February 1917: "Three Months Preceding the Revolution" British Major-General Alfred W. F. Knox's February eye-witness account of Russian disillusionment with the war
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| "The party returned from the front via Moscow, and on the afternoon of February 15th, after lunching with General Mrzovski, the Commander of the District, attended a meeting of the Moscow branch of the Military Industrial Committee. A big Moscow manufacturer took the chair and read long speeches in Russian, welcoming the Delegation, asking for every possible material from England, including steel, which Russia should have been able to produce in abundance, and incidently abusing the Russian Government. The burden of the argument was that, as Russia was badly governed, she was unable to make use of her enormous natural resources for the purposes of the war, therefore practically all munitions must come from abroad. Though we repeatedly explained that our resources and shipping were limited, that our only object was to help, and to find out how we could best help within the limit of our powers, we came away without obtaining single practical suggestion. One of the engineers followed me out and, overcome with emotion, said that he felt it was his duty to tell me that Russia was now governed by people who were deliberately preparing for her defeat. He said: 'Something dreadful is going to happen. We are approaching a castatrophe!'" (519). |