The book argues that Russia's misfortunes and Europe's disillusions stem from a root cause the author traces through revolutionary movements, constitutional attempts, and ministerial politics. The deck covers the Narodniki, Witte's programme, the Kadets, Pobiedonostseff, and Alexander II's emancipation.
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Chapter 1 · Question
What did the author claim was the root cause of Russia's misfortunes and Europe's disillusions?
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Chapter 1 · Answer
The author argues that statesmen failed to grasp the purely predatory character of the Tsardom, its incompatibility with the politico-social ordering of latter-day Europe, and the near-insuperable difficulty of remodelling it to fit its European environment. He calls the drifting history of Europe a tragedy of errors culminating in catastrophe.
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CHAPTER I4 cards
What did the author claim was the root cause of Russia's misfortunes and Europe's disillusions?
The author argues that statesmen failed to grasp the purely predatory character of the Tsardom, its incompatibility with the politico-social ordering of latter-day Europe, and the near-insuperable difficulty of remodelling it to fit its European environment. He calls the drifting history of Europe a tragedy of errors culminating in catastrophe.
Chapter 1
What did Count B. and Prince U. first tell Witte about universal suffrage, and what did they say a fortnight later?
They first declared absolute opposition to direct universal suffrage, vowing to march on Petersburg at the head of armed peasants if it were enacted. A fortnight later, after consulting peasants, Count B. demanded the suffrage and denounced those who would restrict it. He told Witte most of the intelligentsia agreed with him.
Chapter 1
Why did the revolutionary Narodniki abandon their campaign among the peasants?
The Narodniki merged themselves into peasant life to energise the masses toward upheaval, enduring squalor and hardship. After a long series of disillusions, rebuffs, and humiliations, their zeal cooled. They concluded their reading of the people's strivings was wrong, their impulsive action distinctly baleful, and the cause's success must lie in other directions.
Chapter 1
Why did the Jews and Liberals refuse to support Witte's constitutional programme in 1905?
The Jews said Witte was a mere bureaucrat, not their man, and that their cause was now bound to the revolutionary Bund; they would owe emancipation to force and accepted the risk of pogroms. The Liberals called Witte insincere, playing for his own hand, and lacking a programme, so they would not support him.
Chapter 1
CHAPTER III (part 1)4 cards
What did the author identify as a powerful engine of the coming politico-social cataclysm?
The author argues the university, along with the loosely-thinking, wildly-speaking people around it, was one of the most powerful engines for preparing and consummating the politico-social cataclysm. Transplanted from the West to Russian soil, it produced what he calls Dead Sea fruit, because the Russian student, at bottom a peasant, took Western theories as dogmas and lacked capacity for synthesis and constructive work.
Chapter 3
How did the author describe the intelligentsia's relationship to the Russian people?
The author argues the intelligentsia had no roots in the people and was severed from it, resembling a medieval preaching order whose success depended on detachment from every class and concrete interest. Its scraps of Western theory were ignored by peasants and merchants but inspired individuals and served as the revolutionary creed. From the intelligentsia came both apostles of revolution and leavening elements of the bureaucracy.
Chapter 3
Why did the Kadets fail to gain a firm hold on the nation?
The author argues the Kadets, though the best organised party in the Empire, had no firm hold on the nation because they were not of it. They could not adopt the people's angle of vision or appreciate their world philosophy, and were not rooted in the people. So they enlisted neither peasant nor worker and stood only for themselves, later taking the workers' and peasants' organisations merely as allies.
Chapter 3
How does the author distinguish European from Asiatic states?
The author argues European states concentrate on domestic affairs for the community, creating machinery for order, safety of person and property, and general progress. Asiatic states focus on foreign wars and international relations, neglect internal arrangements and upright administration, and aim to conquer and exploit foreign territory and peoples. He says the Russian State was modelled on the Asiatic type, though its eleventh- and twelfth-century beginnings were on European lines.
Chapter 3
CHAPTER III (part 2)4 cards
What did the author claim about Russian ministers' foreign policy from Peter's death to Nicholas II?
The author argues that, with the sole exception of Witte, the ministers who handled Russia's foreign business from Peter's death to the deposition of Nicholas II were very humdrum bureaucrats carried along by an unseen current beneath events. He rejects as absurd the legends of deep Russian statesmanship pursuing remote aims and of an imaginary testament of Peter the Great demanding steady expansion at weaker neighbours' expense.
Chapter 4
Why did Pobiedonostseff oppose liberal institutions, according to the chapter?
The author explains that autocracy was a religion as much as a political system, rooted in theocracy and regulating life as a whole, so swerving in one particular meant breaking with all. Pobiedonostseff and like-minded spirits also held that liberal institutions would become an irresistible lever for non-Russian nationalities — Poles, Germans, Lithuanians, Finns — whose culture was superior to that of the ruling race.
Chapter 4
What did Witte believe about war and Russia's place among nations?
Witte often stressed that Russia occupied a place in the hierarchy of nations to which her specific gravity did not entitle her, and warned that if the Kaiser discovered this the consequences might be calamitous. Since the Tsardom was weak, disunited, and ready to explode into fragments, all wars must be shunned because they would reveal that condition. He preferred pacific penetration and railway building in the East and a coalition with Germany, Austria, and France in the West.
Chapter 4
What did Alexander II's emancipation of the serfs lead to, per the chapter?
The chapter states that once Alexander II emancipated the serfs, autocracy lost its grasp of the reins of power, which fell to myriad obscure and irresponsible individuals, and the State framework became top-heavy. The act let loose ethnic forces forming new Russias, with nuclei in freed peasants, their intellectual worshippers, and non-Russian nationalities agitating against the regime; only the German element kept fighting for Tsarism.
Chapter 4
CHAPTER III (part 3)4 cards
What effect did corrupt officials have on the peasantry, according to the chapter?
The chapter states that the scandalous improbity of these unjust stewards embittered peasants and workmen, fanned the embers of discontent, and materially aided the professional revolutionists of the intelligentsia. It presents this as an enormous disadvantage of the autocracy, whose instinct of self-preservation then drove its champions to overstep all bounds.
Chapter 5
What kind of men did the autocracy's champions recruit, and how did they use them?
The chapter describes men for whose iniquity western languages have no adequate name: they enlisted conspirators, hatched plots, coaxed and paid young lads to execute them, and either seized these tools and sent them to death or looked on while they committed the assigned abominations. The author names Azeff, Gapon, and Rasputin as examples of such miscreants.
Chapter 5
What does the Swinburne poem quoted in the chapter say about the Tsar's Empire?
The poem, written by Swinburne at the author's request for an article on Russian prisons, declares that earth is hell and hell bows down before the Tsar, whose Empire lives to match its fiery fame. It adds that hell itself recoils heart-stricken at deeds done there, and that pity and anguish call aloud on justice by her darker name.
Chapter 5
What does the footnote say Opritchnik means?
The footnote defines Opritchnik as an outsider, an outlaw, one who keeps or is kept aloof. The chapter also notes that Shtshedrin's satirical sketches, especially one entitled The Tashkentians, throw a flood of light on the predatory nature of the Tsardom, and that the White Russians are undoubtedly pure Slavs.
Chapter 5
CHAPTER IV4 cards
What three strands did the Tsardom use to bind its hostile elements?
The author describes the Tsardom as a rope of three strands: orthodoxy, autocracy, and bureaucracy, or as the Government phrased it, God, the Tsar, and the fatherland. The bureaucracy, with its sixteen grades created by Peter the Great on the Prussian model, was the strongest of the three. The author argues this combination held together the mutually hostile elements of the Empire.
Chapter 6
How does the author characterize the Russian Church and clergy?
The author calls the Church a mere museum of liturgical antiquities, likening it to a casket for a pearl dimmed by Byzantine dust. He says its function was little more than a police department controlling religious thought. The clergy, except for a few ascetics, he describes as social parasites — poor, squalid, grasping, and ignorant — receiving pity and contempt from their flock.
Chapter 6
What does the author argue about the source of Russian peasants' religion?
The author argues the Russian people's religion — indulgence toward the erring and fellow-feeling for the suffering — is largely independent of Christianity and stems from a permanent soul-current of race. He debated this with Tolstoy, who held the common Russian illustrated Christianity's transforming power. After animated talks, Tolstoy admitted the author's theory was tenable and perhaps the best explanation.
