The Black Russian (38 page)

1
–
2
aftermath of 1905 war:
Riasanovsky, 472–74, 479–82; McMeekin, xvi–xviii.
Sarajevo, war:
Merriman, 964 ff; Riasanovsky, 464.
“blood and faith”:
Mv,
July 16/29, 1914, 3.

3
–
4
Frederick’s petition:
RGIA, f. 1284, op. 247, d. 26. 1914–1915. 
Adrianov’s
note:
RGIA, Departament obshchikh del (1811–1917 gg.), f. 1284, op. 247, d. 26. 1914–1915.
form at heart of petition:
RGIA, Sovet
ministrov (1905–1917 gg.), f. 1276, op. 17, d. 345, l. 135 ob.
Nicholas’s approval:
RGIA, f. 1276 (Sovet ministrov), op. 17, d. 345, ll. 45, 46, 47, 50, 134, 135 ob.

5
–
6
Frederick’s passport renewal:
June 24, 1914, Emergency Passport Applications Filed at Diplomatic Posts Abroad, RG59.
Thomas
family
history:
Interviews.
youngest sons recognized:
State Department to Consul General, Istanbul, Sept. 17, 1935, Decimal File, 367.1115–Thomas, Bruce and Frederick/2, RG 59.
Valli’s 1916 application:
July 27/Aug. 9, 1916, DV.

7
–
8
Moscow demonstrations:
Mv,
July 16/29, 1914, 3.
German economic ties:
Raffalovich, 311.
benefit evening:
Rzh,
Aug. 16/29, 1914, 1, 4;
Tg,
Aug. 17/30, 1914, 2.

9
–
10
Germans outside Paris:
Merriman, 975–77, 986–88; Riasanovsky, 464.
trainloads of prisoners:
“Austria’s Heavy Losses,”
Scotsman,
Sept. 9, 1914, 6.

11
–
12
prohibition, U.S. Senate request:
Kurukin and Nikulina, 224–30; Herlihy, 64–65; Johnson,
Liquor
, 194–95, 202–4.
observers concluded that Russians embraced sobriety:
“One Man’s Work Sobers Russia,”
NYTr,
Nov. 19, 1914, 3; “Exit Vodka,”
Mg,
Dec. 7, 1914, 5; “Russia Without Vodka,”
Mg
, March 10, 1915, 12; “Russians Sell Last Belongings for Liquor,”
HC,
Nov. 15, 1914, 3.
Muscovites’ legal method:
“The Truth About Vodka,”
Bonfort’s Wine and Spirit Circular,
March 25, 1915, 391.
illegal stills:
“Russia Without Vodka,”
Mg,
ibid.; “Russia Totally ‘Dry,’”
WP,
Jan. 2, 1915, 3.

13
–
14
bribing, bootlegging, drinking:
Al’perov, 381–82; Maksimov and
Kokorev
, 237–39.
Zhichkovsky:
Kurukin and Nikulina, 228–30; name and patronymic are from
VM 1917,
181.
French champagne:
Alekseev, 89.
Frederick’s success:
Am,
Aug. 1915, 2;
Ti,
June 28, 1915, 463.

15
–
16
January 1915, Przemy
ś
l:
Griffiths, 54.
Ottoman Empire,
Constantinople
:
Riasanovsky, 464–66.
“For the Russian Army”:
Rzh,
Jan. 18, 1915, 8; Feb. 1, 8, 1915, 3;
Tg,
Feb. 8, 1915, 5.
Maxim shut:
Am,
April 1915, 4. Maxim had also been briefly shut down in the fall of 1914, but by January 1915, it was back in business and reported doing very well:
Am,
Jan. 1915, 5.
Frederick continued to “prepare energetically”:
Am,
April 1915, 4.
Bruce’s birth:
Frederick’s Passport Application, 15 Sept. 1921, DF.

17
–
18
Serpoletti:
Am,
April 1915, 7–8.
Serpoletti’s story:
I. Yadov [the
surname
derives from “poisonous”], “‘Evropeets.’ Direktor iz Petrograda,”
Am,
April 1916, 8.

