The early Soviet Republic made a point to conduct its international diplomacy publicly, with the extraordinarily effective, and embarrassing, policy of publishing past and present secret negotiations and treaties. In doing so they showed not only the criminality of the imperialists, czarists and their allies in attempting to crush the Revolution, they also revealed all of the baseness, contempt, duplicity, and treachery in their relationship. Below, master foreign minister of the Revolution Chicherin exposes some of the reality to relationship between French imperialism’s intervention in Ukraine and the counter-revolutionary pogromists of Denikin and Petlura through the captured letters of General Grishin-Almazoff.
‘Denikin and the Allies’ by Georgy Chicherin from Truth (Duluth). Vol. 3 No. 49. December 12, 1919.
Valuable documents discovered on General Grishin-Almazoff, at the time when the latter fell into the hands of the red fleet in the Caspian Sea, disclosed the curious relations existing between the Denikin and the Allies. While these relations to the outer world appear like those of close friendship, overshadowed by no unpleasantness of any kind, they bear in reality all the signs of an intense mistrust, almost of hate on the part of the old Czar Generals towards the Allies whom with unrestrained contempt they dub “the Barbers” or “the Jew Freemasons”.
On the 13th of July some letters were published in the “Pravda”, written by prominent leaders of the Denikin camp. Indeed it is in one of these letters or rather in a despatch sent by Denikin’s agent Fronin to the Staff of Koltchak, that the French receive the nickname of “Jew Freemasons”. A similar strain of feeling is to be found in certain other intimate documents in the same collection. Czarist generals remain true, at least, to themselves. The courtiers of the “Autocrat”, transferred into exiles and paupers who drag on their living through the charity of the Entente, nevertheless retain their former pride. In a report made at the Jassk conference of the 30th November to 2nd December 1918, by General Grishin-Almazoff, one of the documents in our possession, reference is made to the notes of Miliukoff in which the following description of the Allies in Siberia is given: “To a larger extent they were engaged in speculation (the majority of them–Consuls, Barbers, or teachers of languages), they all behaved in an arrogant and provocative manner.” This expression of aristocratic contempt, is vented together with certain political ideas of a rather ambiguous nature. The Denikians fear that the Allies, having once placed them in power they will not wish readily to leave Russia, but intend themselves, to remain dominant in a conquered country. This fear on the part of the Denikians, we need hardly mention, is not at all an unreasonable one. Meanwhile, with intense anxiety, the Denikians follow closely upon the policy pursued by the Entente governments in the Ukraine; their endeavour to create, as Germany formerly endeavoured to create, provinces and republics of a more less independent character, provinces of which they would be able to make themselves the masters…thus diminishing the territory of that “Great Russia” which the Denikin patriots are themselves desirous of keeping for their own exploitation.
Amongst the dossiers which go to make up the Grishin-Albazoff archive two are marked “Alphabet”. These consist of a collection of reports of a Secret Inquiry Institution, which has its agents in Petrograd, Moscow, Kieff, Odessa, in the Crimea and the Caucasus; each agent is designated by a different letter of the Russian alphabet. Under the letter “Slovo”, a certain Cadet Stepanoff is concealed; this is a man who during the Denikian “extraordinary” conferences made himself a State Controller. The extremely interesting and vivid reports made by him point amongst other things to the suspicion with which the Denikians regard the Allies on whose charity they are at this time existing. In a report of the 11th-24th February, Stepanoff writes:
“The struggle for a United Russia Volunteer Army must be conducted on a number of fronts: there is the bolshevik front, the Separatist front, the front of internal disorder, the front of political chatter and the front it is painful, offensive and bitter to relate,–the front of the Allies, of the Anglo-French”. In a letter of the same date to Maklakoff, this same Stepanoff reveals a secret: “Will they not make us pay for all the French and English blood that is spilt in and for Russia, in spheres of influence and by turning Russia into a sort of Turkey, Persia or Egypt? More tanks, more guns, more manufactures and money is what we want and fewer Allied soldiers.” These last two sentences are underlined with the usual green pencil of Grishin-Almazoff who writes on the margin: “This is very true!” The following is a description given by Grishin-Almazoff of the conduct of the English in Transcaucasia, in his report to the Jaassk conference:
“The English occupied Krasnovodsk-Mery, that is to say they have liberated Turkestan, Colonel Stock, a well-known anti-Russian, whose appointment came as a direct challenge to Russian circles, is acting as representative. The Russian are treated more like India natives, this no doubt, is their Colonial policy.”