Chapter 6
What did Nicholas I intend for the serfs, and what obstacle did he meet?
Nicholas I intended to raise the serfs of the imperial domains from bondage to relative liberty. The first obstacle came from the serfs themselves: about eight thousand soil-tillers decided to offer passive opposition to the arrangements. Officer Stogoff arrived with twelve gendarmes and loaded guns, and the account describes brutal flogging until the peasants submitted.
Chapter 6
CHAPTER V (part 1)4 cards
What did the village elder do after peasants robbed the narrator, and what was his view of flogging?
Two days after the incident, the village elder visited the narrator, offered excuses, and said three villagers had been soundly flogged by his orders and in his presence. He asked whether the narrator wanted more peasants punished and offered to let him watch. When the narrator condemned flogging and spoke of human dignity, the elder replied that a mooshik who has never been flogged is good for nothing.
Chapter 7
What power did the Minister of the Interior claim over the liberty of the subject, and how did he justify its use?
The minister affirmed that the code of laws and vast discretionary powers let ministers deal with persons administratively, and said the liberty of the subject was no better guaranteed in Russia than in France under Louis XIV, when lettres de cachet filled the Bastille. He added that he and, so far as he knew, his colleagues would not use that power without first satisfying their consciences that they were not instruments of personal hatred or injustice.
Chapter 7
How did the emancipation and 'self-government' of the villages affect peasants' exposure to outside influence?
After emancipation the villages were proclaimed independent and self-governing and closed to outside influences. Only a peasant could vote in the village assembly; the squire, parish priest, and doctor, even after years of residence, could take no part in arranging village affairs, and their moral influence was rigorously excluded. The author argues the ignorant soil-tillers then became wards and prey of their own more cunning members, who embezzled and cheated unchecked.
Chapter 7
What was the Koolak, and what power did the Mir hold over its members?
The Koolak, or 'fist,' was a callous, unscrupulous village figure who exploited his fellow-villagers; the author calls him the most malignant and odious human monster he met in his travels and says he was the ruling spirit in the revolutionary horrors of 1905 and 1917. The Mir could deport any member to Siberia without trial or legal charge, and a clever elder could get villagers to decree anything by supplying copious vodka.
Chapter 7
CHAPTER V (part 2)4 cards
Why did the fourth student attend the professor's Monday Genesis lectures?
He attended because he spent every Sunday night at a house of amusement a stone's throw from the professor's rooms, rising by eight or half-past eight so he could arrive by nine without effort. He came straight from his dissipation. When the professor wormed the secret out through a jocular allusion, he laughed heartily. The student burned the candle at both ends and was buried within a twelvemonth.
Chapter 8
How did S.K. reconcile being a Nihilist with serving as censor?
S.K. questioned the holiest institutions and attacked the root dogmas of Christianity, yet discharged his censor duties efficiently and with breadth of view his colleagues lacked, always congruously with the letter of the law. He supplied the narrator with forbidden works by Dobroliuboff, Tshernyshevsky, and Herzen, and was described as at once a successful apostle of Nihilism and an efficient servant of the State.
Chapter 8
What did S.K. prophesy about the Tsarevitch's children?
On hearing of the narrator's visits to the palace, S.K. exclaimed that none of the Tsarevitch Alexander Alexandrovitch's children would ever reach the throne, saying he thought he knew his country. The narrator noted the prophecy was not fulfilled but came very near the mark. The narrator later saw one of those children crowned as Nicholas II.
Chapter 8
Why was Vera Zassulitch acquitted, and what followed?
Zassulitch, belonging to no party, travelled from the Volga to the capital and shot General Trepoff, Prefect of St. Petersburg, severely wounding him because a political prisoner had been flogged. She was tried before a jury and acquitted, sending excitement to white heat. The authorities ordered re-arrest but she vanished; Count Pahlen, Minister of Justice, resigned, crowds were arrested, and many deported to Siberia without trial.
Chapter 8
CHAPTER V (part 3)1 cards
Why did the terrorists' anger prove impotent after the new autocratic course was set?
The author argues the revolutionists were furious at the new course, pursued with more method and thoroughness than usual in Russian politics, but their anger was impotent against the government's systematic precautions. They no longer had the people's sympathy, without which no great Liberal movement could yield practical results. The terrorists had overshot the mark and defeated their own object.
Chapter 9
CHAPTER VI (part 1)4 cards
What did Pobiedonostseff say the Russian people lacked without physical sanctions?
Pobiedonostseff argued that Russian peasants' spiritual instincts and moral restraints were inadequate to subdue the ferocious passions dormant in their breasts without the aid of physical sanctions. He said this was the leading fact and should receive due weight, and blamed the Church to a large extent for this backwardness.
Chapter 10
What did Pobiedonostseff's system of checks and counter-checks chiefly accomplish?
The chapter states the innovation consisted of artificial checks and counter-checks justified only by perpetuating the autocracy. Its principal result was to fortify the bureaucracy and make it more of a parasite than before. The author concedes the State at that epoch had no other means of defence, but says the experiment was protracted through both reigns.
Chapter 10
What power did the new class of guardians have over the peasants, and who qualified?
The Home Secretary devised a class of guardians to shield peasants from disaffection, whose sole qualification was nobility of birth and who answered only to the minister. They were given power over the bodies and souls of nine-tenths of the population, and could rob, flog, and persecute their wards, even hindering agricultural development and liberty of religious thought.
Chapter 10
According to the author, what effect did religious coercion have on political disaffection?
The author argues coercion in religious matters did more to spread political disaffection than the most enterprising revolutionary propagandists. It turned the best spirits against the tripartite system of God, Tsar, and fatherland and convinced even average people that the State had no life-giving principle and left no room for growth.
Chapter 10
CHAPTER VI (part 2)4 cards
Why was the author's application for a philosophy professorship rejected?
The President of the Academy, Yanysheff, made conversion to the State Church a preliminary condition for competing for the professorship. Friends noted that a Jewish professor already taught Hebrew there, but the answer was that there was no parity between Hebrew and philosophy. The rule was upheld and the author's candidature fell to the ground.
Chapter 11
What trinitarian idea did Pobiedonostseff pursue as head of the Holy Synod?
The author argues Pobiedonostseff was an honest, selfless fanatic who pursued the fusion of autocracy, orthodoxy, and nationalism in one trinitarian conception. He hoped this would regenerate the Russian people and infuse religious fervour into the Church. Because liberty of conscience would abandon this object, it was withheld, since disbelief was equated with disloyalty to the Tsar.
Chapter 11
What contradiction did the author observe between Pobiedonostseff's words and deeds?
Pobiedonostseff's annual reports urged influencing the erring by meekness, mildness, and Christian tolerance, yet he complained of indulgence by the secular arm and apathy of tribunals. Despite an 1883 law allowing Stundists prayer halls, those who left orthodoxy faced hard labour, banishment, and loss of custody of their children. The author was struck by these contradictions.
Chapter 11
How did the Stundists' persecution affect law-breaking and disaffection?
The author argues the legislation produced systematic law-breaking, which became a meritorious act and demoralised large sections of the population, breeding contempt for the government. In Nishny Novgorod only twelve Stundist meeting places were licensed for about 75,000 people, so 172 others opened illegally, and sixty were secretly established in Vyatka. Millions of dissenters were turned into political offenders.
Chapter 11
CHAPTER VI (part 3)4 cards
What two changes did emancipation of the serfs cause to the detriment of the autocracy?
The author states emancipation increased the bureaucracy's numerical strength and independence, letting it degenerate into a parasite that sucked the nation's life blood. It also ruined the nobility economically and therefore politically, forcing Tsarism to either seek mass support or revive the order of nobles.
Chapter 12
What props did Tolstoy and Pobiedonostseff each choose to safeguard the autocracy?
Tolstoy, described as an atheist, trusted the nobility: he bettered their material condition, founded a bank for them, and gave them exclusive rights as district chiefs. Pobiedonostseff trusted the Orthodox Church to win mass sentiment for autocracy. Both props failed, the author argues.
Chapter 12
Why does the author argue Pobiedonostseff's church-based ideal of the State failed?
The author argues the Orthodox Church was never an organic power in Russia but a mere State department, condemning political dissent more severely than conflicts of belief. So the notion that such an artificial institution could leaven and ennoble the masses and form a pedestal for Tsarism was, the author says, a visionary's golden dream.
