Kornilov left for General Headquarters, which hence-forward became the centre of every counter-revolutionary plot and conspiracy. Representatives of the old régime flocked from all parts to General Headquarters, promising the generals money and support. To Kornilov came the agents of the Entente, who had already realised that they had not preserved the Russian army for themselves by their participation in the February palace conspiracy. They now hoped to keep the Russian army at the front for the further prosecution of the war by taking a hand in the Kornilov plot.
Kornilov’s conspiracy was reaching maturity, and preparations were made openly. In order to divert attention, the rumour was spread that the Bolsheviks were plotting an insurrection. The columns of the bourgeois and petty-bourgeois newspapers were filled with hints and “reports” of a Bolshevik conspiracy. Rech, the Cadet newspaper, even named the day of action—August 27, the half-year anniversary of the revolution. While conniving at the Kornilov conspiracy, the Provisional Government, led by Kerensky, concentrated its blows on the Bolsheviks. A plan of provocation was drawn up. It was expected that demonstrations would be held in connection with the half-year anniversary of the revolution. But in case they were not held, Ataman Dutov and his Cossacks were to “stage” a Bolshevik uprising. The government would give orders for the suppression of this “Bolshevik” revolt. Troops mustered by Kornilov in advance, would enter Petrograd, smash the Bolshevik Party to begin with and destroy the Soviets and the revolutionary democratic organisations generally.
Kornilov had the list of members of his new government all prepared.
This is what he subsequently said, under examination, about the final composition of the proposed government:
“On August 26, at the conclusion of a conference of Commissars of the Front, Filonenko, V. S. Zavoiko and A. F. Aladin met in my office. . . . A project for a ‘Council of National Defence’ was drawn up, to consist of the Supreme Commander as Premier and A. F. Kerensky as Vice-Premier, B. Savinkov, General Alexeyev, Admiral Kolchak and M. Filonenko. This Council of Defence was to exercise a collective dictatorship, since the dictatorship of a single person was admittedly undesirable. Other Ministers proposed were: S. G. Takhtamyshev, Tretyakov, Pokrovsky, Count Ignatyev, Aladin, Plekhanov, G. E. Lvov, and Zavoiko.”(1)
In order to lull the vigilance of the workers and peasants, two demagogic decrees were drafted by the conspirators. One provided for an increase in the wages of railwaymen and postal servants, the object being to ensure their neutrality, if only temporarily; the other dealt with the land question—land was promised to soldiers on active service in the war against Germany.
Preparing for decisive action, the Kornilovites made every effort to flood Petrograd with their own men, chiefly officers. It was decided to send a special detachment of troops against Petrograd to occupy the city at the proper moment. On August 13 General Krymov, Commander of the III Cavalry Corps, who had taken part in the “palace conspiracy” on the eve of the February Revolution, arrived in Moghilev. Kornilov placed Krymov in command of the expedition against the revolutionary capital. On the first news of action by the “Bolsheviks,” Krymov was to occupy Petrograd, proclaim a state of siege, disarm the garrison, disperse the Soviets, arrest their members, disarm Kronstadt, and so forth.
On August 19 the threat to which Kornilov had referred at the Council of State materialised. Riga was surrendered to the Germans and the approaches to Petrograd were left unguarded. Kornilov’s General Staff, of course, laid the whole blame on the soldiers. But the city was surrendered by the generals. This is incontestably borne out by a telegram sent by Diamandi, the Rumanian Ambassador in Petrograd, to Bratianu, the Rumanian Premier.
Reporting a conversation with Kornilov, the Ambassador says:
“The general added that the troops abandoned Riga at his orders and retreated because he preferred to lose territory rather than lose the army. General Kornilov is also calculating that the impression which the capture of Riga will produce on public opinion will permit the immediate restoration of discipline in the Russian army.”(2)
And as a matter of fact, the fall of Riga did enable Kornilov once more to demand that the Provisional Government should fulfil the programme which had been outlined a long time before. In particular, the general demanded that the Petrograd Military Area should be placed under his direct charge. The Provisional Government conceded these demands, with the proviso however, that Petrograd and its environs should be taken out of the control of General Headquarters and placed under the direct control of the Minister of War. Kerensky particularly insisted on this point. On August 24 Savinkov arrived at General Headquarters and informed Kornilov that the Provisional Government had accepted the general’s “memorandum.” Savinkov confirmed the necessity of transferring the III Cavalry Corps to Petrograd in view of “possible” complications. The III Cavalry Corps, which included the “Savage Division,” proceeded to the capital.