Complaints with regard to the support shown by the Allies to all kinds of autonomous local republics is the “Leituctif” (leading tune) that runs through practically the whole collection of documents of Grishin-Almazoff. Always the same complaints too little help is rendered by the Allies to the Denikians, too little ammunition is sent and in place of clothes, old rags are provided. Their aid is both feeble and undecided. Meanwhile, the Transcaucasian republicans and in particular Petlura are regarded by the Allies as the favourite children. During his appointment as Military Governor of Odessa, Grishin-Almazoff was in constant touch with French policy in the South, and according to these documents, Grishin-Almazoff is occupied practically every day in an incessant struggle which he and the other Denikians put up against the systematic coquetry of the French, who it appears, prefer to hold their own opinions in regard to Petlurians. There is an interesting letter addressed to Maklakoff by the South Russian National Centre, a powerful organization which includes many members of the Denikian Extraordinary Conference, such as Sazonoff, Stepanoff, Noratoff, Massloff, Tchelisheff, Shubertzky, Tehebiskoff, Astroff, as well as other well-known cadets, C.V. Panin, P.D. Dolgorukoff, with M.M. Federoff as their president. This letter is one whole indictment against the Allies for their feeble and undecided support of a United Russia, for their, on the contrary, very zealous support of an independent Georgia and for the negotiations into which they entered with an independent Ukraine.
“Has it not turned out that the Allies and friends of ours are no longer in need of a United Great Russia and that it is very profitable for them to have a Russia, parceled up and impoverished. Since powerful “Great Germany” disappeared, enfeebled, as they believe in France, for a hundred years or more, there is no longer any need for a powerful Russia. It is better for them to have a Russia that will play second fiddle, a Russia that can be used by all of them for their own selfish interests, than a powerful Russia that later on it will again become necessary to count with, as a factor in world politics.”
This representative of bankrupt Russian Imperialism still lives in the hope of seeing Russia re-established by means of foreign aid, can find nothing better to do, in return for an insignificant assistance rendered by the Allies, than to threaten the latter with punishment, the punishment of a Russia which is to be restored in the future: “Woe to those who forsake her in her hour of misfortune, and to those who take advantage of her misfortune in order to impoverish and weaken her.”
The National Centre does not stop at this, but threatens the Allies with something else, revealing on this occasion quite uncommon perspicuity. “In vain do the Allies imagine that they are insured against Bolshevism. Bolshevism. Bolshevism they presume to be disease of the “weak and conquered”. They are making a great mistake. Bolshevism is a disease that “spares neither the powerful nor the strong”.
“In all essentials Bolshevism is the doctrine of the class struggle, a doctrine, which applied to the masses, to the mob, at once results in Social revolution, the appropriation of all that belongs to the rich and eminent. This doctrine has indeed very great attraction for the masses.”
“Will the proletariat of France stand such a temptation? France of course triumphal fetes are the order of the day at present, but triumphal fetes will not last forever. When the army comes home and asks itself: “What has victory given us?” When it starts to compare that which democracy gives with that which democracy promises, will it then withstand the temptation?”
