Publications. One day in history: Germany declared war on the Russian Empire, why are we fighting

CHAPTER SEVEN

FIRST WAR WITH GERMANY

July 1914 - February 1917

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1914- the beginning of the First World War, during which, and largely thanks to it, there was a change in the political system and the collapse of the Empire. The war did not stop with the fall of the monarchy; on the contrary, it spread from the outskirts into the interior of the country and stretched out until 1920. Thus, the war, in total, was six years.

As a result of this war, the political map of Europe ceased to exist THREE EMPIRES at once: Austro-Hungarian, German and Russian (see map). Meanwhile, in the ruins Russian Empire A new state was created - the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

By the time the World War began, Europe had not known large-scale military conflicts for almost a hundred years, since the end of the Napoleonic Wars. All European wars period 1815 - 1914 were predominantly local. At the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. the illusory thought hovered in the air that war would be irrevocably banished from the life of civilized countries. One of the manifestations of this was the Hague Peace Conference of 1897. It is noteworthy that the opening of the Peace Palace.

On the other hand, at the same time, the contradictions between the European powers grew and deepened. Since the 1870s, military blocs have been forming in Europe, which in 1914 will oppose each other on the battlefields.

In 1879, Germany entered into a military alliance with Austria-Hungary against Russia and France. In 1882, Italy joined this union, and the military-political Central Bloc was formed, also called Trinity alliance.

In contrast to him in 1891 - 1893. a Russo-French alliance was concluded. Great Britain concluded an agreement with France in 1904, and in 1907 with Russia. The bloc of Great Britain, France and Russia was named Hearty consent, or Entente.

The immediate cause for the start of the war was the assassination by Serbian nationalists June 15 (28), 1914 in Sarajevo, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany, issued an ultimatum to Serbia. Serbia accepted most of the terms of the ultimatum.

Austria-Hungary was dissatisfied with this, and began military operations against Serbia.

Russia supported Serbia and announced first partial and then general mobilization. Germany presented Russia with an ultimatum demanding to cancel the mobilization. Russia refused.

July 19 (August 1), 1914 Germany declared war on her.

This day is considered the date of the beginning of the First World War.

The main participants in the war from the side of the Entente were: Russia, France, Great Britain, Serbia, Montenegro, Italy, Romania, USA, Greece.

They were opposed by the countries of the Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Türkiye, Bulgaria.

Military operations were going on in Western and Eastern Europe, in the Balkans and Thessaloniki, in Italy, in the Caucasus, in the Middle and Far East, in Africa.

First World War was on a scale never seen before. At its final stage, it involved 33 states (out of 59 existing then independent states) population, accounting for 87% the population of the entire planet. The armies of both coalitions in January 1917 numbered 37 million people. In total, during the war, 27.5 million people were mobilized in the Entente countries, and 23 million people in the countries of the German coalition.

Unlike previous wars, World War I was all-out. It involved in one form or another most of the populations of the participating states. It forced the enterprises of the main branches of industry to be transferred to military production, and the entire economy of the belligerent countries to serve it. The war, as always, gave a powerful impetus to the development of science and technology. Previously non-existent types of weapons appeared and began to be widely used: aviation, tanks, chemical weapons, etc.

The war lasted 51 months and 2 weeks. The total losses amounted to 9.5 million people killed and died from wounds and 20 million people were wounded.

The First World War was of particular importance in the history of the Russian state. It became a difficult test for the country, which lost several million people on the fronts. Its tragic consequences were revolution, devastation, Civil War and the death of old Russia.

PROGRESS OF BATTLE OPERATIONS

Emperor Nikolai appointed his uncle, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich Jr., as commander-in-chief on the Western Front. (1856 - 1929). From the very beginning of the war, Russia suffered two major defeats in Poland.

East Prussian operation lasted from August 3 to September 2, 1914. It ended with the encirclement of the Russian army near Tannenberg and the death of General of Infantry A.V. Samsonov. Then there was a defeat on the Masurian lakes.

The first successful operation was the offensive in Galicia September 5-9, 1914, as a result of which Lvov and Przemysl were taken, and the Austro-Hungarian troops were pushed back across the San River. However, already on April 19, 1915, on this sector of the front the retreat began Russian army, after which Lithuania, Galicia and Poland came under the control of the German-Austrian bloc. By mid-August 1915, Lvov, Warsaw, Brest-Litovsk and Vilna were abandoned, and thus the front moved to Russian territory.

August 23, 1915 of the year, Emperor Nicholas II deposed the leader. book. Nikolai Nikolaevich from the post of commander in chief and assumed authority. Many military leaders considered this event fatal for the course of the war.

October 20, 1914 Nicholas II declared war on Turkey, and fighting started in the Caucasus. General of Infantry N.N. was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Front. Yudenich (1862 − 1933, Cannes). Here, in December 1915, the Sarakamysh operation began. On February 18, 1916, the Turkish fortress of Erzurum was taken, and on April 5, Trebizond was taken.

May 22, 1916 year, the offensive of Russian troops began on the South-Western Front under the command of cavalry general A.A. Brusilov. It was the famous "Brusilov breakthrough", but the neighboring commanders of neighboring fronts, Generals Evert and Kuropatkin, did not support Brusilov, and on July 31, 1916 he was forced to stop the offensive, fearing the encirclement of his army from the flanks.

This chapter uses documents and photographs from state archives and publications (Nicholas II's Diary, A. Brusilov's Memoirs, Verbatim Records of State Duma meetings, V. Mayakovsky's verses). Based on materials from the home archive (letters, postcards, photographs), one can get an idea of ​​how this war affected the lives of ordinary people. Some fought at the front, those who lived in the rear participated in helping the wounded and refugees in institutions such public organizations, as the Russian Red Cross Society, the All-Russian Zemstvo Union, the All-Russian Union of Cities.

It's a shame, but just during this most interesting period in our Family Archives, no one's diaries, although, perhaps, at that time no one led them. It's good that grandma saved letters those years that her parents wrote from Chisinau and sister Xenia from Moscow, as well as several postcards by Yu.A. Korobina from the Caucasian front, which he wrote to his daughter Tanya. Unfortunately, the letters written by her herself have not been preserved - from the front in Galicia, from Moscow during the Revolution, from Tambov provinces during the Civil War.

In order to somehow make up for the lack of daily records from my relatives, I decided to look for published diaries of other participants in the events. It turned out that the diaries were regularly kept by Emperor Nicholas II, and they are "posted" on the Internet. It is boring to read his Diaries, because day after day the same small everyday details are repeated in the records (as got up, "walked" received reports, had breakfast, walked again, bathed, played with children, dined and drank tea, and in the evening "dealt with documents" In the evening playing dominoes or dice). The emperor describes in detail the reviews of troops, ceremonial marches and ceremonial dinners given in his honor, but speaks very sparingly about the situation on the fronts.