Chapter 12
What did Pobiedonostseff reply when told his opponents said he misunderstood the Russian masses?
He answered that his opponents knew the Russian masses as little as foreigners did, that the Russian people differ from all others and must be handled differently, and that what is meat to the British is poison to the Russian. The author comments that Pobiedonostseff himself misread his own people.
Chapter 12
CHAPTER VII4 cards
What economic changes did Witte introduce during Alexander III's reign?
Witte introduced the gold standard, which many colleagues had declared impossible. Railways were rapidly constructed, trade enlivened, and industries created and protected. Problems of wages, housing, and hygiene were openly discussed, and the standard of living rose for peasants who supplemented land income with factory wages. The author notes the drift of the Tsardom was toward political change, but mainly economic in course.
Chapter 13
What happened at Khodynka field during Nicholas II's coronation festivities?
A popular fête at Khodynka drew hundreds of thousands. Crowds spent the night pressing at entrances; Cossacks and gendarmes kept them back until the imperial couple appeared. When police opened the turnstiles, barriers collapsed and the surging crowd crushed people. Estimates of the dead ranged from three to seven thousand and were never accurately ascertained. The Tsar was blamed for letting festivities continue.
Chapter 13
How did Father John of Cronstadt explain the Emperor's death?
Father John first preached at Yalta that it was God's will the Tsar should live, telling the crowd to be of good heart. After Alexander III died, he preached that God called the Emperor away because the people lacked faith, saying had they believed, he would still be living. The author notes the bulk of the people regarded the death with curiosity about political consequences rather than genuine grief.
Chapter 13
What did the author observe about the court's reception of Princess Alix in Yalta?
Princess Alix of Hesse arrived in Yalta shortly before Alexander III's death, unprepared for and unprovided with ladies to wait on her. Court officials chose what the author calls the worst expedient: Prince Y. invited young ladies of Mrs. Warren's profession to the palace to receive and dress the future empress until ordinary tirewomen arrived. The author calls this characteristic of the a-morality of thought of the court.
Chapter 13
CHAPTER VIII4 cards
What did Nicholas II supposedly say to both the liberal nobleman and the conservative landowner?
According to the anecdote, Nicholas nodded approvingly to each visitor and repeated, "I know. Yes, yes. You are right. Quite right." He said this both to the nobleman pleading the peasants' cause and to the landowner demanding an iron hand. The story is presented as devoid of foundation in fact yet true as a portrait of the Tsar's paralysis of volition.
Chapter 14
What does the chapter say was missing between the isolated sovereign and his people?
The chapter states there never was a trustworthy intermediary between the isolated sovereign and his restive people. Those he questioned were contradicted and neutralised by interested politicians or misinformed patriots. Nicholas, even had he wished, lacked the means of sifting true from false, producing a gulf between autocracy and people compared to that between the Dalai Lama and his worshippers.
Chapter 14
How does the anecdote portray the empress's criticism of Nicholas?
The empress enters looking grave and tells him he must not go on like this, that it is not dignified, and reminds him he is an autocrat who should possess a will strong enough to stiffen a nation of a hundred and fifty millions. When he asks what she faults, she answers his want of resolution and courage to express it, noting she listened to his conversations.
Chapter 14
What does the chapter say about the anecdote's factual basis and its value?
The chapter describes the anecdote as devoid of foundation in fact yet superlatively true as a presentment of the paralysis of volition from which Nicholas II suffered. It notes the story was current long before the author sketched the Tsar's portrait in the Quarterly and National Reviews, so its illustrative truth is offered independently of literal accuracy.
Chapter 14
M.4 cards
What phrase did Nicholas II repeatedly use when confronted with his people's suffering?
According to the chapter, when told of misery and pain in the districts, Nicholas answered only "Yes, I know, I know," and bowed the informant out. The author says these words closed History's chapters on the Finnish Constitution, the Armenian Church and schools, Polish nationality, and liberty of conscience denied to his own people, arguing that had he realized what he claimed to know he might still be on the throne.
Chapter 15
How does the chapter describe Nicholas II in his family relations?
The author says Nicholas displayed qualities that would credit any private citizen: an uncommonly dutiful son who early in his reign submitted his judgment as well as his will to his mother; a model husband who sought his consort's happiness; and a tender, adoring father. The chapter offers the anecdote of him interrupting Admiral Roshdjestvensky's naval report to ask, "But are you aware that he weighs 14 lb.?" about the heir.
Chapter 15
What does the author mean by calling Nicholas II "cause-blind"?
The author argues Nicholas failed to grasp the nexus between cause and effect, so the law of causality was refracted in his mind like a sunbeam striking water. Consequently, while moving every lever to produce war, he was blind to the approaching conflict and deaf to warnings. The author says the dispute with Japan stemmed from his personal act of seizing a neighbor's property and believing "No offence intended!" would placate the despoiled.
Chapter 15
What was the "boudoir council" and what influence did it have?
The author's term for the group assisting Nicholas: his consort, several grand dukes, a spiritist or two, and the favorite man of the moment. Under Alexander III the imperial family was kept in place; Nicholas allowed them wide political, military, and commercial scope, coloring their plans with his dreams. When a student strike broke out, the boudoir council urged coercion over the dowager empress's counsel of forbearance, and the students won.
Chapter 15
CHAPTER IX4 cards
What did the ninety-eight country gentlemen at the St. Petersburg meeting demand, and how did they split?
Meeting without a mandate or government permission, they refused to eliminate political discussion despite the authorities' condition. When a resolution calling for constitutional government was put, twenty-seven members considered it too radical and voted against, while the remainder supported it. The congress was deemed a success, and telegrams from town councils and zemstvos across the Empire endorsed the resolution.
Chapter 16
What did Witte's original nine-clause ukase propose, and what happened to its key clause?
The draft covered political and agrarian reforms, press regulations, rights for religious non-conformists, State insurance for workers, and a consultative Duma elected indirectly through zemstvos and municipal councils, without initiative or control over the purse. The Tsar angrily struck out the ninth clause, saying it was wasted effort to ask him to weaken the autocracy.
Chapter 16
Why does the chapter say Nicholas II. stored up the forces that swept the autocracy away?
The author argues that by foolishly resisting every proposal that might have given temporary satisfaction to reform demands and created a safety valve for revolutionary energies, Nicholas II. accumulated the forces that ultimately destroyed the autocracy. The author adds that Nicholas failed to grasp the situation and lacked moral courage and political suppleness.
Chapter 16
What cardinal truth does the author say Russian reforming statesmen should have grasped?
The author argues the Tsarist State was held together by territorial conquest, rule of one race over others, and class privilege; changing these—ending expansion, pursuing friendly foreign relations, and introducing equity, equality, and religious liberty—would dissolve the cement binding it. He likens the State to a top that stops spinning and must fall.
Chapter 16
CHAPTER X (part 1)4 cards
Who organized Moscow factory workers into a police-supervised association, and what did Witte object to?
Zubatoff organized Moscow factory hands into a powerful association under secret police supervision, in opposition to socialist unions, even arranging economic strikes. Witte, as Finance Minister, objected to the immorality of the expedient and the harm it did to industry, arguing that if strikes are permissible they should be left to those whose interests they serve, not organized by the secret police.
Chapter 17
What occasion triggered the Bloody Sunday procession, and what did Gapon initially demand?
The dismissal of four artisans from the Putiloff Works in St. Petersburg was the occasion. Gapon proposed demanding their reinstatement, punishment of the foreman, and guarantees reforming relations between employers and employed. He warned that if this reasonable request were not met, he would not answer for public tranquillity. Within days his economic demands were reinforced by political pretensions, and he urged the men to march to the Winter Palace.
Chapter 17
How did Gapon survive the shooting, and what did he say afterward?
Gapon lay flat in the snow in his heavy fur coat during the firing; a friend fell dead beside him. After the third volley, the engineer Ruthenberg nudged him and asked if he was alive; Gapon said yes and agreed to leave. In a nearby courtyard he theatrically exclaimed that there was no longer a God and no longer a Tsar—yet within a twelvemonth he was secretly assuring authorities of his profound veneration for the Tsar.
Chapter 17
What did the author conclude about the demonstration's revolutionary potential?
