The arrest of the Prime Minister’s private secretary produced, as
may well be imagined, an immense sensation in Petrograd and intense
consternation among the friends of Rasputin. They were thus deprived
of the one strong ally capable of guiding their steps in the best
direction possible under the circumstances, and, moreover, of the one
who was possessed of information which no one else could possibly get
at. Mr. Sturmer himself was more than dismayed at this step taken by
the military authorities without consulting him and resented it as a
personal affront. He tried to interfere in the matter and went so far
as to demand as his right the liberation of Manassevitsch-Maniuloff.
But his intervention, instead of helping the person in whose favour
it had been displayed, gave on the contrary the signal for a series
of attacks against Mr. Sturmer himself, attacks of which the most
important was the speech made by Mr. Miliukoff in the Duma, where he
publicly accused the Prime Minister of being in league with Germany and
of working in favour of a separate peace with that country.
Of course, the remarks of the leader of the opposition in the Chamber
were not allowed to be published, but so many persons had heard them
and so many others had heard of them that the contents of the address
of Mr. Miliukoff very soon became public property. No one had ever
cared for Mr. Sturmer, whose leanings had always been for autocracy.
While Governor of Tver he had distinguished himself by the zeal which
he displayed in putting down every manifestation of public opinion in
his government. In addition he had been connected with various matters
where bribery played a prominent part, a fact which had not helped him
to win any popularity in the province which he had administered. His
only merits lay in his ability to speak excellent French and in his
having very pronounced English sympathies. These sympathies, however,
by some kind of unexplainable miracle, died out immediately after
his assumption of office. He at once fell under the influence of a
certain party that clamoured for the removal of foreigners from the
administrative and political life of Russia. He was not clever, though
he had a very high idea of his own intelligence and knowledge.
Though he had never carried his knowledge beyond a thorough grasp
of the precedence that ought to be awarded to distinguished guests
at a dinner party (which he had acquired while he was master of the
ceremonies at the Imperial Court), yet he was convinced of his capacity
to fill the most important offices of the Russian State. These he
looked upon with the eyes of a farmer in the presence of his best
milking cow. He was not a courtier, but a flatterer by nature, and
an essentially accommodating one, too. There was no danger of his
ever turning his back on persons who he had reasons to think were in
possession of the favour of personages in high places. And he had a
wonderful faculty for toadying wherever he expected that it might prove
useful to his career.
For some years he had vegetated in a kind of semi-disgrace and fretted
over his inactivity. When he found himself able once more to make
a display of his administrative talents he took himself and these
talents quite seriously and imagined that perhaps he could become the
saviour of Russia, but surely a very rich man. This last idea had been
suggested to him by Mr. Manassevitsch-Maniuloff, who in conversations
with him had imbued Mr. Sturmer with the conviction that it would be a
proof of careless neglect on his part if he did not make the most of
the many opportunities his important position as Prime Minister put
in his way, and did not assure the prosperity of his old age, when he
had at his disposal all possible sources of information out of which
he might make a profit. Mr. Sturmer was no saint, and the weaknesses
of the flesh had always appealed to him. There is nothing wonderful in
the fact that he listened with attention, and even with satisfaction,
to the confidences which were poured into his ear by his private
secretary, of whose talents he had a most exalted opinion.
When his Fides Achates was arrested and thrown into a more or less
dark dungeon, Mr. Sturmer was so dismayed that he allowed himself to
be drawn into the mistake of identifying himself with the prisoner and
claiming his liberty as a right. It is related that when the object
of his solicitude heard of the various steps undertaken by the Prime
Minister on his behalf he gave vent to words of impatience at what he
considered an imprudence likely to cost a good deal to the guilty ones.
“Sturmer ought to have known that a man like myself does not allow
himself to be arrested without having taken the precaution to be
able to impose on those who had ventured to do so the necessity of
liberating him,” he had exclaimed.