I want to remind you that the authors of diaries and letters, unlike memoirists, don't know the future, and for those who read them now, their "future" has become our "past", and we know what awaits them. This knowledge leaves a special imprint on our perception, especially because their "future" turned out to be so tragic. We see that the participants and witnesses of social catastrophes do not think about the consequences and therefore do not know what awaits them. Their children and grandchildren forget about the experience of their ancestors, which is easy to see when reading the diaries and letters of contemporaries of the following wars and "perestroika". In the world of politics, too, everything repeats itself with amazing monotony: after 100 years, the newspapers again write about Serbia and Albania, someone again bombing Belgrade and fighting in Mesopotamia, again caucasian wars are going on, and in the new Duma, as in the old one, members are engaged in verbiage ... As if you are watching remakes of old movies.

PREPARATION FOR WAR

The diary of Nicholas II serves as a background for the publication of letters from the Family Archive. The letters are printed in the places where they coincide chronologically with the entries from his Diary. The text of the entries is given with abbreviations. Italic highlighted daily used verbs and phrases. Subtitles and notes provided by the compiler.

Since April 1914, the royal family lived in Livadia. Ambassadors, ministers and Rasputin, whom Nicholas II calls in his diary, came to the tsar there Gregory. It is noticeable that Nicholas II attached special importance to meetings with him. Unlike world events, he certainly noted them in his diary. Here are some typical entries in May 1914.

DIARY OF NICHOLASII

May 15th.Walked in the morning. had breakfast Georgy Mikhailovich and several lancers, on the occasion of the regimental holiday . Happy played tennis. Read[documents] before lunch. Evening spent with Gregory, who yesterday arrived in Yalta.

May 16th. Went for a walk quite late; it was hot. Before breakfast accepted Bulgarian military agent Sirmanov. Had a good game of tennis during the day. We drank tea in the garden. Completed all papers. After dinner there were regular games.

May 18th. In the morning I went with Voeikov and examined the area of ​​​​the future large carriageway. After lunch was Sunday breakfast. Played during the day. At 6 1/2 took a walk with Alexei on a horizontal path. After lunch ride in the motor in Yalta. seen Gregory.

Tsar's visit to Romania

May 31, 1914 Nicholas II left Livadia, moved to his yacht Shtandart and, accompanied by a convoy of 6 warships, went on a visit to Ferdinand von Hohenzollern(b. in 1866), who became in 1914 Romanian king. Nicholas and the Queen were relatives along the line Saxe-Coburg-Gotha At home, the very one to which she belonged, both the ruling dynasty in the British Empire, and the Russian Empress (Nicholas's wife) on her mother's side.

Therefore he writes: "In the pavilion of the Queen family breakfast». In the morning 2 June Nicholas arrived in Odessa, and in the evening got on the train and went to Chisinau.

VISIT CHISINAU

June 3rd. We arrived in Chisinau at 9 1/2 on a hot morning. They traveled around the city in carriages. The order was exemplary. From the cathedral with a religious procession they went to the square, where the solemn consecration of the monument to Emperor Alexander I took place in memory of the centenary of the annexation of Bessarabia to Russia. The sun was hot. accepted right there all the volost foremen of the province. Then let's go to the appointment to the nobility; from the balcony watched the gymnastics of boys and girls. On the way to the station we visited the zemstvo museum. At 20 min. left Chisinau. had breakfast in great spirits. Stopped at 3 o'clock in Tiraspol, Where made a review [hereinafter, the listing of parts is omitted]. Received two deputations And got on the train when the refreshing rain started. Until the evening read papers .

Note N.M. Father of Nina Evgenievna, E.A. Belyavsky, a nobleman and a real state councilor, served in the Excise Administration of the Bessarabian province. Together with other officials, he probably participated in “the celebrations of the consecration of the monument and in the reception of the nobility,” but my grandmother never told me about this. But at that time she lived with Tanya in Chisinau.

June 15 (28), 1914 in Serbia, and in the city of Sarajevo, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne was killed by a terrorist Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Note N.M. From 7 (20) to 10 (23) July the visit of the President of the French Republic Poincaré to the Russian Empire took place. The President had to persuade the Emperor to go to war with Germany and its allies, and in return he promised the help of the allies (England and France), to whom the Emperor had been indebted since 1905, when bankers from the USA and Europe gave him a loan of 6 billion rubles under 6% per annum. In his Diary, Nicholas II, of course, does not write about such unpleasant things.

Strange, but Nicholas II did not mention the murder of the Archduke in Serbia in his Diary, therefore, when reading his diary, it is not clear why Austria issued an ultimatum to this country. On the other hand, he describes Poincaré's visit in detail and with obvious pleasure. Writes , how “a French squadron entered the small roadstead of Kronstadt”, with what honor the president was greeted, how a ceremonial dinner with speeches took place, after which he names his guest "kind president." The next day they go with Poincaré "to review the troops."

10 (23) July, Thursday, Nicholas escorts Poincare to Kronstadt, and in the evening of the same day.

THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR

1914. DIARY OF NICHOLASII.

July 12th. On Thursday evening Austria issues ultimatum to Serbia with requirements, of which 8 are unacceptable for an independent state. Obviously, we talk everywhere only about this. From 11 am to 12 pm I had a meeting with 6 ministers on the same subject and on the precautions we should take. After talking, I went with my three older daughters to [Mariinsky] theater.

July 15 (28), 1914. Austria declared war on Serbia

July 15th.accepted representatives of the congress of the naval clergy with his father Shavelsky at the head. Played tennis. At 5 o'clock. go with daughters to Strelnitsa to Aunt Olga and drank tea with her and Mitya. At 8 1/2 accepted Sazonov, who reported that This afternoon Austria declared war on Serbia.

July 16th. In the morning accepted Goremykina [Chairman of the Council of Ministers]. Happy played tennis. But the day was unusually restless. I was constantly called to the telephone by Sazonov, or Sukhomlinov, or Yanushkevich. In addition, he was in urgent telegraphic correspondence with Wilhelm. In the evening read[documents] and more accepted Tatishchev, whom I am sending tomorrow to Berlin.

July 18th. The day stood gray, the same was the inner mood. At 11 o'clock. A meeting of the Council of Ministers was held at the Farm. After breakfast I took the German ambassador. took a walk with daughters. Before lunch and in the evening was doing.

July 19 (Aug. 1), 1914. Germany declared war on Russia.

July 19th. Called after breakfast Nicholas and announced to him his appointment as supreme commander until my arrival in the army. Ride with Alix to the Diveevo monastery. Walked with the children. Upon returning from there learned, What Germany declared war on us. had dinner… arrived in the evening English ambassador Buchanan with a telegram from George. Long made up together with him answer.

Note N.M. Nikolasha - uncle of the king, led. book. Nikolai Nikolaevich. George - Cousin of the Empress, King George of England. Starting a war with a cousin "Willy" caused Nicholas II to "lift the spirit", and, judging by the entries in the diary, he maintained such a mood to the end, despite the constant setbacks at the front. Did he remember what the war he started and lost with Japan led to? After all, after that war, the first Revolution happened.

