RECOLLECTIONS OF A 
 RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT
 
 •The 
 
 THE MACMILLAN CO 
 
 NKW YORK • BOSTON • CHICA 
 ATLANTA • SAN FRAN 
 
 MACMILLAN & CO., 
 
 LONDON • BOMBAY • CJ 
 MELBOURNE 
 
 THE MACMILLAN CO. OF 
 
 TORONTO
 
 1-1 
 
 I— I 
 
 & 
 
 a 
 
 Q 
 
 N 
 U 
 
 w 
 
 a
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF A 
 RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 THE SUICIDE OF MONARCHIES 
 
 (WILLIAM II AND NICHOLAS II) 
 
 BY 
 
 EUGENE de SCHELKING 
 
 Formerly Secretary of the Russian Embassy in Berlin 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 1918 
 
 AU rights reserved
 
 Copyright, 1918 
 By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1918. 
 
 . ■ 
 
 * • • • 
 
 ,s. 
 
 • ••"..• • • ,. .'•...•• • . 
 
 ■ • • • • • . • . . , . • • i* . • • •
 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 The preparation of Mr. de Schelking's manuscript 
 for publication has been an interesting, if somewhat 
 arduous task. When I was able to secure the manu- 
 script from the hands of the censor, in Ottawa, I 
 discovered that what Mr. de Schelking had meant and 
 what the translation said were two different things, 
 owing not to the fault of the translator but to the 
 extreme difficulty of following the trend of another 
 man's mind. In consequence, it was necessary to 
 rewrite the whole manuscript and then to go most 
 carefully through it with the author, all of which 
 took considerable time. But the more familiar I 
 became with the manuscript, the more fascinating 
 the matter appeared to me. In fact, when the final 
 copies were dispatched to the publishers, I quite 
 regretted that, for the time being at least, my con- 
 nection with the work was over. 
 
 I think any one who reads the book will agree with 
 me that it is one of the most fascinating human docu- 
 ments which has been published in recent years. 
 Through it all there runs the personality of the 
 author who throughout his diplomatic and journal- 
 istic careers, seems to have had a premonition that 
 the weaknesses of the men who by birth or caprice 
 
 21 218 1
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 held the destinies of the world in their hands, would 
 bring about a terrible catastrophe. 
 
 Naturally, as a good Russian, Mr. de Schelking was 
 not altogether in favour of the Russian entente with 
 England. The greater part of his diplomatic ca- 
 reer was evidently passed during the period when 
 Russia and England were constantly clashing in 
 the East. It must be admitted that in England for 
 years, the instinctive sentiment of the politicians 
 and public was to regard Russia as an enemy just 
 as France had been regarded as an enemy. Thus 
 Russia's natural policy was to oppose England with 
 Germany, while remaining friendly with France, al- 
 though even her friendship with the latter seems 
 to have been tinged with autocratic regret for an 
 alliance with a republic. 
 
 Metternich's idea of an alliance of the three Em- 
 perors of Austria, Germany and Russia naturally 
 made its appeal to an autocratic government, but 
 Mr. de Schelking evidently very soon came to the 
 conclusion that the archaic anachronism known as 
 the House of Habsburg, was a pillar in this structure 
 which must inevitably crumble under the storms of 
 national passions. 
 
 The gradual federation of the Balkan nations in- 
 evitably brought about the resurgence of Polish, 
 Czech, and Jugo-Slav aspirations. Intensely Slavic 
 in his sentiments and constitutionally democratic in 
 his instincts, Mr. de Schelking had no patience with
 
 PREFACE vii 
 
 the vacillating policies of the statesmen who refused 
 to face facts, but took refuge in expediencies. The 
 dynastic interests of the Hohenzollerns, Habsburgs, 
 and Komanoffs, sooner or later, would inevitably 
 clash with the progressive tendencies of the vari- 
 ous European nationalities. Therefore like many 
 others, Mr. de Schelking regarded the personal inter- 
 ests of statesmen, whose power came through the 
 favour of their rulers, as utterly opposed to all prog- 
 ress. He does not hide his contempt for those states- 
 men who tried to retain power at the expense 
 of the interests of the nations over which they ruled. 
 
 No man who has a definite constructive policy 
 and who has the gift of analysing the logical results 
 of expediency, can avoid arriving at Mr. de Schelk- 
 ing 's conclusion, when he realizes the folly of these 
 men. Intimately acquainted with the characters and 
 personalities of the two principal actors in the Euro- 
 pean drama, the Emperors Nicholas II of Russia, and 
 William II of Germany, Mr. de Schelking is ruthless 
 in exposing their weaknesses. In these pages, men 
 make their entrance and their exit from the Euro- 
 pean stage, not as the historical characters they have 
 hitherto represented in the eyes of their audience, 
 but as human beings, with all the weaknesses and 
 foibles of ordinary every-day people. 
 
 I know no book which gives a better proof of the 
 value of democracy than this one. Not because it 
 deals with democratic principles but because it ex-
 
 viii PREFACE 
 
 poses the weaknesses of autocratic government. 
 One of the most fascinating things about the book 
 is the manner in which the most trivial affairs be- 
 come the direct source of a tragic aftermath. 
 
 L. W. Makovski, 
 Vancouver, B. C. 
 June, 1918.
 
 NOTE BY THE AUTHOR 
 
 It is difficult to relate with any degree of clearness 
 those events which culminated in the Russian Revo- 
 lution and the great tragedy of the European War. 
 Hundreds of books have been written about the poli- 
 cies of the various governments involved. History 
 has dealt with Germany, Russia, France, Italy and 
 the Balkan Powers and with their relations to the 
 British Empire. Many of these books have been 
 written by men intimately connected with the govern- 
 ments of what has been known as Continental Eu- 
 rope. They have dealt with the dangers of militar- 
 ism and from another point of view, with the so- 
 called danger of British sea power. To the student 
 of history, these books have been admired but never- 
 theless they utterly failed to convince the world of 
 the inexorable outcome of these policies. 
 
 The tragedy of the European War has been 
 ascribed to many different causes. It is, of course, 
 the natural outcome of policies deliberately pursued, 
 but it will be admitted that behind the policy lies the 
 personality of the men in w 7 hose hands have lain 
 the destinies of nations. In the following pages, I 
 have endeavoured to deal with many of these per- 
 sonalities as I knew them, more especially with 
 
 ix
 
 x NOTE BY TIIE AUTHOR 
 
 those men whose personalities guided the destiny of 
 Russia and Germany. Moreover, to thoroughly un- 
 derstand matters that may seem absolutely trivial 
 but which were of themselves much more important 
 than the widely advertised and published treaties 
 with which history deals, it is necessary to know 
 something of the reign and character of Alexander 
 III, the predecessor of Nicholas II, and of Bavaria's 
 position in the federation of Germany. 
 
 I have commenced my book, therefore, with a short 
 chapter reviewing the reign of Alexander III. After 
 his death, Emperor William of Germany became the 
 dominating figure around whom the whirlpool swept. 
 
 I have given the name of The Suicide of Monarchies 
 to this book because it was the feebleness of Nicholas 
 
 II which brought disaster to Russia and eliminated 
 the Romanoffs from that throne, just as the insen- 
 sate, egoistical and dynastic policy of William will 
 inevitably eliminate the Hohenzollerns from among 
 the monarchies of Europe, when the people of Ger- 
 many realize the role he has played in deliberately 
 plotting the tragedy. 
 
 The manuscript of this volume was originally dic- 
 tated by me in French to Mr. Lawrence Mott, corre- 
 spondent of the New York Herald in Yokohama, 
 Japan, where I, after leaving Petrograd nineteen 
 days after the final revolution broke out, stayed for 
 about a year before coming to Canada. The book 
 was practically re-written in Vancouver, B. C, by
 
 NOTE BY THE AUTHOR xi 
 
 me in collaboration with Mr. L. W. Makovski of the 
 Vancouver Daily Province whose knowledge of the 
 European situation which led to the war, proved of 
 inestimable value to me, who hereby desire to ac- 
 knowledge the assistance I received from both 
 Messrs. Mott and Makovski. The latter placed the 
 manuscript in the hands of the publishers. 
 
 E. DE SCHELKING.
 
 BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 Mr. E. de Schelking was born in Petrograd in 
 1858. His family, which belonged to the ancient 
 order of Teutonic knights, migrated into Courland 
 from Austria, and there became Polish subjects re- 
 ceiving the title of Baron from the King of Poland, 
 Sigismund III. When Courland, under Empress 
 Anne, Duchess of Courland, became a Russian prov- 
 ince during the latter half of the eighteenth century, 
 Mr. de Schelking 's family went to Petrograd, re- 
 taining the title of Baron in Courland but not taking 
 out the necessary papers to make the barony Russian. 
 
 His father was a Russian General — Nicholas 
 George Schelking — who distinguished himself in the 
 Hungarian Campaign of 1848 and in that of Poland 
 in 1864. His mother was a Baroness Fersen, and 
 one of her ancestors accompanied Louis XVI of 
 France and Queen Marie Antoinette in their flight 
 from Varennes. 
 
 Mr. de Schelking finished his studies in the Im- 
 perial College of Law at Petrograd and entered the 
 Diplomatic Service of his country in 1883, and has 
 held the following Diplomatic Posts: 
 
 First Secretary»in Greece, France, Spain and Ger-
 
 xiv BIOGRAPHY OF THE AUTHOR 
 
 many, — both in Berlin and Munich — and he was for 
 a time Legation Councillor at The Hague. 
 
 Leaving diplomatic life in 1903 he went into po- 
 litical journalism, and was correspondent in Paris 
 for the well known Liberal Organ — the Rouss, 
 and later for the Novoie Vremya. 
 
 After that again he was for six years in the For- 
 eign Politics Department of the Birjevia Wiede- 
 mosti — the largest of all the papers in the Russian 
 capital. While in this position he was officially 
 asked on several occasions to undertake delicate mis- 
 sions for his government, and in consequence, trav- 
 elled a great deal in Europe, but more especially in 
 the Balkans. For a time he was the Petrograd Cor- 
 respondent for the Paris newspaper — Le Temps. 
 
 During his actual diplomatic career, Mr. de 
 Schelking spent fourteen years in Germany, with 
 Count Osten-Sacken as his Chief. 
 
 During the last four or five years, Mr. de Schelking 
 has been a member of practically all the Slavic So- 
 cieties in Russia, and also a Member of their Coun- 
 cils. He was especially popular in the Slavophilist 
 circles, and the representatives of the Czech peoples 
 in Russia honoured him with an Address of Thanks 
 for the work that he did toward the liberation of the 
 Czechs from the oppression of Austria.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAOE 
 
 Preface v 
 
 Note by the Author ix 
 
 Biography of the Author xiii 
 
 I Alexander III 1 
 
 Personal Life — Politics Interior and Exterior. 
 Greatness of the Empire Beyond Its Confines. 
 
 II Bavaria and Prussia and William II .... 22 
 The Regent, King Louis III. A Royal Tragedy. 
 Role of Bavaria in the German Empire. 
 
 III William II ^ 
 
 Personal Impressions. His Character, Qualities 
 and Faults. Hushand and Father, Kaiser and 
 Politician. 
 
 IV The German Ministers 77 
 
 V Nicholas II 103 
 
 His Character. The Ex-Emperor as Husband and 
 Father. The Empress and Her Influence. 
 Rasputin — The Grand Dukes. 
 
 ' VI Foreign Policy of Nicholas II 128 
 
 Relations with William II of Germany. 
 
 VII The Arrivistes 151 
 
 Russian Diplomats and the Foreign Policy of the 
 Russian Empire During the Reign of Nicholas II 
 
 VIII The Whirlpool 185 
 
 Sazonoff's Policy: Russian Action in the Balkans. 
 Bulgaria, Serbia and Roumania. Foreign Influ- 
 ence on Russian International Policy.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 IX The Fox of the Balkans 218 
 
 Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria. 
 
 X The Eve op Revolution 226 
 
 The Last Foreign Ministers of Nicholas II — Stur- 
 mer, Pokrowsky, Vice-Minister Neratoff— The 
 Ambassadors. 
 
 XI Genesis 249 
 
 The Origin of the Russian Revolution — The Minis- 
 ters, the Clergy, Absence of Justice, Depriva- 
 tions of Russian Society. General Dissatisfac- 
 tion. 
 
 XII The Deluge 282 
 
 Appendix I 307 
 
 Queen Marie of Roumania. 
 
 Appendix II 315 
 
 The Result of Roumanians Participation in the 
 Great War.
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 The Czar and His Family Frontispiece 
 
 FACING 
 PAGE 
 
 Count Witte 12 
 
 Count Ostcn-Sacken 64 
 
 Prince Von Buelow 114 
 
 Herr Von Bethmann-Hollweg 164 
 
 M. Sazonoff 240
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF A 
 RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 ALEXANDER III 
 
 Personal Life — Politics Interior and Exterior. Greatness of the 
 Empire beyond its Confines 
 
 Emperor Alexander II was assassinated on March 
 13th, 1881. His son, Emperor Alexander III, as- 
 cended the throne under most tragic circumstances. 
 Two paths were open to him, reform or reaction: 
 reform would of necessity entail the proclamation 
 of a Constitution ; reaction, suppression of the tend- 
 ency towards Liberalism encouraged by his father. 
 
 General Count Loris Melikov — the all-powerful 
 Minister of the Interior during the last days of the 
 reign of Alexander II — was credited with being a 
 Liberal. Reaction had as its leader and devoted ad- 
 herent Monsieur Pobiedonoszeff, the Procurator of 
 the Holy Synod, and as its public exponent Monsieur 
 Katkoff, the famous Moscow journalist. 
 
 The Emperor finally decided on reaction, and per- 
 sisted in following this path for the fourteen years 
 of his reign. 
 
 1
 
 2 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 As I was a young man at the time, and held but 
 minor official positions, I will only touch on a few of 
 the Sovereign's better-known characteristics, which 
 were quite the opposite of those of his successor, 
 Nicholas II. I will also endeavour to give a clear 
 idea of his foreign policies, which I was able to ob- 
 tain from men who were his intimates. 
 
 Alexander III was undoubtedly very popular 
 throughout the nation : among the masses he had the 
 reputation of integrity, loyalty, and firmness. The 
 people felt sure of him and this won him their uni- 
 versal sympathy and understanding. Furthermore, 
 he created for Russia an exceptionally brilliant po- 
 sition beyond the confines of her own domain, which 
 naturally greatly flattered the amour-propre of the 
 nation as a whole. Even the turbulent Liberals did 
 not escape this benign influence and popular senti- 
 ment, thus making the reign of Alexander III one of 
 complete political calm. It must be noted, however, 
 that the favouritism and Court intrigue so over- 
 whelmingly present in the last year of the reign of 
 Alexander II were non-existent during the reign of 
 his son. 
 
 Alexander III had his favourites ; foremost among 
 them were Count Vorontzow-Dachkow, Minister of 
 the Imperial Household, General Tcherevine, Prince 
 W. Obolensky, and the Cheremetiews. But these in- 
 timates of the Sovereign had no political influence 
 over him whatsoever. The Emperor dealt ex-
 
 ALEXANDER III 3 
 
 clusively with his Ministers in matters of state and 
 he chose these in person with the greatest of care. 
 The Emperor disliked any changes: for this reason 
 he had but one Minister of Foreign Affairs — Mr. de 
 Giers — whom he inherited from his father ; and only 
 one Minister of War — General Vannowsky, who had 
 been his Chief of Staff during the Turkish Campaign 
 of 1877-78. 
 
 In choosing collaborators he did not rely on old 
 family names and traditions. Mr. Pobiedonoszeff, 
 Procurator of the Holy Synod, was the son of a poor, 
 country priest ; and Mr. Witte — later created a Count 
 of the Empire — and world-famous at the age of 
 forty-two years — began his official career in the 
 modest position of a station-master. It was not 
 until he was forty-one that the latter 's integrity and 
 acumen attracted Imperial notice and he was placed 
 at the head of the financial affairs of the Empire. 
 Soon after a political intrigue of doubtful character 
 was started against him, and he would have lost both 
 his position and his public prestige if it had not been 
 for the powerful protection and support of the Em- 
 peror, who explained his action by stating that he 
 not only felt sure of his Minister but felt certain that 
 at heart he had acted solelv and to the best of his 
 ability for the good of his country. 
 
 Mr. Witte, after the death of his Imperial master, 
 preserved the greatest loyalty and pious affection 
 for him. In speaking to me of the deceased sov-
 
 4 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 ereign he always referred to him as "My Czar." 
 But Alexander III could be severe when he deemed 
 it necessary. If he discovered that the men whom 
 he trusted were not worthy of his confidence and that 
 his trust was misplaced, he rid himself of them forth- 
 with. This happened in the case of the two power- 
 ful dignitaries, Prince Lieven, Minister of Domains, 
 and General Kryjanowsky, General Governor of 
 Orenburg. Both were deprived of their positions at 
 a day's notice, the Emperor having personally found 
 out that they were illegitimately trafficking in state 
 lands. 
 
 As a husband, Alexander III was a model ; also a 
 generous, kind and considerate father. He married 
 the Princess Dagmar of Denmark (who had previ- 
 ously been the fiancee of his elder brother, who died 
 very suddenly at Nice shortly before the wedding). 
 Everywhere in the salons of Petrograd it was whis- 
 pered that the young Empress was the first woman 
 the Emperor had ever known intimately, and this 
 was probably quite true, as he was never known to 
 have an intrigue of an amorous character all his 
 life. He surrounded his wife with the greatest 
 tenderness and care, but would not permit her to 
 interfere in the slightest way with matters of State. 
 Neither would he allow her to interfere with his per- 
 sonal habits of living, which were rigidly exact and 
 somewhat austere. 
 I quote an anecdote that was told me on this mat-
 
 ALEXANDER III 5 
 
 ter by Count Golenistcheff Kutusoff, Master at the 
 Imperial Court: 
 
 The Emperor shared a large double bed with the 
 Empress. Being a man of huge physique he was 
 the exact opposite of the Empress, who was thin and 
 delicate]" Owing to his massive weight, the mat- 
 tress had sunk on his side of the bed and when he 
 was away this made sleeping uncomfortable for the 
 Empress. One day, while he was absent on a tour 
 of inspection in a distant part of Russia the Em- 
 press could stand the discomfort no longer and sent 
 for the Household Minister, Count Kutusoff, and 
 asked to have the mattress changed at once. This 
 was hurriedly done. The Emperor returned late 
 one evening, but when he came to retire for the night 
 discovered the new mattress. Notwithstanding the 
 hour, and the fact that the Empress had already gone 
 to bed, he sent for the Household Minister and or- 
 dered him peremptorily to return the discarded bed 
 equipment. "You are to take orders from me per- 
 sonally," said he, "and no one else." Then turn- 
 ing with his delightful smile to the Empress, who 
 was in tears, he said: "Since that is thoroughly J 
 understood, Marie, let us now go to bed!" 
 
 The Empress was passionately fond of dancing 
 and, although fetes of all kinds were a nuisance and 
 a bore to the Emperor, the Court held many gay 
 functions of diverse kinds. But, as Alexander III 
 worked twelve hours out of the twenty-four and
 
 6 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 was therefore very tired after his day's duties, it 
 was generally the rule that all Court entertainments 
 finished not later than two a. m. Sometimes, how- 
 ever, the Empress, carried away by her enthusiasm 
 for dancing, would forget the hour, and the Emperor 
 then made use of various ways of bringing the func- 
 tion to a close. For instance, on the occasion of a 
 ball at the Peterhof Palace, where the Imperial 
 couple were then in residence, he made use of the 
 following unique method. Having finished his game 
 of cards he signalled the Empress — who was danc- 
 ing — that it was time to finish, but as she was too 
 engrossed to notice him he quietly told Prince Obol- 
 ensky, who was his favourite A. D. C, to have the 
 music stop instrument by instrument. Not until 
 only two instruments were left still playing did the 
 Empress leave the floor, and the Emperor laughed 
 uproariously at his bit of fun. 
 
 The Emperor's tastes were of the very simplest 
 kind. At Gatchino, his favourite winter residence 
 —a huge palace built by Emperor Paul I— Alexander 
 III only used the smallest of all the Imperial apart- 
 ments, and the Czarevitch had to be content with 
 three very small rooms. The Dowager Queen of 
 Greece (an ex-Grand Duchess of Russia) of whom 
 the Emperor was extremely fond, told me that once, 
 while visiting the Emperor and Empress there, she 
 expressed the desire to be located somewhere near
 
 ALEXANDER III 7 
 
 her Imperial hosts, and was given a cot in the bath- 
 room adjoining the Empress's bedroom! 
 
 As I have previously stated, Alexander III was 
 a model father of a family ; he entered with avidity 
 into the most trivial details that concerned the edu- 
 cation of his children. Especially was the Czare- 
 vitch his care and the object of his deepest affection 
 and interest. 
 
 After having studied very hard as a boy, Nicholas 
 — the Czarevitch — went into the Navy for a course 
 of training, and later into the Army; but his father 
 permitted him to rise in rank but very slowly, and 
 when Alexander III died the Czarevitch had only 
 attained the rank of Colonel. 
 
 When Nicholas reached his majority the Emperor 
 sent for the Grand Duke Alexis, the Grand Admiral, 
 and a prince notorious for his laxity of morals. To 
 him the Emperor said with the utmost composure 
 and frankness, " Alexis, go find some charming 
 young woman for Nikki. You understand all about 
 these matters. But on no account say a word to my 
 wife!" The Grand Duke hastened upon his com- 
 mission and his choice fell upon a young dancer, 
 Labounskaya by name; Nicholas, however, soon 
 changed her for another artiste — this time from the 
 Imperial Ballet — the now famous Kchessinskaya, 
 whose magnificent residence has but lately been 
 seized by the Maximalists; and who became — after
 
 8 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 the marriage of Nicholas — the mistress of his uncle, 
 the Grand Duke Sergius. 
 
 With regard to the foreign policies of Alexander 
 III, his motto was ever the conservation of the 
 peace of Europe. The Russian people gave him the 
 nickname of "The Pacifist" because of his well- 
 known antipathy to war, and he thoroughly de- 
 served the affectionate title, as he so managed his 
 foreign affairs that not the smallest thing disturbed 
 the diplomatic quiet of his reign. 
 
 His relations with Germany, while not so intimate 
 as they had been during the reign of Alexander II, 
 were nevertheless absolutely exact and correct, and 
 the Alliance of the three Emperors was renewed for 
 a term of three years at the Meeting of Skjernewice 
 in 1884. In 1887, however, it was not renewed. 
 The rapprochement with France was beginning to 
 be felt which was later consummated under Nicholas 
 II. M. de Giers, Alexander's Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs, had but to take the orders of his master, 
 who knew exactly what he wished done. 
 
 The Emperor, though friendly to France, was 
 rather sceptical as to the possibility of a lasting 
 rapprochement between a Monarchy and a Republic 
 — finding little to justify it. As a fact, the gradual 
 "growing together" of Russia and France was ef- 
 fected without much aid from the Emperor. Two 
 men of obscure birth and of subservient positions 
 played very important parts in the Russo-Franco
 
 II 
 
 ALEXANDER III 9 
 
 relationship, namely M. Ratchkowsky, Chief of the 
 Russian Secret Service abroad, and Mr. de Hansen, 
 a Dane by birth. 
 
 Ratchkowsky lived in Paris, and was on most 
 friendly terms with M. Gustave Flourens — then Min- 
 ister of Foreign Affairs in the French Government, 
 who was, on his side, an intimate friend of our Am- 
 bassador in Paris, Baron Mohrenheim, ex-Minister 
 to Copenhagen, at which place Alexander III liked 
 to pass what he called his "vacations." 
 
 In the summer of 1886, on one such vacation, the 
 Emperor, accompanied amongst others by Ratch- 
 kovsky, confided to him the extent of his very 
 friendly feelings towards France. Very naturally 
 Ratchkowsky — who was an enthusiast on the sub- 
 ject — hastened, upon his return to Paris, to inform 
 his great friend, M. Flourens, and also Baron de 
 Mohrenheim, about this conversation. The two lat- 
 ter at once set to work to such good purpose that the 
 Emperor consented to visit a French battleship in 
 Copenhagen harbour, and by this act laid the first 
 stone in the edifice of the future Franco-Russo Alli- 
 ance. A curious incident related to me by Baron de 
 Mohrenheim is worth recording: 
 
 When the official ceremonials for the reception 
 of the Emperor had been concluded, some one in the 
 entourage of Alexander III suddenly remembered 
 that the French national air had been forgotten! 
 But the "Marseillaise" played in the presence of so
 
 10 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 decided an autocrat as Alexander III, seemed an 
 exceedingly tactless thing to attempt. A careful 
 question was asked the Sovereign in words as well 
 chosen as possible. ' ' Whai^-d^D^-yoji^w^sh^^ 
 about it?" the Emperor laughed. "I am not a suf- 
 ficiently good musician to write another national 
 air especially for the occasion." In this easy way 
 the matter was settled, and the "Marseillaise" was 
 played, the Emperor standing at salute the while. 
 
 Mr. de Hansen had been in Danish diplomatic life 
 for some time, and had earned the illwill of Bis- 
 marck, who insisted upon his resignation. Hansen 
 retired, proceeded to Paris, and, becoming a French 
 subject under the name of M. de Hansen, was soon 
 made an Honorary Embassy Councillor at the Quai 
 d'Orsay, and, as he knew the workings of the Ger- 
 man Chancellery at Berlin from the bottom upward, 
 became most useful to the French Foreign Office. 
 He soon made an intimate friend of Ratchkowsky — 
 became his alter ego almost — and through the cour- 
 tesy of Baron de Mohrenheim sent several memo- 
 randa to Copenhagen which the Danish Court did not 
 fail to bring to the attention of the Russian Em- 
 peror. These memoranda were much liked by Alex- 
 ander, the proof being that an annuity of 12,000 
 roubles was granted to M. de Hansen from the Em- 
 peror's privy purse. 
 
 At the proclamation of the Russo-Franco Alliance, 
 Nicholas II did not forget the aged Danish diplomat,
 
 ALEXANDER III 11 
 
 and conferred on him the Grand Cordon of the Or- 
 der of Ste. Anne. 
 
 I knew de Hansen very well indeed, and he had a 
 most interesting personality. This was during my 
 stay in Paris during the years 1905-08. Despite 
 his advanced age — he was at least eighty years old 
 then — de Hansen had preserved all his great clear- 
 ness of mind and lucidity of thought, and worked 
 harder than ever at a new political combination — 
 his dream being an alliance between Russia, France 
 and Germany. His ancient and most mortal enemy, 
 the Iron Chancellor, having disappeared from the 
 scene, his hatred of Germany had likewise vanished. 
 
 Hansen had great faith in his experience and, fur- 
 ther, he did not lack supporters for his ideas, having 
 won over such French statesmen as M. de Constans, 
 Ambassador to Constantinople, and M. Etienne, the 
 Vice-President of the Chamber of Deputies. Later, 
 however, the occurrences at Tangiers put an end for 
 ever to his hopes, and disappointment was the real 
 cause of his death. 
 
 Our rapprochement with France notwithstanding, 
 our relations with Germany maintained their correct 
 character until the death of the German Emperor, 
 William I, who, in dying, especially recommended his 
 grandson, William II, to continue these relations as 
 they then existed. 
 
 In this connection an interesting incident was told 
 me by a secular witness at the deathbed of the Ger-
 
 12 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 man Emperor. His son, Frederick, the Emperor 
 to be, was away at San Remo and was unable to re- 
 turn in time, so Prince William stood in his father's 
 place at his grandfather's bedside. The aged Em- 
 peror had lost his power of vision and spoke earn- 
 estly to Prince William, believing he was the Crown 
 Prince Frederick. He said several times, "Fritz, 
 my son, above all things keep on good terms with 
 Russia." 
 
 As soon as he had ascended the throne in 1888 
 William II began his visits to allied and friendly 
 courts, and came to Petrograd first, notwithstanding 
 the very intimate relations between the Hohenzollern 
 and Habsburg Empires. 
 
 At the Russian Court William II was gushing and 
 almost servile, while Alexander, on the contrary, 
 was cold and very reserved, never overstepping the 
 line of demarcation required by strictly formal eti- 
 quette. This was because the young Emperor had 
 ever been most decidedly distasteful and antagonistic 
 to him. Admiral Lomen, in charge of the Imperial 
 Pavilion where the meeting of the two Emperors was 
 held, told me of this incident : 
 
 When the German Squadron arrived off Cron- 
 stadt, William expected to receive the Russian Sov- 
 ereign on board his yacht; but Alexander was also 
 in his yacht, and carefully watched the evolutions of 
 the German ships through his glasses. By him on 
 the bridge stood the Grand Duke Alexis, and Ad-
 
 COUNT Wl ill
 
 ALEXANDER III 13 
 
 miral Lomen. "Well," said Alexander, turning to 
 the Admiral, ' ' why does he not make a move ? " i l He 
 seems to await your Majesty," answered the Ad- 
 miral. "He will have to wait a long time, then. 
 Alexis, you go over there and bring the little German 
 to me." The Emperor's orders were promptly exe- 
 cuted, and William II was forced to acquiesce — al- 
 though he did so with the worst possible grace and 
 arrived on the Russian Imperial yacht in a regular 
 schoolboy's sulks. 
 
 The return visit of the Russian Sovereign to the 
 Court of Berlin was delayed for many months, and 
 Bismarck's pride and amour-propre were hurt by 
 this. In revenge, on the very day that Alexander 
 III reached the German capital, an order was given 
 to suspend all quotations of Russian stocks and 
 bonds on the German Stock Exchange. Hence it 
 was but natural that Alexander was not in the best 
 of humours, despite all the attention and pomp with 
 which William II surrounded him, and his person- 
 ally enthusiastic reception of the Russian monarch. 
 But a delicate situation of this kind was an oppor- 
 tunity for Bismarck to show his great diplomatic 
 skill, and in the conversations that ensued he gained 
 every point he wished to make ! Alexander received 
 him at our Embassy in Berlin, and the interview 
 lasted for more than an hour. At the beginning of 
 this interview (so Count ChouvalofT, then our diplo- 
 matic representative in Berlin, told me afterwards)
 
 14 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 matters began very badly. Our Sovereign did not 
 attempt to disguise his ill humour, and broke a silver 
 match stand between his fingers. But little by little 
 he succumbed to the charm of his famous and clever 
 adversary and when saying "Au revoir" to Prince 
 Bismarck he gave him his hand, saying: "You have 
 convinced me and I believe you. But can you guar- 
 antee that the Berlin Cabinet will not have a sudden 
 change of heart and that I shall not be left in the 
 dark as to any alterations in conditions?" "Sire," 
 Bismarck answered gravely, "in order that this 
 should come to pass, I should have to be in another 
 world." 
 
 At the gala dinner afterwards Alexander lifted 
 his glass to the health of the Chancellor of the Ger- 
 man Empire, who beamed with delight, having come 
 off victorious in a delicate and near-dangerous strug- 
 gle of wits, and also having triumphed over his 
 enemies who accused him of gambling for his own 
 profit with immensely vital political and diplomatic 
 questions which existed between Germany and Rus- 
 sia. 
 
 After the fall of Bismarck the two Emperors main- 
 tained mutual relations of sentiment and respect, 
 notwithstanding the terror with which Alexander 
 inspired the young German Emperor. The political 
 world of Russia, however, had implicit faith in the 
 well-known pacifist ideals of their monarch and the 
 conviction rapidly gained ground that the Franco-
 
 ALEXANDER III 15 
 
 Russian Rapprochement, far from being a danger 
 to the peace of Europe, would act as a restraint on 
 France should she evince a desire to create dissen- 
 sion. 
 
 Our relationship with Great Britain suffered a 
 severe strain in 1885. The Afghans became ob- 
 streperous and threatened our frontiers in Central 
 Asia. General Komaroff, who commanded our 
 forces in Turkestan, put them to flight, but in fol- 
 lowing up his advantage he crossed the Afghan 
 frontier and the British Government became greatly 
 excited. An exchange of diplomatic notes followed 
 and the language of the British Foreign Office be- 
 came more and more abrupt, Lord Salisbury insist- 
 ing upon the recall of General Komaroff and his dis- 
 charge from our army. The action of the British 
 Cabinet was supported by a partial mobilization of 
 the fleet, and war was in the air. M. de Giers was 
 in a desperate mental condition of excitement and 
 worry. The aged statesman had taken as his polit- 
 ical device that of the Duchess of Offenbach, "Above 
 all things, no scandal in my Castle." Naturally he 
 pleaded for a reconciliation, but having no success 
 with his sovereign, sent him — as his personal repre- 
 sentative — Baron de Tominy, First Councillor in the 
 Foreign Office, and one of his chief aides, a man in 
 whom he had the utmost confidence. 
 
 The Baron attempted to fulfil his mission, but 
 after having used all his arguments in vain the aged
 
 16 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 diplomat brought his message to a close with the 
 words, ' ' Sire, I have grown white in your diplomatic 
 service. It is old age and long experience that 
 speaks from my mouth." This did not displease 
 the Emperor, who answered kindly: "I see indeed 
 that you have greatly aged, my poor Baron. ' ' And 
 instead of disavowing the acts of General Komaroff 
 he presented him with a sword of honour! The 
 meaning of this gift was well understood in London. 
 Steps were immediately taken to avoid the Czar's 
 adroitly pointed challenge, the incident closed, and 
 Russia had won a significant diplomatic victory. 
 
 In the Balkans Alexander III followed the same 
 dignified and firm policy, notwithstanding that these 
 were ever the most dangerous of diplomatic grounds. 
 He, however, caused the fall of Prince Alexander of 
 Bulgaria, because the latter was absolutely deaf to 
 his counsels, and would not recognize his successor, 
 Prince Ferdinand, who installed himself in Sofia 
 against his will. His authority in Europe was so 
 great that Germany was forced to resign herself to 
 following out his desires in spite of her alliance with 
 Austro-Hungary, whose candidate for the monarchy 
 of Bulgaria was Prince Ferdinand. 
 
 In the spring of 1894 Alexander III fell ill of in- 
 fluenza, which developed into kidney disease shortly 
 after. The Court physicians insisted that a com- 
 plete change of climate was necessary and for a time 
 Corfu was considered as the best place — but the
 
 ALEXANDER III 17 
 
 Emperor refused to go there. Feeling that he was 
 a dying man, he said that he wished ' ' to die at home, ' ' 
 and the Court moved to the Crimea, as climatic con- 
 ditions were slightly better there. But the disease 
 gained rapidly, and on November 2nd Alexander III 
 breathed his last. 
 
 Feeling his end approaching, the Emperor Alex- 
 ander expressed his desire to see his heir married, 
 and, if this were impossible, to know at least that 
 he was engaged. There had already been a question, 
 more than once, of the marriage of Nicholas. One of 
 the daughters of the Duke of Edinburgh was men- 
 tioned; also one of the Princesses of Wurtemburg, 
 daughter of Princess Vera (previously a Grand 
 Duchess of Russia and sister of the Dowager Queen 
 of Greece) and, finally, Princess Alice of Hesse- 
 Darmstadt. The Grand Duke of Hesse came to 
 Peterhof three years before the death of Alexander 
 III with his daughter, Alice, but had no success, as 
 the Dowager Empress knew the secret history of the 
 Hessian Court — in short, she knew the character of 
 the parents of Princess Alice. 
 
 The mother of young Princess Alice (Hesse- 
 Darmstadt) the Princess Alice of Great Britain, 
 daughter of Queen Victoria, had died when her 
 daughter was but eleven years of age from the con- 
 traction of diphtheria, while nursing her son through 
 that illness. She had been a very good woman, but 
 unfortunately had a strong leaning towards mysti-
 
 18 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 cism, and this she doubtless had imparted to her 
 daughter — a tendency which was later to be of so 
 grave and tragic a portent in the life of the latter. 
 Count Osten-Sacken told me, after the wedding of 
 Nicholas II and Princess Alice had been finally de- 
 cided upon, that he foresaw and prophesied nothing 
 good of this union. " Remember, my friend, these 
 words of mine," he said: "Princess Alice will be 
 the misfortune and unhappiness of Russia." 
 
 Knowing these things, it seems only natural that 
 the Dowager Empress had, in her day, vigorously 
 opposed this union; but the young Princess had 
 made a strong impression upon Nicholas. Admiral 
 Lomen, who accompanied the Imperial heir, (Nicho- 
 las), on his voyage to the far east, told me that the 
 photograph of Princess Alice, signed by her, always 
 stood on Nicholas' bureau beside those of his own 
 family. 
 
 Having received orders from his father with re- 
 gard to his forthcoming wedding, with carte-blanche 
 as to his own freedom of choice in the matter, Nich- 
 olas at once went to see his aunt, the Grand Duchess 
 Marie of Saxe-Coburg, where Princess Alice hap- 
 pened to be staying at the time. Because he was 
 most anxious to have Nicholas marry a German and 
 not a British Princess, Emperor William of Ger- 
 many hurried as fast as he could to Coburg also. 
 
 Very timid by nature, Nicholas could not muster 
 up the courage to offer himself to Princess Alice,
 
 ALEXANDER III 19 
 
 and it was the German Emperor himself who forced 
 his hand. When the engagement was finally an- 
 nounced formally, the German Emperor, radiant and 
 overjoyed with the success of his hopes and plans, 
 met the British Military Attache at Darmstadt and 
 said to him " You may congratulate me ! I am very 
 much pleased! Nikky has at last proposed. But 
 it was hard work to get him to do it, and I had to 
 make him drink a whole bottle of champagne to get 
 up his courage!" 
 
 Evidently the German monarch had his plans all 
 thought out and rapidly maturing. Knowing the 
 weakness of Nicholas' character, he hoped and fully 
 expected to wield much influence in Russia through 
 the Princess Alice when she became Empress of Rus- 
 sia. Having been of so much help in making the 
 match, he no doubt felt he was entirely able to rely 
 upon the gratitude of Princess Alice. 
 
 The Emperor Alexander III died as he had lived 
 — simply and with great dignity — and transacted 
 matters of State almost to the very last minute of 
 his existence, even signing important documents on 
 the morning of his death. His iron will sustained 
 him to the end, as it had done all through his life. 
 During the latter part of his illness he also suffered 
 from an ailment that caused his feet to swell, and he 
 could scarcely move about at all. On the day of his 
 arrival in the Crimea the following incident occurred 
 (told me personally by Doctor Hirsch) :
 
 20 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 The Czar was slowly getting into his uniform and 
 was found doing so by his favourite physician, Dr. 
 Hirsch, his intention being personally to meet Prin- 
 cess Alice at the station. "Sire," exclaimed the 
 physician, "what are you thinking of?" "Let me 
 do as I wish," answered the Czar; "I am fulfilling 
 my duty as a father, and do you obey the orders of 
 your Sovereign." 
 
 I was at my post in our Legation at Munich when 
 Alexander III died; the impression made in both 
 Austria-Hungary and Germany was profound, and 
 the general opinion, freely expressed, was that the 
 world had lost a firm and just friend, and that Eu- 
 rope had lost its chief advocate for peace. 
 
 Nicholas inherited a white page in his country's 
 political history and an exceedingly healthy condi- 
 tion of affairs within his own domains. But, ex- 
 ternally, matters did not look so bright. The Habs- 
 burg Empire was interfering in the Balkan States 
 and creating a situation of continuous unrest. The 
 Franco-Eussian Alliance had but just begun; and 
 Kusso-Germanic relations were somewhat uncertain. 
 At the death of Alexander III, William II made a 
 great parade of his poignant (?) grief. He hurried 
 in person to our Embassy in Berlin to bear his own 
 condolences and sympathy, and attended the funeral 
 services in the Embassy Chapel. But his intimates 
 very well knew that all this sorrow was cleverly 
 feigned. In his heart of hearts the present German
 
 ALEXANDER III 21 
 
 Emperor was delighted to be rid of a load that 
 seriously oppressed him and baulked his pride, 
 which was overweening even in those early days of 
 his career. Furthermore, he was thoroughly aware 
 of the feeble character of Nicholas II, and fervently 
 hoped that he (William II) might even use his influ- 
 ence over the young Czar to such an extent that it 
 would prove possible to rule Russia from Berlin ! 
 
 Alexander III left his son an empire that wa s all- 
 suificient to itself within itself, and in excellent con- 
 dition — also powerfully influential beyond its bor- 
 ders. 
 
 In the twenty years of his reign Nicholas II was to 
 destroy absolutely all that his father had so pains- 
 takingly secured and to waste his magnificent heri- 
 tage ruthlessly.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 
 
 The Regent, King Louis III. A Royal Tragedy. Role of 
 Bavaria in the German Empire 
 
 In the spring of 1890 I was appointed Second Secre- 
 tary of the Russian Imperial Legation at Munich. 
 I crossed the Russo-German frontier on the same 
 day as newspaper extras announced the fall of Prince 
 Bismarck and the appointment as German Chancellor 
 of Count von Caprivi. Consequently Bavaria was 
 in a turmoil. The young Emperor William was an 
 absolutely unknown quantity, and every one realized 
 that the Iron Chancellor had been the inspiration 
 and motive power of Germany's prosperity and 
 power. On every hand people spoke with the great- 
 est misgiving of the young Emperor. The Munich 
 cafes were positively humming about him. He was 
 openly dubbed an ingrate and a fool, and Bismarck's 
 name was on every lip. 
 
 Personally speaking, the disgrace of the Imperial 
 Chancellor was neither a surprise nor news to me. 
 I had been extremely friendly with the social clique 
 
 surrounding Countess Rantzau, Bismarck's daugh- 
 
 22
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 23 
 
 ter, and there was much chattering in that clique re- 
 garding the dissensions and differences of opinion 
 between her father and the monarch. It had been 
 therefore quite clear to me that these two men, of 
 quite divergent character, although curiously 
 enough they had many traits in common, could never 
 really agree on anything. Both of them were auto- 
 crats par excellence. William II believed himself 
 — and still believes himself — directly destined by 
 Providence to be the sole guardian not only of Ger- 
 manv but of the whole world. On the other hand, 
 Prince Bismarck, sure of himself and guided by his 
 experience, would tolerate no opposition, consider- 
 ing the German Emperor as a pupil whom it was 
 necessary to teach and to lead, with the help of a 
 switch — like a school boy. It was reported that the 
 Iron Chancellor sent the Emperor all kinds of state 
 papers for his signature, without even taking the 
 trouble to inform him previously of their contents 
 or consult with him about them. 
 
 A short time before my arrival in Munich, Bis- 
 marck went to Abazzia, in Austria, to take part in 
 the wedding ceremonies of his son, Count Herbert, 
 with the Countess Hoyos. Count Chouvaloff, the 
 then Russian Ambassador to Berlin, a personal 
 friend of the Iron Chancellor, was to take part in 
 the proceedings as a witness. His position was a 
 very delicate one, for he was, at the same time, a 
 great favourite with the Emperor. He finally de-
 
 24 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 cided to take the bull by the horns, and informed 
 the Emperor of his invitation to the wedding, asking 
 him what he would do were he in his place. Natur- 
 ally there was nothing for the Emperor to do but 
 to give his permission, though he did so grudgingly. 
 For his part, the Ambassador did his best to curtail 
 his visit to Abazzia, as, knowing the violence of Bis- 
 marck's temper, he feared an outburst. What the 
 Count feared happened. Interviewed at Abazzia 
 by a Viennese journalist, Bismarck told him of his 
 pending resignation, and expressed himself in terms 
 that left nothing to the imagination. Almost every 
 word of the interview was an insult to the dignity of 
 the Sovereign, and the Emperor was furious when 
 it reached him. Fortunately Chouvaloff had left 
 Abazzia before the interview took place. 
 
 In returning to Germany from Austria, Bismarck 
 passed through Munich, and stopped for a few days 
 with his friend, the well-known Professor Lenbach, 
 the famous Bavarian portrait painter. He was tu- 
 multuously greeted. Every day thousands of Ba- 
 varians made pilgrimages to Villa Lenbach. The 
 cheers of the vast crowds seemed never to lessen 
 and the Chancellor was forced to appear again and 
 again on the balcony outside his window in order to 
 satisfy the people. He profited by the occasion and 
 made patriotic speeches, carefully avoiding in them 
 any direct reference to the young Emperor. The 
 Prince Regent of Bavaria and all the members of
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 25 
 
 the royal family left Munich the clay before Bis- 
 marck arrived, wishing to avoid the difficulty of being 
 between such a Scylla and such a Charybdis. But 
 the Prince Regent had slily given a free hand to 
 the municipal authorities, and thus Bismarck's re- 
 markable reception might well be termed official. 
 He was specially escorted to the Town Hall, and 
 wrote his name in the Golden Book. 
 
 I well remember comparing the reception for Bis- 
 marck with that given the Emperor by the citizens 
 of Munich on the occasion of his first visit to the 
 Bavarian capital in 1892. Naturally the Prince Re- 
 gent, surrounded by the royal family, ministers and 
 high dignitaries of the court, was at the station. 
 Troops were posted along the route of the Imperial 
 procession. Eager to see the show, the streets were 
 a solid mass of people, but the cheering was very 
 feeble, and I remember that when William II left 
 Munich shrill whistlings and catcalls were heard on 
 all sides. It was learned afterwards that when he 
 wrote his name in the Golden Book William added 
 the following: "Sic volo, sic jubeo." The citizens 
 of Munich understood the reference. They inter- 
 preted it as a direct challenge to their old idol, Bis- 
 marck. Moreover, the Emperor was deliberately 
 one hour late for the formal reception tendered him 
 at the Town Hall, and the reason for his tardiness 
 was that he was being photographed in his many 
 uniforms, one after the other. The citizens of Mu-
 
 26 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 nich at that time felt that their pride, their city, and 
 Bavaria in general had been insulted. But as every- 
 thing in this world changes, the sentiments of the 
 Bavarians were no exception to the rule, and when 
 socialism made such rapid progress in Prussia, and 
 the Emperor lost much of his popularity, it -was in 
 Bavaria especially that he found it again. 
 
 During my stay there (1890-1896) the Court was 
 very quiet. The Prince Regent was almost an oc- 
 togenarian and found no amusement at all in worldly 
 pleasures, fetes, and so forth. He was an enthusi- 
 astic sportsman, and despite his great age was al- 
 ways ready to climb the Bavarian mountains after 
 the chamois. To these hunting parties he usually 
 invited men of literary and artistic pursuits, also a 
 few doctors and surgeons who had made themselves 
 famous by their attainments. He always rose at 
 five in the morning, dined at four in the afternoon, 
 and was in bed by 8 p. m. His food was . of the 
 simplest, as good cooking meant nothing to him. 
 He was a great connoisseur of paintings, and after 
 having attended to state business always visited the 
 studios of painters and sculptors, and constantly 
 made purchases there. In this way he got together 
 a really fine collection of examples of modern art. 
 Nothing gave him greater pleasure than the offer 
 of some sort of picture, provided of course that it 
 was well executed. Once when the Grand Duke 
 Vladimir of Russia was in Munich the Prince Re-
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 27 
 
 gent told him of his desire to obtain photographs of 
 three paintings which were at Tsarskoe Seloe, near 
 Petrograd, representing episodes of the visit of Em- 
 peror Nicholas I of Russia to Munich during the 
 reign of King Louis I of Bavaria, his father. The 
 Grand Duke mentioned this to Nicholas II, who at 
 once ordered that the three originals be sent to the 
 Prince Regent. I was chosen to convey them to him. 
 The Prince Regent was overjoyed. On my arrival at 
 the Station his A. D. C. gave me, in the Prince Re- 
 gent's name, the Order of the Crown of Bavaria, 
 and an invitation to dine at the royal palace that 
 night. I was requested to be at the palace half an 
 hour before dinner. 
 
 I found the Prince Regent studying the three pic- 
 tures I had brought. "I shall never forget the deli- 
 cate attention of Emperor Nicholas," he said. "I 
 have telegraphed him my most sincere thanks. But 
 admittedly, you did the talking necessary to obtain 
 them, and that is the reason," he added, in pointing 
 to the decoration which I, of course, was wearing, 
 "that I wished to give you proof of my recognition 
 of your services." 
 
 From the political point of view the Prince Regent, 
 contrary to his predecessor, King Ludwig II, was a 
 fervent supporter of the Imperial federation. But 
 when Berlin attempted to infringe on Bavarian 
 rights he knew how to stand up for them. 
 
 From a religious point of view, although a strong
 
 28 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Catholic, he proved himself extremely tolerant. His 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count von Crailsheim, 
 and his Chief Huntsman, Count Pappenheim, were 
 both Protestants. 
 
 At the beginning of the regency the Prince Kegent 
 was not popular with the people. They even went 
 so far as to accuse him of having forced the abdi- 
 cation pf Ludwig; IL^who had been the idol of his 
 people. ^ButTTtTle by little he gained the affection 
 of the masses by his goodness and his extreme sim- 
 plicity. Thus when he celebrated his ninetieth 
 birthday he was surrounded by the love and friend- 
 ship of his people. He died at the age of ninety- 
 four, having always maintained not only a simple lu- 
 cidity and clearness of mind but a powerful and ro- 
 bust body. A year prior to his death he complained 
 bitterly to his friends that while out hunting he had 
 missed a chamois. "My sight is beginning to fail 
 me," he said sadly. 
 
 His son, who now reigns in Bavaria, under the title 
 of Ludwig III, only resembles his father in his 
 simplicity of manner. He is a man of very strong 
 character, and very definite in his religious convic- 
 tions. He once told me that he blessed Heaven every 
 day for being born a Catholic. It is therefore not 
 at all astonishing that he surrounds himself with 
 priests, and has become the revered leader of the Cen- 
 tre Party, or Catholics, in Germany. When he was 
 Crown Prince he always paraded his exclusively
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 29 
 
 Bavarian sentiments. At the coronation of Nicholas 
 II at Moscow, at which he was present representing 
 his father, he said: "We Bavarians are Allies of 
 Prussia, but nut her vassals." But when he became 
 Regent, and later King of Bavaria, he even surpassed 
 his father in his cujt_o_f.Jjiip©*ia4»m. He married 
 an Austrian Arch-duchess, of a Tuscany house. He 
 had fifteen children, of whom eleven are still alive. 
 Not having a large personal fortune, and his father 
 having a very limited Civil List as Regent, he was on 
 short commons as far as money was concerned while 
 he was heir presumptive. His sons were always in 
 need of money. Pjdnee-Rupprecht, (the eldest), heir 
 to the throne, and the commander of one section of 
 the German front in France during the great war, 
 did not attempt to hide from me that he was very 
 often without twenty marks in his pocket! The 
 King is extremely amiable, but a despot to his family. 
 He is not popular in Bavaria, but on the other hand 
 he is very high in favour with the Emperor. 
 
 His brother, Prince_ Leo pold, w ho commands the 
 German troops today (January, 1918) in Russia, is 
 married to the Archduchess Gizela of Austria, 
 daughter of the late Emperor Francis Joseph. 
 Since his youth he has been devoted to things mili- 
 tary and to a military career. Having obtained the 
 highest rank he became notorious for his extreme 
 cruelty towards his soldiers. When in 1892 the So- 
 cialists obtained representation in the Bavarian
 
 30 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Chamber of Deputies their first interpellation was 
 regarding the unhappy and wretched conditions pre- 
 vailing in the Bavarian army. Although the name 
 of Prince Leopold was not mentioned every one un- 
 derstood who was meant. The Prince Regent also 
 understood perfectly well to whom the Socialists re- 
 ferred, and for some time Prince Leopold had to ef- 
 face himself. His notoriety as a cruel disciplinar- 
 ian and a desire to flatter the Bavarians made Em- 
 peror William offer him this highly important com- 
 mand in the European conflict. 
 
 Of the other Bavarian Princes, Prince Ludwig 
 Ferdinand, who married Infanta Paz of Spain, and 
 whose mother was a Spanish princess, is of some in- 
 terest. He is of a somewhat original character, and 
 very popular with the masses. He was by profes- 
 sion a male midwife, and every day spent hours tak- 
 ing care of women in child labour in his private hos- 
 pital. Besides this hobby, he is a fine musician, and 
 a great admirer of Wagner. At Wagnerian Festi- 
 vals in Munich he is always to be seen playing with 
 the first violins in the orchestra. 
 
 Another interesting personality among the Ba- 
 varian Princes was the Duke Charles Theodore, 
 father of the present Queen of the Belgians, who 
 was a surgeon oculist, and pupil of the famous Rus- 
 sian oculist, Ivanhoff. He personally took care of 
 patients in his hospital, assisted by his wife — a very
 
 BAVA1UA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 31 
 
 beautiful princess of the House of Braganza of Por- 
 tugal. 
 
 As is known, the more recent history of Bavaria 
 contains some tragic pages. Two of her kings, 
 Otto I and Ludwig II, were mad. 
 
 King Otto I was stricken with the disease to which 
 he later succumbed during the French campaign of 
 70-71, in which he took part as a lieutenant. Very- 
 sensitive and refined, it is said the sight of so much 
 blood, and the horrors of war, caused the loss of rea- 
 son. When I was in Munich King Otto was shut up 
 in the castle of Furstenrid, a few kilometres from the 
 capital. A small court was attached to his person. 
 Half a squadron of the Light Horse bearing his 
 name were at once his Guard of Honour and his 
 warders. The unhappy Prince had then reached a 
 stage of madness akin to bestiality. During the 
 early stages of the disease he had moments of lu- 
 cidity. When his brother's death was announced 
 to him, he asked at once for his gala uniform and his 
 decorations, and half opening the door he shouted 
 to the crowd, "It is I who am now your king." 
 
 Baron von Redwitz, Grand Master of his court 
 told me the following episode. Ordinarily the King 
 took his meals alone, but on Saturdays his whole 
 court met at table. The King was a great smoker, 
 and smoked cigarettes all through his meals. One 
 day he was more taciturn and silent than usual, and
 
 32 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIA'N DIPLOMAT 
 
 did not smoke at all. At dessert Baron von Red- 
 witz, accustomed to smoke at the royal table, asked 
 permission of the King to smoke. As the King did 
 not answer he took silence for consent and lighted 
 his cigar. He was considerably upset when the 
 King, addressing himself to the valet de chambre, 
 who was standing behind him, exclaimed, "Look at 
 Fritzel! That beast smokes in any case." His 
 moments of lucidity, already becoming more and 
 more rare, completely ceased during the last few 
 years of his existence. 
 
 More than once the entourage of the Prince Re- 
 gent advised him to proclaim the truth regarding 
 King Otto's condition, and in this way put an end 
 to a situation that was so entirely abnormal. The 
 Regent, however, always refused to do anything of 
 the kind. As has been said, he was accused at one 
 time by the people of having forced the abdication 
 of Ludwig II, and he did not wish to bear the burden 
 of another accusation of the same kind. His son, 
 however, was less scrupulous, and accepted the 
 Crown offered to him by the representatives of his 
 people. 
 
 King Ludwig II, elder brother of Otto I, and his 
 predecessor on the throne of Bavaria, was really a re- 
 markable sovereign. Unfortunately from his youth 
 upward he was abnormal, and ended his days in a 
 state of absolute madness. He had been nicknamed 
 "The Virgin King," because he had never been
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 33 
 
 known to have an amorous intrigue. Having de- 
 cided to marry in order to leave descendants, he 
 became engaged to his cousin, a Bavarian princess, 
 who later married the Duke d'Alengon, and came 
 to such a tragic end in the terrible bazaar fire in 
 Paris. The day before the wedding, when all the in- 
 vitations to the European Courts had been accepted, 
 Ludwig II suddenly broke off the marriage, although 
 most of his guests, royal and otherwise, had gath- 
 ered in Munich, and others were en route. He had 
 always avoided the society of women, and the only 
 exception that he ever made was in favour of the 
 Empress Marie of Russia, wife of Alexander II, for 
 whom he entertained a very strong feeling of friend- 
 hip. The Grand Duke Vladimir, her son, and 
 brother of Alexander III, told me that his mother, 
 having been ill, and staying on the Khine, was or- 
 dered by her doctors to go to Italy for her health. 
 Her journey would take her through Munich. 
 Learning this, Ludwig II begged her to stop over, 
 if only for a few hours. The invitation was couched 
 in such fervent terms that she could not decline it. 
 She, however, asked the King to receive her, if pos- 
 sible, in one of his castles, so as to avoid all crowds 
 and ceremonies. The King offered her the Chateau 
 of Berg, on Lake Starenberg, quite near Munich, 
 where he later ended his days in so terribly tragic a 
 way. Ludwig II personally attended to the prep- 
 arations for the Empress, and to her installation
 
 34 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 there. All the wonders of the Glypthotheke (fa- 
 mous museum of sculptors) were scattered about the 
 park surrounding the castle. All the royal furni- 
 ture itself was taken to the castle — or enough of it 
 to fill all the apartments. The Empress, accom- 
 panied by her son, the Grand Duke Vladimir, arrived 
 at the Chateau of Berg just before dinner. The 
 alleys and roads of the park were lighted like a beau- 
 tiful fairyland. After dinner the King suggested a 
 trip on the lake in a gilded gondola which was spe- 
 cially built from his own design. The entire lake 
 was magnificently illuminated by hundreds of 
 torches, each one held by a peasant in national cos- 
 tume. The peasants were all in boats, and sang 
 their native and national songs. The King desired 
 the Empress to accompany him alone on the gondola, 
 but the Empress, who was afraid, begged the King 
 to permit her son, the Grand Duke, to accompany 
 them. At her departure the King asked the Em- 
 press to give him a rose she wore in her dress. 
 Later this rose — all faded and crumpled — was found 
 carefully preserved among his most sacred pos- 
 sessions. 
 
