Page:Michael Farbman - Russia & the Struggle for Peace (1918).djvu/131

 Rh This idyllic beginning was a little shaken by the sudden and abrupt dissolution of the Duma. The Duma was so irreproachably loyal and patriotic that simple people could not understand why the Government did not want to co-operate with the people through the Duma. But this incident did not make a very serious breach at the moment. Russia was victorious; the armies were advancing; why worry the Government with such trifles? However, by and by, a kind of uneasiness began to steal in. Dark and undefined rumours began to get about, to the effect that all was not well in and about the army. It was said that there were too many German generals in the army. The famous generals with German names who had distinguished themselves in the suppression of the 1905 Revolution might not be equally reliable in the present war. Some of the rumours were obviously fantastic for instance, persistent stories, giving names and the details of the alleged occurrences, stated that the Grand Duke Nicholas, as Commander-in-Chief, was in the habit of boxing the ears of some of his Generals. And the remarkable thing is that people were inclined to believe this and equally absurd reports.

Then suddenly the storm broke. The defeat of the Russian armies in East Prussia revealed in a flash the corruption of the Government, the incompetence of the High Command, and the tragic inefficiency in the equipment of the army. It was the end of the idyll. The Government and the Court saw the spectre of defeat before them and shuddered.

The first to express misgivings were the "Black Hundred." They were the first to understand that all this popular enthusiasm for the war, followed by the abolition of vodka, the suspiciously democratic proclamation to the Poles and the far-reaching undertakings in Austria, would not lead to anything good. Altogether, this war was not to their taste. Suppose we crush Germany—terrible thought!—Wilhelm was always the great protector of our Autocracy. Germany is the only