The fact was that Manassevitsch-Maniuloff had put to profit the months
when, in his capacity as private secretary to the Prime Minister, he
had access to all the archives and secret papers of the Ministry of
the Interior. He had taken copies of more than one important document,
the divulging of which might have put the Russian Government in an
embarrassing position. Some persons even said that his zeal had carried
him so far as to make him appropriate to himself the originals of
these documents, leaving only a worthless copy in their place. True
or not, it is certain that the spirit of foresight that had always
distinguished him had induced him to take certain precautions against
any possible mishap capable of interfering with his career. He was
able to regard his imprisonment philosophically. This was more than
Mr. Sturmer could do. The latter had reason to fear that during the
police search of the flat occupied by Mr. Manassevitsch-Maniuloff some
compromising letters had been discovered. This fear did not add to his
happiness or to his equanimity. Besides, he was not strong enough to
resist the attacks which, dating from that day, were poured upon his
head. In spite of the assurances which Rasputin was continually giving
him that he had nothing to fear, he did not share the confidence of the
“Prophet.”
He had good reasons for this fear. In the Duma, in the Petrograd
drawing rooms, in the army and among the public, all had grown tired
of Mr. Sturmer, and all spoke of nothing else but of the necessity
of compelling him to resign his post. Among the different reproaches
which were addressed to him was that of being an enemy of England
and of trying to work against the Russo-English alliance. It was
very well known that his relations with Sir George Buchanan, the
British Ambassador, were not cordial. Sir George, in spite of all that
the pro-Germans liked to say about him, was a popular personage in
Russia, that is, among the sane portion of Russian society, which had
hailed with joy the initiative that he had taken in the great work of
reorganisation of the Russian administration.
Thanks to the English officers who had arrived in Russia with the aim
of bringing some kind of order out of the chaos that had prevailed not
only in the War Office, but in every other branch of the Government,
the military position of the Empire had considerably improved, and
the great work of national defence had been at last put upon a sound
basis. As a man occupying a very important position in Petrograd wrote
to me during the course of last summer: “There are some people here
who say that Russia is fast becoming an English colony, but I reply to
them that she might certainly do worse, if by that word is meant the
introduction of the English spirit of order and of English honesty in
our country.”
This was the opinion of a sincere Russian patriot. There is no doubt
that it was shared by all the best elements of the nation, who had
recognised that in the crisis through which their Fatherland was going
only one idea ought to dominate everything, and that was the necessity
of imposing upon Germany a peace that would at last give to the world
the assurance that it would never be called upon again to undergo
another such catastrophe as the one under which it was struggling.
Mr. Sturmer, however, was of a quite different opinion. This was well
known everywhere, especially in parliamentary circles. Mr. Miliukoff
made himself the echo of the popular voice when he delivered his famous
indictment of the Prime Minister. The latter retorted by issuing
against the leader of the Opposition a writ for libel, and applied
himself with renewed energy to the task of getting out of prison the
man who had been the prime mover in the dark and sinister intrigue of
which Rasputin was the principal figure. At last he succeeded, and
Manassevitsch-Maniuloff was released on bail. Among all the papers
which had been confiscated at his home not one incriminating document
had been found, and the only thing against him that could be proved
was the blackmailing scheme against the Bank whose director had had
him arrested. He threatened, in case he should be brought to trial, to
make certain revelations absolutely damaging for more than one highly
placed personage, and he contrived to inspire a great terror even among
those most eager to have him condemned for his numerous extortions and
other shameful deeds. As soon as he was at liberty he set Rasputin to
working in his favour, and made the latter display an activity that at
last exasperated the public against the “Prophet” to such an extent
that the first thought of organising a conspiracy to remove him was
started, and very soon became quite a familiar one with more than one
person.
To be quite exact, this thought had already existed for some time.
About a year after the beginning of the war some enterprising
individuals in Petrograd tried to get rid of the “Prophet” by
entangling him in some disgraceful escapade which would have made it
necessary for him to leave Petrograd. In accordance with this plan he
was invited one night to supper at some fashionable music hall, of
which there exist so many in the Russian capital. Bohemian singers were
called in and an unlimited amount of champagne provided. Rasputin,
who was rather fond of such adventures when he was not obliged to pay
for their cost in rubles and copecs, accepted with alacrity. He soon
became quite drunk. Then, at the invitation of one of the guests, he
proceeded to show them the manner in which the Khlistys, the religious
sect to which he belonged, danced around the lighted fire, which was an
indispensable feature of their meetings. As he was dancing, or rather
turning round and round a table that had been put in the middle of the
room, he took off some of his clothes, just as his followers used to do
when they were holding one of their assemblies in real earnest. Some
of the assistants seized hold of the opportunity and hid the garments
of which he had divested himself, then called in the police, requiring
them to draw up a report of what had taken place. On the next day this
report was taken to a high authority, in the hope that it would have a
damaging effect on the reputation of Rasputin. The result, however, was
quite different from that which had been expected, for the person who
had brought the report to the authority in question instead of being
believed was treated as a libeler and himself compelled to retire from
public life. After this it was generally recognised that nothing in
the world would be strong enough to bring about the downfall of the
“Prophet.”
