basis of universal, direct, equal and secret balloting. He has ap- pealed to all citizens to submit to the Provisional Govern- 72 merit created by the Duma, which Government has full power until the Constituent Assembly shall decide upon the form of government. The President of the Council of Min- isters is Prince Lvoff. Minister of Ways of Communica- tion, NekrassofJ. The Act of Abdication is being sent. Com- plete order in the capital. Member and Commissar of the Duma, BOUBLIKOFF. DOBROVOLSKY. Yes, the capital was more or less quiet but this could not be said of even the nearest stations. Here, for instance, is a portion of _a report of the Chief of the Station at Oredezh which was submitted to me by Pravosudovitch : I earnestly beg of you to do something to safeguard the line and especially the station of Oredezh from pillage by drunken and hungry soldiers. The eschalons, as though purposely, are being held up in Oredezh either because of the shortage of locomotives or because the brigades refuse to go. All the stores were pillaged today. An attempt to loot the former provision station was prevented by my per- sonal appeal to the troops. All the employees are terrorized and their last piece of bread is taken away from them. To many brigades I have given out bread which they actually did not need but for whom it was a certain emphatic pro- test that we must feed them, otherwise . . . etc. Yesterday Locomotive No. 3 arrived carrying fifteen drunken soldiers who had been shooting all the way from Viritza. The employees refuse to go to work in the day time for fear of being shot. Please report to the Director that he should inspect the lines and encourage the employees in their present diffi- cult task. We must refuse to deliver bread to Petrograd because, as it is, so much dough has been lost before it could be baked, on account of the rioting of the soldiers: besides that, the peasants today looted the co-operatives and the freight station and we were obliged to give them out flour destined for shipment. The man in charge of the sta- tion was beaten and is almost dead. The situation is very threatening. We cannot telegraph or telephone. You your- self understand that I cannot write about everything. 73 We must have protection from outbreaks, and immedi. ^*^^^- March 2, 1917. From other lines the same kind of reports came in. The soldiers were unruly. . . j. t^u -i Still worse was the condition in Kronstadt. Ihe sailora were almost to a man Bolsheviki. They had expelled almost all the officers. The less popular ones they arrested and compelled them to clean the toilets. The members of the Duma who tried to go there had no success. Also, at certain places on the railroads, the employees were beginning to get even with their unpopular superiors. I sug- gested to Boublikoff that all these hooligans should immediately be discharged. They had no place on the railroads. "You're right, but you know, it's somewhat difficult while NekrassofJ is Minister." "Talk it over with him."^ The conversation was very heated and without result. Evi- dently NekrassofI was to remain. Quite unexpectedly, about four o'clock, he came to the Ministry himself . . . with his wife. That lady looked at me strangely.* The Commissars locked themselves with the Nekrassofifs in the office and conferred for about two hours. At this time Kozireflf, who had remained Chairman of the Engineering Soviet, arrived to take the Min- ister to the Soviet and introduce him to the members. "Uriy Vladimirovitch, tell him about this." I went in. "No, you know . . . I'm not a member yet. And if I go I will have to say something and I haven't prepared anything." When I told this to Kozireflf he became angry and person- ally went to talk with Nekrassoff. He returned quite red. The Ministry, with the exception of the presence of the soldiers, began to take on a more and more normal appearance. People began to come in, representatives of private railroads, factories, etc. Almost every minute some decision had to be made. Life went on feverishly. The chief obstacle was that of legality. The Duma had given out a motto : "The Revolution is ended. The new power must act strictly within the law. ihere is to be no usurpation of authority." This was all well * It turned out later that we were old acquaintances. 74 and good, but the Tzar's laws still remained pretty bad. The juriscounsel almost never left my office. We codified all that had been done during the revolution and cleared up what had to be abolished and in what order. For the sake of simplicity, we prepared telegrams which the Minister was to sign, either himself, or with the Minister of the Interior, or after the matter had been taken up in the Council of Ministers. In the first place, we sent a Miriisterial telegram abolishing the rules for the ac- ceptance of railroad employees. That is, we abolished political spying in the Ministry. Secondly, a telegram was sent with instructions for the removal of all obstacles to the work of the Provisioning Committees. Thirdly, a telegram was sent abolish- ing the railroad gendarmerie. Shabunevitch entered the office, one of the old employees of the Ministry, and handed in an anonymous paper bearing a request to all the extra employees of the Ministry to gather at five o'clock in the hall of the Committee for the purpose of form- ing a