Military specialists told the author that if the workmen reaching the empty Winter Palace had been led by a resolute chief, they might have occupied it without loss and perhaps turned the riot into a revolution. The author records this as interesting but does not share the view: the men were unarmed, the leader self-seeking and pacific, the groups scattered, and the crowd certain to be dispersed. He calls the demonstration a mad freak.
Chapter 17
CHAPTER X (part 2)4 cards
How did the workmen verify Gapon's betrayal before acting against him?
Ruthenberg took Gapon out in a sleigh driven by a disguised factory hand instructed to listen and report back. The driver heard Gapon discuss payments and betraying comrades, which dispelled his doubts. He and his comrades then decided to seize, disarm, try, and execute Gapon, hiring a wooden house outside the capital for the purpose.
Chapter 18
What did Gapon reveal during the overheard conversation at the house?
Gapon urged Ruthenberg to accept money for betrayal, discussed warning comrades to escape while feeding the wolves, and admitted sending a letter of repentance to Durnovo. He claimed no one could prove his dealings with Ratchkoffsky, saying he would call Ruthenberg mad and that the workmen would believe him over any accuser.
Chapter 18
How was Gapon killed, and what did the workmen find afterward?
The workmen threw a noose over his head and hanged him from an iron hook in the clothes-rack. He begged for mercy and a last word, which was granted briefly before the cord was pulled again. Afterward they searched his pockets and found papers. Ruthenberg, trembling, told them to cut the cord and cover the face, using scissors he had used to cut Gapon's hair on 22 January.
Chapter 18
What does the author argue Ratchkoffsky wanted from Gapon's death?
The author argues Ratchkoffsky knew Gapon had nothing important to reveal and was useless as a spy since revolutionists no longer trusted him. He wanted to discredit the hero of Bloody Sunday and then get the revolutionists to give him a receipt by putting their ex-hero to death ignominiously. The author calls this worthy of Russia's greatest secret police organiser.
Chapter 18
CHAPTER X (part 3)4 cards
What did Azeff instruct provincial young members to do, and what happened to them?
Azeff told young members coming from the provinces for advice or work to travel to Finland, where they were cordially received and told what was expected of them. On returning, they were arrested on the Finnish frontier by Russian police and handed over to the gaoler or hangman. Many young men were thus immobilised by imprisonment or death, and provincial terrorist chiefs eventually refused to go to Finland even when Azeff summoned them.
Chapter 19
How did Azeff's role as agent provocateur shape his handling of plots and funds?
As an agent provocateur, Azeff hatched grandiose plots requiring many conspirators, assigned each a part, and let preparations near completion before police swooped in to seize ringleaders and make a large haul. He blamed victims for clumsiness and kept tight control of the organisation's large funds, tightening the purse strings even when asked to support starving, unemployed terrorists who lacked trades or passports.
Chapter 19
What incident in February 1908 began to open the committee's eyes to Azeff?
A young man in a provincial town learned from an intimate friend in the secret police that an agent provocateur named Azeff sat on the committee. He travelled to Finland to warn the committee but was sharply told to return and mind his own business. Days later the government made many arrests and announced it had detailed compromising information, prompting one comrade to suspect Azeff, though others refused to entertain the thought.
Chapter 19
What does the author argue about the bureaucracy and the responsibility of ministers and the Emperor?
The author argues the whole system was essentially immoral: the bureaucracy was an organism outside the nation, living parasitically on it and resembling Ivan the Terrible's opritchina. He says ministers knew what services Azeff was paid for yet made no protest, and that the Emperor was held responsible and in a sense accepted responsibility, being aware of the infamous nature of Azeff's services.
Chapter 19
CHAPTER X (part 4)4 cards
Who executed Father Gapon, and whose words does the author use to tell it?
The author says the story of Gapon's last moments is told in the exact words of Ruthenberg himself and of one of the workmen who executed the priest. Martin was Ruthenberg's adopted pseudonym in the revolutionary society. The author also cites Byloye, Nos. 11-12, p. 89, as a reference.
Chapter 20
Which dynasty reigned in Russia after the Romanoffs became extinct, and who began it?
The author notes the house of the Romanoffs became extinct after the death of the Tsaritsa Elizabeth I. The house reigning since then is that of Holstein-Gotthorp. Elizabeth's nephew, Peter III, was the first sovereign of this dynasty.
Chapter 20
What does the author admit about dating events in his own diaries?
The author states that as his diaries are no longer accessible, he is unable to determine the exact date. Elsewhere he gives approximate dates, such as August 1905, the beginning of 1907, and 1906. He also notes he had no trustworthy evidence of torture for political purposes in Petersburg in 1906.
Chapter 20
What does the author say about evidence of political torture in Petersburg?
The author states that in 1906 he had no trustworthy evidence of torture for political purposes in Petersburg. He distinguishes this from other claims in the chapter, presenting it as a limit on what he can assert rather than a denial that such things occurred.
Chapter 20
CHAPTER XI4 cards
Who condemned Witte to be assassinated, according to the chapter?
The chapter states Witte was condemned not by revolutionists, who had no grievance against him, but by an association of reactionaries subventioned by the court and patronised by the Emperor. The author argues the Tsarist State found it expedient that Witte should die because he had made peace with Japan and constrained the Emperor to create the Duma.
Chapter 21
How did Kazantseff deceive the would-be assassins into killing Witte's allies?
Kazantseff, posing as a Bolshevik, told the louts that the Revolutionary Party had condemned certain traitors to die, and exhorted them to carry out the sentence. In this way Yollos was shot dead in broad daylight and Herzenstein was likewise put to death. Feodoroff later found proof that Kazantseff belonged to the reactionary League of the Russian People.
Chapter 21
Why did the Russian government refuse to bring Feodoroff to public trial?
Witte predicted the government would not try Feodoroff because the evidence would condemn the Tsar's own environment rather than the accused. The author reports this prediction came true: Stolypin and the Minister of Justice determined the matter should be hushed up, and the public prosecutor abandoned the inquiry, claiming he could not find the guilty parties.
Chapter 21
What did Witte claim about official foreknowledge of the plots against him?
In a document dictated to the author, Witte claimed the attempts were spoken of, and once written about, in official circles days before they occurred. The Prefect of Petersburg admitted awareness of an attempt, the President of the Council adjourned a sitting because of it, and a letter from his would-be murderer demanding 5000 roubles was handed over by an express carrier authorised to collect the money.
Chapter 21
CHAPTER XII (part 1)4 cards
What does the author argue Rasputin's real role in the Tsardom was?
The author argues Rasputin was only a symbol, not a principal cause of the Revolution. He contends that if the Siberian peasant had never existed, other charlatans would have taken his place, and that influential friends like Stürmer, Protopopoff, and Archbishop Pitirim mattered more. The evidence blaming Rasputin for the fall of Tsardom is called wholly inadequate.
Chapter 22
What event triggered Rasputin's spiritual conversion?
Rasputin's regeneration began while driving a priest named Zaboroffsky to Verkhoturie, about twenty miles from his village. The priest spoke of life's brevity, the need to prepare for death, the hideousness of sin, and salvation, urging him to do penance. Rasputin later said he resolved to lead a godly life and help others sunk in ignorance and iniquity.
Chapter 22
What austerities did Rasputin practice after his conversion?
He was first into church and last to leave, bewailing his transgressions most contritely. He exposed his half-naked body to wintry winds, walked barefoot in snow, and fasted for days. Kneeling at the altar, he struck the ground with his forehead so violently that blood trickled down his face. These austerities, plus villagers' esteem, filled him with spiritual pride.
Chapter 22
Why does the author reject calling Rasputin a mere hypocrite?
The author argues such simplism ignores the intricacy of Russian psychology, where good, bad, and indifferent motives interweave. He notes Rasputin was never callous, helped the poor and friendless, and for a time genuinely subjected himself to the discipline he preached. The author says it would be rash to deny him the earnestness his shallow nature was capable of.
Chapter 22
CHAPTER XII (part 2)4 cards
What did Rasputin tell his followers was the manner of their salvation?
Rasputin taught that a particle of the Supreme Being was incarnate in him, that he was an incarnation of God, and that only through him could followers be saved. Salvation required union with him in soul and in body, and the virtue going out from him was the source of light and destruction of sin. His entire flock accepted this doctrine, believing all things were permitted to one so endowed.
