The Entente did not acknowledge the Russo-German peace. In a statement
issued March 18 through the British Foreign Office the Governments of
Great Britain, France, and Italy voiced their protest against "the
political crimes which, under the name of a German peace, have been
committed against the Russian people." Ambassador David R. Francis, when
asked whether he would leave Russia in consequence of the ratification
of the peace treaty, gave the following reply:
I shall not leave Russia until compelled by force. The American
Government and people are too deeply interested in the
prosperity of the Russian people for them to abandon Russia to
the Germans. America is sincerely interested in the liberty of
the Russian people and will do everything possible to safeguard
the real interests of the country.
If the brave and patriotic Russian people will forget political
differences for the time being and act resolutely and
vigorously, they will be able to drive the enemy from their
territory, and by the end of 1918 bring a lasting peace for
themselves and the whole world. America still counts itself an
ally of the Russian people, and we shall be ready to help any
Government which organizes a vigorous resistance to the German
invasion.
The French, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, Serbian, Belgian, Brazilian,
Greek, Portuguese, and Siamese representatives, who left Russia when the
treaty with Germany was signed, joined the American Ambassador (who did
not leave the country) at Vologda, 300 miles northeast of Moscow, late
in March. A dispatch dated March 20 says: "There has been a marked
change in the attitude of the Allies toward the Soviet Government. * * *
There are many signs of renewed co-operation between Russia and the
Allies." The dispatch also quotes M. Chicherin, the Bolshevist Foreign
Minister, as saying that "Russia's relations with the Entente are
unchanged."
At the same time Trotzky approached the American military mission,
established in Moscow, asking it to assist Russia in organizing a
volunteer army and in improving the country's transportation. On March
27 the Petit Parisien published a statement to the effect that Trotzky
had also asked the French to assist him in organizing military
resistance to the Germans. A leading article in Premier Clemenceau's
L'Homme Libre contained the following statement: "The Entente, as long
as the war lasts, will regard Russia, the one and indivisible Russia
which signed the pact of London, as an ally."
Russia also reckons on the Allies, especially America, for support in
rehabilitating her industries and developing her resources. A large
order for agricultural machinery has been placed in the United States,
and the shipping of the goods has already begun. According to a London
dispatch the Bolsheviki are sending a commission to the United States to
settle Russia's accounts with American firms and make arrangements for
future trade relations.