Rasputin and the Russian Revolution

by Princess Catherine Radziwill

By that time one had become used in Russia to every possible surprise in regard to the appointment of Ministers, and nothing that could happen in that line astonished those (and they were legion) who knew that it was a gang of adventurers that was ruling the country. The rise of Mr. Protopopoff was not therefore considered by them as something out of the way, but in parliamentary circles it gave rise to deep indignation; an indignation which eventually found its way into the press, where, however, it was very quickly suppressed by the censor, and also in the various speeches uttered in the Duma, during which allusions were made for the first time to the unhealthy influence exercised by the Empress over her husband.

The former was triumphant. As soon as she became aware of the conditions under which the German government would consent to conclude peace with Russia, she set herself, in conjunction with her friends, to try to persuade Nicholas II. that his duty in regard to his people required him to put an end to a hopeless conflict during which the best blood in Russia was being spilt for a cause doomed beforehand. She made him observe that if the war went on much longer, the revolutionary elements in the country would wax stronger, in proportion to the sacrifices entailed upon the nation, and that it was quite possible, the latter, exasperated by their magnitude, would attempt to get rid of a government that had not succeeded in restoring to it the tranquillity which it so sorely needed. It did not take her a long time to convert the Czar to her point of view, and the negotiations officiously inaugurated by Mr. Protopopoff were officially continued by him together with Mr. Sturmer, whom Alexandra Feodorovna personally entreated to assume their direction in conjunction with her own self.

In spite of the extreme secrecy which had presided at these different conferences between the Empress and her favourites, something of their purport had transpired among the general public, and threats had been proferred against those who had accepted to play the sad part of Judas in regard to their country. These threats had been whispered in the corridors of the Duma, and Mr. Protopopoff had been informed of their purport by his spies. It became therefore one of his principal aims to get rid of an opposition which, he knew but too well, would only increase in violence as well as in importance as the sorry work he was bent upon performing would come out in the light of day and become known to his numerous adversaries. Apart from this, he thought it would be better to present himself later on before the Duma with an accomplished fact behind him. He therefore persuaded the Empress that whilst he would be pressing with the utmost speed the negotiations with the Kaiser, begun already, it would be advisable to bring from the front a considerable number of troops to Petrograd, so as to be able with their help to crush any effort at resistance attempted either by the population of the capital or by its garrison, about whose state of mind the minister did not feel quite sure. The Cabinet was so badly informed, in spite of its numerous spies, of what was going on in the army that it imagined the latter would only feel grateful and happy to see the campaign come to an end and be able to go back to its homes, and that in consequence it would lend itself with the greatest pleasure to any attempt made by the Monarch and the government to put an end to a struggle for which it did not feel any longer any enthusiasm at heart.

The men who reasoned thus were absolutely mistaken. The army had made up its mind to win the war; the workmen whose importance was increasing with every day that went by, also wished it, because they hoped that out of this victory they were longing for might result a radical change in the form of the administration they had begun to despise more and more as its incapacity became more and more apparent. The person of the Czar did not inspire respect or enthusiasm any longer, but on the other hand love for the Fatherland had made considerable progress since the beginning of the war, and the national sentiment which, up to that time, had only existed in the state of an Utopia had become a reality, especially since one had perceived the great strength which it had communicated to Russia’s allies, to France among others, where the Republic, which many people were already seeing loom in the distance as a possibility in the land of the Czars, had inspired so much patriotism to its citizens.

Neither Mr. Sturmer, nor Mr. Protopopoff, nor those who shared their opinions and their views, were able to understand what was going on in the heart and in the soul of the Russian nation. They were far too much absorbed in their own petty, personal interests, to be able to give a thought to such a subject. For them the conclusion of a peace with Germany meant the strengthening of their influence and of their power, together with honours, dignities, and the possibility to enrich themselves, and to have a few more stars attached to the golden embroideries of their uniforms. It meant also the possibility of getting rid once for all of this spectre of a responsible ministry, of which they stood in such dread. They therefore threw themselves in the struggle against the Duma with an ardour that grew as they saw the increasing difficulties with which the accomplishment of their designs was going to encounter in that Assembly, and, as a first step in the course of action they had determined to follow, they submitted to the signature of Nicholas II. the fatal decree which prorogued the Duma together with the Council of State, and which was to give the signal for the conflagration of which they were to become themselves the first victims.

Traitors are always to be found in hours of great national peril. Among the people who resided in the palace of Tsarskoie Selo, there was a person who, becoming acquainted by chance of what was going on there, rushed to communicate the news which he had heard to Mr. Kerensky, the leader of the extreme left party in the Duma. The latter did not lose one moment in communicating to his colleague the news which had come to his knowledge, and also to the president of the Assembly, Mr. Rodzianko.

Photograph, International Film Service, Inc.

Alexander Kerensky

Mr. Rodzianko was about the last man whom one would have suspected of being possessed of the necessary determination to resort to a “Coup d’Etat.” He was a Chamberlain of the Czar; he had been brought up in monarchical traditions, and during his whole life he had submitted to the one which, in Russia, placed the Sovereign in the light of something holy and sacred before his subjects. He was respected but did not enjoy an immense authority in the Chamber that had never taken quite kindly to him, not thinking him possessed of sufficient courage to fight its battles with efficiency. It is probable that he felt terrified rather than anything else, at the prospect which the communication of Mr. Kerensky opened before him, but things had advanced too far for him to be able to withdraw. There was no alternative left but to perish oneself, or to destroy others. Mr. Rodzianko called together a meeting of several deputies belonging to the moderate parties, with whom he discussed the situation. They very quickly came to the conclusion that if one entered into a struggle with the government in this all important question of war and peace, one would be backed up by the whole country, which did not wish to see the war come to an end until the enemy had been driven out of Russian territory. There was also another thing which added itself to all the different questions roused by the discovery of the intentions of the Court. It was the determination of the radical groups of the Duma to proceed to the “Coup d’Etat” on their own accord, and no matter under what conditions, with or without the help of the moderate elements in the Assembly. This might have become extremely dangerous, as they had behind them the whole mass of the working population of the capital. The question had therefore to be considered as to whether the Revolution was to be made with the concurrence of all the parties represented in the Duma, or by the radical socialists alone, who, in the latter case, would have become the absolute masters of the situation, and might have pressed for the immediate proclamation of a Republic which could easily have degenerated into an anarchy, and which in the best of cases would have lacked the necessary dignity, capable of giving it prestige and authority at home and abroad. Mr. Rodzianko found himself placed in the presence of a dilemma of a most difficult kind and nature. He took the only decision possible under the circumstances, he boldly placed himself at the head of the movement and constituted a provisional government, in place of the one that had foundered under the weight of the contempt of the whole nation.