University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1966 Diary of Nicholas II, 1917-1918, an annotated translation Kent de Price The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Price, Kent de, "Diary of Nicholas II, 1917-1918, an annotated translation" (1966). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 2065. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/2065 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE DIARY OF NICHOIAS II, I9I7-I9I&, AN ANNOTATED TRANSLATION by Kent D. Price B. A., University of Montana» I965 îsented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of I4aster of Arts University of Montana 1966 Approved by: Chai Graduate School Date UMI Number: EP34445 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertedtton P^MlsMnfl UMI EP34445 Published by ProQuest LLC (2012). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 In the house of the Romanovs, as in that of the Atrldes, a mysterious curse descends from generation to generation. Murder and adultery, blood and mud, the fifth act of a tragedy played in a brothel. Peter I kills his son; Alexander I kills his father; Catherine II kills her husband.,.The block, the rope, and poison - these are the true emblems of the Russian autocracy. Merejkovsky commenting on the 1905 Revolution. (i) Never trouble thy mind for anything that shall happen to thee in this world. Nothing can come but what God wills. Sir Thomas More. (il) PREFACE Nicholas II kept a diary in which he wrote an entry nearly every day. This diary has never been translated into English, and there is only a partial translation into French which appeared in 1925 under the title Journal Intime de Nicolas II. Sections of the diary are translated here from Krasnyi Arkhiv—Red Archives— vol. 20, pp. 123-52; vol. 21, pp. 79-96; vol. 22, pp. 71-91; vol. 27» pp. 110-38; and vol. 64, pp. I3O-38. The translation from the Russian was done by Itr. Arlo Furnis, a student of Russian language at the University of Ifontana. Mr. Furnis and the writer worked closely to ensure the accuracy of the translation. To give some understanding of the character of the Tsar, the writer has prefaced the diary with a picture of the Tsar's habits, family background, and personal life. The Tsar wrote in his diary at 11:00 nearly every night. To it he confided family events, people who visited him, and items of interest in his personal life. Nicholas has been criticized by many for saying little of importance in the diary. But the reader should iremember that his entries were meant to be read by no one outside the family. Important events would, of course, be recorded in official (Ill) court journals, of which Nicholas could, retain a copy. This is only a daily log of the events of the life of the Tsar from his abdication to the time of his death. These are not memoirs. This is not a political commentary. Proper names which may be spelled in several different ways in Russian appear here as they appear in the diary. All dates given in the diary are according to the Julian calendar, which was thirteen days behind the Gregorian in the twentieth century. I wish to thank Professor Robert T. Turner for his inspiration and his steadying hand over the past five years. Professor Melvin C. Wren, my mentor, has given me much encouragement. I appreciate his kind and under­ standing guidance. He has spent many hours working with me on the thesis, and for this I shall ever be grateful. I dedicate this work to my father and mother. Colonel Derek William Price, U.S.M.Cr (Ret.) and Martha Eleanor de Mers Price. Kent de Mers Price (iv) MAJOR EVENTS OF THE REIGN OF NICHOLAS II May, 1896 Khodynka catastrophe 1897-1901 partial strikes in St. Petersburg Moscow, throughout the provinces; numerous attempts on the lives of ministers, governors and chiefs of police; extraordinary measures of precaution are taken to guard the young Tsar. 1902 assassination of Sipyagin, Minister of the Interior 1904 assassination of Plehve, Minister of the Interior 1904-1905 disastrous Russo-Japanese War. January 9» 1905 revolutionary agents, ignoring the orders forbidding all demon­ strations, lead St. Petersburg workers toward the palace, to present a petition to the Tsar. The group is led by a police agent. Father Gapon. Police open fire and kill hundreds