li. Prince Tundutoff, Hetman of the Calmuck Cossacks living between Tsaritsin and Astrakhan, who was, before and during the war, personal aide of the Grand Duke Nicholas Nicholaievitch, came to general headquarters at Bosmont in 1918 seeking to establish' connexion with Germany, since the Cossacks were not Slavs at all and thoroughly hostile to+ the Bolsheviki.
He stated that he had been sent by Nicholas Nicholaievitch, before the outbreak of war, to the General Staff. in order to keep the Grand Duke posted on happenings there and that he had been a witness of the notorious telephone talks between the Tsar and the Chief of the General Staff. General Januskevitch: that the Tsar, deeply impressed by the earnest telegram of the German Emperor, had resolved to forbid mobilization and had ordered Januskevitch by telephone not te carry out mobilization, i.e. to break it off; that the latter had not obeyed the unmistakable order, but had inquired by telephone of Sazonoff, Minister of Foreign Affairs—with whom, for weeks, he had kept' in touch, intrigued and incited to war—what he was to do now; that Sazonoff had answered that the Tsar's order was nonsense, that all the General need do was to carry out mobilization, that he (Sazonoff) would bring the Tsar around again next day and talk him out of heeding. the stupid telegram from the German tuuperor; that, thereupon, Janusk evi ton had informed the Tsar that mobilization was already unde: way and could no longer be broken: elf.
Prince Tundutoff added: "This was a lie, for I myself saw the mobilization order lying beside Januskevitch on his writing table. which shows that it had not as yet been given out at all."
"The psychologically interesting point about the above is that sar Nicholas, who helped prepare the World War and had already ordered mobilization, wished to recede at the last moment. My earnest, warning telegram it seems, made him realize clearly for the first time the colossal responsibility which he was bringing upon himself by his wali preparations. Therefore, he wished to stop the war machine, the murderer of entire peoples, which he had just set in motion. Ibis would have been possible and peace might have been preserved if Sazonoff had not frustrated his wish.
When_I asked whether the Grand Duke, who was known as a. German-hater, had incited much to war, the Cossack chief replied that the Grand Duke had certain ly worked zealously for war, but that moitment on his part would
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.