The Russian Revolution in the Eyes of a Thai Royal a Thesis Presented To
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The Russian Revolution in the Eyes of a Thai Royal A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Jeffrey R. Shane August 2017 © 2017 Jeffrey R. Shane. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled The Russian Revolution in the Eyes of a Thai Royal by JEFFREY R. SHANE has been approved for the Department of History and the College of Arts and Sciences by Alec G. Holcombe Assistant Professor of History Robert Frank Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT SHANE, JEFFREY R., M.A., August 2017, History The Russian Revolution in the Eyes of a Thai Royal Director of Thesis: Alec G. Holcombe This thesis examines a previously unknown chapter in the history of Siam, namely, the history of Siamese-Russian relations during the sixth reign (1910-1925). More specifically, it explores the Russian Revolution through the eyes of a young Siamese royal, Mom Chao Surawutprawat Thewakun, who, as a student studying military science in Petrograd, found himself caught up in the violent upheaval of the February Revolution and the October coup of 1917. The instrument for carrying out this study is Surawutprawat Thewakun’s cremation volume, issued in 1974 under the title Kanpatiwat nai Ratsia mua songkhram lok khrang thi 1 [The Russian Revolution at the Time of the First World War], the translation of which is presented here in English for the first time. 4 DEDICATION This is for my lovely wife, Pittaya Paladroi-Shane, whose unflagging encouragement and support has sustained and inspired me throughout the writing of this thesis. It is also for my parents, who, in spite of my own uncertainties, my own self-doubts, have never stopped believing in me. 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to thank Dr. Alec Holcombe for his generous support, inspiration, and astute advice. I also wish to acknowledge Dr. John Brobst for the much appreciated perspective that only he can bring to a project such as this. Finally, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. William H. Frederick, who has faithfully and adroitly served as my mentor and friend for almost two decades. I simply cannot repay him for all that he has taught me. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Dedication ........................................................................................................................... 4 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... 5 Explanatory Notes ............................................................................................................... 7 Thai Language Conventions ......................................................................................... 7 Chronology ................................................................................................................... 7 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 10 Thai Cremation Volumes in Historical Perspective .................................................... 13 Thai Cremation Volumes as Sources of Historical Evidence ..................................... 20 Unraveling the Mystery of Surawutprawat’s Elusive Memoir ................................... 25 Historical Background ...................................................................................................... 34 The Russian Revolution at the Time of the First World War ........................................... 61 Kerensky and his Men Seize Power from the Tsar ..................................................... 63 Lenin Makes Revolution ............................................................................................. 74 The Journey Home ...................................................................................................... 90 Afterword ........................................................................................................................ 116 References ....................................................................................................................... 161 7 EXPLANATORY NOTES Thai Language Conventions The transliteration of Thai language words is a contentious subject on which much ink has been spilled. At the heart of the debate is the question of phonetic accuracy versus orthographic simplicity and uniformity. Here, precedence is given to the latter. This thesis adheres to the Royal Institute’s Romanization Guide for Thai Script (1968), which, although far from perfect, forgoes distracting diacritical marks, thus making for easier reading. With only a few minor exceptions, international library standards for transliterating Thai conform to the Royal Institute’s system. The same conventions dictate the manner in which Thai names are transliterated, except in the case of the names of Thai historical figures and notable scholars, which are reproduced in the same Romanized form adopted by the individuals themselves. As is customary in Thailand, Thai people are referred to by their given name, rather than their surname. Hence, publications authored by Chalong Soontravanich, for example, appear in the bibliography under the name Chalong, not Soontravanich. Thai place names are transliterated in accordance to the “Principles of Romanization for Thai Script by Transcription Method” as outlined by the Eighth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographic Names, Berlin, 2002. Chronology Because the temporal focus of this thesis covers a broad swath of both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it is necessary to explain the use of the terms Siam, Siamese, Thailand, and Thai. Throughout much of the Bangkok period (1782-present), 8 the country and people were referred to as Siam and Siamese respectively. This changed in 1939, when Thai nationalist Luang Phibunsongkhram issued a controversial cultural mandate changing the name of the country from Siam to Thailand on the grounds that the latter name more accurately reflected the ethnic composition of the country. In the wake of Phibun’s ouster at the end of World War II, the name of the country briefly reverted to Siam. Then, in 1949, following his return to power, Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram once again changed the name of the country back to Thailand. For the sake of accuracy and consistency, this thesis uses the terms Siam and Siamese for the period up to 1939. Thereafter, with the exception of the immediate post-World War II period, the terms Thailand and Thai are employed. Although dates in this thesis are expressed in Western terms based on the Gregorian calendar, it is worth noting that contemporaneous vernacular sources on 19th and early 20th century Thai history used a variety of calendrical systems, often concurrently. The Chulasakarat calendar, or the Thai lunar calendar, was the standard means of reckoning dates until 1889, when Siam adopted the solar calendar. Converting dates from the Thai lunar to the solar calendar is complicated and requires elaborate conversion tables. For this, I have relied on Khloi Songbandit, Patithin 250 pi: tangtae Ph. S. 2304 thung 2555, Phranakhon: Khlang Sangkhaphan Luk S. Thammaphakdi 1954. Throughout much of the Bangkok period (1782-present), two distinct year numbering systems were used. One was essentially a regnal calendar, expressed in terms of the Rattanakosin (Ro. So), or Bangkok era. The epochal date of the Rattanakosin era 9 was reckoned from April 6, 1782, which corresponds to the date of the founding of the Chakri dynasty. The second system, which remains in use up to the present-day, is the Thai Buddhist calendar (B.E.), referred to in Thai as Phutthasakkarat (Pho. So.). The epochal date of the Thai Buddhist calendar was reckoned from March 11, 543 BCE, the presumed date of the death of Gautama Buddha. In 1912, King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) moved the start of the new calendar year ahead to April 1, which coincided with Songkran. In 1941, Field Marshal Phibunsongkhram proclaimed January 1st to be the start of the new year. 10 INTRODUCTION On a breezy Indian summer day in October 2005, I found myself in Ithaca, New York, sitting in the basement at the home of Professor David K. Wyatt, contemplating in boyish wonderment the thousands of Thai books, journals, and other bibliophilic delights that lined the walls of his private library. I was spellbound. Mrs. Wyatt (Alene) and Jeff Ferrier, my department head and colleague, had stepped out to take some fresh air and exercise. Dr. Wyatt was upstairs busily chatting with fellow Thai historian Ron Renard, an old friend and frequent guest. I was given the run of Dr. Wyatt’s personal library for the afternoon and was soon lost in thought. A few weeks earlier Dr. Wyatt had posted an odd, understated message on the Committee on Research Materials on Southeast Asia (CORMOSEA) list-serve stating, “There is a Southeast Asia library collection up for sale. Interested? DKW.” Naturally, I was intrigued—puzzled by the terseness of the announcement, but nonetheless intrigued. The prospect of acquiring Dr. Wyatt’s collection for Ohio University was thrilling. So with the blessings of our dean, I wrote Dr. Wyatt and arranged to pay him a visit. Dr. Wyatt had amassed an impressive treasure-trove of Thai and Western-language scholarship on Thailand and mainland Southeast Asia. In addition to the