Feast in Time of Plague
With Germany declaring war on Russia on August 1, 1914, a patriotic rise in society began. Revolutionary writers became military-patriotic journalists, students were enrolled in cadet schools, and women from noble families cared for the wounded. This impulse was greatly diminished six months later when it became clear that the war was causing enormous losses and hardship and would have no end. But completely different moods and sounds were noticed, which had existed since the first days of the war.
“St. What a humiliating impression the destruction of the German embassy in St. Petersburg made on me, and what a humiliating impression the destruction of the German embassy in St. Petersburg made on the day of the declaration of war in 1914. I remember how ridiculous it seemed to me that the name of St. Petersburg was changed to “Petrograd”. We wanted to see the creative unity of all brotherly people, regardless of racial differences, skin color, language, attitude towards the history that shaped this or that nationality. “Humanity is the 41st orchestra,” recalls avant-garde artist Yuri Annenkov.Annenkov Yu.P. Diary of my meetings. – M.: I. Zakharov, 2001.
What was much more popular was not true pacifism but a careless disregard for war, as Boris Pasternak called for “ignoring war in order to be saved.” [от нее как] from a “bad dream”Quote from Annenkov Yu.P. Diary of my meetings. – M.: I. Zakharov, 2001. The best way to ignore the war was to throw lavish parties, especially if people had money.
With the outbreak of the war, Emperor II. Nicholas introduced “prohibition”: the production and sale of alcoholic beverages were completely banned, but the number of restaurants and taverns and their attendance also increased. Alcohol was sold under the guise of other drinks such as vodka in the Narzan bottle. When the famous Belgian poet Emile Verhaerne arrived in Petrograd in 1915, the capital’s bohemian population gave him a luxurious reception. cabaret “Stray Dog”. Annenkov tells Annenkov Yu.P. Diary of my meetings. – M.: I. Zakharov, 2001. This scene is like this:
“On such evenings, many people were drunk (although vodka was already prohibited), those gathered were noisy, they raised their glasses in honor of the foreign guest and eventually went to kiss him. Although this sounds familiar to us Russians, Verhaeren was completely baffled.
I will not forget how the poet Konstantin Olimpov, with a fraternal outburst and with a bottle of wine in his hand, enthusiastically attacked Verhaeren, kissing him on the cheeks, on the lips and even on the nose. so much so that Verhaeren could barely hold his glasses.”
During the war, the artist Remizov, sitting at the same table with Annenkov, was busy designing the fairy-tale mystical ballet “Rusalia in Tibetan Legend”, only half-reading the news about wars and rebellions. In those years, Russian ballet was famous all over the world, and it did not decrease at all with the beginning of the war. This confused some people. For example, Princess Maria Tenisheva, who founded a hospital for wounded soldiers at her own expense, was outraged that “there are no guns, no bullets, no rifles and in general there is no order, no stability, no consistency.” and while the activities of the ballet are “brought to perfection” […] and considering our general disorder, it’s as if he were mocking […] placed at the appropriate height.”Tenisheva MK Impressions of my life. – L.: “Iskusstvo”, 1991.
The Stray Dog cabaret was a symbol of decadence and “a feast during the plague” until it closed in March 1915. Vladimir Mayakovsky, “To you!” He read his incriminating poem to his visitors, but was offended not by her bohemian morals but by their failure to accept him.
Mayakovsky could not even come within cannon fire of the front and spent most of the war years in Finland, surrounded by other poets and writers.
Prohibition also contributed to cocaine’s explosive rise in popularity. It was very easy to obtain because it was considered more of a medicine than a drug. By the time of the revolution it was used abundantly both in the rear and in the front, creating a complete image of the decay of the elite.
most profitable business
The First World War divided Russian society into two unequal parts: those who earned money from it and those who did not. For example, banks changed their credit policies and became almost exclusively involved in lending to military orders. In 1916 this increased profits by 236% compared to 1913, from 27.4 million rubles to 64.8. The secret to success was simple and rooted 16-18% commission for loans. It would be too mild to call this rate exorbitant: In the same years, the government of Great Britain, the birthplace of capitalism, forced banks to reduce this rate from 5% to 3.5%, and the USA gave loans during the Second World War. -0% lease to USSR (with rare exceptions).
The margins of industrialists who carried out military orders were also high. According to various estimates, this rate ranged from 10% to 20%. During the two-year war, only Moscow entrepreneurs made a profit (Not to be confused with income and turnover) increased by one billion rubles. For comparison, the construction of the most modern Russian battleship of the Empress Maria class cost about 30 million rubles.
Superprofits allowed the military-industrial elite to live such luxurious lives that visitors to Stray Dog might think they were tramps. They spent what they earned from government orders on expensive ladies’ toilets, exotic foods, maintaining their entourage, and leisure.
For example, during the New Year celebrations of 1916-1917 in Moscow, some restaurants were selling wine for 70 rubles. for a bottle, a plate of sterlet for 8 people – for 180 rubles, and a taxi driver could be paid 100-150 rubles for a city tour. For comparison, in 1913, janitors were paid 18, mechanics – 50, gym teachers – 85, and colonels (in those years very rich) received 325 rubles. monthly. It is difficult to convert these amounts into modern rubles, but bohemian musicians and artists had absolutely no money for such a New Year.
As a result, an ultra-luxury market emerged in major cities. For example, while ordinary people were looking for where to buy cut glass, Bohemian glass products smuggled from enemy Austria-Hungary were brought to the capital and sold at exorbitant prices. In 1916-17, the pages of newspapers and magazines were full of advertisements for British cars, luxury furniture, expensive perfumes and jewelry.
At the beginning of 1917, the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya near the imperial house organized a reception where the main decoration was “mountains” of fresh lilies of the valley. He remembered it this way:
“I was served my wonderful gilded dessert plates and my gilded dessert server, my knives, forks and spoons – a copy of a model from the time of Catherine, kept in the Hermitage, a gift from Andrei [будущий муж Матильды]. I was only afraid that the twenty-fifth guest would arrive at the last minute, which often happened, and then I wouldn’t have enough gilded plates and cutlery. The entire dinner was served on Limoges china that Andrei ordered from France, and the fish was served on a “Danish” plate set with images of fish. A round napkin made of real lace was placed under each plate.”Kseshinskaya M. Memoirs.
Some nobles, including the imperial family, tried to prevent this. For example, in October 1915, the Tsar’s daughters appeared in public in modest brown and burgundy suits (a deliberately wild color combination). The Russian elite present at the event did not appreciate this gesture and perceived it as buffoonery. As a result, in 1916 the government banned the import of luxury goods into Russia – but only after several unsuccessful attempts to enact this ban through the Duma.
Of course, it was not difficult for the rich and influential to avoid conscription. Inequality prevailed even among military personnel. The British Consul General arrived in Petrograd in January 1917. to come horrified:
“St. I found the atmosphere in St. Petersburg more oppressive than ever… The champagne flowed like a river… The two best hotels in the capital, the Astoria and the Europe, are filled with civil servants whose place should be at the forefront. It wasn’t considered shameful to be a “smuggler” or to look for a branch in the back…”
According to many historians, among the powers participating in the First World War, Russia needed it the least. It cannot be said that the luxurious life of the “kings of state order” (and, more importantly, poor poets and artists) who became rich during the war was the trigger for the revolution: after all, workers, peasants and soldiers were not allowed to attend closed parties and were unlikely to be interested in the menus of Petrograd restaurants. But the revolution and the collapse of the monarchy were certainly facilitated by the alienation of the elite from the rest of the country and the general atmosphere of decay.