“ A former leader of Liberals, he proved to be now the strongest upholder of reaction. He enforced the censorship with unexampled rigour, and his interference with the food-supply work of the Zemstvos and Towns Union created a serious danger to the activities of these organizations. ”

“ The first unfavourable rumours with reference to him arose in connexion with an interview with Herr Max Warburg, the German financier at Stockholm. In March 1916 he visited the capitals of western Europe as one of the leaders of the Russian parliamentary delegation. On his return journey he privately met at Stockholm Herr Warburg, the head of the Scandinavian section of the German Committee on Food Supplies. ”