“The social divergency which Proudhon was impued with cannot for long be stifled by any victorious war. As long as the Bolshevik Microbe is not destroyed in Petrograd and Moscow, as long as it is not destroyed in Germany–it will continue to threaten France. By the indecision and connivance which our friends and allies at present evince with regard to bolshevism, they are preparing their own ruin. A year ago, Germany was separated from bolshevism forever, now it finds itself quite powerless to overcome it. Should this be repeated in France, then France will take a long time to get ever her victory”.
“We are aware that arguments of this kind have not much weight with the French, that these arguments are calculated even to irritate them. Their arrogance and pride prevents them from seeing that these arguments are something mere than a far-fetched scare, that they are the result of a close acquaintance with the bolshevist contagion. But we have no energy left to convince people, fate, maybe, will take its own course, and the social revolution traverse its own inevitable passage across all Europe. May be Proudhon was right when he foresaw and predicted all this. Are we not perhaps in the presence of the unseen working of some historic spirit?”
Dossier “Alphabet” contains a whole series of documents devoted to complicate polities of the French representatives in the South, where Denikians are forever vainly attempting to persuade them that they and they alone are they only true friends of the Entente and the only authority capable of undertaking anything serious against the bolsheviks. The principal acting person on the side of the Entente is a certain colonel Freudenberg, in the bands of whom the French generals, both d’Anlseme, Bertelle and Franz d’Esper are mere children. Grishin-Almazoff himself is at a loss to find words sufficiently strong to describe the crafty ambiguous policy of this Colonel Freudenberg and his presumed lack of foresight.
And all these people bring their complaints and accusations to colonel Freudenberg. The rivalry between the white guard volunteer army and Denikin’s government unsettles and hinders the latter in all possible ways, thus proving to the French that Denikin is incapable of successfully carrying out mobilization in the Odessa district by reason of the population’s hatred towards him. Naturally, the followers of Denikin declare all this to be falsehood and calumny. But colonel Freudenberg is not quite so sure of that. On the other hand however, when colonel Freudenberg, witnesses how numerous elements rally for Ukrainian independence and gather round Petlura, of course, he does not wish to refuse their aid for the sake of Denikin’s beautiful eyes. France looks further afield. The followers of Denikin, the national centres, and other adherents to the restoration of a united Russian state, are perfectly right in accusing France of desiring to seize the lion’s share by supporting local supporters of independence.
Conversing with the Denikians, Freudenberg always declare himself, of course, to be partisan of a United, indivisible Russia, also of a programme of restoration of the old Russia State in its former potency. But from his conversation with the Denikians, it is quite clear that he is not at all convinced that they are as powerful as they declare, and uncertain as to what extent the assurances they make to him with regard to their good faith can be relied upon. There passes before our eyes many vivid picture of incessant wrangling that goes on in the White Guards Camp. The smaller the area of authority, the more they divide up, and the more furiously they fight among each other.
And Freudenberg does not always succeed in hiding this fact. In a conversation with Shulgin, he astonishes him by suddenly pulling out the treaty with Petlura and by showing to the latter a paper of the Ukraine Directory, in which it is stated that: “The Directory recognising the mistakes made by it, begs of the French command, assistance in its struggle against the bolsheviks, further that the Directory commits itself to French protection and begs representatives of French to undertake the leadership of the Ukraine government in military, diplomatic political, financial, economic and judicial spheres, until such a time when the struggle against the bolsheviks comes to an end.” Freudenberg turns triumphantly Shulgin and asks: “What do you say to that?” Shulgin replies: “Dogs, such as Pelurians; are capable of signing anything”.
This conversation forms the leading theme which is repeated, with endless variations, throughout all the documents of this collection.
