Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

power and calls for the establishment of a Duma."
Vladimir shrugged. "To an outsider it may appear like that, but the Emperor does not
care a damn about that document and will try to thwart its provisions as best he can. It is a
worthless agreement, not going far enough and definitely too late. Who trusts this monarch?
Without Witte we would be exactly where we were before the blood bath. Did you hear what
happened today?"
Konrad shook his head. Cut off by their long wait in Eydtkuhnen, flooded by
contradicting emotions after his arrival in the city, he had not read the papers.
Vladimir raised his eyebrows. "A few days ago, Nosach, the Socialist leader of the
Petersburg workers’ Soviet, called for another general strike. To stem the tide, Witte stood up
before the workers and gave a surprise speech describing Nosach as a dishonest agitator who
pursued his own dubious interests. Apparently that worked, the disenchanted workers
distanced themselves from Nosach, who conveniently also happens to be a Jewish lawyer.
Witte acting with lightening speed, arrested Nosach and one hundred and ninety of his
Socialist radicals today."
Vladimir swept his flattened hand through the air. "Finished! I am not Witte’s greatest
admirer, when all chips are down he is a faithful apologist of the Emperor, but he showed a lot
of courage to stand up to the workers! And he certainly timed his move against Nosach with
masterful precision. For a while Witte will not have much to worry about from the radicals."
So that was where the troops had been heading this morning, to clean out the
Petersburg Soviet.
Alexandra called from the kitchen asking them to join her. "I also want to hear Vladimir’s
views on current politics."
The two men took their glasses and moved into the kitchen.
"What do you think of my distant cousin Witte?" asked Alexandra. "You remember the
fateful Theosophical evening at the Volkonsky’s? I had never seen him before. And what about
Stolypin? You said your father had a high opinion of him."
"Stolypin is waiting in the wings. After Witte returned from America with the
unexpectedly advantageous settlement of the war with Japan, Nicholas, who equally fears and
hates Witte, owed him a commission. Nicholas offered the ailing Witte the dangerous position
of President of the Ministerial Council. Probably Nicholas hoped to rid himself of Witte in this
way. To everyone’s surprise Witte accepted and immediately began to force a cabinet of his
choice on the vacillating monarch."
Vladimir took a step in Alexandra’s direction. "The amazing thing is that your cousin,
beyond his incredible technocratic skills and his unbending willpower, is a true humanist. So far
he has acted without bloodshed, and except for this morning without mass arrests—an
unheard of event in Russian history."
Alexandra not in the mood to give Valdimir the satisfaction of simply applauding Witte’s
‘genius’ asked, "What do you think is going to happen in the near future?"
Vladimir looked at the floor. "It is hard to say. I am no prophet, and the political situation
is still very unstable. Witte is in sufficiently poor health that he cannot last as prime minister.
The Emperor probably wished him dead, but Witte is the only man who can bring in the large
foreign loan that would save the country economically by paying off the debts incurred by the
idiotic Pacific adventure." He looked at Alexandra again. "Nicholas will have to suffer Witte’s
intransigence until this money arrives: I guess six months? A year?"
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