The march of the Teutons, coupled with their requisitions of food products, seemed to arouse a good deal of dissatisfaction among the peasants and workmen in the Ukraine. It is reported that the Rada, which had invited the Germans, requested them to stop the advance of their troops, but their request was not heeded. The behavior of the Teutons in Kiev led to a clash between the Ukrainian authorities and the German commandant. The demand of the Austro-Germans that the Ukraine should furnish them 85 per cent. of its grain and all its sugar except that needed for local consumption was particularly resented. On April 7 the Bolshevist Foreign Minister Chicherin signified to the German Government his willingness to open peace negotiations with the Ukraine. According to some advices the Rada wished to form a federated alliance with the Russian Republic.
IN THE CAUCASUS
Article 4 of the Russo-German treaty provides for the evacuation by the Russian troops of the districts of Erivan, Kars, and Batum, (in the Caucasus,) and the reorganization of these districts in agreement with Turkey. The Transcaucasion Constituent Assembly, meeting in Tiflis, refused to recognize the peace with the Central Powers and pronounced itself in favor of a war against them. On March 29 it was reported that the local Diet declared the independence of the Caucasus and approved the project of a separate peace with Turkey. But when, several days later, the Turks began the military occupation of the Caucasian districts mentioned in the Brest-Litovsk treaty, the Armenians and Georgians rose against the invaders. On April 4 the Armenians were said to have recaptured Erzerum, in Turkish Armenia, which Russia evacuated after the conclusion of peace. Before the Caucasian uprising Turkey officially announced its intention to send troops to restore order in the Crimea. It was reported that massacres of Armenians were resumed by the Turks and that many thousand women and children had been butchered.
On April 14 the Russian Government forwarded to Germany a protest of the Armenian National Council, addressed to the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Reichstag. The document reads in part:
Following upon the withdrawal of the Russian troops Turkish troops already have invaded the undefended country and are not only killing every Turkish Armenian, but also every Russian in Armenia.
In spite of the terms of the peace treaty, which recognizes the right of self-determination for these Caucasian regions, the Turkish Army is advancing toward Kars and Ardahan, destroying the country and killing the Christian population. The responsibility for the future destiny of the Armenians lies entirely with Germany because it was Germany's insistence that resulted in the withdrawal of the Russian troops from the Armenian regions, and at the moment it rests with Germany to prevent the habitual excesses of the Turkish troops, increased by revengefulness and anger.
INTERNAL SITUATION
The internal situation in Russia proper remains uncertain, nor have any definite changes taken place in the mood of the people or in the Governmental policies of the Bolsheviki. It is charged that the Bolshevist Government suppressed the full text of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty. On April 10 the Commissioner of Commerce of the Bolsheviki announced that under the terms of the peace treaty Russia had suffered the following losses:
Seven hundred and eighty thousand square kilometers (301,000 square miles) of territory.
Fifty-six million inhabitants, constituting 32 per cent, of the entire population of the country.