3

State, War, and Navy Building
Next to the White House
One Month Earlier

Theodore Roosevelt had been both flattered and delighted when the Japanese ambassador secretly requested that the young president both initiate and facilitate a peace conference to end the war. This opportunity would be the first real chance for an American president to have an active role in international affairs. Determined to end the conflict, Roosevelt already knew how the Japanese stood on the issue, but the Russians were largely a mystery to him.

The following day at a cabinet meeting, Roosevelt requested a comprehensive briefing on Russia. He wanted to hear from a subject-matter expert. He wanted to be totally prepared to deal with the Russians. To Roosevelt’s delight, the secretary of the navy announced that he could arrange a detailed briefing for the president and the cabinet in forty-eight hours.

The members of the cabinet had already assembled in the main conference room when Secretary of the Navy Bonaparte arrived with his aide to begin preparations for the briefing on Russia. The naval aide distributed a booklet of papers in front of each seat at the table and then set up an easel at the head of the table. Just as he finished his preparations, President Roosevelt entered the room, and all of the cabinet members stood in place. “Please, gentlemen,” said Roosevelt as he approached the seat at the head of the table, “be seated.” After everyone sat down, Bonaparte stood and announced, “Mr. President, our briefer today will be my aide, Lieutenant Junior Grade Stephen Morrison.”

“Excellent!” barked the president. “Please begin, Lieutenant.”

The young officer had been standing at parade rest after the president was seated. He walked to the front of the room and took his place at a mahogany lectern. Standing ramrod straight in his choker-white uniform, he picked up a pointer and began. To Roosevelt, the officer appeared every inch an all-American boy, the type he himself had led up San Juan Hill during the Spanish American War. The lieutenant stood about six-feet tall and had dark brown hair. He obviously was accustomed to public speaking. The lieutenant had several charts affixed to the wall, in addition to the easel in the front of the room that contained a flip chart. The first page contained a large wiring diagram with several photographs attached. He immediately called attention to the briefing binders on the table in front of each member of the high-level audience.

“Mr. President, distinguished members of the cabinet, I am Lieutenant Junior Grade Stephen L. Morrison, United States Navy, naval aide to the secretary of the navy. Our topic today is Russia. My goal is to impart to you a working knowledge of the social and political climate in that country today.”

The lieutenant began his presentation and proved to be an impressive speaker. He spoke fluidly and never referred to his notes. He covered various topics, starting with the governing structure of Russia. Roosevelt was fascinated to learn the history of the Romanov dynasty, starting with Tsar Michael in 1613 through the current Romanov ruler, Tsar Nicholas II. Other subjects covered included the Russian economy and a detailed discussion of the Russo-Japanese War. The young officer then turned to the social structure of the Russian people.

“The Russian people are in a state of turmoil,” he began. “Russia is an overwhelmingly poor country. Their industrial revolution occurred later than in most western countries. Even after Tsar Alexander II freed the serfs in 1861, the peasant class remained without basic civil rights, tied to the land, and in an endless cycle of debt. There was a glimmer of hope; one of Alexander II’s reforms was to grant some basic governing authority to the local provinces. That was short-lived. The country has been run as a strict autocracy since 1881 when Alexander II was assassinated. His son, Alexander III, revoked many of the moderately enlightened social changes his father had enacted. Nicholas II, the son of Alexander III, continues this strict autocratic rule. A rigid bureaucracy rules the many Russian provinces. Nicholas appoints the local governors, who then serve as his personal emissaries.

“The peasants are so far removed from the government that in their little villages their everyday, miserable lives are ruled by town elders. Unfortunately, the appointed governors and other assigned nobility have nothing to do with the population. The nobility doesn’t have a clue what the actual living conditions are because they never leave their social strata. For years, the local governors were viewed with reverence by the peasantry, most of whom remained illiterate and content to work the lands. Remember also that, in both the cities and the countryside, strict censorship of the press exists, and no criticism is allowed of the Imperial family or its policies.”

Lieutenant Morrison paused to take a sip of water from the crystal goblet that sat on his lectern. He cleared his throat and continued his lecture. “A demographic change in the peasant population has occurred over the last thirty years. While it’s still basically an agricultural nation, the burgeoning industrial revolution has transformed the country. A large-scale migration of the peasants has occurred to the cities to work in the factories. Their working conditions and their living conditions are abhorrent. Unlike in the western countries, no labor unions or trade unions protect them. Interestingly, the literacy rate has likely doubled over this time. Hence, the new Russian peasant is an urban dweller, is overworked and underpaid, lives in squalor, and wants a better life. Several labor strikes have erupted over the years, beginning in the 1880s. The intelligentsia and the student classes have become increasingly active socially and much more vocal. These now-literate Russian masses have been reading tracts calling for social change or even more drastic, social revolution and the overthrow of the status quo. This increasing unrest and radicalization of the population has greatly increased over the past decade. Nicholas seems unwilling or unable to acknowledge this change, largely accounting for the current chaos in Russia.”