In the meanwhile the efforts of the Opposition party in the Duma had
succeeded to the extent of forcing Mr. Sturmer to resign as Prime
Minister; but he had influence enough to secure his appointment as High
Chancellor of the Imperial Court, one of the most important positions
in Russia. He did not fall into disgrace, but remained the power
behind the throne whose existence, though not officially recognised,
yet was everywhere acknowledged. He had not been dismissed, he had
simply gone away--a very different thing altogether in the realm of
the Czar. Though no longer a Minister, he was still a personage to be
considered as capable of an infinitude of good or of harm, according
as it might please him to exert his influence. His successor, Mr.
Trepoff, an upright and fairly able man, did not long retain the office
he had accepted much against his will. With him departed one of the
most popular Ministers Russia had known for a long time, Count Paul
Ignatieff, the able son of an able father. He had for something like
two years held the portfolio of Public Instruction to the general
satisfaction of the public and had come to the conclusion that it was
useless to go on fighting against dark powers which were getting the
upper hand everywhere.
The resignation of these two statesmen was preceded by one of the
most scandalous incidents in Russian modern history, the trial of
Mr. Manassevitsch-Maniuloff. This had been put off from day to day
for a considerable length of time until at last it became impossible
to secure further delay. The culprit had taken good care, as I have
already indicated, to put in safety documents of a most incriminating
nature, implicating many persons whom the authorities could not afford
to see mixed up in the dirty business connected with the numerous sins
of Mr. Sturmer’s private secretary. When the latter was questioned by
the examining magistrate in regard to that last transaction which had
brought him into court, he declared that he had acted in accordance
with the instructions which he had received from his chief and that it
was not he himself, but the Prime Minister who had received the money
which the bank that had lodged a complaint against him had been induced
to pay in order to be spared certain annoyances with which it had been
threatened. He had insisted upon this version of the affair and warned
the magistrate that his counsel would develop it in all the details
before the jury.
In the meanwhile Rasputin was moving heaven and earth to get the trial
postponed and to get the charges against the prisoner quashed by the
Chamber of Cassation. He had long conferences with several ladies
having free entrance into the Imperial Palace and he put forward,
among other arguments, the one which had certain points in its favour:
that it would be detrimental to the public interest to have the
scandal of such a trial commented upon by the press of the whole of
Europe at a time when Russia was struggling against a formidable foe,
always ready to catch hold of anything that would discredit it or its
institutions. For a time it seemed as if the efforts of the “Prophet”
would be crowned with success. Then one fine day opposite currents
became powerful and Mr. Maniuloff was sent before a jury in spite of
his protestations and his threats of revenge upon those who had taken
upon themselves the responsibility of subjecting him to that annoyance.
On the fifteenth of December, the day appointed for the trial, the
halls and corridors of the law courts of Petrograd were filled with an
inquisitive crowd struggling to get access to the room where it was
to take place. The spectators waited a long time, watching curiously
the impassive face of the hero of the day, who had quietly entered the
hall and taken his place in the criminal dock. About 12 o’clock the
Judges, together with the public prosecutor, made their entrance, when
to the general surprise the latter rose and said that, owing to the
absence of several important witnesses for the prosecution, he moved
an adjournment of the proceedings until an indefinite time. What had
happened, what had brought about such an extraordinary change? This was
the question which one could hear everywhere after the Court had risen
and the assembly dispersed. Comments without number followed upon this
decision, which no one would have thought possible a few hours before.
In spite of the severe censorship over the press, the principal Liberal
organs of the capital published short commentaries which revealed
the feeling of intense indignation that prevailed in every class of
society. The words “Shame, shame!” were heard on all sides. It is not
at all wonderful that they found an echo among some determined spirits
who resolved at last to free Russia from the scourge of Rasputin, whose
hand was again seen in the whole disgraceful affair.
This, however, was not at all an easy matter, considering the fact
that the “Prophet” had become very careful and that his followers
had him watched wherever he went for fear of an attack which they
strongly suspected was being contemplated. The house where he lived,
64 Gorokhovaja Street, was always surrounded by policemen and secret
agents, who examined every person who entered or went out of it.