union. "What do you order fo be done?" "Nothing. This is none of our business. This is the busi- ness of the Chief Clerk and he, I think, has no reason not to give the hall for the meeting ^fter office hours." "And what about the union?" "That again does not concern us. It concerns only the em- ployees. We cannot interfere with their organizations. It is their business. If they come to us with demands we will take them up. But meanwhile we must stand aside : neither encour- age nor obstruct." "Yes, sir." "Please inform the office," I said to one of the employees, "to prepare a notice that no meetings are permitted during office hours." It got dark. The Nekrassoflfs and Dobrovolsky went away. Boublikoflf was walking up and down in his office and then talked for a long time with the Duma. Then he suddenly appeared at the door. "Well, friends, it's time to stop work. The Revolution has ended. The banks are open. We must celebrate. Filaret, order a supper in the club. We will remember our youth." Thus, unexpectedly, a dinner was held of ''those to be hanged." There were Boublikoflf, Pavlovsky, SidelnikoflF, my- 75 self Roulevsky, Lebedeff and Tiumeneff (from the Department of Operation). We opened a few bottles of champagne and drank toasts. After the dinner I returned to the Mmistry and began to work. Sunday, March 5th. About three o'clock I tried to lie down on the floor but could not fall asleep. The entire morning was spent in conversations with the railroads. ' Freight from the south to Petrograd had reached an unheard of amount, 2,000 cars, and this during revolution. Our railroad men proved superior to their task. Moscow had solemnly taken the oath to the Provisional Government on the Red Plaza. In Petrograd, however, there was some trouble about the oath. Certain regiments were trying to evade the taking of the oath ; and pourparlers were going on. There was also trouble 'with the rank and file on the rail- roads. Instead of working, they attended meetings. The Soviet appointed a Commissar for each railroad. A short time before, the Commissar of the Nicholaievskaya^ had come to see me. He was a very intelligent man with a high school technical educa- tion, a Menshevik. We understood each other from the first few words. The movement of trains had to be kept up but at the same time the chief demands of the employees had to be crystalized. When they themselves realized exactly what they wanted, then we would bargain. The state, as employer, would unquestionably meet their demands but at present we had to work as much as possible. It was much worse on the Vindavskaya. There the director was wise and liberal but his Soviet Commissar was an uncom- promismg and unyielding Bolshevik from the intellegentzia. They could not come to an understanding. As I was talking to the Duma, there suddenly appeared a telegram signed by Keren- sky and NekrassofT : o & j To all N. Inform all employees and workmen that, with the ap- proval of the Provisional Government, there is being organ- ized at the Ministry of Ways of Communication a special (-ommittee under the chairmanship of Deputy Dobrovolsky 76 for the rapid democratization of the rules of employment on railroads as well as for the revision of the material con- ditions of labor. In particular, the question of the repre- sentation of employees and workmen in the administration of the railroads will be decided upon. We invite, therefore, all employees and workmen to await the decision of this question and not to undertake immediately any steps of their own which may break up the regular work of the rail- roads so necessary during the present war and during the establishment of the new power. No. 1788. Minister of Ways of Communication, NEKRASSOFF. Minister of Justice, KERENSKY. Correct: Rozhko. Boublikoff and I were thunderstruck. First of all, Nek- rassoff had not yet assumed office. Secondly, what kind of representation of employees and workmen in the administration of the railroads were they speaking of? What kind of par- liamentarism was pds>ible in a railroad organization which has to work like a clock, submitting fo ^t-cingle will whose founda- tion lies in the command of each second?"---^, "And what's most important," Boublikoff shouted, "we must give them something now, you understand, now, immedi- ately! They will not be satisfied with a committee. This tele- gram must not be sent but rather the one prepared by the juris- counsel and yourself. This is a promise, the other is ^ real bless- ing. And what is most important, w^e must immediatiA^ispose of all the rascals in the Ministry and especially in the railroaer=^ Write a corresponding telegram." . _ "But who will be the Minister, and then, who is managmg the Ministry now?" I asked. , • t, ■ Boublikoff did not answer but only glared and, lockmg him- self in his office, he began to talk by telephone with the Duma. Evidently his relations with the Committee were getting more strained, and he was not going to be Minister. re a —^ '"Despatch the telegram of Kerensky and Nekrassoff and don't ask me any questions," shouted Boublikoff through the half open door. „ ,. Roulevsky and I looked at each other and Boublikott disap- peared. About two hours passed at work unnoticed. 