Chapter 253： Problems of the Russian Provisional Government

"I didn't expect a revolution in Russia so soon. It's just that the revolution is not so easy, poor Russians."

Edel looked at the news from the Romanian Embassy in St. Petersburg and exclaimed to Prime Minister Bretianu.

Edel's words of sympathy for the Russians did not win the Prime Minister's sympathy at all. Because this is the head behind the Russian smuggling channel, but no one dares to catch it. I want to emphasize here that in the last two months of 1916, Romania's smuggling of various goods in Russia reached 106 million lei, which was higher than normal trade. Moreover, these goods were collected by Russian officials at 30%-50% of their actual value. The loss caused to Russia was between 200 and 300 million lei. The most important thing was to increase the financial pressure of the Russian government. Seriously, the loss of materials is becoming more and more alarming. Therefore, the Russian revolution broke out ahead of schedule, and His Majesty Edel contributed a lot.

But Edel doesn't mean to care about the Russian people now. The revolution that broke out in advance made Edel, who wanted to fish in it, caught off guard. Many of the arrangements were not completed, and he put out his thoughts of fighting for Romania's interests.

"Now the Allied Powers have not done anything about our conditions, just don't know if the situation in Russia can be stabilized."

Prime Minister Bretianu thought of the current negotiations and spoke to Edel with some scruples.

Having worked together for many years, Edel knew he was a little backed up when he heard the Prime Minister's words. The outbreak of the Russian revolution, anyone with a discerning eye knows that it was a waste of half of the polar bear's combat power, because the new government that needs to focus its energy on domestic stability, only God knows how much energy it can use for war. Edel, who knew the history, thought that he was not sure whether the new Russian interim government could Mu Zhi once. If the Russian interim government agreed to withdraw from the war, this would disrupt Edel's plan. You must know that more than half of the new territories in his plan need to be provided by Russia, and Romania will not have a chance to succeed if the chaos remains unchanged.

"Now we can only wait for news from St. Petersburg."

Edel told the Prime Minister his plans because he knew that Britain and France were more concerned about Russia's actions than other countries. They need Russia to hold down millions of German and Austrian troops and ease the pressure on the western front.

In fact, Britain and France are most concerned about the Russian revolution. After the revolution subsided and the interim government was elected, the British and French ambassadors approached the just-established interim government for this matter and expressed their concerns about the new Russian government. Of course, their greatest concern was the question of whether Russia would continue to participate in the war. The Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, Livo, did not dare to make his own decision, so he pulled the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavel Milyukov, the Minister of Army and Navy Alexander Guchkov, and the Minister of Finance Mikhail Terezian. Section and others discussed.

Five of the members of this provisional government are the Constitutional Democratic Party, so it is also called the Constitutional Democratic Party government. The Constitutional Democratic Party was established in 1905 and is composed of liberals, middle class and local council members. Advocating the establishment of a British-style constitutional monarchy in Russia.

Liwov, the head of government with two positions, asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavel Miliukov to speak out the requirements of Britain and France. In fact, all the ministers present here are aware of the issues that Britain and France are concerned about, but in this respect they completely run counter to public opinion. When they were agitating the people from the stage, they shouted to withdraw from the war. They all relied on the support of the people to come to the stage. Isn't it difficult for them to make the decision to continue the war?

As the head of the government, Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Livov, of course, will not make this difficult decision himself, but will have all the relevant parties convene to discuss it.

Liwov is a descendant of the Rurik dynasty in ancient Russia. He was born in Dresden, the capital of the Kingdom of Saxony. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Moscow University in his early years. During the Russo-Japanese War, he presided over the Red Cross in Manchuria. Participated in the formation of the Cadet Party in 1905, and later represented the party in the Duma for a long time. After the outbreak of the First World War, he served as the chairman of the General Committee of the Federation of Local Self-Government Organs and was responsible for the rear civil affairs. After the January Revolution, a provisional government was established and Livov became the first prime minister of Russia in the post-imperial era.

After the Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavel Miliukov said that everyone had known the content, Liwov, the head of government, spoke. "Everyone knows the requirements of Britain and France, now how should our new government respond?"

The words of Liwofu made it difficult for all the ministers present to answer. So everyone began to study their feet, especially the Secretary of the Army and Navy Alexander Guchkov. He felt that his new Italian calfskin shoes had a dark and shiny black color, and he needed to observe it. Seeing that everyone was silent and silent, Liwofu was also a little angry, and his voice was thicker than the other when he was fighting for power, and he became speechless when it was his turn to deal with problems.

"The question of Guchkov is related to your military, so you can express your opinion."

Seeing that no one was speaking, Levov called for an answer. Why do I need to name Guchkov first? In addition to his nominal command of the landing navy , it is also because he is an October party member.

The October Party is a non-revolutionary centrist Russian imperial party. , The official name is the October 17th Alliance. The October Party is the political party of Russia's big industrial and commercial bourgeoisie and bourgeois landlords. It was established in November 1905. It was formed by the United Economic Progress Party and the Industrial and Commercial Alliance, the right-wing representative of the local self-government movement. The party supports the "October 17th Declaration" promulgated by Nicholas II, so it is named after the publication time of the "Declaration".

Guchkov, named by Livov, cursed in his heart, not to speak with spirit. "I think Britain and France are our allies, and we need to listen carefully to their requests. We also need to understand the wishes of the people, so we need to think more about this matter."

Hearing Guchkov's nonsense, Liwofu couldn't help talking about it. "Your Excellency Guchkov, what is your opinion?"

Seeing that there was no way to delay, Guchkov announced his decision. "I think the current morale of the army is not high, and there is a lot of lack of military supplies, so it is not suitable for continuing the fight."

Upon hearing Guchkov's words, Mikhail, the Minister of Finance, retorted. "If there is an armistice, then our government will go bankrupt immediately. We will not be able to pay the debts of France alone, and our government can only maintain tax revenue until May, and then only bankruptcy, so it is difficult for us to refuse the British and French terms."

As a non-partisan, Mikhail said what the ministers here did not dare to say, which made the meeting even more dull. Everyone knows the truth, but after sitting in this position, some problems cannot be looked at simply. The desire of all the Russian people to withdraw from the history of war, but after the withdrawal of the war, the forced debts of Britain and France can bankrupt any successor government. This is an endless loop.

This has also become a problem for the Provisional Government.