lishment of a democratic Government, but all that in an astonishingly cool spirit, with many reservations, and (monstrously enough) coupled with compliments to the Tsar. This type of greetings to the Revolution, coupled with the strange compliments to the overthrown tyrant, produced the most painful impression in Russia. There the disappointment was as bitter as it was unexpected. For instance, the "Rabotchaia Gazetta" (the organ of the Minimalists, the leading group at that time) published very bitter comments on Mr. Bonar Law's official speech of congratulation to Russia, with its tribute to the ex-Tsar, under the title, "Greetings to Nicholas!"[1]
This initial and fundamental blunder of the Allies towards the Russian Revolution was almost entirely due to the work of those traducers who had substituted for the true, authentic, creative genius of Russia the despised offal of Russian culture, of those who had pronounced as "Holy" the bigoted and unholy corner of darkest Russia.
There was, however, another reason which made the relations between the Allies and revolutionary Russia even more difficult. I refer to the unfortunate idea of appraising the Revolution not for its own sake or its
- ↑ The following are a few passages from this article in the "Rabotchaia Gazetta," which truly represented the general feeling in Russia at that time towards this unfortunate lack of tact and understanding on the part of Allied Statesmen: "Nicholas Romanov has received his first greetings. … While Revolutionary Russia was celebrating the victory over the tyrannical and pernicious dynasty of the Romanovs, in the English Parliament, Russia's Ally, Mr. Bonar Law said, 'I hope I may be allowed to express my sympathy to the late Tsar, who I believe was our true Ally for three years. …' Whose Ally, then, is the English Minister, Mr. Bonar Law?" the paper asks indignantly. "Is he the Ally of the deposed despot or of the new free Russia? …" Equally unfortunate was the lack of tact of the Allied Ambassadors and the patronising tone which they adopted towards the new Russian Government. The speech of the British Ambassador during the first official reception by the Provisional Government aroused universal indignation, and was equally sharply criticised in the Liberal and in the Socialist Press.
