Vladivostok

“ Is it worth while sending our fleet to the East? Let us suppose Vladivostok holds out until our arrival, and that our fleet, after having engaged in battle with the Japanese, reaches it. What then? At Vladivostok there is little coal; there are no shells, powder, or guns; and how many shall we have left after the fight? Again, the Japanese ships after the fight would go to Sasebo, Nagasaki, and other ports; and, quickly repairing their damages, would be ready to fight again. What should we do? At Vladivostok there is only one dock. There are no good workshops, no materials, no workmen. ”

“ I have taken the private car of Zorogoff, and knowing that you intend to return to Vladivostok soon, perhaps you would like to travel by this wagon. It is advisable to go aboard the car, which now stands in the station yards, while the fog still holds, and be picked up by the next train. If you have any friends to go with you, the station commandant is at your orders. The Irkutsk train for Vladivostok will be here within an hour, and it will pick up one of my armored cars for safety. ”

“ An American transport was to touch at Vladivostok two days later!
Nadia and I hurried to the Consulate. The Consul declared that the Bolsheviks had threatened him if he should be found aiding me to get away. Meanwhile he proceeded to have all the necessary foreign passports prepared for us, and we were photographed for that purpose. The difficulty of leaving Vladivostok without a pass from the Soviet still confronted us. The harbour was under strict supervision, and the boats that were used to ferry passengers from the shore to the steamships were manned and inspected by Bolsheviks. ”

“ From the plain of the Sungari Russia can easily send troops to Mukden and Niu-chwang, and if necessary even to Peking, whereas from Vladivostok she would find it very difficult, if not absolutely impossible, to transport them by land, and, moreover, there she is by no means complete mistress of the sea. ”

“ Then in December the news that the Japanese torpedo-boats had attacked the Russian fleet, by bad strategy huddled together in the harbour at Port Arthur, quickly spread through the Russian Far East and shocked with incredulity the previously invulnerable confidence of Vladivostok. After solemn services in the churches and the publication of the manifesto of the Tsar, proclaiming a state of war, the populace, roused by the unexpected attack of the Japanese, each day became more warlike. ”

“ The car carrying Gordon rolled into the Svetlanskaya, the main street of Vladivostok, and began to climb one of the many hills. There was a great stream of confused traffic, and mixed in it were strange men in uniforms—black Annamites in French blue, yellow Japanese in buff, bronzed Czechs in brown, Cossacks in natural gray; Canadians in brown short coats, and Americans in snuff-colored khaki. ”

“ There are Japanese ships at Shanghai, watching that our disarmed ships do not escape.
We passed by Formosa—passed by part of the small Japanese islands. Vladivostok is getting nearer and nearer. We have only to cross the North China Sea and the straits of Korea to enter the sea of Japan, on the shores of which is the long-desired Vladivostok. What are the Japanese doing? Where are they? No doubt preparing a hearty welcome for us.
There will probably be frantic torpedo attacks in the straits of Korea. The moon rises late and makes the night attacks easier. Will there be a fleet action? ”

“ They are taking the guns from Port Arthur and are fortifying the coast of Korea with them.
[171]
Where can our fleet go if Vladivostok is cut off? Even if we succeed in getting there before it is captured, there are no stores there, and in the fleet there are few. We starving shall come to the famished. The fleet will then perish, as it did at Port Arthur. Do you know that the Bogatyr sank while coming out of dock? They were able to place a floating dock under her. The Japanese have sent cruisers and torpedo-boats to Vladivostok. Matters are going badly for Kuropatkin. ”

“ He was a Georgian, a man of no great intelligence, ambitious and very desirous of making a career for himself. It was my purpose to try to persuade him to remain neutral, as the demonstration was to be of an entirely peaceful character and its leaders were determined not to allow the crowd to make any trouble or disturbance. Kazbek listened to me, smiling rather mysteriously as I spoke. Noticing this, I said to him:
"The fate of Vladivostok depends upon your honesty' and wisdom, General!" ”