19
–
20
German advance, “mad bacchanalia”:
Merriman, 988;
“Tobacco for the Soldier”:
Rzh,
May 19, 1915, 10;
Mv,
May 20, 1915, 3; May 21, 1915, 3 (Frederick’s surname mistakenly given as “Tomson”);
Sa,
June 2, 1915, 9, 12.
merchants’ philanthropy:
Ul’ianova and Shatsillo, 22.

21
–
22
rampaging mobs, political cost:
Mv,
May 31, 1915, 4; Dzhunkovskii, II, 59–61, 563–66.
English eyewitness:
Houghteling, 48. 
Zimmermann’
s store:
Al’perov, 369; Dzhunkovskii, II, 562–63.
damage
estimate
:
“Blames Germans for Riots in Russia,”
NYT,
Oct. 19, 1915, 3.

23
–
24
war’s first anniversary, grand duke’s dismissal, Gallipoli: 
Merriman
, 990; Riasanovsky, 466–67.
Ciniselli Circus:
Tg,
June 7, 1915, 8.
oldest building of its kind in Russia:
“Sankt-Peterburg Entsiklopediia,” http://www.encspb.ru/article.php?kod=2804016386; http://petersburgcity.com/family/theatres/circus/; http://www.ruscircus.ru/glav21.
auction:
Tg,
June 7, 1915, 8;
Ti,
Dec. 15, 1915, 945–46;
Am,
Dec. 1915, 3; March 1916, 3;
Sa,
Dec. 26, 1915, 19–20.

25
–
26
Odessa:
Baedeker,
Russia,
386, 395–96.
Frederick’s trips:
Tk,
Feb. 6, 1916, 5–6; April 2, 1916, 7; July 16, 1916, 9; July 30, 1916, 9.
villa:
Am,
March 1917, 5.

27
–
28
war’s second year:
Ti,
Sept. 6, 1915, 661;
Ti,
Sept. 13, 1915, 694;
Ti,
Sept. 20, 1915, 705;
Am,
Oct., 1915, 5;
Sa,
Oct. 5, 1915, 13;
Sa,
Dec. 25, 1915, 16;
Sa,
May 14, 1916, 16;
Am,
Oct. 1916, 2; Maksimov and Kokorev, 246–47.
wartime impositions:
Ti,
Nov. 1, 1915, 307–8;
Ti,
Nov. 8, 1915, 838;
Ti,
Dec. 6, 1915, 919;
Vt
, Dec. 25, 1916, 7;
Ti,
Jan. 31, 1916, 95;
Ti
, Feb. 14, 1916, 134.
Tsaritsa Alexandra:
Riasanovky, 466–67;
“ministerial leapfrog”:
Waldron, 34.

29
–
30
tango craze:
Vt,
Dec. 25, 1913, 10;
Tg,
Jan. 12, 1914, 12;
Vt,
Jan. 15, 1914, 4;
Rzh,
Feb. 23, 1914, 3;
Am,
March 1914, 13;
Rzh,
March 23, 1914, inside front cover.
“kingdom of the tango”:
Vt,
Dec. 25, 1913, 10.
“Tango of Death”:
Sheremet’evskaia, 24–25;
“Wilhelm’s Bloody Tango”:
Jahn, 103.
“Cocainomaniacs”:
Vt,
Dec. 25, 1915, 6.
Vertinsky:
Tg,
Jan. 3, 1916, 7–8;
Vt,
Jan. 1917, 6.
“Kokainetka”:
Vertinsky, 78.
“Hashish Tango”:
Tg,
March 3, 1918, 6.

31
–
32
military losses, striking workers:
Merriman, 1019, 1021–22;
Burdzhalov
, 29; Peimani, 194; Monkhouse, 51.
Rasputin:
Dzhunkovskii, II, 555, 563; Varlamov, 457–70; Radzinskii, 330–34.
Frederick and Rasputin:
deCoy, 180–83.

33
–
34
“Brusilov Offensive”:
Dowling, xv; Bohon, 147; Jukes, 45.
shortages:
Ti,
Oct. 9, 1916, 829, 820.
theaters packed:
Sa
, Jan. 10, 1916, 15.
Frederick leases theaters:
Ti,
Jan. 10, 1916, 32;
Rzh,
Jan. 31, 1916, 9;
Tg
, April 3, 1916, 5;
Rzh,
April 10, 1916, 13;
Tg,
Jan. 1, 1917, 6;
Tg,
Feb. 5, 1917, 3.
Frederick rewards employees:
Am,
Jan. 1917, 7;
Ti
, Jan. 1, 1917, 6;
Sa,
Jan. 17, 1917, 6.