Chapter 23
How did Rasputin's 'sacrificial prayer' ceremonies proceed?
At first star, Rasputin and the brethren and sisters descended to an underground room and lit a fire. A vessel of incense and aromatic herbs stood on a tripod. Each brother stood between two sisters, hands joined in a circle, chanting 'Our sin is for the sake of repentance' while moving round the fire. As the fire died the dance quickened, and Rasputin's voice called 'Brethren, tempt your flesh,' after which all threw themselves on the floor.
Chapter 23
What happened to Alexandra Dubrovina and her sister Irene?
Alexandra, a healthy, spirited daughter of well-to-do parents, abandoned home and kindred to follow Rasputin, though he had a wife and three children. On a pilgrimage to Kieff he bullied, terrorised, and tortured her, bringing her back a shadow of herself. Her mother forbade further contact, but she returned and soon died. Her younger sister Irene then took her place, was martyrised in turn, pined away, and died within months.
Chapter 23
What explanation does the chapter give for Rasputin's power over people?
The chapter argues the known facts are inadequate to explain his career or his power, and that the source was latent, best expressed as personal magnetism. His eyes were fascinating, his tone soft and insinuating, and his presence overpowered 'lower natures,' numbing their will. Minister Khvostoff called him an extraordinary hypnotiser whose influence even police agents could not withstand, and Bishop Hermogen admitted experiencing his influence.
Chapter 23
CHAPTER XII (part 3)4 cards
What did the author conclude about Rasputin's political influence up to April 1914?
The author states that after exhaustive inquiry he found no evidence Rasputin interfered in anything but ecclesiastical matters, with a single exception. He concluded Rasputin made his influence felt in the political domain only once, and that instance was, in the author's words, superlatively beneficent: Rasputin moved the Tsar to reject the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevitch's bellicose policy and avoid the war for which Russia was preparing.
Chapter 24
How does the author interpret Rasputin's significance for the anti-autocratic parties?
The author argues Rasputin was a symbol for the anti-autocratic parties, regarded by reformers and most parliamentary groups as the embodiment of everything unjust and infamous in the autocracy. Yet the author contends it has not been proved that Rasputin's influence on the Empire's destinies was as profound as alleged. He calls Rasputin a symptom of the disease from which the Tsardom was dying, and his career the reductio ad absurdum of the Tsarist State.
Chapter 24
What does the author say about the plots against Rasputin's life and the public reaction to his murder?
The author reports several plots. The most dangerous was by K. Gusseva, a woman who had loved Rasputin for years before becoming an admirer of the monk Iliodor; she stabbed him in the abdomen and was sent to a madhouse. Another alleged plot involved the Minister of the Interior, A. N. Khvostoff, and Iliodor. The author argues the near-universal approval of the final murder reveals Russian public morality and the rottenness of a State that could not exist without murder and treachery.
Chapter 24
What prophecy of Rasputin does the author cite, and how does he relate it to later events?
The author says Rasputin told the Tsar, the Tsaritsa, and others, including the author, that his destiny was entwined with the Romanoffs and the Tsardom, and that his death would bring doom and disaster to them all. The author notes that after the body was thrust under the ice the Empress fell ill, her son and two daughters were confined to bed, and then the sovereign was deposed and imprisoned, the army dissolved, and the Empire broken up.
Chapter 24
CHAPTER XIII3 cards
How does the chapter characterize Russia's foreign policy toward weaker nations?
The author argues it was a ruinous 'protection' of the feeble — a lethal hug of the polar bear. Russia shielded weak governments from the consequences of their own folly, letting them misgovern and decompose until ripe for digestion. The alleged peaceful disposition is irrelevant, since Russia deliberately respected technical frontiers in order to eventually obtain the whole.
Chapter 25
How did Russia's treatment of Georgia and Bulgaria differ, per Russian diplomats?
With Georgia, Russia allied as equals, refused help when Persia attacked, and absorbed the country only after it was bleeding to death and begged as suppliants. With Bulgaria, Russia freed them as brothers without waiting for such devastation, and they became enemies. The diplomats said Russia would not repeat that mistake with Macedonians or Armenians.
Chapter 25
What was the Hunkiar Skelessi Treaty's role in Russia's protective system?
It made Russia 'protect' Turkey from all maritime foes while the Ottoman Empire mouldered. The Sultan was pampered and his throne propped while his regime ruined his people: the navy dwindled, soldiers went unpaid, fortresses lacked guns, and officials lived by extortion. The empire would have been ripe for the vulture had Germany not created commercial interests in Asia Minor.
Chapter 25
M.4 cards
What did Nelidoff propose Russia seize and obtain from the Sultan?
Nelidoff proposed that Russia seize and hold a firm foothold on the shores of the Upper Bosphorus and wrest from the Sultan the freedom of the Straits. His method was creating an accomplished fact: the Russian fleet would land troops while the ambassador pressured Abdul Hamid. The Sultan would be asked to allow the ships to pass and the men to occupy the heights; refusal meant consequences. The permanent result would be Russian occupation of the Upper Bosphorus and neutralisation of the Dardanelles.
Chapter 26
Why did Nelidoff argue reforms in the Ottoman Empire would fail?
Nelidoff argued the Porte could not carry out reforms even if willing, because reforms would rob the Turkish and Kurdish populations of their privileges. Since those Moslem peoples outnumber the Christians, they would oppose the reforms tooth and nail. Force against the Mohammedans to conciliate the Christians would then be the only alternative, and Abdul Hamid was too shrewd to commit such a blunder. Nelidoff also said only a simpleton would build on reforms.
Chapter 26
What did Nelidoff fear would happen if the Armenians rose and Europe intervened?
Nelidoff believed the Armenian threats of armed rising within a couple of months were serious. If they rose, Europe would intervene: the six powers would pressure the Porte to embody reforms in institutions. That might suit England, but Nelidoff argued it would not dovetail with Russia's vital interests. Her security in the Black Sea and communications with the Mediterranean would be forfeited indefinitely, and the more stable the order the powers established, the worse the Tsardom's outlook.
Chapter 26
Who approved the Nelidoff-Tshikhatshoff plan, and who stifled it?
The author vouches that the plan worked out by Nelidoff and Tshikhatshoff was approved by Nicholas II, and that all preparations for its execution were made. Witte, however, with difficulty stifled the enterprise just when it was on the point of becoming an international revolution and an insolent challenge. The author says he cannot state how far the Kaiser's government was committed, and personally doubts any such accord existed, believing the plan was exclusively Russian.
Chapter 26
CHAPTER XIV (part 1)4 cards
According to the chapter, why could a Russian minister not legally resign?
The chapter states that in the Tsardom a minister was a civil officer whose commander-in-chief was the Emperor; without the Emperor's permission—that is, until dismissed—he could not lay down his functions. This meant even loyal, truthful ministers like Count Lamsdorff could have their assertions belied and promises violated by their master or colleagues, yet were bound to remain in office.
Chapter 27
Why did Witte recommend Lamsdorff rather than Izvolsky to the Tsar?
The chapter says Witte wanted a Foreign Office colleague he could work with in harmony, believing he could then exert general directing influence over the whole Tsardom. Though Witte rated Izvolsky's personal independence highly, he preferred Lamsdorff. The author argues Izvolsky would actually have served Witte's purpose better, since being independent he would not have tolerated the secret board of adventurers behind his back.
Chapter 27
How did Lamsdorff and Witte differ in conceiving their ministerial functions?
Lamsdorff said he formed a sound opinion, laid it before the Emperor as forcibly as he could, and there his duty terminated—since the Tsar was absolute, he saw no reason to resign merely for differing. Witte, by contrast, was insistent and often dogmatic, advising and drawing on future deterrents to frighten the Tsar, in a manner the chapter calls the reverse of courtly.
Chapter 27
What does the author identify as the driving law of Russian policy?
The author argues Russia's policy was shaped by internal conditions, chiefly that territorial expansion rather than internal development was the law shaping her course. Hence the State grew in extent while the people's well-being stayed stationary: the government was wealthy, the people poor, and surplus energy ran along the line of least resistance—expansion—so officials knew they might safely score points that way.
Chapter 27
CHAPTER XIV (part 2)4 cards
What terms did Russia offer China for the Manchurian railway concession?