“ With their aid, I was able to make such a favourable impression on the Khabarovsk Soviet that I was permitted to proceed to Vladivostok, where I arrived about the middle of April, 1918, with five roubles and seventy kopecks in my purse.
The Soviet in Vladivostok kept a close watch over all the people who were arriving and departing. As soon as Nadia and I reached a lodging house, our documents were demanded in order that they might be sent to the Soviet for inspection. Nadia had a regular passport, while I made use of the paper from the Moscow Soldiers’ Section. ”

“ We also learned that the Soviet was enlisting as many men as it could from the port to strengthen its garrison, and was in communication with the Bolsheviks and the armed prisoners in the interior, who were then in open war with our echelons. Our National Assembly, which had transferred its seat to the east, decided that the Bolsheviks had to be disarmed, and that Vladivostok should be in our undisputed possession with all its depôts. ”

“ In the far East, Vladivostok is destined to become an important commercial stronghold, and the entrepôt by sea of Oriental products, serving at the same time as the shipping-point for grain and other food products to Japanese, Chinese, and South Sea communities.
The great causes of trade increase or decrease in Russia are the fullness or poverty of the harvest and the peace or disturbance of political conditions in Europe and the near East. War in Persia, Turkey, or elsewhere in that part of the world has a directly unfavorable effect upon the total of Russian commerce. ”

“ I am in Vladivostok on official business, and in February I except to be back in Omsk. I am getting along quite well, but like everybody else I am terribly anxious to return home. Our invalids and soldiers over forty years are already returning from Vladivostok to Bohemia. ”

“ We must expect and be prepared for everything.
7 p.m.—We have passed the island of Anamba. The admiral opines that we shall meet the Japanese fleet to-morrow. The sea is calm. There is a swell. The small ships roll. It is interesting to know what impression the news, that the fleet has passed Singapore, will produce in Petersburg. Where is the third fleet now? Will it join us at Vladivostok? Shall we await it at Kamranh? If we safely arrive at that bay, then the Japanese [232] will have to look after the Vladivostok cruisers, our ships, and the third fleet. ”

“ Vladikavkaz, 200 versts from Tiflis, lies at the [67] foot of the Caucasus, at a height of 2368 feet. The best hotel is the Pochtovaya, at the post-station; the Frantsiya is also good. Vladikavkaz means, in Russian, “master of the Caucasus” (cf. Vladivostok, Vladimir, &c.—root vlad is akin to German walt-en, Gewalt) ; the Cherkesses (Circassians) call it Kapkai, “gate of the mountains.” It has a population of over 30,000 souls, chiefly Russians, Cherkesses, Georgians, Armenians, Persians, besides a strong garrison. ”

“ The waters of the seas hid for ever the victims of the terrible tragedies, the principal actors of which were members of the bandit association. After cleaning the coast of foreigners, they usually penetrated deeper into the interior of the country and rifled the Mongolian nomads of gold, furs, precious stones, and everything else of value.
In the little gulf north of Vladivostok they had their headquarters. Here the spoils were divided, packed, and transported to Vladivostok to be sold to foreign, mainly German, ships, which maintained regular business relations with them. ”

“ Thirty years later, after the new province had been developed and the harbor of Vladivostok converted into a powerful fortress, Russia determined upon building an all-rail route across Siberia, and immediately began to press for other concessions in Chinese territory that in 1897 resulted in the association which constructed what is now known as the Manchurian Railway. ”

“ If constructed wholly on Russian territory the line would have to make an enormous bend to the northward, whereas if it went straight from Lake Baikal to Vladivostok it would be very much shorter, and would confer a very great benefit on the north-eastern provinces of the Celestial Empire. This benefit, moreover, might be greatly increased by making a branch line to Talienwan and Port Arthur, which would some day be united with Peking. ”

“ But, thank God! the cholera ceased, and on the 13th of October the steamer bore me away from Sahalin. I have been in Vladivostok. About the Primorsky Region and our Eastern sea-coast with its fleets, its problems, and its Pacific dreams altogether, I have only one thing to tell of: its crying poverty! Poverty, ignorance, and worthlessness, that might drive one to despair. One honest man for ninety-nine thieves, that are blackening the name of Russia.... ”

