A Picture of the Tsar
[As we are publishing extracts from the " Letters of the Tsar to the Tsaritsa" during this and succeeding weeks, we have asked Sir John Hanbury-Williams, who was Chief of the British Military Mission in Russia from 1914 to 1917, to supply an introductory article to the series.] Tnotica nearly fifteen years have passed since I first had the honour of meeting the Tsar, Nicholas II., there remain in my mind many scenes, happy in their beginning, tragic in their end.
His first reception of me as Chief of the British Military Milision with the Russian Armies in the field, was one of great kindness and cordiality. It took place at Ilaranovitchi, then the headquarters of the Commander-in-Chief, the Grand Duke Nicholas (that great and gallant soldier whose loss is to-day so fresh in the memories of all who knew him personally or by repute), situated in a widespread forest of pine trees, several long railway cars being occupied by him, his Staff and the various Chiefs of Allied Military Missions, while the visiting Tsar's train occupied an adjacent position hidden almost by a similar stretch of woods. At the entrance to the Imperial car were two huge Cossacks of the-Guard, on passing whom I was received by an Aide-de-Camp and conducted to the Tsar's little study.
Simplicity marked the tone of his surroundings as it did the whole manner of his living there, austerity, almost, in food and drink refuting a somewhat general idea of luxury or excess of any kind. He was dressed in very simple uniform, a khaki blouse coat, blue breeches, and long black riding boots. As I saluted he came forward, shaking me warmly by the hand and inqiiiring at once for our King and Queen and the Royal family, then about my wife and children, welcoming me in conclusion as representing the British Army. We talked freely for some time, and as I took my leave he enjoined upon me to come to ,his car for dinner that night and dispense with ins, sword which it was the custom always to wear on formal receptions. He appeared in excellent spirits and health, struck me at once by his likeness to King George, and attracted me immediately by his friendliness of manner with at the same time most perfect dignity. A bright, cheerful, happy face, showing no signs of the anxiety or care which one would have expected in a position such as that of a Russian Monarch with not only the rule of his country but the general superin- tendence of a great war in his hands.
Many similar visits were paid by the Tsar at various times, and on all 'occasions I was invited to dinner when we talked on many subjects, his visits to England, the pleasure which it gave the Empress to hear of the people and places here which she knew so well, the affection which they both felt for our country, and the wish that when peace came they could bring the Tsarevitch with them to see their relations and friends here.
Although never posing in the faintest degree as an exponent of military matters he kept himself constantly and fully informed on details of the situation, retaining in his memory a map of the positions, and could tell you off-hand the where- abouts of any particular corps or division, and frequently even that of a regiment. He was intensely keen to hear of the arrival in France of Indian regiments and laughed' over the old days of 1886-87 and the Penjdeh scare. In August, 1915 (when shortness of munitions, talk of revolution, retreating armies, and general depression were in the air); came his decision to take over the chief command from the Grand Duke Nicholas. The reasons for and the wisdom of this move are matters which are open to much discussion in various quarters ; the results are known.
At my reception by the Tsar on this occasion he at once told me that whenever I wished to see him he would gladly receive me and that my position should be exactly as it had been with the Grand Duke, who, I informed His Majesty, apparently somewhat to his astonishment, had in his parting words to me expressed the certainty that I should be of the same help to . the Tsar as I had been to him. Never did I have the slightest difficulty in seeing him and invariably was I received with the same kindness, though my efforts in various directions to push on vital matters such as railways and other urgent necessities were not, owing to slackness, corrup- tion, and intrigues in other quarters, often successful.
Constantly in our talks at meals and during walks he spoke of the Empress, who invariably showed me the greatest kindness and sympathy at times of personal trouble. On some matters the Tsar would take an immediate decision as, for instance, on the question of Lord Kitchener's visit (an unfortunate decision, as fate willed, but one showing a strength of mind for which he was rarely credited), which, had it taken place, might, I still believe, have exercised a considerable influence for good on Russian affairs.
The fateful year of 1917 showed how badly he was being served, and then came the morning when I woke to find that Revolution had started, the Tsar, to whom I had bid good- night on the previous evening, .had left with nothing but failure and tragedy before him. The next picture I have of him, and one that, alas ! is often before me now, is that of my visit in the depression and darkness of a sombre and gloomy evening to the deposed Monarch of all the Russias. As I walked over to what had been his palace and was now his prison, at headquarter& events ran quickly through my mind, pictures of a happy Emperor and Empress, with their children whom they loved so dearly, scenes of them. kneeling in church, praying for help and victory and the prosperity of the country they adored, and—now—this as the end or rather the beginning of a still more tragic ending to their chapter of life. Even then, broken and deposed, his. first thoughts were for the success of his armies and those of the Allies, no word of complaint, no word of disloyalty or failure on the part of those who might have served him or advised him better.
As I sat beside him in the big empty room in the badly-lit palace, I saw before me a man who, given any faults or failings, was going to his fate (and God knows it was a terrible one) with no thought for himself, no fear, no selfish desires, only prayer and hope for others and the restoration of his beloved Russia. Whether he paid for his own mistakes or the mistakes of his fathers, surely he paid in fulL The dagger or the bomb brought death quickly, but he underwent degradation, misery, and the worst kind of suffering, the suffering for others whom he could not help.
J. HANBURY-WILLIAMS.
Previous page
