TURMOIL IN THE NAVY
In Kronstadt, the struggle is raging on an enormous scale. Here is what the news dispatches report:
Petersburg, November 10. The crew of the 14th Naval Squadron, which is garrisoned in the center of the city of Kronstadt, mutinied and demolished everything in its barracks. The Fourth Uhlan Regiment, which was landed in Kronstadt, was immediately met with fixed bayonets. Most of the troops went over to the revolutionaries, and the marine infantry also mutinied. Regular soldiers and ordinary civilians were without any reason fired upon by the rebels. The number of casualties is not yet known. Stores were looted of almost everything, and were also set on fire.
Paris, November 10. According to a late-night dispatch from the Petersburg correspondent of Le Matin, sailors on one of the warships of Kronstadt have bombarded the Cossacks who were landed on the beach. Also, several forts were firing at random, and the fear is that they too have joined the rebels.
Paris, November 10. From Petersburg, the Petit Parisien reports that the news from Kronstadt has aroused the greatest anxiety here. The Peterhof Dragoon Regiment, which belongs to the category of crack troops, gave itself up to the rebels without a struggle. A regiment of cavalry lancers was almost completely wiped out in one terrible battle.
Petersburg, November 10. In Kronstadt there are altogether about 25,000 military in revolt. People fear that the mutineers will succeed in taking over one of the ships in the harbor and will then bombard Peterhof.†
Paris, November 10. Le Matin reports from Kronstadt the following: At 5 p.m. half of the city was already in flames; any help was impossible. The tsar himself gave the order to mercilessly suppress the rebellion. There is fear that the fire will spread to the arsenal, where munitions are stored in large quantities, and that would cause a terrible explosion. All available troops have been sent from Petersburg to Kronstadt.
Petersburg, November 9. A thick layer of smoke lies over Kronstadt, through which one can see the red-hot glow of occasional smoldering patches. Inside Kronstadt, eight military depots in the naval fortress are in flames. It is impossible to enter the city. Telegraph reception is cut off. Telegraph poles have been torn down for a distance of six kilometers outside of Kronstadt. Telephone connections have also been interrupted. The last phone message was the report that a steamer with 150 sailors on board was encountered, which was being sent to Petersburg to be imprisoned because of their participation in the disorders of the past week. Turning over these sailors to the naval authorities in Kronstadt was the most recent official act of General Trepov. But, during the trip, the sailors overpowered their guards, and the steamer sailed back to Kronstadt harbor under the red flag, completely in the hands of the rebels. Soldiers and sailors gathered in solid ranks to greet the arrival of the returnees. Then they all united to carry out an uprising against the officers and officials of the tsar, and two hours later the city and fortress of Kronstadt were entirely in their hands.
London, November 10. As the Petersburg correspondent of the Times has learned from reliable sources, those in control of a warship anchored outside of Kronstadt are firing at Cossacks on the shore. The forts are keeping up an irregular fire. It is assumed that some of them have also mutinied. The Winter Palace will be readied most hastily for receiving the tsar because the region around Kronstadt [and Peterhof] is not secure.
THE TSARIST REGIME HAS LOST ITS HEAD,
AND IS “REASSURING” EVERYONE
Kronstadt, November 9 (report from the Petersburg Telegraph Agency). The news about unrest in Kronstadt is exaggerated, and the fires in the city are out. Units of infantry, artillery, and Cossacks are patrolling the streets. The disturbances have not been renewed and were caused by rabble. They are being energetically suppressed.
Petersburg, November 9 (report from the Petersburg Telegraph Agency). From all parts of the country reassuring news is being received. The governor-general of Moscow has made an appeal to the population in which he calls for calm and proclaims that he could take the law into his own hands; he swears to punish and he is determined to restore order. In Keltsy, rail traffic has been restored. In Volsk, a commission has been appointed to look into the causes of the events of the last few days. In Irkutsk, schools have been reopened and the streets are still occupied by the military. The uprising in Mariinsk has been ended. Peace and quiet reign in Theodosia, and the stores have been opened. The schools in Kiev will be reopened on November 14. News about the full restoration of order comes from all the cities of Finland. In Helsinki and three other cities, the tsar’s manifesto has been received with great joy. The uprising has been ended and rail traffic resumed. In Helsinki, the senate with the consent of the governor-general has voted to pay 160,000 marks to the National Guard and the workers who performed police service in the city during the uprising.
SYMPTOMS OF “THE RESTORATION OF ORDER”
Riga, November 10. The curator has announced the closure of all public schools and middle schools with the exception of the Polytechnic Institute.
Petersburg, November 10. The Union of Unions has published an appeal to its fellow citizens to take energetic action against assaults upon the Jews. All crews of the naval group in Kronstadt took part in the rebellion along with the commandos in training. The firing lasted for over twelve hours. The number of mutineers mounted to several thousand, a large part of whom were drunk. During the night from November 7 through November 8, fires broke out in many parts of the city. Fire department crews were hindered in their activity by the sailors. Order was restored yesterday afternoon. The mutineers were divided among themselves, and the group favoring peace among them gained the upper hand. The sailors are now distributing appeals calling for peace to be restored. Yesterday evening thousands of sailors carrying white flags marched through the city, in many parts of which machine-gun emplacements have been set up.