the time that the war broke out and heard the cheers when the Emperor made
the declaration. It seemed as if Nicholas by coming out against Germany had
redeemed himself in the eyes of his people who were willing to wipe out the
past, and give him another chance. During the first months of the war he
was as popular as during the first weeks of his reign. It was not like the
Japanese war when the soldiers refused service; in this German war, the
men called to colors went without a murmur, they hoped that something good
would come out of it. Offers of help from individuals as well as commercial
and civic bodies poured in on the Government. The ministers said that
everything was ready, that in a few months the Russians would be in Berlin.
At first, all went well, but soon news came of the catastrophe in eastern
Prussia, of the traitorous acts of the Minister of War, of the campaign in
the Carpathians where the Russians were slaughtered like sheep because they
had no guns, no ammunition, and no supplies. Again the poor people were
betrayed and a cry of horror and vengeance went up as on January 9, 1905,
Bloody Sunday. The Tsar would probably have been overthrown there and then
had it not been for the war and the hatred of Germany. The liberals and
patriots of all kinds thought that all was not yet lost and they went to
work with a will, giving themselves, their money, their strength, and their
lives, but they soon became convinced that it was all in vain so long as
Rasputin, the Empress, and their clique ran the government.

[Footnote: Several months before the revolution the following confidential
conversation took place between Alexeiev, the Russian commander-in-chief,
and a journalist:

ALEXEIEV: I can get nothing from them [ministers]. My supplies are
decreasing.... It is even necessary to think. Through the Duma they begged
the Emperor to put in ministers whom the people could trust, but he, as if
to show his contempt for public opinion, selected men of low character,