July 20th. Sunday. A good day, especially in the sense uplifting spirit. At 11 went to dinner. had breakfast alone. Signed a manifesto declaring war. From Malahitovaya we went out to the Nikolaevskaya hall, in the middle of which the manifesto was read and then a prayer service was served. The whole hall sang “Save, Lord” and “Many Years”. Said a few words. On their return, the ladies rushed to kiss their hands and battered Alix and me. Then we went out onto the balcony on Alexander Square and bowed to the huge mass of people. We returned to Peterhof at 7 1/4. The evening was spent quietly.

July 22nd. Yesterday Mom A came to Copenhagen from England via Berlin. 9 1/2 to one continuously took. The first to arrive was Alek [Grand Duke], who returned from Hamburg with great difficulties and barely reached the border. Germany declared war on France and directs the main onslaught on it.

July 23rd. Learned in the morning good[??? – comp.] message: England announced to the warrior of Germany because the latter attacked France and violated the neutrality of Luxembourg and Belgium in the most unceremonious manner. The best way from the outside for us the campaign could not start. Took all morning and after breakfast until 4 o'clock. The last one I had French Ambassador Palaiologos, who came to officially announce the break between France and Germany. Walked with the children. The evening was free[Department - comp.].

July 24 (Aug. 6), 1914. Austria declared war on Russia.

July 24th. Today, Austria finally, declared war on us. Now the situation is completely determined. Since 11 1/2 I have had meeting of the Council of Ministers. Alix went into town in the morning and returned with Victoria and Ella. Walked.

Historic meeting of the State Duma July 26, 1914 With. 227 - 261

VERNOGRAPHIC REPORT

Greeting Emperor NicholasII

State Council and State Duma,

Interim's word Chairman of the State Council Golubev:

“Your Imperial Majesty! State Council casts before you, the Great Sovereign, loyal feelings imbued with boundless love and all-submissive gratitude ... The unity of the beloved Sovereign and the population of His Empire aggravates its power ... (etc.) "

Word of the Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko: "Your Imperial Majesty! With a deep sense of delight and pride, all of Russia listens to the words of the Russian Tsar, calling His people to complete unity .... Without a difference of opinions, views and convictions, the State Duma, on behalf of the Russian land, calmly and firmly says to its Tsar: hold on, my lord the Russian people are with you ... (etc.) "

At 3 hours 37 minutes. the meeting of the State Duma began.

M.V. Rodzianko exclaims: "Long live the Sovereign Emperor!" (Long-lasting clicks: cheers) and invites gentlemen Members of the State Duma standing to listen to the Supreme Manifesto of 20 July 1914(Everybody get up).

Supreme Manifesto

by the Grace of God,

WE ARE NICHOLAS THE SECOND,

Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia,

King of Poland Grand Duke Finnish and so on, and so on, and so on.

“We declare to all Our faithful subjects:

<…>Austria hurriedly went over to an armed attack, opening the bombardment of defenseless Belgrade... Forced, due to the circumstances, to accept necessary measures precautions, We commanded to bring army and navy on martial law. <…>Allied to Austria, Germany, contrary to Our hopes for a century of good neighborliness and not heeding Our assurance that the measures taken have no hostile aims, began to seek their immediate cancellation and, meeting with a refusal, suddenly declared war on Russia.<…>In the terrible hour of trial, may internal strife be forgotten. Let it get stronger unity of the king with his people…

Chairman M.V. Rodzianko: Sovereign Emperor hurray! (Long-lasting clicks: hooray).

Ministerial explanations on the measures taken in connection with the war follow. Speakers: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Goremykin, Foreign Secretary Sazonov, Minister of Finance Barque. Their speeches were often interrupted stormy and prolonged applause, voices and clicks: "bravo!"

After a break, M.V. Rodzianko invites the State Duma to listen standing second manifesto of 26 July 1914

Supreme Manifesto

“We declare to all Our faithful subjects:<…>Now Austria-Hungary has declared war on Russia, which saved it more than once. In the forthcoming war of nations, We [that is, Nicholas II] are not alone: ​​together with Us [with Nicholas II], Our [Nicholas II] valiant allies stood up, also forced to resort to force of arms in order to finally eliminate the eternal threat of the German powers to the common world and calmness.

<…>May the Lord Almighty Our [Nicholas II] and our allied weapons, and may all of Russia rise to feat of arms with iron in hand, with a cross in the heart…»

Chairman M.V. Rodzianko:Long live the Sovereign Emperor!

(Long-lasting clicks: hooray; voice: Hymn! Members of the State Duma sing national anthem).

[AFTER 100 YEARS MEMBERS OF THE DUMA OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION ALSO GLORIFY THE "SOVER" AND SING THE ANTHEM!!! ]

Discussions on government clarifications begin. The Social Democrats are the first to speak: from the Labor Group A.F. Kerensky(1881, Simbirsk -1970, New York) and on behalf of the RSDLP Khaustov. After them, various “Russians” (Germans, Poles, Little Russians) spoke with assurances of their loyal feelings and intentions to “sacrifice life and property for the unity and greatness of Russia”: Baron Fölkersam and Goldman from Courland province., Yaronsky from Kletskaya, Ichas and Feldman from Kovno, Lutz from Kherson. Speeches were also made: Milyukov from St. Petersburg, Count Musin-Pushkin from the Moscow province., Markov 2nd from the Kursk province., Protopopov from the Simbirsk province. and others.

Against the background of loyal verbiage, which gentlemen Members of the State Duma were engaged in that day, the speeches of the socialists look like the exploits of the Gracchi brothers.

A.F. Kerensky (Saratov province): The Labor Group instructed me to issue the following statement:<…>The responsibility of the governments of all European states, in the name of the interests of the ruling classes, who pushed their peoples into a fratricidal war.<…>Russian citizens! Remember that you have no enemies among the working classes of the warring countries.<…>Protecting to the end everything native from attempts to capture by the hostile governments of Germany and Austria, remember that there would be no such terrible war if the great ideals of democracy—liberty, equality, and fraternity—guided governments all countries».

―――――――

Poems:“Already all of you are freezing, / Far from ours.

Sausage cannot be compared // With Russian black porridge.

Notes of a Petrograd man in the street during the Russian-German war. P.V. With. 364 - 384

August 1914.“The Germans are waging this war like the Huns, Vandals and desperate super-villains. They take out their failures on the defenseless population of the areas they occupy. The Germans ruthlessly plunder the population, impose monstrous indemnities, shoot men and women, rape women and children, destroy monuments of art and architecture, and burn precious book depositories. To confirm this, we present a number of excerpts from correspondence and telegrams for this month.

<…>The news is confirmed Western Front that German troops set fire to the town of Badenville, shooting women and children in it. One of the sons of Emperor Wilhelm, arriving in Badenville, delivered a speech to the soldiers in which he said that the French were savages. "Exterminate them as much as you can!" the prince said.