 The Bavarian sovereign had always avoided peo- 
 ple, and during the last days of his life saw abso- 
 lutely no one. He was then a maniac, living only 
 by night and going to bed by day. He began his day 
 at sundown. My chief at Munich — Count Osten- 
 tSacken— told me the following details of his first
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 35 
 
 reception by the King. At midnight a gala carriage 
 and an escort of honour called for Count Osten- 
 Sacken and the legation personnel in order to take 
 them to the royal palace. Before this, Count Per- 
 
 w/ X _ | -■■■■ 
 
 glassy-Grand Master of Ceremonies of the Court, 
 had asked my chief, in the King's name, to make his 
 official greeting in German, quite contrary to diplo- 
 matic usage, which prescribes the use of the French 
 language for this purpose. The Russian minister 
 refused categorically, saying that he was not suffi- 
 ciently cognizant with the German language. But 
 Count Perglass tried again, and Count Osten-Sacken 
 perforce had partially to acquiesce. He was deter- 
 mined that the official exchange of courtesies should 
 take place in French, but that he would speak Ger- 
 man in any conversation which would naturally fol- 
 low the precise formal language and allocution. The 
 palace was lighted from top to bottom. The King 
 received the Count in the great Throne Room, sur- 
 rounded by the high dignitaries of the Crown. All 
 of these His Majesty dismissed as soon as the official 
 part of the presentation was over. In the conversa- 
 tion which followed the monarch showed a surprising 
 knowledge of the political life of Europe. As had 
 been arranged, the conversation was in German. 
 Suddenly the King quoted a French proverb. Count 
 Osten-Sacken at once seized the opportunity, and 
 from that moment French took the place of German 
 in the conversation. Finally the Count asked the
 
 36 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 King why he had insisted on hearing him massacre 
 the German language, especially as the King spoke 
 French irreproachably. The King smiled and said : 
 "It was not merely a caprice. You see I have not 
 spoken to any one for several years. I was sure I 
 had not forgotten my native language, but I was not 
 so sure of my French." 
 
 As a matter of fact the King never even saw his 
 Ministers, who sent in all their reports in writing. 
 He lived entirely alone, and in a most fantastic way. 
 He protected Wagner, of whose talent he was a 
 passionate admirer, but to whose work he listened 
 in an absolutely empty and darkened theatre, seated 
 far back in the royal box. He liked to apparel him- 
 self in Wagnerian costumes, and, dressed as Lohen- 
 grin, had himself towed about in a very small boat 
 by a swan on the lake belonging to one of the castles. 
 It was in this dress that Count Werthern, Minister 
 of Prussia to Bavaria, surprised the King one day, 
 and dragged from him his consent to the heredity of 
 the Hohenzollerns to the Imperial throne of Germany 
 — to which he had always been strongly opposed. 
 His carriages were the most fantastic creations. 
 His sleigh, for instance, was gilded, and the cushions 
 were in blue velvet trimmed with ermine. He trav- 
 elled by night over the mountains accompanied by 
 his body-guard, who carried electric torches. 
 
 There has been much gossip regarding his abdica- 
 tion and the last days of his life. I can give an
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 37 
 
 authentic and detailed account of the tragedy, as the 
 events were told me by witnesses all of whom played 
 important parts in the final drama. 
 
 Ludwig II had entirely expended all state moneys 
 in the building of his fairy castles and the financial 
 backing and support of Wagner. His Ministers had 
 not hidden from him the sad state of the Bavarian 
 finances, and finally had to refuse him the credits he 
 asked for. The King, who by this time had com- 
 pletely lost his reason, wrote to Queen Victoria of 
 England proposing to exchange the crown of Ba- 
 varia for a few million pounds sterling and a desert 
 island in some ocean where he could build himself a 
 fantastic castle. This letter of his was intercepted, 
 and as it proved conclusively the mental condition 
 of the unfortunate monarch the members of the royal 
 family and the Ministers of State met in council 
 under the presidency of Prince Luitpold, the future 
 Regent of Bavaria, and decided to proclaim to the 
 people the insanity of the King, and their intention 
 of asking him for his abdication, and then to estab- 
 lish a Regency over the Kingdom. Two Ministers, 
 the Counts Crailsheim and Feilitch, from whom I 
 received all these details, were sent to the King to 
 acquaint him with the decision of the Crown Council. 
 Ludwig II refused categorically to receive them. 
 He sent them a small bit of paper addressed to the 
 Count Montjelas, leader of his military escort, on 
 which was written in his own handwriting an order 
 
 21218 J
 
 38 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 to put out the eyes of the two Ministers, and to im- 
 prison them in one of the subterranean cells of his 
 castle. Naturally enough his order was not ex- 
 ecuted, and the two gentlemen reached Munich in 
 safety. But the news of the demand which was 
 made on the King soon spread in the neighbourhood 
 of the royal castle. The King was very popular 
 amongst the Bavarian mountain folk. These latter 
 armed themselves and hastened to the assistance of 
 their beloved King. In Munich every one expected 
 very serious trouble, and the situation became ex- 
 ceedingly difficult. It was then that Dr. Goudden, 
 the head of an Institution of Mental Defectives, of- 
 fered his services to Prince Luitpold and the Minis- 
 ters. He promised to obtain from the King every- 
 thing that was required of him, without resorting to 
 violence or force, and to remove him to one of the 
 palaces near the capital, in order to get him away 
 from the mountain people — his friends and pro- 
 tectors. The proposition was accepted, and Goud- 
 den kept his word. 
 
 When he presented himself to the King, despite all 
 his previous orders to the contrary, Ludwig II not 
 only received him in a friendly way, but signed his 
 abdication at once and permitted himself to be taken 
 to Berg Castle on Lake Starenberg, near Munich. 
 
 Dr. Goudden took up his residence there also, and 
 during the first few days nothing happened. The 
 King seemed to like the doctor's society. At the end
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 39 
 
 of a week, however, the King asked the physician to 
 rid him of the surveillance of the police, who were 
 posted at intervals about the castle and in the parks. 
 These men annoyed him, the King said, on his walks 
 abroad. The doctor was imprudent enough to ac- 
 cede to the King's request, and the next day two 
 bodies — those of the doctor and the King — were 
 pulled out of Lake Starenberg. The inquest deter- 
 mined that a tremendous struggle must have taken 
 place between the two men. The King's chest was 
 badly torn by the Doctor's finger nails, and the 
 muscles of the Doctor's throat were terribly mangled 
 and torn. But it was proved that the King died of 
 heart failure. After having strangled his victim, 
 Ludwig II had dragged his body into the lake, prob- 
 ably to hide all traces of his crime. The water being 
 very cold at that time of year — it was the late autumn 
 in 1886 — and the King being very stout, and natu- 
 rally over-excited by the fight he had just finished in 
 so terrible a fashion, his weakened heart could not 
 stand the shock of the icy water. 
 
 Ludwig II lay in state as he had lived. The body 
 was dressed in the picturesque attire of the Knights 
 of St. George, and a rose was placed in his folded 
 hands. 
 
 The memory of the King has always remained 
 popular in Bavaria. It is difficult to find even the 
 smallest village that has not erected a monument of 
 some kind to his memory. The masses, as a whole,
 
 40 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 for one thing, like legends, and the King's life was 
 fantastic; but more than this, the Bavarian people, 
 not without reason, saw in the person of Ludwig II 
 a defender of the rights of Bavaria against Prussia, 
 and a heavy curb in the teeth of Hohenzollern ambi- 
 tion. 
 
 I was in Bavaria four years after the King's 
 death. The Prince Regent was doing everything he 
 could to gain the sympathy of the people, but had 
 singularly failed in doing so despite four years of 
 effort. The ghost of the late King rose between him 
 and the Bavarian people. The old Prince knew this 
 and suffered much because of it. 
 
 Bavaria is, after Prussia, the largest state in the 
 German Federation. But the political life of the 
 Empire is almost entirely centred in Berlin. Prus- 
 sian intrigue has been crowned with success. Count 
 Crailsheim, Bavarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 was merely a docile instrument in the hands of the 
 German Chancellor. Of course the Emperor, Wil- 
 liam II, has never failed to be extremely polite to the 
 Bavarian Court, and carefully avoids anything which 
 might tend to a misunderstanding, even of the slight- 
 est kind. He well knew the susceptibilities of the 
 Bavarian Princes, and has never forgotten the words 
 of Prince Ludwig at Moscow — ''Bavaria is an ally of 
 Prussia, but not a vassal. " 
 
 As may be supposed, the foreign legations at 
 Munich played a very secondary part as far as the
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 41 
 
 politics of the German p]mpire were concerned. Yet 
 the European chancelleries considered the Bavarian 
 post as one from which excellent observations could 
 be made, and chose men as their representatives 
 there with great care. It thus follows that Munich 
 became a training school for future Ambassadors 
 For example, of Russian Ministers to Bavaria, Count 
 Osten-Sacken and M. Iswolsky became, the former 
 Ambassador at Berlin, and the latter Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs in Russia. The Ministers of 
 France, Comte de Moui, the Marquis de Montebello, 
 and Monsieur Barrere, w r ent from Munich as Am- 
 bassadors to Petrograd and Rome. The Minister of 
 Austria-Hungary, Count Doubsky, was made Ambas- 
 sador to Madrid. The Ministers of Prussia, Prince 
 Eulenberg and Count Pourtales, became Ambassa- 
 dors at Vienna and Petrograd. 
 
 During my stay of six years in Bavaria (1890- 
 1896) I was able to obtain many definite impressions 
 from which to judge the exact relations between 
 Germany and other European powers. I saw, for 
 instance, that France was eagerly sought after by 
 Germany at that time, and her representatives were 
 treated with exceptional courtesy at Munich as well 
 as at Berlin. 
 
 German diplomacy very much feared a rap- 
 prochement between England and France. As for 
 the French alliance with Russia, the cleverness of 
 our representatives in Germany eliminated any un-
 
 42 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 easiness. Both Counts Chouvaloff and Osten-Sacken 
 succeeded little by little in instilling into the German 
 foreign office the idea that this alliance served as a 
 check on France in case of a belligerent attitude on 
 her part towards Germany. 
 
 The Bavarian aristocracy, being, as a general rule, 
 impoverished, did not receive or entertain much. 
 This was however entirely made up for by her liter- 
 ary and artistic world, which liked festivities very 
 much and entertained accordingly. This artistic 
 and literary world was divided into two camps. The 
 first — and the minority — partisans of the German 
 Emperor, bowed before Prussia ; the second, admir- 
 ers of Bismarck, although fearing Berlin, made be- 
 lieve to ignore it completely. As for the Bavarian 
 peasants they hated and despised the Prussians. 
 The greatest insult was to call a man "Pig of a 
 Prussian," and they ever referred to the Germans 
 as "Pigs." The explanation for this is simple. 
 The Bavarian, in character, is diametrically opposed 
 to the Prussian, for where the Bavarian is simple 
 and as good natured as a child, the Prussian is proud, 
 overbearing and arrogant. It is therefore natural 
 that an idea gained ground outside of Germany that 
 Prussia might run across an enemy to her political 
 conceptions in Bavaria. This idea is entirely er- 
 roneous. Imperialism is solidly entrenched in the 
 Bavarian mind, and nothing but an absolute defeat
 
 BAVARIA AND PRUSSIA AND WILLIAM II 43 
 
 of Prussia will change the Bavarian belief in Prus- 
 sia and Prussian power. 
 
 In order to make the relationship quite clear, I 
 can make use of a trivial example. Let us suppose 
 that any two people inhabit the same house. They 
 have two separate apartments, but share the same 
 kitchen with but one cook between them. It is obvi- 
 ous that continual quarrels will arise, but if the house 
 were to catch fire both inhabitants would do their 
 utmost to extinguish it. It is thus with Prussia and 
 Bavaria. In 1870-71, during the French campaign, 
 the Bavarians contributed greatly to German vic- 
 tories, winning especially those of Woerth and 
 Bazeilles. In the present great war the Bavarians 
 have defended and attacked the most exposed and 
 dangerous positions, and fought with an elan which 
 Prussia itself has not surpassed. If Prussia is 
 finally and completely defeated Bavaria may reassert 
 herself and head a great Roman Catholic federation 
 in Central Europe.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 WILLIAM II 
 
 Personal Impressions. His Character, Qualities and Faults. 
 Husband and Father, Kaiser and Politician 
 
 Emperor William is a man of an extremely complex 
 and difficult nature. In the opinion of some people 
 he is a monster in human form — especially since the 
 outbreak of the present war — the war of his making. 
 His admirers, on the other hand, place a halo about 
 him. They regard him as a great monarch, passion- 
 ately desiring the best for his people, loyal to his 
 friends, and even most kind and amiable. These two 
 opinions — much exaggerated — are not at all like the 
 
 realman - 
 
 It is necessary to strip William II of Germany of 
 his position, and power, and regard him merely as 
 a man, to realize his faults and weaknesses, and to 
 give him credit for his good qualities, before it is pos- 
 sible to paint a true portrait of the man who set the 
 world ablaze. I knew him intimately for the six 
 years that I was attached to the Russian Embassy 
 in Berlin, during which time, I of course, had number- 
 less talks with him, many of which were of a confi- 
 dential nature. Therefore, I shall portray him as I 
 
 44
 
 WILLIAM II 45 
 
 found him, and will try and impress on others the 
 impression he gave me. 
 
 Above tJl traits in his character, impulsiveness is 
 the most apparent. He suffers from it to such an 
 extent that it is a malady. On the impulse of the 
 moment, under the influence of his surroundings, he 
 can be as easily led towards good as towards evil. 
 Also — by an adroit use of his mood or of his imme- 
 diate circumstances it is quite easy to change his 
 whole point of view. Therefore he cannot be called 
 stubborn. The man who wrote in the Golden Book 
 at Munich ''Sic volo — sic jubeo," when cleverly flat- 
 tered and his great amour propre played upon by 
 any one who knows his peculiarities and character 
 \.< u, can be made to change his decisions — often to 
 reverse them completely. 
 
 Count Osten-Sacken, the Russian Ambassador of 
 my day, more than any of the Diplomats in Berlin, 
 had the gift of knowing how to talk to him, and also 
 how to influence him greatly. An excellent illustra- 
 tion of this may be given. The Krupp yard at Kiel 
 was going to launch a Russian battleship, and the 
 Emperor William suddenly announced that he would 
 attend the ceremony. Consequently our Ambassa- 
 dor and his suite had to rush off to Kiel. The Em- 
 peror arrived in a very bad humour, owing to the 
 fact that the Emperor Nicholas had gone from Petro- 
 grad direct to Darmstadt, thus quite pointedly avoid- 
 ing an interview which William had earnestly sought.
 
 46 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Contrary to the latter 's habit, he did not shake hands 
 with the staff of our Embassy — with the exception, 
 of course, of Count Osten-Sacken. He merely 
 greeted the others with a stiff military salute, a very 
 irritated and sombre expression, and a look of great 
 anger in his eyes, — an aspect — which as a pose — he 
 knew very well how to assume. He can always 
 "make up" for his parts, and is an excellent actor. 
 Behold him then making his entrance to the tent re- 
 served for him. After the ceremony he turned to 
 our Ambassador and said he would speak very seri- 
 ously with him that evening. 
 
 That night a dinner was given by his brother, 
 Prince Henry of Prussia, Grand Admiral of the Ger- 
 man Fleet. Afterwards William lighted a cigar, 
 and invited Count Osten-Sacken to sit beside him. 
 At the same time he beckoned to Chancellor von 
 Buelow to make one of the group. His conversation 
 from the very first was extremely violent in charac- 
 ter. The Emperor petulantly complained about the 
 way he was treated by Nicholas II, and said he was 
 not being properly recognized in Russia. "I — who 
 am so well disposed towards you," — he exclaimed. 
 Then he launched into a bitter tirade of our Minister 
 of Foreign Affairs, Count Muravieff, accusing him 
 of directing a policy that was contrary to the com- 
 mon understanding and relationship between Russia 
 and Germany. Allowing himself to be more and 
 more carried away by his own rage, he went so far
 
 WILLIAM II 47 
 
 as to say that — ''the continuation of such policy on 
 Russia's part would most certainly have the most 
 dire results." It was perfectly plain by the things 
 he said, to understand he threatened a definite rup- 
 ture between us and Germany. 
 
 Prince von-Buelow— was very ill at ease. Count 
 Osten-Sacken, however, maintained his usual sang- 
 froid and dignity; and when William asked him what 
 he had to say, he answered with a smile, — ''Very 
 little, Sire. All that you have said to me, you really 
 cannot believe. Still less can you put such threats 
 into execution. After all you have as great a need 
 of us as we have of you. I will even go so far as to 
 say that it is you who need our support the most." 
 Count Osten-Sacken then reminded him that the 
 great successes of his grandfather — William I — were 
 due to the intimate relations which that monarch 
 always maintained with the Russian Empire. He 
 also mentioned the political "will" of the old 
 Sovereign, and the last words regarding Russia 
 William I uttered on his death-bed. Seeing that the 
 Emperor was gradually becoming calmer, Count 
 Osten-Sacken tried to lead the conversation away 
 from the dangerous ground on which the Emperor 
 was treading. He told several historic anecdotes, 
 which always pleased the Emperor, and finally the 
 interview ended in reciprocal joking. William burst 
 into fits of laughter at our Ambassador's stories, and 
 his temper disappeared as mist before the sun!
 
 48 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 When the party broke up each member of our Em- 
 bassy was amiably addressed by the Emperor, and 
 he left very much pleased with the entire evening, 
 expressing himself as entirely satisfied with his talk 
 with Count Osten-Sacken. 
 
 To relate another such incident — William wished 
 the Reichstag to pass a law increasing the effectives 
 for military duty. The Party of the Right had 
 shown itself recalcitrant towards this measure, and 
 joined itself with the Party of the Extreme Left. 
 The Emperor was furious about it. He considered 
 the members of the Party of the Right — who be- 
 longed chiefly to the Prussian aristocracy and were 
 known as ''the Junkers," — as wax between his fin- 
 gers. He promptly eliminated from the Court list 
 forty of the highest names in the Prussian aristoc- 
 racy, and wanted to make a speech of a most violent 
 character at the opening of the Reichstag. Prince 
 von Hohenlohe, then Chancellor of the Empire and 
 the Empress' uncle, had done everything he could to 
 dissuade the Emperor from making this speech. 
 Finally William had promised he would confine him- 
 self to reading the Imperial Speech, as prepared by 
 the Chancellor. I was present at the opening of the 
 Reichstag. The ceremony was carried through ac- 
 cording to custom, in the White Hall of the Royal 
 Palace in Berlin, as the Emperor never puts his foot 
 in the Reichstag. William ascended the throne, put 
 on his helmet and read the speech. I knew from
 
 WILLIAM II 49 
 
 Prince von Hohenlohe himself what the Emperor 
 had promised. Imagine then my stupefaction, and 
 that of those who knew, when William, having taken 
 off his helmet — thus showing that the official opening 
 was ended — began a most violent address to the 
 members ! I was far from being the only one pres- 
 ent in that crowded hall who was astounded. The 
 short statured Imperial Chancellor, who was stand- 
 ing on the steps of the throne, turned towards Wil- 
 liam with an expression of horrified surprise. I 
 learnt later from the lips of Prince von Hohenlohe, 
 that, on descending from the throne — the Emperor 
 said to him — "What w ould yo u, Uncle Chlodwig, I 
 could not keep it in!" 
 
 The most vitally important political and diplo- 
 matic decisions were very often determined in the 
 most thoughtless way by the Emperor, owing to a 
 sudden and inexplicable impulse of the moment. 
 The famous telegram to President Kruger in South 
 Africa, and the expedition to China, which gained 
 Kiao-Tchao for Germany — were both determined by 
 the Emperor personally in this characteristically 
 quick way of his. Owing to the assassination of the 
 German Minister at Peking, the German Govern- 
 ment had, of course, to take severe measures, but the 
 German diplomats had previous to that been plan- 
 ning what was to be done in the Chinese question. 
 Having learned from Admiral Tirpitz, Minister of 
 the Imperial Navy, that in his time Prince Bismarck
 
 50 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 had dreamt of extensive operations in China, and had 
 actually in 1868 fixed upon Kiao-Tchao as the neces- 
 sary "jumping off" place, William decided that the 
 moment was most propitious in which to carry out 
 the ideas of the Iron Chancellor. He had no sooner 
 jumped to this conclusion than he sent for Prince 
 Hohenlohe, and ordered him to obtain all the details 
 of the matter. This order was carried out in haste, 
 but at the same time, the Chancellor added to the 
 official archives on the subject some suggestions of 
 his own. These were to the effect that he was afraid 
 of serious complications with Russia if Germany 
 undertook any armed intervention in China, because 
 Kiao-Tchao was considered as lying within the zone 
 of Russian influence and protection. The Emperor 
 sent back the hints to Prince Hohenlohe with the 
 laconic notation "Ochsen" (Idiots) written on them 
 in his own red pencil, and within ten minutes sent a 
 personal telegram to Nicholas II, asking him for 
 authority to occupy Kiao-Tchao with a squadron as a 
 coercive measure, as Russia was the only foreign 
 power possessing anchorage and harbour rights for 
 men-of-war in those waters. Nicholas received this 
 message very late that night, and at once sent for 
 the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Count Muravieff, 
 who, casual as usual, and quite unaware of the grav- 
 ity of the situation and completely ignorant of the 
 Russian agreements with China, told his Imperial 
 Master that we had nothing whatsoever to do with
 
 WILLIAM II 51 
 
 Kiao-Tchao. Nicholas then telegraphed to the Ger- 
 man Emperor, as usual in English, — " Unfortunately 
 I can neither authorize you, nor prevent you entering 
 Kiao-Tchao bay, for I am this moment informed that 
 we have no rights in those waters." When he re- 
 ceived this message, the German Emperor hurriedly 
 sent for Prince von Hohenlohe, triumphantly showed 
 him the message from Nicholas, and telegraphed his 
 order to the German squadron in Far Eastern waters 
 to seize Kiao-Tchao at once. 
 
 Meanwhile in Petrograd the day following his 
 sending of that telegram to William, Nicholas ob- 
 tained a report on the matter from Admiral TirhofT, 
 Minister of the Russian Navy, and then showed him 
 his telegraphic correspondence with William. The 
 Admiral was aghast, for, as a matter of fact, our 
 special rights in Kiao-Tchao waters were incontest- 
 able owing to the explicit terms of one of our treaties 
 with China. An order was hastily dispatched to 
 Count Osten-Sacken in Berlin to explain to the Ger- 
 man Emperor the mistake that had been inadvert- 
 ently made. Our Ambassador did so, but it was in 
 vain. The German Emperor, highly elated, said to 
 our Ambassador — "I hold Nikky's telegram and I 
 have already given my orders. My squadron is by 
 now in Kiao-Tchao Bay — it is there and there it shall 
 stay. I cannot make myself ridiculous, and I will 
 not!" William had won the game which started 
 entirely on his own initiative and against the advifee
 
 52 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 of the Chancellor, but as is quite evident, he had 
 acted absolutely on the impulse of the moment, with- 
 out having carefully thought over the plan or its pos- 
 sible consequences. 
 
 His telegram to President Kruger was far less for- 
 tunate, but it was sent in exactly the same way, 
 and was the result of impulse pure and simple. The 
 message was sent without his asking any advice from 
 his Ministers. The Boers were greatly encouraged, 
 and believed they could obtain support from William, 
 which he was quite unable to give them. Thus both 
 Russian and British relations with Germany were 
 fatally disturbed for a long time by the vanity and 
 impulsiveness of the German Emperor. 
 
 His moods were extraordinarily variable, and re- 
 sponded to his immediate surroundings with extreme 
 rapidity. I remember on one occasion he had asked 
 himself to dinner at our Embassy. He had arrived 
 to the minute and in exceedingly good humour. Dur- 
 ing the meal he told stories, related anecdotes, and 
 lifted his glass to each one of us in turn. Suddenly 
 his A. D. C. brought him a telegram. William be- 
 came very pale, and addressing Count Osten-Sacken, 
 said : 
 
 "I have just received the news of an attempt made 
 in Belgium on the life of my Uncle Edward. Fortu- 
 nately he was not hurt." 
 
 (The Emperor's reference to his Uncle Edward 
 meant the late King of England.)
 
 WILLIAM II 53 
 
 All through the rest of the dinner the Emperor 
 was depressed and very grave, and all the efforts of 
 Count Osten-Sacken to cheer him up were in vain. 
 On leaving the table William asked for a telegraphic 
 form and pen and ink, and dispatched a message 
 to Edward VII. 
 
 It was the custom when the Emperor dined at the 
 Embassy to have an entertainment of sorts for him. 
 On this occasion I had advised our Ambassador to 
 invite a Bavarian comedy artist — Dreher by name, — 
 whom the Emperor liked very much. This man, 
 costumed as the Prince of Hell, was awaiting the end 
 of the dinner in one of the Embassy drawing rooms. 
 Count Osten-Sacken was naturally very much em- 
 barrassed by this. W T illiam did not seem in any 
 mood to listen to Dreher 's jokes. W T hen the Em- 
 peror had written his telegram, and lighted his cigar, 
 the Ambassador after some hesitation decided to 
 mention Dreher to him. He said, smiling — "Sire, 
 there is an exotic prince here who desires the honour 
 of being presented to you. ' ' The Emperor, grave as 
 ever, with his thoughts elsewhere, answered — "It 
 must be a Caucasian Prince! Have him in!" But 
 when Dreher appeared with his fantastic dress and 
 false nose, the Emperor shouted — "Ah, it is my 
 friend Dreher!" As the Bavarian comedian went 
 on with his stories and jokes, many of which were 
 distinctly gross in chara cter — a total transformation 
 took place in the Emperor. His gloom and ill
 
 54 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 humour vanished, and Edward VII was completely 
 forgotten ! 
 
 When he left the Embassy William squeezed my 
 hand heartily and said — "My dear Schelking, I owe 
 you especial thanks, for I have learnt that it was at 
 your suggestion that Dreher was on hand, and I have 
 been royally amused!" 
 
 This is a small matter, no doubt, but it shows the 
 working of William's mind — at one minute deeply 
 distressed by a telegram, and probably wondering 
 how soon his turn would come to be attacked by an 
 assassin, and the next minute cheerfully and enthu- 
 siastically enjoying the coarse and even lewd jests 
 of a buffoon — all thought of the more deadly and 
 serious matter completely forgotten! 
 
 The following episode is very interesting as it illus- 
 trates the instinctive irritation felt by William for 
 England. The Emperor had called one morning on 
 the British Ambassador, — Sir Frank Lascelles, who 
 it is necessary to mention was never up before noon, 
 as he worked very late at night. William called at 
 eleven in the morning and went straight in to the bed- 
 room of the Ambassador. The latter woke up and 
 was greatly astonished at seeing the Emperor before 
 him. William started a political conversation which 
 did not at all please Sir Frank Lascelles, who cour- 
 teously contradicted him on certain points. The 
 Emperor suddenly lost his temper and shouted at 
 the British Ambassador, — "You will never change
 
 WILLIAM II 55 
 
 my opinion as you are only an Englishman. I am an 
 Englishman plus German. This great advantage 
 which I possess, you can never get by any means. ' ' 
 
 The Emperor William talks German with a strong 
 English accent, and corresponds in English rather 
 than in German. All his correspondence with 
 Nicholas II was kept up in English. 
 
 Like all Prussians, the Emperor at heart is cruel, 
 — one has only to remember for instance his address 
 to the German troops which were sent to China. His 
 personal orders were — " Pardon wird nicht gegeben" 
 (give no quarter). Yet on other occasions, the Em- 
 peror seemed at times to be governed by kindly im- 
 pulses. For instance, when on one of his daily 
 drives in Berlin, he saw the widow of one of his old 
 Professors at Bonn University, — he got out of his 
 carriage, rushed up to the old lady, and exclaimed 
 excitedly — "You dare to come to Berlin without pay- 
 ing me a visit? By Imperial order you will have 
 luncheon with me today at the palace ! ' ' 
 
 A compatriot of mine, Countess Kleinmichel, who 
 was present at that luncheon, told me that the Em- 
 peror paid especial attention to the old lady. He 
 searched his memory for events of his days at Bonn, 
 which he told with great gusto, turning to the 
 Countess and saying: — "If you only knew the good 
 sandwiches she used to give me when I was a stu- 
 dent!" To hear the Emperor talk in this way, it 
 was incredible to think that the speaker was the
 
 56 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 same man who had deliberately given the military 
 such orders regarding the Chinese, and who, finally 
 did not flinch from beginning the greatest and most 
 awful war in all history. 
 
 Aiiother characteristic of the German Emperor is 
 the conviction of his omnipotence. When he wrote 
 at Munich "Sic volo — sic jubeo" — it was not a pose 
 of the moment. He expressed in those few words 
 his firm conviction about himself. Yet after having 
 named Herr von Buelow Secretary of State for 
 Foreign Affairs, the Emperor said to Count Osten- 
 Sacken that he was happy to have at last succeeded 
 in having at the head of his diplomats, a personal 
 friend. And when Count Osten-Sacken, expressing 
 his astonishment, remarked that he had every oppor- 
 tunity of making such an appointment before, Wil- 
 liam replied — "Ah! so you believe, but it was not so 
 easy as you think." This from a monarch, whose 
 omnipotence is celebrated, is a ridiculous statement. 
 
 In religious matters, the Emperor has faith, but 
 only in his own way. His God is above all the God 
 of Battles! He believes himself to be the direct 
 emissary of God to mankind all over the world. He 
 deems himself the intermediary indeed — between 
 God and his people, and destined to be the bringer of 
 happiness first of all to Prussia, then to Germany 
 next, and after that as a natural consequence to the 
 whole globe. I have personally seen him on several 
 occasions praying at church, and my impression is
 
 WILLIAM II 57 
 
 that he prayed fervently and earnestly, and not for a 
 pose, as he did almost everything else. In his trav- 
 els by land and sea, he always delivered sermons in 
 person to the personnel of his entourage. Witnesses 
 have told me that the Emperor seemed to officiate on 
 these occasions as a Pontiff or Prince of the Church, 
 and gave evidence of a great knowledge of the Bible. 
 He knew very well how to quoTe~~f rom it in such a 
 way as to make it appear that everything he did had 
 biblical authority ! 
 
 The Emperor is an Imperialist even in the bosom 
 of his family. When the Empress appears at recep- 
 tions the Emperor always approaches her and makes 
 a deep bow. But it can be assumed that he does not 
 do this out of respect for the mother of his children. 
 NO ! — He salutes her who has the divine honour of 
 sharing his throne, and who acts as an excellent re- 
 flector of the divine rays which emanate from him! 
 
 He is an absolute autocrat over his children. His 
 only daughter, the Princess Victoria, was an excep- 
 tion. For her he had every tenderness and spoilt 
 her in every way possible. The education of his sons 
 was a very careful one. He himself chose their pro- 
 fessors. Once his choice was made, he gave these 
 men a free band with their royal charges. 
 
 Baron von Pritzelvitz, whom I knew intimately at 
 Munich, where he was Military Attache of Prussia, 
 and later favourite A.D.C. to H.I.M., was nominated 
 as chief supervisor of the Crown Prince's education.
 
 58 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 He told me that for over a year after his appoint- 
 ment the Emperor never said one word regarding 
 the Crown Prince, although he had had any number 
 of opportunities for so doing. One day, however, 
 at a Royal Hunt, Pritzelvitz having drawn a stand 
 number next to the Emperor, the latter said to him — 
 "You are doubtless astonished that I never speak 
 to you of my son ? I am very much pleased with you, 
 but if I have not spoken it was in order not to inter- 
 fere with the line of education that you were follow- 
 ing. I wish that the Crown Prince be above all 
 things a Man with his own character. I do not wish 
 him to be a copy of William II. When he comes to 
 the throne he will see that which I have done well, 
 and also anything that I have done badly, and he 
 will then be able to act according to his own best 
 ideas and ideals." 
 
 This fine profession of faith did not prevent the 
 Emperor, when in due course the Crown Prince be- 
 gan to shown signs of "his own character," from 
 punishing him severely on many occasions by send- 
 ing him to command a regiment at Dantzig, and for- 
 bidding him to be seen in Berlin without his espe- 
 cial permission. 
 
 The Emperor pretends to love the Arts devotedly. 
 He believes himself to be a gifted musician and a 
 very good artist with brush and pencil. But his 
 love of the Arts is like everything else. Music, 
 painting, drama and poetry serve him only in so far
 
 WILLIAM II 59 
 
 as they can be made useful to advancing his political 
 ideas. The famous song "Aegir" was written as 
 propaganda for the Imperial German Navy. The 
 pictures that he orders represent only the brilliant 
 and successful scenes from German history. He 
 especially favours chauvinism — or excessive patriot- 
 ism, preferring those poems or dramas dealing with 
 the glory of Prussia in general and of the Hohen- 
 zollern in particular. He ordered an opera to be 
 written by Leoncavallo on the subject of Roland of 
 Berlin, an opera by the way, which Leoncavallo could 
 never finish. From the Polish painter Baron Kos- 
 sak, he ordered a picture representing, and glorify- 
 ing the city of Marienburg. He forgot, or seemed 
 to forget, that it was especially at Marienburg that 
 the Poles had suffered so terribly, and when Baron 
 Kossak, furious at the idea, handed in his resigna- 
 tion as Artist to the Imperial Court, the Emperor 
 still did not understand the faux pas that he had 
 made, and treated Kossak as a "pig and an ingrate." 
 In the musical world, he went so far as to correct 
 Weber. When he returned from his voyage to the 
 Orient, he personally assisted in the staging of the 
 opera "Oberon" at Wiesbaden. The Emperor him- 
 self designed the decorations, which were, most of 
 them, in execrably bad taste and vulgar, and he re- 
 wrote the finale of the Opera, introducing, no one 
 knows why — the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa to 
 sing of the glories of his ancestors.
 
 60 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 One of the most beautiful alleys in the park at 
 Berlin is completely spoilt by a series of monuments, 
 each one more hideous than the other, representing 
 all the sovereigns of the House of Hohenzollern. 
 Finally the Zoological gardens at Berlin (Tier- 
 garten) had almost as many statues as trees ! Even 
 the inhabitants of Berlin — who have no taste at all 
 for the arts — were frightened at the way in which 
 the Emperor was defacing their city with his horrible 
 and fantastic conceptions of beauty. The Emperor 
 did not care. On the contrary, not content with 
 "ornamenting" his good city of Berlin he gave New 
 York a statue of Frederick the Great, and presented 
 Constantinople with a monumental and frightful 
 fountain. At Petrograd he built an embassy that 
 looked more like a barracks than anything else, and 
 he ordered to be planted on the roof two enormous 
 Teutons of warlike mien, resting on their swords, 
 which were intended to portray the strength of Ger- 
 many. At the beginning of the war the people 
 pulled these two horrors down and threw them into 
 a canal! 
 
 The Emperor pretends to know and to understand 
 everything. It must, however, be admitted that he 
 is very well versed in most matters, and that his 
 memory is prodigious. When I paid my farewell 
 visit to him, — having been appointed Councillor to 
 The Hague, — he gave me the whole history of Dutch 
 music and choral chants. He was in correspondence
 
 WILLIAM II 61 
 
 with Cunimberti, the famous Italian naval con- 
 structor, and confided to him his ideas and plans for 
 battleships. The Italian engineer was certain these 
 drawings had been made by a German specialist, and 
 was most astonished when he was informed that the 
 draftsman was the Emperor himself ! 
 
 His family life was an exemplary one, although 
 often he is said to have had m istresses. . For a time 
 Countess Goertz was named as such. She was the 
 wife of one of the German nobles of high standing, 
 who was a great personal friend of the Emperor's. 
 The Count was an amateur sculptor — one of his 
 works being in the Tiergarten at Berlin. As far as 
 I am concerned I doubt these insinuations. The 
 Countess Goertz was exceedingly handsome but suf- 
 fered from an incurable disease, and, while the Em- 
 peror was very intimate in their household, I do not 
 think there was anything more than a platonic 
 friendship between her and the Emperor. 
 
 As the Empress had aged greatly and the Emperor 
 still conserved his air of youth and youthful vigour — 
 the masses ever sought a reason for his apparent 
 aloofness to women as far as his passions were con- 
 cerned. Then the famous — or rather infamous — 
 Eulenberg scandal broke out and to it the Emperor's 
 name was instantly attached. Prince Eulenberg, 
 whom I knew very well at Munieh, where he was 
 Prussian Minister and later Ambassador to Vienna 
 — was publicly accused of homo-sexuality. He was
 
 62 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 denounced by his Chief Huntsman. The Judicial 
 address in the case established details which were 
 exceedingly curious. It was learned then that 
 Prince Eulenberg was the leader of a society known 
 as "The Knights of the Round Table." Among the 
 members of this Society were men bearing the high- 
 est names in the German Empire ; for instance . . . 
 both Princes Hohenhau — sons of Field Marshal 
 Prince Albert of Prussia, the issue of his morganatic 
 marriage ; Baron von Wedell, who had been Attache 
 to the Empress Frederick, a Frenchman, M. Lecomte, 
 Councillor of the French Embassy in Berlin, and 
 many others. It was also learned that the Emperor 
 himself — who honoured Prince Eulenberg with a 
 friendship of exceptional intimacy — very often took 
 part in the meetings of this society. All its mem- 
 bers were known by nicknames. The Emperor was 
 known as "Cheri." William did not try to hush the 
 matter up knowing very well that if judicial proceed- 
 ings had not taken place, his name would have been 
 even more entangled than it was. Hence the trial 
 took place. Prince Eulenberg — broken and ill — was 
 brought into court on a stretcher. Finally, although 
 the enquiry could not be brought to a conclusion as 
 it was declared that Prince Eulenberg could not be 
 further examined owing to the state of his health, 
 the Hohenhau brothers lost their commands in the 
 army and were exiled to their country estates; 
 Baron von Wedell was also exiled : and M. Lecomte
 
 WILLIAM II 63 
 
 was transferred to Persia, where he was, for a time, 
 the French Minister. 
 
 The whole details of this affair have remained a 
 secret, even to the present day. 
 
 Prince Eulonberg, married to a Swedish Countess, 
 had had six children by her. Those who knew the 
 Countess knew of a certainty that her children were 
 fathered by Eulonberg. The Prince had two hob- 
 bies — the Emperor and music. His family life was 
 most exemplary. Yet the accusations of his Chief 
 Huntsman were supposed to be undeniable facts. 
 Be that as it may, the whole affair did not advance 
 the prestige and popularity of the German Emperor. 
 
 As everything in this world is sooner or later for- 
 gotten, the German people gradually let this matter 
 drop into oblivion and there it has remained. 
 
 Of all the foreign monarchs, William II esteemed 
 above all others Queen Victoria of England and had 
 a very deep affection for her. When speaking of 
 her to Count Osten-Sacken he said: "The greatest 
 statesman of Europe today is my grandmother." 
 
 He did not in the least entertain the same senti- 
 ments towards Edward VII, as he appreciated full 
 well that in the person of the King of England he had 
 a very dangerous adversary on the checkerboard of 
 the world. 
 
 I have already mentioned the fear with which 
 Alexander III of Eussia had inspired him and also 
 his relations with Nicholas II.
 
 64 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 He venerated the old Emperor Franz-Joseph of 
 Austria-Hungary. 
 
 The murdered Archduke of Austria was not sym- 
 pathetic to him in the beginning", but later — for politi- 
 cal reasons — he formed ties of intimacy with him. 
 It is said — and not without reason — that only a short 
 time before the assassination of the Archduke, in an 
 interview that he had with him in one of his castles, 
 the German Monarch sanctioned the bellicose politics 
 of the Habsburg Empire toward Serbia. It is here, 
 therefore, that the date of the European War was 
 really first decided on. 
 
 In his foreign policy William regarded only one 
 nation with an absolutely implacable hatred — Eng- 
 land! He deemed this Power everywhere in his 
 way, thwarting and blocking him by every road he 
 essayed, commercial, colonial and political. All his 
 diplomacy was designed to fight this one enemy. He 
 swallowed all the troubles Nicholas II made in order 
 to have Russia in the game that he intended to 
 play. He always hoped to be able to thrust Rus- 
 sia into some serious complication with Great 
 Britain. 
 
 Once, for instance ... we Russians were trying 
 out a new method of general mobilization of a 
 brigade near the Afghan frontier. William rushed 
 at once to our Embassy in the hope that this was the 
 beginning of a mobilization that would have the grav- 
 est results. He assured Count Osten-Sacken that
 
 COUNT OSTI'N SACKF.N
 
 WILLIAM II 65 
 
 he was even then ready to offer Russia two army 
 corps for an eventual campaign against Great 
 Britain in India. 
 
 The Emperor's feelings towards England dictated 
 his policy with France. The ambassadors of the 
 French Republic were objects of his special atten- 
 tions. Every French artist — painter — musician — 
 or writer — found an exceptionally warm welcome at 
 the Court of Berlin. At the opening of the Kiel 
 Canal, when French warships were anchored for the 
 first time in history side by side with German ships, 
 the admiral and officers of the French squadron were 
 especially feted. 
 
 Prior to the expedition to China against the 
 Boxers, in which France took an equal part, the Em- 
 peror was delighted at the order of the President of 
 the French Republic — placing the French military 
 expedition under German command — that of Count 
 von Waldersee. The Emperor cherished the project 
 of an Entente between France and Russia directly 
 aimed at England. But even in his relations with 
 France, his character, impetuous and ever changing 
 — was a fatal bar. When the Government of the 
 French Republic did not fall in with his desires and 
 ideas, he forgot his political programme and made 
 his western neighbours all kinds of more or less seri- 
 ous trouble. He spoiled his own game completely 
 after the Russo-Japanese War by provoking the 
 Tangiers incident.
 
 66 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Russia — the ally of France — had only just 
 emerged from a war which had exhausted her 
 strength. The Emperor William thought the time 
 favourable to blackmail France, who had just con- 
 cluded a treaty with England which recognized the 
 right of Great Britain in Egypt and renounced her 
 exclusive fishing rights in Newfoundland, originally 
 granted by the Treaty of Utrecht. In return, the 
 British Cabinet recognized the exclusive rights of 
 France in Morocco. Although Germany was only 
 represented in the Empire of the Scherif by four 
 Germans, — the Mannesheim brothers — William de- 
 manded his share of commerce in Morocco. Impul- 
 sively, as usual, he decided to apply for his rights in 
 person and went to Tangiers on his yacht — the Ho- 
 henzollern — escorted by a light German flotilla of 
 armoured cruisers and destroyers. I was in Paris 
 at the time and all political circles were very nerv- 
 ous. The intervention of Germany in Morocco was 
 considered by all as direct provocation to France, 
 who was in no way prepared for a war. A serious 
 diplomatic reverse very painful to the amour- 
 propre of France was foreseen. I remember one 
 day when I was in the Chamber of Deputies, some 
 one interpellated the President of the Council — Mr. 
 Rouvier — as to what the whole affair meant. Rou- 
 vier, scarlet in the face, and deeply moved, shouted 
 very loudly : "What do I know of it ! If these pigs
 
 WILLIAM II 67 
 
 wish it they can enter Champagne as though entering 
 butter." 
 
 Suddenly^ however, two or three days before the 
 disembarking/of the Emperor William at Tangiers, 
 Edward VII (appeared incognito in Paris. Notwith- 
 standing the quasi^private nature of his visit, the 
 English Monarch naturally received the French 
 statesmen and conferred at great length with them. 
 
 In the evening, the President of the Kepublic gave 
 him a gala dinner, followed by a reception, to which 
 were asked — among others — all the members of the 
 Corps Diplomatique in Paris. King Edward held a 
 small reception after dinner and I have the details 
 of what was said from one of the men who were 
 actually present. 
 
 Approaching Prince Radolin, .German Ambassador 
 to France, Edward VII commenced a conversation 
 with him on inconsequential matters. He asked 
 after the health of the Princess Radolin and dis- 
 cussed the delights of Parisian life, etc. . . . Sud- 
 denly and brusquely his voice changed and he said 
 to the Prince with great intensity of feeling : 
 
 "My nephew is making a little trip to Tangiers. 
 I would not have it happen that European complica- 
 tions ensue. And, moreover you know, behind 
 France, he will find me. A man warned is worth 
 two men." 
 
 I was told that after these few words from King
 
 68 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Edward, Prince Radolin appeared stricken by light- 
 ning and rushed from the Elysee to notify his master 
 of the King's words. 
 
 William refrained most carefully from even put- 
 ting his feet ashore on Moroccan soil and received 
 the Moroccan authorities on board the Hohenzollern 
 in the offing of Tangier harbour. 
 
 The Algiers Conference followed and France 
 issued from it without any humiliation whatsoever. 
 
 It may be asked, therefore, whether as William in 
 1904 altered his political scheme against France 
 solely because of the intervention of Edward VII, 
 although at that time Russia was completely ex- 
 hausted, the Emperor would have dared to encourage 
 the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia, and by 
 so doing start the European War, had he known that 
 England would join France and Russia? 
 
 It may, however, be as well to add that the sudden 
 departure of the German Emperor — owing to his 
 diplomatic failure — lost him the few strong adher- 
 ents he had. William had shown his hand too soon. 
 Thenceforward France fully understood his plotting 
 and from that moment suspected all his advances! 
 Hence the final appeal to arms was solely the result 
 of the German Emperor's over-subtle plotting and 
 *v scheming. 
 
 In his domestic policies William is the authority 
 "par excellence" with the powers of an absolute 
 autocracy. To the idea of national representation
 
 
 
 iWOlW 
 
 WILLIAM II 69 
 
 he is instinctively antipathetic. He does not recog- 
 nize the rights of the deputies to have any ideas of 
 their own. As has been said, he did not bother with 
 the Party of the Right. He anathematized the So- 
 cial Democrats with the sobriquet of: "Vater- 
 land losen Schurken" (rascals without a country). 
 When he had to give way to the Reichstag, and this 
 often happened, he was furious and criticized both 
 parties bitterly and frankly to his intimates. He 
 was almost always in a difficult position — where his 
 domestic-policies were concerned — in his dual capac- 
 ity of King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany. 
 As King of Prussia he, normally, should have been 
 able to rely on the Agrarians (The Junker Party) 
 which party has ever been the support of the Kings 
 of Prussia and has supplied the best elements to the 
 Prussian armies. They were essentially reaction- 
 aries. But as Emperor of Germany, William found 
 it very difficult to follow a reactionary policy. The 
 German Empire had been created — as Bismarck 
 said — by schoolmasters ("Das Deutches Reich ist 
 von Schuhlehrer geschaffen worden"). Its power 
 and its extension were principally due to the com- 
 mercial and industrial classes. Naturally enough, 
 these elements which had established the German 
 Empire and greatly contributed to its vast power, 
 belonged to the liberal party. William had to 
 pursue an agrarian policy, which exasperated the 
 Liberals, and yet whenever he appeared to be in
 
 70 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 favour of the policy advocated by the Liberals the 
 Agrarians promptly set up a wild clamour. This 
 situation often placed the Emperor in most embar- 
 rassing positions especially when the extension of 
 credit, vitally necessary to him for the enlarging of 
 his armed forces and especially for his navy, was in 
 question. He then had recourse to flattering the 
 Liberals and, of course, the capitalists. He also 
 made use of wise and cunning propaganda all over 
 the country through the press. After having pro- 
 claimed the principle: "The future of Germany is 
 on the seas," ("Die Zukunft Deutchlands ist auf 
 dem Wasser"), he covered the country with a net 
 of Naval Societies, ("Flotten Vereine"). He even 
 nominated the members and then gave them high 
 decorations and procured all the moneys necessary 
 for their work under his direct orders. He also 
 showered favours on the capitalists, including the 
 Jews. Jewish bankers, the "Friedlander," the 
 "Furstenberg" and others were his habitual guests 
 on the Hohenzollern for his annual voyage of pleas- 
 ure to Norwegian waters. He said to Ballin — the 
 great shipping magnate: "Ballin, you will yet be 
 one of my Ministers ! ' ' And when Ballin answered : 
 "You forget, Sire, that I am a Jew," the Emperor 
 replied quickly ... "I may have need of them" 
 ("Die kann ich auch brauchen"). 
 
 Desirous of protecting his commerce and being 
 unable to follow a frankly commercial policy — thanks
 
 WILLIAM II 71 
 
 to the Junkers — lie necessarily threw himself into 
 his colonial policy with great vigour in order to pro- 
 cure new markets for Germany's products and also 
 to avoid emigration to the colonies of other nations 
 which he always dreaded and which was rapidly 
 growing — especially to the United States. 
 
 When his attention was called to the fact that the 
 increase of the German element in the United States 
 could only have favourable results in influencing 
 American politics even as he might dictate, he an- 
 nounced: — "You do not know my Germans. When 
 they are in America they drink beer as usual and sing 
 'Die Wacht am Rhein.' They have on the walls of 
 their houses portraits of my grandfather, of Bis- 
 marck and of Moltke. But you will not often find 
 my portrait, and in political matters, they have be- 
 come thorough Yankees." 
 
 As the best opportunities for colonization overseas 
 were in British and French hands, he had to be con- 
 tent with territory of a secondary class, and to his 
 keen disappointment, the German colonies were far 
 from prosperous. 
 
 Germany, though very strong commercially, is not 
 strong in the art of colonization. Count von Goet- 
 zen, Governor of Dar-es-Salam, said to me person- 
 ally: "This colony is flooded with officials. In the 
 city quantities of well uniformed police may be seen, 
 but a few kilometres from Dar-es-Salam, I have met 
 leopards and, about a week ago, lions devoured two
 
 72 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 railway conductors who were on a train standing in a 
 siding, at the very gates of the city. Our administra- 
 tion is perfect, but we sadly lack workmen. The 
 natives prefer to work in the British and Portuguese 
 colonies rather than for us." 
 
 It was said in Berlin that the Emperor dreamed at 
 one time of buying the Belgian Congo outright, but 
 was forced to relinquish this idea in view of the very 
 strong Anglo-French opposition. I was present 
 when the old King Leopold of Belgium visited the 
 German Emperor at Berlin. The Emperor, — who 
 disliked Leopold in his heart of hearts, because of his 
 penchant for mistresses and his all-round doubtful 
 morality — treated him nevertheless with exceptional 
 courtesy and paid him many attentions. 
 
 The German Emperor is a military monarch from 
 1 the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. He 
 adores all soldiery and military matters, and enters 
 into the most minute details of military life. 
 Scarcely a day passes without his having visited 
 some regiment or other. He asks himself to dinner 
 in the officers' messes regularly and spends hours on 
 end therein. In order to lessen the expense of his 
 officers on these occasions he especially forbade the 
 drinking of French champagne from German bot- 
 tles! I was informed that he was well aware of this 
 deception which was practised for his sake, and 
 cheerfully acquiesced in it. It is the custom that 
 when the Emperor honours one or other regiment
 
 WILLIAM II 73 
 
 with his presence, the colonel addresses a patriotic 
 speech to him to which the monarch always answers 
 at great length. 
 
 A few days before the fall of Prince von Buelow, 
 — an unusually stormy session took place in the 
 Reichstag because of a letter the Emperor had writ- 
 ten to the German Ambassador at Paris. All parties 
 combined against the personal and anti-constitu- 
 tional interference of the Emperor in serious mat- 
 ters of state. The members' criticism was specially 
 directed against the impulsive and mischievous 
 speeches of the Emperor. Prince von Buelow sol- 
 emnly promised to put a stop to the verbosity of 
 his master. Shortly after this the Emperor was 
 dining at the officers' mess in the barracks of a cer- 
 tain regiment, and the Colonel made the usual ad- 
 dress. The Emperor answered: "My dear Col- 
 onel, I would like to be able to say a few words to 
 you all here. ..." There he stopped and signified 
 his inability to proceed by putting his hand over his 
 mouth. This little incident proves how the Emperor 
 could be influenced by the Reichstag, notwithstanding 
 his great power and general omnipotence. 
 
 When he made his official inspections of troops, 
 incomparable and peerless actor as he was, he made 
 himself up very cleverly and by means of paints to 
 closely resemble Ca?sar. To do him justice, he knew 
 how to talk to his soldiers, and also how to excite 
 their patriotism to the highest pitch. He was un-
 
 74 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 questionably very popular with the army, and was 
 the idol of the German soldiery. Their discipline 
 and enthusiasm, in the present war give complete 
 proof of this. 
 
 Such is the man who directs the destinies of the 
 German Empire. To describe his most complex 
 character fully whole volumes would be needed. I 
 have only given a personal impression of him which 
 was obtained through living fourteen years in Ger- 
 many. Incontestably, despite all his faults, the 
 German Emperor is a distinct and rare personality. 
 His projects and ideas were vast, embracing not only 
 Germany but the entire world. But in the putting 
 of them into execution his extremely impulsive char- 
 acter — his habit of acting on the spur of the moment, 
 his sudden decisions made without consideration, and 
 his extreme vanity, created very serious obstacles to 
 his success. His plans were blocked because he had 
 not calculated their effect. In his foreign policies 
 he wanted too much, and he always wanted to act 
 immediately. 
 
 Obsessed with the idea of German greatness he 
 tried to exploit the whole universe, and in so doing 
 naturally added to the list of his enemies. He 
 plunged towards the Turkish East, encouraged Aus- 
 tria on her Balkan policy and battered his head 
 against Russia, and in so doing seriously disturbed 
 the relations between Russia and Germany. In fol- 
 lowing his colonial policy he feverishly hastened the
 
 WILLIAM II 75 
 
 building of war ships, proclaimed himself Grand Ad- 
 miral of the Atlantic, and found himself face to face 
 with Britain's immense sea power. He assiduously 
 cultivated France in the hope of winning her to his 
 strong anti-British policies, and on the spur of the 
 moment at Tangiers and later at Agadir he again 
 evoked in the memories of all the present Allies the 
 bloody pages of 1870. 
 
 He did everything he could to win the friendship 
 of the United States. All his favours and all his 
 personal attentions were showered on the Americans 
 who came in their yachts to Kiel in the racing season. 
 He gave the city of New York a statue of Frederick 
 II, executed by himself, and at the same time spread 
 a veritable network of spies all over the United 
 States, thus making the very name of German anath- 
 ema there, and by inconceivable treachery paved the 
 way for the intervention of that vast power in the 
 European War. 
 
