861.00/5013: Telegram
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Davis) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 11, 6 p.m.]
2752. Following from [Cole at] Archangel:
1370, August 8, 4 p.m. Archangel “1370–160.” I have received a note dated August 5 from the Provisional Government of which the following are the important passages: [Page 648]
“The announcement of the withdrawal of the British and Italian troops and the impossibility of counting on the arrival of new French replacement troops cause the Provisional Government of the Northern Region to call the attention of the representatives of the Allied Powers to the resulting situation and to request them to bring the following to the notice of their respective Governments:
Just a year ago the Allied Powers decided on active engagement in support of the Russian elements that had undertaken the reconstruction of their native land. An anti-Bolshevik front was formed in north Russia and extensive material aid was promised to the Russian Government which had come into being under the auspices of the Allies in liberated Archangel.
Thanks to this assistance public order and safety and normal social conditions have been reestablished, a new administrative apparatus has been created and finally, what is now most important, armed forces to resist the enemy have been organized. Nevertheless the northern region has been constantly faced with great difficulty due to the vast extent of its thinly peopled territory, which has hindered the formation of more imposing armed forces, and the extreme poverty of the country’s natural resources.
The foregoing proves the absolute necessity that the Allies continue to support north Russia in different forms such as finance, railway supply, and military assistance.
Expenses for military matters are very large so that the activity of the Government if it is not given financial support by the Allies shall be wholly paralyzed.
As regards food supply, technical materials, arms, ammunition, et cetera, the northern region had cause to expect that assistance from the Allies would not cease in the near future. It is desirable however that the interested Allied Governments in this regard should be led by their official representatives.
The Russian Army and the civil port [population] have become accustomed to the presence of Allied troops, especially the British units. In these troops they saw assurance of final success and guarantees that their aspirations would be realized. At the same time that the Allied uniform inspires courage in the hearts of the Russian soldiers it also instills respect into the Bolsheviks. What then will be the triumph of the Bolsheviks when they learn that the Allies have left the North! Their departure will be exploited in a fierce campaign of propaganda. The Bolsheviks will boast that they have beaten the Allies and in this belief they will probably spare no effort to capture Archangel.
The moral blow leveled by the withdrawal of the Allied forces against our young soldiers will bring them to a state in which they can not defend the territory now held and they will be forced to fall back on Archangel. And these territories populated by people who have entrusted themselves to the Allies and who took part in the struggle against the Bolsheviks will be exposed to a cruel vengeance and to complete devastation. The evacuation of the city inhabitants is possible but not that of the dwellers in the country districts.
The Provisional Government considers it to be imperiously necessary to maintain in the northern region at least the brigades of English volunteers and the French contingent as well as a certain number [Page 649] of warships. This is demanded in the interests of the region which from the very moment of the Allies’ arrival placed all its confidence and hopes in them to spare its peaceful population suffering and also to prevent the Bolsheviks from entirely liquidating the north Russian front. The capture of Archangel would give Bolsheviks access to the open sea.
The troops mentioned while not taking part in military operations could nevertheless guarantee the exposed [completion?] auxiliary services of the rear and the lines of communication. Warships at Archangel would persuade the population of its safety.
In case all the Allied forces withdraw and in case the Bolsheviks eventually advance to the White Sea there might arise a serious crisis in the people’s state of mind. This might arouse into auction (action?) permanently unfavorable to the Allies which would probably have a decisive influence on the bonds of friendship which now exist between the Russians and the Allies.
The Provisional Government is responsible for the fate of the region which has confided in it and which has so far borne with patience all the war’s burdens and is moreover bound before its own conscience and before its own native land to contribute its utmost to the reconstruction and renaissance of Russia. Therefore the Provisional Government of the Northern Region begs the Allied Powers to weigh all the consequences and again to examine the advisability of abandoning north Russia and leaving it without financial and military support.
The Provisional Government is firm in the belief that the Allied Powers will find an issue from the present situation in accordance with the strong bonds with which they bound themselves to Russia during the titanic struggle for freedom and high human Italian [humanitarian] ideals just brought to a successful end by them.[”]
The end of the message. Cole.