Belgian envoy cites irrefutable evidence that the Germans mutilate and burn alive the villagers, kidnap young girls, and rape children. Near the village of Lencino there was a battle between the Germans and the Belgian infantry. Not a single civilian took part in this battle. Nevertheless, the German units that invaded the village destroyed two farms, six houses, gathered the entire male population, put them in a ditch and shot them.

London newspapers full of details about the terrible atrocities of the German troops in Louvain. The pogrom of the civilian population continued without interruption. Moving from house to house, German soldiers indulged in robbery, violence and murder, sparing neither women, nor children, nor the elderly. The surviving members of the city council were herded into the cathedral and stabbed there with bayonets. The famous local library, which contained 70,000 volumes, was burned."

It's done. Rock with a harsh hand

He lifted the veil of time.

Before us are the faces of a new life

They worry like a wild dream.

covering capitals and villages,

Soared, raging, banners.

Through the pastures of ancient Europe

The last war is underway.

And everything about what with a fruitless fervor

Ages have been arguing.

Ready to kick

Her iron hand.

But listen! In the hearts of the oppressed

Summon the tribes of the enslaved

Breaks into a war cry.

Under the clatter of armies, the thunder of guns,

Under the Newports, a buzzing flight,

Everything we talk about is like a miracle

Dreaming, maybe getting up.

So! too long we've languished

And they continued Belshazzar's feast!

Let, let from the fiery font

The world will be transformed!

Let it fall into a bloody hole

The structure is shaky for centuries, -

In the false illumination of glory

The world to come will be new!

Let the old vaults crumble

Let the poles fall with a roar;

The beginning of peace and freedom

Let there be a terrible year of struggle!

V. MAYAKOVSKY. 1917.TO ANSWER!

The war drum rumbles and rumbles.

He calls for iron to be stuck alive.

From every country for a slave to a slave

they throw a bayonet on the steel.

For what? The earth is trembling, hungry, undressed.

Evaporated humanity in a bloodbath

just to someone somewhere

got hold of Albania.

The anger of human packs grappled,

falls on the world for blow blow

only in order to free the Bosphorus

there were some trials.

Soon the world won't have an unbroken rib.

And take out the soul. And trample on A m of it

just for that so that someone

took over Mesopotamia.

In the name of what does the boot trample the earth, creaking and rude?

Who is above the sky of fighting - freedom? God? Ruble!

When you stand up to your full height,

you who give your life Yu them?

When you throw a question in their face:

what are we fighting for?

The myth remains amazingly tenacious that "tsarism", entering the war, sought at all costs to seize the Black Sea straits, vital for the "Russian bourgeoisie". Of course, the scholastic thinking of Soviet historiography did not want, and could not, rise to a true understanding of the role of the Black Sea straits and Constantinople for Russia, to understand that the possession of Tsargrad, the capital of the Second Rome, had great spiritual meaning for the Russians.

But in August 1914, Russia could not plan to capture the straits, since the Ottoman Empire entered the war on the side of the German bloc only at the end of October of that year. Russia made a lot of efforts to prevent Istanbul from entering the war. In return for this, St. Petersburg guaranteed the complete territorial inviolability of the Ottoman Empire, and, therefore, the issue of the straits and Constantinople was automatically removed from the agenda.

Another myth is the accusation of Emperor Nicholas II that he "got involved" in a war "unnecessary" for Russia. The absurdity of this is proved, if only by the fact that it was not Russia that declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary, but, on the contrary, Germany and Austria-Hungary declared war on Russia in 1914. To blame Nicholas II for the war with Germany is as ridiculous as Alexander I for the war with Napoleon, and Stalin for the war with Hitler.

Another very common myth is that Nicholas II entered the war because of "noble chivalry" in relation to Serbia. Of course, Nicholas II, as an Orthodox monarch, protector and patron of the Slavs, could not leave the fraternal people in trouble, who were threatened with inevitable enslavement and death. But besides this, Nicholas II in the summer of 1914 proceeded from the very specific (pragmatic, if you like) interests of Russia. The sovereign did not at all seek to fight for Serbia for any reason. During the Bosnian crisis, when the entire Russian society furiously demanded that he support Serbia in its readiness to start a war with Austria for Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Sovereign showed firm restraint and was forced to compromise with the German bloc.

In 1912, when Serbia took an active part in the Balkan wars, the Sovereign abandoned any military preparations in her favor. But in July 1914, it was obvious to Nicholas II that the German bloc decided to fight at all costs. Had the Tsar retreated in the summer of 1914, he would have been in a difficult position. Russia's moral image would be irreparably damaged, and its influence in the Balkans would be completely lost.

At the same time, Germany would still start the war, with the only difference being that it would not have to fight on two fronts. She would easily and quickly defeat France, forcing her to capitulate. Under such circumstances, England would definitely not have entered the war against Germany, but, most likely, would have tried to negotiate with her at the expense of Russia. Under such conditions, Germany and Austria-Hungary would have launched the Russian campaign in 1915, probably having Italy, Bulgaria, Romania and Ottoman Empire. Russia would face the European invasion alone, isolated and without allies. The Russian army would have to defend itself not in the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, as it was in reality, but near Petrograd and Moscow, as it would be in 1941. The sovereign saved us precisely from such a development of events.

Lieutenant Heinrich von Wieban during the official reading of "Threats of War". July 31, 1914. A day later, general mobilization began. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

The statement about the equal guilt of Russia and Germany for the outbreak of the First World War is as cynical and immoral as an attempt to shift responsibility for the Great Patriotic War from the Third Reich to Soviet Union. Despite the difference in methods, the goals set by Wilhelm II in 1914 and Hitler in 1941 were the same.

The Kaiser, just like the Fuhrer, planned to destroy Russia as a sovereign state, to subdue its people. Therefore, for Russia, the war of 1914 was no different in nature from the Napoleonic and Hitlerite invasions.

Back in July (August) 1914, the vast majority of the Russian people had no doubts that a cruel and dangerous enemy had attacked Russia, that it was about her fate as an independent power.

Palace intrigues and political adventures. Notes by Maria Kleinmikhel Osin Vladimir M.

July 19, 1914

War broke out. I was at my dacha, on the islands, when my friend brought Rumanov, a correspondent for Russkoe Slovo, to me. Rumanov told me that Pavel Rodzianko had been telephoning the editorial offices of all newspapers for 24 hours with the question: “Did you also hear that Countess Kleinmichel sent a mobilization plan to Emperor Wilhelm in a chocolate box, and that she was arrested and now already hanged?”

This, of course, was done with the aim of discrediting me, and Rodzianko, not asserting, but only asking questions, was not at all afraid of being charged with slander.