Russia proposed that China receive an annual sum of a quarter of a million dollars whether the enterprise showed profit or loss, plus an initial two million dollars. The line would be handed back to China fifty or eighty years after construction. Russia justified the project as shielding China from maritime powers, though she threatened to join Japan if not permitted to build it herself.
Chapter 28
How did Lobanoff's wording of the treaty change, and how was it fixed?
Lobanoff first drafted the treaty to apply whenever Japan violated Russian, Chinese, or Korean territory. He then changed 'Japan' to 'any power,' which Witte objected to; the Tsar upheld the objection. On signing day the wrong wording reappeared, so Lobanoff invented a 'traditional custom' of eating before signing, and corrected copies were ready after lunch.
Chapter 28
What was Kuropatkin's 'splinter theory' regarding China?
Kuropatkin likened Chinese anti-foreign movements to jerky arm symptoms caused by a splinter in the brain. He argued the Manchu dynasty was the splinter: if Russia seized it, the administrative machine would respond smoothly to St. Petersburg. The corollary was that Pekin must be taken and the emperor and empress seized. He won over Muravieff and the Tsar, but the court fled first.
Chapter 28
Why does the author argue Russia's fundamental policy was immutable?
The author argues that Russia's craving for aggrandisement was chronic and insatiable, and that whoever rose to gratify it — a narrow-minded minister, an army officer, or a simple bureaucrat — represented the Tsardom. He contends the Tsarist system was so powerful that even an insignificant individual could nullify a capable statesman's efforts, citing Muravieff's role in wrecking Witte's Far Eastern policy.
Chapter 28
CHAPTER XIV (part 3)4 cards
What did Kuropatkin propose to Witte regarding Russia and Austria?
Kuropatkin suggested Russia and Austria mutually agree to skip the expense of re-arming their artillery with improved guns, since if both sides spent the money neither would gain an advantage and both would be poorer. He framed it as a way to keep money in their treasuries, and the Finance Minister might use the suggestion to restrain expenditure.
Chapter 29
Why did Witte reject Kuropatkin's proposal as impractical?
Witte argued Austria would suspect Russia's motives: either inferring Russia bordered on insolvency and thus should be forced to spend, or that Russia was funding some secret hostile enterprise. Either way Austria would refuse and Russia's credit abroad would suffer. He added that if the Empire's defences truly required the outlay, the War Minister need only say so and he would find the money.
Chapter 29
What did Witte suggest as an alternative to Kuropatkin's scheme?
Witte proposed applying the principle not just to Austria and Russia but to all nations of the globe, avoiding invidious distinctions and leaving no ground for misgivings. He framed it as preparing minds for the axiom that militarism is the deadly enemy of cultural advance, though he doubted whether the few would actually postpone ordering the new artillery.
Chapter 29
What did the council do with Kuropatkin's scheme and Muravieff's circular?
Witte sharply criticised Kuropatkin's project; the two Foreign Ministers endorsed his view and the scheme was negatived and dropped. Muravieff then read a rough draft circular to the powers on limiting armaments, Witte's proposal in diplomatic phrasing, which was approved unanimously. The Tsar ratified it and it was handed to foreign representatives on 24th August, 1898.
Chapter 29
CHAPTER XV (part 1)4 cards
What treaty did the Tsar sign regarding Manchuria, and what did it promise?
Yielding to China's solicitations, seconded by Witte, the Tsar consented to a treaty recognizing Manchuria as an integral part of China and promising gradual troop withdrawal, beginning at Mukden within six months and completing the operation within eighteen months of the convention's signing. The chapter notes the promise was not kept, and says what came of its breach is common knowledge.
Chapter 30
Who formed the obscure group pushing the aggressive Far East policy, and what was their scheme?
The chapter names an obscure group of irresponsible friends of the Tsar, including Bezobrazoff, Abaza, and later Admiral Alexeyeff. They obtained a lumber concession on the Yalu, in which certain grand dukes and allegedly the Tsar took shares, to serve the twofold purpose of private enrichment and territorial aggrandisement. Their policy assumed Japan would never resort to arms.
Chapter 30
What did Kuropatkin argue in his memorials about Manchuria and Korea?
Kuropatkin wrote that success or failure of a few enterprises in Manchuria and Korea—timber, coal, and other concerns—was too unimportant for Russia to risk war over. He warned that definitive occupation of Manchuria would confirm Japan's misgivings and increase both empires' armaments, and even asked whether returning Kwantung, Port Arthur, and Dalny to China would be wisest to avoid war.
Chapter 30
How does the author explain the Tsar's belief that war would not occur?
The author argues the Tsar deemed himself the 'mainstay of the world's peace,' believing that while he was averse to war no other power would dare risk it. The author notes few men continually assured they were the Vicar of God would think differently, and cites the Tsar's tearful emotion when conflict broke out as support for this theory.
Chapter 30
CHAPTER XV (part 2)4 cards
What advice did Witte give Kuropatkin before he left for the Far East?
Witte advised Kuropatkin to arrest Viceroy Alexeyeff on arrival and send him back to Petersburg, treating him with distinction but removing his influence. Witte argued Alexeyeff was merely a courtier who would sabotage Kuropatkin's plans to serve the Tsar or himself. Kuropatkin dismissed the advice as joking and shrugged it off.
Chapter 31
What was Kuropatkin's original plan of campaign, and why did it change?
Kuropatkin planned to let Port Arthur defend itself, concentrate a large army at Kharbin, and wait for the Japanese there, following Kutuzoff's tactics. Once in the Far East, Alexeyeff, his superior, first advised and then constrained him to alter this plan to satisfy the Tsar's desire to save Port Arthur. Kuropatkin argued but gave way, and failed both to relieve Port Arthur and to execute his own strategy.
Chapter 31
How did Japanese propaganda operate inside Russia during the war?
Japanese organisers could not operate openly since they would be spotted among white men, so they worked through Finnish and Russian agents, spending large sums on revolutionary propaganda and smuggling arms. The aim was to revolutionise workers, the intelligentsia, and above all the army. Strikes, demonstrations, leaflets, and illegal traffic between Finland and Russia were evidence of this campaign, which also reached Russian prisoners and soldiers at the front.
Chapter 31
What arguments did Witte's February 1905 letter to the Tsar make for peace?
Witte argued that continuing the war was more than dangerous: further sacrifices would provoke appalling catastrophes, new mobilisation would require force, and troops were needed inside Russia itself. He warned of financial ruin, intensified poverty, possible agrarian troubles, and the loss of Kharbin. He urged immediate peace negotiations and a generous implementation of the Bulyghin rescript, framing resolution in disaster as the first step toward safety. The letter had no effect on the Tsar.
Chapter 31
CHAPTER XV (part 3)4 cards
What did Witte propose regarding the Japanese peace delegation?
Witte asked Dillon to urge Japan to send Marquis Ito instead of Komura as chief plenipotentiary, with full powers not only to make peace but to establish cordial friendship and an alliance for future development. The idea had been suggested to Lamsdorff and mooted by Hayashi. Tokyo refused both demands, and Komura's appointment proved immutable.
Chapter 32
What did Finance Minister Kokovtsov advise the Tsar about continuing the war?
He wrote that, given conditions at the war theatre and especially in the interior, continuing the campaign appeared extremely difficult, and concluding peace was, from the financial point of view, supremely desirable. The author calls him patriotic throughout the crisis. Despite such advice, Nicholas II retained the impression that victory was only a few months away.
Chapter 32
What were the main obstacles to peace at Portsmouth?
Japan demanded a money indemnity, retention of Sakhalien, and limitation of Russia's fleet in Far Eastern waters. Witte's telegram also listed disagreement over vessels in neutral waters. He judged the fleet points matters of dignity but no practical significance, while the indemnity touched Russia's dignity and vital interests.
Chapter 32
Why did Witte want a friendship with Japan rather than a formal peace only?
Witte argued the war could not be followed by formal peace alone; it must be obliterated by friendship as well, and only then would peace rest on a solid basis. This became the keystone of Russia's Far Eastern policy under Izvolsky. However, his proposal to work toward that friendship was vetoed by the Tsar, and Japan had changed her mind.
Chapter 32
CHAPTER XV (part 4)4 cards
What did the Tsar order Witte to do regarding the peace discussions?
