A terrible picture of the chaos in Russia is given by an educated
woman in Petrograd, the daughter of a Russian diplomat formerly in
Washington, and the widow of an officer in the Russian Army. To a
former classmate in the United States she wrote:
It was bad enough before the March revolution, when our unhappy,
half-witted Emperor, under the influence of his German wife,
seemed to do everything possible to make people lose patience. But
now we have a thousand anonymous potentates, the top ones paid by
Germany, and the lower ones lured into supporting them by money,
money, and money.
The present Government has abolished all laws, all courts, the
police, land ownership, all private real estate in towns, all
distinction of castes and grades in the army and navy. They have
seized all the banks, are opening all the private safes, and
confiscating all gold and silver found therein, though it had
never been said before that it was criminal to have it. Of course,
everything they "decree" is so mad that it is quite sure not to
last forever, but the chaos they make will take centuries to
forget. The country is going back to a savage state. And we will
not live to wait for better times.
All Russia is suffocating--every day brings new surprises that
show that there is but one way out of it--the grave. On the
ground of liberty they abolish all laws, Judges, attorneys,
and substitute for it "people's courts of justice," with only
soldiers, workmen or peasants, often quite illiterate and always
without the slightest knowledge of court proceedings, taking the
places of the former judiciary.
On the same ground they abolish all police, let loose all the
criminals from the prisons, arm them, constituting from their
number, together with workmen, deserters and hooligans, a "red
guard," and fill the prisons to their utmost with all those who
crave for order and will not work together with them toward the
total ruin of the country.
On the pretense of equality they abolish all grades in the army and
navy and make all posts elective by the simple soldiers. In most
places it is understood as complete extermination, lynching of the
officers, who, for being better educated, are under suspicion of being
"counter-revolutionary." The highest posts are occupied by elected
soldiers who very often can hardly sign their names, and the former
officers are made simple soldiers, with a soldier's pay of $3.50 a
month, and ordered to the lowest tasks, cleaning of the barracks,
cooking food, taking care of the horses.
Our great country could only exist when all the wheels of the
Government were working in harmony. Now everything is a perfect chaos.
Everybody was willing to throw over the Czaristic Government, but not
in order to change it for this one, of loot, anarchy, and treason
toward our allies! Ah, the shame, the disgrace, and the folly of it!