35
–
36
buildings purchased, previous owners:
Am,
March 1917, 5. “Ob otsenke vladeniia, prinadlezhashchego Brus-Tomas Fedoru
Fridrikhovichu
, byvshemu grazhdaninu Severo-Amerikanskikh shtatov, Sretenskoi chasti 1 uchastka No. 216/204 po Karetnomu riadu, Srednemu i Malomu Spasskim pereulkam, d. 2, 1, 2”: TsIAM, “Fond Moskovskikh gorodskikh dumy i upravy,” f. 179, op. 63, d. 12896, l. 1–4; TsANTDM, Plan vladenii kniazei Kantakuzinykh, grafov Speranskikh, f. 1, op. 13, ed. kh. 109, d. 19, l. 5 ob. “Miss Julia Grant Married,”
NYT,
Sept. 25, 1899, 7.
425,000 rubles:
by Feb. 12, 1917, the exchange rate had dropped from 2 to 3.3 rubles to the dollar: Houghteling, 25.

1
–
2
February Revolution, “hardly a whimper”:
Merriman, 1022–30;
Riasanovsky
, 505–8.

3
–
4
Moscow demonstrations:
Sack, 235–36; Pisar’kova, 583.
“Liberty Parade,” men of property endangered:
Houghteling, 174–78; Rieber, 405; Okunev, 19.
“Order Number One”:
Kenez,
History,
18–19;
Merriman
, 1026–27.

5
–
6
Moscow theatrical life:
Dadamian, 161;
Tg,
March 12, 1917, 6, 9.
Merchant of the First Guild:
TsIAM, Fond moskovskoi kupecheskoi upravy, “O prichislenii v kupechestvo byvshego severo-amerikanskogo poddanogo Fedora-Fridrikha Tomasa s docher’iu Ol’goiu” (1917 god),
f. 3, op. 4, d. 4678, ll. 1–3.
Frederick’s designation:
Rieber, 13, 36, 87, 124; Ul’ianova and Shatsillo, 20.

7
–
8
calamitous historical events:
Merriman, 1030–33; Riasanovsky, 508–11.
Frederick and Moscow Soviet:
Tg
, Sept. 17, 1917, 5;
Az,
Oct. 1, 1917, 12;
Rzh,
Oct. 8, 1917, 9;
Tg,
Oct. 17, 1917, 10.
Frederick first to align himself:
Tg,
Oct. 25, 1917, 10.
Maxim leased:
Tg,
Sept. 24, Oct. 17, 1917, 1;
Rzh,
Oct. 1, 22, 1917, inside front cover.

9
–
10
Bolsheviks strike:
Riasanovsky, 511–12, 528; Merriman, 1033–37; “The Fall of Kerensky,” 305; Pitcher, 238-39.
Englishman:
Monkhouse, 61.

11
–
12
November 10 and 20, horrified city dweller:
Okunev, 99–100, 104, 106; Van Riper, 176–78.
Kremlin damaged:
Rzh,
Nov. 19, 1917, 7; Okunev, 106.
American described:
Van Riper, 183.
anxious time:
Monkhouse, 62.
Maxim’s old repertory:
Rzh,
Oct. 8, 22, Nov. 19, Dec. 3, 16, 1917, inside front cover; Jan. 1918, 1.
Aquarium’s high-minded fare:
Tg,
Nov. 21, 1917, 6.

13
–
14
Bolshevik cease-fire, Brest-Litovsk:
Riasanovsky, 528–29; Merriman, 1037.
American visitor, Bolsheviks hated Americans:
Van Riper, 177, 182.

15
–
16
Valli’s lover:
Frederick to Ravndal, American Consul General,
Constantinople
, 10 May 1921, CPI 337.
Germans in Odessa:
Papers
Relating
, 1918,
676.
Frederick’s application denied, permission for Elvira:
Sackett.
Frederick’s acquaintance:
Dunn, 421.
Frederick’s near-murder:
Frederick to Ravndal, 10 May 1921, ibid. (Frederick’s spelling preserved).
revision of family laws:
The Marriage Laws,
5, 42, 36, 55.
Frederick divorces, remarries:
TT, Frederick to Ravndal, 10 May 1921, ibid.