and wound thousands. "Bloody Sunday. February 5« 1905 assassination of Grand Duke Serge Alexandrovich, Governor-General of Moscow; the members of the imperial family are asked by the police not to attend the funeral because the city is infested with terrorists. June 6, 1905 mutiny in the Black Sea Fleet. October 12, I905 declaration of the general strike by the St. Petersburg Soviet. October 17, I905 the Grand Duke Nicholas and Count Witte persuade the Tsar to issue a manifesto convoking a Duma. October 20-25, 1905 Jewish pogroms Autumn, I905 extraordinary measures have been taken to assure the unhindered (v) return of the army from the Japanese front and to protect the safety of the Trans-Siberian Railroad from the revolutionaries. December 1905 the revolt in Moscow assumes tremendous proportions. The Semenovsky Regiment of the Guards is sent from St. Petersburg to restore order. April 27. 1906 the opening of the first Duma. Spring and summer, I906 the Tsar dissolves the first Duma. Several hundred parliamentarians refuse to be dissolved and issue a proclamation from Vyborg calling for the population to stop paying taxes. Stolypin appointed President of the Council of Ministers, inaugurates an orga­ nized offensive against the revolutionaries. August 12, 1906 the explosion of a bomb planted by the revolutionaries in Stolypin's summer house wounds his children, but he escapes injury. Winter, I906-I907 an epidemic of robberies, organized by the revolutionaries to bolster their treasuries. Necessary to proclaim partial law in most of the larger cities. June 3» 1907 Nicholas dissolves the Second Duma. Autumn, 1907 the new election laws are put into effect which gives larger repre­ sentation to the agricultural elements of the nation which the government hopes will make it more conservative. I9O8-I9II the measures taken by Stolypin restore order and the industries and banks begin to flourish. Stolypin is preparing a new law which will increase the land (vl) holdings of the peasants and do away with the community property of the villages. September 14, 1911 Stolypin is assassinated in Kiev. 1912-1914 the government is headed by Kokovtsev, a colorless bureau­ crat, incapable of constructive ideas. July 30, 1914 Sazonof and the Grand Duke Nicholas advise the Tsar to sign the order for a General Mobili- zation. 1915-1916 the revolutionaries dominate the "auxiliary organizations of the front" and lead a hidden propaganda campaign against the "influence of Rasputin." February, 191? strikes break out in St. Petersburg. March, I9I? Nicholas abdicates (vil) TABLE OF CONTENTS page Preface il Major Events in the Reign of Nicholas II iv A Character Sketch of Nicholas II 1 Nicholas and his Father 2 Nicholas and his Mother 7 The Education of Nicholas 10 Nicholas's Personal Charm 1? Nicholas and Religion 21 Nicholas's Weak Will 2? Nicholas and Alexandra 34 Life at Tsarskoe Selo ^7 The Abdication 57 The Diary 59 Epilogue 234 A CHARACTER SKETCH OF NICHOIAS II This work is neither an apology for nor a condemna­ tion of Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Imperial Russia. It is rather a review of the man, his character, daily life, personal habits, education and relations with other people as he revealed himself in his diary after his abdication. This introductory chapter seeks to provide a background to the diary. Nicholas was born on May 18, 1868, in a palace at Tsarskoe Selo, not far from St. Petersburg. An ignorant nurse and a negligent physician were responsible for his becoming the Heir Apparent, They overlooked an illness in his elder brother, Alexander, and the infant succumbed to an otherwise simple infirmity. Thus, Nicholas, like his father, became Heir Apparent by accident.^ Members of the Romanov family had often died at an early age. The eldest brother of Alexander III and two of his cousins died when they were young. Grand Duke George, Nicholas's younger brother, died of tuber­ culosis at the age of nineteen. Nicholas was never in good health as a child, and he spent a great deal of his time exercising to strengthen his body. While Alexander III was a physical giant, Nicholas was weak, ^Grand Duke Alexander, Once a Grand Duke. (New York, 1932), 165. (2) NICHOLAS AKD HIS FATHER Nicholas grew up In Gatchina, one of the palaces at Tsarskoe Selo.