77 ■Roulevskv called me aside. ... "We will not allow Alexander Alexandrovitch to go away. ^^ ^You've^ost your senses. What sort of a strike can there ^ ""Eli Uriv Vladimirovitch, this is only a beginning The time will corne when we shall have to take the Ministry again, but by force. But so far Boublikoff is the man. "]Do not count on me. At the first attempt to create dis- order I will take all lawful steps against you." "Well I'm not afraid of lawful means. And why are you getting so 'set on the law, anyway? By what law, pray tell me, does the Soviet exist?" l ^ j "We are not speaking of that now. I am heart and soul for Boublikoff and fully understand the incapacity of Nek- rassoff. But I am against any kind of plots. . . ." We went to Boublikoff. , , , . , J, Boublikoff hesitated less than a minute and then decidedly accepted my point of view. ' ,; . "We must show an example of submitting to rule. And then, nothing has beet^ -anally decided." About three- o'clock Nekrassoff arrived with Professor Nov- eorodtseff. They locked themselves in the Minister's office and beean to prepare the manifesto of the Provisional Government. Toward evening the following text was given me for publication : "THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT NOTIFIES CITIZENS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE ^,.^ -'' "The old order has fallen. The inheritance of the de- generate autocracy, the chains binding the strength of the people are broken. ^ "The great overthrow has ended the long years of struggle ^yhich have taken so much strength, and the lives and liberties of so many of the best sons of our country. "On October 17, 1905, it seemed that the people had ^ won the victory. A Constitutional form of government w^s proclairned. But the false and hypocritical powers, a^ter submitting to the forced concessions, began to recuperate from the early blows and, by creating pernicious social divi- sion by means of pogroms and by inhuman and bloody exec- utions, attempted from the first day to crush out our new 78 born liberties. Notwithstanding all the attempts of the old power, the first Duma formulated the fundamental demands of the people. The Duma was dissolved. The second gained no victory. In contradiction to fundamental law, the supreme power changed the election laws with a view of creating a docile Duma and during a period of many years, has continually fought the aspirations of the people, has put obstacles in the path of change, trying with all its might to maintain the old order, an order which gave no possibil- ities for the economic and cultural development of the people. "The war broke out. All the governments of Western Europe understood that victory was to be gained only by straining all the strength of the people and by the unity of the people. They invited into their midst the most gifted and irreproachable people, those respected by the entire pop- ulation. Nicholas II, as before, shunned contact with the people, taking care only that the power should remain in the hands of the adherents of the old order. He found them among low grafters, people without honor, incapable of understanding the needs of the state. These persons thought only of their own interests, neglected the popular defense, and some of them, whose names the people will not forget, in the face of the enemy bargained with the fate of the coun- try and covered their names with treachery. And behind the back of this miserable government, the power of all those dark forces, criminal and licentious, was being strengthened. They were appointing and dismissing Mm- isters. Their ignorant voices w'ere deciding the business of the state. The friendship of the Emperor for them has put a stigma on the name of the Russian Emperor and has turned away from him all honest sons of the country. "The cup of the people's endurance was overflowmg. A mighty attempt has united all citizens. On the side of the Tzar no one was found. Deserted by all and realizmg his helplessness, he has abdicated from the throne for him- self and his son and has turned over the inheritance to his brother. Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch. The latter has refused to accept the supreme power. He has acknowl- edged that now only the will of the people may decide the form of government and the fate of the throne. He has 79 asked air citizens of the Russian Empire to submit to the Provisional Government vi'hich has been created on the mi- tiative of the Duma and which possesses complete power. In the name of duty to the country, the Provisional Govern- ment has accepted the difficult task of this rule and before the face of the people takes up the responsibility for its fate. It will perform its duties and find its strength in the realiza- tion of unity with the Duma and in the mighty support of the Russian Army, the laboring masses and the social organ- izations. "The most important problem before the Provisional Government is that of calling a Constituent Assembly in the shortest possible time. This Assembly will be con- vened on the basis of universal, direct, equal and secret balloting and will establish the fundamental laws of the future state according to the will of the people. "Not wishing the heroic defenders of the country who are now spilling their blood on the fields of battle to abstain from participation in the elections, the Provisional Govern- ment will guarantee their participation. The Provisional