 His political projects are incontestably worthy of 
 a great sovereign but when it comes to putting them 
 into operation, faults and weaknesses are apparent 
 which can only be the outcome of a very question* 
 and mediocre miini— 
 
 The unlimited ambition of the Kaiser and his arro- 
 gant desire to be the centre of attraction have prac- 
 tically paralyzed all his acts. He was not satisfied 
 with sowing seeds but he wanted also immediately 
 to reap the harvest. He wanted to do everything
 
 76 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 himself and not leave anything to his successors. 
 Evidently his main object in life was to write his 
 own epitaph as "William the Greatest," and this 
 was one of the essential causes of the present 
 struggle.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 
 
 I did not personally know Count de Capr ivi de 
 Montecuccoli, the Emperor's second Imperial Chan- 
 cellor, who succeeded Bismarck. He was known as a 
 good soldier, absolutely honest but little prepared 
 for the part he was destined to play. In speaking 
 of his own dismissal and Caprivi 's appointment in 
 his place, Bismarck, just created General in Chief, 
 said, "The Emperor has made a General of his fore- 
 most chancellor, and one of his best generals he has 
 made a Chancellor." The short tenure of Count 
 Caprivi in office was foreshadowed when he de- 
 nounced the treaty with Russia which had been made 
 by Bismarck in the days of his power, and also initi- 
 ated an anti- Agrarian policy. Caprivi fell under the 
 violent attacks of the Junkers party. 
 — Prince Hohenlohe, who succeeded him, is hardly 
 known in Europe or even in Germany. He neverthe- 
 less deserves a certain amount of attention. He had 
 previously been President of the Ministerial Council 
 in Bavaria, where he was greatly liked and esteemed 
 by all parties without exception. He later held the 
 position of Ambassador in Paris and succeeded, in 
 
 77
 
 78 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 spite of many serious difficulties he had to contend 
 with while there, in making himself very popular. 
 Before being made Chancellor he was the Emperor's 
 personal representative in Alsace-Lorraine. After 
 he became Chancellor he had to accept as Foreign 
 Minister Herr von Buelow, a great favourite" 01 the 
 Emperor, and who from the time of his entrance into 
 politics was considered in Berlin as successor to 
 Hohenlohe sooner or later. The position of the 
 Chancellor at once became very ambiguous. To 
 please the new star, which was in the ascendant, the 
 flatterers at Court hastened to intrigue against the 
 Chancellor. But it must be admitted that Prince 
 Hohenlohe accepted this disagreeable state of affairs 
 with a princeliness which was characteristic. He 
 allowed his enemies full rein. One day he said to 
 me, "When I was First Minister in Bavaria, Ambas- 
 sador in Paris and the Emperor's representative in 
 Alsace-Lorraine, it was said of me that I was a great 
 statesman. I was the only one to disbelieve this! 
 Now that I am Chancellor of the Empire the Berlin 
 world would have it that I am an ignorant brute, and 
 I am the only man who does not believe it ! " 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe had married a Russian, the 
 Princess Wittgenstein, daughter of the hero of the 
 Napoleonic Wars of 1812, and was a great landed 
 proprietor in Eussia. He was an ardent advocate of 
 a strong and binding entente with Russia. Indeed 
 this was his political creed. At the beginning of his
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 79 
 
 chancellorship he enjoyed a certain influence. As 
 the Empress' uncle he had the freedom of the Im- 
 perial Court, but very soon this influence had to give 
 way to that of von Buelow, whose subtle and flatter- 
 ing manner and nature were gratifying to the 
 Sovereign. 
 
 Prince Hohenlohe vacated his office in the same 
 way as he came to it — with all the dignity of a great 
 nobleman and the manners of a gentleman. He was 
 never known to complain of the Emperor, or to sneer 
 at his successor as Bismarck did. The new chan- 
 cellor was diametrically his opposite. Vo n Buelow 
 was the perfect type of a Careerist or Arrivist. He 
 was very astute and machiavellian. A master of the 
 art of flattering those who could be of use to him, 
 possessed of extraordinary erudition, an excep- 
 tional memory, and a superlatively wonderful ora- 
 torical talent, von Buelow was a brilliant conversa- 
 tionalist and a diplomat of great finesse. I will not 
 go so far as to say that his policies were conceived or 
 carried out on this scale, but I think that his chief 
 political fault was pandering too much to the caprices 
 of his Imperial Master. Left to himself von Buelow 
 might have risen to be a really remarkable states- 
 man, for he had all the qualities that are necessary 
 for the making of one. His speeches in the Reich- 
 stag were always in good taste, and much admired, 
 although these speeches were sometimes very in- 
 sincere and rang hollow. The first time he addressed 
 
 J
 
 80 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 the Reichstag he roused the unanimous applause of 
 all the deputies. I was present at the time, and left 
 with Herr Kardorff, one of the leaders of the Party 
 of the Right. He was most enthusiastic about von 
 Buelow and his speech, but after having gone a few 
 steps with me he said suddenly: — "My dear Schel- 
 king, when one stops to think — what did Buelow 
 really say?" This characteristic was the most re- 
 markable of all others in the Emperor 's fourth Chan- 
 cellor. There is no need to detail the policies fol- 
 lowed by Prince von Buelow while he was in power. 
 He was a docile instrument in the Emperor's hands. 
 
 In his private life the Prince was a most delightful 
 and charming man. He captivated all who came 
 near him by his intelligence, his brilliant conversa- 
 tion, and his great amiability. But when one knew 
 him better one detected a falseness beneath all these 
 qualities. 
 
 During the whole of his stay in office he had but 
 one really patriotic impulse. That was on the day 
 when he promised the Reichstag to control his 
 Sovereign's habit of making speeches, and to assume 
 the responsibility for them. But at the same time 
 and by that promise he threw aside his protector, 
 to whom he owed his rapid rise to power, and risked 
 his whole career, having in nine years advanced from 
 the position of Councillor to the German Ambassa- 
 dor at St. Petersburg to the Chancellorship of the 
 German Empire.
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 81 
 
 Prince von Buelow married an Italian, the Prin- 
 cess Camporeale, who had been Countess Poenhaf in 
 her first marriage. She had ever cultivated music 
 and poetry and was a musician far above the ordi- 
 nary. Pupil of Liszt and friend of Wagner, she had 
 a saioirwhieh. was frequented not only by the highest 
 Berlin society, but also by the whole artistic and lit- 
 erary world. Herr Stein, the well known editor of 
 the Frankfurter Zeitung, was one of von Buelow 's 
 intimates. As the Prince assiduously cultivated the 
 press, he often received Stein even when ambas- 
 sadors were waiting to see him on matters of state. 
 
 In the salon of the Princess all speech was unre- 
 stricted and frankness cultivated, and in this way 
 Prince von Buelow was always in touch with the 
 world at large, and with the ideas of all classes of the 
 people. As the Princess had become engaged to her 
 first husband in Count Osten-Sacken's drawing-room 
 in Florence, where the latter was Charge d 'Affaires 
 in 1865, the relations between the Chancellor's family 
 and our ambassador were of the most intimate kind. 
 But our ambassador was rather suspicious of Prince 
 von Buelow. He w T as not sure of his sincerity, and 
 told me more than once that he would rather have 
 to do with Baron Marschall von Bieberstein who was 
 a gross personality at best, but with whom one was 
 always sure where one stood. 
 
 Prince Buelow fell after the promise he made to 
 the Reichstag with regard to the Imperial habit of
 
 82 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 making speeches. William was furious with Buelow 
 for giving this promise and a few months later the 
 chancellor was suddenly dismissed. But, and this 
 is strange, the Emperor's irritation with him did not 
 last long and Prince von Buelow continues, even to- 
 day, to keep his master's great friendship and 
 favour. During the present war, he has filled the 
 position of Ambassador to Eome, and it is certain his 
 name will be prominent among those of the German 
 plenipotentiaries to the Peace Conference. 
 
 The discovery of a successor to Prince von Buelow 
 proved most difficult. It was necessary to find a 
 statesman who was not only a diplomat but well 
 versed in the domestic conditions then existing in 
 Germany. For a time Count von Wedel was con- 
 sidered for the position. He was then representa- 
 tive of the Emperor in Alsace-Lorraine, and had 
 held the post of Ambassador to Vienna for several 
 years. It was even said at Berlin that the position 
 of the Chancellorship had actually been offered to 
 him, but that he had declined. Finally the Emper- 
 or's choice fell on Herr von Bethmann-Hollweg. 
 This nomination was entirely unexpected ! The new 
 Chancellor was of obscure birth, his ancestors were 
 Jewish, and were a family of bankers at Frankfurt. 
 The family name was Bethmann, and the noble name 
 of Hollweg came to it by marriage. He had never 
 held a diplomatic post, but had been Chief of Police 
 at Potsdam, (Polizeipresident), Governor of the
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 83 
 
 Rhine Province and finally Governor General of the 
 Province of Brandenburg, of which the capital is 
 Berlin. 
 
 At Potsdam he had been in close touch with the 
 Emperor and he knew how to improve his oppor- 
 tunities, and gain the monarch's favour. He knew 
 nothing of the basic principles of diplomacy. Our 
 Ambassador in Berlin told me he was absolutelv use- 
 less, that it was a waste of time to talk to him, and 
 that he preferred to discuss important matters with 
 one of the Secretaries of State. But gradually von 
 Bethmann-Hollweg found himself. At the interview 
 between the Kaiser and Nicholas II in a Baltic port, 
 Sazonoff, then our Minister of Foreign Affairs, inti- 
 mated that it was most agreeable to discuss affairs 
 with him. This remark is characteristic of Sazonoff 
 as it was von Bethmann-Hollweg who forced the 
 withdrawal by Sazonoff of our arrangement with 
 Germany regarding Persia, which was humiliating 
 for us. 
 
 When he resigned his post Herr von Bethmann- 
 Hollweg had achieved the reputation of having been 
 entirely honest in all his dealings, but otherwise a 
 nonentity, lacking in any personal initiative and will- 
 ingly agreeing to his master's slightest wish and 
 whim. 
 
 I did not know Dr. Michaelis — his successor — 
 nearly so well. But he occupied only a second rate 
 position at the best. It was said of him that he was
 
 84 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Prussian to the backbone, and eager to copy Bis- 
 marck, but lacking any resemblance to the Iron Chan- 
 cellor, with the exception of his personal grossness, 
 which was notorious. In that he indeed resembled 
 the great German. It has never been understood 
 why he was chosen by the Emperor. 
 
 The next Imperial Chancellor, I knew exceedingly 
 well while I was stationed in Munich. Count Hert- 
 ling is a Bavarian by birth, and during my official life 
 he was at different times a deputy in the Bavarian 
 Chamber and in the Reichstag. He belonged to the 
 centre Catholic Party, of which he was one of the 
 leaders up to the very day on which he was nominated 
 to the Chancellorship. He was a thoroughgoing 
 Catholic. More than once it was expected he would 
 be appointed prime minister of Bavaria. But the 
 old Prince Regent — although of a very liberal mind 
 where religion was concerned — was afraid of Hert- 
 ling's super-pronounced Catholic views and ideas. 
 Ludwig III, the then King of Bavaria, devout Catho- 
 lic himself, made him President of the Ministerial 
 Council, and Minister of Foreign Affairs. I am 
 forced to believe that his nomination as Chancellor 
 of the Empire — without wishing in the least to de- 
 tract from his many strong mental qualities — was 
 made first to flatter and please the amour propre 
 of the Bavarians, and secondly so that the Em- 
 peror could have at his right hand one who had the 
 ear of the Pope, who could therefore easily be used
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 85 
 
 to approach the Holy Father in case it should be 
 necessary to have the support of the Holy See in 
 the peace pourparlers which must come. In view 
 of the various complications which exist in Ger- 
 many and Austria I know the above to be the situa- 
 tion. 
 
 I personally knew very well two other important 
 ministers. Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, and 
 the present (June, 1918) Foreign Secretary, Herr 
 von Kuehlmann. Baron Marschall was the prede- 
 cessor of Prince von Buelow in the office of Foreign 
 Secretary. He was a Badener by birth and a state 
 attorney by profession. Bismarck noticed his 
 speeches at that time, and proposed he should take 
 up a diplomatic career. He did so and attained the 
 high rank of foreign secretary which he occupied 
 during the chancellorship of von Caprivi, and for 
 two years under Prince Hohenlohe. He was a man 
 of remarkable intelligence, and force of character 
 which was only equalled by his personal grossness. 
 He treated foreign diplomats with the greatest negli- 
 gence imaginable, and made them wait in his ante- 
 chamber sometimes for hours at a time. Hence all 
 foreign representatives complained bitterly of him. 
 He only made an exception in the case of Count 
 Osten-Sacken, after having attempted to treat him 
 as he did the others. But our ambassador taught 
 him a lesson. 
 
 One day, a few minutes before dinner, at eight
 
 86 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 o'clock in the evening, the secretary of the Foreign 
 Secretary came to our Embassy and communicated 
 — verbally to Count Osten-Sacken — the desire of 
 Baron Marschall to speak with him at once. An- 
 noyed at this unprecedented method of procedure, 
 our Ambassador said to the envoy — "Acquaint the 
 Secretary of State with the fact that I am about to 
 sit down to dinner. After having dined I shall 
 smoke my cigar quietly, and if I have time in the 
 course of the evening, I will come to see him. ' ' 
 
 About 10.30 Count Osten-Sacken went to the For- 
 eign Office. Baron Marschall was awaiting him at 
 the door and was voluble in his excuses and apolo- 
 gies. "You are right in excusing yourself, my dear 
 Marschall," said our Ambassador, "for it must in- 
 deed be something most urgent which permitted you 
 to disturb the Russian Ambassador at so unreason- 
 able an hour. ' ' 
 
 Baron Marschad took this lesson to heart, and 
 also took very good care not to run the risk of ex- 
 periencing another such snub, in his dealings with 
 our Ambassador. From that time onward, the re- 
 lations between our Embassy and the German For- 
 eign Office left nothing to be desired. The Baron 
 Marschall was a supporter of our entente with Ger- 
 many and — with our assistance — of one with France 
 also. His master stroke in diplomacy which en- 
 couraged such an entente, was the Treaty of Shim- 
 onoseki, which brought the Chino-Japanese War to
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 87 
 
 an end. The Japanese had occupied Port Arthur 
 and seemed very desirous of remaining there. But 
 France and Russia strongly protested against the 
 establishment of the Empire of the Rising Sun on 
 the Asiatic Continent. Pourparlers were proceed- 
 ing and were almost at an end when — quite unex- 
 pectedly — Baron Marschall made the suggestion 
 that Germany should be accepted as the ally of 
 France and Russia in the Port Arthur question. 
 The Cabinets of Petrograd and Paris, unable to re- 
 fuse this gratuitous German collaboration, had to 
 accept it, and thus for the first time since 1870, 
 France, Russia and Germany worked towards the 
 same end. It was the dream of William II seem- 
 ingly coming true. Baron Marschall had made it 
 practicable, and it was the German Emperor who 
 later spoiled it all. 
 
 The Foreign Secretary fell after the famous legal 
 case of Lutsow-Leckardt, that caused such tremen- 
 dous scandal at the time. These gentlemen had 
 forged letters compromising to the Imperial Gov- 
 ernment, and were accused of high treason. As the 
 contents of these letters chiefly concerned Baron 
 Marschall, he was attacked most bitterly by a cer- 
 tain section of the German Press with the object of 
 bringing about his downfall. The Foreign Secre- 
 tary — remembering his legal past — presented him- 
 self at the Bar of Justice to defend himself. He 
 began his speech, which was in the nature of a plea
 
 88 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 against the abuses of the Prussian Government, with 
 these words — "In coming here I take refuge in public 
 opinion," (Flucht in die offentlichkeit). His de- 
 fence of himself was masterly. Lutzoff and Leck- 
 ardt were condemned but the whole country ap- 
 plauded the plea of Baron Marschall. Yet a week 
 later the Emperor discharged him. William never 
 forgave him for having had recourse to public opin- 
 ion instead of trusting in him. 
 
 Two or three days after the trial, Count Osten- 
 Sacken went to see Marschall, who was ill. He 
 complimented him on his great success, but he also 
 asked him if the whole affair were not likely to bring 
 upon him the displeasure of the Monarch. The 
 Foreign Secretary answered, "Rest assured, I am 
 stronger than ever before. ' ' Two days later he was 
 discharged. Nevertheless, acceding to the insistence 
 of Prince von Buelow, the Emperor appointed him 
 Ambassador to Constantinople, and it was there espe- 
 cially that the Baron gave full proof of his excep- 
 tional diplomatic powers. It was he who proposed 
 the trip of William II to the Orient, who crystallized 
 the Turco-German rapprochement, and made the 
 Sultan a vassal to the German Emperor. To him 
 is the credit due for the project of the Bagdad Rail- 
 way, and it was he who prepared all the details for 
 the execution of this great project. Again it was 
 he who succeeded in placing German officers in posi- 
 tions of high command in the Ottoman Army. To
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 89 
 
 do William II justice, though he did not love the 
 Baron he covered him with distinctions. He sent 
 him from Constantinople to London as ambassador, 
 and there Baron Marschall died — having but shortly 
 before been appointed Chevalier of the Black Eagle 
 — the highest order in Prussia. 
 
 Herr von Kuehlmann came to power, thanks ex- 
 clusively to the Emperor's favour. There can be no 
 comparison between him and such a forceful man 
 as Baron Marschall. I knew him intimately in Mu- 
 nich, when he was a boy. His mother honoured me 
 with her friendship. She was a superb musician, 
 and a by no means undistinguished composer. 
 Herr von Kuehlmann, Sr., a very rich man, was a 
 merchant of Munich, having made his vast fortune 
 at Constantinople in the construction of the Ana- 
 tolian Railways. His wife, nee Baronne Redwitz, 
 belonged to the highest Bavarian aristocracy. Their 
 son, young Kuehlmann, was destined for a Bavarian 
 diplomat's career, but his ambition was higher than 
 that, and he entered the service of the Empire. 
 His first appointments were not very encourag- 
 ing to his ambition. He had to be content with 
 posts of secondary importance in South America, 
 Persia, etc. One day he was presented to the Em- 
 peror, and made a very favourable impression, but 
 he owes his final success to somewhat unusual cir- 
 cumstances. Among the members of the Russian 
 Embassy at London during the reign of Edward
 
 90 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 VII, was a certain Monsieur Poklewsy-Kosiell, 
 lately the Russian Minister to Roumania. He was 
 First Secretary and later Councillor to the London 
 embassy, and enjoyed the confidence and was on 
 terms of some intimacy with the British Sovereign. 
 Monsieur Poklewsky was thus popular at the British 
 Court, and much sought after by all British host- 
 esses. He was very rich, and being a man of con- 
 siderable intelligence used his fortune to make his 
 position still better. During one of his visits to 
 London the German Emperor met Poklewsky, and 
 learnt of the exceptional position the latter occu- 
 pied. William wished to secure just such a man 
 as Poklewsky for the German Embassy, and with his 
 usual impulsiveness appointed Baron Eckhart von 
 Eckhardstein as councillor. The new councillor had 
 two trumps in his hand for the game. He had mar- 
 ried the daughter of Sir John Blundell Maple, and 
 she had a very large fortune in her own right. But 
 very soon after his appointment the Emperor per- 
 ceived that the man he had made Councillor in Lon- 
 don only resembled Poklewsky in the matter of 
 wealth. The intelligence of the Russian diplomat 
 left him entirely out of the running. The Emperor 
 discharged von Eckhardstein as suddenly as he had 
 appointed him, and remembering von Kuehlmann, 
 appointed him to the London post. This was the be- 
 ginning of von Kuehlmann 's brilliant career. 
 Without being quite able to attain the position
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 91 
 
 Poklewsky had reached, Kuehlmann succeeded in 
 worming his way cleverly into British society and 
 becoming a member of the best clubs. Gradually he 
 obtained the privilege of sending personal reports 
 to the Emperor. It is possible that he was de- 
 ceived with regard to the real intentions of the Brit- 
 ish Cabinet, for he assured his sovereign that Great 
 Britain would never intervene in the European war 
 the Emperor premeditated. Even so, the Emperor 
 did not withdraw his support of Kuehlmann. When 
 it became a question of encouraging Turkey to 
 favour an alliance with Germany, von Kuehlmann 
 was sent to Constantinople. Monsieur de Giers, one 
 time Kussian Ambassador to Turkey, and later Am- 
 bassador to Italy, told me that the Turks in his time 
 had no intention of breaking their neutrality, if such 
 a war occurred. There were then two parties at 
 Constantinople. One led by the Grand Vizier, 
 worked for strict neutrality, the other, led by Enver 
 Pasha determined on an alliance with Germany 
 After war had broken out four days were sufficient 
 for von Kuehlmann to persuade the Turks to allow 
 the Goeben and the Breslau to attack the Russian 
 coast on the Black Sea. It is probably due to this 
 success that Kuehlmann later owed his appointment 
 to the post of Foreign Secretary. 
 
 It is necessary to add a few words regarding Ger- 
 many's foreign representatives in various countries, 
 whose members played important parts at their vari-
 
 92 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 ous posts, until within a few days of the actual break- 
 ing out of the war. The choice of the Emperor in 
 these matters was not always happy. He per- 
 mitted himself to be guided — as usual— purely by 
 personal reasons, and personal policies. In this 
 manner Count Pourtales was sent to Petrograd, as 
 German Ambassador — one of the most difficult diplo- 
 matic posts. Mentally, he was not nearly big 
 enough for the position. In the same way Count de 
 Monts, a typical Prussian, stiff and severe, was ap- 
 pointed Ambassador to Rome where he was intensely 
 disliked. 
 
 Count Pourtales — married to Countess Kanitz — 
 was my colleague at The Hague, where he was a dis- 
 tinct success. He went from there as Prussian Min- 
 ister to Munich, and there too, made for himself an 
 enviable position. From Munich he was appointed 
 Ambassador to Petrograd. Justice must be done 
 him by saying that he did everything he could to 
 please. Very rich in his own right, his dinners and 
 other entertainments were of frequent occurrence, 
 and always in excellent taste. His receptions were 
 noted for the eclaJLwith which they went off, and the 
 number of notable people present. But diplomat of 
 the old school as he was, he was only seen in the 
 most aristocratic circles and salons. He did not 
 seem to realize that the times had changed, and that 
 a foreign diplomat who was earnestly desirous of 
 knowing the true state of public opinion in Russia,
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 93 
 
 should not confine himself solely to high society in 
 Petrograd. Furthermore, Count Pourtales was not 
 as well versed in all matters pertaining to his duties 
 as he should have been. It was known later that he 
 expected the outbreak of a revolution in Russia the 
 day after Germany declared war, a revolution which 
 he said in a code message I happened to decipher, 
 should immediately make it impossible for Russia 
 to fight or give assistance to the Allies. Yet, as 
 the world knows, Russia struggled to do its best from 
 the very beginning, despite the most terrible handi- 
 caps imposed upon the country and people by an in- 
 competent government and treacherous ministers. 
 
 In political circles at Petrograd, Count Pourtales 
 was not taken very seriously. He was deemed vain 
 and possessed of but little intelligence. This was 
 indeed true, for when by chance he wished to be 
 really astute and cunning, he was the more easily 
 trapped. 
 
 Thus, for instance, a few months before the war, 
 an article of the most virulent kind attacking the 
 amour propre of Russia appeared in the Cologne 
 Gazette. It was proved that it had been inspired by 
 Count von Dohna, chief A. D. C. to the German Em- 
 peror, then attached to the Russian Emperor's per- 
 son, at the instigation of Monsieur Lucius, Council- 
 lor at the German Embassy in Petrograd. Both 
 men had to leave the Russian capital and Count 
 Pourtales was seriously compromised. The whole
 
 94 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 policy of the German Embassy in Russia was cen- 
 tred on the Count's firm conviction that Russia 
 would never accept a war with Germany. He had 
 been spoiled by the diplomatic success he achieved 
 in 1909, over the annexation of Herzegovina by Aus- 
 tria-Hungary. 
 
 In 1914 at the time of the Serbian ultimatum, 
 which unleashed the dogs of war in Europe, Count 
 Pourtales too hastily concluded that he was going 
 to place another diplomatic feather in Germany's 
 cap by achieving complete success in the game of 
 threatening Russia with war. The declaration of 
 war made him lose his head completely. I well 
 remember his horrified astonishment which for a 
 time bordered on hysterics, when he handed our 
 Foreign Minister, S. D. Sazonoff, his government's 
 note declaring war. He was very pale and trembling 
 all over, and was so beside himself when he left the 
 Russian minister's presence that he forgot some im- 
 portant papers. 
 
 The German Ambassador to Paris, Baron von 
 Schoen, was similarly not equal to his task. He came 
 of a small and unknown family of Jewish origin, his 
 father having been a banker at Darmstadt. Baron 
 von Schoen was far from being a serious diplomat, 
 and confined himself, while in Paris, to playing the 
 part of a thorough bon viveur and man of the world. 
 His career was one of constant shifts and changes, 
 and curiously enough, I personally played a certain
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 95 
 
 part in his promotion. After having spent many- 
 years at Petrograd and Paris as Councillor to the 
 German Embassies, he was appointed minister to 
 one of the South American Republics. His vanity 
 wounded, von Schoen refused the post. Prince von 
 Buelow — who in any case did not like him — offered 
 him an even less important post, that of Minister 
 of Prussia at Oldenburg, and he notified the Baron 
 that a second refusal would be deemed sufficient rea- 
 son for his immediate discharge fromjthe diplomatic 
 service. Von Schoen handed in his resignation, but 
 was appointed Grand Master of Ceremonies at the 
 Court of Coburg, where — nevertheless — he did not 
 remain very long because he was not liked by the 
 Duchess of Coburg (oniy sister of the Emperor 
 Alexander III). He then retired to a small estate 
 he owned in Bavaria, and set to work to criticize the 
 Prussian Court. One day while he was staying for 
 a short time in Berlin, presumably as I had known 
 him very well in Petrograd and Bavaria, he con- 
 fided to me his regret and disappointment at being 
 out of the diplomatic service, and his earnest desire 
 to re-enter it. He added that he had done every- 
 thing he could to see Prince von Buelow, but that 
 the latter carefully avoided him. Finally he asked 
 if I would be his intermediary through Count Osten- 
 Sacken, and try and obtain an invitation for him to 
 the dinner which was to be held the following night 
 at the Russian Embassy, and to which the Imperial
 
 96 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Chancellor was coming. As the invitations had al- 
 ready been issued, Count Osten-Sacken suggested 
 that he should come in during the evening. Baron 
 von Schoen hastened to accept this suggestion and 
 had a long conversation with the Chancellor which re- 
 sulted in his appointment as Minister to Copenhagen, 
 where later he met Monsieur Iswolsky, who at that 
 time represented the Russian Emperor at the Danish 
 Court. Both of them being ambitious men they 
 soon understood one another and concluded a pact. 
 Baron von Schoen promised that he would do his 
 best to obtain for Iswolsky the post of Ambassador 
 to Berlin, and Iswolsky agreed to do his best to ob- 
 tain for the Baron the post of Ambassador to Petro- 
 grad. As it turned out Iswolsky succeeded. Von 
 Schoen became German Ambassador to Russia, and 
 from there went in the same capacity to Paris. 
 Baron von Schoen 's intrigue in favour of Iswolsky 
 met a stumbling block in the finesse of my chief, 
 Count Osten-Sacken. He went to Petrograd and 
 presented his resignation to the Emperor, without 
 a word of warning, explaining to him the utter im- 
 possibility of continuing his work in Berlin, con- 
 tinually undermined by an intrigue, the headquarters 
 of which were in Copenhagen. Nicholas did not like 
 sudden shocks. He begged Count Osten-Sacken to 
 remain at his post, promising to put an end to Is- 
 wolsky 's intrigues. The latter stayed on at Copen- 
 hagen, but — as may seem very strange to those ig-
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 97 
 
 norant of the character of Nicholas II, but most nat- 
 ural to those who know it — Iswolsky in a few months 
 became Foreign Minister at Petrograd. 
 
 It is necessary to give these details in order to 
 draw attention to the fact that the personal interests 
 of the Russian and German foreign representatives 
 always took precedence of the best interests of the 
 two nations, despite such vitally serious times as 
 those immediately prior to the outbreak of the war. 
 Personal intrigues were invariably the order of the 
 day, and unfortunately, the characters both of Wil- 
 liam and of Nicholas — although usually so opposite 
 in all things — lent themselves to this dangerous state 
 of affairs. Pourtales and von Schoen knew how to 
 flatter the amour propre of their respective sover- 
 eigns. They made an art of sycophancy. M. Sazon- 
 off, for instance, one of the last foreign ministers 
 appointed by Nicholas, who held his portfolio much 
 longer than any of his predecessors, distributed ap- 
 pointments of ministers and ambassadors, not be- 
 cause of any talent or efficiency in the men he chose 
 but exclusively by his personal liking for them. This 
 is well illustrated by the appointment of Monsieur 
 Sverbeef, our last ambassador to Berlin, who was 
 in no way fitted to fill the position of my former 
 chief Count Osten-Sacken. 
 
 The Emperor William had better luck in his choice 
 of an ambassador to London. Prince Lichnowsky 
 was essentially a gentleman in every acceptance of
 
 98 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 the term. He belonged to an old and aristocratic 
 Silesian family; he was very rich and very well 
 read, a fine conversationalist, and had considerable 
 finesse. In London he made for himself entirely 
 by his own skilful efforts, an exceedingly enviable 
 position, both in political circles and in the drawing- 
 rooms of the British capital. Unfortunately, I have 
 every reason to believe that his diplomatic actions 
 were somewhat paralysed by von Kuehlmann, who 
 was Councillor of the Embassy at the time.* 
 
 The German Emperor had entrusted the Embassy 
 at Vienna to Herr von Tchirsky, emphatically a per- 
 son of a gross and vulgar nature. The following 
 episode proves his lack of subtlety, and his inability 
 to adapt himself to circumstances. At a Court Ball 
 given at Petrograd, Herr von Tchirsky, who was 
 present, as he was then Councillor to the German 
 Embassy there, was walking with a lady on his arm, 
 when in the crowd he bumped into the Grand Duke 
 Vladimir, the Emperor's Uncle. The Grand Duke, 
 whose pleasantness was of a somewhat ponderous na- 
 ture, said to Herr von Tchirsky 's companion — 
 "What can you find to talk about to a diplomat? 
 They are always so frightfully dull. Come with 
 me instead/' and he offered the lady his arm. Von 
 Tchirsky 's Prussian pride was wounded. He com- 
 plained to his Chief, Prince Eadolin, about the mat- 
 
 * Editor's Note: This was written before the publication of the 
 Lichnowsky memoirs. They completely justify the author's belief.
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 99 
 
 ter, making his version of the incident appear much 
 more serious than it really was. Radolin went alone 
 to see the Foreign Minister (Iswolsky) and insisted 
 on an apology from the Grand Duke. Iswolsky re- 
 ported the incident to the Emperor in person, who — 
 on his part — spoke to the Grand Duke. The latter 
 was exceedingly astonished, for he had not the least 
 intention of hurting the feelings of Tchirsky, and 
 much less those of Germany. The Grand Duke ex- 
 plained this to Prince Kadolin, but naturally this inci- 
 dent did not tend to increase the popularity of the 
 members of the German Embassy in diplomatic and 
 social circles in Petrograd. The majority of the 
 more important houses were closed thereafter to von 
 Tchirsky, who had in consequence to be moved to 
 another post. Even the position of the German 
 Ambassador was seriously compromised, and shortly 
 after Prince Radolin was suddenly transferred to 
 Paris. Imagine how much adaptability there was in 
 the character of Tchirsky when it was a question of 
 dealing with really serious diplomatic affairs. One 
 suspects Germany did not desire to adapt herself to 
 her circumstances but was constantly on the look- 
 out for grievances. 
 
 Before having been raised by the Emperor to the 
 position and dignity of a prince of the German Em- 
 pire, the new ambassador to Paris was known as 
 Count Radolinsky. A Pole by birth, he had great 
 landed estates in the province of Posen. In his
 
 100 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 youth he had adopted a courtier's life and had be- 
 come Grand Master of Ceremonies at the Court of 
 the Crown Prince Frederick — later Emperor of Ger- 
 many under the title of Frederick III. He was the 
 Crown Prince's most intimate friend, and also pos- 
 sessed the fullest confidence and friendship of the fu- 
 ture Empress of Germany, who was the daughter of 
 Queen Victoria of England. As is also known, dur- 
 ing the last year of the reign of William I (1888 to 
 1890) the future Emperor Frederick was dying at 
 San Remo, of an illness that was to cause his death 
 after a reign of a hundred days. During this period 
 an intrigue was in full swing at Berlin which had 
 as its object the abdication of the Crown Prince of 
 his rights to the German Throne in favour of his 
 son, the present Emperor. Prince William, who was 
 then twenty-eight years of age, and who was very im- 
 patient to obtain the throne, was fully cognizant of 
 the details of this nefarious intrigue and was not 
 only wholly a party to it, but energetic in its fur- 
 therance in order that he might the more quickly 
 achieve supreme powers. 
 
 Bismarck was also entangled in this intrigue, of 
 his own volition, but he committed the error of being 
 too sure of William, whom he hoped and expected to 
 become a docile instrument in his hands. He feared 
 the accession of the Crown Prince, whose political 
 ideas more often than not did not coincide with his. 
 The intriguers were almost sure that the Crown
 
 THE GERMAN MINISTERS 101 
 
 Prince, ill as he was, would balk their wishes, but 
 they also knew that they would find a serious ob- 
 stacle in the person of Princess Victoria, who for 
 her part wished to ascend the throne, if only for a 
 few days ! The reason for this was chiefly a finan- 
 cial one. As Princess of Great Britain, Princess 
 Victoria was far from being rich. If she were still 
 only Crown Princess on the death of her husband 
 her Civil List would have naturally been greatly less 
 than if she became Dowager Empress. It was de- 
 cided to try and use the Princess, and to do this, 
 Prince Radolin was chosen. Notwithstanding his 
 intimate relations and devotion to Frederick, which 
 he emphasized on every possible occasion, he prom- 
 ised his assistance to the scheme. As is known, the 
 intrigue failed, and the Crown Prince became Em- 
 peror for one hundred days, but Prince William did 
 not forget Radolin 's services. As soon as he as- 
 cended the throne he appointed Count Radolinsky 
 Ambassador to Constantinople, and created him a 
 prince of the German Empire, under the name of 
 Radolin. Later he transferred him to the Embassy 
 at Petrograd, and thence to the same post at Paris. 
 This anecdote shows the despicable intriguing of 
 the present German Emperor against his own father 
 and mother, and it also shows to how great an ex- 
 tent Prince Radolin lent himself to acts that were 
 aimed at those who had been kindest to him, and had 
 benefited him in many ways.
 
 102 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 With Prince Radolin, I conclude my short de- 
 scription of the principal German diplomats William 
 II chose during his reign to assist him in the execu- 
 tion of his European policies. It must be said that 
 all these statesmen were, with rare exceptions, men 
 of second-rate intelligence and capacity, and only 
 useful in promptly executing their master's orders. 
 Thus it is obvious that on the shoulders of Emperor 
 William II must rest the sole responsibility for all of 
 Germany's foreign policies which finally resulted 
 the present world-wide war.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 NICHOLAS II 
 
 His Character. The Ex- Emperor as Husband and Father. The 
 Empress and Her Influence. Rasputin — The Grand Dukes 
 
 Emperor Nicholas II succeeded to the throne of his 
 ancestors under circumstances which but little re- 
 sembled the accession of his father. 
 
 Alexander III had found Eussia seething with 
 revolutionary movements and dissensions of many 
 kinds; his father had been assassinated; the army 
 was disorganized and the navy conspicuous by its 
 nonexistence for any practical purpose. He left his 
 son as a legacy an Empire quiet within its borders, 
 and a nation respected by the world in general. The 
 army left nothing to be desired, and the navy had 
 reached very respectable proportions. But the Em- 
 peror Alexander had pursued a reactionary policy 
 and it was soon evident that this could not last. 
 Liberal reforms were spoken of on all sides. The 
 nation impatiently awaited these reforms and cen- 
 tred its hopes on the young Sovereign. 
 
 Very soon after he ascended the throne, Nicholas 
 II received from all parts of his immense Empire ad- 
 dresses expressing the fe alty a nd also the hopes of
 
 104 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 his people. The address of the people of the Prov- 
 ince of Tver (situated between Petrograd and Mos- 
 cow) was particularly explicit. Its most funda- 
 mental suggestion was the necessity for national 
 representation. But the monarch soon proved a dis- 
 appointment to his people. At the audience granted 
 by him to the representatives of Tver, he declared 
 that he would continue the political policies of his 
 father and termed as "insensate" the suggestions 
 of his people. The impression made by the Im- 
 perial discourse was disastrous and the popularity 
 of the Emperor was undermined. 
 /It was quite evident to impartial observers that 
 Nicholas II would under no circumstances be able 
 to continue the policy of his illustrious father. In 
 the first place, times had greatly changed, and in the 
 second, the young Emperor totally lacked the char- 
 acteristics of his predecessor. Where Alexander 
 III had been firm and decisive in his actions — Nich- 
 olas II was irresolute and weak. From his earliest 
 childhood he had been absolutely under the domi- 
 nance of his powerful father, and had no initiative 
 whatever. His mother entirely lacked strength of 
 character and her influence was of no use at all in 
 helping to form the character of her son. He fur- 
 thermore, had the misfortune to have as preceptor, 
 General Danilovitch, who was in no way equal to the 
 great responsibilities of his position and duties. He 
 was very narrow minded and suspicious. He eter-
 
 NICHOLAS II 105 
 
 nally told his young charge : " You must remember 
 always, Highness, that everybody who approaches 
 wishes to obtain something from you." Such an 
 education bore its natural fruit! Nicholas became 
 sly and suspected all his entourage — even his most 
 intimate friends — of plotting against him. 
 
 In his youth Nicholas II worked hard and, being 
 capable by nature, his instruction should have left 
 nothing to be desired. But his sole pleasure con- 
 sisted in frequenting the officers' messes and casinos 
 and very often he spent whole nights in such places, 
 drinking heavily and listening to the songs of Bo- 
 hemian minstrels. This sort of existence was ob- 
 viously not good training for the Sovereign-to-be. 
 In military circles he was, very naturally, the centre 
 of adulation and flattery. Little by little he be- 
 came very vain, which when taken in conjunction 
 with his natural weakness of character, was certain 
 to cause trouble in the future. 
 
 At the time of his accession then Nicholas II was 
 not a man of very complex character. He certainly 
 did not lack intelligence and had a natural kind- 
 ness of heart ; but, on the other hand, his father had 
 utterly crushed his will-power and General Danilo- 
 vitch had impregnated him with hypocrisy and a 
 general suspicion of humanity; in addition his 
 mother had encouraged in him a lack of decision in 
 every act which became the tragedy of his entire 
 existence. Very often during his reign he tried to
 
 106 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 emulate his father, but in vain. He was his father's 
 antithesis — even in physique — and could not imoress 
 his personality upon the masses. 
 
 In his personal relations Nicholas II was delight- 
 ful ; he had the rare gift of picking out at first glance 
 the most sympathetic chords in the nature of those 
 who came near him and he never failed to play upon 
 these most successfully. The German Emperor — 
 William II — experienced this on more than one oc- 
 casion. Nicholas II had a really extraordinary 
 method of almost hypnotizing those with whom he 
 talked ; he became exceedingly suave, seeming to in- 
 terest himself eagerly in what was being said to 
 him, and always agreed with the speaker no mat- 
 ter what ideas were set forth. Moreover, being 
 gifted, as are all the Romanoffs, with a prodigious 
 memory, he would address to the person speaking to 
 him remarks concerning his or her intimate life and 
 circumstances therein, which never failed to flatter 
 and charm. In his heart of hearts he was an auto- 
 crat, but lacking either will-power or decision, he 
 had recourse to cunning in order to make his author- 
 ity felt or respected. When he was displeased with 
 any minister, he never had the courage to tell him 
 so frankly and far less had he the courage to dismiss 
 him personally. On the contrary, he surrounded 
 the already condemned minister with all sorts of 
 friendly kindnesses and marks of esteem. After 
 such an audience, the minister naturally would re-
 
 NICHOLAS II 107 
 
 turn to his home delighted with his reception and 
 believing himself to be more favoured than ever by 
 his Imperial master. Very often, however, that 
 same night would arrive a notification dismissing 
 him from office. 
 
 On one occasion Count Witte, then Minister of 
 Finance, not being in agreement with his master, re- 
 signed. Nicholas would not hear of it and assured 
 Count Witte of his great esteem and confidence. 
 Count Witte therefore withdrew his resignation and 
 left the audience in triumph. In the Ante-room he 
 found M. de Pleske — Director-in-Chief of the State 
 Bank, and hence his subordinate — and asked him the 
 reason for his visit to the palace. Pleske replied 
 that he knew nothing about it but that he had been 
 commanded by the Emperor himself. The next day 
 Pleske was made Minister of Finance in Witte 's 
 place. 
 
 That was just like Nicholas II. Sometimes, in 
 order to avoid painful scenes, he dismiss ed his min- 
 isters by telegram. Thus, for instance, in " "18977 
 the elder Goremikine, then Minister of the Interior, 
 and in Europe on a two weeks' holiday, learned of 
 his dismissal by an Imperial telegram handed to him 
 by the station master at the Russian frontier, as 
 he was on his way back to his post. 
 
 In his own family circle Nicholas was faithful only 
 to himself and to those things He deemed essential 
 to his own benefit. But even here he was ever ir-
 
 
 
 108 RECOLLECTIONS OF/ A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 resolute. His brother, the 
 his uncle, the Grand Duke 
 will contracted morganatic 
 
 Grand Duke Michael, and 
 Paul, having against his 
 marriages, he dismissed 
 them from the army and deprived them of their titles 
 and their incomes as Grand Dukes of the Imperial 
 Family. But, shortly afterwards, he re-instated 
 them in their positions and gave titles to their wives. 
 During his reign the dissolution of family ties 
 in Imperial circles became more and more pro- 
 nounced. The ex-mistress of the Emperor— the 
 Dancer Kchessinskaya — became the mistress of his 
 uncle, the Grand Duke Sergius, and at the same time 
 had as her lover the Emperor's cousin, the Grand 
 Duke Andrew. In the exrfavourite's residence a 
 game of the devil's own poker was played. Grand 
 Dukes rubbed shoulders with a crowd of interlopers 
 and ne'er do wells, with women of ill repute and 
 business men of the worst character and reputation. 
 Orders for war material, railway concessions and 
 many other matters of like character were there 
 talked over and contracted for. The Grand Dukes 
 haunted the cabarets and were seen everywhere in 
 public with the most notorious and profligate women 
 of the demi-monde and underworld. Nicholas II 
 tolerated these hideous excesses and members of the 
 Imperial family who thus disgraced themselves were 
 allowed to retain their high military posts and ex- 
 tensive commands. It is true that, at the end of his 
 reign, the Grand Dukes lost their influence with
 
 NICHOLAS II 109 
 
 Nicholas, but this was chiefly due to their being in- 
 volved in the death of Rasputin. 
 
 With his ministers the Emperor made use of a 
 system peculiar to himself, based on the principle: 
 " Divide et impera. " When Count Witte. a strong 
 Liberal, was made President of the Council in the 
 first Cabinet (so-called Constitutional), the Em- 
 peror gave him as Minister of the Interior, M. Dour- 
 novo, the avowed and bitter enemy of Liberalism. 
 
 When Siolypin reached power he was forced to 
 accept as Minister of Finance, Count Kokowtzoff, 
 his antithesis in every way. Even Goremikine the 
 elder, who more than any other minister possessed 
 the Imperial confidence for more than a year, was 
 unable to rid himself of several colleagues who were 
 most annoying to him, as, for instance, the famous 
 General Soukhomlinoff, Minister of War, who after 
 the revolution was condemned to death for high trea- 
 son. When Goremikine finally succeeded in getting 
 rid of these men he had to put up with statesmen 
 in his Cabinet who were in no way his own choice. 
 Continual dissensions and quarrels were the result, 
 greatly to the detriment of the government. Yet 
 the success of the principle "Divide et impera" 
 seemed to please the Imperial Couple greatly ! 
 
 The Emperor was not only sly, but childish. He 
 also insisted on keeping things secret which were 
 ridiculously apparent. This trait he carried into the 
 most trivial concerns of everv day life. Admiral
 
 110 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Lomcn, Chief A. D. C, attached to the Emperor's 
 person, related the following incident to me. 
 
 The Imperial Couple were in residence at Livadia, 
 in the Crimea, having left Petrograd in September 
 for a few weeks only. They changed their minds 
 however and stayed until December. The Christmas 
 holidays were approaching and, as the Emperor and 
 Empress were accustomed to giving small gifts to 
 their entourage at Christmas, Count Fredericksz, 
 Minister of the Household, wished to know if the 
 Imperial Couple intended to stay in the Crimea over 
 Christmas so as to be able to make the necessary 
 arrangements for obtaining presents and other 
 things necessary from the Capital. He tried in vain 
 to get some sort of decisive answer from the Emperor 
 and therefore asked Admiral Lomen to help him. 
 The Admiral mentioned the matter to the Empress, 
 who promised to speak to the Emperor about it. A 
 few days later the Emperor meeting the Admiral 
 said to him: "My dear Lomen, you have become 
 very curious. You wish to know when we are leav- 
 ing here, but I shall not tell you." In consequence, 
 at the last minute, there being no time to obtain the 
 presents from Petrograd, hurried purchases had to 
 be made in the Crimea. Naturally, the only things 
 available were objects of no value and of very doubt- 
 ful taste. 
 
 Nicholas was the same in affairs of State ; none of 
 his ministers could boast that they really knew his
 
 NICHOLAS II 111 
 
 mind. He changed it with extraordinary facility and 
 reversed orders on the morrow that he had insisted 
 upon the day before. For example, he declared him- 
 self in agreement with Count Witte, who was 
 strongly opposed to the occupation of Port Arthur, 
 and, at the same time gave orders to Count Cassini, 
 our Ambassador in Peking, to take up the matter 
 with Li Hung Chang. 
 
 In 1906 the majority 01 the Privy Council declared 
 itself against the dissolution of the Duma, and the 
 Emperor readily acquiesced. Directly he was left 
 alone with Goremikine, an advocate of dissolution, 
 immediately upon leaving the Council Room he or- 
 dered the Duma to be dissolved. 
 
 In his relations with his people, Nicholas missed 
 many opportunities of making himself popular. The 
 reason for this must be ascribed, at any rate in the 
 beginning of his reign, to his modesty which was 
 akin to timidity, but latterly to his absolute indif- 
 ference. I remember when a new cruiser was to be 
 launched near Petrograd, the Emperor was present 
 on board the yacht of the Minister of the Navy. 
 When he returned a great crowd awaited him along 
 the docks of the Neva, among them being a lot of 
 young girls from a nearby boarding school — all of 
 them daughters of officers— and a group of wounded 
 soldiers and sailors from neighbouring hospitals who 
 had come to salute the Emperor. When Nicholas 
 appeared the crowds greeted him vociferously. The
 
 112 RECOLLECTIONS OP A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Emperor lighted a cigarette and passed them all with 
 a careless and a very casual salute, and without pay- 
 ing the slightest attention whatsoever to the wounded 
 men who had suffered and were still suffering for 
 him. 
 
 At the time of the declaration of the Great War, 
 an enormous crowd of about 300,000 people were 
 kneeling before his palace in Petrograd, singing the 
 National Hymn and cheering madly. Nicholas did 
 not even then know how to make use of this re- 
 markable proof of patriotic sentiment and, hardly 
 three years later abdicated, carrying with him only 
 the regrets of those who had tried to be of use to him 
 and those who had used him. 
 
 Had Nicholas had the good fortune to have mar- 
 ried a woman who would have seen and understood 
 his weaknesses and faults and have tried at least 
 to mitigate them, the fate which finally overtook 
 him would very probably have been averted. Un- 
 happily for him, he did not find such a helpmate in 
 the Empress Alexandra. To be sure, she did not 
 lack intelligence, but she carried her scepticism of 
 every one and everything and her doubt of humanity 
 in general, even further than did General Danilo- 
 vitch, ex-Preceptor to the Emperor. She had a 
 special gift of caricaturing every one and in this > 
 way influenced her husband to a very marked degree. 
 
 Born in a small German Court she brought with her 
 
 to Russia its narrow customs and habits. She did .
 
 NICHOLAS II 113 
 
 not understand in the least the part she should play 
 in an empire so vast as Russia. Very autocratic 
 by nature, she only seemed to understand that she 
 was at the head of 180 millions of people ; that fate 
 had picked out for her a weakling of irresolute char- 
 acter for a husband and that she could, in conse- 
 quence, govern Russia as best pleased her. She was, 
 as has been said, thoroughly and essentially auto- 
 cratic — even in her own family. She adored her only 
 son with a tierce passion and was constantly in a state 
 of terror about his health. Because of this she neg- 
 lected his education, and the young Prince — by na- 
 ture very sturdy and capable — attained the age of 
 thirteen years without having had a preceptor. 
 Fraulein Schneider, a German governess, and Dere- 
 venka, a common sailor, looked after him. The Im- 
 perial Couple lived a most retired life, admitting 
 no one to their intimacy but a few persons specially 
 chosen by the Empress, who was not happy in her 
 choice of friends. Among these I will cite the famous 
 Madame Wiroubova and General Voeikoff. Ma- 
 dame Wiroubova was the daughter of a man named 
 Taneef, Chief of the Imperial Chancellery, and was 
 divorced from her husband who had been a naval 
 officer. She was narrow minded, dishonourable and 
 very tricky and was one of the principal introducers 
 to the Court of the infamous Rasputin. General 
 Voiekoff was an " Arriviste" and nothing else ! He 
 sought to enrich himself through his proximity to 

 
 114 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 and intimacy with the Imperial Couple. He had 
 separated from his wife — who was the daughter of 
 the Household Minister— and had the most detest- 
 able and disreputable reputation. 
 
 At the same time, the mystic nature the Empress 
 had directly inherited from her mother was very 
 apparent. Church after church was being built and 
 nearly every year some new saint or other was dis- 
 covered. The Empress, having become more ortho- 
 dox than the orthodox, prayed for hours on end, but 
 her prayers did not seem to satisfy her. She leaned 
 strongly towards the supernatural and in conse- 
 quence the Imperial Court was infested by all sorts 
 of adventurers, spirit rappers, charlatans, quacks 
 and other fraudulent impostors. 
 
 First there was a certain "Philip" who main- 
 tained that he was a re-embodied spirit. He in- 
 voked the shade of Alexander III who dictated his 
 desires through "Philip." Knowing how the Em- 
 peror had been influenced by his father, "Philip" 
 showed considerable perspicacity and ministers fell 
 from grace without any apparent reason. One day, 
 seeing matters were being carried too far, General 
 de Hesse, Commandant of the Palace, a man of un- 
 impeachable integrity and devoted to the Emperor, 
 determined to put an end to them. He summoned 
 Monsieur Ratchkovsky, Chief of the State Police, 
 (who had held the same position under Alexander 
 III) and asked him to obtain details regarding the
 
 PRIXCK VOX m EI.OW
 
 NICHOLAS II 115 
 
 antecedents and personal history of "Philip." It 
 was then proved that he was an ordinary petty crim- 
 inal, having served a prison term in France. Gen- 
 eral de Hesse hastened to report this to the Emperor 
 and as a result " Philip" was expelled, but then, 
 presumably to maintain his authority, the Emperor 
 dismissed Eatchkovsky and General de Hesse fell 
 into disgrace. It would have been comic if the end 
 had not been tragic. 
 
 After "Philip" there came many others and last 
 of all as an anti-climax and fitting conclusion came 
 Easputin. He was a peasant of Tobolsk, in Siberia. 
 His real name was Novich and he had had a very 
 stormy youth. Hence his name "Easputin" which 
 means "libertine." He was reputed to have be- 
 longed to the sect known as "Chlisty," well-known 
 for its terribly depraved rites and customs. Sud- 
 denly a change occurred in him and he abandoned his 
 family and his home and went on pilgrimages to 
 holy places— Moscow, Kieff, Mt. Athos and even 
 Jerusalem. When he returned to Eussia he began 
 to preach in the villages, his doctrine being the duty 
 of personally inflicted self-punishment and of plac- 
 ing oneself above all temptations. He had a very 
 strange way of applying his doctrine. He used to 
 collect some of his women disciples and — after hav- 
 ing undressed them — undress himself and bathe with 
 them. In the bath he would read passages of the 
 Scriptures to them. When the police learned of
 
 116 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 these rites, they forbade him holding any more of 
 these "pious exercises" as he called them. Whilst 
 travelling about Russia he met a monk by the name 
 of Iliodor, who — quite unwittingly — was to become a 
 personality in his sensational career. Iliodor had 
 a certain reputation in Russia and had made himself 
 known even at Court, by his anti-Revolutionary and 
 pro-Czarist opinions during the elections for the sec- 
 ond Duma. He was supported by a Prince of the 
 Church, Bishop Hermoguen. Iliodor interested Ras- 
 putin who had helped him and he presented Rasputin 
 to the Bishop. The latter obtained an introduction 
 for him to the Imperial Court. Madame Wirou- 
 bova became an enthusiastic disciple of his, and he 
 made a very deep impression on the Empress. 
 
 I must admit that Rasputin was far from being 
 a nonentity. Despite his manners of a Moujik (peas- 
 ant), his filthy aspect, and his quasi-frankness, he 
 was very clever, crafty and subtle. It is said that he 
 had hypnotic powers. Professor Sirotinine, Physi- 
 cian to the Imperial Court, assured me that Rasputin 
 in his presence, had by a few manipulations stopped 
 a hemorrhage of the Grand Duke Alexis (heir to the 
 throne) and therein lay the origin of Rasputin's 
 special favour at Court with the Emperor and Em- 
 press. He had persuaded the Empress that, as long 
 as he was an intimate in the palace, the young heir 
 to the throne would be in no danger of ill-health or 
 accidents. Fate seemed to lend truth to his state-
 
 NICHOLAS II 117 
 
 ment. One day Count Kokowtzoff — then President 
 of the Council of Ministers — had at last persuaded 
 the Emperor of the necessity of banishing Rasputin 
 from the palace. Rasputin was thereupon ordered 
 to leave Petrograd at once and to return to Tobolsk. 
 The Empress was broken-hearted but, for a wonder 
 — Nicholas stuck to his guns. Hardly had Rasputin 
 gone when the Czarevitch slipped in his bath and was 
 seriously ill in consequence, remaining lame from 
 that day to this. There was a terrible family scene 
 and Nicholas had to retract his orders. Rasputin 
 was recalled. It is generally rumoured in Russia, 
 as well as abroad, that intimate relations existed be- 
 tween the Empress and Rasputin, but this is abso- 
 lutely untrue. The Empress worshipped her son 
 and looked upon Rasputin merely as his salvation. 
 Furthermore she was attracted to this strange 
 peasant by his seeming frankness — a virtue that she 
 absolutely refused to recognize in any of the other 
 members of her entourage. The Emperor never in- 
 tervened again. He said: "I prefer one Rasputin 
 to ten hysterical fits of my wife. ' ' 
 
 I knew Rasputin personally and he certainly was 
 a nefarious character. On two different occasions 
 I had conversations alone with him. He spoke al- 
 ways in the shortest way possible and his lynx-like 
 eyes continually avoided looking straight into mine. 
 He addressed me in the familiar peasant manner of 
 ''thee" and "thou." "Yes, yes," said he to me,
 
 118 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 "I know that thou wouldst like to know all my doings 
 at Court. Many tales are told of the Empress and 
 me. I know this. It is infamous. Yesterday I went 
 to see her. The poor little thing; she too is in need 
 of being able to speak frankly with some one. She 
 suffers much. I console her. I talk to her of God, 
 and of us peasants and she becomes calm. Ah! it 
 is but yesterday she went to sleep on my shoulder." 
 And, after a few moments silence, Rasputin began 
 again: "I also saw Nicholas. I took tea with him 
 yesterday. He gave me an excellent sweet and per- 
 sonally filled my cup." Then winking leeringly at 
 me, he added : l ' Admit that thou wouldst very much 
 like to know what we talked about? It did not con- 
 cern politics. He has enough of them, poor man, 
 from talking of them always with the others." 
 
 Rasputin was much interested to know if I would 
 publish my conversation with him in the newspapers. 
 He said to me : "I know journalists. They always 
 write horrors about me. Thou must not." 
 
