that our army should be formed. When a scheme had been sanctioned, its application was everywhere resisted, even at Headquarters. It was held up and fresh obstacles were continually created. This was a consequence of the very nature of official Russia and of its fundamental ideas—Absolutism, Orthodoxy, Nationality, that is to say official Russian Nationality. In the eyes of Tsarist Russia, we were not first-class Slavs and Brothers.
Day by day, in my countless dealings with military and civil authorities of all sorts, I felt the weight of Tsarist Absolutism even after its formal disappearance. The Regulations for the formation of our army, duly sanctioned, were in my possession. Assurances and orders were given, yet nothing was done, and there was open opposition at Headquarters. Individuals always made promises, and broke them. I dealt with the highest and most influential persons, with Korniloff, with Brusiloff, who promised and promised; but, month after month, the creation of the army was put off. On all sides I was aware of distrust and incomprehension. True, their own army gave the Russian military authorities enough cause for anxiety at that moment. They had more men than they could deal with and saw little use in a Czech army. The officials were obviously tired. Russia was losing, her army disintegrating—why make such an effort? That, at least, was a pertinent argument. But many, confounding two different conceptions, feared our Liberalism and our Catholicism. And—in keeping with the third term in the Russian absolutist trinity of ideas—the apprehension was expressed that, if a Czech National Army was set up, national armies would have to be granted to the Poles and others. For this reason our small brigade was kept as a part of the Russian army and our men had to swear allegiance to Russia, though not a few Russian Generals understood that, if only for military reasons, our men ought above all to swear allegiance to their own nation. Often, too, I heard complaints of Bulgarian ingratitude—doubtless the Czechs would be just as ungrateful!
In the eyes of many Russian administrative officers, our prisoners were still simply “Austrians.” Legitimist even in regard to Austria, they could not comprehend that our men should be Czechs and Slovaks. Hating the Russian Revolution, they would not recognize the Czech Revolution. In the prisoners’ camps our lads had constantly to turn a deaf ear to the reproach that they had sworn allegiance to Francis Joseph and that, were they to betray him, they would likewise