File No. 861.00/2366
The Consul at Moscow ( Poole ) to the Secretary of State 2
[Received July 24, 8.35 p.m.]
716. Commissariat for Foreign Affairs officially informed Consulate General last evening that according to a telegram from its representative at Berlin, German request for admission Embassy guard to Moscow, reported in my No. 715, has been withdrawn and Germany will be satisfied with guard furnished by the Soviet government. The Soviet government will notify German Government immediately upon the receipt of any information giving ground to fear further attempts against German representatives.
Article [omission?] explains that three days ago its Berlin representative reported that German Government considered assassination closed incident. It says appears according to further report that Von Riezler (?), German Chargé d’Affaires at Moscow, informed German Foreign Office that guard at the time of assassination was insufficient and possibly maliciously negligent. Fredericks of Foreign Office, in charge ad interim pending assumption of office [by] Von Hintze, originated demand for admission of German troops to Moscow, which demand German Government has now decided [not] to sustain.
Subordinate of Commissariat informs Consulate General privately that Soviet government secretly requested recall of Von Riezler on the ground of untruthful report concerning inadequacy of guard.
[Page 578]Soviet government has requisitioned several large buildings adjoining German Embassy and will install troops therein.
To date thirteen well-known members of the left Social Revolutionist Party have been shot but the most prominent including instigators of murder of German Ambassador still at large in hiding. Four of them have just been reelected to the Central Executive Committee of the party.
The Social Revolutionist revolt has miscarried for the time being because the peasantry whom the party represents are an unwieldy mass and the party lacks adequate leadership. However reports from the provinces continue to reveal growing anti-Bolshevik work. The most serious uprising is still in progress at Yaroslavl.
- Sent via the Embassy in France; by wireless from Moscow to Paris.↩