Rasputin himself had also grown suspicious, even of persons with whom
up to that time he had been upon friendly terms, and he avoided the
numerous invitations that began once more to be showered upon him. He
spoke again of returning to Siberia, which was always with him a sign
that he did not feel himself at ease in the capital.
I had an opportunity to observe this restlessness the second time
that I met him at the house of that Mr. De Bock whom I have already
mentioned, when he declared to us that he was sick of Petrograd and of
the many intrigues which were going on there. But that was before the
war, and it seems that after it began the ideas of Rasputin changed
and that he was always saying that he considered it his duty to remain
beside his friends at this hour of national peril. The fact that his
feelings had changed on the last point proves that he was aware of the
danger in which he stood, and of which it is likely that he had been
warned by the numerous spies who were but too ready to keep him well
informed of all that was to his interest to know.
One thing seems certain, and that is the activity which he began to
display during the last weeks and days of his evil life in favour of
the conclusion of a peace, which he now said Russia ought to make if
she wished to escape from further sin, as he termed it.
Why his feelings had undergone such a change it is impossible to say,
but one may make a pretty near guess. One of the principal motives
which actuated him undoubtedly was the idea that existed among a
certain circle of persons that if peace were made with Germany,
the English and French officials working with Russian officials in
perfecting the defence of the fatherland, and whose presence already
had prevented so many malversations, would depart. This would leave
once more a free field for the rapacity of all the civil and military
functionaries of the War Office and Commissariat Departments, who could
make a new harvest of rubles as a result of the unavoidable expenses
which the liquidation of the war would necessarily entail.
There were, however, some persons who, seeing the dangers in the path
in which this nefarious individual was leading Russia, decided that,
as nothing else could bring about his removal, it had to be effected
by violent means. I do not seek to excuse them, far less to take
their part. Murder remains murder, but if ever an assassination had
an excuse, this was the slaying of Rasputin, which also implied the
destruction of the crew of unscrupulous people of which he was the
tool. There was something of self-sacrifice in the conspiracy to which
he fell a victim, something of an intense love of the Fatherland in
the spirit that armed the hand of the man whose pistol sent him into
eternity. One may condemn the deed and yet excuse its motive. Though
I am not trying to do so, yet I shall not be the one to cry out for
vengeance against the over-excited young people who risked everything
in the world to deliver their country from evil.
Of the details of the murder we know very little, and even the
travellers who have gone abroad since it was committed could only
speak vaguely about the circumstances that attended it. It is certain,
however, that there was a deeply laid and well organised plot to kill
the “Prophet,” that about a dozen persons, some of them belonging to
the best and to the highest social circles, were concerned in it, and
that at last lots were drawn to select the man who was to execute the
victim. Among those persons were members of the Conservative faction
of the Duma, some officers of several guard regiments, and even ladies
of the smartest set of Petrograd. That something was known concerning
this plot in governmental circles can be seen from the fact that the
Minister of the Interior, Mr. Protopopoff, who had always been one of
the most ardent disciples of Rasputin and who had been working with
him for the conclusion of a peace which both considered to be useful to
their personal interests, hearing that he was going to have supper at
the house of Prince Youssoupoff, sent there the Prefect of Petrograd,
General Balk, with instructions to watch over the “Prophet.” When the
Prefect appeared upon the scene, he was politely asked by the master of
the house to withdraw, as his presence was not required.
Young Prince Youssoupoff, who, by the way, is well known in London, was
the husband of the Princess Irene of Russia, the first cousin of the
Czar. By virtue of his position he could be whatever he liked, even
to dismiss curtly the principal police official of the capital. At
the supper which he gave on the night when Rasputin was killed about
a dozen people belonging to the best circle of Petrograd society were
present. What passed during the meal and how the murder itself was
committed is not known even now, though several versions of the crime
are given. Some say that it was done during the meal, and that the
pretext for it was the conduct of Rasputin toward one of the ladies
present at the table. Other people relate that they waited until the
“Prophet” was on the point of departing, and that as he was putting on
his overcoat the young man who had drawn the lot designating him for
the deed shot him with his revolver at the foot of the stairs. The body
was then wrapped up in a blanket and put into the automobile of a very
high personage, which was waiting in the garden of the house where the
event took place, and driven to the Neva, where it was dropped under
the ice. It seems that after this had been accomplished one of the
conspirators went to Tsarskoie Selo and informed the Czar of what had
taken place, as well as of his own share in the deed.