 From my conversation with Rasputin, I received 
 chiefly the impression that he was undoubtedly very 
 cunning and exceedingly able, and far from being 
 frank, outspoken and debonair as he wished to ap- 
 pear. I was also struck with the fact that his power 
 lay in the servility practised toward him by some 
 of the high dignitaries, who fawned upon him in 
 hopes of favour and to increase their influence at 
 Court. Rasputin did not attempt to hide his con-
 
 NICHOLAS II 119 
 
 tempt for them all and treated them as dirt beneath 
 his feet. He wrote petitions to the various minis- 
 ters on small scraps of soiled paper, knowing full 
 well that they bore the importance of Imperial or- 
 ders and insisted upon having his shoes and stock- 
 ings taken off and replaced by ladies of the highest 
 Russian society in Petrograd. He had the reputa- 
 tion of being venal. Personally I do not believe it. 
 No one can prove that he ever accepted large sums 
 of money; he contented himself with small gifts, 
 such as silken shirts, and a few bottles of the best 
 liquors, of which he was very fond, and jewels of no 
 igreat value. I believe rather that the large sums 
 supposed to have been received by him really went 
 into the pockets of his friends. He led the most dis- 
 solute life imaginable and was addicted to heavy 
 drinking in company with women and girls of the 
 streets and often spent whole nights in question- 
 able restaurants listening to songs of the under- 
 world, of which he was very fond. When he was 
 drunk — which was very often — he was dangerously 
 garrulous about the part he played at Court. One 
 day in a restaurant in Moscow, he went even fur- 
 ther than usual. General Djounkovsky, Governor of 
 Moscow, therefore arrested him and made an official 
 report to the Emperor himself of the reasons for 
 his action. The only result was the disgrace of 
 JDjounkovsky. 
 
 Of course the Empress had learned of the report
 
 120 RECOLLECTIONS OP A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 of the Governor of Moscow. It would have been 
 thought that the Empress, rigidly severe as she was 
 in all moral matters, would not only raise no objec- 
 tions, but that on the contrary she would be the first 
 to wish to get rid of Rasputin. That she did not is 
 proof conclusive that only because of her firm con- 
 viction that Rasputin was absolutely necessary to 
 her son's life, was he enabled to keep his position 
 at Court — no matter what he did. 
 
 Rasputin's old protector — Bishop Hermoguen — 
 having learned of his depraved ways of living, or- 
 dered him to disappear from Petrograd and to go 
 to a distant monastery there to expiate his sins. 
 This advice of course did not please Rasputin, who 
 replied to it by an intrigue against his old friend the 
 Bishop, which resulted in his losing his see and re- 
 tiring to a monastery which he did not leave until 
 after the revolution. At the same time, Rasputin 
 remembered the monk Iliodor and fearing he might 
 expose him took care not to overlook him again. 
 Iliodor found himself suddenly persecuted and 
 finally unfrocked on a false charge. He left Russia 
 and went to Sweden where he became a journalist. 
 
 Rasputin became more powerful than ever and did 
 not hesitate to continue his vile way of living, doing 
 as he pleased openly. Several plans were made to 
 get rid of him, the ministers even daring to speak of 
 them to the Emperor. But all in vain. The luckiest 
 of them made no impression whatever on the ob-
 
 NICHOLAS II 121 
 
 stinacy of the Emperor. The others not so lucky, 
 paid for their daring with the loss of their public 
 careers. Finally, one of the innumerable Ministers 
 of the Interior during the last days of Nicholas II, 
 M. Khvostoff, decided to rid Russia of Rasputin by 
 violence. A regular plot was organized with the 
 assistance of the ex-Monk Iliodor— but it fell through 
 at the last moment. M. Beletzky, the Assistant- 
 Minister of the Interior, gave the secret away, 
 ifchvostoff fell and Rasputin's friends were backed 
 by Beletzky, who became persona gratissima at 
 Court. At last some of the Grand Dukes, mingling 
 with all classes as they did, realized the grave danger 
 of these abnormal conditions. They saw the abyss 
 yawning at their feet. They, therefore, collec- 
 tively addressed a signed letter to Nicholas, begging 
 him to rid Russia of Rasputin. The answer of the 
 Emperor was laconic : * * I absolutely forbid any and 
 all concerned to interfere in my private affairs." 
 The answer was followed by the exile of the Grand 
 Duke Nicholas-Michaelovitch, who was sent to his 
 estates and forbidden to leave them. 
 
 It was then that the assassination of Rasputin was 
 decided upon as a positive necessity. 
 
 The following details of his "Execution" were 
 given to me by one who took part in it : 
 
 A few young people belonging to the most aristo- 
 cratic circles of Petrograd, among them two mem- 
 bers of the Imperial family, cousins of the Emperor,
 
 122 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 the Grand Duke Dimitri and Duke Igor, met at the 
 palace of Prince Yousoupoff. Easputin was invited 
 to the party. When he received the invitation, he 
 at first refused it and only accepted when the young 
 Prince Yousoupoff personally went to get him in his 
 private car. There was an excellent supper and the 
 party was superficially most hilarious. Many of 
 the guests not in the plot were dead drunk. Eas- 
 putin, very drunk, began to dance as was his custom. 
 At that moment the first shot was fired by the Prince 
 Yousoupoff. Easputin, wounded, attempted to es- 
 cape and, as he was a very powerful man, a terrific 
 struggle took place. Finally he was struck down. 
 There were eleven men in the plot and they all set 
 upon the fallen man, repeatedly stabbing him wher- 
 ever they could get knives or daggers into his face 
 and body. The horribly slashed and irrecognizable 
 body was covered with Easputin 's great cape, 
 bundled into a motor car by three of the young men, 
 and thrown into a canal outside Petrograd. The 
 body was dragged out the next day. When the Em- 
 press heard the news she went into hysterics; she 
 burst into violent weeping, screaming wildly: 
 "They have killed our only friend." Dressed as a 
 Sister of Charity and accompanied by Mme. Wir- 
 oubova — she visited one of the public hospitals of 
 the city where all that was left of Easputin had been 
 taken. She knelt beside the body and remained there 
 a long time, praying.
 
 NICHOLAS II 123 
 
 The next morning the remains of ''the only 
 friend" were removed to the Imperial residence of 
 Tsarkoe-Seloe and buried in a plot of ground be- 
 longing to Mnie. Wiroubova. A church was imme- 
 diately ordered to be built on the spot with the altar 
 placed exactly over Rasputin's grave. When the 
 revolution broke out, however, the body was ex- 
 humed and sent to Tobolsk, where it was buried 
 very simply in the village where Rasputin was born. 
 
 The Empress demanded that the assassins of Ras- 
 putin should be punished in an exemplary way ; but, 
 in view of the delicacy of the situation, the Emperor 
 contented himself with sending Duke Dimitri to our 
 army in Persia and Prince Yousoupoff — married to 
 a Grand Duchess of Russia — he exiled to his estates, 
 forbidding him to leave them. 
 
 Thus Russia was finally freed from a highly dan- 
 gerous personality. A curious detail was told me 
 afterwards by one of Rasputin's intimates. Raspu- 
 tin, it seems, had always foreseen a tragic death for 
 himself and had said: "If I die it will mean the 
 end of Czarism for ever." 
 
 Rasputin's power had lasted more than six years 
 and, during this time, nominations to the highest 
 posts in the Empire were made through his influence. 
 The Chief of the Diocese of Petrograd, Teterem, an 
 adventurer pure and simple and a man of the most 
 depraved morals, had attained the highest rank 
 solely on account of Lis friendship with Rasputin.
 
 
 124 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 A monk, by name of Varnava — a peasant without 
 any education whatsoever — on the same account was 
 made an archbishop. The Procurator of the Holy 
 Synod, M. de Sabler, was Rasputin's Master of the 
 Chamber. Count Kokowstzoff, having refused to 
 ask favours of Rasputin and having been instru- 
 mental in getting him exiled to Tobolsk, lost his posi- 
 tion as President of the Council solely through an 
 intrigue engineered by Rasputin. The nomination 
 of Sturmer as premier was also Rasputin's work, as 
 also was that of the infamous Protopopoff as Minis- 
 ter of the Interior. The last named finally provoked 
 the revolution. 
 
 In domestic politics Rasputin always pretended to 
 defend the rights of the peasant classes, but in his 
 heart of hearts he was in sympathy with all violent 
 and reactionary principles. 
 
 In foreign politics — for Rasputin even had his 
 dirty fingers in that pie — he was against the present 
 war and worked for peace. 
 
 As is obvious from the foregoing, Rasputin's 
 tenure of power was solely due to the Empress. It 
 was she who protected him, and who, for one reason 
 or another, supported him against the wishes of the 
 Russian people, taking advantage of the Emperor's 
 characteristic weakness in this connection, as in all 
 others. 
 
 Count Osten-Sacken, therefore, was quite right 
 when he called the Empress ' ' tiie Evil Fortune of
 
 NICHOLAS II 125 
 
 JSussia." She was the chief cause and author of 
 the fall of the Romanoff dynasty. 
 
 At the beginning of the reign of Nicholas II the 
 Grand Dukes still had certain parts to play, being 
 the Heads of Departments in some of the Adminis- 
 trative Bureaux. But, after a terrible verbal at- 
 tack in the Duma by M. Goutchkoff, who was the 
 first Minister of War after the revolution, the Grand 
 Dukes — although maintaining their positions for a 
 short time, to all intents and purposes lost them. 
 Two of them, nevertheless, played prominent parts 
 up to the very last days of the reign of Nicholas II. 
 These were the Grand Dukes Michael and Nicholas. 
 The latter,— son of the Field Marshal of the Turk-, 
 ish war, had worked hard in the Military Academy 
 and had the reputation of being a first-class cavalry 
 officer. Brutal, and a hard drinker, he was by no 
 means a favourite with the troops when he com- 
 manded the Imperial Guard in Petrograd. Never- 
 theless, when the Great War broke out, public opin- 
 ion selected him almost unanimously as Commander 
 in Chief of the army and, notwithstanding his de- 
 sire to put himself at its head, the Emperor agreed 
 to the wishes of the people. Despite his past ; the 
 Grand Duke soon became the idol of the masses. 
 He had great force of character which pleased them, 
 as they were weary of the feebleness and incessant 
 indecision of the Emperor. His early triumphal 
 march through Galicia added to his popularity.
 
 126 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 The Emperor became jealous of him and after the 
 great retreat of the Kussian army, dismissed the 
 Grand Duke and took command himself. But the 
 Grand Duke had not lost his popularity in the army, 
 where it was perfectly well known that the ill-fortune 
 of the Russian arms were not due to the Grand Duke, 
 but to the treachery of the Minister of "War and his 
 intrigues. The Grand Duke Nicholas is, perhaps, 
 the only member of the ex-Imperial family — with the 
 exception of the Grand Duke Michael — who has not 
 entirely lost a certain popularity with the masses and 
 the army. 
 
 The Grand Duke Michael, only brother of the 
 Emperor, morganatically married a divorced lady, 
 Wolfins by name, whose husband was the Grand 
 Duke's most intimate friend in his regiment. 
 Grand Duke Michael carefully ignored all matters 
 of state, but people who knew him well gave him a 
 character of the utmost loyalty and integrity, dia- 
 metrically opposed to that of his brother. During 
 the Great War he commanded a Caucasian Division 
 and it accomplished much. The dignified way in 
 which he refused to accept the throne without the 
 sanction of the people gained him their greatest 
 respect. Nevertheless, it is doubtful even if a 
 restoration took place — an extremely unlikely con- 
 tingency — whether he could ascend the throne, as his 
 morganatic marriage is a serious obstacle to his 
 becoming Emperor.
 
 NICHOLAS II 127 
 
 The unpopularity of the other Grand Dukes with 
 the nation is so notorious that their fate is sealed. 
 It seems as if the Romanoff dynasty really ended in 
 the person of Alexander III.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 
 Relations with William II of Germany 
 
 To review the foreign policy of Russia during the 
 reign of Nicholas II it is necessary to begin with our 
 relations with Germany. 
 
 As has been explained already the death of Alex- 
 ander III was a great relief to William II, Emperor 
 of Germany. Feeling himself rid of this obstacle 
 in his path, William hoped to revenge himself for 
 imaginary humiliations in the past, and assume the 
 role of protector and mentor to his successor. He 
 relied upon the weakness of Nicholas II, but forgot 
 the other characteristics of his flexible temperament. 
 Moreover, the two Empresses having both come from 
 small German Courts, were themselves in continual 
 rivalry. 
 
 The first interview of Nicholas and William, in 
 1896, at Breslau, was a complete farce. A few days 
 before the meeting a photograph of the two monarchs 
 was circulated in Germany, it was said, by order 
 of Emperor William, which represented the German 
 Sovereign as almost a head taller than the Russian — 
 
 128
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 129 
 
 whereas they are about the same height. Nicholas 
 was much displeased and an order was given the 
 Russian Embassy to buy the negative and, if pos- 
 sible, all prints in circulation. This was a bad be- 
 ginning. At the military review at Breslau, 
 Nicholas, following the usual custom, wore a Prus- 
 sian uniform, with the Grand Cordon of the Prussian 
 Black Eagle. William II naturally appeared in 
 Prussian uniform, but did not wear the Grand 
 Cordon of the Russian Order of St. Andrew; more- 
 over, William continually spurred his horse so that 
 Nicholas II might not by any chance get ahead of 
 him. All these seemingly trivial details did not 
 escape the Russian Emperor, and as a result the 
 "raison d'etre" of the interview between the two 
 Monarchs fell through completely. Nicholas went 
 home feeling very bitter against his German neigh- 
 bour and this sentiment was stimulated by the influ- 
 ence of his mother and even of his wife who, though 
 she was a German — had a pronounced personal 
 antipathy for William II. 
 
 A year after the meeting at Breslau, Nicholas went 
 to Darmstadt and purposely went by a route which 
 did not pass through Berlin. William, who had ex- 
 pected another meeting to be held, this time in his 
 capital, was furious. He complained bitterly of the 
 matter to the Grand Duke Michael, great uncle of the 
 Russian Emperor, who happened to be in Berlin at 
 this time. William was even more explicit to the
 
 130 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Count de Pahlen, Charge d 'Affaires during the ab- 
 sence of Count Osten-Sacken. He spoke heatedly 
 and angrily of his relations with the Kussian 
 Sovereign, accusing him of rudeness in coming to 
 Germany without paying his respects to him, and 
 carried away by his anger, went so far as to say: 
 "Nikky is becoming impossible! He smokes ciga- 
 rettes, plays tennis all day at Darmstadt and calls 
 that ruling his nation." 
 
 Count Pahlen reported this verbatim to Count 
 Muravieff, then Minister of Foreign Affairs, who had 
 accompanied the Eussian Emperor to Darmstadt. 
 He, in turn, told the Emperor. In consequence, 
 Pahlen had to resign his post in disgrace, and rela- 
 tions between the two Sovereigns grew still less 
 cordial. 
 
 The German Emperor realized he had gone too 
 far. He promptly went to Darmstadt and radiated 
 with amiability, not only toward the Emperor and 
 Empress, but also towards the Count of Hesse whom 
 heretofore he could not bear. 
 
 On his part, Nicholas pretended complete igno- 
 rance of all that had happened at Berlin and was 
 most courteous and agreeable, but the bad feeling 
 between the two Monarchs was only veneered and 
 was certain to show itself again at the first oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 In the autumn of 1898 Nicholas again visited 
 Darmstadt, having followed the same itinerary as
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OP NICHOLAS II 131 
 
 before so as to avoid passing through Berlin. This 
 time, the German Emperor insisted upon an official 
 interview, and as Nicholas owed him a formal visit, 
 he could not again avoid it. It was, therefore, de- 
 cided that the Emperor and Empress should return 
 to Petrograd via Potsdam near Berlin and stop 
 over a few hours. This meeting turned out even 
 worse than the previous one at Breslau. This time 
 the greatest blame rested with Empress Alexandra. 
 
 Two weeks before the meeting of the Sovereigns, 
 Princess Golitzine, Grand Mistress of the Russian 
 Court, wrote to Countess Osten-Sacken — the wife of 
 the Eussian Ambassador in Berlin, asking if the 
 German Court would wear mourning at the forth- 
 coming meeting. The enquiry was somewhat 
 strange. The Russian Court, as a matter of fact was 
 in mourning for the Grand Duke George, — brother 
 of the Emperor, — but, as he had been dead for ten 
 months, the mourning worn was purely a family 
 affair and therefore not at all obligatory on the Ger- 
 man Court. The Countess Osten-Sacken however 
 mentioned the matter to the Countess Brockdorf, 
 Grand Mistress of the German Court. The answer 
 returned was incisive: "To receive the Empress 
 of Russia the German Empress will wear her hand- 
 somest gown and also all her jewels." 
 
 Countess Osten-Sacken received from Princess 
 Golitzine a second letter shortly after stating that 
 "The Empress Alexandra of Russia insists that the
 
 132 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 ladies of the Russian Embassy wear full mourning 
 at the forthcoming meeting." The Countess in her 
 answer to this communication "permitted herself to 
 call attention to the fact that an order of this kind 
 was somewhat contrary to diplomatic usage, which, 
 — in matters relating to official mourning — demanded 
 that the customs of the Court to which the Em- 
 bassy was accredited must be followed. ' ' The Ger- 
 man Court had, it is true, ordered three weeks of 
 official mourning after the Grand Duke's death but 
 these had elapsed many months previously. Count- 
 ess Osten-Sacken expressed the fear that a Russian 
 Embassy in mourning would have a bad effect, but 
 Empress Alexandra, stubborn as usual, would listen 
 to no excuses or arguments. 
 
 In yet a third letter Princess Golitzine issued the 
 order of the Empress to the ladies of the Embassy 
 that they be dressed — "not in mourning, but in 
 black." However, decollete dresses and pearls were 
 permitted as ornaments, as a concession. 
 
 The gala dinner was a rare spectacle. The Em- 
 press of Germany appeared in a flaring yellow dress 
 with the gorgeous and famous ruby and diamond 
 head dress of the Crown of Prussia. The Russian 
 Empress, on the other hand, wore a severely plain, 
 entirely black dress trimmed with crepe and having 
 no relieving colour at all. As ornaments she wore 
 a single string of pearls alone. The ladies of our
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 133 
 
 Embassy in their black dresses looked like splashes 
 of ink in comparison with the dazzlingly brilliant 
 costumes worn by the ladies in attendance on the 
 German Empress. 
 
 The dinner was a sombre affair. Ordinarily very 
 loquacious and gay, Emperor William did not say 
 one word, merely lifting his glass at the last in a 
 silent toast to his Imperial guests. 
 
 The departure of the Russian Emperor and Em- 
 press was arranged for 10 p. m. that night and it 
 poured with rain. According to custom the two 
 Ambassadors preceded the Imperial Party to the 
 station in order to receive them. To my great as- 
 tonishment, the Empress Alexandra came to the sta- 
 tion accompanied by Countess Brockdorff; the Em- 
 press of Germany was brilliantly conspicuous by her 
 absence. She had excused herself for not going to 
 the station on the ground that the Prince Royal of 
 Sweden was coming to see her that same evening and 
 she had to change her dress ! The two Emperors fol- 
 lowed later. I was standing near Count Osten- 
 Sacken when Nicholas II approached, and in conse- 
 quence, plainly overheard his conversation. He cer- 
 tainly was by no means pleased, and did not attempt 
 to hide or restrain his indignation. "What an im- 
 pertinence ! ' ' said he to the Ambassador. ' ' The idea 
 of allowing my wife to drive off with a Countess of 
 God knows what ! Imagine making such an excuse
 
 134 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 as the fact that she had to change her toilette. ' ' And 
 he again repeated angrily: ''What an imperti- 
 nence." 
 
 It all seems very trivial, bnt it shows how trivial- 
 ities affected the relations between the two sover- 
 eigns, and in consequence it was but natural that the 
 conversations which had taken place between Prince 
 von Buelow, the German Chancellor, and Count 
 Muravieff, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 could not make up for the increased lack of cordiality 
 between the two Emperors. This state of affairs 
 was destined to have disastrous results. His amour 
 propre deeply wounded, Nicholas tried to annoy and 
 hamper his German neighbour by every means in his 
 power. Another seeming triviality is an excellent 
 example of the character of the Monarchs. 
 
 The German Emperor having appointed himself a 
 Field Marshal of his army and belonging also to the 
 Austro-Hungarian army, Emperor Franz Joseph 
 sent an Archduke to present him with a baton as 
 Field Marshal of the Austro-Hungarian army. As 
 he was also attached likewise to the Russian armies 
 with the rank of General it was natural that he should 
 also be created Field Marshal of the Russian army — 
 but the Russian Emperor only sent him, by the per- 
 son of Prince Engalitcheff, Military Attache at Ber- 
 lin, a pair of epaulettes with his rank inscribed 
 thereon. The baton of Field Marshal was forgotten 
 by the Russian Emperor! William was furious.
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 135 
 
 He hurried at once to our embassy and said to poor 
 Count Osten-Sacken — who seemed ever fated to bear 
 the blame of his master's caprices — " Monsieur 
 l'Ambassadeur! Will you be so kind as to explain 
 to me what rank I have in the Russian Army? I am 
 a General with the epaulettes of Field Marshal with- 
 out possessing the insignia of that rank." 
 
 A few months after this Nicholas sent him the 
 coveted baton, ornamented with especially magnifi- 
 cent diamonds. But the gift did not remove the 
 unpleasant impression left in the German Emperor's 
 mind. 
 
 Here is another instance : The Emperor William 
 was Honorary Colonel of two Russian regiments, 
 both of them infantry. More than once he had ex- 
 pressed a desire to become colonel of a cavalry 
 regiment, — especially of Hussars. Count Osten- 
 Sacken as well as our Military Attache at Berlin — 
 made this desire known to the proper authorities in 
 Petrograd and shortly after Nicholas appointed the 
 German Emperor Colonel in a cavalry regiment — 
 but it was in a regiment that had figured largely in 
 history in the taking of Berlin during the Seven 
 Years ' War, when Prince Soltikoff, commanding the 
 armies of the Empress Elizabeth, after having van- 
 quished Frederick the Great at Kunersdorf, made 
 his triumphal entry into the Prussian capital. This 
 detail, small as it was, had a most unpleasant effect 
 on the German Emperor, because he understood at
 
 136 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 once that the Russian Emperor intended it is a 
 sneering insult. 
 
 On his side, Emperor William in his relations with 
 the Russian Court, gradually adopted a special sys- 
 tem of his very own. He not only redoubled his ami- 
 able attentions towards the Russian Sovereigns, and 
 named both the Emperor and Empress, Hon. Col- 
 onels of the crack regiments of the Imperial Prussian 
 Guards, but took his revenge in political fields. In 
 these fields, provoked continually by the German Em- 
 peror, and ceaselessly annoyed, the Russian Emperor 
 gave way on almost every occasion to his arrogant 
 neighbour. Russia lost heavily in these exchanges. 
 "We followed an entirely erroneous and false line of 
 reasoning where Germany was concerned. Provi- 
 dence had dealt us magnificent cards to play in the 
 great game against the German Empire which even 
 then was in a continual state of antagonism to Eng- 
 land. Realizing this and relying upon our alliance 
 with France, we only had to exploit this unusually 
 promising diplomatic situation and veer from one 
 side to the other just as it suited us. We had only 
 to follow the example of Prince Bismarck, who in his 
 day had built his policies on Russo-English antagon- 
 isms. But Nicholas' character, was not sufficiently 
 determined to follow a consistent policy of any kind. 
 In the first years of his reign he exasperated William 
 II by continually attacking and slighting his amour 
 propre, only later to make amends in the political
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 137 
 
 field by making him all sorts of ridiculous conces- 
 sions at his slightest request. Acquiring the habit 
 of seeing Nicholas always ready to give way to him 
 in the fields of diplomacy, the Emperor William 
 naturally believed he could go to any lengths. It is 
 clear that our relations with Germany, under such 
 conditions would eventually conclude with a rupture. 
 
 A few of the Russian statesmen tried to stop 
 Nicholas following such a fatal policy. Count Witte 
 and Count Osten-Sacken both did their utmost. But 
 their efforts were in vain. Count Witte fell into 
 disgrace and the activities of Count Osten-Sacken 
 were reduced to smoothing over as much as possible 
 the mistakes which were the direct result of the per- 
 sonal feeling between the two Emperors. If Count 
 Witte had remained in power, it is more than prob- 
 able that a rupture could have been avoided without 
 any humiliation for Eussia. Germany might not 
 have dared plan her coup so deliberately. 
 
 One day after war had been declared Witte asked 
 me : "Do you believe if I had remained at the head 
 of the government and Count Osten-Sacken had been 
 in Berlin that Germany w T ould have dared to en- 
 courage Austria in her designs on Serbia?" 
 
 Knowing the official mind of Berlin and the per- 
 sonal ascendancy Witte undoubtedly held over the 
 German Emperor, I could only answer in the nega- 
 tive. Unfortunately Count Witte had lost his in- 
 fluence at the Russian Court and the cabinet at
 
 138 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Petrograd continued its highly dangerous policy of 
 continually giving way to Germany. In Count 
 Witte's days of power we had successfully resisted 
 the Bagdad railway project, which had been designed 
 to open oriental ports to Germany. We had ob- 
 tained a large financial representation for ourselves 
 and France in this enterprise. When Witte fell into 
 disgrace, and Count Osten-Sacken, ill and tired out, 
 was only a shadow of his former great self, M. 
 Sazonoff, Minister of Foreign Affairs, promised Ber- 
 lin to link Teheran with Bagdad by a railway to be 
 built by Russia at her own expense ! Nothing of the 
 fear of Russia which had existed in Berlin in the 
 davs of Alexander III remained. The German 
 statesmen spoke of us in the most cynical terms. 
 For instance, M. von Miquel — the famous revolu- 
 tionary of 1848 and the none the less famous Minister 
 of Finance in Prussia — said to me personally: — "I 
 do not at all agree with my Emperor, on questions 
 of our colonial policies. Our expansion along such 
 lines needs a great commercial fleet and that, in turn, 
 would necessitate our having a very large war fleet 
 adequately to protect it. I have expressed my fears 
 to the Emperor that our present colonial policy can 
 very well get us into serious and grave complications 
 with England. Why, I asked the Emperor, hunt for 
 colonies across the seas when we have so fine a one 
 as Russia at our very doors?" 
 
 Such words prove how much ground we had lost
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 139 
 
 in Berlin in a few years of not only essentially bad 
 but also weak policies and diplomacy. The exploita- 
 tion of Russia by our near neighbour advanced with 
 rapid strides. German factories absorbed most of 
 the orders given for our military and naval neces- 
 saries — to the great detriment of France our ally. 
 When the slightest obstacle arose to Russian orders 
 being placed in Germany, the Emperor William II 
 hastened unofficially to Russia to attend to it. In 
 other words, he then played the part of a commercial 
 traveller seeking to dispose of his wares. On these 
 flying trips to the Russian court he would arrive, 
 laden with presents of toys for the Imperial chil- 
 dren and compliments for every one. He would then 
 obtain what he wanted from Nicholas and disappear 
 as suddenly as he had come. At the same time, as 
 our military and naval forces were rapidly growing 
 from day to day, thanks to the enormous orders 
 \ placed in Europe, and especially in Germany, Wil- 
 liam began to seek means of paralysing our fast in- 
 creasing powers. He found such means at last in 
 'the Far East. It has often been claimed in Ger- 
 manophile circles in Russia that our war with Japan 
 was due to the cunning of British diplomacy. This 
 "v is a great calumny. Our war with Japan was due to 
 the folly of a few of our statesmen and to adventur- 
 ers, such as Bezobrazoff — who were grouped about 
 them. But, if any foreign influence is to blame for 
 the Russo-Japanese War, that influence, I do not
 
 140 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 hesitate to say, was the German Emperor's first, last 
 and all the time. 
 
 He very cleverly flattered the amour propre and 
 vanity of Nicholas II and urged Russian extension in 
 the Far East. About a year before the beginning of 
 hostilities, while William was visiting our ex-Sover- 
 eign in the Gulf of Finland, he hoisted — on his de- 
 parture — the signal: "The Admiral of the Atlantic 
 salutes the Admiral of the Pacific." 
 
 Our rupture with Japan throws a great deal of 
 light on the policy and character of Nicholas II. 
 
 When our relations with the Empire of the Rising 
 Sun became strained, thanks to the exploitations of 
 the forests along the Yalu River (by the clique of 
 Bezobrazofr" — a new favourite of Nicholas), Prince 
 Ito — a few months before the outbreak of the war — 
 came to Petrograd. He was a strong advocate of an 
 entente with Russia, but imposed certain conditions, 
 especially in regard to Korea. He pleaded his cause 
 in our official circles and found supporters in both 
 Count Witte and Count Lamsdorff, who was then 
 our Minister of Foreign Affairs. Prince Ito insisted 
 principally upon the cessation of the activities of the 
 Russian company which was exploiting the Yalu 
 River districts. He stated that two policies were 
 open to Japan : 
 
 (1) That of an entente with Russia, and 
 
 (2) That of an alliance with England. 
 
 He added that he guaranteed an entente with
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICIIOLAS II 141 
 
 Eussia on condition that Korean affairs between his 
 country and ours were rearranged, as Japanese in- 
 terests in Korea were being threatened by Bezobra- 
 zoff and his clique. Despite the efforts of Witte and 
 Lamsdorff the Bezobrazoff clique proved too strong. 
 Prince Ito left Petrograd as no one would listen to 
 him and went at once to London. Passing through 
 Berlin he paid a special visit to Count Osten-Sacken 
 and told him — evincing great emotion — of the non- 
 results of his visit to Petrograd. As Prince Ito was 
 to stay two days in Berlin, our Ambassador trans- 
 mitted to Count Lamsdorff his conversation with the 
 Jananese Statesman in the hope that the Imperial 
 Government might, at the last moment, be prevented 
 from making the fatal plunge. But Count Osten- 
 Sacken 's telegram was never even answered! The 
 Emperor refused to make up his mind. Bamboozled 
 by the German Emperor he believed Japan would 
 never dare fight Russia. 
 
 Prince Ito, therefore, continued on his way to 
 London, where the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was then 
 and there concluded. 
 
 When, finally, our relations with Japan passed 
 from bad to worse, the German Emperor made a 
 great point — and in great haste — of warning our 
 Ambassador in Berlin that — although he would main- 
 tain his neutrality in case of a Russo-Japanese war, 
 Russia could absolutely rely upon the friendly sup- 
 port in every way of Germany ! The Emperor said
 
 142 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 among other things, "I constitute myself herewith 
 your Guardian of the West." It is said that Count 
 Witte asked at the time: " Against whom will he 
 guard us on the West?" When finally war was de- 
 clared the German Emperor, as a matter of fact, did 
 not cease from overwhelming us with his attentions ; 
 his actions even had a bad effect in Tokyo. 
 
 At the same time, presumably following the adage A 
 of making hay while the sun shone, the German Em- 
 peror affirmed through his diplomatic representative _ 
 at Petrograd, that it was thanks to his personal ef- 
 forts Austria-Hungary had not profited by the op- 
 portunity created by our Far Eastern complications. 
 The German Emperor had his plans carefully laid 
 and made us pay heavily for his more than academic 
 support, by a commercial treaty which was dis- 
 astrous to us, so that, through this war, our indus- 
 tries were at the mercy of the German factories, 
 our fleet was destroyed and our military forces 
 paralysed for many years to come. 
 
 Such was the German Emperor's game — and it 
 must be admitted, he played it well. 
 
 Later, the German Emperor made great use of the 
 situation thus created in his Moroccan policy towards 
 France, of which I shall speak fully later on. 
 
 After the conclusion of our war with Japan, seri- 
 ous troubles — as is well known — burst out in Russia. 
 Out of these the Emperor William made capital so 
 as again to have a close understanding with Nicholas.
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 143 
 
 He even offered the use of the German fleet in case 
 the revolution in Russia assumed dangerous propor- 
 tions, and went so far as to offer a German battle- 
 ship to Nicholas, in case he should wish to leave 
 Russia. 
 
 Personally speaking, this idea of a German alliance 
 with Russia was nothing new to me. When I was 
 Secretary at our Embassy in Berlin, despite the 
 chilly relations which existed between the two Mon- 
 archs, the Emperor William had the idea firmly fixed 
 in his mind and was convinced of its value. This is 
 proven by the following incident : — 
 
 One day the Emperor William arrived at our Em- 
 bassy in a great state of excitement. He had again 
 been wounded in his amour propre by Nicholas. He 
 complained of the Russian Emperor, talking rapidly 
 and loudly, as was usual with him under such cir- 
 cumstances, and getting more and more mixed up in 
 the things he said. He finished by making threats 
 against Russia. Accustomed, however, to similar 
 outbreaks, Count Osten-Sacken remained perfectly 
 calm and did not reply. When William came to the 
 end of his tirade, completely out of breath, he 
 shouted : — 
 
 1 'Well, have you nothing to say?" 
 
 And Count Osten-Sacken answered: 
 
 "Absolutely nothing, Sire. All that you have said 
 you cannot do and you know it as well as I do." 
 
 "But, Osten-Sacken," snapped the Emperor,
 
 144 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 1 ' You forget that I have my Alliance. ' ' (Referring 
 to his alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy.) 
 
 "Well, what about your Alliance," returned Osten- 
 Sacken, smiling, "Do you really know, Sire, of what 
 your Alliance consists? It is an alliance of a force 
 with a weakness and an inconsequential thing." 
 
 Startled by this retort, William paced up and down 
 the room several times without answering, then ap- 
 proaching Osten-Sacken suddenly he went very close 
 to him and said : 
 
 "Very well, do you want an alliance of two 
 
 Powers?" 
 
 Naturally he meant Russia and Germany and— 
 also naturally— knowing full well that the interests 
 of his ally, Austria-Hungary, were opposed to those 
 of Russia, he was ready to sacrifice Austria-Hungary 
 then and there. 
 
 In his inner consciousness he was convinced that 
 England, far more than France, was his greatest 
 enemy with whom he might one day have to reckon. 
 
 It is to this conviction of the German Emperor 
 that one must look for the reasons, — with the excep- 
 tion of economic interests, — for his efforts to ob- 
 tain a very close alliance with Russia. Our rap- 
 prochement with England had been a staggering 
 blow to him. Iswolsky, who was responsible for 
 that rapprochement, was ever after William's de- 
 tested ' ' bote noire. ' ' But he still hesitated— despite 
 the Anglo-Russian Entente— to show himsell franki}
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 145 
 
 hostile towards Russia. I am very sure that with 
 cleverness Nicholas ought to have beaten William at 
 his own game, but to do this the Russian Sovereign 
 would have had to change his character entirely. 
 Our foreign policies were made and changed from 
 day to day without any definite programme, and our 
 statesmen— chosen by Nicholas — for this work, were 
 none of them equal to the great delicacy of the situa- 
 tion and the magnitude of their duties. The same 
 stupid procedure existed in all the other government 
 departments in Russia. The gravest questions were 
 answered in the morning, and these answers changed 
 again by night. 
 
 After the Russo-Japanese War, Russia was face 
 to face with the problem of rebuilding her destroyed 
 fleet. It was evident that it was especially import- 
 ant to do this quickly. A man named Zacharoff — 
 Graeco-Russian by birth, a French subject, very rich 
 and the representative of the great English firm of 
 Vickers Maxim in France, — conceived a project for 
 the rapid rebuilding of the Russian fleet. This con- 
 sisted in syndicating all our naval work in France 
 and England, who would thus be responsible for the 
 building of a considerable war fleet for Russia in a 
 space of from five to eight years. The Anglo-French 
 banks indicated on their part that they would furnish 
 the necessary moneys at four and one-half per cent., 
 which was to be repaid in fifty years. Monsieur 
 Loubet, ex-President of France, was nominated as
 
 146 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 President of this dual syndicate. Through the in- 
 termediation of M. Goremikine, Zacharoff presented 
 his project to Emperor Nicholas. The latter ac- 
 cepted it in principle, warmly thanked Zacharoff and 
 conferred a high Decoration upon him. 
 
 It was decided that on his next visit — then soon to 
 occur — to France, the Emperor Nicholas would meet 
 Loubet and arrange the final details of the combina- 
 tion. Owing to the susceptibilities of President 
 Fallieres, Loubet did not have an audience with 
 Nicholas while he was at Compiegne on the occasion 
 of his visit. A promise was, however, given to 
 Loubet that he would be received by the Russian Em- 
 peror at Cowes, where Nicholas was going after his 
 visit to France. But, probably because of the in- 
 trigues going on all this time in Petrograd among 
 those who wished to see the new fleet built in Russia, 
 in order to keep the vast amount of money thus ex- 
 pended in the country, Nicholas changed his mind as 
 usual — and the interview with Loubet at Cowes 
 never took place. All the plans made by Zacharoff 
 were thrown aside and went for nothing. 
 
 During the whole reign of Nicholas, minister suc- 
 ceeded minister to posts of responsibility with be- 
 wildering rapidity. The Russian Emperor had nine 
 Ministers of Foreign Affairs during his reign and 
 fifteen, or more, Ministers of the Interior. In the 
 latter part of his reign especially, the Ministerial 
 portfolios had become veritable political "killing"
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 147 
 
 places. Ministers were placed in power for no rea- 
 son known to any one and dismissed in the same 
 manner. For instance, Monsieur de Sturmer, who 
 had never known of or had anything to do with the 
 foreign policies of Russia, was suddenly made Min- 
 ister of Foreign Affairs, only to be dismissed a few 
 months later. 
 
 There were in the Ministry of the Interior men like 
 Maklakoff (not to be confused with the Ambassador 
 appointed to Paris, January, 1918) who was ap- 
 pointed solely because his manners had pleased the 
 Emperor while the latter was travelling with him 
 and who remained several years in office, much 
 against public opinion and the open hostility of the 
 Duma, because he amused the Emperor's children 
 and made the Empress laugh! 
 
 In the nominations of ministers their own politi- 
 cal ideas played no part whatsoever ! Unfortunately 
 it must be confessed that the greater number of 
 Nicholas' ministers were " Arrivistes," that is to 
 say, men who thought only of gaining a public career 
 and to whom a consistent policy meant nothing at all. 
 Their sole idea was to follow the caprices of their 
 master's mind. Under the circumstances, it was 
 perhaps natural. 
 
 The relationship between the Court and the Duma, 
 or Parliament, left much to be desired. The fa- 
 mous Constitutional Manifesto of October, 1905, 
 which had instituted the Duma, was grudgingly made
 
 148 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 by the Emperor; extorted from him, indeed almost 
 forced from him by Count Witte at the time of the 
 first outbreak of the first revolutionary movement. 
 For this he never forgave Count Witte. 
 
 From that time Nicholas continually nagged at the 
 clauses of this Manifesto. When the Duma opposed 
 him in any way, it was dismissed at once and with 
 extraordinary facility. Before the dissolution of 
 the first Duma, the situation had been carefully 
 thought over before any steps were taken. Later, 
 however, and especially during the present war, to 
 dissolve the Duma was mere child's play. 
 
 Finally, there was nothing at all left of the famous 
 Manifesto! The only article of the Constitution 
 which remained in force was No. 84, which gave all 
 customs duties to the Crown in case of dissensions 
 with the Duma, or during its holidays ; and enabled 
 the Crown to govern the Empire under what was 
 known as the twelve provisions. Advantage was 
 taken of this article 84, which chiefly concerned the 
 budget, to govern the nation autocratically. 
 
 Besides the influence over Nicholas II held by the 
 Empress Alexandra which degenerated into omnipo- 
 tency during the last twelve years of his reign, the 
 Russian Emperor was inclined to listen to the advice 
 of the Courts of Darmstadt and Coburg, and, at the 
 beginning of his reign, to that of Denmark. The 
 influences of these three Courts played an important 
 part in our relations with Germany.
 
 FOREIGN POLICY OF NICHOLAS II 149 
 
 Nicholas II was very affectionate in his relations 
 with his relatives at Darmstadt and Coburg. These 
 relatives cordially detested the Emperor of Ger- 
 many, who returned their sentiments in kind and re- 
 garded them with doubt and suspicion. The repre- 
 sentatives of these two Courts amused themselves 
 by underlining and emphasizing the ridiculous sides 
 of William's character. These petty tricks were 
 not unwelcome to Nicholas II, whose own character 
 was flexible and unstable and who himself greatly 
 enjoyed teasing and annoying others. 
 
 His influence had ceased at the Danish Court on the 
 death of his grandmother Queen Louise. This old 
 sovereign, the "Mother of Kings" as she was always 
 known, had a very powerful personality and charac- 
 ter and cordially detested Germany and its ruler in 
 every fibre of her being. She never forgave Prussia 
 for despoiling Denmark of Schleswig-Holstein in 
 18C4-. "William knew this, but could do nothing to 
 remedy it. When he learned of the death of the old 
 Queen, he came to our Embassy in Berlin and said 
 to Count Osten-Sacken : — "Monsieur l'Ambassadeur, 
 I extend my most profound condolences." Then he 
 added: — "Now that I have fulfilled my official dutv, 
 you surely do not expect me to cry about it, do you ? ' ' 
 
 To sum up : When he came to the throne of Rus- 
 sia, Nicholas II had all the gifts necessary to become 
 a great Sovereign. His weak character, his lacka- 
 daisical manner of attending to affairs, combined
 
 150 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 with the disastrous influence of the Empress Alex- 
 andra had as their direct and fatal result the fall of 
 the Romanoff dynasty and led to the state of anarchy 
 in which Russia afterwards wallowed.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 
 
 Russian Diplomats and the Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire 
 During the Reign of Nicholas II 
 
 During the twenty years of his reign, Nicholas II ap- 
 pointed the following Foreign Ministers: — 
 
 1. Monsieur de Giers 1894-1895 
 
 2. Prince Lobanoff p, fowsky 1895-1897 4& 
 
 3. Count Muravieff 1897-1901 <M 
 
 4. Count Lamsdorff 1901-1906 
 
 5. Monsieur Iswolsky 1906-19(10 
 
 6. Monsieur Sazonoff 1900-1916 
 
 7. Monsieur Sturmer 1916-1917 
 
 8. Monsieur Pokrowsky 1917-28th Feb. 1917 
 
 To this list must be added two diplomats — Mon- 
 sieur Chichkine and Monsieur Neratoff who directed 
 foreign affairs for a certain time, the former, after 
 the death of Prince Lobanoff and the latter during 
 the incumbency of Sazonoff, while the Minister was 
 ill for a year. The frequent change of ministers 
 was not caused by any change in the foreign policy 
 of the Empire, for, fundamentally, Nicholas II him- 
 self pretended to be the foundation of Russia's 
 diplomacy. The changes were due either on account 
 
 151
 
 152 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 of the death of the minister, as in the case of Prince 
 Lobanoff and Count Muravieff, or to intrigues at 
 
 Court. 
 
 Monsieur de Giers had been Assistant Minister to 
 the famous Prince Gortchakov, the last man who held 
 the title of Chancellor in the Russian Empire, in the 
 closing years of the reign of Emperor Alexander II 
 who died in 1881. After Gortchakov 's death in 1883, 
 when I entered the diplomatic service of my country, 
 Monsieur de Giers was appointed Minister of 
 Foreign Affairs by Alexander III. He held that 
 office during the whole reign of that monarch, and 
 Nicholas inherited him from his father. 
 
 Monsieur de Giers essentially belonged to the old 
 diplomatic school of Europe of the 19th century. 
 An accomplished stylist, he was a supporter of the 
 old methods, whereby all matters relating to foreign 
 policies were exclusively attended to by the diplo- 
 matic chancelleries of Europe, the work of which 
 was most carefully hidden in the archives of the 
 official residences. He was thoroughly impregnated 
 with the political ideas which predominated during 
 the reign of Alexander II. The alliance of the three 
 Emperors of Russia, Germany, Austria, formed his 
 political creed. He founded his policy on that of 
 Metternich and entertained a passion for Prince Bis- 
 marck, being very proud of the friendship which 
 existed between the great German statesman and 
 himself. He accepted the Russian entente with
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 153 
 
 France with ill grace, as it was against his own 
 wishes, hopes and convictions. He feared future 
 complications and his entire diplomatic activities had 
 ever centred in endeavouring to avoid any changes 
 which might bring about the complications he 
 dreaded. 
 
 I have remarked that his whole political system 
 was based on the motto of the Duchess of Offenbach 
 — "Above all no scandal in niy beautiful castle," 
 (Surtout, pas de scandale dans mon beau Chateau!), 
 but it would be unfair to leave the impression that 
 Monsieur de Giers was a man of little mental calibre 
 and capability. On the contrary, he was very subtle 
 and clever. While I was at the Russian Embassy in 
 Berlin I was able to study him carefully, through 
 his correspondence with our ambassadors. In this 
 mass of diplomatic correspondence, all of a very 
 confidential nature, Monsieur de Giers very often 
 revealed himself as a statesman. His successors 
 would have done well to study carefully his letters 
 as they would have found therein many useful hints 
 and ideas together with many profound reflections, 
 of which they could have made good use. Of course, 
 during the reign of Alexander III — an autocrat par 
 excellence — Monsieur de Giers to a certain extent, 
 filled the position of his especially chosen private 
 secretary. He had a certain influence with his Sov- 
 ereign, who honoured him with his esteem. But in 
 all matters relating to foreign affairs, Monsieur de
 
 154 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Giers instructed the younger men in the diplomatic 
 service on the same general principles as were laid 
 down by Prince Gortchakov. Such instruction natu- 
 rally proved useless in the face of modern conditions 
 and Russian diplomacy suffered accordingly. Un- 
 fortunately the evil effects of this system have not 
 been eradicated even to the present day. 
 
 In order to be a good diplomat, it was necessary 
 to be thoroughly conversant with the French lan- 
 guage and know how to use it, and to join the diplo- 
 matic service it was necessary of course, to pass cer- 
 tain examinations. These, however, were only a 
 comedy. The examiners were heads of bureaux in 
 various departments of the Ministry and, for the 
 most part, having grown grey in the service, they 
 had for many years completely forgotten the details 
 of the knowledge which was required of the younger 
 men, such for example, as a working knowledge of 
 history, geography, statistics and political economy. 
 By custom the fate of those facing this examination 
 had already been decided before they filled in their 
 papers with their answers. One might be a veritable 
 well of information and yet not be accepted ; or be a 
 complete ignoramus, and yet succeed in entering the 
 diplomatic service. Intrigue was the main influence 
 in the examiner's choice of a future Talleyrand. A 
 word from this or that Grand Duchess had great 
 effect. 
 
 The nucleus of the diplomatic service was the
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 155 
 
 Chancellery of the Foreign Ministry personnel. 
 Monsieur de Giers called it his "Guard." As I was 
 a member of this Chancellery I can explain of what it 
 really consisted. There was nothing done there but 
 calculations and copying work, and woe betide the 
 young man who dared show any desire of further 
 instructing himself by studying diplomatic papers ! 
 One day, in the autumn of 1885, 1 remember wishing 
 to study Bulgarian affairs more closely as they were 
 at that time in a veiy chaotic condition. I was pre- 
 vented from doing so and earned the reputation of 
 being a man who needed watching ! On another oc- 
 casion, the Chief of the Chancellery, Prince Obol- 
 ensky, to whom I said I did not understand the gist 
 of a dispatch that I had been instructed to translate 
 into the secret code, answered sharply: "This is 
 as it should be. You must please remember that the 
 best secretary is he who understands nothing. You 
 will succeed if you profit by this hint!" 
 
 It is, therefore, not astonishing that such a school 
 contributed very little to the formation of a brilliant 
 Eussian diplomatic corps. The young men in this 
 profession arrived at foreign posts without any 
 knowledge whatever. 
 
 Furthermore, all appointments were made through 
 patronage and with the help of friends at court. 
 Our Embassies were thus filled with young men who 
 might have done very well at Court, but who knew 
 nothing of the basic principles of diplomacy. When
 
 > 
 
 156 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Monsieur Iswolsky became Foreign Minister he tried 
 to change this sorry state of affairs. A University 
 diploma became essential before an aspirant could 
 hope to attain any position in the Foreign Ministry. 
 But intrigue prospered even more than before for 
 Iswolsky lent himself to intrigues of all kinds. 
 
 Prince Lobanoff had a very strong character, but 
 even he had to allow for court intrigue. When he 
 informed me of his decision to send me to Berlin, he 
 said: "Above all things, do not mention your ap- 
 pointment before it is officially published. Spokes 
 might yet be placed in my wheel if you do." 
 
 As the health of Monsieur de Giers was very poor, 
 he surrounded himself with men weaker than himself 
 who could not be used to replace him. When finally 
 he resigned, his successor, Prince Lobanoff, found 
 only a lot of nonentities in the chancellery. 
 
 Prince Lobanoff did not resemble Monsieur de 
 Giers in the least ; he was firm, resolute and authori- 
 tative and had behind him a long diplomatic career. 
 He had been Ambassador in Constantinople, London 
 and Vienna. At the last place he stayed seventeen 
 years. He was at the zenith of his power when he 
 was seventy-five years old. There had, however, 
 been an interregnum in his service when he was 
 thirty-two and was Minister in Constantinople, (at 
 that time Eussia had no Ambassador in Turkey). 
 He there fell in love with the wife of a secretary of 
 the French legation, ran away with her and fled to
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 157 
 
 Russia, without having asked for leave from the 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs. A fine scandal 
 promptly resulted. It was said that Prince Gortcha- 
 kov, at that time Chancellor, on learning of the af- 
 fair and knowing that the object of Prince Lobanoff 's 
 love was ugly, shouted: — "Could he find nothing 
 better than that?" Prince Lobanoff had to resign 
 from the service. However, thanks to his personal 
 relations, he was appointed Assistant Minister of 
 the Interior and remained in that post until his ap- 
 pointment as Ambassador to Constantinople during 
 the reign of Alexander III. 
 
 Prince Lobanoff was an avowed enemy of Ger- 
 many and had a pronounced personal antipathy to- 
 wards the German Emperor William II. He 
 dreamed of encircling the German Empire by an 
 alliance between France, Russia and Austria-Hun- 
 gary. In this scheme he had many supporters all 
 of them as convinced of its feasibility as himself. 
 Before being appointed Foreign Minister, he was 
 nominated as Ambassador to Berlin. The German 
 political world was startled by his nomination as his 
 sentiments towards Germany were well known in 
 Berlin, and it was an open secret that the Emperor 
 William had accepted the appointment of the Prince 
 very reluctantly. The resignation and death of 
 M. de Giers, however/ prevented Prince Lobanoff 
 becoming Ambassador as he was then appointed to 
 the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs.
 
 158 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 The news of this burst like a bombshell in Ger- 
 many. German politicians mentioned the name of 
 Lobanoff in awed whispers, and, indeed, the strength 
 of our new Minister was soon visible. All Germany 
 felt we had returned to the days of Alexander III, 
 and Emperor William again became of little import- 
 ance. At Constantinople, German policy revolved 
 round that of Russia. At Vienna, where they had 
 had the opportunity of studying the character of 
 Prince Lobanoff, the diplomats kept quiet. In 
 Paris, — the Prince was an ardent admirer of France 
 — universal appreciation was expressed. 
 
 Prince Lobanoff first set to work to restore order 
 in Balkan affairs. In Bulgaria, Prince Ferdinand 
 of Coburg reigned, but was not recognized by the 
 Powers — with the exception of Austria. It was 
 necessary to put an end to this abnormal condition. 
 Lobanoff himself wanted Russia to recognize Ferdi- 
 nand, but wished him to take the first step. He ob- 
 tained the assistance of the famous Russian journal- 
 ist, Tatitcheff — author of the Histories of Alexander 
 II and Alexander III — who had at one time been 
 secretary of our Embassy in Vienna. Tatitcheff 
 went to Marienbad in Bohemia, where he met Prince 
 Ferdinand, whom he knew intimately, and succeeded 
 beyond all expectations. Ferdinand wrote an apolo- 
 getic letter to the Emperor Nicholas blaming himself 
 for his previous policy of inaction and asking for- 
 giveness. He promised that his son Boris should
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 159 
 
 enter the Orthodox Church and also from that time 
 onwards to follow and maintain a policy agreeable 
 to and conforming with the views of Russia. 
 Nicholas then recognized Ferdinand as Prince of 
 Bulgaria and consented to become the godfather of 
 Prince Boris, when he was baptized into the Ortho- 
 dox Greek Church. 
 
 Russia thus won a diplomatic victory of consider- 
 able importance, and, despite the fact that this vic- 
 tory was a defeat for Austria-Hungary, Germany's 
 ally, the cabinet at Berlin expressed itself as agree- 
 able to Petrograd's policy. This was the first fruit 
 of the moral ascendancy exercised by Prince Loban- 
 off over Germanic diplomacy. 
 
 It was Prince Lobanoff, among others, who advised 
 Nicholas II to begin his visits to allied and friendly 
 countries by passing through Austria-Hungary. He 
 did not wish, as yet, to encourage Emperor William 
 by any great show of friendliness and the latter had 
 to be content with a visit paid, not to Berlin, but to 
 Breslau, which was after an official visit had been 
 paid to Austria-Hungary. 
 
 Had Prince Lobanoff lived the interview, which 
 has already been described, would certainly not have 
 taken the turn it did, and the consequences would not 
 have been so disastrous. But, unf ortuately for Rus- 
 sia, Prince Lobanoff died very suddenly in the Im- 
 perial train while returning to Petrograd from Aus- 
 tria. The Empress Alexandra, as I was told by a
 
 160 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 witness, cried bitterly. As she had the reputation 
 of being an out-and-out German it seems curious she 
 should have betrayed so deep an emotion at the death 
 of a statesman who all his whole life, had been abso- 
 lutely hostile towards the land of her birth. I think 
 the explanation lies in the fact I have previously 
 mentioned, that while the Empress was essentially 
 German, she was by no means a Prussian, and that 
 she was very far from having her heart completely 
 filled with her Imperial husband. 
 
 The death of Prince Lobanoff placed Nicholas II 
 in a cruelly embarrassing position. In a few days 
 he was due at Breslau, and, knowing but very little of 
 his diplomatic personnel, he did not know what to 
 do, or whom to appoint as Lobanoff 's successor. 
 Finally the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. 
 Chichkine, had to accompany him. On arriving at 
 Breslau and descending from the Imperial train, 
 Chichkine ran to me, crying: "Dear Monsieur de 
 Schelking, do not abandon me. I know nothing. I 
 am lost!" Which were brave and promising words 
 from a diplomat placed in such an important posi- 
 tion! 
 
 Naturally, the German Emperor and his suite paid 
 Chichkine every attention. This tickled his vanity 
 to such an extent that he immediately concluded he 
 would become Minister of Foreign Affairs. In con- 
 versation with Count Osten-Sacken he said: "Do 
 you know, my dear Count, it seems that in Berlin
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 161 
 
 they want me to succeed Lobanoff." "When telling 
 me later of this conversation, the Count added: "I 
 can well believe the Germans would be overjoyed to 
 see such a fool at the head of our Foreign Office ! ' ' 
 
 However, Chichkine fortunately never became our 
 Foreign Minister. Count Muravieff succeeded 
 Lobanoff. His appointment was wholly unexpected. 
 The new Minister had occupied in former days, as 
 an official in the diplomatic service, many important 
 posts. He had spent five years in Paris as First 
 Secretary and had also been Councillor to the Em- 
 bassy in Berlin for ten years, but he only held one 
 post, as Minister to Denmark, in which no official was 
 directly over him. This last post was of no great 
 importance as it was out of the path of high politics 
 and the more serious affairs of Russian diplomacy. 
 Muravieff had the reputation of being rather igno- 
 rant, having never graduated from a High School, or 
 University. From the archives of the Embassy at 
 Berlin I was astonished to find that during his ten 
 years as Councillor there he had only written three 
 letters in his own handwriting and these, written in 
 French, were full of grammatical and constructional 
 errors. On the other hand he had a good deal of 
 common sense, and extraordinary self-assurance, the 
 last being his chief characteristic. 
 
 On his way to assume office in Petrograd he had 
 to pass through Berlin. I never remember having 
 seen a man happier than he was at that time. He
 
 162 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 radiated sunshine. In his delight he was eager to 
 do everybody a kindness and sent for each of us 
 secretaries in turn and asked us our ambitions, say- 
 ing he would see that our wishes were granted. Our 
 Ambassador gave a banquet for him, to which came 
 the chiefs of the diplomatic world of Berlin with the 
 Imperial Chancellor, Prince Hohenlohe, and Prince 
 von Buelow at their head. It so happened that 
 Count MuraviefT 's luggage had gone astray and he 
 had to appear at dinner in his travelling suit. He 
 was not in the least embarrassed and showed perfect 
 confidence in himself and the impression he was 
 going to make on our Ambassador's guests. In his 
 conversation with Hohenlohe and Buelow he steered 
 a very clever course, hiding his own ignorance of 
 affairs and avoiding all dangerous subjects with 
 consummate craft. 
 