Nicholas II commanded Witte to end the discussions at all hazard the next day, writing that he would rather continue the war than await gracious concessions from Japan. Witte ignored this instruction and concluded the negotiations satisfactorily, securing peace for Russia.
Chapter 33
How did Nicholas II first respond to Witte's news of peace?
Instead of thanks or recognition, the Tsar's reply ordered Witte not to sign the peace conditions until the amount for the keep of war prisoners was fixed and ratified by him after notification. Witte was stunned, and the author notes the message contained no tribute of recognition.
Chapter 33
How did Grand Duke Michael's congratulation differ from the Tsar's?
Grand Duke Michael, described as Witte's ex-pupil, sent brief but cordial words: heartfelt congratulations on the brilliant termination of grandiose work achieved for the well-being of the dear Fatherland. This contrasted sharply with the Tsar's grudging, businesslike telegrams that offered no warm praise.
Chapter 33
When did the Tsar finally thank Witte, and how?
After three days of suspense, the Tsar sent a chilling telegram expressing thanks for the able, firm conduct of negotiations worked out to a good issue for Russia, and asked Witte to convey gratitude to Baron Rosen and the delegates. The author says the Tsar only unbent after the whole world, including Kaiser Wilhelm, praised Witte.
Chapter 33
CHAPTER XVI4 cards
What did the Björke treaty of July 1905 commit Russia to regarding France?
The chapter states the Björke agreement implicitly handed France over to the Kaiser's mercy and pledged Nicholas II to supply Russia's co-operation in constraining France to enter an alliance she would never have accepted of her own free will. It also placed Russian resources at Wilhelm's disposal for his plans to reorganise Europe, and the author calls the act a deed of surrender to Germany.
Chapter 34
How does the author assess Kaiser Wilhelm II's abilities and aims?
The author rejects the view that Wilhelm was simply a maniac, arguing he had clear conceptions and understood cause and effect, with tenacity and efficiency in building armies, a navy, and political conditions. The author says Wilhelm likely believed in the loftiness of his aim, and that this faith animated the German people, while still holding him responsible for enormous crimes.
Chapter 34
What was Wilhelm's ideal of international ordering, according to the chapter?
The author describes the German ideal as the equivalent of absolutism in national politics: a chosen race should direct the Continent and possibly the world, with force as its initial instrument, and the Teuton race naturally takes the leading role. This stands opposed to the democratic peoples' conception of equality between states, whose instrument is law and public opinion.
Chapter 34
Why did Wilhelm's conciliation of France fail, per the chapter?
The author says the wound of losing Alsace and Lorraine never healed, and Wilhelm's decade of cheap beneficence — honeyed phrases, pardoning two Frenchmen, helping French colonial expansion — never touched the French people or rulers. The author notes he never understood their mentality, and neither the Fashoda crisis nor the Boer war brought him returns.
Chapter 34
CHAPTER XVII (part 1)4 cards
Why did Nicholas II hate England, according to Witte?
Witte says Nicholas II hated England for three reasons: the treaty England made with Japan ruined his political schemes; English liberalism sympathised with Russian liberalism and gave asylum to Russian revolutionaries; and the growing influence of Jews in Britain. He sometimes spoke as though all the English were Jews.
Chapter 35
How did the Kaiser's Tangier visit come about, per Witte?
Witte says the Kaiser never intended to make the visit until his yacht had left Lisbon, and did not intend to land even when anchored off Tangier, until a French marine officer innocently encouraged him with a sanguine view of wind, wave and weather. Witte calls this an absolute fact.
Chapter 35
What did Lamsdorff think of the Björke meeting?
Lamsdorff wrote that the Kaiser's obliging telegram proposed meeting the Emperor unceremoniously, and the Tsar gladly consented, proposing Björkesund near Vyborg. Lamsdorff expected a good and advantageous impression, provided Wilhelm did not elicit assurances he could later exploit masterfully. He hoped Witte would explain to the French that the meeting was exclusively friendly and family in character.
Chapter 35
How did Witte describe Germany's stance on Russia making peace with Japan?
Bülow told Witte that if Germany were merely a friend of Russia's he would say without hesitation, make peace. But since Germany was a devoted, sincere, intimate, unique friend, he said she could not give such poisonous advice. Witte notes the Kaiser advised the Tsar not to give way, though in an acceptable form.
Chapter 35
CHAPTER XVII (part 3)4 cards
Why did Witte decline to land in England on his way home from Portsmouth?
Witte told the author he was despatched by the Emperor on a special mission and, having performed it, was duty-bound to return straight to Russia and report to his sovereign. Only the Tsar could release him from that duty, and he could not fitly ask for a dispensation himself. He promised to visit England later if Russia's internal troubles left him free.
Chapter 37
What was Witte's stated position on alliances and ententes with foreign countries?
Witte said he opposed alliances on principle, preferring freedom from entanglements and citing the United States as a model. He rejected any close relations or Entente with any country for the moment, calling piecemeal pacts harmful and abstinence from patchwork alliances a source of strength. He claimed Alexander III endorsed this and Nicholas II initially followed it.
Chapter 37
How did Witte justify supporting the alliance with France despite opposing alliances?
Witte answered that he did not make the French alliance; he found it ready-made. He went further, calling it an historic necessity that grew slowly until it forced itself on both peoples as a military convention, now part of the foundation of Europe's loose state-system. He said let it stand as the only tie of its kind until Europe is transfigured.
Chapter 37
How did Witte respond to the British proposal for an accord, and why did King Edward misunderstand him?
Witte told Poklevsky the proposals on Persia, Tibet, Afghanistan and the East were moderate and creditable, and he would concede Britain more, especially in Persia. But he refused to back any political partnership, insisting on no alliances. The author says King Edward received this and misunderstood it, not believing Witte's friendly sentiments toward Britain.
Chapter 37
M. Izvolsky.2 cards
What did the British government do with Russia's offer of territory in the convention?
The British government, on behalf of the Indian government, declined to take all that Russia was willing to offer, even though Ispahan might have fallen in the British sphere of influence. The author says he does not mention this refusal as a reproach, but calls it blameworthy that a couple of years after ratification Britain asked for some of the things it had rejected—and was refused.
Chapter 38
Why was Witte always preoccupied about his country being drawn into war?
Witte was always preoccupied lest his country should be drawn into war because he realised how badly prepared it was and how deep its fall after a defeat would be, owing to the high position Russia occupied in consequence of its unmerited prestige. The author presents this as Witte's consistent concern, linking poor readiness to the severity of a postwar fall.
Chapter 38
CHAPTER XVIII4 cards
How did Witte first learn a secret treaty existed between the Tsar and the Kaiser?
Witte did not suspect it while at Portsmouth; the Kaiser only hinted vaguely at measures he and the Tsar had taken. Witte learned of the actual document after returning to Russia, when the Tsar, during a conversation at Björkesund, asked whether the Kaiser had explained the measures and, on hearing he had not, said Witte should see the document.
Chapter 39
What did Lamsdorff do when he learned Witte supposedly approved the treaty?
Lamsdorff, who had been kept ignorant of the treaty, returned from Björkesund cool and reserved toward his friend Witte, addressing him by his new title of count. He asked whether Witte approved the transaction, then produced the document from his drawer and had Witte read it, after which the two found themselves on common ground in opposing it.
Chapter 39
Why did Witte and Lamsdorff consider the treaty impossible to reconcile with Russia's obligations?
Lamsdorff argued the first clause obliged Russia to take up arms against France, its own ally, as well as England, if either went to war with Germany. Since neither France nor England would attack Russia, the bargain was one-sided, serving only Germany. Witte called it base perfidy, since Russia could not stand by France against Germany and by Germany against France simultaneously.
Chapter 39
How did the Tsar and the Kaiser defend the treaty against objections?
The Tsar maintained that what was done could not be undone, that the treaty did not conflict with the Franco-Russian covenants unless those were aimed at Germany, and that France should be treated according to her deserts. The Kaiser, in a telegram, argued the treaty did not collide with the alliance, invoked do ut des and German help during the war, and insisted what is signed is signed.
Chapter 39
CHAPTER XIX (part 1)4 cards
What did the author identify as the alpha and omega of the Russian revolution?
The author argues the agrarian question is the alpha and omega of the revolution, furnishing the lever by which the ancient regime may be overthrown despite the army's support. He claimed that if the land problem were suppressed or solved, the revolution would be tame, and a clever statesman might prop up the bureaucratic system for another generation.
