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FALL OF STURMER
45*
The fall of Sturmer was due to intense public
indignation, and to the deep-rooted suspicions of our
Allies, who did not hide these suspicions either from
the Emperor himself, or from our generals and politicians.
In November, M. Miliukoff, in a speech at the Duma
which made a tremendous stir, enumerated one after
the other all the suspicious or obviously pernicious
deeds of the Prime Minister, putting in each case the
query: "Say now, is this madness, or is it treason?"
It has since been contended that the Russian Revolution
dated from this speech.
I have already quoted the words of M. Sazonoff about
the " band of malefactors" who ruled Russia under
Sturmer and who, although priding themselves on the
designation of Conservatives and loyal Monarchists,
were disowned even by the most ardent reactionaries
when these reactionaries were honest men.
One of the Ministers of the Sturmer Cabinet who
with his two brothers was amongst the pillars of the
ultra-Conservative party—M. Alexander
Trepoff—became the appropriate author of the resignation of the
Premier. The Emperor, whose choice had fallen on
Sturmer because the latter was supposed to be
Conservative and Monarchist, was much affected by rumours
of " Bochephile " intrigues which Russian public opinion
and that of the Allies ascribed to Sturmer, and most
willing to get rid of this compromising Minister as soon
as he could replace him by such a universally
recognised Monarchist as Trepoff. Advantage was taken, from
different sides, of a rather longer stay made by His
Majesty at Mohilev without seeing the Empress, to
persuade him to exercise his authority, that is to say to
replace Sturmer by Alexander Trepoff (Minister of
Ways and Communications). This was done very
suddenly. I was told that the Empress was furious, but
she was powerless when once the deed was done.
Trepoff’s first care was to make a speech at the
Duma in order to reveal the political position of Russia
and to affirm in the most impressive way our unswerving
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