Government is not called upon to decide upon all questions of law as they arise. This shall be the task of the Constit- uent Assembly and the legal institutions created by it. But the Provisional Government considers it its duty at present to issue a complete amnesty for all political and religious offences, to guarantee to the people the rights of civil liberty and civil equality and to introduce universal suflFrage in the election of the local self-government bodies. "But at the head of all the problems of the people there stands at present the greatest problem — that of securing a victorious termination of the war in co-operation with our glorious Allies. We, as well as they, are warring not for the extension of our borders Dut lor the creation of a stable peace which shall correspond with the dignity of a great power and with the necessity for the fulfillment of its great national problems. "Citizens of the Russian Empire, in the historic mo- ment now approaching let us unite and strain all our powers to help our heroic army battling at the front. We have still before us a number of hardships and privations. Submit- ting to the inevitable and patiently overcoming it, we shall 80 remember that only by stubborn and self-denying labor, con- ditions of new and better life are gradually created. "To this labor Russia is calling all of us." But then there came a telephone call from the Duma stating that the Council of Ministers had changed the manifesto and that the final text of the appeal would be delivered tomorrow. I let the compositors go and decided to go home in order to have some sleep at least. I went to talk it over with Boublikoff. He was very per- turbed. "Well," he ^aid, "tomorrow Nekrassoff assumes ofifice. He offered me the office of Assistant Minister. Nothing doing. . . . You are not supposed to know anything about it. But you must remain. I insist upon that." "But I have a position. I am a member of the Engineering Soviet." "Yes, and also the Chief of Experiments. No, you must remain at actual work. The Pirector-General will be Shubersky but the place of Assistant Minister is vacant." "Why, then, do you refuse?" "I cannot work with these dummies. ... I am a man of liberty and domination. I am a boss myself and you are em- ployed anyway. . . . Go out for a minute." And he ran to the telephone. This was not a conversation. It was one continuous shout. The word "dummies" was men- tioned often. With whom, about whom and about what he spoke I did not understand. But I have never seen Boublikoff before or since in such a rage. "Scamps, swindlers, dummies. They are sacrificing Russia. It is plain demagogy. They won't last even two months . . . everything will go to the devil. They will be turned out with shame." "What's the matter, Alexander Alexandrovitch ?" "What's the matter? Such favoritism did not exist even in Rasputin's time . . . and then, why do you want to know all about it? Go home and forget about our last night's conversa- — -tion."' Thanks for your co-operation. And he heartily embraced me. It is a strange thing. I am a man ambitious and power loving. But I felt at that time as though a heavy load had fallen from my shoulders. In a sort of ecstasy, with uplifted head, I left the Ministry and went to the station. The realization that I had 81 not received anything for my participation in the revolution made me happy and proud. Truly, I have never passed happier minutes in my life. My wife completely shared by happiness. March 6th. Arriving at the Ministry about eight o'clock, I found the text of the new manifesto which I turned over to the printing office. Here is the text: "FROM THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT "Citizens of the Russian Empire "The, great event has happened. By a mighty outburst the Russian people have overthrown the old order. A new and free Russia has been born. The great overthrow com- pletes the long years of struggle. "By the Act of October 17, 1905, under the pressure of the power of the awakened people, Russia was promised Constitutional liberties but these promises were not ful- filled. The mouthpiece of the hopes of the people, the first Duma, was dissolved. The second Duma met the same fate, and unable to conquer the will of the people, the gov- ernment decided in the Act of June 3, 1907, to take away the few rights the people had of participating in the legislative functions. For nine long years the people have been de- prived, step by step, of all the rights that they had won. The country was again thrown into the whirlpool of auto- cracy. All attempts to hold the power have proved futile. The great world struggle which our country was compelled by the enemy to enter courted a condition of moral degen- eration of power. Not united with the people, indifferent to the fate of the country, sunk in the shame of vice, even the heroic attempts of the army, weakened by the weight of unmerciful internal disintegration, even the call of the representatives of the people united in the face of national danger, all were powerless to induce the former Emperor and his government to unite with the people. And when Russia, due only to the unlawful and dangerous actions of its rulers, was confronted with tremendous calamities the people themselves were compelled to take the rule into their own hands. A unified revolutionary