Events moved swiftly. The revolution was in danger.
On August 25 a wire was sent from General Headquarters to Ataman Kaledin in Novocherkassk ordering him to dispatch a mounted Cossack division to Finland via Moscow, while the I Caucasian Cavalry Corps, which was quartered in Finland, was ordered to move on Petrograd.
About 3,000 officers were hurriedly summoned from the front to General Headquarters on the pretext of receiving instruction in new types of mine-throwers and mortars. Directions were given to send reliable and, as far as possible, regular officers. When the officers arrived they were informed that they had been summoned not to undergo instruction, but because an uprising of the Bolsheviks was expected in Petrograd; they were told that, with Kerensky’s consent, Kornilov had dispatched Cossack units to the capital, and that it was possible that Kornilov might be obliged to proclaim himself temporary dictator. The officers were promised that five or ten junkers would be attached to each of them. They were issued allowances and dispatched to Petrograd “to restore order.” On August 27 instructions were given to General Krymov’s III Cavalry Corps that if the railway line should be damaged they were to proceed to Petrograd on foot.
The revolutionary capital was hemmed in on all sides. Everything, it would seem, had been foreseen. General Headquarters counted on rapid success. It was believed that nobody would rise in defence of the Provisional Government.
“Nobody will defend Kerensky. This is nothing but a promenade. All preparations have been made.”(3) This is how General Krasnov subsequently described the opinion that prevailed at General Headquarters at the time of the Kornilov revolt.
The Provisional Government was fully informed of the preparations being made by the Supreme Commander. Kerensky satisfied all Kornilov’s demands without delay, thus facilitating his preparations. General Alexeyev, an eye-witness, confirmed this circumstance in a letter to Milyukov:
“Kornilov’s action was no secret to the members of the government. This question had been discussed with Savinkov and Filonenko, and through them with—Kerensky.”(4)
But the scale of the movement scared Kornilov’s accomplice. Kerensky realised that if Kornilov moved, an explosion among the masses would result, and the army and the peasantry would rise against the counter-revolutionaries. Kerensky, the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks had a presentiment that the tide of revolution would sweep away all the compromisers, together with Kornilov. That is why, when he received news of Kornilov’s action, Kerensky effected an abrupt change of front and decided to take measures against the “mutineer.” The political scheme of the Socialist-Revolutionary and Menshevik traitors was clear, namely, to pretend that Kornilov was marching on Petrograd against their wishes, to assure the workers that the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries were defending the revolution, to pose as revolutionaries and thus to retrieve their reputations.
Kerensky was also guided by purely personal motives. He knew that “the country sought a name,” and considered that his own “name” was a suitable one in every respect. He had for some time been regarding Kornilov’s promotion with suspicion, and had even endeavoured to dismiss him, but had encountered the resistance of the bourgeois organisations. The British Ambassador hit off the rivalry between the two candidates for the dictatorship when he wrote in his diary on September 3:
“Kerensky, whose head has been somewhat turned of late and who has been nicknamed ‘the little Napoleon,’ did his best to act up to this new role by posing in several of Napoleon’s favourite attitudes and by making his two aides-de-camp stand behind him during the whole of the proceedings. There is little love, I imagine, lost between the two men [Kerensky and Kornilov—Ed.] but our chief safeguard lies in the fact that, for the moment at any rate, neither can get on without the other. Kerensky cannot hope to retrieve the military situation without Kornilov, who is the only man capable of controlling the army; while Kornilov cannot dispense with Kerensky, who, in spite of his waning popularity, is the man best fitted to appeal to the masses and to secure their acceptance of the drastic measures which must be taken in the rear if the army is to face a fourth winter campaign.”(5)
Kornilov himself was of the opinion that Kerensky had to be reckoned with for the time being. It was not without good reason that the general had included Kerensky in his list of members of the new government. Kornilov’s political advisers—Zavoiko, Savinkov and Filonenko—assured him that joint action with Kerensky was possible.
Kerensky heard of the conspiracy being hatched at General Headquarters, but could not get to know the details. V. N. Lvov, a former member of the government, came to see him on August 22 and told him that “certain public groups” recommended a reorganisation of the Cabinet. When Kerensky asked to whom he was referring, Lvov hinted at General Headquarters.