 Diplomatic circles in Berlin were not displeased at 
 his appointment. His good qualities and his weak- 
 nesses, which later Berlin proposed to exploit, were 
 well known there. Emperor William, however, was 
 not at all pleased. Count MuraviefT, when Council- 
 lor in Berlin, always posed as a great admirer of the 
 German Emperor and the latter had shown him 
 special favour. He had given him a large signed 
 portrait of himself, and added some very flattering 
 words over the signature. But William learnt later 
 that MuraviefT, while at Copenhagen — a Court which 
 much disliked the German Emperor — had made fun
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 163 
 
 of him to please his entourage. Ever after he was 
 hostile to Muravieff. 
 
 As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Muravieff was 
 faithful to but one person and that was himself. He 
 had little real personality, was very careless and re- 
 markably trivial. How recklessly he treated the 
 very serious problem of Kiao-Tchao has already been 
 mentioned. In many other matters, just as serious, 
 he acted in the same way. His sole preoccupation 
 was to cling to his office as long as possible. He had 
 known how to win the sympathies of Empress Alex- 
 andra by means small in themselves, but large in 
 results. He used to play at being a horse on his 
 hands and knees with the Imperial children, which 
 with other similar tricks pleased the Imperial Couple. 
 As he fully appreciated the weak character of 
 Nicholas II, he became a flatterer of the boldest kind 
 in order to gain his own ends and in his policies was 
 usually most successful in guessing his Imperial 
 master's mind. 
 
 At this time the personal relations between the 
 Russian and German Emperors were very strained. 
 Instead of endeavouring to smooth over matters 
 Muravieff added fuel to the flames and in conse- 
 quence Russo-German relations became steadily 
 worse and worse. 
 
 Realizing his own ignorance of diplomacy, Mura- 
 vieff selected as his Assistant Minister, Count Lams- 
 dorff, who, having spent his whole life in the Foreign 

 
 
 164 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Office, was a regular mine of information. The 
 Archives contained nothing he did not know. Mura- 
 vieff constantly consulted him and he astonished the 
 Emperor by his official reports, so great an under- 
 standing and intimate knowledge did they display of 
 existing conditions and circumstances. Of course, 
 he took very good care not to tell the Emperor that 
 all his information was supplied by Lamsdorff. 
 
 The Eussian Emperor could hardly have chosen a 
 less profitable Foreign Minister. His own irresolu- 
 tion and weakness found no guiding and saving hand 
 in the personality and powers of Count MuraviefT, 
 who, during his tenure of office had no steady policy, 
 and no visible objective. His policy degenerated 
 into a mere series of vacillations. His enemies 
 worked hard to bring about his downfall and had all 
 but succeeded when he died very suddenly. His 
 valet found him in his study lying on the floor with a 
 gash in his temple, which had been caused by his head 
 coming into contact with the sharp edge of a low 
 stool when he fell. In Petrograd, it was rumoured 
 that he had committed suicide, being unable to bear 
 the disgrace of dismissal which he knew was soon 
 coming. Personally I do not believe this to be the 
 case. As a young man MuraviefT had been more 
 than partial to women and wine and had sown a fine 
 crop of wild oats. Despite his advancing years he 
 appeared to enjoy the harvest when he returned to 
 Petrograd. He had a mistress whom he visited
 
 HI KK VON BETHMANN-HOLLWEG
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 165 
 
 every day, and he used to drink a quart bottle of 
 champagne every night before he went to bed. Such 
 habits were not conducive to a long life, and probably 
 too great satisfaction, rather than dissatisfaction 
 with himself carried him off. 
 
 Count Lamsdorff, who succeeded him, w T as abso- 
 lutely his opposite in temperament and character. 
 Nicholas II, The Unreliable, could always be relied 
 upon to appoint ministers whose characters and opin- 
 ions had not the slightest resemblance to their prede- 
 cessors. Thus Russian policies were continually 
 chopping and changing. Although far better edu- 
 cated than Muravieff and with an intensive knowl- 
 edge of affairs of state, Lamsdorff was very narrow 
 minded and small of soul and lacked the saving grace 
 of Muravieff — common sense. He was a religious 
 bigot. Women had never played any part in his 
 life and consequently rumour gave him the reputa- 
 tion of being a pervert. He lent colour to these 
 rumours by showing great favouritism to some of the 
 men about him who were for the most part, strikingly 
 handsome young men. 
 
 At that time there was attached to the Chancellery 
 a very handsome young man, Savinsky by name, who 
 held the minor position of Third Secretary. Lams- 
 dorff noticed him and chose him as his travelling 
 companion in the Crimea when the Emperor went to 
 Livadia. Savinsky returned from this short voyage 
 a Gentleman of the Chamber and Second Secretary.
 
 166 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Only a few months later he was made First Secre- 
 tary. Lamsdorff wished to make him Master of 
 Ceremonies at Court but found himself strongly op- 
 posed by Count Hendrikoff, then Grand Master of 
 Ceremonies. Lamsdorff insisted! He went so far 
 as to threaten to present his resignation to the Em- 
 peror in case his protege was not appointed. As 
 usual, Nicholas gave way and consented to Savin- 
 sky's appointment. 
 
 One day, at a gala performance in honour of the 
 visit to Petrograd of the German Emperor, Savinsky 
 fulfilled the duties of Master of Ceremonies. Dur- 
 ing one of the entr'actes Emperor Nicholas, turning 
 to Admiral Lomen, his aide-de-camp, who told me 
 the story, said to him: "Point out Countess Lams- 
 dorff to me." He meant Savinsky!!! The Em- 
 peror showed that he felt something was wrong, but 
 this did not prevent him appointing Savinsky his 
 minister at Stockholm and, later, at Sofia, where he 
 remained until the declaration of war. 
 
 Prior to his appointment as Foreign Minister 
 Lamsdorff had never been beyond the confines of 
 Kussia, not even on a pleasure trip. He visited 
 Central Europe for the first time when he accom- 
 panied the Emperor to Compiegne, in France. 
 
 Lamsdorff was popularly known as a rubber 
 cushion such as invalids use in an inflated form. He 
 had been Secretary and Vice-Director of the Im- 
 perial Chancellery, under Prince Gortchakoff; later
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 167 
 
 Director-in-Chief of the Chancellery; then First 
 Councillor under de Giers, and Prince Lobanoff, and 
 finally Assistant Minister under Muravieff*. The 
 regime he instituted at the Ministry became paternal 
 in its effects. He was surrounded by nonentities, 
 but he was sure of them and had known them for 
 many years. 
 
 In his policy, Count Lamsdorff — having been a 
 great admirer of Monsieur de Giers — used his meth- 
 ods to avoid complications. While carefully keeping 
 up the friendly feeling and intercourse which existed 
 between Russia and France, he also did his best to 
 better our relations with Germany. The result of 
 his policy w r as apparent during the Russo-Japanese 
 War. The Berlin Cabinet at that time surrounded 
 us with favours, and Emperor William sealed this 
 Nero-Platonic friendship with us by a commercial 
 treaty which was disastrous to our industrial inter- 
 ests. Later he inveigled the Emperor Nicholas into 
 the extraordinary secret treaty concluded at Bjoerke 
 which the Czar afterwards repudiated. This treaty 
 when published by the Maximalists after the revolu- 
 tion caused quite a sensation. 
 
 Count Lamsdorff was frankly hostile to the war 
 with Japan, and acted with great courage and hon- 
 esty in this matter. He presented a long memoran- 
 dum to the Emperor, later published by the famous 
 Russian revolutionary, Monsieur Bourtzeff. In this 
 memorandum he called serious attention to the
 
 168 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 grave dangers of any policy which would provoke or 
 annoy Japan, as the well-known Yalu River Com- 
 pany with Monsieur Bezobrazoff, a new favourite of 
 Emperor Nicholas's at that time, at its head, was 
 doing. Count Lamsdorff concluded this memoran- 
 dum by stating his open opposition to an anti-Jap- 
 anese policy, with almost brutal frankness and 
 threatening to resign if it were continued any fur- 
 ther. Nicholas II refused to accept his resignation 
 and promised amendment, but the activities of the 
 Yalu River Company in no way lessened, and the 
 Russo-Japanese War was the result. 
 
 At first sight it seems strange that Count Lams- 
 dorff gave proofs of such real statesmanship. The 
 key to the puzzle is to be found in the reports which 
 passed between Count Lamsdorff and Count Witte. 
 The latter, whose greatness was so little appreciated 
 by Nicholas II, was the originator of the policy of 
 Lamsdorff, by whom he was constantly consulted. 
 Lamsdorff had sufficient acumen to make himself 
 Witte 's mouthpiece and the latter 's fall was dis- 
 astrous to Lamsdorff 's calculations. The Emperor 
 knew perfectly well of the two men's relations and 
 the credit with which the Foreign Minister thought 
 he had covered himself suffered severely in conse- 
 quence. Lamsdorff fell into disgrace and died soon 
 after. 
 
 The Emperor's choice of his successor fell upon 
 Monsieur Iswolsky.
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 169 
 
 Iswolsky had been Secretary of the Consulate at 
 Philippopolis in Bulgaria; Secretary in Koumania, 
 Washington and Copenhagen ; and as Official Agent 
 in Rome renewed the intimate relations between Rus- 
 sia and the Holy See — which had been severed for 
 many years. He had also afterwards been our first 
 representative at the Vatican, and then was Minister 
 at Belgrade, Munich, Tokyo and Copenhagen. He 
 had graduated from the Imperial Alexandre Lyceum, 
 with honours, receiving a gold medal — and even at 
 that time his comrades prophesied he would eventu- 
 ally become Minister of Foreign Affairs. He had 
 always dreamed of obtaining the post of Ambassador 
 to Berlin and intrigued a great deal to secure it, but 
 though he failed in this he achieved the higher office 
 as had been prophesied. 
 
 Incontestably very intelligent, with the very wide 
 outlook and broad point of view of the real states- 
 man, he had, however, two great faults : a limitless 
 ambition and a snobbishness which amounted to a 
 disease. In order to further his ambitions and his 
 career he would hesitate at nothing. 
 
 When he was First Secretary in Roumania he 
 fought a duel with a Roumanian Officer, Lapteff by 
 name. "A diplomat who fights, is equal to a soldier 
 who does not," Prince Gortchakoff had once said. 
 This principle was always one of the rules of the 
 Russian Foreign Office; but Iswolsky cleverly knew 
 how to make use of the duel to further his interests.
 
 170 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 The cause of the duel had been a woman, but he let 
 it be understood at Petrograd that, in reality, he 
 had fought to defend the honour of his Imperial 
 Master who — he claimed — had been insulted by his 
 adversary. His version was believed and he was 
 created a Gentleman of the Chamber, and, as he 
 could no longer remain in Bucharest because of this 
 contretemps, he was transferred to Washington. 
 
 Iswolsky only had a very small fortune of his own 
 and he spent the whole of it in the United States in 
 order to make a good impression in Washington, 
 Newport and Bar Harbor Society. All his friends 
 made sure that he would marry an American heiress, 
 but Iswolsky preferred to be transferred to Copen- 
 hagen, Where he married Countess Toll, daughter of 
 our Minister to Denmark, whose parents were very 
 high in favour with AJexander III. The Emperor 
 himself was one of the bride's witnesses and on the 
 day of his wedding Iswolsky was made Chamberlain. 
 
 For the honeymoon he chose a visit to Rome. He 
 well knew of the existing state of affairs between 
 Russia and the Pope, and hence decided to make a, 
 trip there to look into the matter — in a purely private 
 and speculative way. From Rome he sent a long 
 memorandum to the Foreign Office which was very 
 much liked and he was appointed, at first, semi-offi- 
 cial Representative of Russia at the Pope's Court, 
 and soon after, Minister-Resident to the Holy See. 
 This was really the beginning of his fine career.
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 171 
 
 His snobbishness at least equalled his ambitions. 
 A great name was a divine endowment in his eyes. 
 Of an unpleasing physical appearance he neverthe- 
 less thought himself irresistible where women were 
 concerned. He also believed that after Bismarck he 
 was the greatest diplomat in the world! 
 
 After having been Minister of Foreign Affairs, he 
 was made Ambassador to Paris and there had to 
 receive the various members of a Republican govern- 
 ment, which, to him, was torture. He preferred to 
 associate with Dukes and Princes ; but, of course, his 
 position as Ambassador necessitated his throwing 
 open his drawing rooms to powerful Republicans. 
 
 Monsieur Briand, who was then Minister of Jus- 
 tice before being made President of the Council, 
 knew Iswolsky's weakness in this matter very well. 
 For that reason he avoided all invitations to the Rus- 
 sian Embassy. "When he became President of the 
 Council, however, he could no longer refuse an invi- 
 tation which was personally sent to him on one occa- 
 sion by the Russian Ambassador. He went and was 
 received by Madame Iswolsky, who said to him: 
 "Monsieur Briand, it would seem that you have no 
 pleasure in coming to us." Briand answered, "Oh, 
 Madame, surely not as much in coming, as you have 
 in asking me." 
 
 On another occasion when he was giving a fete 
 to which all classes were asked and, of course, all 
 the members of the French Government, the Russian
 
 172 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Ambassador was particular that the Duke of Ven- 
 dome, a member of the Royal Family of France, 
 should be present. This was not easy to accomplish 
 as the members of the French Royalty studiously 
 avoid coming into any contact with the Republican 
 government representatives. Iswolsky therefore 
 went to his British colleague, Sir F. Bertie, and the 
 following conversation took place between the two 
 Diplomats : 
 
 "I want very much to have the Duke of Vendome 
 present at my reception," said Iswolsky. 
 
 "Well, why don't you ask him?" queried Sir 
 Francis Bertie. 
 
 "What would you do were you in my place?" 
 Iswolsky insisted. 
 
 "I wouldn't ask him at all," said the British Am- 
 bassador. 
 
 "But why then advise me to do so?" 
 "Because that sort of thing amuses you, whereas 
 it bores me," replied the British Ambassador. 
 
 Many other anecdotes of a similar character 
 floated about the Paris salons and were most annoy- 
 ing to our Ambassador as they made him appear 
 ridiculous. Iswolsky 's snobbishness was very ap- 
 parent when he was Minister of Foreign Affairs and, 
 combined with his colossal self-assurance, made him 
 follow a policy very dangerous for Russia. The an- 
 nexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina (1908-09) under-
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 173 
 
 mined his position and was a striking example of his 
 self-assurance. 
 
 In September, 1908, Iswolsky was taking a holiday 
 abroad and was invited by Count Berchtold — Am- 
 bassador of Austria-Hungary at Petrograd — to 
 come for some shooting to his castle at Buchlau, in 
 Bohemia. Iswolsky accepted the invitation and 
 there met Count Aerenthal, Minister of Foreign Af- 
 fairs of Austria-Hungary. Count Aerenthal had oc- 
 cupied for many years the post of Ambassador to 
 Russia, and, very naturally, knew intimately our 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs. Berchtold did things 
 in a big way. Iswolsky was royally received at 
 Buchlau. Knowing the tastes of his guest, a whole 
 galaxy of lovely women were present, and it was 
 there that was discussed the question of the annexa- 
 tion of Bosnia-Herzegovina, which was to begin an 
 era of complications in the Balkan Peninsula which 
 had as their result the two Balkan Wars and 
 — indirectly — began the present world war. 
 
 Iswolsky stayed at Buchlau from the 19th to the 
 22nd of September. On the 23rd of September, the 
 Minister was hunting in Austria with a friend, Prince 
 Windichgraetz, and, on the 25th, he arrived at Tor- 
 gensee, near Munich, where he owned a villa. I was 
 at Tergensee at this time as I too owned a villa there, 
 not far from his. On the 26th of September Iswol- 
 sky, chancing to meet me while we were out walking,
 
 174 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 begged me to come and see him, saying: "I have 
 a very serious matter to discuss with you." 
 
 At that time I was correspondent of the Novoie 
 Vremya, in Paris and naturally hastened to comply 
 with his invitation. 
 
 Iswolsky made me his confidant on several matters 
 of high importance, of which I took copious notes. 
 He told me that Count Aerenthal had approached 
 him with regard to the annexation of Bosnia-Herze- 
 govina by Austria-Hungary. The Austrian Minister 
 had assured him that he personally was entirely 
 against the annexation which might entail grave 
 complications, of which he was well aware. But,; 
 he added, the question would nevertheless, in all 
 probability, be discussed by the parliamentary meet- 
 ing of delegates at Budapest in about ten days or 
 two weeks' time. The Austro-Hungarian Minister 
 did not hide from Iswolsky that the delegates "de- 
 sirous of spreading sunshine about the last days of 
 the old Emperor — so beloved all his life," might 
 very well vote for the annexation under the cir- 
 cumstances. Finally Aerenthal had bluntly asked 
 Iswolsky this question: "What would be said in 
 Russia should the annexation become a fait ac- 
 compli?" 
 
 Iswolsky told me he had answered: "It would 
 most certainly be an ugly matter. Naturally we 
 would not go to war about it, but would demand 
 adequate compensations. ' '
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 175 
 
 Our Minister then enumerated these compensa- 
 tions. They would include the declaration of the 
 independence of Bulgaria; territorial concessions 
 to Montenegro; an outlet for Serbia on the Adri- 
 atic, and, finally a settlement of the questions relative 
 to the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, in a way that 
 would please Russia. Aerenthal promised his sup- 
 port and once more emphasized the fact that he was 
 personally against the annexation and that he would 
 oppose it at the meeting of the delegates. Iswol- 
 sky then carefully explained to me his reasons for 
 his answers to Aerenthal and told me that we were 
 not ready to open the Balkan question with all its 
 ramifications, as great danger would arise were we 
 to show ourselves unalterably opposed to the an- 
 nexation. 
 
 "To protest it officially," he said, "we should 
 have to be strong enough to uphold our protest 
 by force, if necessary. A mere protestation might 
 easily become a severe diplomatic defeat and this I 
 wish to avoid." 
 
 The Minister concluded by asking me to send a 
 telegram to my newspaper "to prepare Russian 
 opinion for the eventuality of the annexation of 
 Bosnia-Herzegovina. ' ' 
 
 I told him that it would be impossible for me to 
 do this. "If," said I, "I should send my informa- 
 tion in the form of a conversation that I had at 
 Tergensee with a Russian statesman, it would nat-
 
 176 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 urally be at once known that you must be the man 
 and so this would not accomplish your ends. On 
 the other hand, were I to publish news of so grave 
 a character without giving my source of information, 
 my editors might very possibly withhold its publi- 
 cation." 
 
 I then proposed that he should make use of our 
 official telegraphic bureau, and send a telegram 
 containing the news he had just given me. He 
 agreed to this and the next day I submitted the tele- 
 gram that I had drawn up over night. He made a 
 few changes at first, but afterwards re-wrote it in 
 his own hand. This message I personally sent to 
 Berlin to my successor at the Russian Embassy, 
 Monsieur Van der Vliet, asking him at the same time 
 to hand it to Monsieur Markoff, the representative 
 of our official telegraphs in Germany. In my letter 
 which went at the same time to Van der Vliet, I con- 
 fidentially told him the source of this very grave 
 information. The telegram I sent was published in 
 all Russian papers, and reproduced in all the well 
 known European newspapers. It had the effect of 
 a bomb, and unloosed a Russian press campaign of 
 the most violent and bitter character. 
 
 On the 27th of September I had another long in- 
 terview with Iswolsky. I asked him if he could 
 answer for the concurrence of the European Cab- 
 inets in the matter of the projected compensations. 
 
 Iswolsky seemed to be absolutely sure of the Cab-
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 177 
 
 inets of Rome, Paris and London. As for that of 
 Berlin, he thought it would follow the diplomatic 
 action of Austria-Hungary; and this was all ar- 
 ranged for between Aerenthal and himself. 
 
 Naturally he had communicated with Aerenthal 
 with regard to these negotiations, and had also given 
 his own ideas to Emperor Nicholas. He proposed 
 to the Emperor that he (Iswolsky) should go to 
 Rome, Paris, London and Berlin to sound political 
 sentiment in these capitals. The Czar accepted his 
 proposal and on the 29th of September Iswolsky 
 started on his journey. 
 
 The King and Queen of Italy and their suite, being 
 at the time at Raconidge, a castle of theirs near Tu- 
 rin, Iswolsky went There first. He was accompanied 
 by Madame Iswolsky. The King and Queen greeted 
 him warmly. He was given the Grand Cordon of St. 
 Maurice and Lazare, and Madame Iswolsky was paid 
 marked attention by the Queen. Very much grati- 
 fied with his pourparlers with the Italian statesmen 
 Iswolsky left Italy and reached Paris the first of 
 October, 1908. 
 
 That same day Monsieur Pichon, then Minister 
 of Foreign Affairs in Paris, in a conversation with 
 Iswolsky regarding the annexation said to him that 
 according to reports he had received on the Balkan 
 situation from the French represent at Lves in Sofia, 
 the annexation was already an accomplished fact in 
 principle; that it would be preceded by the an-
 
 178 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 nouncement of Bulgarian independence and that 
 Prince Ferdinand would assume the title of Czar. 
 
 Iswolsky would not believe it, although he too had 
 similar reports to those of Monsieur Pichon, which 
 had been sent to him by Monsieur Sementovsky, our 
 Minister at Sofia. 
 
 For Iswolsky to admit that these items of informa- 
 tion were correct, was to admit his defeat at the 
 hands of Aerenthal! Iswolsky 's colossal self-es- 
 teem, always to the fore, would not permit any such 
 thing, so he denied the truth of the reports, and tried 
 to make himself believe that all was well. But he de- 
 nied things that were self-evident to any one. 
 
 On the evening of October 1st he received a tele- 
 gram from Sementovsky in Sofia, telling him that 
 the Proclamation of Bulgarian Independence would 
 be issued the next day! This news was confirmed 
 by our Ambassador at Vienna, to whom Iswolsky 
 frantically telegraphed and the Ambassador added 
 that the annexation would follow the proclamation, 
 that is to say, within a very few days. And so it 
 happened. On October 2nd Prince Ferdinand of 
 Coburg proclaimed the Independence of Bulgaria, 
 and assumed the title of Czar, and on the 4th Octo- 
 ber the annexation of Bosnia-Herzegovina was a 
 fait accompli! 
 
 It is evident that Count Aerenthal completely and 
 successfully duped Iswolsky at the Buchlau meet- 
 ing. It is possible that the treaty between the Dual
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 179 
 
 Monarchy and Bulgaria was made after ^swolsky's 
 visit to Count Berchtold. Naturally, this treaty was 
 projected long before this, but Count Aerenthal 
 feared a rupture with Russia, knowing full well that 
 Germany might possibly not uphold her ally, Austria- 
 Hungary, as she was not at all ready at that date to 
 begin the European War (October, 1908). 
 
 But Iswolsky, having imprudently assured Berlin 
 that Russia would not make war, and would be con- 
 tent with adequate compensations, Aerenthal had 
 absolutely a free hand. Furthermore, as Iswolsky 
 had told him the compensations Russia would expect, 
 Aerenthal, wishing to embroil his Russian colleague 
 as deeply as possible in order that he might have 
 the least possible success, won a signal victory by 
 hurrying on the Bulgarian Proclamation with his 
 Government's concurrence, and made it appear as 
 if Austria-Hungary and not Russia had determined 
 on Bulgarian independence of Turkey. 
 
 Bulgaria played Austria-Hungary's game by not 
 referring the question to Russia who up to that 
 time had stood sponsor for Bulgaria in Europe. As 
 to the other compensations demanded by Isw T olsky, 
 Aerenthal, once the annexation was accomplished, 
 proposed to present them formally to the other For- 
 eign Chancelleries, and this he did. 
 
 Of course Iswolsky was undone, and in a terrible 
 rage. He decided nevertheless to continue his 
 pourparlers in Europe on the matter of compensa-
 
 180 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 tions as he thought the only thing left for him to 
 do was to fight matters out to the bitter end. 
 
 The French Cabinet promised him its fullest sup- 
 port, but the great problem was to win over the 
 British Cabinet in the very delicate questions of the 
 Bosphorus and Dardanelles, and the Berlin cabinet 
 in the matter of Serbia and Montenegro, whose af- 
 fairs were intimately connected with those of Ger- 
 many's ally, the Dual Monarchy. 
 
 Iswolsky therefore hastened to London to begin 
 operations. He was received in the British capital 
 with great cordiality, but when he touched upon the 
 question of the Dardanelles, he was quickly told that 
 this matter could not be decided hurriedly. He was 
 assured, however, that in principle the British Cab- 
 inet had nothing against passing a resolution on the 
 Serbian question which would not antagonize- Ber- 
 lin, though it would first be necessary to find out the 
 status of public opinion in England. It seemed evi- 
 dent that the reply of the British Government was a 
 refusal, disguised in polite terms. 
 
 From London Iswolsky intended to go to Berlin. 
 He sent a telegram to Count Osten-Sacken asking 
 him to advise with the German Emperor as to the 
 possibility of his ( Iswolsky 's) seeing him. 
 
 I have referred to the fact that William did not 
 like Iswolsky, and he decided that now was the 
 favourable time to humiliate the Russian statesman. 
 He knew perfectly well that Iswolsky had not sue-
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 181 
 
 ceeded in London, so he sent word to Iswolsky that 
 he was very busy with the festivities attendant upon 
 the marriage of his son, August Willielni, and asked 
 him if he would come to Berlin after the ceremonies 
 were over. The intention of the German Emperor 
 to wound Iswolsky was evident, for, under normal 
 circumstances he would of course have invited our 
 Foreign Minister to Berlin and the festivities. 
 
 Iswolsky went to Baden-Baden, and conforming 
 to the Emperor's wishes, returned to Berlin a week 
 later. 
 
 I was in the German capital at this time, and had 
 been able to satisfy myself completely and accurately 
 as to the sentiment in both official and public Ger- 
 many. I knew perfectly well how greatly German 
 political circles feared a war then. Aerenthal's 
 startlingly brusque action had been severely con- 
 demned by all parties, and r elief was only felt when 
 it was known that Russia, too, did not wish for war, i\> 
 and that she would not provoke one. 
 
 It was only then that the German Foreign Office 
 decided to press Austria-Hungary further into the 
 matter, and at the same time, if possible, to force 
 a diplomatic defeat on Russia. I knew Herr Stein, 
 Editor-in-Chief of the Frankfurter Zeitung, inti- 
 mately, who was persona gratissima with Prince von 
 Buelow. He confided to me that the Emperor would 
 avoid discussing politics with Iswolsky. I did not 
 hesitate to transmit this information at once to our 

 
 182 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Foreign Minister, who was very doubtful if it were 
 correct. But it was true, for on the very day of 
 Iswolsky's arrival in Berlin, he was asked to a 
 family luncheon at the palace. The Emperor 
 broached all sorts of subjects, with the exception of 
 the political situation of the day. 
 
 Prince von Buelow later gave a banquet in honour 
 of his Russian colleague, but he too avoided delicate 
 questions, and refused to allow the conversation to 
 impinge on political questions in the slightest way. 
 Among those present at this dinner were the high- 
 est court functionaries, and a veritable host of 
 beautiful women. It was only at the last moment 
 on the day of Iswolsky's departure that the Ger- 
 man Chancellor came to see him to discuss politics. 
 It was seven o'clock at night, and Iswolsky's train 
 left at eleven. To his great disappointment, this in- 
 terview did not at all satisfy our Minister of Foreign 
 Affairs. When he began to speak of "compensa- 
 tions," Prince von Buelow said that Germany had 
 nothing to do with the question, and that she was 
 not interested, advising him at the same time to 
 take up the matter directly with the cabinet at 
 Vienna. 
 
 Our Minister's defeat was complete! 
 
 On his return to Russia he fought the entire press, 
 which had started a very vicious campaign against 
 him. On the other hand he tried to continue the 
 struggle against Aerenthal. Endless negotiations
 
 THE ARRIVISTES 183 
 
 between them followed, to such an extent that Berlin 
 decided to put a stop to them. 
 
 In the early part of March, 1909, Count Pourtales, 
 the German Ambassador at Petrograd, came to see 
 Iswolsky, and handed him a sort of ultimatum. 
 
 German^had_had_enough ! Fearing complications 
 she demanded formally that the annexation of Bos- 
 nia-HerzeffivmcTbe at once recognized by Russia 
 ivithout any reservations whatsoever. 
 
 Iswolsky had to consent, and his discomfiture was 
 complete, His snobbishness and his incredible ego- 
 ism had ruined him. 
 
 Tn the salons of Petrograd he was given the sou- 
 briquet of "The Prince of the Bosphorus." In his 
 conceit Iswolsky could not see that he was being 
 mocked, accepting the nickname with pleased smiles. 
 The Russian press continued its vitriolic attacks on 
 him, and his many enemies did their utmost to un- 
 dermine his position. His final disgrace was first 
 and foremost due to the matter of the Bosnia-Herze- 
 govina annexation, though his resignation did not, 
 however, take place until a year later. 
 
 It would be unjust, however, to judge Iswolsky 
 solely by the bad blunder he made in the Balkan 
 question. Despite his faults he had without doubt 
 the stuff in him of which statesmen are made. Per- 
 suaded as he was that our relations with Germany 
 had undergone a serious change, he tried to replace 
 them by other diplomatic combinations.
 
 184 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 He undertook pourparle rs with the London Cab- 
 inet on the PersianQiiestion, which had always been 
 the (kirpf^ointlirour relations with Great Britain. 
 
 In 1907 he concluded an understanding with the 
 London Cabinet which had as its object the delimita- 
 tion of the zones of Russo-Anglo influence in Persia, 
 and by so doing, paved the way for an eventual com- 
 plete rapprochement with England. He followed 
 this treaty by an entente with Japan, an entente the 
 value of which proved itself thoroughly at the out- 
 break of the present world war. 
 
 Viscount Motono completed this understanding by 
 his Treaty of 1916 — which was published in January, 
 1918, by the Maximalists, and which made such a stir. 
 
 The foreign policy of the Russian Empire changed 
 completely. Our relations with Germany were still 
 correct, but the secular traditions which had existed 
 between Petrograd and Berlin disappeared into the 
 vistas of the past. We now swam openly in British 
 waters. The Anglo-Franco-Eusso Entente took, the 
 place of the old Tri-Emperor Alliance. Iswolsky 
 was the real founde r of R ussia 'sjie w policy, w hich 
 was continued by his successor, Monsieur Sazonoff.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 
 
 SazonofTs Policy: Russian Action in the Balkans. Bulgaria, 
 
 Serbia and Roumania. Foreign Influence on Russian 
 
 International Policy 
 
 Finding himself attacked on all sides by the press, 
 and by his enemies, and seeing the foundation of his 
 power crumbling away under his feet, Iswolsky ap- 
 pointed Sazonoff Vice-Foreign-Minister in the hope 
 that he would secure the support and influence 
 of Stolypin. But his hope proved vain. A few 
 months later Iswolsky was made Ambassador to 
 Paris, and Sazonoff Jiecam^-F-oreign Minister. 
 
 Monsieur Sazonoff thus owed his career partly to 
 Iswolsky, whose secretary he had been at the Holy 
 See in Rome, and partly to the fact that he had 
 married the sister of Mme. Stolypin, when Stolypin 
 was President of the Ministerial Council and om- 
 nipotent in the Empire. 
 
 I knew Sazonoff intimately. He had been my col- 
 league in tfreForeign Office where our desks were 
 opposite each other. We had both been appointed 
 
 Imperial Chamberlains in the same year, and made 
 
 is:,
 
 186 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 our debut at the Court at the same time in March, 
 1898, at Moscow during the Imperial Visit to the old 
 capital. 
 
 The new minister of Foreign Affairs — although 
 not nearly so intelligent, as his predecessor — was 
 by no means stupid. He was chiefly handicapped by 
 lack of experience. His whole experience had been 
 "gained in London and at the Holy See, and included 
 only one appointment as a Minister of Russia — that 
 of Resident Minister to the Papal Court. 
 
 As Chief of the Foreign Office at first he was mod- 
 est, and showed himself eager to learn, allowing him- 
 self to be guided by his brother-in-law Stolypin. But 
 he gradually became stubborn and insisted on dis- 
 playing his own abilities, especially after the assas- 
 sination of Stolypin. His successes in the Duma 
 completely spoiled him. The Liberal party gave 
 him credit for being progressive and when the war 
 broke out the deputies, who, with but few exceptions, 
 were not at all partial to our existing foreign policies, 
 credited him also with our understanding with Great 
 Britain, and with Italy. Each time that SazonofT 
 appeared in the Duma he was received with vo cifer- 
 ous applause. - This was the climax which completely 
 turned his head. He believed himself to be another 
 Talleyrand. In making decisions he refused to 
 listen to any advice tendered by others, seeming to 
 consider he was above criticism. Zinovieff the elder,
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 187 
 
 our ex-Ambassador to Constantinople and a diplo- 
 mat well-known in all European Capitals for his in- 
 telligence, said to me : 
 
 "I never see Sazonoff any more. He does not talk 
 over affairs these days ! He.de£r.&es. ' ' 
 
 But notwithstanding his self-assurance, Sazon- 
 off was quite amenable to the influence of the For- 
 eign Ambassadors accredited to Petrograd. 
 
 Before the Great War, Sazonoff naturally endeav- 
 oured to carry on Iswolsky's policies, especially 
 where England was concerned. But at the same 
 time he was carefully watching Berlin, and shortly 
 before the war he concluded with the Berlin Cabinet 
 an entente regarding Persia, which, as I have already 
 explained, was in my opinion very humiliating for 
 Russia. He promised to link Teheran and Bagdad 
 by rail at our expense! In this way we completely 
 lost our influence in Persia. In the south our under- 
 standing with England gave the British a definite 
 sphere of influence in the empire of the Shah, and in 
 the north, where England had given us a similar 
 sphere, Sazonoff by this railway allowed the Ger- 
 mans to penetrate. 
 
 But his lack of experience and his unfortunate 
 self-confidence were still more apparent in his Balkan 
 policy-. 
 
 In the month of April, 1912, Serbia and Bulgaria 
 concluded an offensive and defensive alliance. This
 
 188 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 treaty had been first submitted, and received Rus- 
 sia's sanction. It was obvious that this alliance 
 had Turkey in view, and that war would ensue. 
 
 I was then in the Balkans as special correspondent 
 of my paper {The Birjevia Wiedemosti — the larg- 
 est daily in Petrograd) and had stayed for several 
 weeks in Belgrade. From my conversations with 
 Prince Alexander, heir to the Serbian throne, Mon- 
 sieur Paschitch, President of the Siberian Council, 
 and also with Monsieur de Hartwig, our Minister in 
 Serbia, probably the best informed men on the Bal- 
 kan situation, I had gained the firm conviction that 
 Serbia was at that moment ready for war, that this 
 was quite understood and agreed to by Montenegro, 
 and that Sofia was to give the signal which would 
 precipitate war. Later when I was in Bulgaria my 
 conviction was confirmed. I was perfectly certain 
 war would break out very shortly. More than that, 
 on the 24th of July, 1912, I sent a telegram to my 
 paper in which I predicted that hostilities would be- 
 gin about the end of September. This telegram was 
 quoted everywhere at the time and subsequent events 
 proved I was right. On the 2nd of October, 1912 
 (modern style) the first shot was fired by Monte- 
 negro. 
 
 I had exceptional means of information because 
 my brother-in-law, (Sementovsky), had been Minis- 
 ter of Sofia for many years. He and his wife were 
 very popular there, enjoying an exceptional position
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 189 
 
 in political circles, and being very friendly \vitli_Czar- 
 Ferdinand. I also had met the Czar of Bulgaria be- 
 fore, and when 1 arrived in Sofia immediately called 
 formally at the palace. Two hours later I was vis- 
 ited by Monsieur Dobrovitch, chief of the Czar's 
 private information bureau, and his right hand man. 
 Dobrovitch welcomed me in his master's name, and 
 added that Ferdinand wanted to see me, and would 
 like to know how T long I intended remaining in Sofia. 
 Knowing my answer would be reported verbally to 
 the Czar, and having had experience of his little 
 idiosyncrasies, I answered: 
 
 "To have the great honour of being received by 
 your Sovereign I have decided to stay in Sofia weeks, 
 months, years, and to die here, if necessary." 
 
 Shortly afterwards, Dobrovitch visited me a sec- 
 ond time. He told me that Ferdinand would receive 
 me on the following day, but asked that our conver- 
 sation should not be published in my paper. I in- 
 sisted, however, and Dobrovitch sent me word in 
 the evening that the Czar consented to the publica- 
 tion of an interview on the condition that it was 
 first submitted to him as censor. 
 
 Ferdinand received me privately and the Queen 
 was the only one present at our interview, which 
 lasted two and a half hours. The Czar was most 
 agreeable, and recalled many circumstances of our 
 previous meetings, spoke with seeming affection of 
 Prince LobanoJf^_nf_K[k^plas II, of Count Osten-
 
 190 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Sacken, and with his usual enthusiasm for science, 
 art and music — in short, he touched upon all possible 
 subjects of conversation — with the exception of that 
 which interested me the most, the political situation 
 of the moment. It was only when I rose to make 
 my adieu, that he said to me : 
 
 "You have just come from Serbia, — what are your 
 impressions?" 
 
 I answered that the eyes of the Serbians were fas- 
 tened on the royal palace of Sofia, whence the word 
 of command was expected. I added that it was 
 sufficient to have conversed with Prince Alexander, 
 with Paschitch, and with Hartwig to realize opinion 
 in Belgrade. At Sofia, I continued, it was not so 
 easy. I had there interviewed a dozen statesmen 
 all of whom were no doubt intelligent, but who all 
 seemed to hold different points of view. 
 
 The Czar smiled, and turning to the Queen, said 
 to her: 
 
 "You hear what the Baron has said to us, Madame ! 
 You and I, too, know something of these matters!" 
 and he gesticulated as if he carried a heavy weight 
 on his shoulders. 
 
 My interview with Czar Ferdinand and with his 
 ministers confirmed the information I had gathered 
 in Belgrade, and I reported accordingly to my paper. 
 When the report was published M. Sazonoff was vis- 
 iting European capitals. He was absolutely certain 
 that war would not ensue and so expressed himself
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 191 
 
 strongly in Paris and London. In speaking of the 
 new Balkan Allies he said : 
 
 "They will never dare!" 
 
 When he reached Berlin he learned that war had 
 been declared and said to his intimates : 
 
 "The hounds have slipped my leash." 
 
 On his return to Petrograd I met him at the rail- 
 way station of Tsarkoe-Seloe, the residence of the 
 Emperor, where we were both staying. Sazonoff 
 asked me into his carriage to ride with him to Petro- 
 grad. 
 
 "Where the devil did you get your information ?" 
 he asked abruptly. 
 
 My answer greatly astonished him. 
 
 1 ' From exactly the same source as you could have 
 had it just as easily. More especially of course, 
 thanks to Hartwig. You, however, did not agree 
 with Hartwig, and did not follow his line of reason- 
 ing, preferring to listen to the reports of Nikludoff, 
 (who had succeeded the late Sementovsky as the Rus- 
 sian Minister at Sofia). Naturally as you did not 
 want war, you only listened to those who were of the 
 same opinion and desires." 
 
 It must be admitted that on the outbreak of hos- 
 tilities, Sazonoff knew how to get out and keep out 
 of trouble. 
 
 Relying on our understanding with France, he suc- 
 ceeded in forcing Austria-Hungary to recognize two 
 principles :
 
 192 RECOLLECTIONS OP A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 The disinterestedness of the great European 
 Powers in the war, and 
 
 (2) The non-limitation of the theatre of war in 
 the Balkans. 
 
 Austria-Hungary evacuated the Sanjak of Novi- 
 bazar, a Turkish Province she had militarily occupied 
 since the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 
 thus permitted the Serbs to join with the Monte- 
 negrins. 
 
 It is certain that Germany, and especially Austria- 
 Hungary, were convinced the Slavic Balkan alliance 
 would be crushed by Turkey, but when the victori- 
 ous Serbs reached the shores of the Adriatic Vienna 
 received a severe shock. 
 
 Count Berchtold, at that time Austro-Hungarian 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs, promptly proposed a 
 conference of the Powers to discuss Balkan problems, 
 and Sazonoff was weak enough to accept this pro- 
 posal. The conference took place, and resulted in 
 the evacuation by the Montenegrins of the city of 
 Scutari which they had occupied by force of arms; 
 the creation of Albania as an independent state but 
 naturally dependent on the Central Powers with a 
 German Prince, (Prince Wied), as Sovereign; and in 
 the retirement from Durazzo on the Adriatic of the 
 unfortunate Serbs. The Serbians retired — nay, 
 were forced into Macedonia. Bulgaria shrieked 
 "Treachery," and a second Balkan war — this time
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 193 
 
 between the Allies of the previous day — broke out in 
 1913. 
 
 On one of my previous visits to the ex-Prime Min- 
 ister of Russia, Monsieur Goremikine, the old states- 
 man strongly criticized Sazonoff's policy. He said 
 to me: 
 
 "Why did he go to London at all? Had I been 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs and had in my pocket 
 the treaty with Austria-Hungary which did not limit 
 the theatre of war, and had been asked to a confer- 
 ence, I should have simply replied : ' Gentlemen, let 
 the Slavs and the Turks cut each other's throats to 
 their hearts' content! and when they have had 
 enough of this and they make a treaty of peace, there 
 will be plenty of time to hand their treaty round the 
 chancelleries of Europe.' " 
 
 Count Witte too on his part did not hesitate to 
 criticize Sazonoff's work severely. Unfortunately 
 Goremikine, through indolence, and Witte, through 
 impotence, did not bring their respective points of 
 view to the Czar's attention. Thus Sazonoff re- 
 mained master of the situation. Afraid of a second 
 Balkan War and very desirous of preventing it, he 
 persuaded the Emperor to intervene personally. 
 This was a great mistake. The telegram of the 
 Russian Emperor to the Kings of Serbia and Bul- 
 garia gave no practical result, and Russian prestige 
 in the Balkans was seriously damaged.
 
 194 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 The second Balkan war was concluded by the 
 treaty of Bucharest in 1914. This treaty pleased no 
 one although I know that this is directly contrary to 
 the opinion of my friend, M. Andre Cheradame, in 
 his remarkable book "The Pan-German Plot Un- 
 masked. " Serbia victorious was very dissatisfied 
 at not having obtained an outlet on the Adriatic, 
 Greece did not receive all she hoped for in Mace- 
 donia. Roumania was not content with what she 
 received in Dobrudja and felt she had been pre- 
 vented by Russia from marching on Sofia. Bulgaria 
 lost all round. The Bulgarians were furious with 
 Russia because they believed Russia had forced Rou- 
 mania to intervene. The Treaty of Bucharest was 
 chiefly the work of Sazonoff. It was obviously an 
 expedient which sowed a harvest sure to be ripe for 
 reaping one day. Yet when the harvest came in the 
 present world war, as far as the Balkan States were 
 concerned Sazonoff pursued his old policies, blind 
 to their consequences. 
 
 I am personally convinced that Sazonoff did not 
 believe in the possibility of a European war which 
 would develop into a world-wide war, and he im- 
 pressed this belief both on France and England. 
 They considered their interests in the Balkans small 
 beside those of Russia and naturally preferred to 
 follow the lead of Sazonoff. 
 
 On the first of June, 1914, Emperor Nicholas had 
 an interview with King Charles I of Roumania, at
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 195 
 
 Constanza. I was there at the time, and learned 
 through Roumanian statesmen, and intimate friends 
 of mine, that King Charles had made certain prom- 
 ises to Russia. For example a military convention 
 which had been in force between Austria-Hungary 
 and Roumania for more than twenty years would 
 not be renewed. Austria-Hungary, in consequence, 
 lost a very strong support in the Balkans. Further- 
 more, when Archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to 
 the throne of the Habsburgs, was assassinated at 
 Serajevo, on the 28th of June, 1914, Sazonoff, doubt- 
 less, knew of the war-like arrangements the Arch- 
 duke had concluded in his Castle at Krobatin with 
 the German Emperor, — yet as far as I could judge 
 from my conversation with members of his entour- 
 age, he was convinced that if the Archduke were out 
 of the way, the peace of Europe would not be en- 
 dangered. For my part after I left Constanza I 
 spent ten days in Bucharest, and then went to Buda- 
 pest and Vienna. At both places I had interviews 
 with Austro-Hungarian statesmen; as for instance, 
 Count Tisza, President of the Hungarian Council, 
 and Count Forgach, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs 
 in Austria-Hungary. Some of these interviews I 
 sent to my paper in Petrograd and in them, contrary 
 to the opinion held by Sazonoff, I held strongly to 
 the opinion that owing to the death of the Archduke 
 the situation had become infinitely more serious. 
 Count Forgach, — who had been a colleague of mine
 
 196 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 at Munich — was most explicit. He did not attempt 
 to hide the rage he was in against the Serbians. He 
 said that Serbia fully deserved the most drastic kind 
 of lesson, and added that Austria-Hungary would 
 know how to inflict it ! Coming from such a source 
 this was enough. Forgach was notorious as the 
 forger of the Friedjung trial and one who would 
 take any steps to harm Serbia. He and the German 
 Emperor's representative, Tchirsky, were hand in 
 glove. 
 
 When I returned to Petrograd on the 2nd of July, 
 1914, I reported my impressions to Monsieur Nera- 
 toff, vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs. I found him 
 very sceptical regarding my forebodings, and as I 
 knew that Neratpff was_ Sazonoff *s alter ego, I real- 
 ized that his views were th6se~ot~'tlle Foreign Min- 
 ister himself, and that nothing would change them. 
 
 After the declaration of war the Duma met in 
 solemn conclave. All the ministers of State, and 
 the foreign representatives of friendly allied Powers 
 were received with wild enthusiasm. Sazonoff was 
 unable to begin his speech for several minutes be- 
 cause of the cheering of the deputies, and he thought 
 the cheering was intended as a personal tribute and 
 as confirming the excellence of his policies. 
 
 It is apparent by simply examining a map which 
 shows clearly the southern and eastern zones of the 
 Great War, that the role Serbia would play in any 
 such war was most important. Serbia lay as a bar-
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 197 
 
 rier between Constantinople and the Central Powers, 
 -anttlfer army of about 400,000 men, already victori- 
 ous in the two Balkan wars, was a constant menace to 
 Austria-Hungary. It should have been evident that 
 the efforts of our diplomats in the Balkan Peninsula 
 must concentrate themselves on endeavouring to help 
 and use_the Serbian forces as much as possible. It 
 was therefore, necessary to, 
 
 (1) Force Greece to action. 
 
 (2) Bring Roumania into the Alliance. 
 
 (3) Either assure ourselves that Bulgaria would 
 join us, or that, at least, she would remain neutral, 
 and 
 
 (4) To unite Italian military strategy with that 
 of Serbia. 
 
 Unfortunately Russian diplomacy lacked initia- 
 tive, and drew the Allies into the same mischiev- 
 ous situation. Dynastic considerations were allowed 
 to affect diplomatic and military action, and this 
 unhealthy state of affairs was ultimately the cause 
 of the Serbian disaster. 
 
 Greece in 1913 had concluded an offensive and de- 
 fensive alliance with Serbia, which was primarily 
 aimed at Bulgaria, but also had as an objective the 
 possibility of an European war. It was stipulated 
 in this treaty that if Serbia were attacked Greece 
 would come to her assistance with all her military 
 and naval forces. 
 
 King Constantine of Greece, who married a sister
 
 198 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 of the German Emperor, and who received his mili- 
 tary education in Berlin, regarded his rank of Gen- 
 eral in the Prussian Army nearly, if not quite, as 
 reverently as he did his position as King of Greece. 
 He was pro-German-to iris very marrow. He was 
 whole heartedly against an alliance of Greece with 
 any powers inimical to Germany and German inter- 
 ests. Venizelos, the only great statesman and dip- 
 lomat in Greece, to whom Greece owed the re-acquisi- 
 tion of her former territory, and who was the author 
 of the treaty with Serbia, had to resign. He was re- 
 placed by creatures nominated by the King, who 
 falsely interpreted the treaty with Serbia, and con- 
 fined Greece to a condition of neutrality entirely pro- 
 German in its sentiments. 
 
 All diplomatic action of the Allies should have 
 concentrated in an attempt to force an anti-Con- 
 stantine movement — or uprising — in Athens. In 
 Paris the true situation was realized. But as much 
 cannot be said for the authorities either in London 
 or in Petrograd. The King of Greece sent one of 
 his brothers to England and another to Russia to 
 plead his cause. Prince Christopher worked in Lon- 
 don, and Prince Nicholas — married to a Grand Duch- 
 ess of Russia, — did his best in Petrograd. They 
 both used every possible argument regarding their 
 dynastic interests, and both Sir Edward Grey and 
 SazonofT seem to have been blind to the real situa- 
 tion.
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 199 
 
 The islands of the Grecian Archipelago served 
 regularly as bases for the revictualling and remu- 
 nitioning of German submarines. 
 
 A certain Baron Schenk, the German representa- 
 tive in Athens, became the centre of a web of s pies 
 
 spread over the whole Balkan Peninsula. VenTzelos, 
 whose life was in danger, had to leave Athens, and it 
 was only after the massacre of French officers and 
 sailors at Athens which was inspired and abetted by 
 the Royal Court itself, that Allied diplomacy began 
 to show some signs of energy . 
 
 King Constantine eventually was forced to leave 
 the country, and his son Alexander was proclaimed 
 King. Venizelos became Prime Minister again, and 
 Greece — at last — made common cause with the Al- 
 lies. 
 
 But it was too late ! Serbia no longpr existed ! 
 
 The treaty which linked Serbia with Roumania, 
 made in 1913, had expired automatically after the 
 peace of Bucharest. But it was evident that Rou- 
 manian interests lay more with the Allies than with 
 the Central Powers. Among the Provinces of Hun- 
 gary was Transylvania, inhabited by five or six mil- 
 lion Roumanians, and naturally Roumania — follow- 
 ing a thoroughly nationalistic policy — would keep 
 the annexation of Transylvania ever in view. But 
 at the beginning of the war the throne of Roumania 
 was still occupied by King Charles I, by birth and 
 in his whole soul a Hohenzollern, who had linked the
 
 200 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 destinies of his country with those of the Central 
 Powers. Despite this fact, through the pressure 
 brought to bear on him by the majority of his peo- 
 ple, — he had to denounce the military convention 
 which he had concluded with Austria-Hungary in 
 1884. When the war broke out he held a Crown 
 Council (August 2nd, 1914) and began by declaring 
 that according to his convictions, Roumania should 
 become an ally of the Central Powers. But, as he 
 said, in case the majority of the Council should not be 
 in accord with such a policy, he was ready to follow a 
 policy of the strictest neutrality. He added that 
 this was his final concession, and that he would rather 
 abdicate than act in any way against the Central 
 Powers. 
 
 The meeting was a very turbulent one. The King 
 found some support in Monsieur Carp, the ex-Presi- 
 dent of the Council, and a strong partisan of Ger- 
 many, and also in the person of Monsieur Marghilo- 
 man — also an ex-President of the Council who voted 
 for neutrality. 
 
 The true patriots, such men as the late N. Philip- 
 pesco and M. Take Ionescu, demanded immediate 
 action on the part of Eoumania with the Allied 
 Powers. Monsieur Bratiano, the leader of the Lib- 
 eral Party, and the most powerful man in the coun- 
 try, who was President of the Council, played a dou- 
 ble game. He declared for neutrality as he did not 
 wish to break with the King, but in a devious man-
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 201 
 
 ner he let it be known to the partisans of the Allies 
 that he was completely at one with their aspirations, 
 and only awaited a favourable opportunity to force 
 the King's hand and to follow a national policy. 
 Thus at the beginning of the war, Roumania pre- 
 served her neutrality. 
 
 But this neutralitv was of a rather curious char- 
 acter! The Roumanian Government did not oppose 
 the re-victualling and munitioning of Serbia by Rus- 
 sia. We had installed at Reni, on the Danube and on 
 the Roumanian frontier a special Military Commis- 
 sion, presided over by Admiral Vesselkine. The 
 ships belonging to this Commission brought the mu- 
 nitions, equipment, and supplies down the Danube 
 to the Serbians under the very eyes of the Roumanian 
 authorities, but the latter deliberately turned their 
 eyes another way! At the same time the Central 
 Powers were unostentatiously passing whole batter- 
 ies of guns of heavy calibre, shells and cartridges by 
 the million, aeroplanes in sections, rifles by the thou- 
 sand, through Roumania, all destined for Bulgaria 
 and Turkey! 
 
 German and Austrian officers were at complete lib- 
 erty to come and go at will from Berlin and Vienna 
 to Sofia and Constantinople. Furthermore, Rou- 
 mania re-fitted and re-victualled the Central Powers 
 witli wheat and other cereals, and to cap all, finally 
 concluded a commercial treaty with them. By this 
 treaty Roumania promised to supply Austria-Hun-
 
 202 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 gary and Germany with a certain quantity of wheat, 
 other cereals, and petrol, in exchange for war mate- 
 rials wherewith to make war. This was ' ' strict neu- 
 trality" with a vengeance! 
 
 Russia several times tried to protest against the 
 actions of Roumania in this matter, but each time 
 Bratiano excused himself and assured the cabinet at 
 Petrograd that he could not do otherwise. He sol- 
 emnly stated he Only awaited the opportunity to join 
 the Allies openly, adding that Roumania was not yet 
 ready from a military point of view. The greater 
 number of Roumania 's heavy guns were made by 
 Krupp, and the rifles by Mauser, and the Mannlicher 
 Company — both being German and Austrian firms. 
 It was therefore necessary, he said, to go to Germany 
 and Austria for munitions for these weapons; and 
 it stood to reason that the Central Powers would 
 not provide him with such munitions unless he turned 
 over food stuffs to them ! As to the question of per- 
 mitting the carriage through Roumania of war ma- 
 terials for Bulgaria and Turkey, and allowing Aus- 
 trian and German officers to go and come as they 
 pleased, Bratiano denied the facts absolutely. 
 He explained such reports by saying that they were 
 circulated by his enemies ! When hard pressed for 
 the truth by the diplomatic insistence of the Allies, 
 and afraid to declare himself one way or the other 
 as to the date when Roumania might be expected by 
 them to join their forces, Bratiano let it be under-
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 203 
 
 stood that he would join the Allies as soon as Italy 
 joined them. 
 
 In order to lend colour to this assertion he 
 sent a personal friend of his, the brother of 
 the Roumanian Minister at Petrograd, M. Dia- 
 mandi, to Rome. When Italy finally did join 
 in the campaign, Roumania, instead of doing as 
 she had said, still maintained her neutrality! Bra- 
 tiano explained this to the Allies by calling attention 
 to the Italian refusal to link their forces and align 
 their strategy with Roumania. It must be admitted 
 that this explanation was well founded. Italy con- 
 centrated all her efforts on the Trentino, and Trieste 
 as her main objective, and would not extend her 
 operations any further. 
 
 I was again in Bucharest in July, 1916, and stayed 
 a week then at Reni with Admiral Vesselkine, the 
 head of our Military Commission, from whom I 
 wished to obtain information as to Roumanian af- 
 fairs for the reason that he knew them intimately. 
 This time I stayed in Roumania fully four months 
 and I was present when she at last took the field. 
 
 At that time the Serbian disaster was un fait ac- 
 compli! The heroic Serbian people had succumbed 
 at last — thanks to the neutrality of Roumania and 
 Greece and the bad judgment of the Allies. The 
 Allied Forces — under command of the French Gen- 
 eral, Sarrail, concentrated at Salonika, were grow- 
 ing day by day, and — with the Serbians — attained
 
 204 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 the not inconsiderable number of slightly more than 
 300,000 men. Venizelos had instituted at Salonika 
 a separate government from that at Athens, and did 
 his best from that place to bring Greece into the war 
 on the side of the Allies. 
 
 The Roumanian Court was now divided into two 
 camps. King Charles had died of a broken heart 
 at not being able to join the Central Powers. King 
 Ferdinand was a constitutional king, and proved him- 
 self such, saying that if the majority of his people 
 demanded an alliance against the Central Powers 
 he would not hesitate to sign it immediately. 
 
 As the Government was in the hands of Bratiano, 
 controlling an absolute majority in the House, the 
 King trusted himself absolutely to him, and conse- 
 quently Bratiano was complete master of the situa- 
 tion. 
 
