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of the hunting he would have when the war should come to an end。
I enquired for a meal； and found that no food was to be had in the
hotel； but they could supply hot water。 Then； to get an appetite for sleep；
I went out for a short walk； though I did not much like doing so with
nothing but an English passport； and with no papers to show that I had any
right to be there。 I had； like the other foreigners； been promised such
papers but had not yet received them。 I went round to the Regina； which
used to be one of the best hotels in the town； but those of us who had
rooms there were complaining so bitterly that I did not stay with them； but
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RUSSIA IN 1919
went off along the Moika to the Nevsky and so back to my own hotel。
The streets； like the hotel； were only half lit； and hardly any of the houses
had a lighted window。 In the old sheepskin coat I had worn on the front
and in my high fur hat； I felt like some ghost of the old regime visiting a
town long dead。 The silence and emptiness of the streets contributed to
this effect。 Still； the few people I met or passed were talking cheerfully
together and the rare sledges and motors had comparatively good roads；
the streets being certainly better swept and cleaned than they have been
since the last winter of the Russian Empire。
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RUSSIA IN 1919
SMOLNI
Early in the morning I got tea； and a bread card on which I was given a
very small allowance of brown bread； noticeably better in quality than the
compound of clay and straw which made me ill in Moscow last summer。
Then I went to find Litvinov； and set out with him to walk to the Smolni
institute； once a school for the daughters of the aristocracy； then the
headquarters of the Soviet； then the headquarters of the Soviet
Government； and finally； after the Government's evacuation to Moscow；
bequeathed to the Northern Commune and the Petrograd Soviet。 The
town； in daylight； seemed less deserted； though it was obvious that the
〃unloading〃 of the Petrograd population； which was unsuccessfully
attempted during the Kerensky regime； had been accomplished to a large
extent。 This has been partly the result of famine and of the stoppage of
factories； which in its turn is due to the impossibility of bringing fuel and
raw material to Petrograd。 A very large proportion of Russian factory
hands have not； as in other countries； lost their connection with their
native villages。 There was always a considerable annual migration
backwards and forwards between the villages and the town； and great
numbers of workmen have gone home； carrying with them the ideas of the
revolution。 It should also be remembered that the bulk of the earlier
formed units of the Red Army is composed of workmen from the towns
who； except in the case of peasants mobilized in districts which have
experienced an occupation by the counter…revolutionaries； are more
determined and better understand the need for discipline than the men
from the country。
The most noticeable thing in Petrograd to anyone returning after six
months' absence is the complete disappearance of armed men。 The town
seems to have returned to a perfectly peaceable condition in the sense that
the need for revolutionary patrols has gone。 Soldiers walking about no
longer carry their rifles； and the picturesque figures of the revolution who
wore belts of machine…gun cartridges slung about their persons have gone。
The second noticeable thing； especially in the Nevsky； which was
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RUSSIA IN 1919
once crowded with people too fashionably dressed； is the general lack of
new clothes。 I did not see anybody wearing clothes that looked less than
two years old； with the exception of some officers and soldiers who are as
well equipped nowadays as at the beginning of the war。 Petrograd ladies
were particularly fond of boots； and of boots there is an extreme shortage。
I saw one young woman in a well…preserved； obviously costly fur coat；
and beneath it straw shoes with linen wrappings。
We had started rather late； so we took a train half…way up the Nevsky。
The tram conductors are still women。 The price of tickets has risen to a
rouble； usually； I noticed； paid in stamps。 It used to be ten kopecks。
The armoured car which used to stand at the entrance of Smolni has
disappeared and been replaced by a horrible statue of Karl Marx； who
stands； thick and heavy； on a stout pedestal； holding behind him an
enormous top…hat like the muzzle of an eighteen…inch gun。 The only
signs of preparations for defence that remain are the pair of light field
guns which； rather the worse for weather； still stand under the pillars of the
portico which they would probably shake to pieces if ever they should be
fired。 Inside the routine was as it used to be； and when I turned down the
passage to get my permit to go upstairs； I could hardly believe that I had
been away for so long。 The place is emptier than it was。 There is not
the same eager crowd of country delegates pressing up and down the
corridors and collecting literature from the stalls that I used to see in the
old days when the serious little workman from the Viborg side stood guard
over Trotsky's door； and from the alcove with its window looking down
into the great hall； the endless noise of debate rose from the Petrograd
Soviet that met below。
Litvinov invited me to have dinner with the Petrograd Commissars；
which I was very glad to do； partly because I was hungry and partly
because I thought it would be better to meet Zinoviev thus than in any
other manner； remembering how sourly he had looked upon me earlier in
the revolution。 Zinoviev is a Jew； with a lot of hair； a round smooth face；
and a very abrupt manner。 He was against the November Revolution； but
when it had been accomplished returned to his old allegiance to Lenin and；
becoming President of the Nort