Kerensky realised that through Lvov he could get to know the details of the conspiracy, and decided to employ him as an intermediary. On August 24 Lvov visited Kornilov and gave him to understand that he had come at the instance of the Prime Minister, and that Kerensky would like to know the general’s opinion of the state of affairs in the country. Kornilov requested Lvov to come and see him on Tuesday, August 25. The next morning the Supreme Commander received Lvov and set forth the following demands:
1. Martial law to be proclaimed in Petrograd.
2. All Ministers to resign, not excepting the Prime Minister, and charge of the government departments to be temporarily entrusted to the Assistant-Ministers until such time as a cabinet was formed by the Supreme Commander.
At 7 p.m. on August 26, Lvov was received by Kerensky in the Winter Palace. Kerensky refused to believe Lvov’s account and induced him to set forth Kornilov’s demands in writing. At 8.30 p.m. Kerensky summoned Kornilov on the direct wire and invited Lvov to be present at the conversation. Lvov was late, and Kerensky decided to speak with Kornilov in the name both of himself and of the absent Lvov.
“‘Good-day, General. V. N. Lvov and Kerensky at the apparatus. We beg you to confirm the statement that Kerensky is to act according to the communication made to him by V. N.’
“‘Good day, Alexander Feodorovich [Kerensky—Trans.]; good day, V.N. [Lvov—Trans.]. Confirming again the description I gave V.N. of the present situation of the country and the army as it appears to me, I declare again that the events of the past days and of those that I can see coming imperatively demand a definite decision in the shortest possible time.’
“‘I, V.N., ask you whether it is necessary to act on that definite decision which you asked me to communicate privately to Kerensky, as he is hesitating to give his full confidence without your personal confirmation.’
“‘Yes, I confirm that I asked you to convey to Alexander Feodorovich my urgent demand that he should come to Noghilev.’
“‘I, Alexander Feodorovich, understand your answer as confirmation of the words conveyed to me by V.N. To do that to-day and start from here is impossible. I hope to start to-morrow. Is it necessary for Savinkov to go?’
“‘I beg urgently that Boris Victorovich [Savinkov—Trans.] shall come with you. Everything I said to V.N. refers in equal degree to Savinkov. I beg you earnestly not to put off your departure later than to-morrow. Believe me, only my recognition of the responsibility of the moment urges me to persist in my request.’
“‘Shall we come only in case of an outbreak, of which there are rumours, or in any case?’
“‘In any case.’
“‘Good day. Soon we shall see each other.’
“‘Good day.’”(6)
When this conversation was over, Kerensky met Lvov on the staircase and invited him into his office. Balavinsky, the Assistant Chief of Militia, was concealed in the adjoining room. Kerensky got Lvov to repeat his statement in the hearing of the concealed witness. Having by this ruse obtained corroboration of Kornilov’s proposals, Kerensky unexpectedly declared Lvov arrested and himself hurried to a meeting of the Provisional Government. There the Prime Minister reported Lvov’s conduct, produced all the telegraph tape records of the conversation and demanded emergency powers for himself to combat the Kornilov revolt. Kerensky’s action was a bolt from the blue for the Cadet Ministers. They all knew of the conspiracy; they were all waiting and preparing for the action. And suddenly the head of the government calls off. The Cadets hastened to smooth over the conflict “without publicity and scandal”. Milyukov tried to convince Kerensky that the real power was on the side of Kornilov, who was acting patriotically and deserved the support of “all the vital forces of the country.” In conversation with the Prime Minister, Milyukov and General Alexeyev exerted themselves to the utmost to remove the “misunderstanding” and to patch up an agreement between Kerensky and Kornilov. The Cadet Ministers—Kokoshkin, Yurenev, Oldenburg and Kartashov—again resigned, thus making it easier for Kornilov to carry out his plans.
An editorial in the Cadet newspaper Rech of August 29 obviously took the side of Kornilov and endeavoured to pass off the whole affair as a sheer misunderstanding. On August 30 Rech appeared with blank columns. An editorial in which the Cadets had frankly expressed their solidarity with Kornilov had to be thrown out at the last minute, when the hopelessness of the Kornilov revolt became clear. The text of the editorial, however, has been preserved in the archives. In this editorial the Cadets asked:
“What answer can be made to the charge that qualifies the events that are taking place as a conspiracy against the revolution with the aim of putting a stop to the rule of democracy? General Kornilov is not a reactionary, his aims have nothing in common with the aims of counter-revolution; this is clear from his definite statement, than the simplicity of which there can be no better evidence of the ingenuousness of mind and heart of the soldier. General Kornilov is seeking a means of leading Russia to victory over the enemy and to an expression of the popular will in the future structure of the Constituent Assembly. It is all the easier for us to associate ourselves with this formulation of national aims because we expressed ourselves in exactly similar terms long before General Kornilov. . . . We have no hesitation in declaring that General Kornilov has been pursuing the aims which we too consider essential for the salvation of the country.”(7)
This editorial entirely justifies the epithet Lenin applied to the Cadets: “Kornilovites.”