 The Allied cause, however, found strong support 
 at Court in the person of Queen Marie. Through 
 her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, and later of Co- 
 burg, she is British, and a grand-daughter of Queen 
 Victoria. Her mother was the Grand Duchess Marie 
 of Russia, the only daughter of Alexander II.* 
 
 Queen Marie did not attempt to hide her sympathy 
 for the Allies, and as she was extremely popular in 
 Roumania her influence was invaluable to their 
 cause. The Allies also had several strong sup- 
 porters among the Conservatives. Carp had aban- 
 
 * See Appendix I.
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 205 
 
 doned politics after the death of Charles I, and the 
 Conservative Party of which he had been leader, 
 had split. Marghiloman, preaching neutrality, was 
 at one end of the rope, and Take Ionescu and Philip- 
 pesco, partisans of the Allies, were at the other end. 
 There was a regular tug-of-war going on between the 
 two factions. 
 
 I succeeded, while in Bucharest, in keeping on the 
 best of terms with all the parties, and for a time my 
 wife and I were the guests of Philippesco at his 
 charming villa. I was also very intimate with Take 
 Ionescu, and lunched several times a week with Marg- 
 hiloman. 
 
 One day the last named stated his convictions to 
 me plainly. He said : 
 
 "The impossible must never be attempted. My 
 political adversaries want to swallow Transylvania, 
 and even the Banat! Our stomachs cannot digest 
 all this. In annexing Transylvania, which is cul- 
 turally far more advanced than we are, we should in 
 time become Transylvanians, and no longer be Rou- 
 manians. Besides we are not ready for military 
 action, and our defeat — from my point of view — 
 would be a foregone conclusion. We cannot give any 
 serious military support to the Allies, and I am con- 
 vinced that our neutrality will be more profitable to 
 them in the long run, than if we took the field ac- 
 tively. ' ' 
 
 It is necessary to state that since I had first known
 
 206 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 him some years before, Marghiloman had lost a great 
 deal of his prestige, even in the inner-circles of his 
 own party, the leadership of which had passed into 
 the hand of his adversaries. But the Conservative 
 Party, as a whole, only exercised a small influence in 
 the House, which was dominated by the Liberals. 
 The latter consisted of bankers, rich men of the 
 Bourgeoisie, and of various other individuals who 
 hoped for a public career by strictly carrying out the 
 orders of Bratiano. 
 
 The latter was cunning, and had cleverly known 
 how to make game — and profitable game of the Al- 
 lies' Representatives at Bucharest, and to use them 
 for his own ends! Unfortunately he did not have 
 a very difficult game to play ! 
 
 The Russian Minister, — Monsieur Poklewsky- 
 Kosiell, — was by no means unintelligent, but having 
 fallen out with the first Secretary of our Legation, 
 Monsieur Arseniefr", who had strong friends at court 
 in Petrograd, he narrowly missed being recalled, 
 and kept his position solely by the powerful and 
 friendly support of SazonofT. He very naturally 
 wished to reinstate himself in the good graces of our 
 Foreign Office, and saw but one way in which he 
 could do so, namely by forcing Roumania into the 
 war. How he was to achieve this mattered not one 
 whit to him! Knowing that everything depended 
 on Bratiano, he became a very docile instrument in 
 the Roumanian Minister 's hands. Moreover he had
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 207 
 
 embroiled himself with Admiral Vesselkine, and 
 when the latter called the attention of the Russian 
 Government to the serious infractions of the neu- 
 trality of Roumania for the benefit and profit of the 
 Central Powers, Poklewsky, under Bratiano's influ- 
 ence, sent home reports which were entirely con- 
 tradictory to those of the Admiral. 
 
 The French Minister, Monsieur Blondel, was 
 somewhat in the same position as his Russian col- 
 league. He had been in Roumania for eleven years, 
 and his daughter had married the Governor of Silis- 
 tria. In Paris Blondel was thought to be too Rou- 
 manian in his tendencies and his recall was decided 
 upon, but he was eager to keep his post and, as 
 his only method of doing so, stuck tightly to Bra- 
 tiano ! 
 
 The British Minister, Sir H. Barclay, naturally 
 followed the lead of his French colleague. Under 
 the circumstances this was of no great moment as 
 he had not very much influence in Roumania owing 
 to the pre-war policy of England, which did not like 
 to mix too deeply in Balkan affairs. Barclay was 
 also a very good friend of Poklewsky, who had been 
 his colleague in Persia. 
 
 Thus the principal representatives of the Allies 
 were very much under the sway of Bratiano. So 
 much so that when one day after a luncheon at Mon- 
 sieur Poklewsky 's, I criticized Bratiano's policy, 
 Poklewsky and the other two attacked me as though I
 
 208 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 were a personal enemy of theirs, while Barclay 
 marched up and down the room, his hands above his 
 head, wildly protesting against the noise we made. 
 
 Thus Bratiano was really dictator of Roumania. 
 Vain, and very ambitious, he was eager to eclipse his 
 father, who had been the liberator of Roumania, and 
 whose colossal statue stands in the public square at 
 Bucharest. All the Roumanian ministers were his 
 most intimate friends. He had made his brother 
 Minister of War, and at the head of the General 
 Staff he had put his cousin, General Iliesco, a mili- 
 tary nonentity. 
 
 Bratiano did not really know the exact fighting 
 strength of Roumania. He knew that, in case of 
 war, Roumania should be able to put 500,000 men in 
 the field, but he forgot that the Army only had muni- 
 tions for two months, — that it entirely lacked any 
 heavy artillery and had no aeroplanes at all 
 
 Bratiano had but one aim : which was to force the 
 Allies to pay as high a price as possible for Rou- 
 manian assistance. He had assured himself of ter- 
 ritorial aggrandizement by making an agreement 
 which gave Roumania Transylvania, the Banat and 
 a portion of the Bulgarian Dobrudja, but he had not 
 sufficiently assured himself of armed assistance 
 on the part of the Allies. When, a few months be- 
 fore Roumania declared war, Philippesco, who, as 
 Minister of War, knew the very bad condition his 
 country was in, came to Petrograd, he insisted that
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 209 
 
 Russia should support Roumania with an army of 
 at least 250,000 men. In his overweening self-assur- 
 ance Bratiano consented to accept the help of three 
 Russian divisions only, in the Dobrudja region! 
 Furthermore he would listen to no suggestions from 
 the Allies as to the military strategy of Roumania. 
 He proposed to leave a small force in Dobrudja and 
 on the Danube, which he thought would be quite suf- 
 ficient to hold Bulgaria in check, and to throw the 
 weight of the Roumanian army over and beyond the 
 Carpathians, to invade Transylvania. He also hoped 
 to ensure the neutrality of Bulgaria by means 
 of small concessions. In an under-handed way he 
 worked hard for this project, and he was — most un- 
 fortunately — well seconded by the diplomatic actions 
 of the Allies! Of course the Bulgars encouraged 
 him in this belief, setting a trap by which they could 
 force him to pay very dearly for his grave and ego- 
 tistical errors. 
 
 To me, who had studied the situation very carefully 
 at first hand, the danger of a plan of campaign like 
 this was vividly clear! I had sent my newspaper 
 secret reports as to the real position of affairs, not 
 for publication, but in order that it might be in a 
 position to understand matters in view of eventuali- 
 ties which to my mind were certain to follow. One 
 copy of my report I also sent, through Admiral Ves- 
 selkine, to General Brusiloff, who was at that time 
 in command of the Russian Armies in the South, and
 
 210 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 another copy went to the Emperor's headquarters.* 
 In this report I asserted that within two months, or 
 less, Eoumania would be short of food supplies, and 
 more important still would have no ammunition 
 whatsoever! Thus I pointed out she would be a 
 heavy burden on our shoulders as the other Allies 
 could get nothing in the way of supplies of any 
 kind to her. I also stated it would be very diffi- 
 cult for Eussia to do much, as we only had one 
 available port, Archangel, which was far to the 
 north, for receiving our own war munitions, and 
 also that our railway facilities were so poor that 
 they barely sufficed for our own purposes — to say 
 nothing of outfitting and sustaining another coun- 
 try. It was primarily necessary, therefore, that 
 Eoumania should open a way for herself through 
 to Saloniki in order to get into direct communica- 
 tion with the Allies and their supplies, and that the 
 weight of the Eoumanian forces, reinforced by a 
 Eussian army of considerable strength, should act in 
 conjunction with General Sarrail's forces, and be 
 thrown at once across the Danube and hurled against 
 Bulgaria and Turkey. 
 
 In the north all that Eoumania had to do to safe- 
 guard herself against an Austro-Hungarian attack, 
 was to use the Carpathian range, that could easily be 
 defended and by a comparatively small army. 
 
 I did not hesitate to assert the same things in 
 
 * See Appendix. II.
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 211 
 
 Bucharest, but when Poklewsky learned what I was 
 doing he made a tremendous uproar about it! In 
 the presence of Take Ionescu's brother he accused 
 me of "mixing the cards." The Russian Military 
 Attache, Colonel Tatarinoff, took sides and agreed 
 with Poklewsky against me. The Colonel's reports 
 were the antithesis of mine, and naturally their effect 
 was to neutralize my opinion, while they did not 
 in the least advance his theories. Events which 
 soon followed proved me to be in the right. While 
 the Roumanian army was descending the Carpa- 
 thians and invading Transylvania without meeting 
 with any serious resistance, the Bulgars, with Ger- 
 man and Turkish assistance, attacked the Rou- 
 manians on the Danube, and the weak Russo-Rou- 
 manian forces in Dobrudja. Two of the finest and 
 best equipped Roumanian Divisions were practically 
 annihilated at Tourtoukai (on the Danube), and 
 the little Russo-Roumanian Army had to hastily re- 
 cross the Danube in full retreat. 
 
 Two days before the disaster of Tourtoukai, the 
 General commanding the Roumanian Southern Army 
 was quietly playing cards in the club at Bucharest. 
 He was sure the Bulgars would not attack, and in 
 this idiotic supposition he was sustained by Bratiano ! 
 
 In the north the Prussian General, von Fa-lken- 
 hayn, having been made Commander-in-Chief, 
 gathered an Austro-German army together and com- 
 pletely routed the Roumanian forces. The latter
 
 212 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 fled in disorder and abandoned in their panic all the 
 strongest passes of the Carpathian Range. The Aus- 
 tro-Germans penetrated Roumania from the north, 
 and at the same time the Turks and Bulgars attacked 
 from the south. 
 
 And the Roumanian tragedy had begun ! 
 
 Obviously, poor Roumania owed her evil fortunes 
 and tremendous sufferings principally to Bratiano, 
 but proper diplomacy on the part of the Allies and 
 their military advisers, could have done much to al- 
 leviate the situation had they forced Bratiano either 
 to declare war before Serbia had been completely 
 crushed or to adopt a plan of campaign which con- 
 formed to the military situation of the moment. 
 
 Of the Allies, Russia must bear the chief blame 
 for the terrible Roumanian disaster. The General 
 Staff should have sent Roumania an army of at least 
 250,000 men, which Philippesco had asked for. The 
 General Staff had no possible excuse for not doing 
 so, as soon after, at a far less favourable time, it was 
 able to concentrate on the Roumanian frontiers a 
 force of 500,000 men. But the General Staff like all 
 the rest listened to Bratiano and sent only the three 
 divisions he asked for. 
 
 Sazonoff, surely, should have made it his policy 
 to bring pressure to bear on Bratiano, and persuade 
 him to follow a plan which would not only conform 
 with ours, but with that of the Serbians. He was 
 always afraid Bratiano might go over to the enemy,
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 213 
 
 which as a matter of fact was absolutely impossible ! 
 Bratiano had gone too far with the Allies to re- 
 treat. Moreover the immense majority of people in 
 the country were for war against the Central Powers, 
 and Bratiano was neither big enough nor strong 
 enough to finally thwart the desires of the Rou- 
 manian people. 
 
 Sazonoff, in his policy towards Bulgaria, showed 
 a still greater lack of foresight, and allowed himself 
 to be completely duped by Ferdinand and his min- 
 isters. It was so evident from the beginning of the 
 war that Bulgaria was gradually but surely going 
 over to the enemy's camp! German officers in civ- 
 ilian clothes inundated Sofia. Guns of heavy calibre, 
 aeroplanes, etc., were being constantly sent from 
 Germany into Bulgarian territory. As she was not 
 yet militarily prepared, it was only natural that 
 her diplomats assured Russia that Bulgaria would 
 maintain a rigid neutrality. But the numerous Slav 
 societies, to which I still belong, and which are prin- 
 cipally composed of men who know and understand 
 our brothers in the Orient very well indeed, were not 
 in the least deceived by the Czar of Bulgaria ! More 
 than once, in resolutions constantly submitted to the 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs, they warned him of the 
 grave danger which threatened. But M. Sazonoff 
 continued to follow his own policies! He had al- 
 ways relied on P. N. MilioukofY, who became the first 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs after the Revolution.
 
 214 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 M. MilioukofT had at one time been Professor of 
 History in the University of Petrograd. But being 
 a participant in a revolutionary movement he was 
 forced to escape into exile. He was warmly re- 
 ceived in Bulgaria, and was given the Chair of His- 
 tory in the University of Sofia. Naturally ever 
 after he was always very sympathetic towards Bul- 
 garia. Furthermore his professional temperament 
 made it very difficult for him to deviate from a 
 course which he had once determined to follow. He 
 was sure of Bulgaria, and shut his eyes to all evi- 
 dences of treachery, even when they were most ap- 
 parent. He might be classed with the famous band 
 of German professors at the Frankfort Diet, of 
 whom the German people exclaimed: 
 
 "Hundert Professoren! Vaterland, du bist ver- 
 loren!" ("A hundred professors! My country, 
 thou art lost!") 
 
 Two weeks before Bulgaria declared war on 
 Serbia, M. T. Spolaikovitch, Serbian Minister at 
 Petrograd, called on Sazonoff" with instructions from 
 Nikola Paschitch, President of the Serbian Council. 
 He told our Minister of Foreign Affairs that there 
 was not the least doubt in Serbia that Bulgaria would 
 very shortly enter the war as an ally of the Central 
 Powers! The Serbian Minister asked the Russian 
 Government's authorization for the Serbian forces 
 to attack Bulgaria at once ! He stated that he was 
 sure the Serbian Army, already hardened by fighting
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 215 
 
 and in good condition whereas Bulgaria as yet had 
 not had time to mobilize her forces, could easily take 
 Sofia. Serbia therefore proposed to dethrone Czar 
 Ferdinand of Bulgaria, to arrest all German officers, 
 whether in mufti or in uniform, whom they could 
 catch, and then conclude an alliance with Bulgaria, 
 by opening the eyes of the Bulgars to the nefarious 
 policies, entirely anti-Slav, which their sovereign had 
 been hatching. 
 
 Sazonoff was terribly upset. He threatened to de- 
 mand the resignation of Spolaikovitch if he persisted 
 in maintaining such an attitude. A stormy scene 
 between the two diplomats followed, but there was 
 nothing else for the Serbian Minister to do but tele- 
 graph to Paschitch all that Sazonoff had said. The 
 next day, Spolaikovitch had lunch with me. The un- 
 happy man, tears streaming down his face, told me 
 the details of his interview with Sazonoff. I sug- 
 gested that he should talk the matter over with Gore- 
 mikine, who was at that time President of the Coun- 
 cil of Ministers. As the Serbian Minister accepted 
 this suggestion w T ith alacrity, I at once telephoned to 
 Goremikine — asking him to receive Spolaikovitch. 
 Goremikine asked the Serbian Minister to come and 
 see him at once. When the latter told him of his 
 fears the old statesman said to him : 
 
 ''What the devil did you go to Sazonoff for? You 
 Serbians should have acted! You know Sazonoff of 
 old, and very well. Of a surety it is not he who
 
 216 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 would sanction any such precipitate action however 
 logical it might be." 
 
 The incident shows how even in such dangerous 
 times, the Russian Cabinet was all at sixes and sevens 
 on the most vital policies. 
 
 A few days after Bulgaria attacked Serbia, and 
 the poor little nation, caught between the heavy cross 
 fire of the Bulgarians and the Germans, experienced 
 complete and tragic disaster ! 
 
 The untold miseries of the Serbian people have 
 continued even after their political existence has 
 vanished — let us hope not for ever. 
 
 The Allies had tried ever since the war began to 
 obtain Italy's assistance, and here again it was the 
 Slavs, and especially the Serbians, who had to bear 
 the brunt and pay the price for Italian participation. 
 The Italian Chauvinists insisted on compensation in 
 the Balkans and Sazonoff signed a treaty with 
 Italy whereby Italy — after a vigorous campaign — 
 should obtain not only Istria, with Trieste, but also 
 a portion of the Dalmatian Coast, which is almost 
 entirely populated by Serbs. Sazonoff further rec- 
 ognized the rights of Italy in Vallona, the Albanian 
 port, and in Adana, in the northeastern corner of the 
 Mediterranean. 
 
 When the pitiful remnants of that brave little 
 Serbian army, starving, crushed to the very dust by 
 their horrible sufferings, clothesless, shoeless, and 
 wholly destitute after a truly epic march across the
 
 THE WHIRLPOOL 217 
 
 wilderness of Albanian mountains, headed by their 
 heroic King, 74 years of age, who insisted upon shar- 
 ing the miseries of his soldiers, finally reached the 
 shores of the Adriatic, they received prompt aid 
 from France and Greece. France, chivalrous as 
 ever, sent provisions and arms, and Greece offered 
 Corfu as a refuge for the Government of Serbia and 
 as a centre in which the Serbian army could be re- 
 organized. 
 
 Sazonoff's fall, however, was not on account of his 
 foreign policy. It was the result of a memoir he 
 presented to Emperor Nicholas on the Polish 
 question !
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE FOX OF THE BALKANS 
 Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria 
 
 The Czar of Bulgaria has played such a sinister part 
 in the European tragedy that he deserves a special 
 pillory. 
 
 Prince Ferdinand of Coburg had a sister in 
 Munich, Princess Amelie, who was married to Duke 
 Max of Bavaria, and Ferdinand was often a guest 
 there. In 1892 Europe ignored him completely. In 
 point of fact he was then Prince of Bulgaria, but the 
 European Courts still regarded him as Prince of 
 Coburg. He was probably informed by his sister of 
 my intimate friendship with my chief, Count Osten- 
 Sacken, and when I met him for the first time at 
 Bayreuth at a Wagnerian Festival in 1893 he went 
 out of his way to be specially courteous to me. He 
 hoped, through me, to influence Count Osten-Sacken, 
 and through him to be able to approach Emperor 
 Alexander III, who so far had obstinately refused 
 to recognize him. A brilliant conversationalist, a 
 connoisseur of music, speaking the flowery French 
 of the Eighteenth Century, and knowing full well 
 
 218
 
 THE FOX OF THE BALKANS 219 
 
 how best to use his excellent knowledge of both social 
 and diplomatic history, he was a man, once known, 
 never to be forgotten. A few years later I met him 
 in Berlin on the occasion of his first official visit to the 
 German capital (1896), after his official recognition 
 by Nicholas II. But the German Emperor, w T ho had 
 known the Prince in his youth and disliked him, paid 
 him no special attentions and gave him what was con- 
 sidered a very bad reception. The Emperor did not 
 come to the station to meet him but sent a minor 
 Prince. There was no guard of honour and even 
 the Chancellor of the Empire, Prince Ilohenlohe, was 
 conspicuous by his absence. 
 
 The next day the Emperor opened the pan-German 
 Exhibition and there was a royal procession in which 
 the Prince of Bulgaria was preceded by all the 
 Princes of Prussia and was obliged to give his arm 
 to the Countess Keller, who w T as only a lady in wait- 
 ing to the Empress. 
 
 After the opening of the Exhibition, Prince 
 Ferdinand came to the Russian Embassy and said, 
 somewhat bitterly, to Count Osten-Sacken: 
 
 ''You see, Monsieur l'Ainbassadeur, how they 
 treat the Prince of Bulgaria in Berlin." 
 
 The Ambassador replied: ''Patience, Monseig- 
 neur, you are clever enough and diplomatic enough to 
 be able to arrange such things to your liking." 
 
 The Ambassador proved right. At one of the big 
 regimental luncheons, the Prince of Bulgaria hap-
 
 220 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 pened to be seated beside the Emperor. At the end 
 of the luncheon, Prince Ferdinand -began to enter- 
 tain the Emperor with some of his scandalous anec- 
 dotes. He gradually slipped from scandal to politi- 
 cal matters with such dexterity that the German 
 Emperor did not recognize where he was being led, 
 but remained over two hours talking to the Prince 
 whom he hitherto had affected to despise. 
 
 As a result the Emperor asked the Prince to pro- 
 long his stay in Berlin for one or two days more, and 
 when Ferdinand finally left Berlin, William went to 
 the station to see him off. After his departure, Wil- 
 liam came to the Russian Embassy, and said to Count 
 Osten-Sacken : 
 
 "My dear Count, your protege from Bulgaria is 
 a very adroit fellow!" (Votre protege de Bulgarie 
 est un coco!) 
 
 In this way Ferdinand gained his point. The 
 tragi-comedy of the situation lay in the fact that it 
 was through Russian diplomacy that Ferdinand first 
 became a friend of the German Emperor and this 
 eventually led to his alliance with Germany in the 
 Great War. 
 
 In 1908, at the time of the annexation of Bosnia- 
 Herzegovina, Russo-Bulgarian relations became very 
 strained again. At Petrograd every one was cer- 
 tain Ferdinand had allied himself by secret treaty 
 with Austria-Hungary. The Russian Emperor did 
 not recognize his title of Czar, and there was even
 
 THE FOX OF THE BALKANS 221 
 
 some question of breaking off our diplomatic rela- 
 tions with Sofia. Under these difficult circumstances 
 Ferdinand gave proof of an extremely quick mind. 
 
 Grand Duke Vladimir of Russia, who was an inti- 
 mate, personal friend of his, died sudden]}- at Petro- 
 grad as the result of an attack of influenza. Ferdi- 
 nand at once started from Sofia to take part in the 
 Grand Duke's obsequies. He decided to do this very 
 abruptly, and was already on his way to the Russian 
 frontier while the Russian Court was still undecided 
 as to what sort of a reception he should have. He 
 could not be totally ignored, and the Emperor 
 Nicholas finding his hand forced accorded him royal 
 honours. Thus his recognition by the Russian court 
 as the Czar of Bulgaria was automatically accom- 
 plished. It was a master stroke on Ferdinand's 
 part. 
 
 It would be puerile to deny that he is an extraor- 
 dinarily able and clever man. He has an especial 
 gift of knowing how to make use_o fJhe slight est cir- 
 cumstance favourableto_him 1 __To flatter those who 
 couldTurther his plans he was apparently ever ready 
 to change his opinions. 
 
 He once told the Turkish Ambassador to Berlin, 
 Achmet Tev/fik Pasha, that were he not a Catholic, 
 he would prefer above anything else to be a Mussul- 
 man. The very next day he confessed to the High 
 Priest of our Church, Father A. Maltzoff, his un- 
 bounded admiration for the Orthodox belief! He
 
 222 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 kissed the hand of the Sultan of Turkey, and of Em- 
 peror Francis Joseph of Austria, and bowed double 
 before the Emperors of Germany and Russia. When 
 necessary, he would emphasize his French anteced- 
 ents, and claim descent from Louis XIV, the King 
 of the Sun. (Ferdinand is the son of Princess 
 Clementine of France, daughter of Louis Philippe, 
 last King of the French.) But this did not at all 
 prevent him, on other occasions, from fervently de- 
 claring he was a German Prince. An international 
 chameleon, he became Russian for the Russians, 
 French for the French, and German for the Ger- 
 mans! He avoided only declaring himself a Bul- 
 garian ! He despises the people he adopted to rule 
 over them. Worse still he suspects them always. 
 When he shakes hands with one of his subjects he is 
 carefully gloved, as he dreads catching some disease 
 or other. The Bulgars reciprocate his feelings to- 
 ward them, and he is far from being popular, but 
 such is his ability that he is absolute master of them, 
 and in difficult moments all eyes are turned toward 
 the Royal Palace watching for his decision. 
 
 Political intrigue was ever his favourite pastime. 
 He supported Stambouloff, a very popular states- 
 man in Bulgaria, in order to consolidate his own posi- 
 tion with the people, and connived in Stambouloff 's 
 death, who was assassinated in the streets of Sofia, 
 because he believed that statesman stood in the way 
 of his recognition by Russia. To achieve his own
 
 THE FOX OP THE BALKANS 223 
 
 ends he used the diplomats accredited to his court 
 by other nations, with consummate skill, intuitively 
 picking out their weak points the first time he met 
 them. Not wishing France and Russia to unite on 
 any policy inimical to him, with incredible cunning 
 he contrived to alienate Monsieur Paleologue, the 
 French Minister, and M. Sementovsky, the Russian 
 Minister at Sofia. The Russian Minister told me 
 that things had gone so far that he preferred to 
 work with his German colleague, Baron Romberg, 
 rather than with Monsieur Paleologue, and this at a 
 time when the Franco-Russian Alliance was very 
 strong. 
 
 Very soon after his recognition as Czar of Bul- 
 garia by Russia, the question of a political treaty 
 and military convention between Russia and Bul- 
 garia was raised. Ferdinand hastened— to— declare 
 himself an ardent partisan of such a convention, but 
 promptly set to work against it secretly_. This was 
 quite natural seeing that since 1908 he had linked the 
 interests of his country with those of the Habsburg 
 Mpnarchj^__Each clause of the projected treaty was 
 objected to by the Bulgarian Government. Ferdi- 
 nand suddenly became an ultra-constitutional mon- 
 arch, and complained to the Russian Minister at 
 Sofia that he could do nothing. In consequence al- 
 though they wore exceedingly flattering to Bulgaria 
 the Political Treaty and the Military Convention 
 failed utterly.
 
 224 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Fate should have made Ferdinand an actor, as he 
 would most certainly have eclipsed the talent of 
 either a Coquelin or a Rossi. On a throne he was 
 neither more nor less than a traitor. When he kissed 
 the Sultan's hand he was planning his ruin. When 
 he held out his hand in friendship to Serbia his mind 
 was scheming the betrayal of that nation. He asked 
 for reinforcements from his Serbian ally for the 
 taking of Adrianople, and at the same time was dis- 
 cussing the best way to seize Macedonia, despite 
 Serbia. He deceived every one at every opportunity, 
 not omitting his own country, which he forced to fol- 
 low an anti-Slav and anti-national policy. If any 
 opportunity arises in the present war he will not 
 hesitate to embarrass his ally, the German Emperor, 
 should favourable conditions arise for so doing. 
 
 In his private life Ferdinand is a tyrant and a 
 deceiver. His first wife, a Princess of Parma, killed 
 herself, as she could not bear his treatment any 
 longer. The Princess of Reuss, his second wife, 
 who has died since the beginning of the present war, 
 was reduced solely to playing the part of a nurse to 
 her children. Her sons hardly dared speak in his 
 presence. 
 
 Ferdinand is very much afraid of contagious dis- 
 eases, and of attacks against his person. During the 
 present war, in order to give himself courage, he has 
 taken to alcohol. His sleep is short and very dis- 
 turbed. He changes his sleeping quarters every
 
 THE FOX OF THE BALKANS 225 
 
 night. At meals he insists that members of his fam- 
 ily or even one of his guests taste the dishes before 
 he will touch them. Perhaps he may escape the vio- 
 lent death he fears, but he will not escape the im- 
 partial judgment of history, having made a German 
 province of the Slav nation which by evil fortune had 
 him as its sovereign. Immensely vain of the re- 
 sult of the war with Turkey, he had himself photo- 
 graphed in the costume of a Byzantine Emperor! 
 The livery of a footman to the German Emperor 
 would suit him ever so much better!
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 
 
 The Last Foreign Ministers of Nicholas II — Stunner, Pokrowsky, 
 Vice-Minister Neratoff — The Ambassadors 
 
 Sazonoff was replaced by Monsieur Sturmer, who 
 was at the time President of the Ministerial Council. 
 He was nothing but a courtier. For many years he 
 had occupied the position of Master of Ceremonies 
 at court. After that he was governor of two differ- 
 ent provinces where he proved himself to be an out 
 and out reactionary, and, finally he became a member 
 of the Council of Empire. He never made a speech 
 in Council, contenting himself by voting with the 
 Party of the Extreme Right, and he knew absolutely 
 nothing of our foreign policy. He was entirely pre- 
 occupied by his efforts to hold his position. He was 
 as false as an imitation coin. On the day before his 
 nomination as President of the Council, I met him 
 at M. Goremikine's residence, against whom he was 
 constantly plotting and intriguing, and whom he was 
 to succeed on the morrow, though Goremikine did 
 not know that at the time. I heard him assure the 
 
 226
 
 THE EVE OP REVOLUTION 227 
 
 old statesman of his absolute devotion and admira- 
 tion. 
 
 When he was appointed Foreign Minister he placed 
 himself entirely in the hands of M. Neratoff, the Vice- 
 Minister and disciple of Sazonoff. Our policy there- 
 fore remained the same, though if anything it became 
 more generally muddled, as the new minister thought 
 far more of himself and of his own position than he 
 did qjLaJEairs of state. Stunner is generally accused 
 of having lecPrlussia towards a separate peace. I 
 know for instance that Sir George Buchanan, the 
 British Ambassador to Petrograd, was of this opin- 
 ion, but personally I do not agree with this point of 
 view. Sturmer only obeyed his Imperial master's 
 orders, and Emperor Nicholas II, with all his faults, 
 would never have been a traitor, nor would he ever 
 have signed a separate peace. I am convinced of 
 this because I discussed the point with Goremikine, 
 and also with persons of the immediate entourage of 
 the Emperor. 
 
 The last Minister of Foreign Affairs, under Nicho- 
 las II was M. Pokrowsky, who held office for only two 
 months. His appointment by the Emperor was 
 wholly unexpected; but for once Nicholas was fortu- 
 nate in his choice. The new minister had passed his 
 official life in the department of finance. Count 
 "Witte had been the first to recognize his great ca- 
 pacity and possibilities, and Count Kokowtzoff ap- 
 pointed him Assistant Minister of Finance. He then
 
 228 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 became a Member of the Council of the Empire and, 
 prior to becoming Foreign Minister, occupied the 
 post of State Controller, with rank equivalent to a 
 minister of state. He had never meddled with Rus- 
 sia's foreign policy in any way, but as he was very 
 intelligent and gifted with a large degree of natural 
 finesse he soon became familiar with the duties and 
 responsibilities of his new position. 
 
 The personnel of the ministry received him at first 
 with a great deal of scepticism, and the various chiefs 
 of the bureaux were sure that he would prove a docile 
 instrument in their hands. But they soon recognized 
 to their pained surprise, that in Pokrowsky they had 
 a stern chief, who knew how to enforce his orders. 
 
 Pokrowsky was thoroughly aware of the perilous 
 situation in which Russia was placed. He reiterated 
 time and time again that the abnormal conditions 
 then existing in the Empire must not last, indeed 
 could not last, and that he clearly saw a terrible 
 revolution approaching. One evening in his private 
 study, he went to a window which overlooked the 
 square before the Imperial Palace, where stands the 
 column of Alexander I, surrounded by four great 
 bronze candelabra. I asked him what he was gazing 
 at so intently. 
 
 "My dear friend," said he, "I am admiring those 
 beautiful candelabra, and asking myself from which 
 of the four I may soon be hung." 
 
 But hi3 fears were groundless. When the Revo-
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 229 
 
 lution broke out he was not even arrested or 
 molested. More than this, the Provisional Govern- 
 ment authorized him to keep his offices in the ministry 
 building until he found suitable ones elsewhere. He 
 had known how to win the esteem of the most extreme 
 parties by his frankness, his honesty and his pro- 
 gressive ideas. 
 
 Among the officials of the Foreign Office during 
 the reign of Nicholas II, it is necessary to mention 
 M. Neratoff, who, though only Assistant Minister, 
 nevertheless played an ill-fated part in our diplo- 
 macy. He was nothing but a windbag. He began 
 his diplomatic career some thirty-five years before 
 the Revolution, and starting in the modest position 
 of a minor attache at the ministry, finished by reach- 
 ing the post of Assistant Minister without ever hav- 
 ing been attached to any of our embassies or lega- 
 tions abroad. His mental capacity was hardly 
 mediocre. His entire success he owed to his zeal and 
 to his very thorough knowledge of the contents of 
 our diplomatic archives. He had been at college 
 with Sazonoff, who later appointed him Assistant 
 Minister, and since then always had the sense to 
 make himself indispensable to all the foreign minis- 
 ters, despite their widely divergent mentalities and 
 ideas. Sturmer, Pokrowsky, MilioukofF, and even 
 Terestchenko could not do without his collaboration. 
 
 These ministers succeeded one another as in a 
 moving picture play, but Neratoff stayed on securely
 
 230 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 at his post. Petrograd hummed, "The world may 
 come, the world may go, but Neratoff stays on for 
 ever." The representatives of foreign powers dealt 
 especially with him, and visited him daily in their 
 official capacities. He was no longer the little Nera- 
 toff of olden days. He had become the right hand 
 man of all the ministers. But his mentality did not 
 change either; he was ever the same as on the first 
 day he entered the service, always very eager to 
 execute the orders of his superiors, a hard worker, 
 but painfully narrow minded, and wholly devoid of 
 any of the attributes of the great statesman he fondly 
 imagined he resembled. His influence was especially 
 pernicious in Balkan affairs. He was completely 
 hypnotized by the personal charm of Milioukoff, and 
 like Sazonoff, was blindly led by Ferdinand of Bul- 
 garia. In short, "little" Neratoff was a tragic per- 
 sonality in the annals of our diplomacy. His period 
 at the foreign office will be marked with a black cross 
 by any impartial critic of Russian history. 
 
 In order that Russian diplomacy and policies dur- 
 ing the reign of Nicholas II up to the outbreak of the 
 Revolution may be understood by the world at large, 
 it is necessary to give some particulars concerning 
 our more important ambassadors and ministers, and 
 the representatives of the Allied Powers, accredited 
 to Petrograd. Nicholas II had three ambassadors at 
 Berlin during his reign: Count ChouvalonyClQunt 
 Osten-Sacken a-ndJ^l. Sverbeef. Count Chouvaloff
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 231 
 
 had been appointed by Alexander III. Prior to be- 
 ing made an ambassador, he had had nothing to do 
 with our foreign policies. He was a general who 
 had distinguished himself in the Russo-Turkish War 
 1877-78, and had won the military cross of St. George 
 for meritorious services. He commanded the Im- 
 perial Guard Corps at the time that Alexander III 
 chose him as his ambassador at Berlin. He soon 
 accustomed himself to his new position, and his mili- 
 tary manners gave much satisfaction at the German 
 capital. It did not take him long to become a diplo- 
 mat of much finesse and adroitness. He learned how 
 to steer a safe course between Scylla and Charybdis. 
 Prince Bismarck was his intimate friend, and at the 
 same time he managed to enjoy the German Emper- 
 or's highest favour and esteem. His popularity at 
 Berlin was tremendous, especially in military circles, 
 and he was very fond of surrounding himself with 
 officers, and — as all good Russians are very fond 
 of wine — did not disdain to become hilariously drunk 
 with them. But he had one priceless trait : after hav- 
 ing consumed an incredibly large amount of liquor 
 he always remembered everything he had said and 
 far more important, he also remembered everything 
 said to him. 
 
 M. de Bacheracht, Secretary of the Embassy, with 
 whom the Ambassador especially liked to work, told 
 me the following story : 
 
 One evening Count Herbert Bismarck, son of the
 
 232 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Chancellor and secretary in the German foreign of- 
 fice, came to see ChouvalofT. Count Herbert was not 
 a man to deny the pleasures of wine either. The two 
 drank heavily until both diplomats were hors-de- 
 combat. Count Herbert, his tongue loosened by 
 wine, began to make a confidant of our ambassador, 
 and told him many very indiscreet but highly inter- 
 esting things. ChouvalofT only replied with foolish 
 jests and laughter, but no sooner was the German out 
 of the Embassy than the ambassador, after plunging 
 his head in a basin of iced water, sent for Bacheracht 
 and dictated word for word a report of all the Ger- 
 man diplomat had foolishly confided to him. 
 
 When Chouvaloff left Berlin, being recalled by 
 Nicholas, and made Governor-General of Poland— 
 the Emperor came in person to the station to salute 
 and say au revoir to his friend, whom he honoured 
 by calling him "mein teure freund." Chouvaloff 
 left nothing but universal regret in Berlin, and wrote 
 a brilliant page in the annals of our diplomacy. 
 
 I have already on several occasions referred to my 
 chief, Count Osten-Sacken, who was ChouvalofT 's 
 successor at Berlin, and who stayed there fifteen 
 years, all through the most dangerous and trying 
 times of our relations with the German Empire. 
 Count Osten-Sacken was the son of the famous hero 
 of Sebastopol. His family originated in the Baltic 
 provinces and his ancestors were all of the Ortho- 
 dox religion, and Russians heart and soul. His
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 233 
 
 grandfather had been killed on the battlefield during 
 the Napoleonic Wars, and his great uncle Prince 
 Osten-Sacken had been Military Governor of Paris 
 in 1815. He had married a Princess Dolgorouki, 
 whose ancestors had reigned in Moscow. He was her 
 second husband. Her first was Prince Golitzin, our 
 ex-Ambassador to Madrid. Countess Osten-Sacken 
 was a woman of an exceedingly rare type. Married 
 when she was only sixteen to Prince Golitzin, she had 
 begun her wedded life in Paris, and had received in 
 her salon the flower of the French diplomatic and 
 political world of the day. Messieurs Guizot and 
 Thiers were her intimates, and Chopin himself gave 
 her piano lessons. Count Osten-Sacken had been 
 Secretary of our Embassy at Madrid when Prince 
 Golitzin was Ambassador. It was there that he first 
 met his future wife, whom he married shortly after 
 the death of the Prince. Countess Osten-Sacken was 
 of inestimable value and a powerful support to her 
 husband. She had been a childhood friend and play- 
 mate of many of the Eussian Grand Duchesses, and 
 her position at court was a most distinguished one. 
 She knew all the secrets. Emperor Nicholas was es- 
 pecially fond of her, and always did her the honour 
 of kissing her hand wherever and whenever they met. 
 The German Emperor did the same thing. In her 
 private life the Countess was simplicity personified, 
 kind and affable to all, without excepting the most 
 humble of her servants. Towards the members of
 
 234 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 her official family, she was like a tender mother, and 
 we all cherish reverently affectionate memories of 
 this noble woman. 
 
 Count Osten-Sacken began his diplomatic career at 
 eighteen years of age, as Attache at the Chancellery 
 of Prince Paskevitch, Commander of the Russian 
 armies on the Danube in the Russo-Turkish Wars 
 (1854). After a short subsequent stay as Secretary 
 to the Chancellery at Petrograd, and also as Secre- 
 tary of the Embassy at Madrid, he left diplomatic 
 life and did not re-enter it until 1864, being appointed 
 at that time first Secretary and afterwards Charge 
 d 'Affaires at Turin and at Florence. From there he 
 went as Minister Resident to Darmstadt, and then as 
 Minister to Munich, from which place he was ap- 
 pointed Ambassador to Berlin in 1895. He had 
 spent more than forty years of his diplomatic life in 
 Germany, and naturally knew it most thoroughly in 
 consequence, but strangely enough, both he and his 
 wife massacred the German language horribly. A 
 diplomat of the old school, he always spoke French 
 by preference, and although extremely Russian by 
 nature and sentiment, he wrote Russian with the 
 greatest of difficulty. When Alexander III replaced 
 French by Russian in the diplomatic reports and 
 communications Count Osten-Sacken was at first 
 much embarrassed, but despite his great age, he set 
 to work like any schoolboy to learn it. and in two
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 235 
 
 years his official reports written in the Russian lan- 
 guage were used as models at Petrograd. 
 
 From the previous chapters, it must be evident 
 what a great part Count Osten-Sacken played in 
 Berlin during most trying times. Destined always 
 to suffer for the incredible and stupid caprices of 
 Nicholas IT and to support the intemperances, idiotic 
 rages, and sullennesses of the German Emperor, it 
 was only his absolute poise and dignity which made 
 him so respected, both in Berlin and Petrograd, and 
 enabled him to prevent any very serious complica- 
 tions. In brief he was a great ambassador, and when 
 he disappeared, though he was then practically at the 
 end of his span of life, old and very frail, Russian 
 diplomacy soon learned what a brain and character 
 it had lost. 
 
 M. Sverbeef was his successor. He had previ- 
 ously been Minister to Greece for about two years. 
 He owed his sudden appointment exclusively to his 
 friendship with Sazonoff. He was a good man, noth- 
 ing more. He had very little personality. He could 
 not hold the German Emperor in check, and the latter 
 never took him seriously. One day for instance, at 
 the time of the last visit of Nicholas IT to Berlin, at 
 luncheon in one of the barracks of the Imperial 
 Guard, Sverbeef, contrary to usual etiquette, ap- 
 peared in full uniform, wearing the Grand Cordon 
 of Prussia, which had been bestowed on him the
 
 236 EECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 day before. Emperor William made fun of his cos 
 tume, and said to him, 
 
 "It is easy to see that you are a civilian." 
 
 To which Sverbeef answered, "I am so happy, 
 Sire, at having received your Grand Cordon that I 
 sleep in it. ' ' 
 
 The Emperor shot back, "And you are right, you 
 received it very quickly — now endeavour to deserve 
 it." 
 
 I would very much like to have been present on 
 any occasion when the Emperor would have dared 
 say any such thing to Count Osten-Sacken ! Sver- 
 beef was absent from Berlin during the summer of 
 1914 at the time our relations with Germany were 
 becoming more and more strained. When he re- 
 turned, he said to M. Bronewsky, Councillor of the 
 Embassy, 
 
 ' ' I believe, mon cher, that things are not going so 
 well here." 
 
 Five days later his passports were handed to him. 
 I think that this one detail suffices to show how much 
 our ambassador realized the seriousness of the 
 situation. 
 
 Nicholas II was represented in Paris by three am- 
 bassadors during his reign, Baron de Mohrenheim, 
 M. NelidofT, and M. Iswolsky. I have already dealt 
 fully with the last named. As for Baron Mohren- 
 heim and M. Nelidoff, they were both incontest- 
 ably statesmen, with horizons and understandings.
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 237 
 
 Baron de Mohrenheim had contributed much to our 
 alliance with France and M. NelidofT had been one 
 of our most brilliant ambassadors in Turkey. Both 
 men enjoyed in Paris positions of enormous influence. 
 The recall of Nelidoff was solely due to an intrigue 
 on the part of Iswolsky, which eventually forced 
 Iswolsky's fall from the Foreign Office. He had, 
 however, prepared for himself a comfortable nest in 
 Paris. 
 
 During the same period we had in London two am- 
 bassadors, Baron de Staal, and Count Benckendorff. 
 The first was a diplomat of the old school, prudent, 
 and avoiding all serious action. He made a very 
 good position for himself in the British capital, and 
 was very clever in smoothing over any difficulties he 
 discovered in his diplomatic path. The services he 
 rendered Russia are not to be denied, especially if 
 one takes into consideration that in his day, we were 
 at the climax of Russo-British antagonism. 
 
 His successor, Count Benckendorff, was one of our 
 greatest ambassadors. Although he was of German 
 origin, and had a sister married to Prince Hatzfeldt, 
 Duke of Trachenberg, and also a Catholic, Bencken- 
 dorff was Slav to his backbone. He was even more 
 Russian than the Russians. An eye witness told me 
 that he had tears in his eyes when he received a dis- 
 patch from Sazonoff consenting to the abandonment 
 of Scutari by the victorious Montenegrin army. The 
 Serbian people had in him a powerful and convincing
 
 238 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 champion. I do not think that I exaggerate in the 
 least when I assert that to Count Benckendorff the 
 Slavic world owes the recognition of its interests by 
 Great Britain. 
 
 At Vienna, after Prince Lobanoff, we had no am- 
 bassadors worth mentioning. Count Kapnist, who 
 succeeded him, was perhaps the only one who made a 
 position for himself in the Austro-Hungarian politi- 
 cal world. As for M. de Giers, eldest son of our 
 ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Schebeko, the 
 former was an absolute nonentity, and the latter was 
 only in Vienna for a short time. 
 
 Among our ambassadors at Rome, it is only neces- 
 sary to mention M. N. de Giers, second son of our ex- 
 Foreign Minister. He had a long diplomatic career 
 behind him, and was the last ambassador to Turkey, 
 before our rupture with that country. Physically 
 and morally he is his father's understudy; he is pru- 
 dent and not entirely lacking in finesse, but he is not 
 equal to any great sustained action. His appoint- 
 ment as Minister of Foreign Affairs was often 
 mooted, and of a surety, had he received the office he 
 would not have been guilty of the blunders made by 
 Sazonoff. 
 
 At Constantinople, there were three ambassadors 
 during the reign of Nicholas II; M. Zinovieff, M. 
 Tcharikow, and M. de Giers, (junior). I have al- 
 ready described the last and pass on to M. Zino- 
 vieff. He was a deep student and connoisseur of
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 239 
 
 Oriental matters and had spent part of his career in 
 the Balkans and part in Turkey. He had been Min- 
 ister to Persia, and Director of the First Department 
 of Foreign Affairs, under which came all matters 
 relating to Turkey. On one occasion in negotiating 
 a treaty with Persia, the foreign office was ready to 
 accede to certain amendments desired by the Persian 
 government. Zinovieff ignored his official instruc- 
 tions and insisted upon the original conditions. He 
 always had a revolver on his writing table, as he had 
 fully decided to kill himself if his plans failed. 
 When he was ambassador at Constantinople he con- 
 stantly asserted that the Young Turk party would 
 of a certainty fall into the hands of Germany, and 
 he strongly advised us not to support that party. 
 But in Great Britain, the Young Turks were in high 
 favour so the Petrograd Cabinet, which was then di- 
 rected by Iswolsky, being most anxious for a com- 
 plete understanding with Great Britain was not in- 
 clined to follow Zinovieff 's advice, or heed his warn- 
 ings. 
 
 The old diplomat was therefore recalled, and his 
 place filled by N. V. Tcharikow, who was a pro- 
 Young Turk, and thus quite unconsciously, the way 
 was opened for a Turko-German Alliance. The 
 idealistic policy and attitude towards the Young 
 Turks adopted by the London Cabinet, and the natu- 
 ral desire of our Minister of Foreign Affairs to sup- 
 port British statesmanship, played directly into the
 
 240 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 German Emperor's hands. Indeed, the British 
 Liberal Party treated the Young Turk party almost 
 as co-religionists, taking into no consideration the 
 fact that their leader, Enver Pasha, was an out-and- 
 out German mercenary. 
 
 As for our ministers accredited to the smaller na- 
 tions, it is only necessary to mention those who were 
 really able men, or those who by their misplaced 
 activities did the greatest harm. Among the first 
 are, N. H. de Hartwig and D. K. Sementovsky- 
 Kuzilo; among the second, A. W. Nikludoff and 
 A. N. Savinsky. 
 
 M. de Hartwig after having been Vice-Director and 
 later Director of the first department in the bureau of 
 Foreign Affairs (the Asiatic department) repre- 
 sented our government in Persia, and afterwards in 
 Serbia. He was very far-sighted, and perfectly un- 
 derstood the troubles which were agitating Persia 
 even in his day. He felt we should uphold the Shah. 
 He also knew very well that Persia was not yet ready 
 for a constitution, and that the Shah and only the 
 Shah, was the foundation stone of order in his coun- 
 try. Furthermore SLah Mahomet Ali was devoted to 
 Russia body and soul, and this was still another rea- 
 son why we should have given him our whole-hearted 
 support. The British Liberal Cabinet, however, was 
 anxious to support a constitutional government in 
 Persia. When in 1907, Iswolsky concluded his 
 Treaty with England which divided Persia into two
 
 M. SAZONOFF
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 241 
 
 zones of influence, Shah Mahomet Ali abdicated in 
 favour of his young son. As a result of our policy 
 we lost our influence in southern Persia, and German 
 influence replaced that of England at Teheran, just 
 as it had done in Constantinople. In brief, Britain's 
 idealism opened the road for German intrigue and 
 Realpolitik, whereas if Russia and Britain had fol- 
 lowed the road of their own interests they would 
 have weakened the German position. M. de Hartwig 
 fought his hardest, and in consequence was the bete 
 noire of the Germans. Iswolsky sacrificed him and 
 sent him to Serbia, possibly with the hope that in the 
 very slippery and dangerous Balkan region, he might 
 break his neck. 
 
 But shortly after his arrival at Belgrade, Hartwig 
 created a most exceptional position for himself. 
 The King, Prince Alexander Paschitch, none of 
 these made any decision without first consulting him. 
 He had cleverly instilled in the minds of all the 
 Serbian parties a love for Russia. I have seen him 
 at his work, having been his guest for some time at 
 Belgrade in 1912. Every morning his study was be- 
 sieged by Serbian statesmen who came to get advice 
 from him, but as usual the saying that a prophet is 
 not without honour save in his own country held true, 
 and Iswolsky and Sazonoff, possibly fearing a suc- 
 cessor in Hartwig, took it upon themselves to para- 
 lyze his actions and nullify his work. When Hart- 
 wig warned our ministry that the first Balkan War
 
 242 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 was inevitable, Sazonoff sent him a note with orders 
 to advise a moderate course to the Serbian govern- 
 ment. Hartwig told me personally of the reception 
 that such notes received at the hands of the Serbian 
 government. One day when our minister had read 
 one of these innumerable notes sent by Sazonoff to 
 M. Paschitch, the old Serbian statesman said to him, 
 
 ''Have you finished, mon cher ami? All right! 
 C'est bien. Nous pouvons maintenant causer seri- 
 eusement!" (We can now discuss matters seri- 
 ously.) 
 
 While M. Hartwig was at Belgrade, D. K. Semen- 
 tovsky, also a very able man, and one who knew the 
 Balkan situation thoroughly, was our minister at 
 Sofia. Both these men were friends of long stand- 
 ing and understood each other perfectly, but their 
 combined efforts were of no avail against the preju- 
 dices of our foreign ministers. 
 
 Hartwig died very suddenly after drinking a cup 
 of black coffee at the residence of the Austro-Hun- 
 garian minister. As it was well known in Belgrade 
 that our minister was hated and feared by the Aus- 
 trians, of whom he was the sworn enemy, public 
 opinion in Serbia still attributes his death to a politi- 
 cal assassination by poisoning. The body was given 
 a magnificent burial at the expense of the Serbian 
 government ; the entire court, led by the King, all the 
 political parties without exception and immense 
 crowds followed the hearse. His death was the cause
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 243 
 
 of national mourning in Serbia and the Serbian peo- 
 ple erected a superb monument to him by subscrip- 
 tion; and an avenue in Belgrade was given his name. 
 
 Before being appointed Minister to Sofia, D. K. 
 Sementovsky-Kusilo had replaced M. Hartwig as 
 Director of the First Department in the Ministry of 
 Foreign Affairs. Iswolsky did not get on well with 
 him and sent him to Bulgaria in order to get rid of 
 him. His debut at Sofia was not at all promising. 
 Ferdinand, knowing Iswolsky 's antipathy towards 
 Sementovsky, hoped to find in the latter a docile in- 
 strument. When he discovered that he had to do 
 with a strong personality, he did everything possible 
 to force his recall — not even hesitating to enmesh 
 Sementovsky 's wife in an intrigue towards that end. 
 But to give Nicholas II his due, on this occasion he 
 did not consent to Sementovsky being recalled but 
 supported him strongly. 
 
 Subtle and evasive as ever, Ferdinand promptly 
 changed his policy toward the Russian Legation. He 
 offered the minister and his wife every courtesy al- 
 ways in the hope of getting the Russian minister on 
 his side of the fence ; but the latter continued on his 
 own lines, thinking only of the good of his country. 
 Unfortunately, Iswolsky rarely listened to his advice. 
 Sazonoff, it is true, esteemed him greatly, but such 
 esteem was not under the circumstances of much 
 practical value unless it were backed with diplomatic 
 support.
 
 244 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 M. Sementovsky died at Sofia of appendicitis. 
 Relatively speaking he was a young man as diplo- 
 mats go, being only forty-nine. The necessary 
 operation performed by a very famous Viennese 
 surgeon was a complete success, but he was after- 
 wards attended by the Czar of Bulgaria 's own phy- 
 sician and it was common property in Belgrade that 
 his death — like that of Hartwig — was due to assas- 
 sination. 
 
 Nicholas II had bad luck. Almost at the same mo- 
 ment he lost two of his best diplomats and the men 
 whom Sazonoff chose to replace them were not of the 
 same calibre. 
 
 A. W. NikludofT, Councillor of the Paris Embassy, 
 was appointed to Sofia. He was of mediocre intelli- 
 gence and, in consequence, not in the least fitted to 
 measure wits with Ferdinand — past master in all 
 political intrigue. The Czar of Bulgaria did not 
 concern himself about him one way or the other; 
 in fact whole months passed by without his being 
 received. 
 
 NikludofT, therefore, had not the faintest concep- 
 tion of the real situation and did not believe there 
 would be a Balkan War, even when it had become 
 inevitable. He amused himself by studying Bul- 
 garian history and sent the results of his studies to 
 our Foreign Office. He one day read me a report of 
 his on King Krum of Bulgaria, who lived before
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 245 
 
 Bulgaria was conquered by Turkey!! (The Turks 
 made their entry into Europe in 1453.) 
 
 When Sazonoff himself recognized the utter im- 
 possibility of keeping Nikludoff any longer at Sofia 
 he made a delightful shuffle to replace him. As A. N. 
 Savinsky was also compromised in Sweden, where 
 he was our Minister at that time, Sazonoff simply 
 made them exchange posts. 
 
 I have already mentioned Savinsky in connection 
 with Count Lamsdorff. The ''means" which he em- 
 ployed to advance his career will therefore be re- 
 membered. At Sofia his behaviour caused consider- 
 able scandal. The Russian Legation became the cen- 
 tre of nightly revels and was known as a veritable 
 gambling hell by night while by day the Russian 
 Minister either promenaded the streets of Sofia 
 dressed as a dandy, or made motor trips outside the 
 city limits. It is said, however, that he foresaw the 
 alliance of Bulgaria with the Central Powers. The 
 truth of this I cannot vouch for, but in any case, a 
 man with a past such as Savinsky 's, a man whom the 
 Emperor himself had dubbed "The Countess Lams- 
 dorff," ought not to have been included on the list of 
 our diplomats in foreign countries. 
 
 Of the diplomats accredited to the Russian Court 
 during the last years preceding the Revolution, I 
 knew Sir George Buchanan, the British Ambassador 
 in Petrograd, when I was stationed at our Embassy
 
 246 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 in Berlin and he was Councillor of the British Em- 
 bassy there. Buchanan is an Englishman in every 
 sense of the word, an accomplished gentleman but 
 cold and rather reserved. He had always dreamed 
 of a Russo-British "rapprochement." He became 
 very popular in Russia and was elected an Honor- 
 ary Citizen of Moscow and a Member of the Univer- 
 sity of the ancient capital. The Russian Liberals 
 saw in him a support to their aspirations. 
 
 France was represented at Petrograd by M. Paleo- 
 logue, who had not had much experience as a diplo- 
 mat, having had only one post, that of Minister at 
 Sofia. At Petrograd M. Paleologue was hardly a 
 success. He was looked upon as a light weight and 
 was not very popular. The real influence of our 
 western allies was concentrated in the person of Sir 
 George Buchanan and consequently England was 
 paramount in our policies. 
 
 Marquis Carlotti, the Italian Ambassador, was an 
 accomplished diplomat of the Machiavellian school. 
 Astute, clever, he managed to know everything, and 
 was ready at all times to make use of his knowledge. 
 He did well for Italian nationalistic claims, forget- 
 ting that the war was not a matter of one nation but 
 of nations. None of our ministers or the foreign 
 representatives appeared to grasp the fundamentals 
 of German policy towards the Balkans. Italy, 
 through her representatives in Petrograd, made the 
 same error as Austria-Hungary. Her politicians
 
 THE EVE OF REVOLUTION 247 
 
 and consequently her foreign representatives ignored 
 and antagonized the Serbians and Jugo-Slavs. As 
 will be obvious before the war is ended this policy 
 must be changed. Carlotti did not appreciate criti- 
 cism along such lines and did his best to prevent it, 
 thinking he best served his country in that manner. 
 
