THE BOLSHEVIKI RESENT ALLIED INTERVENTION

The first landing of Allied soldiers, on the Murmansk Coast, had brought forth a strong protest from the Soviet Government in Moscow, and though the Allied Governments, and especially the United States, were still inclined to hold friendly relations with the Bolshevist Government, these relations now began undergoing a decided change. On July 29, 1918, Lenine, at a closed meeting of the executive committee of his Government, had declared that Russia was in a state of war with the Entente nations, but when the Entente diplomats sought further details regarding this statement, the Foreign Minister, Tchitcherin, replied that this was merely a private utterance on the part of the Bolshevist premier and had not been made in his official capacity; that, at any rate, it was meant only to imply that Russia was defending herself against foreign invasion. At the time he urged the American ambassador and the other Allied representatives, who were then in Vologda, to return to Moscow. But instead of complying with this request Mr. Francis and his colleagues removed to Archangel, where they would be under the protection of the Allied forces of occupation. In a final message to the Russian foreign minister, Mr. Francis stated that he had no intention of quitting Russia, and that at any rate he would only be absent temporarily. The Allied consuls, he added, would remain. Tchitcherin, on the other hand, said that, even if they did depart, the absence of the Allied diplomats would not affect the situation, and that there was no reason why the consuls and citizens of the Allied nations should not remain in Russia.

On August 10, 1918, the Bolshevist authorities arrested the British acting consul general in Moscow, together with six of his staff and several French diplomatic agents. The reason given was that the Bolshevist forces had been fired upon by the Allies on landing in Archangel. Great Britain immediately responded by arresting the Bolshevist representative in London, M. Litvinov. A few days later the Britishers arrested in Moscow were released. Nevertheless, De Witt C. Poole, American consul in Moscow, fearing that he might be arrested next, destroyed his private codes, turned over the archives of the consulate to the Swedish consul, then applied for a passport to leave the country.

Hitherto the Soviet Government had shown some discrimination in favor of the United States in dealing with foreign diplomats, its members recognizing the disinterestedness of the United States Government and showing appreciation of President Wilson's reluctance to interfere in the internal affairs of Russia. But after Washington's announcement of its decision to participate in the Siberian expedition together with Japan, this attitude underwent a change. After that announcement had been made, the Soviet Government at Moscow issued a reply to the Japanese and American statements (of August 3, 1918), which was published in the "Tageblatt" of Berlin on August 20, 1918. The following is a translation of this German version:

Of this and similar protests the Allied Governments took no notice beyond a communication which Minister Francis addressed to Foreign Minister Tchitcherin, in which he said that the pro-German activities of the Soviet Government were the cause of the animosity shown to the Bolsheviki by the Allies.

Toward the end of August, 1918, the British Government had released Litvinov, the Bolshevist representative in London, and the Soviet Government had freed the British subjects under arrest in Moscow, by mutual agreement; relations seemed about to improve. But on August 31, 1918, occurred an incident in Moscow which rendered the situation worse than ever, rousing very strong feeling against the Bolsheviki in Great Britain.

On the evening of August 30, 1918, Premier Lenine, while returning from a public meeting at which he had been a speaker, was shot by a woman and severely wounded. Lenine's place was immediately taken by Leo Kamenev, vice president of the Petrograd Soviet. The would-be assassin, a girl student by the name of Dora Kaplan, was a member of the Social Revolutionary Party, which had long since declared war against the Bolsheviki, but the Soviet officials apparently believed that the initiative for the attempt on Lenine's life came from outside sources.

On the following day, August 31, 1918, a search was ordered of the British embassy in Petrograd. One of the Bolshevist commissioners was instructed to conduct the search, it being reported that the Socialist Revolutionists, Savinkov and Filonenko, were hiding on the premises of the embassy. Accompanied by a detachment of Red Guards, the commissioner, Hillier, went to the embassy and, proceeding to the first floor, was met by shots which killed one of his escort and wounded another. A fight ensued in the corridor, in which Captain Francis Cromie, the British military attachÉ, was killed. The police then entered the embassy and arrested forty persons. As soon as the news of the attack reached London the British Government sent the following protest to the Soviet Government: "An outrageous attack has been made on the British embassy in Petrograd, its contents have been sacked and destroyed, Captain Cromie, who tried to defend it, was murdered, and his body barbarously mutilated. We demand immediate reparation and the prompt punishment of anyone responsible for or concerned in this abominable outrage.

"Should the Russian Soviet Government fail to give complete satisfaction, or should any further acts of violence be committed against a British subject, His Majesty's Government will hold the members of the Soviet Government individually responsible and will make every endeavor to secure that they shall be treated as outlaws by the governments of all civilized nations, and that no place of refuge shall be left them. You have already been informed through M. Litvinov that His Majesty's Government was prepared to do everything possible to secure the immediate return of the official representatives of Great Britain and of the Russian Soviet Government to their respective countries. A guarantee was given by His Majesty's Government that as soon as the British officials were allowed to pass the Russo-Finnish frontier, M. Litvinov and all the members of his staff would have permission to proceed immediately to Russia.

"We have now learned that a decree was published on August 29, 1918, ordering the arrest of all British and French subjects between the ages of eighteen and forty, and that British officials have been arrested on trumped-up charges of conspiring against the Soviet Government.

"His Majesty's Government has therefore found it necessary to place M. Litvinov and the members of his staff under preventive arrest until such time as all British representatives are set at liberty and allowed to proceed to the Finnish frontier, free from molestation."

The protest had its effect, in so far that the subjects of the Allied Governments were gradually released and allowed to leave Russia, and late in September, 1918, the British Government allowed the Bolshevist representative, held under arrest in London, to proceed to Russia.