Chapter 40
What did the author predict about the duration of the revolutionary ferment?
Surveying the revolutionary ferment, the author gave his opinion that it cannot by its nature be short, but, protean in its shapes and clumsy in its methods, may last throughout the century. He also wrote in May 1905 of Nicholas II as the last of the Tsars, certain the autocracy was doomed.
Chapter 40
What was Count Witte's plan for modernizing the Tsardom?
Witte planned to create common economic interests to absorb activity and knit together races and classes, lessening differences through accessible commercial and industrial training. He would foster native industries via Far Eastern markets and keep Russia out of war by a continental league settling world affairs with military backing but without employing it. The Tsar, dynasty, Jews, Liberals, and intelligentsia all thwarted him.
Chapter 40
How did the author characterize the Russian peasantry's level of culture?
The author describes the peasantry as medieval in institutions, Asiatic in strivings, and prehistoric in conceptions of life, citing beliefs that Japanese microbes killed soldiers and that doctors poisoned wells. He argues their culture was considerably lower than Western Europe's, and that removing restraints on such a multitude would be catastrophic.
Chapter 40
CHAPTER XIX (part 2)4 cards
What does the author conclude about Nicholas II's alleged plan for a separate peace?
The author argues there is not a tittle of evidence that Nicholas II intended a separate peace, calling the accusation improbable given what he knows of the Tsar's mentality. He suggests the indictment was part of bolshevist tactics supported by the English and French, and that the Allies' safest policy was keeping Nicholas on the throne with a Duma-responsible cabinet.
Chapter 41
According to the author, what did the Tsarist State do to its own subjects by 1906?
The author argues the State had fallen so low that systematic recourse to dastardly crime was its mainstay. State servants hatched conspiracies to justify shooting, hanging, or imprisoning men who merely wanted an Austria- or Prussia-like regime. The State connived at plots killing pillars of Tsardom such as Von Plehve, Grand Duke Sergius, Von Launitz, and Stolypin, while agent Azeff was retained despite his role.
Chapter 41
What did the author say about the material plight of the Russian peasant?
The author describes peasants dwelling in hovels filthier than a sty, going to bed at five or six in winter for lack of petroleum, living mainly on black bread and potatoes, often starving. Many in Bessarabia were dying of hunger and White Russia households had no rye left, though they had raised plenty of corn—they were forced to sell it right after harvest at nominal prices to pay taxes.
Chapter 41
What does the author claim about the role of revolutionary parties in the 1917 revolution?
The author argues the revolution was not the work of professional revolutionists and came about independently of their exertions. Neither in preparing nor moderating the upheaval did the so-called revolutionary parties play a prominent part; they bestirred themselves only after the Petersburg Council of Working Men and Soldiers formed. The army as a whole was loyal, and officers wanting Nicholas deposed were a small minority.
Chapter 41
CHAPTER XIX (part 3)4 cards
Why does Dillon refuse to forecast Russia's future in the Postscript?
Dillon argues that the historian's task is to supply the public with relevant, well-sifted facts, not forecasts that cannot be verified. He declines to conclude that Russia is permanently incapacitated as a nation, and warns that those who reason this way assume mankind's future will follow the lines of its past progress—an assumption he calls inadequate.
Chapter 42
What barrier does Dillon say blocks reassembling the Tsardom?
Dillon considers it improbable that the parts of the Tsardom will be put back together and rejuvenated. He says the principle of national self-determination, for which the Allies profess to be fighting, is apparently an effectual barrier to this, even if there were no other obstacle. The utmost he hopes is that the Russian race will unite and come into its own.
Chapter 42
What Russian qualities does Dillon say may yet bear fruit?
Dillon says much that is humane survives in the Russian: a natural religion of pity, pitiless self-criticism, enthusiasm for noble causes, detachment from the grosser sides of life, and cheerful willingness to die for an idea or a friend. These qualities, if properly cultivated and freed from noxious weeds, may make Russia a potent social force for a high ethical purpose.
Chapter 42
What did the Kaiser ask Witte to do at Rominten?
According to Witte's account, the Kaiser asked him to use his influence with France to further the cause of a federated Europe, saying France was indispensable and could refuse Witte nothing. Witte agreed to do everything compatible with his duty to his country and sovereign. The Kaiser also said he and the Tsar had agreed to act together on the principle.
Chapter 42
CHAPTER XIX (part 4)1 cards
How did the Kaiser describe the alleged Anglo-Japanese peace terms to the Tsar?
The Kaiser claimed Lansdowne asked Hayashi to tone down Japan's "preposterous" peace conditions, and that Lansdowne assured Japan England would keep a "mediæval Russia" out of Manchuria and Korea so Japan would de facto get all she wanted. He said France was already informed and party to the arrangement, offering Russia a bit of Persia as compensation.
Chapter 43
CHAPTER XIX (part 5)4 cards
What did the secret treaty signed on 24 July 1905 require of Russia and Germany?
It was a defensive alliance: if any European State attacked one of the two Empires, the ally would employ all its naval and military forces in support. The parties pledged not to conclude a separate peace with a common adversary, the treaty would take effect when peace was concluded between Russia and Japan, and a year's notice was required to terminate it. Russia also promised to inform France and invite her to join as an ally.
Chapter 44
How did the secret treaty affect Russia's relationship with France while it remained in force?
The chapter states that the covenant, so long as it remained in force, annulled the Russo-French Alliance. During the months between the monarchs' meeting at Björke and the cancellation by Witte and Lamsdorff, Russia was separated from her official ally and associated with that ally's enemy. The author adds that if war had broken out, the treaty's text would have obliged Russia to side with Germany.
Chapter 44
According to the author, what was the real target of the Russo-German agreement?
The author argues it was aimed against Great Britain, not France. He notes that Count Witte sometimes spoke of the alliance as aimed against France because that aspect struck him most forcibly, but the author insists it was against Britain and that Witte knew it perfectly. The author also describes warning the Entente nations about the Kaiser's underhand efforts.
Chapter 44
How does the author contrast Germany and Russia as states?
The author argues both were predatory States, but Germany was a model of order and organisation: its people educated, talents recognised and employed, sciences and arts encouraged, opinions free, and State egotism enlightened. In the Tsardom he saw rapacity within and without with no effective curb, no government by or for the people, but only regularised anarchy, with institutions that elsewhere aided culture acting as hindrances.
Chapter 44
CHAPTER XIX (part 6)4 cards
What secret agreement did Nicholas II make with Wilhelm II at Björke?
The chapter's index lists a secret treaty with Wilhelm II at Björke, spanning pages 312-370, and separately notes a compact with the Kaiser at Potsdam on page 380. It also records a secret treaty with the Kaiser regarding Kiao Chow on pages 244-252. The text presents these as secret arrangements rather than public diplomacy.
Chapter 45
How does the index characterize Nicholas II's rule and personality?
The index describes Nicholas II's rule over pages 120-138, notes his political blindness on page 152, calls him narrow-minded in religious matters on page 152, and records his antipathy to Count Witte on page 281. It also lists his promises of reforms on page 142 and his title 'vicar of God upon earth' on page 185.
Chapter 45
What does the index record about Witte's career and achievements?
The index traces Witte from Secretary of State through condemnation to death on pages 187-195 and an attempted assassination on pages 186 and 233. It notes his Far East policy, his letter to the Tsar on Eastern policy, his role at the Portsmouth Peace Conference, his success there, his discovery of the secret treaty, and his ideal of a European federation.
Chapter 45
What does the index say about Rasputin's connection to the imperial family?
The index lists Rasputin, called Gregory or Grisha, on pages 46, 88, and 196-220. It separately notes Nicholas II and Rasputin on page 214, the Tsaritsa and Rasputin on pages 212 and 216, and the Tsarevitch and Rasputin on page 214, indicating ties to the Tsar, Tsaritsa, and heir.
Chapter 45
Source and licence
Text used: Project Gutenberg eBook #1 (Public domain in the United States). Generated from the full text; cards paraphrase the source.
Version: Public domain edition. Retrieved 2026-10-22. Cards reviewed 2026-10-22.
These cards paraphrase the text for study. They are not a substitute for reading the book, and they do not reproduce long passages.
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