outburst of the people, conscious of the importance of the moment, and the de- cisiveness of the Duma have created a Provisional Govern- 82 ment which considers it its holy and responsible duty to bring to realization the wishes of the people and to lead the country in a free and enlightened path of civil construc- tiveness. "The Government believes that the spirit of :he great patriotism which showed itself in the struggle of che people with the old powers will encourage our heroic soldiers on the field of battle. The Government, as far as it is con- cerned, will do all in its power to guarantee our army every- thing necessary to carry the war to a successful termination. "The Government will be bound to keep holy all alli- ances with other powers and will keep all agreements made with the Allies. "While taking measures to defend the country from the foreign foe, the Government will at the same time consider it its first duty to open the way for the expression of the will of the people as to the form of government and will call as soon as possible, the Constituent Assembly on the basis of universal, direct, equal and secret balloting, guaranteeing the heroic defenders of our country who now spill their blood on the field of battle, participation 'in the elections. The Constituent Assembly will also issue fundamental laws guaranteeing the country the inalienable fundamental rights of equality and liberty. "Realizing the whole weight of unlawfulness now borne by the country which sets up obstacles to the free creative impulses of the people, in this year of hardship and popular calamity the Provisional Government considers it necessary immediately even before the convocation of the Constituent Assembly to guarantee the country fundamental and stable laws, securing civil liberty and civil equality in order to allow all citizens to freely express the spiritual strength in creative wt)rk for the welfare of the land of our birth. The government will also undertake the, establishment of laws guaranteeing to all citizens equal pdrticipation in the election of local self-governing bodies on the basis of uni- versal suffrage. "In the moment of the liberation of the people the whole country with reverence and gratitude remembers those who in the struggle for their political and religious beliefs fell victims to the vengeful old power and the Provisional Gov- 83 ernment will make it a joyful duty to return with honor from the places of their exile and imprisonment those who have suffered and been victimized for the welfare of the coi;ntry. "In doing this, the Provisional Government sincerely believes that it is carrying out the will of the people and that the entire population will uphold it in the honest desire to insure the happiness of Russia. In this belief it finds its courage. Only through unity and with the co-operation of the people does it see the promise for the creation of a new order. \ \ "March 6, 1917." Brrrrrr . \ . Boublikoff rang up from his apartment. "Dear friend, Nekrassoff has set nine o'clock in the morning as the time forithe transfer of the Ministry. I will arrive later. If Dobrovolsky is not there turn over to him all rush documents." I collected in my brief case all our projects, telegrams and the most important information that we had received from the railroads and waited for a telephone call from the Minister's apartment. "He has ari^ved." I started out. On the way Ustrugoff caught up with me. "Where are you going?" "To the Minister's. And you?" "I also. What are you going for?" "To turn over the rush documents to him." "I will give them to him. Do not trouble the Minister." "I am simply carrying out the order of the Commissar," I answered and thqught: "Are you, then, the Assistant Minister?" The courier reported our arrival. We entered. Nekrassoff was joyful but ^t the same time confused. I turned over the documents to him. "We will look it all up. . . ." The courier ^reported the arrival of Sir George Carey, Vice President of the i, Canadian Pacific, who had been sent by the British as an expert for the Murmansk Railroad. A conversa- tion through an interpreter ensued. The Minister was tangled and blundered in! answering. He was uncomfortable. His rage finally turned upon the courier. "Tea. Why have you no tea? . . . What kind of a system is this? " ^ 84 "Excuse me, Your Excellency, you didn't order any." "There should always be tea here " Carey and I looked at each other involuntarily. He did not understand what was the trouble. After his departure Nekrassoff at once turned to me. "Good-bye. Tell Boubiikoff that I will come in to see him before twelve to arrange the transfer and to sign a telegram." I transmitted this order to Boubiikoff and became absorbed in current work. I looked at the clock: it was about one. Boubiikoff called up Nekrassoff but there was no answer. I called the Secretary of the Minister. "The Minister has issued an order of his assumption of offi,ce and gone to the Duma. He has ordered the Assistant Minister, Ustrugoff, to be applied to in connection with current business." Boublikoff's situation, as well as my own, was foolish. What for? j Roulevsky again insisted on a mutiny. Boubiikoff at this time calmly refused to listen to him. In order to arrange our departure, I gave the /following^ telegram to the Commissars: "To the Commissars of the Duma, Boubiikoff and Dobro- volsky. Co^y Tz,' TzP,»* TzN,**' and all N.