Complications

THEIR LIFE, NOW THAT they had decided to leave Russia, changed drastically, becoming frantically, hectically filled with hundreds of tasks intended to expedite their leaving. However, what had seemed to be a relatively easy matter to accomplish, turned into a nightmare of complications.

It had been Alexander’s first task to sell the horses. Yet, wherever he looked, there were no buyers. His stock was too fine, too pricey for the ordinary farmer, and he stubbornly resisted selling to the army.

Albina had better luck selling porcelain, blankets, furs, and everyday household goods. In order for her sales to be undetected, she visited different relatives in widely dispersed villages and cities. However, in the middle of their daunting, often futile efforts, the country radically changed course once more.

The monarchy had fallen in February and in the fall, on October 25, 1917, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, wrested control from the temporary government and the Mensheviks.

Thus the clouds over the German population thickened, for no one had hated this minority with the same passion the Bolsheviks developed. The new government had little popular support and was disliked by most groups of influence in Russia. Everyone hoped it would die a sudden death. However, Lenin was a good psychologist. Summing up the mood of the people, he believed that ending the war would endow his government with legitimacy.

He began pushing for a peace treaty with Germany, a feat he accomplished with the help of influential men from the previous government. In the peace treaty of Brest Litovsk, on March 3, 1918, Russia ceded to Germany vast tracts of Russian lands, containing one-third of the population. Furthermore, these tracts contained one-third of the arable land and one-half of Russia’s industry. Lenin’s second push to win support from the masses was a call to authorize the peasantry to forcefully confiscate private lands.

Predictably, this treaty was widely unpopular, leading to a split in Lenin’s government that left the Bolsheviks in total control. After the Bolshevik takeover opposition groups gathered fighting men, forging them into the White Armies that aligned themselves with the Allied Forces opposing Germany.

Instantly Lenin ordered organization of a Red Army force, which he successfully employed in the summer of 1918 to eliminate his opposition, and then, following his takeover, the army functioned as a ruthless collector of grain and other farm products from the hapless peasantry.

“We are caught in the Bolshevik net. For days I have scanned every channel leading out of the country, yet I cannot find anything. Johannes Schmidt, the owner of the biggest flour mill in Saratov, was the last one who got out. He paid a fortune for safe passage, but he made it out.”

Holger had come to Schaffhausen to brainstorm with Alexander.

“I know how you feel. I am beginning to feel like a rabbit in a trap myself. I am unable to understand this new brutal Russia, although I am one of them. However, I believe in God but the Reds believe in nothing.

Nothing is sacred to them; because without accountability to God, they imagine themselves to be the ruling deity and they make their beliefs the new religion. Lately I talked to an inherently decent fellow who compared our situation blithely to cleaning out filthy stalls. That is how they simplify the problems of the country.”

Alexander was shaken by his own summation of the country’s precarious situation. Putting into words the troubling thoughts that had haunted him for weeks clarified the picture.

“Interesting thoughts, my friend. You have explained the driving force behind the Reds very well. They do believe themselves to be all-powerful and all-knowing. Their religion is emancipation of the common man, or so they say. However, in the process of achieving their goals they are quite willing to kill everyone standing in their way, everyone with a different opinion. It looks to me as if they want power more than anything, because in their mind they know better than anyone what will be good for Russia.”

Holger had brought a small wooden box with his best cigars. He now pulled two of the fat round smokes from the box and proceeded to prepare them carefully for lightning. Alexander, receiving his cigar, eyed it with pleasure, commenting, “How did you manage to keep these beauties out of the Red Army’s clutches?”

“You forget, dear boy, that we have an attic with a well-concealed door in the bedroom ceiling.”

As they smoked, Holger proceeded to enumerate the ways one could have used to leave the country, all of which were now closed.

“I thought maybe we could get on a boat in Odessa, but my sources tell me that the allies send aid to the Reds and it comes through Odessa; therefore the place is watched by police, army and plain-clothes security men. The same holds true with escape through the Ukraine. You and I could probably slither our way through, but Victoria, Albina and the boys could never make it. The hardships are too great.”

“What about Petersburg, oh I forgot, now it’s Petrograd – is there no way out? One could find a ship going to Sweden, Finland or Germany. If one pays well it should be possible to get out, shouldn’t it?”

“No, the Reds have found out that wealth is leaving Russia. It’s streaming out in broad rivers, together with some of the best people in the country, and they won’t allow it. They control everything, including the passengers on foreign ships. It would be easier to get out by joining the army and deserting at the front than leaving on a foreign boat.”

“So you say it is hopeless? What are we to do now? We are trapped, aren’t we?”

“Yes, dear boy, we are trapped. Now we have to be more vigilant and clever than ever before.” Holger relit his cigar, extinguished by his inattention. Across from him, relaxed in a wide, channel upholstered chair, a present from Victoria, Alexander tried to comprehend what Holger presented to him.

“I have a trustworthy person in Moscow and another man in Petrograd who can move money for us out of the country, while we wait to find a way out. However, for that we must have trust. These two men belong in name only to the red government. They could be found out and exterminated at any moment. They take great chances and have helped countless people. I pay them well – they have families to take care of.” Holger paused and looked penetratingly into his son-in-law’s eyes.

“Are you willing to take chances with your fortune, whatever you may have realized so far?”

“I am! I will give you what we have realized so far. Yet, who will be the receiver of the funds in Germany, which is where the money will go for safekeeping?”

“Correct! It will go to Martin. He has opened a business in Nuremberg where he still sells, quite profitably I might say, Russian tobacco and sarpinka. All the money I have sent him so far has been invested otherwise. He has bought a few vineyards with my money in the Würzburg region and is producing delectable Franken wine, a product even the queen of England fancies.”

“Sounds good to me,” interrupted Alexander. “There is nothing in Russia that would bring me any profit, never mind make money.”

“How about your horses? Have they been selling?”

“I have sold a few. However, not many people can afford the quality stock I breed. You, more then anyone, can appreciate the kind of horse I produce; for you have a few of them in your stables.”

“Yes, I agree! Your horses are special. I have used them as riding stock and before a carriage and they have performed superbly, no matter the task.”

At last father-in-law and son came to an understanding. Alexander sought out every kopek he possessed, entrusting the money to Albina’s father.

And then life went on as before, difficult, hard, tightly controlled and watched over by “Red eyes” looking for the slightest infraction.