In the meanwhile the authorities had become suspicious. At 3 o’clock in
the night screams had been heard by a policeman on duty at the corner
of the street in which was situated the house of Prince Youssoupoff.
He also noticed several persons coming out of the house, not by the
usual entrance, but by the garden, which had a door leading into
another street. After this, an automobile was seen driving out of that
same garden, an altogether strange circumstance. This automobile was
seen by another policeman about one hour later in the islands which
surround Petrograd, driving close to the Neva and not on the usual
road. The next day the garden of Prince Youssoupoff was searched by
Secret Service agents, who found some traces of blood on the snow, but
the servants of the Prince declared that it was that of a dog that had
been shot the day before. No one dared say or do anything more against
the supposed murderers, especially as the body of their victim had not
yet been found. The river was dragged, but it was not until twenty-four
hours after the event that the dead man was discovered under the ice in
a frozen condition, with the features so completely battered that they
could be recognised only with difficulty.
The curious thing is that, though it was known exactly where the body
had been dropped, it could not be found at once, having been carried
away by the current further than had been expected. This gave rise
to all kind of rumours, and the friends of Rasputin tried to spread
the news that he had escaped and was hiding away somewhere from his
persecutors. The tale, however, could not be kept up for any length
of time, as the whole capital with an unheard-of rapidity became
aware that the most detested man in the whole of Russia had at last
met with the fate which he so richly deserved. The joy of the public
could not be suppressed, notwithstanding the fear of the police. In
all the theatres and public places the national anthem was sung with
an immense enthusiasm. No one regretted what had happened, and the
people suspected of having had a hand in the murder received messages
of congratulation from every quarter. In fact, they became at once
national heroes. The murder so far has remained unpunished, and it is
more than likely that no one will be brought to account for it.
As for the body of Rasputin, it was at first kept in the hospital where
it had been taken after its recovery from under the ice. The police
received orders not to allow it to be seen by the crowds, which it was
feared would flock in numbers to have a last look at their “saint,” the
“Blessed Gregory,” as he was called. But to the general surprise these
crowds did not manifest any curiosity to view the mortal remains of the
man about whom so much fuss had been made in his lifetime, but after
whose death the whole Russian world seemed to breathe more freely than
it had been able to do for the last ten years or so. Among the clergy
satisfaction was openly expressed, and it was only a few hysterical
women who were found to weep over the end of the career of one of the
wickedest men who had ever lived.
The question most discussed in connection with the death of this
sinister adventurer was whether he was to be allowed a Christian
burial. He had been, after all, but a sectarian, a heretic, the
follower of a creed which was not only reproved by the orthodox church,
but also prosecuted by the law of the land. The synod was called upon
to pronounce itself on the subject when the advice of the Metropolitan
Pitirim of Petrograd, one of the personal friends of Rasputin, at last
prevailed, and he was buried with the rites of Holy Church. Some of
the ladies who had been the first cause of his having obtained the
importance which grew to be attached to his strange figure did not
wait, however, for the permission of the ecclesiastical authorities,
and a few hours after the body had been discovered Madame W., one of
the most hysterical among the many women followers of Rasputin, caused
solemn prayers to be celebrated in her apartments for the repose of
his soul. She went to fetch his two daughters, girls of sixteen and
fourteen years of age, who were living with him at Petrograd, taking
them to her house and declaring that she would henceforward consider
and treat them as her own children.
But apart from this small group of blind admirers no one regretted him,
not even the crew of parasites that had surrounded him and exploited
him. By one of those strange anomalies, such as can only take place in
Russia, Mr. Manassevitsch-Maniuloff, who had been the indirect cause of
his death, was appointed, together with other secret police agents,
to investigate the details connected with the murder of his former
friend and patron. Of course, the inquest led to nothing. No one had
any wish to see it end otherwise than in oblivion. Every political
party in Russia was agreed in thinking that with the disappearance of
this dangerous man the dynasty had won a battle just as important for
the safety of its future existence as would have been a victory on the
battlefield against a foreign foe. The names of the murderers, though
pronounced nowhere, were blessed by all sincere Russian patriots, who
cried out when they heard that Rasputin was no more, “Thank God that
this adventurer is dead and long live the Czar!”