e
majority of the deputies being in favor of trusting entirely to the
Government. In August, 1915, a most astonishing thing happened, the
Duma, with a large majority, which included Conservatives, Liberals
and Radicals alike, drew up a demand for a series of reforms,
including the institution of a cabinet responsible to the people
through itself. Another demand was for a general amnesty for all
political prisoners. This was the famous Progressive Bloc. Goremykin
refused even to discuss the program. Instead, he hurried to the czar
to get his signature to a decree proroguing the Duma, in which he
succeeded. The result was that the whole population rose in
threatening revolution, and this time the threat was not from the
revolutionary elements. Even former leaders of the Black Hundreds were
among the protestants. It was then that Rodzianko, the president of
the Duma, addressed a letter to the premier, placing the
responsibility of Russia's recent defeats squarely on him and added:
"You are obviously too old to possess the vigor to deal with so
difficult a situation. Be man enough to resign and make way for some
younger and more capable man." Then Goremykin resigned.

But the change was for the worse, rather than for the better, for the
next premier was a close friend and associate of Rasputin, a younger
man, to be sure, and more capable, but whose capabilities were to be
turned in the wrong direction. Boris Sturmer, a German by blood and
sympathies, former governor of Tver, one of the blackest of
reactionaries, was appointed to fill the vacant premiership.

Sturmer, where his predecessor had perhaps been merely incompetent,
now set about consciously to make a separate peace with Germany, and
this object he hardly took the trouble to hide. Through the censorship
he suppressed the loyal press and encouraged a number of papers which
openly denounced Russia's allies and demanded a separate peace with
the kaiser. Then he sent agents to Switzerland, there to confer with
representatives of the German Government, so openly that it was known
all over Russia, even among the peasants, that a separate peace was
being prepared.

CHAPTER LXXVI

PARTY INTRIGUES

Again the popular protest checked the machinations of the dark forces.
Then Sturmer turned deliberately to suppress the democratic
organizations. Early in 1916 he issued an order forbidding any of
these societies, which were keeping the armies in the field, from
h