Romanov, benevolent and clever man, considered it his duty to warn me of this and prevent the danger that threatened me, and together with me looked for a way to stop this malicious slander. And here it is, the revenge of Rodzyanka! He chose the right moment. I confess that I did not immediately appreciate the consequences that could come from this, especially since I had neither a husband, nor a son, nor a brother who could come to my defense. The story of the delivery in a chocolate box seemed ridiculous to me, because I did not know the psychology of the masses of that time, when the mind was silent and only passions raged. During our conversation, continuous requests were heard on the phone: “Am I at home?” Friends, acquaintances, newspaper editors and absolutely strangers inquired about me. These rumors assumed such proportions that even in the presence of one Englishman, Mr. hated and entangled in this fantastic story by Rodzyanka). “I must,” said this gendarmerie colonel, “do justice to Countess Kleinmichel that she died very bravely, while Drachevsky trembled with fear and begged for mercy.”

The next morning this was reported in many newspapers, and over my morning coffee I had a strange feeling, reading the details of my tragic end and the execution of my accomplice, General Drachevsky (whom I hardly knew), accused of having helped me in packing the mobilization plan in a chocolate box. On the same day, I went to the Winter Palace, like everyone else, and was present when the tsar delivered his speech to the people on the declaration of war. The square in front of the Winter Palace was full of people, and when the tsar appeared on the balcony, the whole crowd knelt down and sang: “God save the Tsar!” Those who saw it will never forget this solemn picture. Then it seemed that the Tsar and the people merged into one thing. And did they think that two years later, this crowd, which seemed so devoted to the king, would sweep away the monarchy, the altars, and the king himself with his entire family in a hostile avalanche!

Passing by me, the Sovereign looked at me with that kind look, which he inherited from his mother and which charmed many, and gave me his hand. So, there was no longer any doubt that I was alive and well. I accidentally approached Frederiks' assistant, General Maksimovich. He was talking to Professor Rauchfuss. When he saw me, he made such an amazed face, as if a ghost was standing in front of him, and said to me: “The professor just told me that you were hanged yesterday.” The next day, several of my friends invited me to Kyuba for dinner, and I had the opportunity to hear with my own ears how Rodzianko, who did not notice me, went up to General Serebryakov’s table and asked: “Did you hear that Countess Kleinmichel sent a plan of our mobilization to the German emperor and hanged yesterday?” Serebryakov answered him: "Stop talking nonsense" - and turned his back on him. Rodzianko walked away from him in confusion. When he saw me among my friends, he changed his face and disappeared from the restaurant.

If these rumors were treated with distrust in St. Petersburg, they nevertheless penetrated abroad to the most remote places. Even the Shah of Persia sent a telegraphic request on this matter to his ambassador. In any case, I should not feel any gratitude to Rodzianka for the fact that I actually remained alive.

One day a footman reported to me that Pavel Vladimirovich Rodzianko, before leaving for the war, from where he might never return, asked Countess Kleinmichel when she could receive him. Obviously, he was convinced that he was playing a ridiculous role, he wanted to explain himself to me and make an attempt at reconciliation. I almost never speak on the phone, but this time I went to the machine myself and personally answered that after they hanged me, I feel very tired, so tired that I am afraid that I will never be able to rest so to have the honor of hosting Colonel Rodzianko. This is how the incident ended, but in it you can find the reason why the mob at the beginning of the revolution wanted to arrest me.

1914 January 1/1/1914 First of all, Happy New Year to you, Felicia, and if you want it, then to both of us. Replying to your letter is not at all as easy as I thought at first. One passage in it falls out of the general tone so much, and everything appears in a different light, completely

01/2/1914 But are you really serious, Felicia, do you think so, are you really afraid of future losses? Are you really taking good care of yourself? No, definitely not. There are only two explanations for this: either You don’t want to know me anymore, and in a similar way

03/18/1914 It is now 9 pm. The telegraphic reply to my telegram today, you send it immediately in the afternoon, under normal circumstances, should have arrived by now. I don't know if You're at home or at work, You don't honor me with a single word. I did not want to telegraph home,

03/21/1914 That external misunderstandings also intervene in order to utterly confuse our already confusing situation, that my telegram arrives just on the day when You are not in the service, and Yours was sent to the wrong address, which, finally, as I am now I see my letter to yours

04/17/1914 F., darling, I only have ten minutes, and they don’t even really exist. What do you want me to do and write in such a hurry? First of all, thank you for the fact that you have determined the term of dismissal in August, so let it remain so. I looked "terribly poor", of course, I

04/19/1914 What a joy, my love, to hear from You at least once a reproach about letters. Of course, I should have written to your mother a long time ago, but I did it only today. And I was supposed to send the book to your father immediately on Tuesday, but I sent it only on Friday. But first of all, I don't

04/22/1914 My dear F., I wrote all the letter paper, only this piece of your letter remained. Look, I was hoping to give you more free time with this engagement, but in fact, it seems that I just made more work. It's a pity! received from your father

04/26/1914 Beloved F., You don't write about two things, even though you know that both of them are because of You (let's leave me aside for now), it is and only because of You that I am worried. One thing I haven't asked at all yet, it's Your brother. You once wrote to me that in Berlin you would tell me everything in more detail, not

04/29/1914 I was expecting you to tell me the exact day of your arrival. If you don't come on Friday, the apartment will be lost. To rent an apartment without You - no, I don’t want to take on such a responsibility, because what You would like in this apartment, in theory, should make up for

1-2.11.1914 Between us, Felicia, as far as I am concerned, nothing has changed in the last quarter of the year, either in a good or a bad sense. Of course, I am ready to respond to Your first call, and to Your earlier letter, if it had reached me, I would have answered

II. On the eve of the war (July 24 - August 17, 1914) Friday, July 24, 1914 Very tired from these four days of uninterrupted tension, I hoped to get some rest and ordered my servants not to wake me. But at seven o'clock in the morning the ringing of the telephone suddenly disturbed my sleep; they tell me

Number one Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899, Oak Park - July 2, 1961, Ketchum) “For a true writer, every book should be a beginning, a new attempt to achieve something unattainable. He must always strive for what no one else has done or what

Conqueror of the air Amelia Mary Earhart (July 24, 1897, Atchison - July 2, 1937, unknown) The International Historic Aircraft Search Group reported on June 1, 2013 that the wreckage of the Lockheed aircraft was found in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bNikumaroro Atoll in the Phoenix Archipelago 10

1882- Germany entered into a Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy.

1904- England and France created an alliance called "Entente" (from fr.– agreement))

July 19, 1914 – November 11, 1918 – Chronological framework First World War. The following took part in hostilities: the Triple Alliance (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria since 1915) and the Entente (England, France, Russia, Serbia, Japan, Italy - since 1915, Romania since 1916, USA since 1917 and others), 38 states in total.

August 23, 1915- Displacement by Nicholas II of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich from the post of commander in chief and taking over his powers.

February 26, 1917- The shooting of a workers' demonstration. The beginning of the transition of the reserve regiments of the Petrograd garrison to the side of the insurgent workers.