The lieutenant paused, then walked over to his flip chart, and turned over a page to a new one that had several individual photographs. He returned to the lectern and began again. “The last subject I am going to cover concerns the political climate that currently exists within Russia. I have given you a brief overview of the social structure of Russia, and I want to finish with today’s political realities, which are the crux of the problem. The following internal political movements represent the biggest threat to the stability of the Imperial government. While they differ in style, temperament, and philosophies, they have this one uniting factor in common: they are totally opposed to the war and use their opposition as a rallying point. They all preach the ceding of governing power to the common people, or proletariat, as they call them. My study of these groups indicates that this last feature is pure smokescreen. While they preach a concept of a ‘worker’s paradise’, their ruthlessness leads me to believe that their motives are less pure.

“The largest group is called the Socialist Revolutionaries. These are the anarchists, the violent revolutionaries. If you can conjure up an image of a wild-eyed bomb thrower, you have just pictured a typical member of this group. Their method of achieving their goals is by terror and assassination. This group is highly influenced by the terrorist group Narodynaya Volya, or People’s Will. They were responsible for the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881. They are led by a thug named Viktor Chernov,” Morrison said, using his pointer to indicate a grainy photograph on his easel chart. “I obtained this police photograph through a contact of mine from Great Britain,” he said with a slight smile.

“The other major group is called the Social Democratic Workers Party. This party was formed in 1898 in Minsk to combine all the various revolutionary factions. In recent times, this group has suffered an internal power struggle and, in fact, has fragmented into two rival factions. Both factions derive their dogma from the work of the German writer and social theorist, Karl Marx; hence, they are known as Marxists. The more democratic faction that adheres to a more pure form of egalitarian Marxism is lead by Julius Martov,” he said, indicating Martov’s photograph with his pointer. “This faction has come to be called the Mensheviks, which is Russian for Minority Men.

“The smaller faction is lead by one Vladimir Ulyanov, known by a revolutionary pseudonym of Lenin. These Russian dissidents are enamored with revolutionary pen names. I apologize, but I was unable to obtain a photograph of him on such short notice,” Morrison said, pausing for a second. “This faction is basically a dictatorship under Lenin. All must toe the line, and no dissent from within is tolerated. They have a long-range plan for winning the minds of the Russian peasantry. Their form of Marxism is less pure, more severe, and more subjective. They believe in conspiracy and infiltration. While they are not the avid bomb throwers that the Social Revolutionaries are, they do not hesitate to kill if killing will further their aims. They have come to be called the Bolsheviks, or Majority Men.

“The basic underlying philosophy of the revolutionaries has evolved over the years. At first, many of them felt that an enlightened peasantry would be the key to revolution. Earlier efforts were geared toward educating these masses. Some even envisioned a period of capitalism before the country would be able to evolve into a socialist state. In recent years, this populism, as they called it, has fallen out of favor. Now the efforts seem to be geared toward the workers in the cities. They will be the ones to lead the revolution and overthrow the Tsar. It has become more of an issue of style and technique among the various factions.”

The lieutenant turned to his small audience and put his pointer down on the table. “If there are any questions at this time, I will be glad to answer if I can,” he said with a smile.

“I have a few questions,” said the president. “First off, I want to thank you and compliment you on a most excellent brief. It was surely finer than any talk I ever heard in my four years at Harvard!” A ripple of laughter spread among the cabinet members. “Do you speak Russian? Your pronunciation of the names and the cities you spoke of leads me to believe that you do.”

“Yes, sir, I am fluent in Russian.”

“Where did you learn to speak it so well? How do you account for your interest and knowledge of this country?”

“Mr. President, my parents were Russian. I was born there in the city of Perm, and we came to the United States when I was eleven years old. The year before I started at the Naval Academy, I traveled throughout Russia. I still have contacts in the country as a result of that trip. In all likelihood, I may still have relatives who live in Russia, although I’ve never met them.”

“Very interesting, Lieutenant. Let me get to my most important question. As you know, in less than a month, we will have representatives from both the Japanese and Russian governments here, meeting at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I know that both countries want to end this senseless war. As your lecture has pointed out, Russia is on the verge of anarchy, and if the Tsar’s government falls, all of Europe is in danger of being destabilized. Tell me, which internal group do you see as the biggest domestic threat to the Tsar? It seems to me, based on what you presented, it would be the Social Revolutionaries. Would you agree that these violent killers are the Tsar’s greatest threat?”