Attempts to reconcile the two candidates for post of the dictatorship were also made by the Allied diplomats. Sir George Buchanan, the British Ambassador was aware of the conspiracy and supported Kornilov. With Buchanan’s knowledge, British armoured cars accompanied the III Corps on its way to Petrograd.
“All my sympathies were with Kornilov,”(8) the British Ambassador admits in his memoirs. The British press anxiously endeavoured to conceal the fact that British armoured cars had taken part in the Kornilov rebellion. The Times of October 3, 1917, indignantly declared that the story about the armoured cars was a malicious slander. At the instance of the British Ambassador, the Provisional Government even had libel proceedings instituted against the editor of the Moscow Bolshevik newspaper, the Sotsial-Demokrat. A document is now available which fully corroborates the connection between the British and the Kornilovites. It is an urgent telegram sent on August 28 by General Romanovsky, a prominent Kornilovite, which runs:
“General Quartermaster 7. Immediately instruct the commander of the British armoured car division to dispatch all fighting machines including the Fiats, together with all officers and crews, to Brevari to Lieutenant-Commander Soames. Dispatch to the same place the machines located at the Dubrovka manor 6429.”(9)
The imperialists were subsequently obliged to make a public admission of their complicity in the Kornilov revolt. In a controversy with British officers, American officers revealed what the former were anxious to conceal. As the proverb says when thieves fall out honest men come into their own. Colonel Robbins, an American, has made public a conversation he had with the Britisher, General Knox. The conversation took place in Petrograd shortly after the collapse of the Kornilov revolt. Colonel Robbins stated:
“He (General Knox) continued: ‘You ought to have been with Kornilov.’ I said, ‘Well, General, you were with Kornilov’; and he flushed, because he knew that I knew that English officers had been put in Russian uniforms in some of the English tanks to follow up the Kornilov advance, and very nearly opened fire on the Kornilov forces when they refused to advance from Pskov. . . .”(10)
At the time of the Kornilov affair, General Knox, the representative of the British General Staff attached to the Provisional Government, did everything he could to ensure the success of the military coup d’état. And if the Kornilov rebellion failed, the British general is least of all to blame.
Kerensky, supported by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets, endeavoured to organise the defence of Petrograd. But the only people who could put up any effective resistance to Kornilov were the Bolsheviks.
[1] “Explanatory Memorandum of General Kornilov,” Obshcheye Delo (Common Cause), No. 6, October 2, 1917.
[2] “Kornilov Admits He Surrendered Riga Deliberately,” Pravda, No. 203, December 1, 1917.
[3] Krasnov, “On the Internal Front,” Archiv Russkoi Revolutsii, Vol. I, Paris, p. 115.
[4] “The Conspiracy of General Kornilov, Alexeyev, Milyukov, Putilov and Co. General Alexeyev’s Letter to Milyukov,” Pravda, No. 212, December 12, 1917.
[5] Sir George Buchanan, My Mission to Russia and Other Diplomatic Memoirs, London, Cassell & Co., 1923, Vol. II, p. 172.
[6] A. F. Kerensky, The Prelude to Bolshevism—The Kornilov Rebellion, London, Fisher, 1919, pp. 169-70.
[7] “The All-Russian Democratic Council,” Rabochy Put (Workers’ Way), No. 14, October 2, 1917.
[8] Sir George Buchanan, My Mission to Russia and Other Diplomatic Memoirs, London, Cassell & Co., 1923, Vol. II, p. 185.
[9] Central Archives of the October Revolution, Records 9, “Extraordinary Commission to Investigate the Case of General Kornilov and his Accomplices,” Vol. I, Register 2, File No. 6, folio 56.
[10] From Judiciary Committee (Senate) Hearings, 65 Cong., 3 Sess., 1919. Bolshevik Propaganda, p. 780.
Previous: Preparations for a Military Dictatorship
Next: The Revolt of the Generals Crushed