February 27, 1917- Uprising in Petrograd. The capture by the rebels of the Arsenal, a number of public buildings, the Winter Palace. Arrest of tsarist ministers. The victory of the rebels. Formation of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies headed by the Menshevik N. S. Chkheidze. Creation of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma under the leadership of its chairman M. V. Rodzianko.

March 1, 1917- The Petrograd Soviet issued Order No. 1 for the Petrograd Military District, according to which elected committees were created from representatives of the “lower ranks” in the army and navy, directly subordinate to the Soviet. Military weapons were placed at the disposal of these committees. Soldiers and sailors were granted political and civil rights, rude treatment was prohibited, the titles of officers were abolished, and a single appeal "sir" was introduced.

The arrival of the royal train to the headquarters of the Northern Front in Pskov.

March 2, 1917–Nicholas II signed an act of abdication in favor of his brother Michael. But Mikhail Romanov refused to become emperor, declaring that the question of power should be decided by the Constituent Assembly, the Monarchy in Russia fell.

March 2 - end of April 1917- The activities of the first Provisional Government headed by Prince G. E. Lvov. The government included the ministers: Foreign Affairs - P. N. Milyukov (Cadet), Military and Naval - A. I. Guchkov (Octobrist), Communications - N. V. Nekrasov (Cadet), Trade and Industry - A. I. Konovalov (progressive), finance - M. I. Tereshchenko (non-party), education - A. A. Manuilov (Cadet), agriculture - A. I. Shingarev (Cadet), justice - A. F. Kerensky (Trudovik, with March SR), etc.

March 8, 1917- The arrest of Nicholas II by the commissars of the Petrograd Soviet in Mogilev, the conclusion of members of the royal family under house arrest in the Tsarskoye Selo Palace.

April 4, 1917- Lenin's speech to the Bolsheviks with the "April Theses", which set out the task of preparing the conditions for a socialist revolution.

April 18, 1917- Note of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government P. N. Milyukov to the governments of the Antanga countries on the continuation of the war by Russia and its fidelity to allied obligations.

April 20-21, 1917- The crisis of the Provisional Government caused by the note of the Minister of Foreign Affairs P. N. Milyukov.

April 24-29, 1917 – VII All-Russian conference of the RSDLP(b). Support for Lenin's political course for the preparation of a socialist revolution.

May 4 - July 2, 1917- The formation and activities of the new composition of the Provisional Government (the first coalition) under the chairmanship of G. E. Lvov (he is also the Minister of Internal Affairs). Composition of the government: A.F. Kerensky - Minister of War and Marine; P. N. Pereverzev - Minister of Justice; M. I. Tereshchenko - Minister of Foreign Affairs; NV Nekrasov - Minister of Trade and Industry; A. A. Manuilov - Minister of Education; AI Shingarev - Minister of Finance; V. M. Chernov - Minister of Agriculture; I. G. Tsereteli - Minister of Posts and Telegraphs; M. I. Skobelev - Minister of Labor; A. V. Peshekhonov - Minister of Food; Prince D. I. Shakhovskoy - Minister of State Charity; V. N. Lvov - Chief Prosecutor of the Synod; IV Godnev - Minister of State Control.

June 3-24, 1917- I All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in Petrograd (285 Social Revolutionaries, 248 Mensheviks and 105 Bolsheviks out of 822 delegates). Lenin comes up with the idea of ​​the sovereignty of the Bolshevik Party.

July 3-4, 1917- Mass demonstrations in Petrograd against the Provisional Government and the Council supporting it. The Bolsheviks use these performances to strengthen their influence on the masses. Riots in the city led to casualties. Petrograd was declared under martial law. The arrests of the Bolsheviks, the disarmament of the workers, the disbandment of the "rebellious" military units began.

July 3-4, 1917- An armed demonstration took place in Petrograd. Its participants demanded that the leaders of the Soviets take full power into their own hands. The Bolshevik leadership was accused of attempting a coup. Mass persecutions began, Lenin went underground and secretly returned to the capital only on October 7th.

July 6, 1917- Decree of the Provisional Government on the arrest of Bolshevik leaders. The provisional government called Lenin, Zinoviev and other Bolsheviks agents of Germany, referring to the conditions of their travel through Germany, Lenin goes into an illegal position.

July 7-8, 1917- The message about the defeat at the front and the retreat of the Russian troops led to the resignation of Prime Minister G. E. Lvov. A.F. Kerensky became the head of the government.

Finland, who declared the independence of his country from Russia.

July 18, 1917- The Supreme Commander-in-Chief A. A. Brusilov was removed, General L. G. Kornilov was appointed in his place.

July 24, 1917- Kerensky announces the composition of the new (second) coalition government (it lasted until August 26). It included 4 Cadets, 2 representatives of the Radical Democratic Party, 7 Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, and 2 non-party people. Most of the posts in the government were taken by socialists.

July 26-August 3, 1917- The VI Congress of the Bolshevik Party took the course for an armed uprising.

August 12-15, 1917. - A State Conference was held in Moscow with the aim of strengthening the position of the Kerensky government. It was attended by 2,500 people representing all segments of the Russian population. A.F. Kerensky spoke in favor of continuing the war and firm power. The State Conference resorted to the "strong hand" of the military to restore order in the country. General Kornilov was scheduled for the role of such a "hand".

August 25, 1917- Speech by General L. G. Kornilov, who sent troops to Petrograd in order to prevent a possible action by the Bolsheviks, to establish an open military dictatorship. The general demanded the resignation of the socialist ministers and a toughening of the internal political course.

August 27, 1917- A.F. Kerensky declared Kornilov a rebel, a traitor, removed him from his post as Supreme Commander. The Cadets ministers, expressing their solidarity with Kornilov, resigned. A government crisis broke out, along with it a political crisis arose, which grew into a nationwide one. Kerensky turned to the Soviets for support, which sent Red Guard detachments to repulse the military units sent to Petrograd.

August 30, 1917- Acceptance by A.F. Kerensky of the duties of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (Commander-in-Chief). Elimination of military rebellion.

September 1, 1917- Proclamation of Russia as a republic. Prior to the creation of a new government, power did not go to the "Council of Five" (Directorate): the Minister-Chairman - Kerensky, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of War, the Minister of Marine, the Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. General Kornilov is arrested.

September 9, 1917 The Bolsheviks take control of the Petrograd Soviet. L. D. Trotsky becomes Chairman of the Council.

September 13, 1917- Lenin appeals to his party comrades-in-arms with a call for the immediate organization of an armed uprising.

September 14-22, 1917- An All-Russian Democratic Conference was convened in Petrograd to resolve the issue of organizing state power in the new conditions. It was decided that the future government should be responsible to the representative body of democracy - the Pre-Parliament, formed from among the deputies of the Democratic Conference. In parallel, the leaders of the Soviets agreed with the Cadets to create a new government coalition.

September 25, 1917- A.F. Kerensky (Minister-Chairman and Commander-in-Chief) formed the third coalition government (it included 6 Cadets, 1 Social Revolutionary, 3 Mensheviks, 2 Trudoviks, 1 "independent" and 2 military specialists).