“ It's really too bad so great a country as ours hasn't an outlet further south. But all trade isn't stopped on account of the ice. There is a channel kept open for the largest ships all winter by means of ice-breakers."
"What kind of people are there in Vladivostok?" I ventured to ask, half fearful of saying something ridiculous.
The man turned to me with a smile. "Many exactly like those in your village. Then people from different parts of Europe, and Chinese and Japanese. Also quite a number of Koreans, whom you can tell by their white dress. You'll see those in Habarovsk, also." ”

“ Then, when finally we reached Vladivostok, on the Pacific, we found that we were not to go to France after all, that the Allies thought we had a more important work to do where we were, especially in keeping the railroad, and hence the wealth of Siberian grain and mineral, from reaching the Central Powers. ”

“ Irkutsk receives the caravan trade that goes from Peking through Urga and Kiakhta, the frontier post of Chinese trade. Vladivostok is the great Pacific outlet and the terminus of the Transsiberian Railway. It is ice-bound in winter. Harbin, in Manchuria, China, is a Russian trading post of great commercial importance. ”

“ The Government of the United States has, therefore, proposed to the Government of Japan that each of the two governments send a force of a few thousand men to Vladivostok, with the purpose of cooperating as a single force in the occupation of Vladivostok and in safeguarding, as far as it may be, the country to the rear of the westward-moving Czecho-Slovaks, and the Japanese Government has consented. ”

“ They reached Vladivostok late at night, and with the city over-crowded, they had difficulty in getting quarters. They were temporarily sent to a Russian house across the bay, and then a fourth-class car was arranged for them on the siding at the Base. The weather was getting very cold, the car was unsatisfactory to them, they objected to being halted by our sentries when they came to the car late at night, and despite two stoves kept going by a German war prisoner, they said they nearly froze to death.
I began to understand some of the troubles of impresarios with foreign “artists.” ”

“ A new state of affairs now arose in the Far East which made our complete military unreadiness seem alarming, especially as the Pri-Amur was at that time practically defenceless against an offensive movement by the Japanese. Throughout the immense expanse of this military district there were only nineteen infantry battalions, and we were at once obliged to start increasing our troops in the Far East and turning Vladivostok into a naval fortress; but the most urgent question was that of establishing railway communication. ”

“ For you learn that the doughboys have already successfully put into circulation the pink coupons of a certain popular cigarette.
But the monetary problem in Vladivostok is comparatively simple. This is borne in upon you when you leave the city for the interior. (If you leave on one of the innumerable Russian holidays, and all the shops are shut up, you must overeat at the “Zolotoi Roq” to get rid of that currency, but you must carry with you the paper belonging to the closed shops.) For once en route, you begin to acquire various kinds of Bolshevist money. ”

“ The way to Vladivostok leads down the valley of the Amur River. That is really the only path we can take. As you know, the great Siberian post road also follows the windings of the stream. Of course we will keep back among the foothills, and at this time of year, when the post road is little traveled and but few persons are abroad, the danger of discovery would be lessened. If the crust remains on the snow we should be able in two months to cover the thousand miles that separate us from the Pacific. ”

“ Transposing Vladivostok for Boston, Harbin would be Binghamton, Chita would be Buffalo, Lake Baikal would be Lake Michigan, Irkutsk would be Chicago. Further west Omsk would be Lincoln, Nebraska, Ekaterinburg would be Denver, the Urals would be the Rockies, Petrograd would be San Francisco, Moscow would be Los Angeles. The geographical similarity of the two countries is extraordinary. Only Siberian distances are three times as great and Siberian populations one-thirtieth as large. ”

“ From toying with various parts of the Intelligence machine, I turned my attention to distributing fifty cases of books which had been sent to the troops by the American Library Association. Our men, living in the stone-floored Russian barracks, which were cold and damp and dirty, found these books most welcome. It was a most dreary environment for young and active men, most of them too far from the city to get any entertainment from it, and when its novelty was worn off, they found even Vladivostok dull and disheartening. ”