 Since the Revolution the Marquis Carlotti has been 
 replaced by Marquis de la Toretta, a very clever man 
 and a great friend of Russia and the whole Slavic 
 world. 
 
 The Japanese Ambassador, Viscount Motono, later 
 Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, came to 
 Petrograd at a very difficult time as the Russo- 
 Japanese War had hardly ended. But gradually 
 Viscount Motono by his affability and extreme ability 
 created an enviable position, not only for himself, 
 but for his nation, at Petrograd. He belonged to the 
 highest society and was as welcome in financial cir- 
 cles as among the lower classes. He was not content 
 with living only in Petrograd, but travelled all over 
 our vast country so as to be able to study it thor- 
 oughly at first hand. Belonging to Prince Ito's 
 school, he was a fervent advocate of a binding alli- 
 ance between Japan and Russia. Both our treaties 
 with Japan (1907 and 1916) owe their existence 
 chiefly to him as their author. He left Petrograd 
 with nothing but the best of wishes and kindest 
 thoughts on the part of us all. 
 
 I have endeavoured to describe the personalities
 
 248 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 of our own ambassadors and ministers as well as 
 those accredited to us, in order to give an exact pic- 
 ture of the circumstances and characters which de- 
 cided our foreign policy during the reign of Nicholas 
 II. The vacillations and indeterminations of our 
 policy were entirely due to the weak character of our 
 Sovereign, which made our foreign ministry a ship 
 without sails or rudder. This fact in conjunction 
 with a domestic policy which was wholly reactionary 
 and absolutely contrary to the sentiments of the ma- 
 jority of the Russian people, was to lead us irrevoca- 
 bly toward a revolution which was to engulf the Rus- 
 sian monarchy under the ruins of the throne of 
 Nicholas II.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 GENESIS 
 
 The Origin of the Russian Revolution — The Ministers, the Clergy, 
 
 Absence of Justice, Deprivations of Russian Society. 
 
 General Dissatisfaction 
 
 A revolutionaey movement was first visible in Rus- 
 sia in 1825, when Alexander I died. The mal-con- 
 tents took advantage of the abdication of Alexander's 
 successor, the Grand Duke Constantin, in favour of 
 his brother Nicholas, to create a rising among the 
 troops. They spread the report that the abdication 
 had been forced by undue influence, and they hoped 
 to create a, constitutional government, which would 
 replace the autocracy. The conspiracy fell through 
 and Nicholas I ascended the throne. There followed 
 a reactionary reign of terror in Russia, and the 
 flower of the military youth, all bearers of the high- 
 est names in Russia, paid for their daring in the 
 awful cold and snows of Siberia ! 
 
 This first revolutionary outbreak had not an anti- 
 Czarist character. It was a constitutional move- 
 
 ment. A few regiments, especially of the Imperial 
 Guard, officered by men who belonged to the aristoc- 
 
 2 10
 
 250 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 racy of the country, supported the plot. But the 
 people ignored it. Even the soldiers who took part 
 in it understood next to nothing of what they were 
 fighting for. They shouted "Vive Constantin and 
 the Constitution" believing that "Constitution" was 
 the wife of Constantin ! ! 
 
 During the reign of Nicholas I the spirit of the 
 revolution and many of the men who inspired it, 
 spread over Europe. The famous Hertzen, the 
 recognized leader of the movement, established him- 
 self in London, founded a newspaper office there, and 
 beat his war drums against the Russian autocracy, 
 from the British capital. After the death of 
 Nicholas I, his successor, Alexander II, inaugurated 
 an era of reform. In 1861 he freed the serfs (peas- 
 ants) who had been slaves until then. He abolished 
 the use of the knout in the army and established 
 a provincial system of self-government, the Zemst- 
 vos, and the jury system. In consequence the young 
 Emperor became the idol of his people. Hertzen 
 wrote to him from London, "You have conquered me, 
 Galilean!" Unfortunately this almost ideal con- 
 dition of affairs did not last long! It was plain that 
 the reforms instituted by the Emperor were the first 
 steps towards abolishing autocracy. Russia awaited 
 a constitution which would crown their monarch's ef- 
 forts, but the Emperor stopped half way. Discon- 
 tent followed, and the Emperor — instead of continu- 
 ing his reforms — began to destroy those he had al-
 
 GENESIS 251 
 
 ready instituted. In a very short time the whole 
 nation was seething with revolutionary propaganda. 
 The fanatics instituted a system of terrorism, minis- 
 ters and provincial governors were assassinated in 
 broad daylight, and finally Alexander II, one of the 
 best rulers Russia has ever had, and to whom the 
 people had given the name of "Liberator Czar," 
 was blown to pieces by a bomb in one of the avenues 
 of Petrograd on March 1st, 1881. The horror, in- 
 spired in the majority of the Russian people by the 
 murder of their sovereign, greatly helped his suc- 
 cessor, Alexander III, to institute a most reactionary 
 policy. 
 
 There were, however, some further outbreaks, but 
 these were suppressed quite easily and once more 
 the centre of the revolution moved elsewhere. When 
 Nicholas II ascended the throne in 1894, Russia was 
 still waiting for a serious attempt to bring about 
 liberal ref onus. It was greatly hoped that Nicholas 
 II would continue the work of the first years of 
 the reign of his grandfather, which was stopped 
 throughout the reign of Alexander III. But 
 Nicholas II did nothing. He apparently decided to 
 continue the reactionary regime of his father. He 
 declared, "I wish to leave the country to my son, 
 even as I received it from my father." He sur- 
 rounded himself with ultrii-^ i ea^4iauaiw_ininisters. 
 Count Witte was probably the only exception, but 
 even he, absorbed by financial reforms, held aloof
 
 252 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 from anything concerning the internal administra- 
 tion. The Zemstvos were badly handicapped. Jus- 
 tice was prostituted to the Government's general 
 policy. Discontent was general and it was stimu- 
 lated by revolutionary propaganda, which was 
 stirred up as much in foreign capitals as in Eussia 
 itself. Revolution was, even then, in the air, and 
 only a favourable moment for a general outbreak was 
 wanting. That moment came after the unfortunate 
 war with Japan. The war had exposed all our weak- 
 nesses, and the rottenness of the government both 
 civil and military. The national pride of the people 
 had been deeply wounded and the army was dis- 
 gusted and sore. 
 
 The revolution broke out in Petrograd. A gen- 
 eral strike was proclaimed, tne capital was plunged 
 in darkness, deprived of water, food and fuel. Rail- 
 way transportation was paralyzed. Petrograd was 
 entirely isolated from the world. The Emperor 
 Nicholas, nearly out of his mind with fear, issued the 
 famous manifesto of October 17th, 1905, which gave 
 to his people a kind of constitution. National repre- 
 sentation through the Duma, freedom of speech, 
 liberty — of the individual, of conscience, meetings, 
 and the press was proclaimed, and Count Witte be- 
 came President of the reformed Council of Ministers, 
 which took the place of the old Cabinet of Ministers 
 of the days of autocracy. But the revolutionary 
 movement sweeping in full flood from Petrograd,
 
 GENESIS 253 
 
 reached Moscow. Count Witte, to dam the flood, 
 wanted to try persuasion. But the Minister of the 
 Interior, A. N. Dournovo, advised the Emperor to act 
 more firmly. He promised to throttle the revolution 
 in its infancy, and the Emperor approving, the revo- 
 lution in Moscow was choked in blood ! Count Witte 
 promptly resigned, and reaction held high carnival 
 all over Russia. The Duma tried to stem the ebb 
 tide, but was dissolved twice and twice reconstituted 
 by fraudulent elections. Finally it was forced to 
 capitulate. 
 
 From that moment the government went from bad 
 to worse. Minister succeeded minister as water 
 flows over a fall. The Empress came actively on the 
 scene with all her scabby entourage, and the Emperor 
 was only the shadow of a sovereign. At the begin- 
 ning of the Great War, Nicholas seemed to win a cer- 
 tain degree of popularity. At that critical moment 
 the Russian people supported their Monarch, and in- 
 ternal discussion was forgotten. But very soon seri- 
 ous disasters to the Russian armies threw a pitiless 
 light on the instability of the Emperor and the fatu- 
 ity, weakness and corruption of the bureaucracy. 
 Violent speeches were made and still more violent 
 scenes took place in the Duma. The Duma de- 
 manded direct participation in public affairs, but the 
 Czar continued his fatal course. Then, for the first 
 time, the trend of the revolution changed from the 
 constitutional road it had followed up till this time
 
 254 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 and became openly anti-Czarist. Famine in Petro- 
 grad, deliberately staged by an imbecile minister, 
 finally rung the curtain down on the drama of the 
 Romanoffs on the 25th of February, 1917. 
 
 In order to understand the last act of this drama 
 it is necessary to know the personalities and char- 
 acteristics of the principal actors who played their 
 part in it, from 1905, the date of the real revolution, 
 to 1917, the year of the Emperor's abdication. The 
 first to come on the stage was Count Witte, President 
 of the first Council of Ministers under the so-called 
 Constitutional Government. Although bearing a 
 German name he was a thorough Russian by birth 
 and sentiment. He was a self-made man. When 
 he was thirty-one he was still a station master on 
 the Western Railroad of Russia. He offered a sug- 
 gestion to the directors which doubled the receipts 
 of the company and was made a member of the com- 
 pany's executive. T. T. Wichnegradsky, then Min- 
 ister of Finance, noticed Witte 's work, and appointed 
 him Superintendent-in-Chief of the Right of Way of 
 Russian Railways. About a year later he was ap- 
 pointed Minister of Communications, and eleven 
 months later succeeded Wichnegradsky as Minister 
 of Finance. At that time he was barely forty. He 
 was a man of quite unusual mentality, endowed with 
 the practical imagination of a statesman who turns 
 dreams into facts, ambitious, emotional, and deter- 
 mined. No obstacles were great enough to deter him
 
 GENESIS 255 
 
 when once he visualized his goal. In administering 
 his department he piled reform on reform. To him 
 Eussia owed the introduction of gold coinage and 
 the monopoly of alcohol. While he held office France 
 lent Russia huge sums for development and the for- 
 eign capitals began to rain money into our com- 
 mercial enterprises. 
 
 The aristocracy regarded Witte as a parvenu. 
 The bureaucracy envied his phenomenally rapid 
 rise. They combined to plot his fall. But Witte 
 was not easily caught. He scattered his enemies 
 from his path, beating down some and buying others. 
 He bought for the State, for double its value, a do- 
 main of Count Worontzoff-Dachkoff, Minister of 
 the Court during the reign of Alexander III, and he 
 appointed Kokowtzoff his Assistant Minister, thus 
 assuring himself of the vital support of these two 
 statesmen. Having^s"tudied the evil side of human 
 nature, Witte profoundly suspected and feared it. 
 He said to me one day, "I am reproached with hav- 
 ing corrupted society and with buying my people. 
 I, the purchaser, am not to blame. The blame rests 
 with a society so rotten that it permits itself to be 
 bought ! For the good of my country I hesitate at 
 nothing. ' ' 
 
 W T hen Nicholas II ascended the throne Witte was 
 at the pinnacle of his power. As Minister of 
 Finance, his influence was felt in every other depart- 
 ment of the government. He made the same mistake
 
 256 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 with the Emperor, that Bismarck made with the 
 Emperor William. He treated the young monarch 
 as a school boy. It is said that at times he was 
 vulgar and rude in his presence. Whenever the 
 Emperor attempted to contradict him, he immedi- 
 ately presented his resignation, which he knew very 
 well Nicholas did not dare accept. But when he fell 
 he gave another illustration of how much he re- 
 sembled Bismarck. He, like the famous German, 
 lacked personal dignity in his disgrace. He criti- 
 cized the Emperor, the Government and especially 
 his successors, and began to cultivate the press, as- 
 siduously, behaving like a caged lion. He had but 
 one fixed idea, to regain power! 
 
 His opportunity came at the conclusion of peace 
 between Russia and Japan. In the weak and po- 
 litically impoverished ranks of our diplomatic serv- 
 ice there was no striking personality, who by his 
 name alone, could influence our adversary. Public 
 opinion unanimously pointed to Witte as being the 
 only man to whom the nation could confide its in- 
 terests at so serious a time. Despite his personal 
 antipathy to him, Nicholas appointed Witte, First 
 Minister-Plenipotentiary to the Portsmouth Confer- 
 ence. There in the realm of foreign affairs which 
 was an entirely new departure for him, he gave 
 evidence of his remarkable abilities. Public opin- 
 ion in the United States was far from being favour- 
 able to Russia owing to her treatment of the Jews.
 
 GENESIS 257 
 
 Japan had won American sympathy and financial 
 support. It was therefore a problem of extreme 
 importance to change the American viewpoint, and 
 Witte gave it his first attention. 
 
 The Japanese Plenipotentiaries wished first of all 
 to discuss those clauses of the treaty on which they 
 were determined to insist, and with which Russia 
 could only comply if absolutely forced to do so. 
 Witte, however, first took up the less important 
 clauses which were more or less acceptable to Russia. 
 In this way the American public began to think that 
 Russia was ready to make any sacrifices in order 
 to ensure the peace which the Americans ardently 
 desired to see signed. Russia was thus fast regain- 
 ing American sympathy when the time came to dis- 
 cuss those clauses to which Russia refused to con- 
 sent, such for instance as a heavy indemnity. 
 Witte 's ground was already prepared. Public 
 opinion began to accuse Japan of obstinacy and a 
 desire to thwart peace. It was believed that if Rus- 
 sia was willing to give way on the first points, Japan 
 might do as much for the remainder. In view of 
 this, and not wishing to antagonize American opin- 
 ion, the Japanese plenipotentiaries gave way. The 
 Treaty of Portsmouth was not a very bad one for 
 Russia!" 
 
 Witte returned in great triumph to Russia. Em- 
 peror William made a point of meeting him as he 
 passed through Berlin on his way to Petrograd.
 
 258 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 The German Emperor felt that Witte's star would 
 again be in the ascendant, and he wished to win 
 such a proven statesman and diplomat over to his 
 own interests. 
 
 Witte has often been accused of being German- 
 ophile. Witte was not Germanophile, Francophile 
 or Anglophile, he was Russophile! The German 
 Emperor, for all his attentions, was very far from 
 having any personal sympathy with Witte. As a 
 matter of fact, during the last years of Alexander 
 III and the first years of Nicholas II, when Witte was 
 omnipotent, the Emperor William had been very 
 afraid of him. He had learnt that here was a Eus- 
 sian statesman who could not be bullied by Germany. 
 For example, the German Government, wanting to 
 bring economic pressure to bear on Russia, prohib- 
 ited the importation of Russian geese into Germany. 
 Witte countered at once by an economic war and be- 
 gan by prohibiting the importation of a series of 
 articles of German manufacture which made a hole 
 in the German budget of more than 18,000,000 
 roubles. 
 
 When Witte fell from power the first time the 
 German Emperor was greatly pleased. After the 
 treaty of Portsmouth William believed he had won 
 Witte to his point of view, but when he realized that 
 this was not the case, he detested him more than ever 
 and the news of Witte's second downfall was greeted 
 at Berlin with much joy.
 
 GENESIS 259 
 
 Witte's whole policy, as he detailed it more than 
 once to me after his fall, was: " Russia must pur- 
 sue a peaceful policy in order to increase her econo- 
 mic well being. We can get on perfectly well with 
 Germany by recognizing her rightful interests, and 
 forcing her to respect ours. If William should be- 
 come arrogant, we can make him lower his flag by 
 means of our understanding with France. We must 
 follow the same policy where England is concerned. 
 As against her we can always count on having Ger- 
 many at our disposal. The antagonism which ex- 
 ists between Germany and England is our trump 
 card. Iswolsky made a grave mistake by bringing 
 about the British understanding and Sazonoff was 
 still more wrong in permitting himself to be guided 
 by that alliance. No good can come of it for Rus- 
 sia. We are not in a fit state for a war with Ger- 
 many. Such a war, to succeed, must have a wholly 
 national character. In order for a war to be na- 
 tional, we must have a popular sovereign. Nicholas 
 II is not popular and therein lies the very gravesT 
 danger. A second unfortunate war for us might 
 easily be the prelude to a revolution." 
 
 Such a political "credo" can hardly be called 
 Germanophile in sentiment. It is that of a states- 
 man with big ideas and a very wide outlook. I was 
 very intimate with Witte, and saw him at least twice 
 a week and there was rarely a day when we did 
 not speak by telephone. I think, therefore, that 

 
 260 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 probably I knew him better than most people and 
 could appreciate his fine qualities and realize his 
 great faults. It was nothing but his desire to re- 
 gain power at any price which alienated public 
 opinion. He flattered the Imperial Court and as- 
 siduously cultivated the Grand Dukes and states- 
 men who found favour in the eyes of the Sovereign. 
 He was an habitue of the aristocratic salons, and it 
 is said did not even disdain Rasputin. It was in this 
 way he alienated the Liberals. On the other hand 
 he carefully cultivated the press and sought the 
 friendship and esteem of the Duma, and so alien- 
 ated the Court and high bureaucracy. When he 
 died (1915) he had been for a long time without 
 any political support whatsoever, and with only 
 a very few intimate friends. And yet, during the 
 last years of his life, when he mounted the tribune 
 of the Council of State, every one present listened 
 to him with serious attention. 
 
 Only a few years before his death Witte miracu- 
 ously escaped an attempt against his life. An in- 
 fernal machine had been placed in the chimney of 
 his study which was fortunately noticed by his serv- 
 ant who was about to light a fire. A judicial in- 
 vestigation followed. It was established that the 
 conspiracy had been hatched by the party of Ex- 
 treme Reaction, (Black Bands). Despite the in- 
 sistence of Witte, the matter was hushed up. More 
 than that, when the Count at his wife's insistence,
 
 GENESIS 261 
 
 asked for a detective to protect him in future, the 
 police chose a man for the position who belonged 
 to the Black Bands, and who shortly afterwards 
 was found assassinated by order of the revolution- 
 ary committee as an admitted spy. Witte told me 
 that the so-called guardian of his person was neither 
 more nor less than another assassin sent by his 
 enemies! Such were the means used by the Black 
 Band when it tried to get rid of its opponents. 
 
 Witte 's many enemies whispered to Nicholas II 
 that the retired statesman was aiming at becoming 
 president of a Russian Republic. It was an infam- 
 ous lie. Witte was a thorough Czarist, but he desired 
 that Czarism should be supported by a more or less 
 Liberal Constitution. He was very proud of the 
 Imperial Manifesto of the 17th October. He said to 
 me, ''Nicholas may detest me as much as he likes, 
 but he will never be able to destroy the letter he 
 wrote to me when the Manifesto was issued! I in- 
 sisted that his letter should be published at the same 
 time as the Manifesto, and I have ordered it to be en- 
 graved on my tombstone ! The Russian people will 
 at last know the part I played at that time!" 
 
 Such was the man, Nicholas II dismissed on two 
 occasions as he would a valet ! I do not believe that 
 during the last half century Russia has had a states- 
 man his equal. 
 
 Ivan Loguinovitch Goremikine,— ^wijo succeeded 
 Witte as President of the Council of Ministers, was
 
 262 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 the complete antithesis of his predecessor. He 
 was an aristocrat whose family had always played 
 some part in the history of Russia since the days 
 of Ivan the Terrible. He had had a long bureau- 
 cratic career and had held among other offices that of 
 the Ministry of the Interior. It would be unjust to 
 call him a reactionary. He approached more nearly 
 to the type of the English Tory. He instinctively 
 regarded administration as government by law. If 
 the law was bad then it could be changed but as 
 long as the law was on the statute books it must be 
 obeyed absolutely. One day he said to me: 
 
 "When I was Minister of the Interior the general 
 opinion was that I was a Liberal. I was given the 
 name of the Red Flag Minister. Yet in 1906 when 
 I was President of the Council for the first time, 
 everybody thought me a reactionary. I am neither 
 a reactionary nor a radical. I am a man who stands 
 by the law." 
 
 Such sentiments were a serious fault in any min- 
 ister who desired to succeed during such times. A 
 law which served in the Russia of 1900 could not 
 serve the needs of 1906. Russia was suffering the 
 birth-pangs of a new era. Her doctors diagnosed 
 her case as the bad temper of a child. 
 
 Goremikine was very badly received by the Duma, 
 which desired above all to emphasize its independ- 
 ence. Directly he attempted to speak, cat calls and 
 shrill whistles resounded everywhere. The Em-
 
 GENESIS 263 
 
 peror had two courses open to him. He could dis- 
 solve the Duma or he could form a constitutional 
 ministry with its assistance. The Democratic Con- 
 stitutional Party, (Cadets) was so sure of obtain- 
 ing power that a list of ministers was made out, 
 in which appeared the name of Milioukoff as Premier 
 and Foreign Minister. The Emperor, hearing of 
 this, summoned the Council of State to discuss the 
 situation. The majority of the Council pronounced 
 in favour of a constitutional government. Gore- 
 mikine and Stolypin, the Minister of the Interior in 
 his cabinet, urged dissolution. When the Council 
 was dismissed the Emperor requested Goremikine 
 to wait and then expressed to him his chagrin 
 with the sentiments expressed by the majority. He 
 asked Goremikine what could be done. The latter 
 replied : 
 
 "I do not change my opinion. The present con- 
 stitution gives you the right to decide whether you 
 will dissolve the Duma or accede to the sentiment 
 of the majority. You are the master and must 
 make your choice. The Duma has entirely over- 
 stepped its rights and must be put in its place." 
 
 The Emperor bowed his head in his hands and 
 stood thus for some minutes in deep reflection. He 
 then went slowly up to Goremikine. Making the 
 sign of the cross he exclaimed: 
 
 "In God's name dissolve the Duma, I entirely 
 agree with your point of view."
 
 264 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 After his interview with the Emperor, Goremi- 
 kine drafted the proclamation dissolving the Duma 
 and went direct to the state printer and ordered it 
 to be printed and immediately issued. He found 
 there a proclamation of the Cadet Party to the peo- 
 ple anticipating the formation of a really constitu- 
 tional cabinet by the Emperor. He personally con- 
 fiscated the proofs and took them to his house in 
 his carriage. One of his most striking qualities 
 was his calmness at critical times. He was not in 
 the least disturbed though of course he realized the 
 gravity of the situation. He dined with his family 
 quietly and afterwards smoked and played solitaire 
 as usual, without showing any signs of perturbation. 
 He then retired. At half past eleven a special 
 courier came from the Emperor with a message to 
 the effect that Nicholas had changed his mind. He 
 desired the minister to cancel the proclamation of 
 dissolution and requested him to come to Tsarskoe 
 Seloe the next day at eleven in the morning. 
 
 Goremikine sent his valet to the courier with a 
 message that the Minister was not well and was 
 asleep but that the message would be delivered 
 when he awoke. But Goremikine carefully did noth- 
 ing and next day to the Emperor's stupefaction 
 there appeared the decree of dissolution. The Min- 
 ister went to Tsarskoe Seloe as requested and told 
 the Emperor he regretted the mistake and blamed 
 his valet who had not desired to awaken him. He
 
 GENESIS 265 
 
 then presented his resignation which the Emperor 
 refused to accept. 
 
 Demonstrations against the Government were pre- 
 pared for. But the public in general was tired of 
 revolutionary disorders and almost welcomed the 
 dissolution of the Duma. The members of the Cadet 
 Party fled to Viborg in Finland and from there is- 
 sued their proclamation to the people. It fell ab- 
 solutely flat. 
 
 Goremikine however was obdurate. He again pre- 
 sented his resignation telling the Emperor that any 
 opprobrium for the dissolution which might come 
 later ought to fall on him, who was really to blame, 
 and insisted that his resignation be accepted. The 
 Emperor finally gave way and at Goremikine 's re- 
 quest appointed Stolypin to succeed him. Knowing 
 Stolypin's character it always seemed to me in think- 
 ing this matter over that Goremikine had a grim 
 sense of humour. 
 
 The new President of the Council before serving 
 as Minister of the Interior had been governor of 
 Saratorr* on the Volga. He was relatively a young 
 man about forty-five, very ambitious, astute, de- 
 termined, but inclined to be narrow minded and 
 provincial. His critics nicknamed him "The Gov- 
 ernor of All the Russias." He ruled Russia as if it 
 were Saratoff. As President of the Council he pur- 
 sued an ultra nationalistic policy and this naturally 
 led to the further estrangement of the Poles and
 
 266 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Finns. He was supported in this policy by the No- 
 voie Vremya of which his brother was a director. 
 
 When he discovered that there was no outburst 
 of sympathy and apparently no regret for the de- 
 parted Duma, he was anxious to appropriate all the 
 credit for the dissolution and openly boasted of his 
 success in preventing "stupid constitutional re- 
 forms." He was to receive a lesson on the folly of 
 vanity. 
 
 Meanwhile Goremikine, the real author of the 
 Duma's downfall, was staying with me at my villa 
 at Tergensee and together we visited Paris, Goremi- 
 kine enjoying his freedom from office and state 
 affairs with all the abandonment of youth. He was 
 intensely amused when he heard that Stolypin was 
 appropriating a responsibility which he himself had 
 felt to be most serious and from which he was only 
 too anxious to escape. His amusement, however, 
 was changed to regret when we heard that Stolypin 's 
 residence in Petrograd had been destroyed by a bomb 
 and that Stolypin himself only escaped death by a 
 miracle, as he fell from the second floor to the ground 
 floor yet only received some bruises and scratches. 
 Twenty people were killed and wounded and the 
 Minister's children were badly hurt. 
 
 Stolypin 's first act was to arrange for elections 
 to the Duma. He was determined that the new 
 Duma should not be impregnated with the radical- 
 ism of the Cadets and relied on the Peasants, Cler-
 
 GENESIS 267 
 
 icals and Conservatives to give that support to the 
 Government, which was so plainly lacking in the 
 first Duma. He succeeded in attaining his object as 
 far as the arrangement of the parties was concerned, 
 but he soon discovered that he had over-reached 
 himself. The Peasants and Clericals turned out 
 to be infinitely more revolutionary than the Cadets 
 and a socialist plot against the Czar in the Duma 
 itself, was nipped in the bud. Stolypin thereupon 
 dissolved the Second Duma and the Socialistic mem- 
 bers concerned in the plot were brought before a 
 judge and banished to Siberia. Among them was 
 Tseretelli, who after the Revolution became a cab- 
 inet minister in Kerensky's government. 
 
 By the use of even more unscrupulous methods in 
 the elections the Third Duma proved a docile instru- 
 ment in the hands of the Minister. The majority 
 w r as in the hands of a new party, the Octobrist, 
 which was constitutional but not so advanced as the 
 Cadets. But Stolypin was even now not content. 
 He wanted more and more power and even the mild 
 criticism of the Octobrists spurred him to reaction. 
 He formed a party, which was called Nationalist, 
 and through this party instituted a new reactionary 
 campaign against the Jews, Finns, and Poles. In 
 this policy he was violently supported by the Novoie 
 Vremya, which during this entire period earned for 
 itself a bad reputation. It always supported the 
 power "in being" whether good or bad and had no
 
 268 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 principles outside this policy. One of the greatest 
 Eussian satirists, Soltikoff, (Tchedrine), gave the 
 paper the name of ' * What-you-Will. " 
 
 In consequence extreme discontent arose through- 
 out Russia. The Jews, Finns and Poles combined 
 with the intellectuals against Stolypin. Opposition 
 only seemed to make him more determined. He be- 
 came more and more reactionary and unscrupulous 
 in his use of authority to suppress any opposition, 
 although in the Duma he still kept his ascendancy 
 owing to his magnificent oratory and appearance. 
 But the more he stamped on the embers of revolu- 
 tion in one place, the more he used the weapons of 
 reaction and encouraged the Black Bands, the 
 stronger grew the sentiment against him and his 
 government. Finally he was assassinated by a Jew 
 named Bagroff, in the presence of the Emperor and 
 Empress at a gala performance in the theatre of 
 Kiev. 
 
 Had he escaped the assassin's shot, his political 
 assassination was certain. He had already been con- 
 demned by the Emperor who had been persuaded 
 by Stolypin 's enemies that the Minister was lead- 
 ing Russia on the road to ruin. His resignation 
 was only a matter of days. His assassin after- 
 wards declared that his real intent had been to kill 
 the Emperor, and that it was only at the last moment 
 he had decided to murder the Premier instead! 
 Thus Stolypin died, as a matter of fact, for his sov-
 
 GENESIS 269 
 
 ereign! But despite this the Emperor did not at- 
 tend the funeral of his Minister, giving as his ex- 
 cuse that on that day he had promised to review the 
 main body of troops just outside the city. 
 
 This pretence again shows the character of the 
 Emperor ! The ingratitude of Nicholas equalled his 
 vacillation. 
 
 A monument was erected to Stolypin at Kiev but 
 it was destroyed in the final revolution. 
 
 "While he had been in power, Stolypin was forced 
 to accept as Minister of Finance, Count Kokowtzoff, 
 a strong political adversary. The Emperor insisted 
 upon this appointment, faithful to his principle, 
 divide et impera. Kokowtzoff now succeeded to the 
 presidency of the Council. 
 
 This statesman had had a long bureaucratic ca- 
 reer. Born of an impoverished family of the lesser 
 nobility, he owed his success to his own zeal and in- 
 telligence, though perhaps more especially to his 
 intimate knowledge of finance. As has been already 
 stated, for a time he had been an antagonist of Count 
 Witte, but the latter bought his assistance by ap- 
 pointing him Vice-Minister of Finance, and Kokowtz- 
 off became one of his principal collaborators and as- 
 sistants in all his projects. 
 
 Later Kokowtzoff became Minister of Finance, and 
 held the position for ten years. Although he was 
 most intelligent, he was very narrow minded. The 
 wide horizons which mark the great statesman were
 
 270 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 absolutely lacking in him. A remarkable "Budget- 
 ist," all his efforts were bent on increasing the 
 wealth of the state. He wrangled over every 
 penny of credits which other ministers requested, 
 and naturally the State suffered. A wit once com- 
 pared him to a certain beggar in Montmartre, one 
 of the poorest quarters in Paris, who starved to 
 death in his attic and in whose mattress 15,000 francs 
 were found after his death. 
 
 Kokowtzoff was a great orator. He could speak 
 for hours together on any subject, and was always 
 an enthusiastic admirer of his own verbosity. 
 Witte, with whom he had quarrelled a second time, 
 called him "a lark." 
 
 "He is a bird that sings very well, but otherwise 
 is not worth much," he said. 
 
 Kokowtzoff did not lack character. For instance 
 when Witte sent him to Paris, after the Russo- 
 Japanese War, to arrange for a loan, he succeeded 
 despite the opposition of Clemenceau, the then pow- 
 erful Minister of Interior of the French Government. 
 Meeting with such opposition Kokowtzoff did not 
 hesitate to threaten Clemenceau with the fact that 
 if the projected loan were refused by France he 
 would declare Russia bankrupt! 
 
 Clemenceau said to me: "Your Kokowtzoff is 
 not a minister! He is a blackmailer of the first 
 water!" But he agreed to the loan! 
 
 In his relations with the Duma, Kokowtzoff tried
 
 GENESIS 271 
 
 to be as conciliatory as possible, but his efforts were 
 not often crowned with success. He had no party 
 on which he could effectively rely. Towards 
 the end of his tenure of office he staged an 
 excellent burlesque. He had entirely stopped ap- 
 pearing in the Duma, and ordered all the other Min- 
 isters to do the same! It was a sort of strike of 
 the Ministers against the Duma. 
 
 Kokowtzoff's greatest quality was his unimpeach- 
 able honesty, which he maintained in his private 
 affairs as well as in matters of state. In this re- 
 spect he distinguished himself as being far above 
 the Russian statesmen of the last years of the 
 Monarchy. He had flatly refused to meet the Court 
 favourite, Rasputin, and the latter avenged himself 
 by becoming one of the prime movers in his down- 
 fall. From his father he had inherited a small 
 property not far from Petrograd. When he re- 
 signed, this little property was all that he possessed 
 in the world. 
 
 In dismissing him, the Emperor offered him a 
 gift of 300,000 roubles, but Kokowtzoff refused it, 
 saying to the Emperor that his appointment as a 
 member of the Council of the Empire amply sufficed 
 for his modest tastes and needs. 
 
 Instead of appreciating this rare quality in a Rus- 
 sian statesman, Nicholas was seemingly much an- 
 noyed by it. After his retirement, the Sovereign 
 always avoided seeing Kokowtzoff and the only time
 
 272 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 that he did receive him was because it could not be 
 avoided. 
 
 While he was in power, Kokowtzoff had not fore- 
 seen the revolution. He continued to hope that by 
 concessions to the Duma the existing state of things 
 could be made to last, at least until the end of the 
 Great War. He changed his mind after his resig- 
 nation, however. Having re-entered private life he 
 naturally came in contact with all kinds and condi- 
 tions of people. He was frankly spoken to by all 
 sides and thus obtained a far better idea of Rus- 
 sian sentiment in general. 
 
 I knew Kokowtzoff when I was a young man and 
 had always been very intimate with him. For a 
 certain time while he was in power our relations 
 were troubled, for my newspaper opposed him. 
 After his resignation, however, we returned to the 
 old friendly basis, and I saw him very often. 
 
 He was always very sad and quiet and did not hide 
 from me that he felt the Court had, on his advice, 
 followed a fatal policy. He then foresaw the revolu- 
 tion clearly, and said, too, that it was not far dis- 
 tant — even that it would take place before the war 
 was over. Of Nicholas he remarked : 
 
 ' 'The Emperor obstinately refuses to see any- 
 thing, or permit himself to be shown anything. He 
 seems as if he were still drunk with the ovations he 
 received at the time of the fetes of the 300th Anni- 
 versary of the Romanoff dynasty. He does not hear
 
 GENESIS 273 
 
 the grumbling of the coming revolution because of 
 the cheers of the multitude. If he insists upon sur- 
 rounding himself with such indolent ministers as 
 Goremikine and with such scamps as Sturmer and 
 Easputin, the end is near at hand." 
 
 Unfortunately Kokowtzoff did not impart his opin- 
 ions to any but his most intimate friends. He did 
 not act, neither did he try to influence the Court. 
 When the Emperor learned by accident of his point 
 of view and appeared interested in it, he was slily 
 informed that Kokowtzoff still rankled over his dis- 
 missal from office and that therein might be found 
 the real key to his ideas and actions. 
 
 His well known honesty saved Count Kokowtzoff 
 at the time of the Revolution. He was not even ar- 
 rested as were most of the ministers of the old re- 
 gime. 
 
 To the stupefaction of all political circles Goremi- 
 kine was appointed successor to Kokowtzoff. Gore- 
 mikine was seventy-seven years old, and had the gen- 
 eral reputation of a reactionary. By his nomina- 
 tion it seemed plain that the Emperor intended, if 
 possible, to pursue a still more autocratic policy. 
 The Emperor gave immediate proof of this when 
 he summoned a council of the ministers over which 
 he himself presided. At this conference he told the 
 Council that it must look to Goremikine for every- 
 thing as he had the utmost confidence in him and was 
 determined to support him in every way possible.
 
 274 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Goremikine, immediately after the council, requested 
 the members of the press to wait upon him and 
 told them that he was determined to follow a policy 
 which would have the approval of the Duma, if the 
 Duma in its turn gave him the necessary support. 
 To do this, however, he must have time as circum- 
 stances were such as to make it most difficult to 
 bring about such reforms as the Duma demanded 
 without running the risk of destroying the fabric of 
 the Russian government. The Duma received this 
 declaration without enthusiasm but in a not un- 
 friendly spirit. Goremikine was somewhat encour- 
 aged thereby as it was a very different reception 
 from that which he had experienced the first ti w e he 
 had been President of the Cabinet. 
 
 Goremikine intimated that he would dismiss 
 Soukhomlinoff, the Minister of War, Maklakoff, the 
 Minister of the Interior and Tcheglowitoff, the Min- 
 ister of Justice, all of whom were very much dis- 
 liked by the Duma and Liberal circles in Russia. 
 Unfortunately Goremikine was an extreme procras- 
 tinator. He always put off till tomorrow the things 
 he should have done today. His characteristic in- 
 dolence had increased with his years, and all three 
 ministers remained in office despite his seeming 
 promise to purge Russia of their disastrous influ- 
 ence. One evening I was dining en famille with 
 Goremikine and strongly criticized the policy of the 
 three ministers, especially that of Soukhomlinoff.
 
 GENESIS 275 
 
 Goremikine said nothing at the moment, but after- 
 wards, just as I was going home, he said : 
 
 "You are quite right, my dear friend, but have 
 patience. You must not forget it is necessary to 
 manage the Emperor." 
 
 I replied: "Take care, Ivan Loganovitch, that 
 when you think the time is ripe to manage the Em- 
 peror you do not find that he is no longer the Em- 
 peror." 
 
 Goremikine answered sadly: "I know, — I know 
 what you mean, but you know my sentiments regard- 
 ing him. I have too much affection for him. I have 
 known him too long. ' ' 
 
 In these words Goremikine summed up a situation 
 I knew only too well. Witte had said to me on one 
 occasion that Goremikine was nothing but "a maitre 
 d 'hotel" to the Emperor. But this was not true. 
 The old statesman regarded his master with the af- 
 fection a man may feel towards a youth who has 
 been his pupil. He knew and deplored the weak- 
 nesses of the Emperor but he could not find it in his 
 heart to deal drastically with him. He spoilt him, 
 always hoping that in time the good qualities he 
 saw in his pupil would overcome the weakness of 
 his character. One day he severely criticized the 
 Emperor to my sister, especially with regard to his 
 folly regarding Rasputin ; he said : 
 
 "The Emperor knows my affection for him and 
 yet he treats me as if I were his valet de chambre."
 
 276 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 My sister replied: "Yes, but if the Emperor 
 recalls you, you will go to him just as a dog to the 
 whistle of his master. ' ' 
 
 Goremikine answered: "You are right, but what 
 can I do? I love him and I can refuse him noth- 
 ing." 
 
 It was clear that this sentiment of Goremikine, 
 combined with his indolence and age, would create an 
 impossible situation. It became no longer a ques- 
 tion of reform, but of expediency — that fatal weak- 
 ness in all politics and diplomacy. The ministers 
 did as they pleased in their departments and the 
 cabinet was not united on any definite policy, and 
 when in due course, Goremikine was told that min- 
 isters were blundering he took refuge in ignorance. 
 "I do not know what they do," he would cry. He 
 forgot he was intrusted with full powers. He was 
 like a stage manager who refuses to be responsible 
 for the interpretation of their parts by the actors. 
 It was as though he staged a drama and then sat in 
 a box and criticized it. Goremikine sat comfortably 
 in his chair and exclaimed : 
 
 "Eh! but this is a horrible play. It bores me. 
 Why did I ever come to see it?" 
 
 Usually at cabinet councils he slept. In the eve- 
 nings when he should have been hard at work he 
 played solitaire. The most powerful minister in 
 Eussia played solitaire while Russia slid into the 
 abyss !
 
 GENESIS 277 
 
 Once, however, Goremikine showed a flash of his 
 old self. After Austria sent the ultimatum to Ser- 
 bia and mobilized, Goremikine called a meeting of 
 the Cabinet. He told the ministers that they must 
 make up their minds to the course Russia must pur- 
 sue if Germany and Austria were determined on 
 war. A hot discussion followed and Goremikine 
 seemingly went to sleep. One minister after the 
 other spoke and the majority were in favour of com- 
 ing to some understanding with Austria and Ger- 
 many if possible. Suddenly Goremikine opened his 
 eyes and said : 
 
 4 'Well, gentlemen, I have heard all you have to say 
 and will tell the Emperor that you have unanimously 
 decided we must stand by Serbia to the end." And 
 he added fiercely yet with great dignity, as if to re- 
 mind the Council that it had forgotten something: 
 "Our honour is at stake." 
 
 He then went to the Emperor and suggested that 
 everything possible must be done to preserve peace, 
 and as a result Sazonoff, the Foreign Minister, sent 
 a circular telegram to our ambassadors in Paris, 
 London and Berlin, asking for the friendly inter- 
 vention of those powers between Russia and Aus- 
 tria. The Emperor Nicholas sent a personal tele- 
 gram to the Emperor "William suggesting the same 
 thing. But what happened is well known. Sir Ed- 
 ward Grey proposed a conference which was ac- 
 cepted by France and Russia but refused by Ger-
 
 278 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 many. Emperor William, after having prepared 
 for war for forty-four years, encouraged Austria to 
 stand fast. When Austria finally realized that Rus- 
 sia would not abandon Serbia, Count Szapary, her 
 ambassador in Petrograd, was instructed to see 
 Sazonoff and endeavour to gain time. Meanwhile, 
 however, Russia had ordered the mobilization of ner 
 Southern and Western armies at Kiev, Warsaw and 
 Odessa against Austria, in reply to the mobilization 
 of the latter. Despite the peaceful efforts of the 
 French, Russian and English cabinets, the Emperor 
 William, being afraid some arrangement might be 
 come to, ordered the secret mobilization of Germany. 
 By mistake this was disclosed by the Lokal Anzeiger 
 of Berlin. The paper was promptly suppressed but 
 in Russia the secret was already known and orders 
 were given for general mobilization. Immediately 
 there came from Berlin the German ultimatum de- 
 manding the demobilization of all Russian forces in 
 twelve hours, which was followed by the declaration 
 of war against Russia and France. 
 
 At the beginning of the war the Emperor Nicholas 
 desired to nominate himself Commander-in-Chief of 
 Russia's troops, but Goremikine insisted that the 
 Grand Duke Nicholas should be appointed to the su- 
 preme command. In consequence when he came to 
 the Duma and told the deputies what had been done, 
 he was received enthusiastically for the first time in 
 his official career.
 
 GENESIS 279 
 
 Henceforward Goremikine 's whole policy was di- 
 rected to making every sacrifice necessary to win 
 the war. He had determined that on no account 
 must there be any patched up peace. He said to 
 me: 
 
 "If we lose Warsaw, Petrograd, and even Moscow, 
 and retire to the Volga, we must never make peace 
 until militarism has been destroyed." 
 
 But unfortunately Goremikine forgot that in or- 
 der to win the war it must be popular and to be pop- 
 ular the government must be in agreement with the 
 people especially in its domestic policies. 
 
 This was impossible as long as the Emperor was 
 surrounded by such men as Rasputin, Maklakoff and 
 Tchegiowitoff, and under the entire influence of the 
 Empress, all of which the people knew perfectly well. 
 The liberal and progressive influences, which were 
 perfectly ready to assist the Government in every 
 way possible, were regarded by this clique as revo- 
 lutionary. The discontent of the people became ever 
 greater and greater and yet when I told Goremikine 
 we were heading straight for a revolution, he only 
 replied: 
 
 "That is all nonsense. Reform is necessary but 
 it must come after the war. As for revolution it is 
 nothing but the dust on the healthy body of Russia. 
 When I breathe on it, it will disappear." 
 
 What must have been the thoughts of the old 
 statesman, when, after the Revolution, seated in a
 
 280 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 motor car accompanied by soldiers and workmen, 
 and spat upon by the people, he was escorted hatless 
 through the streets of Petrograd, with the ther- 
 mometer thirty below zero, to the Fortress of St. 
 Peter and St. Paul. 
 
 Goremikine's fall was entirely unexpected by him. 
 When the former Assistant Minister of the Interior, 
 Beletzky, who was in close relationship with the 
 Court and with Easputin, informed him that the 
 Emperor had determined to replace him with 
 Sturmer 1 (joremikine. replied : 
 
 "That is impossible. He might ask for my resig- 
 nation but he never could replace me with such a 
 nonentity as Sturmer." 
 
 On the day before his dismissal the Empress ac- 
 tually wrote to Madame Goremikine, who showed 
 me the letter, which said "as long as your dear hus- 
 band is at the head of affairs we sleep soundly. He 
 takes good care of Russia and of us." 
 
 Such was the despicable treachery of the Emperor 
 and his court to those who served and loved him. 
 
 Goremikine's end was tragic. Eighty years old, 
 he was assassinated by the Bolsheviki at Sotche in 
 the Caucasus, with his wife who was over seventy 
 and his son-in-law, General Ovtchinnikoff. Of all the 
 ministers during the reign of Nicholas, he and Witte 
 had the greatest individuality and independence. 
 He should hava held the office of Foreign Minister.
 
 GENESIS 281 
 
 He had the great quality of resistance which none of 
 the other ministers had. 
 
 Count Witte, who was personally antagonistic to 
 him, said to me one day, when the question of the 
 nomination of Goremikine as minister of Foreign 
 Affairs was mooted. 
 
 " Goremikine would make an ideal foreign min- 
 ister and if he comes into power, I will try and obtain 
 from him an ambassadorship to Constantinople. 
 I would like to work with him." 
 
 One of Russia's greatest tragedies was the fact 
 that Goremikine and Witte never united to form a 
 party. They each criticized the other instead of 
 uniting to criticize the government. 
 
 When he was dismissed Goremikine might well 
 have cried with Louis Quatorze " Apres moi le de- 
 luge."
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE DELUGE 
 
 When Stunner was appointed as his successor, the 
 Court and its intimates made no ceremony or fuss 
 about the new President of the Council. For the 
 most part the Emperor absented himself from Pet- 
 rograd, and spent most of his time at Army Head- 
 quarters at the front. To all intents and purposes 
 it was the Empress who reigned and in consequence 
 Rasputin became the dispenser of Russia's destiny. 
 
 Sturmer was a man of his making. Rasputin 
 treated him as dirt beneath his feet, and sent him his 
 orders written on filthy scraps of paper. The ad- 
 ministrator of the Russo-French Bank asked me one 
 day, knowing of my friendly relations with Prince 
 Obolensky, Commander of Petrograd, to intercede 
 with him in favour of a Jewess, a relative of one of 
 the employes of the Bank, whom Obolensky was going 
 to expel from the city; but he refused my request 
 categorically. 
 
 * ' Hair will grow on my head before I will permit 
 her to stay in Petrograd!" he exclaimed. (The 
 Prince was entirely bald.) 
 
 I told the unhappy Jewess of the non-success of 
 
 282
 
 THE DELUGE 283 
 
 my mission and advised her to try and see Rasputin. 
 This she did. Rasputin interested himself in her 
 case and gave her one of the famous slips of soiled 
 paper to give Sturmer. I was shown the slip and 
 took a copy of it. And this is the message that Ras- 
 putin sent to the President of the Council ! 
 
 1 ' Dear Boris Vladimirovitch, " (Stunner's Chris- 
 tian name), "I send you this woman. Do as she 
 wishes. 
 
 "Your well-wisher, 
 
 "Gregory Rasputin." 
 
 Sturmer hastened to send the necessary orders 
 to Prince Obolensky and the Jewess was permitted to 
 continue her residence in the capital. On the night 
 of the gala dinner given for Messieurs Viviani and 
 Thomas, who had come to Petrograd on the occasion 
 of the 25th Anniversary of the Franco-Russian Alli- 
 ance, I chanced to sit beside Prince Obolensky. I 
 said to him: 
 
 "Well, mon Prince — I do not see that your hair 
 has grown!" 
 
 The Prince did not seem to relish my little joke ! 
 
 Sturmer thought of nothing except of keeping his 
 own~1position. He had as his private secretary a 
 person called Manuiloff — a man of very shady repu- 
 tation, who shortly after, was condemned to a year 
 in prison for blackmail. The secretary 's duties lay
 
 284 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 chiefly in keeping the minister informed of the sen- 
 timents and opinions current in political circles. 
 For this work Manuiloff drew 12,000 roubles per 
 year, to say nothing of supplementary credits and 
 the sums of money given to him. At the same time, 
 — an excellent illustration of our regime in those 
 days — he drew 6,000 roubles a year from the Assist- 
 ant-Minister of the Interior to spy on Sturmer! 
 
 Conditions were so bad that one might well im- 
 agine oneself transported to Constantinople before 
 the war, where the same sort of agents served at one 
 and the same time the interests of the Grand Vizier, 
 Kiamil Pasha, and of Enver Pasha, who was his 
 most deadly enemy ! 
 
 Sturmer was still Minister of the Interior and in 
 that department every one did exactly as they 
 pleased. The provincial governors had become mere 
 satraps, justice existed on paper only. Solely oc- 
 cupied with his own affairs, Sturmer did not even 
 take the time or trouble to read the official reports ! 
 When he finally vacated the ministry to become Min- 
 ister of Foreign Affairs, still keeping the presidency 
 of the Council, he was replaced by A. D. Protopopoff, 
 whose activities surpassed those of Sturmer in arbi- 
 trariness and glaring abuse of his office. 
 
 Sturmer tried to get on good terms with the Duma, 
 and as it had been dissolved by Goremikine, he at 
 once reconvened it. Then he influenced the Em- 
 peror to visit the Duma. Nicholas went and made
 
 THE DELUGE 285 
 
 a speech. He assured the deputies of his well- 
 wishes, and asked them to work for the country's 
 good in accord with their sovereign in the difficult 
 times through which they were then passing. This 
 speech was enthusiastically received, but the deputies 
 were disappointed in their hopes. The Emperor had 
 spoken to them, it is true, in a very fatherly and 
 kind way, but he had promised them nothing! The 
 country w T anted a % responsible ministry that would 
 be answerable to the Duma for its actions, or for at 
 least a practical execution of the promises made in 
 the Imperial Manifesto of 17th October, 1905 — but 
 since, entirely forgotten. 
 
 Nicholas would not even sacrifice the iniquitous 
 Protopopoff, Minister of the Interior, for them, al- 
 though he was universally hated in Russia. 
 
 It was then only natural that after the Emperor 
 left the Duma violent speeches against the Govern- 
 ment and criticisms of the ministry were heard on 
 every side. Two or three days later Milioukoff thun- 
 dered from the tribune the truth of the evils under 
 which unhappy Russia was groaning and suffering. 
 
 Stunner's cabinet was so wretchedly constituted 
 that among all its members there was not one man 
 who could answer Milioukoff 's terrible denunciation 
 and charges. Sturmer had recourse to the old 
 method and proceeded forthwith to the dissolution of 
 the Duma, but the deputies, when they returned to 
 their constituencies, exposed the rottenness of the
 
 286 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 Government in great detail and discontent spread 
 fast and far. 
 
 In his relations with the Court, Sturmer was 
 fawning and servile. As he had been Master of 
 Ceremonies for many years, he knew it in all its 
 devious ways. German by birth, his father a Prot- 
 estant by religion, Sturmer posed as a convinced 
 Orthodox. He visited all the churches regularly, 
 and assiduously sought friends among the highest 
 church dignitaries, as he knew that in so doing he 
 would win the favours of the Empress, whom he in- 
 fluenced by the most insidious flattery. 
 
 It would be ridiculous to speak of Sturmer 's "pol- 
 itics" or "policy," as he had neither one nor the 
 other. He lived from day to day, executing the 
 ever-vacillating wishes of the Czar. He signed any 
 treaty put before him, one was as good as another 
 to him and the same slipshod way of doing things 
 as had distinguished his administration at the Min- 
 istry of the Interior, was the rule in the Foreign 
 Office. He was always ready either to bargain 
 with the deputies, or attack them virulently. He 
 had been accused by Milioukoff before the whole 
 Duma of having been a thief while in power. Miliou- 
 koff stated that even if he had not himself stolen, 
 which could not be proved, it was certain his wife 
 and sons were most seriously compromised. 
 
 Milioukoff 's attack, however, was not the real rea- 
 son of Sturmer 's fall, which was solely due to the ca-
 
 THE DELUGE 287 
 
 price of the Czar, or rather, of the Empress. As he 
 came to power, so he fell from it. Matters were so 
 rotten at Court that an open attack on a Minister 
 by the Duma only strengthened his position with the 
 sovereigns! Usually Imperial favours were a sure 
 reward for the hatred of the deputies! It was 
 merely a coincidence that made Sturmer the excep- 
 tion. 
 
 The last President of the Ministerial Council un- 
 
 der Nicholas II was Prince Golitzin. His nomina- 
 tion was unexpected, not only by the public at large, 
 but even by himself. He had been the Governor of 
 two provinces and a Senator, and his last position 
 had been that of a Member of the Imperial Council. 
 He always voted with the party of the Extreme 
 Right. He was seventy-two years old when he at- 
 tained the highest office. He was a gentleman in 
 every sense of the term, loyal and honest, but totally 
 ignorant of affairs of state. He was the President of 
 two societies for the furtherance of the public wel- 
 fare, one of which had as its patron the Empress 
 Alexandra, and the other the Dowager Empress Ma- 
 rie. Although the two Empresses did not get on at 
 all well together, and were entirely unlike in charac- 
 ter, Prince Golitzin managed to retain the favour of 
 both. He came to the palace to make his report to 
 the Empress one day, when he found himself unex- 
 pectedly face to face with the Emperor, who promptly 
 offered him Sturmer 's position as head of the Coun-
 
 288 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 cil ! The Prince confided to my sister Sementovska, 
 that he had done all he conld to keep this bitter cup 
 from his lips! He did not feel strong enough to 
 assume such a heavy responsibility and did not hide 
 this from the Emperor, giving him a long list of 
 candidates for the position, whom he thought to be 
 far better fitted. But it was all in vain. The Em- 
 peror insisted, and the Prince became President of 
 the Council. 
 
 In political circles every one was highly amused 
 by his appointment and the Prince was not taken 
 at all seriously. The Duma expected an uproar the 
 first time Prince Golitzin appeared, especially as he 
 relied on the infamous Protopopoff's assistance. 
 But the Prince dared not attempt the experience! 
 He kept away from the Duma, and in this way the 
 deputies had no idea of the policy he intended to 
 follow. 
 
 The Golitzin Ministry lasted just one month. By 
 order of the Emperor, who was then at the front, 
 the Prime Minister signed a decree of dissolution. 
 The Duma refused to be dissolved and the Revolu- 
 tion broke out! 
 
 The unfortunate Prince left his official quarters 
 and took refuge in my sister's house where he lived 
 before he became Prime Minister. But as the other 
 tenants very much feared the mobs, they begged my 
 sister to make him leave. Prince Golitzin, a gentle- 
 man always, immediately telephoned to the President
 
 THE DELUGE 289 
 
 of the Duma to come and arrest him. He was at once 
 incarcerated in the fortress of St. Peter and St. 
 Paul, but was soon freed. Of all the Czar's minis- 
 ters, he was perhaps one who suffered most from 
 his master's capricious whims. 
 
 Meanwhile Protopopoff, the Minister of the In- 
 terior, who played such a disastrous part during 
 the last days of the monarchy in Russia, flitted 
 on and off the stage. Just before the curtain de- 
 scended he became one of the principal actors in the 
 drama. 
 
 In all countries the Minister of the Interior oc- 
 cupies a very important position. In Russia the 
 holder of this portfolio has always been almost om- 
 nipotent ! The whole administration of the internal 
 affairs of the vast Empire was absolutely in his 
 hands. He appointed the governors of provinces, 
 and controlled the activities of the Zemstvos. He 
 regulated all questions except those of religion. By 
 custom, the Minister of the Interior was a high dig- 
 nitary, having the full confidence of the Sovereign, 
 and being "his man," in every way. During the 
 reign of Nicholas II, the Ministry of the Interior 
 especially reflected the vacillating character of the 
 ruler. And it was in this important branch of the 
 government that ministers were most frequently 
 changed, -so. much— so— that during the last months 
 of the monarchy, the Ministry of the Interior was 
 nothing but a continuous moving pietui^I — The-Em-
 
 290 RECOLLECTIONS OF A EUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 peror called for some one, it did not matter whom, 
 and offered him the post of Minister of the Interior. 
 The gentleman so "honoured" accepted, and went 
 home, highly delighted, to dilate on his good for- 
 tune to his family ! This would happen in the morn- 
 ing; and the evening of the same day the Czar 
 changed his mind, another man was appointed, and 
 the appointee of the morning had not even had time 
 to make the acquaintance of his colleagues. 
 
 The innumerable Ministers of the Interior kept 
 their positions not by their policies or accomplish- 
 ments, but solely by Imperial favour! They all 
 tried to secure such favour by all sorts of means, 
 any means sufficed, as long as they were successful. 
 Some, Sturmer, for instance, by making a round of 
 all the churches ; others, like Maklakoff, in imitating 
 the "leap of the amorous pantheress" which made 
 the Empress and the Imperial children laugh, and a 
 third class like Protopopoff, by flattering the Em- 
 press, and doing things they claimed were spiritual- 
 istic. And all by first assuring themselves of being 
 in the very good graces of Rasputin. 
 