October 7, 1917- Secret return of Lenin to Petrograd from Finland, where he was hiding from the authorities.

October 7, 1917- Opening of the Pre-Parliament. On the first day of its work, 53 Bolshevik deputies, headed by Trotsky, defiantly left the hall of the Council of the Republic at the request of Lenin. The third coalition lasted only a month. Real power in the city was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the Bolshevik Petrograd Soviet.

At the end of August - September 1917- The Bolshevization of the Soviets began.

September 15, 1917- The Central Committee of the Bolsheviks discussed Lenin's proposal for the immediate preparation of an uprising and did not support their leader.

October 10, 1917- Meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b). A decision is made to prepare for an armed uprising. G. E. Zinoviev and L. B. Kamenev spoke out against it, counting on the fact that the Bolsheviks would be able to obtain power peacefully, from the Constituent Assembly.

October 12, 1917- The Petrograd Soviet, headed by L. D. Trotsky and under the complete influence of the Bolsheviks, elected the Military Revolutionary Committee (WRC). Under the banner of defending the city from the Germans, the Bolsheviks transform the BRK into a headquarters for preparing an armed uprising.

October 16, 1917- At an expanded meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), the Military Revolutionary Center was formed for the "party leadership" of the uprising.

October 22, 1917- The Military Revolutionary Committee sent representatives to the military units of the Petrograd garrison, putting them under control.

October 24, 1917- The beginning of the uprising: the units of the Military Revolutionary Committee, consisting of revolutionary soldiers, sailors and Red Guard workers, began to occupy the most important points of Petrograd: railway stations, bridges, telegraph, power plants, the State Bank, etc.

Night of October 25, 1917- The capital was actually in the hands of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, except for the Winter Palace.

"To the Citizens of Russia", which stated that the Provisional Government was overthrown and power passed into the hands of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee.

Night from 25 to 26 October 1917- The storming of the Winter Palace and the arrest of the Provisional Government.

October 25, 1917- The II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies opened. It was attended by 625 delegates. Of these, there were 390 Bolsheviks, 179 Left Socialist-Revolutionaries. The Congress of Soviets decided questions: about power, about peace, about land, about the organs of power and government. The congress took full power into its own hands.

Night from 26 to 27 October 1917- Adoption by the Second Congress of Soviets of the Decrees on Peace and Land.

At the congress, a temporary (until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) first Soviet government headed by V.I. Lenin was formed - the Council of People's Commissars, which included only the Bolsheviks. The Left SRs refused to enter the government, believing that it should represent a coalition of Soviet parties.

From the end of October 1917 to February 1918- Soviet power was established in most of the former Russian Empire.

October 25, 1917- The dispersal of the Pre-Parliament, the arrest of the Provisional Government and the proclamation of the Russian Republic by the Republic of Soviets.

By the beginning of December 1917 (old style)- Elections to the Constituent Assembly are over. Votes distributed in the following way: 62% - for the socialists, 25% - for the Bolsheviks, 13% - for the liberals.

January 5, 1918- Opening of the work of the Constituent Assembly in Petrograd. The assembly did not recognize the legitimacy of the Council of People's Commissars and the decrees of Soviet power. On January 6, 1918, the Constituent Assembly was dispersed by order of the Council of People's Commissars.

Exactly one month after the shots in Sarajevo that ended the life of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife Alexander Blok wrote in his diary: "It smelled of war (Austria-Serbia-Russia)." However, everyone was talking about her, damned, with growing anxiety.

Today, through the thickness of the years, one has to bitterly regret not only the outbreak of war, the numerous victims that it brought, but also the fact that misfortune broke out when Russia was successfully developing, and the prerequisites for an impressive or even unprecedented economic recovery were created. It makes no sense to bore readers with figures confirming this optimistic forecast - anyone can easily find them in open sources.

In 1914, many predicted a bright future for our country. “Perhaps there has never been a period when Russia would have been more prosperous materially than at the present moment, or when the vast majority of the people seemed to have less reason for discontent,” wrote the English writer Maurice Behring.

And here is an excerpt from the work of a French economist Edmond Thierry“Russia in 1914”: “If the affairs of the European nations from 1912 to 1950 proceed as they did from 1900 to 1912, Russia by the middle of this century will dominate Europe both politically and in economic and financial terms. He predicted that by the middle of the century - of course, not assuming that bloody revolutions, devastating wars and other cataclysms were ahead - the population of Russia would exceed 343 million people. At a huge distance will be Germany - 100 million. The population of England, according to Thierry's forecasts, will be 60 million, Italy and France - respectively - will exceed 45 and 42 million.

We know what happened in 1914 and what happened in 1917. But we don't know what could be...

On the eve of the war Valery Bryusov wrote the poem "The Old Question", in which he talked about the historical role of Russia - who are we "in this strange Europe?" A rage-breathing horde that destroys everything in its path, great people who gave the world Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky or the sentinel people, “who held back the onslaught of the Mongols, who stood alone under a thunderstorm in the centuries of difficult trials?” The answer to this old question was to be given in the near future:

"No need for arrogant words,

No need for majestic praise,

We will face the ages

What is our people's right?

On July 19, 1914, an event took place about which the British politician David Lloyd George said: "This is the most magnificent act of national heroism that I know." On that day, Nicholas II issued a decree banning the production and sale of all types of alcoholic beverages throughout Russia until the end of World War II.

In February 1917, the Provisional Government canceled many of the decrees Nicholas II, but the restriction on alcohol - bold and timely - was upheld. The Bolsheviks, who soon came to power, did not touch the royal document either. The bans were lifted only in August 1923 - the Decree on the resumption of production and trade in alcoholic beverages was signed by the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Alexey Rykov. The people thanked him in a peculiar way and called the new Soviet vodka “rykovka”.

Since then, “alcoholic” money has been pouring into the state treasury in an endless, stormy stream.

In early July 1914, Nicholas II, as usual, was vacationing with his family on the imperial yacht Shtandart in Finnish skerries. At the same time, a French delegation headed by the President of the country arrived in Russia. Raymond Poincaré. It was clear that he had come to check the mood of future allies. However, in the diary of Nicholas II there is not a word about the content of the conversations. As always, the tsar was more interested in purely everyday, secular problems than political problems: “Grigorovich brought President Poincaré to the yacht…” “In the morning I worked until 10 ¼ and went to the palace to Poincaré…” “I went with Poincaré to review the troops…”

The visit of the Parisian guest was long - more than five days, magnificent, including countless celebrations, meetings, receptions, dinners, and was widely covered in the press. On the heels of the prime minister, many photographers followed, leaving dozens, if not hundreds of pictures, capturing something that was not at all a fateful event.

However, there is an opinion that it was the visit of Poincare, who, by the way, did not sign any important documents, provoked the war. Like, the rulers of Germany and Austria-Hungary, angry that the Entente was putting together a bloc against them, began to actively prepare for military operations ...

