THE AMERICAN COMMISSIONS

To the members of the German Government the Russian revolution undoubtedly came as a great surprise, placing their faith, as they did, in the efforts of Protopopoff and his machinations. It is extremely unlikely that Petrograd was infested with German agents disguised as radicals in the earlier days after the overthrow of the autocracy. But by this time, in June, 1917, Germany had had time to meet the new conditions, and obviously the German agents had arrived and were busy.

The only fertile ground available was that occupied by the Leninites. While the genuine Maximalists may have been, and in all probability really were, unconscious of the spies in their midst, they accepted the cooperation of the dark elements, and together they set to work to create disorder. The Kronstadt affair was their initial success.

In the early days of June, 1917, armed bands of these disturbers began parading the streets of the capital, haranguing the crowds. The Provisional Government followed the policy of noninterference. One party of the armed propagandists entered and took possession of a large residential building in the Viborg section of the city and held this position until late in July, 1917.

These activities culminated in an attempt on the part of the Maximalist leaders to organize a giant demonstration in the streets on June 23, 1917. Placards were posted all over the city denouncing the war, calling upon the soldiers to refuse to fight for the capitalist governments, etc.

The action taken by the Workingmen's and Soldiers' Council, itself so often denounced as being under pro-German influence, and even in German pay, by the press of the Allied countries, was extremely significant. It immediately placarded the city with appeals to the soldiers and workingmen to ignore the call of the Maximalists. All that night until daybreak not only Kerensky himself, but N. C. Tcheidze, the president of the council, and his associates, spent in making the rounds of the barracks, addressing the soldiers, appealing to them against participating in the demonstration. Their efforts were a complete success; on the following day there was no demonstration. And apparently in the last hour the Maximalist leaders themselves realized that foreign influences were at work, for when their organ, "Pravda," appeared, its front page was covered with an appeal to their followers not to demonstrate.

On June 16, 1917, a convention of newly elected deputies to the Workingmen's and Soldiers' Council, representing all Russia, convened in Petrograd. One of its first acts was to pass a resolution of approval of the Provisional Government's expulsion of Grimm, the Swiss Socialist, who had attempted pro-German activities in the capital, the vote being 640 against 121.

In the middle of the month the two American commissions, one under Root and the other under Stevens, arrived in Russia, and it was notable that the reported utterances of their members were sharply in contrast to the press dispatches in their optimism. The conclusion must be obvious that German influences were at work with our sources of news. The Stevens Commission, whose mission was of a technical nature, expressed surprise and pleasure over the progress which had been made in straightening out the transportation tangle and the good condition in which they found railroad facilities, the only handicaps being lack of locomotives and rolling stock.

Meanwhile, during June, 1917, a special council of sixty members was at work drafting new legislation for the civil government of the country. One law prepared by this body, as an illustration, was making the judges of petty courts subject to the election of the people on the American principle. This council was also intrusted with the task of formulating the groundwork for the new constitution for the Russian democracy, to be approved by the General Assembly when elected.

During the first half of July, 1917, the sudden offensive of the Russian armies, so brilliantly begun, seemed to engross every element of Russian society. Kerensky himself had gone to the front and was said to be leading the advancing troops himself. But even his magnetic personality and stupendous vitality proved insufficient to accomplish a task evidently begun too prematurely.

On July 15, 1917, five members of the Provisional Government resigned—Shingarev, Minister of Finance; Manuilov, of Education; Nekrasov, of Ways and Communications; Prince Shakovsky, of Social Welfare; and Acting Minister of Trade and Commerce, Steganov. Their reasons for this action was their inability to agree with their associates in the cabinet over the demands made just then by the Ukraine elements in southern Russia, who wanted complete independence. The dissenting ministers held that to grant such a demand would open the way to similar action on the part of Finns, Ruthenians, Poles, and other minor nationalities, which would mean the disintegration of Russia.

On July 18, 1917, there was a sudden outburst of Maximalist activity, the most violent which had yet occurred. A body of sailors from Kronstadt appeared and, together with the Anarchists who had previously made armed demonstrations, they began parading the streets. A body of Cossacks, armed only with sabers, which was advancing up one of the streets conveying some wagon loads of material was fired upon and several Cossacks were killed. The cavalrymen retired, being unable to return the fire. This first bloodshed roused the indignation of the troops supporting the Provisional Government, and they at once set about clearing the streets. Some severe fighting followed, in which a number of men on both sides were killed and several hundreds were wounded. The demonstrators were finally driven away and within forty-eight hours order had been reestablished. On this occasion, as before, the Council of Workingmen's and Soldiers' Deputies cooperated with the members of the Government in making the rounds of the barracks and the workingmen's quarters to quiet the soldiers and the people. The disturbance on this occasion was obviously of traitorous origin, as the leaflets which had been used in furthering the disorders accused both the Provisional Government and the council of planning a counter-revolution in favor of the autocracy.

The Provisional Government and the council now together appointed a special commission for the purpose of keeping in touch with the commandant of the Petrograd garrison and cooperate with him in counteracting the efforts of the Maximalist agitators.

Of special significance is the fact that these disorders occurred almost simultaneously with the mutinous behavior of the regiments at the front, whose treachery at a critical moment broke the Russian offensive. Another result of the disturbances was a more energetic policy against the Anarchists. Troops were now detailed to dislodge the armed bands of Anarchists who had been occupying several large residences in the city. On seeing that the Government was in earnest the Anarchists surrendered unconditionally.

On July 20, 1917, it was announced that Prince Lvov had resigned from the premiership and that Kerensky had taken his place. Prince Lvov gave as his reason for retiring his inability to agree with his Socialist associates in their determination to declare Russia a republic, since he believed that this decision was essentially the right of the Constituent Assembly yet to be elected. The recent disorders and the unfortunate situation at the front, however, probably had much to do with the new ministerial crisis, for it was also announced that Kerensky would be granted unlimited powers in suppressing further disorders and an "iron discipline" in the army would be instituted. At a joint conference held between the Workingmen's and Soldiers' Council and the Executive Committee of the Peasants' Congress, it was decided by a large majority to give the new government, to be known as the "Government of National Safety," absolute support.

On the following day Kerensky announced that sterner measures would immediately be taken: the death penalty would be reestablished, both in civil life and in the army. Deserters and traitors would be shot. Though the radical elements were behind the change in the government personnel, the new cabinet was not by any means a Socialist body. Five non-Socialists still remained: Nekrasov, Vice Minister President, without portfolio; Terestchenko, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Efremov, Minister of Justice; Nicholas Lvov, Procurator of the Holy Synod; and Godniev, Controller of State. The radicals were Kerensky, the Premier, who also retained the War portfolio; Terestelli, Minister of Posts and Telegraphs; Skobeliev, Minister of Education; Tchernov, Minister of Agriculture; and Pieschiehonov, Minister of Supplies.

For some days there were reports that further changes were still to be made, giving the Constitutional Democratic party more definite representation in the cabinet, on condition that these representatives would be free from party dictation. Milukov, the party chief, showed himself very much opposed to this suggestion, as he was to the granting of such absolute power to the Government. On the last day of the month further changes had not been made. Already Russia's armies on the front were stiffening up against the German onslaughts. For this full credit was given to Kerensky. He stands now as the dominating figure in Russia, with the eyes not only of all Russians, but all the peoples of the Allied nations, turned on him as the man most capable of guiding the Russian republic through the difficulties lying before it. Beginning with only the confidence of the radical elements, he has gradually acquired a similar confidence in his abilities and integrity from the Russian conservatives and all the peoples of the countries aligned with Russia against the common enemy.[Back to Contents]