17
–
18
Whites:
Riasanovsky, 532.
anarchist groups:
Okunev, 168.
Russians hoped Germans would occupy:
“Making Allies Out of Enemies,”
Independent,
May 31, 1919, 312; Kenez,
Civil War 1918,
162.
 
Frederick’s
maneuvers:
Rzh,
Feb. 19/6, 1918, 6–7, 1, 10;
Tg,
March 3, 1918, 3.
Frederick’s new lease, Evelinov:
Ti,
Jan. 14, 1918, 24;
Sa,
Jan. 23, 1918, 2;
Tg,
Jan. 28, 1918, 3;
Rzh,
Feb. 1918, 1;
Ti,
Feb. 17, 1918, 50; April 21/8, 1918, 129.
Frederick’s hopes unrealized:
Rzh,
Feb. 1918, 1;
Tg,
March 3, 1918, 3;
Rzh,
March 30/17, 1918, 2, 11; Kazansky, 110.
Aquarium situation ends badly:
Sa,
Feb. 15, 1918, 4, 12;
Ti,
Feb. 17, 1918, 50;
Rzh,
Feb. 21/6, 1918, 9;
Ti,
May 5/22, 1918, 148–49. 
prohibition
against “bourgeois” farces:
Ti,
May 5/22, 1918, 148–49, 150.
classical ballet:
Rzh,
June 2/May 20, 1918, 8.

19
–
20
Bolsheviks’ changes:
McMeekin, 35–38; Riasanovsky, 529–30; “The People’s Commissariat of Finance,” 219.
property expropriated:
Okunev, 160.

21
–
22
robberies:
Okunev, 138, 164.
police ineffective:
Klement’ev, 5. 
Sukhodolsky
:
Tg,
March 3, 1918, 6; about the Sukhodolsky brothers’
business
dealings with Aquarium, see
Rzh,
May 4, 1914, 10.
bank seizures, $100 billion to $150 billion:
McMeekin, 17, 19, 20–21, 50.
Tsarev in Kiev:
Rzh,
June 29/16, 1918, 8.
June announcement of ban on theater middlemen:
Tg,
June 9, 1918, 6; Kazansky, 120.
cholera:
Okunev, 202.
Socialist Revolutionaries:
Holquist, 168–69.
Nicholas II murdered:
Okunev, 202.
Frederick’s remaining livelihood:
Sackett.
“sackers” (“meshochniki”):
Ponafidine, 101; Okunev, 150; Dolgorukov, 103–4.

23
–
24
Frederick’s escape:
Valli to State Department, Jan. 16, 1921, DV;
Sackett
.
cost of a passport, German behavior at border:
Dolgorukov, 113–16.
trains blocked:
Klement’ev, 6.
conditions on trains, pillaged stations, young women in danger:
Kostrova, 20–26.

25
–
26
American entering German territory:
by analogy with an
Englishman
, see White, 298.
Austrian and German occupation, Bolshevik guerrilla warfare:
White, 300; Bagge to Clark, February 4, 1919, FO 371/3963.
Bolsheviks throw open prisons:
Tumanov, 69.
prominent lawyer:
Margulies, 159.
Frederick in newspapers:
Savchenko, 196, and e-mail from Boris A. Savchenko, May 2, 2010.
feast in time of plague:
Tumanov, 68–70; Lobanov-Rostovsky, 330.
Moscow entrepreneurs, performers:
Savchenko, 195–96; Utesov, 78–79.
private banks:
Xydias, 301–2; Gurko, 147; Jenkins to USSS, 22 April 1919, CP Odessa, box 1, RG 84.

27
–
28
excited crowds:
White, 309.
magnificently equipped army, exotic appearance of soldiers:
Kantorovich, 254–55, 259, 261–62; Brygin, 432; Xydias, 186; Silverlight, 107; Munholland, 55. Estimates of the number of troops vary from thirty thousand to eighty thousand.
Allied troops around Odessa:
Lobanov-Rostovsky, 329; Kantorovich, 258–59.
French occupation invigorated Odessa:
tumanov, 78–79.
speculators
busy, situation deteriorates:
Papers Relating, 1919,
751–54;
Munholland
, 49–50, 53; Xydias, 261–62.