But this is only a fragile version. Many historians have long been inclined to think that World War I was inevitable anyway. Even if the Sarajevo tragedy had not happened, Wilhelm II I would have found a reason to light the giant fuse anyway. The Kaiser learned of the assassination attempt in Sarajevo during the Fleet Week celebrations in Kiel. Hiding a satisfied smile under a curled mustache, he wrote three words in the margin of the message: "Jetzt oder niemals" - Now or never.

Well, the historical murder in the capital of Bosnia could not have taken place. After all, the Serbian Prime Minister Nikola Pasic, and Russian intelligence reported to Vienna about the impending assassination attempt. But the Austrians either did not pay attention to these warnings, or deliberately ignored them ...

For the war - and it was with Russia (the Kaiser more than once admitted to hating the Slavs), Berlin was also preparing the German society. General Alexey Brusilov recalled that during a vacation at a resort in Kissingen in May 1914, he visited a city holiday. A large model of the Moscow Kremlin was built on the square, which was then burned to the enthusiastic roar of the crowd.

The Kaiser, it is true, was thinking about the war in July 1914, looking with malicious joy at the attempts of politicians and diplomats, writing gracious letters to his cousin Nicholas II. But "a sincere and devoted friend and brother of Vili," as he signed, was playing for time, swearing in kindred feelings, assuring that he was making every effort to preserve peace. But these were nothing more than tricks, behind which lurked one goal - so that Russia, being late with the deployment of troops, would be worse prepared to repel a German strike.

There is another eloquent fact that speaks of Wilhelm's unwillingness to keep the peace. He did not even respond to the proposal of the Russian Tsar to refer the conflict between Serbia and Austria-Hungary to the consideration of the Hague Conference. You can also recall the words of a professor at the University of London James Joll: "The cost of armaments and the economic stress of German society were so great that only a war, in which all the rules of orthodox financing were stopped, saved the German state from bankruptcy."

Berlin's craving for war was irresistible, even though Russian army militarily, it represented a considerable danger to the numerous, drilled and well-trained German army. “The Russian colossus had a magical effect on Europe,” she wrote in her book “August Cannons” Barbara Tuckman. - On the chessboard of military planning, the huge size and human reserves of this country had the greatest weight ... The Cossacks and the tireless millions of stubborn, patient Russian men, ready to die, created the stereotype of the Russian army. Its numbers caused horror: 1,423,000 people in peacetime, another 3,115,000 during mobilization.

The Russian army seemed to be a gigantic mass, in a lethargic sleep, but, awakened and set in motion, it would irresistibly roll forward, wave after wave, regardless of losses, filling the ranks of the fallen with new forces.

The Russian army was armed with a three-line Mosin rifle of the 1891 model, a Nagant revolver of the 1895 model of the year, and a Maxim machine gun, improved by Tula gunsmiths - of the 1910 model. This weapon was better, or at least not worse. foreign analogues. The regiment had eight machine guns - like the Germans and the French. In total, the Russian army had 7030 guns - 240 of them were heavy. For comparison: in Germany - more than nine thousand guns - 1300 heavy and 996 siege, in Austria-Hungary over four thousand - 960 heavy and 338 siege, in France - 4800 - and only a few heavy ones.

The Russian fleet had excellent hydroplanes M-5 and M-9, which were considered the best in the world. Before the war, the Russian-Baltic Plant designed the Russian Knight multi-engine aircraft, then the Ilya Muromets bomber. The army had more than three thousand cars - while the Germans had just over eighty.

... "When the people of German guests were waiting for suicide in anguish," Moscow lived a familiar, carefree life. Reckless drivers, troikas and cars raced in long lines along the evening streets - they were heading to the restaurants Yar, Metropol, Prague, the Hermitage, taverns Gurina, Egorova, Testova. The Bolshoi Theater gave the opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila", in the Maly - the comedy "Own People - Let's Settle". At the Dmitrovka Operetta Theater in The Merry Widow, the title role was performed by the handsome baritone Mikhail Vavich; Faith Cold and public idol Ivan Mozzhukhin.

An extraordinary revival reigned at the Moscow gramophone shops - the Pathé brothers on Tverskaya, Robert Kentz on Myasnitskaya, Alekseev - on Kalanchevka. Rumor has it that new records will be on sale in the next few days. Nadezhda Plevitskaya And Fyodor Chaliapin. Ladies besieged fashion ateliers on Kuznetsky Most and Arbat. On vacation abroad, say, in Austrian Karlsbad or in German Baden-Baden, they would look simply breathtaking ...

The Russian national football team returned from a tour of Scandinavia, having played a draw with the teams of Norway and Sweden. There was an unfortunate misunderstanding in Stockholm. The guests were in the lead, however, according to an eyewitness, “the referee considers it necessary for some reason to add an extra 5 minutes of the game and 1.5 minutes before their expiration, the Swedes match the result, scoring a clear offside”. It turns out that the judges disliked us a hundred years ago! But why, gentlemen?

Peacetime is steadily counting down the last hours. The country is waiting for the fateful announcement of the outbreak of war with mixed feelings of fear and relief. Numerous noisy processions pass through St. Petersburg from morning to evening - people sing "God save the Tsar!", carry the flags of Russia and its allies, icons. The demonstrators glorify Serbia and its army, shout insults at Germany and Austria-Hungary.

Finally, on July 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The next day, the bombardment of Belgrade began by the ships of the Danube Flotilla and the batteries of the Zemlin fortress, located on the other side of the Danube.

After that, Nicholas II announced a partial mobilization.

Soon Anna Akhmatova will write:

“Only our land will not be divided for fun by an adversary.

The white Mother of God will spread a great scarf over the sorrows.

Juniper smell sweet from burning forests flies.

Soldiers moan over the guys, widow's weeping rings through the village.

It was not in vain that prayers were served, the earth yearned for rain.

Trampled fields were warmly sprinkled with red moisture ... "

Instead of an afterword

Long-suffering Serbia was subjected to aggression twice more in the 20th century. In 1941, it and other republics that were part of Yugoslavia were attacked by Nazi Germany with its allies along the "axis" - Italy and Hungary. After ten days of fighting, the Belgrade government capitulated.

In 1999, 85 years after the outbreak of the First World War, Serbia was attacked by the countries of the Atlantic Alliance. The formal reason for the start of hostilities - casus belli - was the failure to comply with NATO's demand to withdraw Serbian troops from the Serbian Autonomous Region of Kosovo.

Neither in the first nor in the second case did Russia come to the aid of the Slav brothers. True, in 1999, our paratroopers, having made an unexpected forced march from Bosnia and Herzegovina, occupied the Slatina airfield near Pristina. But this operation had only a weak psychological significance. By that time, NATO aggression against Yugoslavia had already ended.

The days when strong powers defended weak countries are long gone. The place of mercy and nobility gave way to practicality, political expediency.

But in the summer of 1914, Russia was not looking for benefits and sacrificed itself without hesitation. But was she right to do so?