There is a special dossier in the Grishin-Almazoff archives which is marked “Special Matters”. In this dossier is filed everything of a nature to compromise the French, documents relating to their double dealing, to their coquetry with the Petlurians, “these bandits and robbers”, as Grishin-Almazoff unreservedly expresses himself, to their irregular and lawless administration in Odessa, and to the unlimited insolence of soldier-ruffians who experience for the first time, of the feeling of victory, while, together with all this, their complete incapacity to adopt themselves to unusual circumstances–their frivolity, carelessness, ignorance of military affairs and absence on their part of even the most elementary precautions during the approach of the bolshevik troops–all this is collected together and placed as one great “act of indictment” by Grishin-Almazoff. It is from him that we learn how the French supplanted the local authorities of Odessa, and with a complete disregard for anybody, they issued their own instructions, in respect to all spheres of life. It is he who informs us of how French soldiers threw people out of their own houses so that they might make use of these themselves, how, on the other hand, the French were always very quick in lending their authority to the arrangements for all kinds of amusements, especially for French officers, and finally how he himself was forced to pay his own household expenses. We learn from his how the French, recognising neither law nor custom, took over local administrations, suspended newspapers, made requisitions, searches etc., of how a hotel room just being evacuated by the chief of the Staff of the Volunteer Army was broken into by French soldiers and all the things thrown into the street–how French sailors in a restaurant threatened Volunteer Army officers with revolvers and declared their intention not to recognise any of the Russian officers and so on. A critical moment arrives after all this; it is the approach of the bolsheviks on Kherson. French grandeur appears here to have been built on feet of clay: French soldiers refuse to take up the fight against the bolsheviks. “After a few shrapnel shells had exploded close by, the feelings of the people underwent a rapid change for the worse. At the entrance to the Staff, when the commander of the regiment entered and came out with orders to take up position on the front, his regiment declined even to budge. The regiment stood there in one long row with its rifles stacked up in front of it. Occasional mutterings were heard. ‘We came to Russia on police duty, not to fight…I am on leave for France in fortnight and have no desire to be buried in Kherson’…The commander of the regiment thereupon made his escape upstairs where he fell upon a sofa and became hysterical.” “Afterwards he started to hand out his money and papers, requesting me to send them to his wife, as he was about to shoot himself. Only after some trouble did I succeed in pacifying him.”…This is related by a Russian officer-translator attached to the French. The final result turned out to be the evacuation of Kherson and its occupation by bolshevik soldiers.
As far as the French command is concerned, this last event is described in the documents in sufficiently strong language.
“Arrogance and frivolity of the French…We revolted at the inertia which is shown by the French command, at the complete absence of all necessary orientation and of a nonchalance which in general is quite incomprehensible to us. It is impossible to rely on the French!”
“It is impossible to rely on the French!”
These statements were made on the 25th February by the Greek colonel Solokopoule and Battalion Commander of the 34th Greek Regiment, Captain Vlakes. They add: “We are sure that you will take steps in order that the conversation we have had with you should not reach French ears, for it is quite obvious to you that in such a case we should have much unpleasantness. We believe in the sincerity of the promise you have given us, and so far are not threatened by any danger.”
However, in setting out for Siberia, Grishin-Almazof was imprudent enough to take all these documents with him, documents which picture to us so frankly and so clearly the relations existing between the Denikians and the Allies, documents which reveal the most intimate contacts of the two camps of robbers; which, while remaining for the outside world an emblem of untarnished friendship were, to all intents and purposes, torn with enmity. We make these documents public and submit them to the supreme judge–the working class!
Truth emerged from the The Duluth Labor Leader, a weekly English language publication of the Scandinavian local of the Socialist Party in Duluth, Minnesota and began on May Day, 1917 as a Left Wing alternative to the Duluth Labor World. The paper was aligned to both the SP and the IWW leading to the paper being closed down in the first big anti-IWW raids in September, 1917. The paper was reborn as Truth, with the Duluth Scandinavian Socialists joining the Communist Labor Party of America in 1919. Shortly after the editor, Jack Carney, was arrested and convicted of espionage in 1920. Truth continued to publish with a new editor JO Bentall until 1923 as an unofficial paper of the CP.
PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/truth/1919/v03n49-dec-12-1919-truth.pdf