**** For the information of the lines. "On the day of your departure from the Ministry, in the name of the /whole railroad family, I beg to offer thanks to Fate that in these historic days we had to work for the good of the country under your leadership. Due only to your energy, knowledge and unquestionable loyalty to the work of liberty, you were able, not only to maintain the movement of trains in the days of Revolution, but also to avoid a bloody battle in the neighborhood of Petrograd. Russia will never forget your name. j "Lomonossoff." Boubiikoff replied with the following circular telegram: "To All N. Copy Tz, TzP and TzN. ^_ __- "Yesterday Engineer Nekrassoff, Member of the Duma, entered upon his duties as Minister and thus my work as Commissar of the Duma has ended. On February 28, by • Minister. " Assistant Minister. "' Director-General of Railroads. "•* Chiefs and Directors-General of Railroads. 85 order of the Executive Committee of the Duma, I took the Ministry by force and entered upon the formation of means to secure the uninterrupted movement of traffic as well as to prevent the use of the railroads for purposes contrary to the interests of the people and the liberation of the country. It is not for us to judge as to ihe importance and position of the railroad man in this work. History will do this un- biasedly and not with words of thanks do I intend to address you. Not for thanks did you work, nor for your personal interests. You consciously worked for the Fatherland. I would only like to point out to everyone, the marvelous in- ternal discipline which the million-strong railroad army has shown in these historic days. Not only were all my orders, which were frequently unusual for railroad men accustomed to help and not to hinder operation, obeyed with two or three insignificant exceptioris, wholeheartedly and without question, but even a greater thing happened : the railroads did not give in to their impulse to celebrate with the rest of the people the days of liberation and did not leave their offices, shops and lines which were coyered with snow. Not for a single hour was the movement oi trains stopped. Thus they proved their real patriotism. I bow low to them and leaving the place of Chief and returning again to be a pri- vate worker at my beloved railroad Work, I cannot pass without mentioning — we may even say for the sake of his- tory — the names of those who helped ine in those days of mad work. Some of them did not even'belong to the Min- istry or belonged to Departments which did not compel them to do active work. Here are the names : Professor Lomonossoff , in the capacity of my Chief Assistant ; former Assistant Ministers E. M. BorisoflF and D. P. Kozireff ; the Assistant Director-General, V. P. Reisler; the Chief of Expeditionary Section, A. S. Tukhin; his Assistant P P. Kerelin and S. M. Tiumeneflf; V. S. Pavlovsky, temporarily appomted by me Chief of the Northwestern Railroad ; and under my direct orders, A. M. Roulevsky, Shmuskes, G. V. Lebedeff, Engineer B. A. Perloflf, Attorney E. F Sidelni- koflF; on the line, Chief of the M. V. R. Railroad M E Pra- vosudovitch; Chief of Operation of the same railroad, Grmtchuk Lukashevitch ; Assistant Chief of Movements of the Northwestern Railroad, Lobanoff, telegrapher of the 86 Ministry on the lines. These eyes and ears of the Provi- sional Government in these days and the energetic company of students who bore the work of communication and many more that I can not mention. Let those that I have not mentioned forgive my forgetfulness. Let the great work they have performed give them satisfaction. Proudly we should all bear the name of railroad men. Inform on the lines. Commissar of the Duma. My part in the revolution had ended. AFTERWORD The reader will probably be interested to know what has become of some of the personalities mentioned in these memoirs. Boublikoff went into private business and then ran away from the "Bolshevik danger" to America, where, after some hesi- tation, he assumed a prominent role in the ranks of the Russian counter-revolutionists. I myself came to America even before this. The Provisional Government sent me here. LebedefT came with me but I am informed that he is now going over to Kolchak. Roulevsky immediately after the revolution was em- ployed by me in the Office of Experiments and has probably kept his promise — has a second time helped to occupy the Min- istry during the Bolshevik Revolution. Rotmeister Sosnovsky soon afterward turned out to be not Sosnovsky but a fugitive criminal, Regalsky. He had certainly formerly been an officer but afterward specialized in the murder of frivolous women. During the revolution he was a prisoner in the Litovsky Castle. When the mob liberated all prisoners, he obtained somewhere the uniform of a Hussar officer and turned up at the Duma. Ustrugoff occupied the position of Assistant Minister until the very last moment of the Bolshevik Revolution and at present has become a Minister in the Kolchak Cabinet. 87 The Rand Book Store THE RAND BOOK STORE is located on the ground floor of the People's House, and its collection of Socialist and radical books and magazines cannot be excelled anywhere in America. 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