 Of all the Ministers of the Interior that Nicholas 
 II had, Protopopoff contributed the most to the fall 
 of the Monarchy. He was a gentleman from the 
 Province of Simbirsk, on the Volga. Previously he 
 had been an officer, but left the army when he was 
 still young. He was very rich, an extensive land- 
 owner, and was at the head of several industrial
 
 THE DELUGE 291 
 
 enterprises. He had worked in several of the Zems- 
 two bureaux and had been elected chief of the nobil- 
 ity in his home province. He thus represented his 
 province in the third and fourth Dumas, belonging 
 to the Octobrist Party. Finally he was Vice-Presi- 
 dent of the Duma. His speeches were usually of a 
 pronouncedly liberal character. An excellent ora- 
 tor, and most insinuating in his manner, he made 
 himself very popular with the deputies, especially 
 by his violent attacks on the Government. 
 
 When a delegation from the Duma visited the 
 capitals of our Allies, Protopopoff was of the party. 
 As he spoke English, French and Italian fluently, 
 he spoke for the whole delegation. He produced an 
 exceedingly good impression in Europe, and was 
 very popular everywhere. On his return to Russia 
 he passed through Stockholm with Count Olsouiev, 
 Member of the Imperial Council, who had also been 
 a member of the deputation. In the Swedish cap- 
 ital the latter discovered a Russian journalist, Ko- 
 lischko by name, who lived there as he would not 
 leave his mistress, who was a German whom the Rus- 
 sian Government had expelled. Naturally enough 
 Germany and its affairs were among the topics of 
 conversation, and Count Olsouiev expressed a desire 
 to see a real German in order to learn something of 
 German sentiments. Kolischko offered his assist- 
 ance, and at a luncheon at his house introduced a 
 man by the name of Warburg to the Count. War-
 
 292 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 burg was a German financier, a friend of Herr Ballin, 
 and in consequence in touch with the ideas of Em- 
 peror William. 
 
 At the last moment Protopopoff expressed a wish 
 to be present at this luncheon, and so was asked. 
 Although the conversation did not have any great 
 political significance, Protopopoff was fatuous 
 enough to mention it to a reporter, adding that it 
 was he, and not Olsouiev, who had arranged for the 
 meeting with Warburg. 
 
 The matter got abroad, and when Protopopoff 
 reached Petrograd, he found that his position in the 
 Duma was seriously compromised, even in the ranks 
 of his own Party. The President of the Duma, 
 M. W. Rodzianko, wrote him a letter in which he 
 asked, in the name of the Duma, to present formal 
 explanations regarding the Stockholm incident. In 
 order to excuse himself, Protopopoff threw all the 
 blame on Olsouiev ; but the latter succeeded in clear- 
 ing himself and proved conclusively that Protopopoff 
 was a liar. 
 
 He had formerly been the Liberal candidate for 
 the post of Minister of Commerce, but after this 
 incident there was no doubt that not only would he 
 lose his position as Vice-President of the Duma, but 
 even that of being a deputy ! 
 
 Protopopoff was more fortunate at Court. 
 Wanting to know the details of the visit of the dele- 
 gation to the Allied capitals, the Emperor received
 
 THE DELUGE 293 
 
 him in the Empress' presence. Protopopoff made 
 a very good impression. 
 
 The Empress asked him if King George resembled 
 the Emperor as much as it was commonly reported. 
 Protopopoff answered: 
 
 "Only as a bad copy resembles a superb original." 
 
 This reply pleased the Emperor and Empress im- 
 mensely. 
 
 Seeing that he was done for as far as the Duma 
 was concerned, Protopopoff decided to make himself 
 popular at Court. He listened to Easputin and 
 made himself most agreeable, and employed the 
 same tactics with the Archbishop of Petrograd. As 
 he had prepared the ground carefully at the Palace, 
 he was appointed Minister of the Interior. 
 
 At first he played up to the Liberals. He argued 
 to himself that the title of "Minister of the In- 
 terior, and Deputy of the Duma," would make him 
 popular with the masses, and that it might win him 
 once again the support of the Duma. But his cal- 
 culations were wrong! His own Party voted for 
 his exclusion! 
 
 While Protopopoff was still Vice-President of the 
 Duma, he had founded a newspaper. "When he was 
 appointed Minister of the Interior he declared he 
 would have nothing more to do with this publica- 
 tion, but he nevertheless relied on it for support, and 
 as a matter of fact, the editor came to his study every 
 morning in secret to receive his orders. But the
 
 294 KECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 truth leaked out and in consequence the paper en- 
 tirely lost its influence and was unable to popularize 
 the Minister. 
 
 The whole of Russia was hostile towards him and 
 the press clamoured unanimously for his resigna- 
 tion. He did not dare go to the Duma, being sure 
 of provoking a scandal were he to do so. He sought 
 refuge at Court, and found it. The Empress, in- 
 fluenced by Rasputin, was sure of his loyalty and 
 devotion, and he became one of her most intimate 
 friends, spending whole evenings with her, the fa- 
 mous Madame Wiroubova and Rasputin. During 
 these evenings religion was often a subject of con- 
 versation and the necessity of saving the masses 
 from the pernicious influence of the Liberals ! Pro- 
 topopoff was enthusiastic on the latter point, even 
 if he was bored by the former. 
 
 When Rasputin was assassinated, public opinion 
 generally took it for granted that Protopopoff 's 
 popularity at Tsarskoe Seloe would come to an end, 
 but nothing happened. Protopopoff was stronger 
 than ever. He persuaded the Empress, who was 
 then turning to spiritualism, that the spirit of Ras- 
 putin had entered himself, and he spoke to her in 
 the language of the moujiks (peasants), clipping his 
 words and sentences in imitation of Rasputin's pe- 
 culiar way of speaking. 
 
 When the Emperor expressed himself as much an- 
 noyed with the attitude of the Duma, Protopopoff
 
 THE DELUGE 295 
 
 calmed him, saying that the Duma was not to be 
 feared. Finally he advised the Emperor to decree 
 its dissolution and the Duma was thus eliminated. 
 
 Protopopoff wanted to crush the revolutionary 
 movement, of which lie was fully aware, and advised 
 the Emperor to use Dournovo's method. Dournovo 
 had crushed the previous revolution in Moscow by 
 the simple method of massacring the people! Pro- 
 topopoff therefore increased the number of police in 
 Petrograd by adding large forces made up of non- 
 commissioned officers of the army, on whom he could 
 rely. By this means the force of police in the capital 
 reached the total of 18,000 men. He also ordered 
 all the cross streets to be guarded with machine guns 
 and the roofs of all the higher buildings to be simi- 
 larly equipped and he explained his orders by calling 
 attention to the possibility of a German air-raid on 
 the capital. His idea was to force the revolution 
 into the open, provoke the working classes and then 
 mow them down. To achieve this object, he ordered, 
 on the 23rd of February, 1917, that no bread should 
 be sold in those parts of the city inhabited by the 
 workmen and the poor. On the 24th of February 
 there were mass meetings of the starving crowds 
 who howled for bread. These meetings were easily 
 dispersed by the police; but, on the 25th, the move- 
 ment suddenly became revolutionary. The garri- 
 sons of Petrograd were in collusion with the people 
 and there followed a massacre of the police. About
 
 296 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 5,000 people were killed and Protopopoff's "army" 
 fled, or was arrested by the revolting troops. The 
 revolution had won the day in Petrograd! 
 
 Protopopoff fled and took refuge in a village near 
 the capital, but fearing to be recognized and killed, 
 four days later he presented himself to the Duma. 
 Meeting Kerensky there he said to him : 
 
 ' ' Excellency, have pity on me ! " 
 
 To which Kerensky replied: 
 
 "In the first place, I am not 'Excellency'! As to 
 your crimes against the nation, the people will judge 
 them. ' ' 
 
 He was arrested and incarcerated in the fortress 
 of St. Peter and St. Paul. He narrowly escaped be- 
 ing torn to pieces by the mobs while he was being 
 taken there. 
 
 Goremikine and Sturmer, the one by his inaction, 
 the other by his actions, played their parts in the 
 last scene of the drama, but it was Protopopoff who 
 rung the curtain down. 
 
 Justice in the country was administered in exactly 
 the same way as the government. There was noth- 
 ing left at all of the liberal institutions and reforms 
 of Alexander II. The tribunals had lost their inde- 
 pendence and were docile tools in the hands of the 
 Government. All cases in which members of the 
 Government, or of the Court were concerned, were 
 promptly quashed. Justice became a by-word. Pol-
 
 THE DELUGE 297 
 
 itics pure and simple controlled all the law courts 
 and their decisions. 
 
 Monsieur Tcheglowitoff, the Minister of Justice, 
 was without faith or creed. He had been my com- 
 rade in school days, and at school he was called 
 "John Cain." After his graduation he posed as a 
 Liberal, and Milioukoff, in 1905, wished to appoint 
 him Minister of Justice in a Constitutional Cabinet. 
 
 At that time seeing that the Liberal cause was lost, 
 Tcheglowitoff became a pillar of the reactionary 
 
 Jvement. A few months prior to the final out- 
 break, when he found himself attacked on all sides, 
 he resigned as Minister of Justice, but the Emperor 
 appointed him President of the Council of State — 
 the highest official position in Russia. 
 
 As President he concentrated all his attention on 
 preventing any and all of the Liberal members of 
 the Council from speaking. 
 
 His name was as much execrated by the masses as 
 was that of Protopopoff and when he was arrested 
 after the Revolution by the Provisional Government, 
 the crowds, even to the children, spat on him as he 
 was taken through the streets. He was taken to 
 the fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul and accused of 
 high treason against the people of Russia. 
 
 The Russian clergy have ever played a most im- 
 portant part in the history of the nation. The 
 masses are extremely religious and in consequence
 
 298 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 the priests have very great influence over them. 
 The church was always regarded with reverence and 
 was a power every sovereign relied upon for sup- 
 port. The assistance of the clergy was therefore 
 cultivated. In the last years of the monarchy 
 princes of the church were appointed from among 
 those on whom the Court could rely, but as all these 
 appointments were made through the influence of 
 Rasputin, the appointees were naturally men of evil 
 reputation, without any morality. Morality was re- 
 placed by a fawning servility. A monk who had 
 been a friend of Rasputin's at Tobolsk, wholly ignor- 
 ant and scarcely able to write his own name — was 
 made an Archbishop, and Pitirim, well known for his 
 depraved habits, was placed at the head of the Pet- 
 rograd clergy as "The Metropolitan." The assist- 
 ance of such characters was really of no earthly use 
 to the Court, as the people, knowing their reputations 
 and habits would have nothing to do with them. As 
 a result the church lost its influence. In the end 
 Pitirim lost his position, became again a monk, and 
 was imprisoned in a monastery situated in the far 
 north of Russia. 
 
 In the army discontent with the regime of Nicholas 
 II had become general. At the beginning of the war 
 the enthusiasm of the troops was undoubted. The 
 first military reverses in East Prussia in no way 
 dispirited the army. They were fully offset by Gen- 
 eral Brusiloff's victories in Galicia, which were
 
 THE DELUGE 299 
 
 crowned by the taking of Lemberg, and Przemysl, 
 the great Austrian fortress. Even when the Army 
 suffered badly for want of munitions its morale kept 
 up to a fine standard. Having no more cartridges, 
 the men fought with stones and the butts of their 
 rifles. But as time went by, and no munitions were 
 supplied the Army was forced to a permanent re- 
 treat. Even while Russian fortresses were falling 
 one by one, and the Germans were overrunning more 
 and more territory, the Army still had confidence in 
 the future. 
 
 It was only when it learned of the treachery of 
 the Minister of War — General Soukhomlinoff, and of 
 his imprisonment, that discontent grew apace in all 
 ranks. The officers especially did not attempt to 
 hide their disgust. In the casinos and restaurants 
 there was severe criticism on all sides against the 
 Government. The Emperor himself was not spared, 
 and no blame was too great for the Empress because 
 the military saw in her the chief cause of its dis- 
 asters. The Imperial Guard was no exception to 
 this bitter sentiment. I talked very often with offi- 
 cers of the First Regiments of the Guard, and they 
 frankly told me that if the Emperor did not change 
 his policy soon, if he did not replace the inefficient 
 and traitorous ministers by a cabinet which would 
 be responsible to the Duma, he would have to be de- 
 throned and a regency instituted. These sugges- 
 tions and many similar ones, were known to the
 
 300 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 men of the rank and file, and the Emperor gradually 
 lost not only their respect, but such little popularity 
 as he had had. 
 
 But in the ranks the non-success of our armies was 
 credited not only to the Emperor, but to the higher 
 Russian command. Generals were accused of indo- 
 lence and inefficiency, or servility to the Emperor, 
 and the officers were accused of being the generals' 
 accomplices. This sentiment explains the soldiers' 
 fury against the generals and officers during the 
 Revolution, and why so many of them were mas- 
 sacred. 
 
 In the last months before the revolution, the lack 
 of food supplies and of warm clothing fanned the 
 flames. This was attributed and not without rea- 
 son, to the corruption of the departments which were 
 supposed to supply the army with its requirements. 
 Desertion became rife, despite the iron discipline 
 which still existed in the ranks. 
 
 Thus from the political, judicial, clerical and mili- 
 tary point of view things were going from bad to 
 worse. Meanwhile society was divided into two 
 camps. In the one camp no one cared anything 
 about either the army or the war. They thought 
 only of enriching themselves and to them the slack- 
 ness of the administration was of great assistance. 
 The army contractors filled their pockets. Dealings 
 on the stock market attained enormous and un- 
 precedented figures, yet the nation was starving to
 
 THE DELUGE 301 
 
 death and the army lacked everything. A third of 
 European Russia was held by the enemy, and still 
 all values on the stock exchange rose steadily, thanks 
 to the speculation that went on in high financial cir- 
 cles. Men who were penniless one day were mil- 
 lionaires the next! Bakery shops were repeatedly 
 attacked by the hungry masses, whose long bread 
 lines stretched for hundreds of yards in many parts 
 of the city. And while this state of things existed 
 the jewellers' establishments were worked harder 
 than they ever had been before. One of these, the 
 famous Faberge, told me that his profits had trebled. 
 He added that the buyers were all unknown to him, 
 and they cared nothing for the quality of the things 
 they bought, insisting only on high prices. The 
 theatres and cafe concerts were always crowded. 
 Four and five hundred roubles were paid for a box 
 at Red Cross entertainments. Wine was officially 
 forbidden, but this did not prevent champagne from 
 flowing in streams in private houses and in private 
 dining-rooms, despite the fact that its price was 
 ninety roubles per bottle. 
 
 In this world of people, gone absolutely pleasure 
 mad, and literally drunk with money, Rasputin was 
 everywhere, in the character of Principal Devil, for 
 it was he who made it possible for these floods of 
 money to get into the pockets of the vulturous crowds 
 of pleasure-seeking leeches. The dangers of the sit- 
 uation were well known. The majority well knew
 
 302 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 they were dancing on the crumbling edges_i)l a vol- 
 cano; but so much the more haste was made to 
 bleed suffering, starving, agonizing Russia to a still 
 greater degree, and with the results enjoy life the 
 more! 
 
 And it was on this class of people the ministers 
 relied, and it was among them that the Government 
 looked for salvation! 
 
 In the other camp of society, which was the more 
 numerous, the certainty of the great catastrophe's 
 approach was well known, and also that the crisis 
 could not be long delayed. 
 
 The Emperor was now openly criticized on street 
 corners, and the Empress loudly cursed. I was with 
 the Assistant Minister of Justice in his study one 
 day, who up to that time had been looked upon as a 
 reactionary. There were present two senators, one 
 of whom had been Chief of the Police. Their con- 
 versation was such that had I closed my eyes I 
 should have believed myself to be in the presence 
 of three convinced, out-and-out Revolutionaries! 
 
 Among the legal profession sentiment was even 
 more bitter. Kerensky, who was a lawyer, hurried 
 to the President of the Lawyers ' Club one day very 
 pale, and with tears in his eyes, asked him if some 
 violent action had not better be taken in order to 
 save the people and the army! 
 
 The members of the Duma met every day in party 
 caucus. They were absolutely convinced that the
 
 THE DELUGE 303 
 
 state of things could not last any longer. But while 
 the better thinking element of society limited it- 
 self to criticism, and tried to deliberate as to what 
 was best to be done, the workmen were organizing. 
 The intellectuals lost ground in their endless delib- 
 erations and the workmen became complete masters 
 of the situation. 
 
 The press played only a very small part in the 
 crisis. The Liberals had been muzzled. Those sup- 
 porting the party of the Right, subsidized by the 
 Government, had no readers, and in consequence no 
 sales. Furthermore Russia had no great journal- 
 ists at the time. The Katkoffs, Aksakoffs, and the 
 Souvorines had vanished and no one to fill their 
 illustrious places could be found. 
 
 The Novoie Vremya was run by the sons of the 
 great Souvorine. One of them, of no use whatso- 
 ever, spent his time with women. The other, a man 
 of talent, took to drink. Lacking in funds, the 
 Souvorines sold a large part of their shares which 
 passed into the hands of a Jewish banker, Rubin- 
 stein by name. He had made a very large fortune, 
 was an intimate of Rasputin's and thus became 
 quasi-editor-in-chief of the Novoie Vremya! 
 
 The other papers were colourless and weak, with 
 the exception of the Retch, the organ of Milioukoff". 
 But the military censorship, which had become a 
 purely political affair, dependent on the desires of 
 the Minister of the Interior, heavily blue-pencilled all
 
 304 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 articles intended for publication by the papers. 
 Usually a blank space met the readers' eyes when 
 they looked for an editorial. In revenge the papers 
 made much of the complaints of the various parties, 
 despite the efforts of the police, and this method of 
 internal warfare spread to the people, and thence to 
 the trenches, increasing the general distrust and dis- 
 content. 
 
 The President of the Duma, Eodzianko, on two 
 occasions had tried to show the Emperor the dan- 
 gers which menaced the Nation, but his efforts were 
 all in vain. Nicholas II, guided by Protopopoff, 
 plunged on to the doom which grimly awaited him. 
 
 The peasants who make up eighty-five per cent, 
 of the population of Russia thought differently from 
 the workmen in the cities. Their living had never 
 been so good as during the war ! Three factors com- 
 bined to enrich the country people : 
 
 (1) Each family having a soldier in the ranks 
 received a certain sum of money each month. 
 
 (2) Produce was sold at very high prices, and 
 
 (3) As alcohol was forbidden, the earnings of the 
 men of the family stayed in the family. 
 
 From these things it is true that among the peas- 
 ants peace and content resulted. But also immor- 
 ality rapidly increased. Many women thought of 
 nothing but money, and almost always the husband 
 being away, his place was taken by a prisoner of 
 war. This was often the case even in Society !
 
 THE DELUGE 305 
 
 The peasant, however, finally made common cause 
 with the revolution, because always the aspirations 
 of the country people were for an increase in their 
 holdings of land. The revolutionaries had incul- 
 cated in the peasant mind that these aspirations 
 could only be satisfied by a Revolution, and grad- 
 ually the creed of the peasants became: Land and 
 Liberty. 
 
 When the Revolution broke out the peasants 
 thought that their time had come. They seized the 
 landlords' properties without waiting for any legal 
 arrangement to be made by the Revolutionary Gov- 
 ernment! Uneducated and savage, the peasants 
 burned and destroyed secular property, tearing 
 down libraries and ruining treasures which had been 
 gathered little by little by their owners. 
 
 This movement, and these actions, however, had 
 nothing to do with socialistic theories. The peas- 
 ant, who had become a landed proprietor since the 
 days of Stolypin, does not rally to a doctrine which 
 denies the rights of property! Having received 
 what they demanded, an increase of their territorial 
 holdings, the Russian peasants will necessarily again 
 become a conservative element. Already in the first 
 months of the revolution the peasant was very far 
 from sharing the advanced ideas of the workmen 
 in the cities. 
 
 The conditions and factors prevailing in Russia 
 in the third year of the Great War, which were the
 
 306 RECOLLECTIONS OF A RUSSIAN DIPLOMAT 
 
 direct cause of the downfall of the Monarchy, can 
 be thus summarized : 
 
 An unpopular Emperor, lacking in willpower. 
 
 An Empress who was cordially detested. 
 
 The Grand Dukes and the Court suspected. 
 
 A discontented and deceived Army and Navy, 
 which had lost all faith in their Generals, Admirals 
 and Officers. 
 
 Venal and incapable Ministers. 
 
 Satraps in the position of Provincial Governors. 
 
 Administrative abuses which increased daily. 
 
 Justice all over the land reduced to a farce. 
 
 An unconsidered and despised Clergy. 
 
 A Society corrupt and rotten to the core. 
 
 The Duma and its Leaders lacking in courage and 
 initiative. 
 
 The workmen won over by the Socialists. 
 
 The peasants having lost all idea of morality, pil- 
 laging and destroying property. 
 
 Add to these the constant military disasters and 
 the large part of Russia in the hands of the enemy 
 and you have an exact picture of unhappy Russia 
 prior to the Revolution of February 25th, 1917. 
 
 Such was the drama and such were the principal 
 actors in it. 
 
 The curtain is down ! the house silent and deserted !
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 QUEEN MARIE OF ROUMANIA 
 
 . ( 
 
 I will sooner abdicate than recognize a peace 
 shameful to my country," cried the Queen of Rou- 
 mania, on learning the terrible peace conditions dic- 
 tated by the Emperor William and his partner Aus- 
 tria, and imposed on the poor little Danubian King- 
 dom, crushed by superior force after an heroic re- 
 sistance. 
 
 The Sovereign reveals herself in her cry of in- 
 dignation, straight from the heart. In these mo- 
 ments of anguish she shows herself as she is — noble 
 and proud, worthy of her people, and worthy niece 
 of two great sovereigns, Edward VII of England 
 and Alexander III of Russia. 
 
 It will be remembered that Queen Marie is the 
 daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh, brother of Ed- 
 ward VII, and of the Grand Duchess Marie of Rus- 
 sia, only sister of the Emperor Alexander III. 
 
 1 'I belong to a truly international family," said 
 the Queen to me one day, referring to the fact that 
 her father was English, her mother Russian, and of 
 her sisters, one was married to a Russian, the Grand 
 Duke Cyril, the second to a German, the Prince of 
 
 307
 
 308 APPENDICES 
 
 Hohenlohe Lauenburg, and the third to a prince of 
 Spain. 
 
 My first opportunity of getting to know the Queen 
 of Roumania was when she was a princess of Eng- 
 land, towards the end of the year 1892 in Munich. 
 I was Second Secretary of the Russian Legation in 
 that city. The Countess Osten-Sacken, the wife of 
 my chief, was an intimate friend of the Grand 
 Duchess Marie, mother of the future Queen of Rou- 
 mania. This lady confided to her all the difficulties 
 she had with regard to the approaching marriage of 
 her daughter. 
 
 "Imagine," she said, "Marie has got two suitors 
 at the same time, both desperately in love with her, 
 the Grand Duke George of Russia and Prince Ferdi- 
 nand of Roumania, the former is here, and Ferdi- 
 nand is expected in a few days. I don't know what 
 to do. It seems to me that my daughter prefers the 
 Roumanian, but it hurts her very much to disappoint 
 the Grand Duke. She is so kind-hearted ! " 
 
 However, the Princess made light of her mother's 
 difficulties and decided matters for herself. In Jan- 
 uary, 1893, she married the heir to the throne of 
 Roumania. 
 
 Endowed with exceptional beauty, only equalled 
 by the goodness of her heart, she became at once 
 the idol of her people. Her personality captivated 
 every one. The highest and lowest were equally 
 amenable to her great charm. Her uncle, King
 
 APPENDICES 309 
 
 Charles of Roumania, compared her to a ray of sun- 
 light, notwithstanding his pronounced sympathies 
 for Germany which were so opposed to those of his 
 niece. 
 
 In June, 1914, I again met the Princess Marie. 
 She was still the Princess and was present at the 
 meeting between King Charles of Roumania and the 
 Czar, at Constanza. Wherever she appeared, driv- 
 ing, riding or walking, beautiful as the day, gay, 
 smiling and waving her handkerchief in response to 
 the cheers of the people, the enthusiasm of the 
 crowd for their princess was immense. 
 
 The Princess little dreamt of the terrible trials 
 which awaited her in the ensuing three years. 
 
 I was once more in Roumania, in Bucharest, in the 
 summer of 1916, about two months before the decla- 
 ration of war by Roumania. The country was then 
 divided into three political parties. The first, led 
 by Carp, former minister of King Charles, favoured 
 an alliance with the Central Powers. This party 
 was supported chiefly by conservatives. Although 
 some of these supported Mr. Marghiloman, who was 
 in favour of neutrality. The second party had for 
 its leaders Philippesco, Take Ionescu and Michel 
 Cantacuzene, who insisted on an immediate entry into 
 the war on the side of the Allies. The third party 
 and the most powerful had for its chief, M. Bratiano, 
 who was then President of the Council. He led a 
 double game, emphasizing his sympathy for the AJ-
 
 310 APPENDICES 
 
 lies and at the same time concluding a commercial 
 treaty with Germany and Austria-Hungary. 
 
 As to the King, he hesitated. His original, all his 
 youthful sympathies, drew him towards Germany, 
 but he decided to remain a really constitutional mon- 
 arch to the end. He made up his mind only to follow 
 the wishes of the majority of his people. Looking 
 back on all that I saw, it seemed to me that Ferdi- 
 nand saw clearly how he would have to drink the 
 cup with its dregs one day, but all that he wished 
 was to postpone the evil hour as long as possible. 
 This will explain the entire and unwavering support 
 he gave to Bratiano's policy. 
 
 But from the beginning of the crisis, Queen Marie 
 did not hide her sympathies. At one moment dur- 
 ing this my last stay in Bucharest, when the con- 
 clusion of the commercial treaty with the Central 
 Powers seemed almost certain, old Philippesco said 
 to me, " Luckily we have our dear Queen with us 
 and with such a faithful ally I have no fear for the 
 
 future." 
 
 One day the Princess Cantacuzene, wife of one of 
 the warmest partisans of the Allies, and intimate 
 friend of Queen Marie, invited my wife and myself 
 to pass the evening with her and the Queen. Un- 
 fortunately I was absent, called away to Reni on the 
 Danube by Admiral Vesselkine, commander of our 
 flotilla, and my wife alone was able to take advan- 
 tage of the Princess's amiable invitation.
 
 APPENDICES 311 
 
 The Queen was accompanied by her daughter, the 
 Princess Elizabeth. A large part of the evening was 
 devoted by the Sovereign to herself reading aloud a 
 small book of hers entitled, "The Heart of the Rou- 
 manian Peasant." This little work was written in 
 English, this and the Roumanian language being pre- 
 ferred by the Queen. Her very soul is revealed by 
 this little essay. It illustrates her passionate love 
 for her people and her pride in being their Queen. 
 Happy in her great and rightly deserved popularity, 
 she boasts how on frequent occasions she has had to 
 accept the responsibility of figuring as godmother to 
 so many children of humble peasants. She describes 
 their cottages and waxes enthusiastic over the sterl- 
 ing qualities of the parents of the newly born. 
 
 In the short preface, the Queen says, "The object 
 of this little work is to make Roumania as much ad- 
 mired by my readers as she is loved by me." Al- 
 ways and everywhere her strongest feeling is a real 
 devotion to the country of her adoption. 
 
 Naturally immediately on my return to Bucharest, 
 I deemed it my privilege to ask for an audience, 
 which a few days later was accorded me. Rou- 
 mania had then declared war. When the Queen 
 received my wife and myself in her palace at Bu- 
 charest, it was already completely transformed into 
 a hospital. Her Majesty, beautiful and charming as 
 ever, wore the dress of the hospital nurse. After 
 the usual exchange of greetings and courtesies, the
 
 312 APPENDICES 
 
 Sovereign passed on to the questions of the mo- 
 ment, speaking directly of the war and the Council 
 of Ministers which under the presidency of the King 
 had decided on its declaration. 
 
 "I know what anxious moments the King must 
 have passed," she said to me. "And I have a right 
 to be proud of his decision." Her Majesty added, 
 "I assure you that I have no hatred for the Ger- 
 mans, my mother and my sister are in Germany, 
 but I felt that the fate of my country depended on 
 an alliance with the enemies of Germany and Aus- 
 tria. The Germans evidently know the part I have 
 played for they do everything possible to eliminate 
 me. Their aeroplanes pursue me night after night, 
 and I am obliged continually to change my abode. 
 But all this leaves me perfectly calm and every day 
 I say to myself, 'What a blessing to be Queen at 
 such a moment!' " 
 
 She did not seem to have any doubts about final 
 success, although she fully recognized the difficul- 
 ties the Koumanians would have to overcome. 
 "They are very strong," she said again and again, 
 in speaking of the Central Powers. 
 
 In bidding her adieu, I asked for a copy of the 
 little book which she had read at the soiree of Coun- 
 tess Cantacuzene. The Queen graciously acceded to 
 my request and the following day, I received the lit- 
 tle volume accompanied by her portrait, and signed
 
 APPENDICES 313 
 
 by her. I remained another week in Bucharest, 
 which by then had become a real hell. 
 
 The Germans and the Bulgarians commenced a 
 bombardment of the poor "Balkan Paris" the day 
 after the declaration of war. It was a Sunday. 
 The streets were full of people enjoying the lovely 
 weather, when the first hostile aeroplane appeared. 
 The public thought it was manoeuvres of the Rou- 
 manian aviators. Half an hour later the ambu- 
 lances of the Red Cross destroyed these illusions. 
 The Huns and their Allies chose for their mark the 
 most frequented squares and places. Bucharest was 
 more tried and more punished than almost any other 
 town that suffered an aerial bombardment. In this 
 first hour, there were three hundred and seventy- 
 five dead and wounded, the great majority being 
 women and children. Whole districts of the city, 
 only a few weeks ago devoted to pleasure, were com- 
 pletely destroyed. I saw with my own eyes one 
 poor mother quite out of her mind. Her four chil- 
 dren had been crushed to death! But the Germans 
 and the Bulgarians did not confine themselves to 
 this mode of destruction. In addition they dropped 
 bombs containing packages of poisoned candies. 
 The chemist (Professor Cantacouzene) who made an 
 analysis, told me that these bon-bons were filled with 
 diphtheria microbes and typhus germs. Placards 
 were immediately posted in the streets warning the
 
 314 APPENDICES 
 
 people of this unsuspected danger. Unfortunately, 
 it was too late. Numbers of children were already 
 victims of an enemy devoid of human sentiment. 
 
 Imagine what terrible moments the poor Queen 
 must have passed. How she must have suffered, 
 she, so full of motherly tenderness. But she contin- 
 ued bravely to do her duty as sovereign. Later at 
 Jassy she shared all the privations endured by the 
 remnants of the army and the crowds of fugitives. 
 She refused the offer of the Czar, who put at her 
 disposal a palace at Odessa or one at Kiev. "I will 
 not abandon my people in distress," invariably was 
 her answer. 
 
 She struggled to the end, encouraging the King 
 to resist and continuing her work of benevolence. 
 When at last the King, giving way to the advice of 
 his Ministers, declared himself ready to sign a treaty 
 of peace, the Queen revolted against his decision. 
 "Rather abdicate," she cried with her British pride. 
 This cry of indignation has immortalized her. 
 
 The name of Queen Marie of Roumania will figure 
 in all history as that of a real Queen and Patriot.
 
 APPENDIX II 
 
 THE RESULT OF ROUMANIA 's PARTICIPATIONS IN THE 
 
 GREAT WAR 
 
 Bucharest, Sept. 15th, 1916. 
 Confidential report of E. de Schelking, Correspond- 
 ent of Journal de La Bourse of Petrograd, and 
 formerly Secretary of the Russian Embassy in 
 Berlin. Transmitted to Gen. Alexiev and Bru- 
 siloff and submitted to the Czar, Nicholas II. 
 
 Upon my departure irom Roumania after a sojourn 
 of three months, I consider it necessary to sum up 
 my impressions. 
 
 There are two main considerations which I would 
 bring to your notice : 
 
 (1) What was trie practical value to Russia and 
 the Allies of Roumania 's participation in the war? 
 
 (2) Did that value come up to the expectations of 
 Russia considering the price paid for the same? 
 
 Unhappily on examining the situation in detail I 
 am forced to the conclusion that Roumania 's help 
 was not of real advantage to Russia, and that the 
 price paid for the same was too high. 
 
 Our political understanding with Roumania ar- 
 ranged forgan adjustment of boundaries which would 
 
 315
 
 316 APPENDICES 
 
 have doubled her territory. Besides having prom- 
 ised her the acquisition of Transylvania, which is in- 
 habited by a very large number of Roumanians, we 
 promised Roumania Bukowina, including the cap- 
 ital, Czernowitz, which was twice drenched with 
 Russian blood during the war, and also the Banat, 
 including Torondal, the population of which was ex- 
 clusively Serbian. Thus in our desire to secure 
 Roumania 's co-operation, we sacrificed our blood 
 brothers, the heroic Serbians. 
 
 At the same time, we gave rise to new complica- 
 tions between two Balkan states, Roumania and 
 Serbia, because the Serbians could never be satis- 
 fied with a situation which placed Serbia under 
 the menace of Roumanian guns at Torondal, instead 
 of those of Austria at Semlin. Such an understand- 
 ing was contrary, in my opinion, to the interests of 
 Roumania herself, because the vital interests of Rou- 
 mania were, under any circumstances, linked with 
 those of Serbia, if only it were to give her an outlet 
 to the Adriatic by a complete understanding with 
 Serbia. I know positively that the arrangements for 
 the cession of Torondal created a most painful im- 
 pression in the political circles of Serbia. In her 
 intense desire to help the Allies, Serbia not only 
 showed herself willing to sacrifice part of Dalmatia 
 to Italy, but had also consented to give up a portion 
 of Macedonia to Bulgaria. This last arrangement 
 as we know, was part of a secret treaty made with
 
 APPENDICES 317 
 
 Britain, France, Russia and Italy, to which N. Pas- 
 chitch, the Serbian Premier, gave a broken-hearted 
 consent under Russian pressure. The Serbian gov- 
 ernment realized to the full the immense value of 
 Italy's participation in the war and the continued 
 neutrality of Bulgaria, if these could be secured by 
 such sacrifices. 
 
 So far as Roumania is concerned Serbian states- 
 men knew perfectly well the military position of 
 Roumania and realized that the cession of the Banat 
 and the entire Roumanian demands were not in ac- 
 cordance with the practical interests of the Allies. 
 In my opinion our great amiability towards Rou- 
 mania was entirely due to the fact that all the diplo- 
 matic representatives of the Allies in Roumania, 
 except Italy, were not au courant with the true situa- 
 tion. They had at heart nothing but the advance- 
 ment of their personal careers and they blindly fol- 
 lowed the lead of M. Bratiano, the premier of Rou- 
 mania. Their sole object was the participation of 
 Roumania in the war, regardless of consequences. 
 
 The former French minister, M. Blondel, knew 
 perfectly well that his diplomatic days were num- 
 bered, but he hoped that he would retain his posi- 
 tion if he were able to bring about the participation 
 of Roumania in the war. The Russian representa- 
 tive, Chamberlain Poklewsky-Kosiell, found himself 
 in the same position. For over a year his recall had 
 been decided upon and he had only retained his post
 
 318 APPENDICES 
 
 through the direct support of M. S. D. Sazonoff, the 
 Russian foreign minister. He realized that his feet 
 were not on firm ground and that if he were to pre- 
 serve his position he must accomplish something 
 spectacular. The British minister, Sir F. Barclay, 
 was not taken very seriously in Bucharest. He was 
 very intimate with Poklewsky-Kosiell in Persia, and 
 in Roumania he was inclined always to follow the 
 Russian's lead. 
 
 These three diplomats naturally were used by 
 Bratiano. Whatever concerned the prime minister 's 
 official position and also that of the Ministry of War 
 which he occupied, was not deemed a matter of con- 
 cern to others. Bratiano would not brook any criti- 
 cism or contradiction or even suggestions from out- 
 side sources. He had named as Vice-Minister of 
 War his nephew, General Iliesco, whose incapacity 
 in all that concerned military affairs was notorious. 
 Iliesco, to natter the vanity of Bratiano, assured the 
 Prime Minister that the forces at the disposal of 
 Roumania were very much bigger than they were in 
 reality. In his desire to be master of the situation 
 in Roumania, Bratiano worked to crush all opposi- 
 tion and to this end inveigled the Allies' diplomats 
 into supporting him. Our real friends, for example, 
 Messieurs Philippesco, Take Ionescu and Michel 
 Cantacuzene, found themselves paralysed by the 
 Russian understanding with Roumania in 1914. For
 
 APPENDICES 319 
 
 by that understanding we had made very serious 
 concessions to Roumania, not for her participation 
 in the war, but only for her neutrality. The amour 
 propre of the Roumanian deputies had been flattered 
 by this understanding and the opposition lost ground, 
 and Bratiano was consequently completely master 
 of the situation. 
 
 But if the political understanding between Rou- 
 mania and the Allies was bad, the military arrange- 
 ments were even worse. It is surely clear that the 
 principal front not only for Roumania but especially 
 for Russia was the southern or Bulgarian front. 
 During the two years of her neutrality the Rou- 
 manian people were principally occupied with mak- 
 ing money. They had been able to sell all their 
 produce to Germany, Bulgaria, Austria and Turkey. 
 The result was that there was no beef to be ob- 
 tained in Roumania even before the war started. 
 In July, 1916, there were already three beefless days 
 a week and in September there were four, and it is 
 certain that in a short time there will be no more 
 beef in the country. There is also no coal. Hotels 
 and other public places in all the larger cities could 
 get no coal in September. It must be presumed that 
 Bratiano allowed the export of all these products in 
 exchange for war materials from Germany and Aus- 
 tria. At least in making a new commercial treaty 
 with Germany and Austria and being asked by the
 
 320 APPENDICES 
 
 Allies the reason for such a treaty he made this his 
 excuse and explanation. 
 
 Marghiloman and Philippesco were two Rou- 
 manian statesmen strongly opposed to each other. 
 The former was pro-neutral and the latter pro-ally. 
 Marghiloman, who at this time was President of the 
 Council of Ministers in Roumania, felt very strongly 
 that Roumania should remain very strictly neutral; 
 not the neutrality conceived by Bratiano but a neu- 
 trality w*hich could be respected by every one. He 
 said that Roumania could not possibly digest Tran- 
 sylvania and that there was danger of Roumania 
 becoming part of Transylvania. Out of Transylva- 
 nia would arise in his opinion two problems, the 
 Agrarian and the Jewish, the solving of which would 
 prove most difficult in the future. He added that 
 Roumania was not prepared for a great war and he 
 had no confidence in the assistance to be received 
 from Russia. If Roumania were not to receive such 
 help from Russia she would be bound to lose a war 
 fought under circumstances which would prove dis- 
 astrous. 
 
 Philippesco disagreed with Bratiano 's policy for 
 two reasons. The first reason was that he disliked 
 the double dealing of Bratiano. Being a very frank 
 man himself he wanted to deal openly with the Al- 
 lies, not play on two sides; a game he deemed dan- 
 gerous. The second reason was that he feared Bra- 
 tiano was far too much obsessed by the territorial
 
 APPENDICES 321 
 
 readjustments of a successful war and not suffi- 
 ciently aware of the necessity of Russian help to 
 gain such successes. In Philippesco's eyes the help 
 Roumania was to obtain from Russia was by far the 
 most important question. He said to me : — 
 
 "I have been Minister of War and I know the real 
 condition of the Roumanian army. We cannot win 
 such a war without help from Russia of at least 
 250,000 men, as I insisted when I was in Petrograd. 
 Iliesco is a foolish man and flatters Bratiano. I am 
 astonished that he should be Chief of General Staff 
 at such a time as this." 
 
 In consequence my opinion was that the Rouman- 
 ians must defend the northern front, — the denies 
 of the Carpathians offering excellent positions, — 
 with as small forces as possible and the chief cam- 
 paign must be made against Bulgaria across the 
 Danube in co-operation with the Allied forces at 
 Saloniki and the Russian forces in Dobrudja. If 
 the Roumanians insisted on a campaign in Tran- 
 sylvania they would meet at once with the full 
 strength of the Central Empires, which would be di- 
 rected against them just at a moment when I knew 
 well that the armies of General Brusiloff in Buko- 
 wina and Galicia could not assist with a major of- 
 fensive. I heard from an unimpeachable source that 
 Bratiano believed that Bulgaria would not attack 
 Roumania but would remain on the defensive. Bra- 
 tiano agreed that the Bulgarians would not fight
 
 322 APPENDICES 
 
 against the Russians, but I know the mentality of 
 the Bulgarians and I was certain they would take the 
 offensive against the Roumanians and fight willingly 
 against Russia. In consequence I was sure that the 
 campaign as planned by General Iliesco would lead 
 to disaster. Unfortunately this belief is already 
 proving true. 
 
 For the defence of the southern front only four 
 divisions were allowed, and of these four, one line 
 division, the ninth, was at Turtakai and the three 
 others were only mobilized just before war was de- 
 clared. Russia sent into the Dobrudja two and a 
 half divisions, which were comprised chiefly of Ser- 
 bian forces, which had taken refuge in Roumania 
 after the advance of Mackensen on the north and 
 Bulgaria on the east had cut them off from their 
 own main armies. From Roumania they had been 
 sent to Odessa and were there equipped by the Rus- 
 sians. These forces were under the command of 
 Lieutenant General Zaiontchkowsky and were not 
 nearly strong enough. But Bratiano with extreme 
 fatuity had declared that Roumania was sufficiently 
 strong for all purposes. At the same time he asked 
 Russia to supply him with half a million men. The 
 Russian Government pointed out that if such large 
 forces were supplied it was impossible for Roumania 
 to acquire so much territory and that in consequence 
 the treaty would have to be revised and the Banat 
 at least restored to Serbia. Bratiano thereupon re-
 
 APPENDICES 323 
 
 joined that Roumania was sufficiently strong. His 
 one idea was to secure the territories he had set his 
 heart upon. 
 
 Moreover Bratiano declared over and over again 
 that he was absolutely certain Bulgaria would re- 
 main on the defensive and be unable to attack. He 
 was strongly supported by the Russian Military At- 
 tache at Bucharest, a colonel of the general staff by 
 name Tatarinoff, who before he was appointed to 
 Bucharest had been Military Attache at Sofia and in 
 consequence must have been fully informed as to the 
 forces and military intentions of Bulgaria. 
 
 The result of these blunders was very soon ap- 
 parent. Two days after war was declared, Bulga- 
 rian, Turkish and German forces under Mackensen 
 attacked the ninth division at Turtukai and anni- 
 hilated it. Thus in two days Roumania lost twenty 
 thousand men of the best troops on the Dobrudja 
 front. 
 
 After this victory Mackensen rapidly marched 
 against Zaiontchkowsky who was thus placed in a 
 very difficult position. The Roumanian division 
 which was attached to his army was not of the best 
 material despite the assurances of Colonel Tatari- 
 noff to the contrary. Not only regiments but whole 
 brigades broke and ran directly the Turkish shrapnel 
 ranged them, thus exposing Zaiontchkowsky 's right 
 wing and forcing him to change his front and retire. 
 For confirmation of this it is only necessary to re-
 
 324 APPENDICES 
 
 fer to Zaiontchkowsky 's report to the Russian gen- 
 eral staff. 
 
 I cannot prophesy as to the future but at this mo- 
 ment it is plain that the whole responsibility now 
 rests on Russia, and in Bucharest people are al- 
 ready crying that they have been betrayed by Rus- 
 sia, knowing of course nothing of our military con- 
 vention concluded with Bratiano. 
 
 Yesterday I had an interview with Colonel Ta- 
 tarinoff and I cannot hide my astonishment of the 
 manner in which he spoke. He stated that it was 
 necessary for Roumania to start the war and " thank 
 God it had been accomplished." Hitherto he had 
 stated that two and a half divisions from Russia 
 would be enough and yet now he stated to me that 
 Bulgaria had a first class army of 550,000 men and 
 Roumania could do nothing against such an army. 
 He said that to ensure the defeat of Bulgaria it 
 would be necessary to obtain from Russia an army 
 of 500,000 men at least and no such army under 
 present conditions was available. Therefore it will 
 be necessary to make a small local attack and at the 
 first success propose terms of peace to Bulgaria. 
 But he added that at the same time it would be pos- 
 sible to dethrone Czar Ferdinand of Bulgaria. 
 When I replied to him that such things were quite 
 impossible because of our arrangements with both 
 Serbia and Roumania he replied that he was very 
 sorry but he saw no other way out of the muddle.
 
 APPENDICES 325 
 
 Meanwhile our minister Poklewsky appeared very 
 well satisfied with the way things were going, al- 
 though his whole conception of the situation was 
 dictated by Bratiano. For example when I pointed 
 out to Poklewsky that the Roumanian government 
 was not li ving up to our agreement (which included 
 the provisioning of our troops, the proper supplies 
 for the Red Cross and adequate transportation . . . 
 we had been promised twelve trains a day and only 
 two had materialized), and suggested that if the 
 Roumanian government could not live up to its 
 agreement the military and political agreements 
 might be changed to our mutual advantage, he re- 
 plied: 
 
 "I am very sorry. The convention was signed not 
 only by Russia but by Britain, France and Italy and 
 is obligatory upon the Allies and we cannot place 
 Bratiano in a difficult position by suggesting such 
 changes now as might affect his political position 
 with the Roumanian people and thus destroy con- 
 fidence." 
 
 It is thus plain that the Allies had concluded it 
 was absolutely necessary to support Bratiano at all 
 costs. 
 
 At this time Bratiano completely lost his head. 
 The former French minister, Monsieur Blondel, 
 whose daughter was married to the Roumanian gov- 
 ernor of Silistria and who lived in Bucharest, told 
 me that Bratiano had entirely lost his self-confidence.
 
 326 APPENDICES 
 
 In conversation with him Bratiano had declared that 
 the Allies had persuaded him against his better 
 judgment to enter the war and that therefore they 
 were to blame for the situation. Monsieur Blondel 
 replied that this was by no means the case. The 
 Allies had never pushed matters but had allowed 
 Roumania to choose her own time and had concluded 
 with Bratiano himself all the arrangements he had 
 desired and had been assured by him that the Rou- 
 manian army was fully prepared to carry out the 
 conventions and was in a very strong position. 
 
 Fearing the criticism of the opposition Bratiano 
 attempted to form a coalition government and of- 
 fered to take into the cabinet M. Take Ionescu, Mi- 
 chel Cantacuzene and Stelian, but refused to give 
 them any responsible portfolios, and in consequence 
 these statesmen refused to enter the government. 
 The question of the change of government was 
 placed before the Chamber of Deputies during the 
 next two weeks. 
 
 To summarize : 
 
 1. Our political understanding with Roumania 
 gave too much to the Danubian Kingdom and we re- 
 ceived from Bratiano far too little support and this 
 political understanding was not in the interests of 
 the Roumanians themselves ... (as for instance 
 the question of Torandel). 
 
 2. The military convention was based on a false
 
 APPENDICES 327 
 
 principle in not making the main front to the south 
 but to the north on the Transylvania front. At this 
 moment this assertion is proved by the fact that 
 the convention is being automatically changed. The 
 Koumanians are sending troops from the northern 
 front to Dobrudja and we have to reinforce this 
 front also. 
 
 3. The Allies had not taken into proper considera- 
 tion the military strength of Bulgaria nor its stra- 
 tegic plans. Bulgaria was more or less ignored and 
 the blame for this state of affairs must be placed on 
 the shoulders of the Russian attache at Bucharest, 
 Colonel Tatarinoff. 
 
 The right thing to do was for the Allies to dis- 
 patch large Russian forces through the Dobrudja 
 towards Sofia and co-operate with General Sarrail at 
 Saloniki. By this means the Allies would have been 
 able to handle the Grecian situation, dethrone King 
 Constantine and joining forces with the Russians 
 and Greeks have crushed Bulgaria and eliminated 
 her from the war. 
 
 If this cannot be done it is possible to support Rou- 
 mania for a considerable period but eventually dis- 
 aster is assured and Roumania will be totally de- 
 feated. 
 
 Editor's Note: At the time this report was presented the Rou- 
 manians appeared to be victorious in Transylvania and had not yet 
 been defeated beyond the Rothen Thurm pass and driven back into 
 Roumania by von Falkenhayn. 
 
 PEINTKD IX THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
 
 'HE following pages contain advertisements of a few 
 of the Macmillan books on kindred subjects.
 
 ERNEST POOLE'S NEW BOOK 
 
 The Village: Russian Impressions. 
 
 By ERNEST POOLE 
 
 Illustrated. Cloth, i2mo. 
 
 This volume describes in personal and narrative form Mr. 
 Poole's visit to the small estate of an old Russian friend, whose 
 home was a rough log cabin in the North of Russia. From there 
 he ranged the neighborhood in company with his friend, talking 
 with peasants in their huts; with the vagabonds camped at night 
 on the riverside ; with the man who kept the village store ; with 
 the priest, the doctor and the school teacher, as well as with the 
 saw-mill owner. 
 
 Their views of the war, the revolution and American friend- 
 ship are all of great significance now, for the peasants form 
 nearly ninety per cent, of the Russian people. 
 
 "The Dark People": Russia's Crisis. 
 
 By ERNEST POOLE. 
 Author of " His Family," " The Harbor," etc. 
 
 Cloth, izmo., $1.50 
 " Too strange, too romantic, too imaginative, to be anything 
 but sober truth. . . . We have read no book which got closer 
 to the heart ... of the Russian people." — N. Y. Tribune. 
 
 " A valuable book, . . . sane and informative, . . . shows 
 close study by an impartial mind." — N. Y. Herald. 
 
 " We have never read a book more deeply thrilling. It is not 
 the book of a dreamer, but of one whose vision is far because 
 his heart beats for his fellowmen. . . ." — Book Review. 
 
 " A sincere, unpretentious, and strikingly successful attempt 
 to get at the mind and heart of these people in the midst of revo- 
 lution." — N. Y. Evening Post. 
 
 Inside the Russian Revolution 
 
 By RHETA CHILDE DORR 
 
 Illustrated. Cloth. $1.50 
 
 "Mrs. Dorr's book is an excellent piece of reporting. It will 
 be the exceptional reader who will not find here what he would 
 most like to get from an American visitor who has had ex- 
 ceptional opportunities to learn the truth. Her book will have 
 to be consulted by the future historian of anarchy's reign in 
 Russia." — Springfield Republican. 
 
 "As a distinctively first-hand study of a world event of il- 
 limitable influence and implications, this volume is a milestone 
 along the pathway of history." — Philadelphia North An.erican. 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York
 
 STEPHEN GRAHAM'S BOOKS ON RUSSIA 
 Through Russian Central Asia 
 
 ///., 8vc, $2.25 
 
 " Full of information and charming as it is informing. It is 
 rich in the lure of the open road ... in the romance of old 
 cities, in the wildness of the vast waste spaces ... in the view it 
 gives of a phase of Russian life entirely new to American read- 
 ers." — N. Y. Times. 
 
 A Tramp's Sketches 
 
 ///., 8vo, $1.75 
 
 The narrative of a walking trip through Russia. " A book 
 throbbing with life which cannot help but prove of interest to 
 many readers. ... A treasury of informaticn ... a source of 
 great inspiration." — The Examiner. 
 
 With the Russian Pilgrims to Jerusalem 
 
 ///., 8vo, $3.00 
 
 " Mr. Graham has written an intensely interesting book, one 
 that is a delightful mixture of description, impression, and de- 
 lineation of a peculiar but colorful character." — Book News 
 Monthly. 
 
 With Poor Immigrants to America 
 
 ///., 8vo, $2.25 
 
 " Mr. Grahan has the sr'rit of the real adventurer. . . . He 
 writes with a freshness and vividness that mark him a good 
 mixer with men, a keen observer and a skillful adept with the 
 
 ien." — North American. 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York 

 
 STEPHEN GRAHAM'S BOOKS ON RUSSIA 
 
 The Way of Martha and 
 the Way of Mary 
 
 Colored frontispiece, $2.2$ 
 
 A study of Russian national characteristics, particularly as 
 typified by her religious spirit, which is contrasted with the 
 spirit of Western Christianity. 
 
 Priest of the Ideal 
 
 $1.60 
 
 Mr. Graham here employs his vast knowledge of Russian life 
 in the writing of a novel. It was inevitable that with his ap- 
 preciation of Russian character, his sense of humor and of the 
 dramatic, he should sooner or later turn to fiction. 
 
 Russia and the World 
 
 Illustrated, $2.25 
 
 A comprehensive survey of Russian problems, not by any 
 means wholly a war book. 
 
 ". . . By a man who knows Russia well and who has excep- 
 tional ability for making his own observations and impressions 
 known to others." — New York Tribune. 
 
 The Quest of the Face 
 
 Illustrated, $1.75 
 
 "A thoughtful and thought-provoking book With rare 
 
 spiritual insight." — N. Y. Tribune. 
 
 " Stephen Graham . . . draws again and freely upon the sim- 
 plicity of faith which he has found in Russia."— N. Y. World. 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York
 
 RECENT TRANSLATIONS OF RUSSIAN 
 LITERATURE 
 
 THE TALES OF CHEKHOV 
 Translated by Constance Garnett 
 
 THE BISHOP AND OTHER STORIES. 
 
 THE CHORUS GIRL AND OTHER STORIES. 
 
 Chekhov volumes already published 
 
 Each Volume, Cloth, i2mo., $1.50 
 The Lady with the Dog The Duel 
 
 The Party The Wife 
 
 The Darling The Witch 
 
 " Chekhov is indispensable to our understanding of the psy- 
 chology of the great people that has introduced into the present 
 world situation an element so complex, so disturbing, so tragic 
 and so beautiful. Chekhov is the faithful reporter, unerring, in- 
 tuitive, direct. He never bears false witness. The essence of 
 his art lies in a fine restraint, an avoidance of the spectacular 
 and sensational. His reticence reveals the elusive and lights up 
 the enigmatic. And what a keen, voracious observer he was! 
 Endless is the procession of types that passes through his pages 
 — the whole world of Russians of his day; country gentlemen, 
 chinovniks, waitresses, ladies of fashion, shop girls, town phy- 
 sicians, Zemstvo doctors, innkeepers, peasants, herdsmen, soldiers, 
 tradesmen, every type of the intelligentsia, children, men and 
 women of every class and occupation. Chekhov describes them 
 all with a pen that knows no bias." — The Dial. 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York
 
 RECENT TRANSLATIONS OF RUSSIAN 
 LITERATURE 
 
 THE NOVELS OF DOSTOEVSKY 
 
 Translated by Constance Garnett 
 
 Each Volume, Cloth, $1.50, Leather, $2.00 
 
 THE GAMBLER AND OTHER STORIES 
 By FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY 
 
 This, the ninth volume in Constance Garnett's new series of 
 Dostoevsky stories, brings together three remarkable tales — 
 The Gambler, Poor People, and The Landlady. Each is a mas- 
 terpiece of its kind, offering fresh proof of Dostoevsky's genius. 
 Particular interest is attached, perhaps, to Poor People, in that it 
 was the writer's first book, appearing when he was only twenty- 
 five years old. It has always remained one of his most popular. 
 "The secrets of the human heart are laid bare here," says Wil- 
 liam Lyon Phelps of it ; maintaining further that " no one can 
 read it without being better for it and without loving its author." 
 
 Dostoevsky's novels already published 
 
 IN THIS SERIES: 
 
 The Brothers Karamazov 
 
 Crime and Punishment 
 
 The Eternal Husband 
 
 The Gambler and Other Stories 
 
 The Idiot: A Novel in Four Parts 
 
 The Possessed: A Novel in Three Parts 
 
 House of the Dead 
 
 The Insulted and Injured 
 
 A Raw Youth 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 
 Publishers 64-66 Fifth Avenue New York
 
 ts. 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Form L9-Series4939 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J?> s 
 
 
 %7inNVtf 
 
 
 — u I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 A *^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 inr itirri r« 
 
 

 
 
 ii. SOUTHER 
 
 IN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 AA 000 709 980 7