“With all due respect, Mr. President, I disagree with that assessment. To me, the real threat lies with the Bolsheviks.”

“And why do you say this, Lieutenant?”

“This is all conjecture and analysis on my part, sir, but I worry about the Bolsheviks and their power to influence people, especially this Lenin character. He is a ruthless, but charismatic, leader. He is unbending and rigid in his doctrine. For him and his followers, his doctrine is almost like a religion. He knows what to say, and he knows what the proletariat wants to hear. He has completely neutralized the Menshevik faction with his persuasive and corrupting influence. Take, for example the names Bolshevik and Menshevik. They derive from the breakup of the Socialist Democratic Workers Party two years ago. They had their second international meeting in Belgium. Although Martov was striving for unity, Lenin saw Martov’s position as his weakness.

“Lenin and his people blocked every resolution that Martov and his people tried to advance. Not once did he compromise. On one vote when his faction outvoted the Martov faction, Lenin derisively called them Mensheviks and began to call his own faction the Bolsheviks, or Majority Men, on every issue since. These names have persisted, and Lenin has effectively taken over the movement by capturing the minds and spirits of the party members while humiliating Martov and his followers. It is a powerful man who can win battles against alleged allies without firing a shot or throwing a bomb.”

“How can you know all of this?” asked the amazed Roosevelt. “I mean, how can you know what has transpired in Russia to give this man power?”

“Sir, as I mentioned, I have contacts in Russia, and I have traveled around that country. But one only needs to read what Lenin is currently writing to know his mind and his motives. He publishes a revolutionary newsletter that he calls Iskra, which in Russian means, ‘The Spark.’ I have read every issue he has managed to publish. If one reads these publications and also reads between the lines, I believe it is quite clear where Lenin is heading and what his plans for power are. Mr. President, you asked me what the biggest threat is to Russia. Maybe in the short term it is the Social Revolutionaries, but if the evolution of rebellion in Russia becomes drawn out over many years, it is Lenin and his Bolsheviks whom I fear most.”

Roosevelt then asked, “What about Tsar Nicholas II? What sort of man is he?”

“Actually, sir, I met him over a decade ago. He was a bit of a surprise for me. His father, Tsar Alexander III, was a huge man, very outgoing and boisterous, but Nicholas is a physically unimpressive man. He didn’t strike me as much of an intellectual, but I suppose looks can be deceiving. He is quiet and very shy. He came across to me as a man who prefers to avoid confrontations, at least directly. He has a very aristocratic, condescending air about him.”

“Tell me, Lieutenant, do you know anything about the Russian prime minister, one Sergei Witte? Can he be trusted to deal in good faith?” Roosevelt stood up and walked over to a picture of the Tsar and his advisors that Morrison had affixed to the wall. The prime minister certainly had an aristocratic appearance, highlighted by a neatly trimmed Vandyke beard.

“Witte has been in the service of Russia for many years. He was a trusted advisor for Nicholas’ father, Tsar Alexander III. Alexander was a brutal man who ruled with an iron fist. Although Witte was greatly respected by him, he was also considered a little too cerebral and liberal leaning for Alexander’s taste. Nonetheless, he became regarded as the conscience of the Imperial family — if there is such a thing,” noted Morrison, his voice trailing off with a touch of sarcasm.

“Under Nicholas,” continued the lieutenant, “Witte has become also something of a father figure. Unlike Tsar Alexander, Nicholas is a much more timid individual. Physically, he is not imposing like Alexander was, and as I mentioned before, I am told that he detests confrontation. Whereas Alexander was a large, outgoing man with a bit of a violent streak, his son Nicholas is a small, passive individual. Complete opposites. I am told that Tsar Alexander III called his son a dunce. My own impression is that Nicholas is the wrong ruler at the wrong time in Russia’s history. He needs someone like Witte.”

“And so,” interjected Roosevelt, “you feel that Sergei Witte is a man who can be trusted to do what needs to be done, not only for Russia, but now for the sake of Europe?”

“Yes, Mr. President, I would trust this man,” said the lieutenant earnestly.

As the meeting ended and people started leaving the briefing room, the president watched the young lieutenant as he took down his briefing charts and gathered his materials. He’s a smart one, thought Roosevelt to himself. Very knowledgeable, confident, and most of all, honest and straightforward. He cut an impressive figure in his starched white uniform, trim with broad shoulders. Roosevelt guessed him to be in his early thirties. His eyes struck Roosevelt the most. To him, they were very cold brown eyes. A lot of anger in those eyes, he thought.

A lot of anger.