Page:Michael Farbman - Russia & the Struggle for Peace (1918).djvu/172

 160 In his own words (at the May Congress of the Cadet Party), "To the last day on which I left the Ministry, I gave the Allies no pretext to speak of the renouncement of Constantinople and the Straits by Russia." In his imperialistic mania he violated the will of the people with remarkable simplicity and impudence.

The Provisional Government tried to reconcile the democracy with Miliukov. They gave promises and assurances, saying that conversations were going on and so forth. The democracy demanded an open note to the Allies, but the Government avoided all open courses. The situation became uneasy, and the Government were evidently veering to Miliukov's side and not intending to send a note. On April 14 they published in the papers the following démenti: "Statements have appeared in the Press to the effect that the Provivisional Government is preparing a note on the aims and purposes of the war, with the purpose of approaching the Allied Governments in the next few days. The Provisional Government begs to announce that these statements are not in accordance with the facts." This démenti, which violated all the promises of the Government and definitely compromised the position of the democracy in its foreign policy, aroused a storm of indignation. The Soviet thereupon adopted extreme measures. On April 16 a general meeting of the Soviet was announced, with the object of settling the attitude of the democracy to the "Liberty Loan." The Executive Committee chose this as an opportune subject on which to bring the conflict with the Government on the question of foreign policy to a head. It proposed a postponement of the consideration of this question for three days, informing the Government that the democracy would decide its attitude to the loan in accordance with the Government's attitude on the question of a note to the Allied Powers. This amounted to a virtual ultimatum, expressed in a very tactful form. The Provisional Government began to reconsider the question. Miliukov stood firm; Kerenski