861.00/4255
The Commanding General of the American Expeditionary Forces in Siberia (Graves) to The Adjutant General (Harris)22
Subject: Situation in Siberia.
1. Conditions in Siberia are, in my judgment, becoming worse instead of better. Japanese are furnishing arms and munitions to certain factions located in various sections of Siberia east of Lake Baikal. This fact is established by the following information:
- (a)
- They have admitted to me that the “horses, arms, and equipment” surrendered by Kalmikoff’s men at Habarovsk to Colonel Styer23 belonged to Japan and they verbally asked that they be returned to Japan, but, when their written request was received it [Page 469] asked me to turn them over to Kalmikoff. I told the Japanese officer, who made the request to me, that I must have a written request.
- (b)
- It is not only generally understood, but I believe officially admitted by Japan, that Semeonof is being armed, equipped, and financed by Japan. General Yuhi, Chief of Staff, I was informed by General Knox, British Mission, informed General Knox and General Janin that Japan had financed Semeonof in the past, was financing him at present, and expected to continue financing him. This was in December, 1918.
- (c)
- It is generally understood that Japan had agreed to arm, equip, and finance 10,000 men to operate under Ivanoff-Rinoff. In support of the truth of this general belief, Col. Baron Korff, Russian Forces, who, at the request of General Ivanoff-Rinoff, comes to American Headquarters in the capacity of liaison officer, stated specifically to Major Eichelberger, General Staff, that Japan was supporting 10,000 men operating under Ivanoff-Rinoff’s orders. On February 20th, I told General Inagaki, Imperial Japanese Army, that I had this information, believed it, and called his attention to the action of these Russians armed by Japan and told him, in my judgment, it was having just the opposite effect from that the United States and Japan announced they desired to accomplish when they came to Siberia; and there was no use for me to try to reconcile my ideas with their actions and I proposed to make a full statement of these matters to the United States. He, General Inagaki, replied that the United States and Japan had the same purpose in Siberia, but the two Governments had very different ideas as to the best way to accomplish this purpose. He said Japan’s policy in aiding the Russian people in regaining control of their own affairs was to help them organize a strong army which could and would keep order, and in pursuance of this policy Japan was backing the Cossacks. While he did not specifically admit that Japan was financing Ivanoff-Rinoff, he did not deny it, and as Ivanoff-Rinoff is a Cossack, General Inagaki’s remark was to my mind an admission that Japan was backing Ivanoff-Rinoff. Kalmikoff is stationed with Japanese troops at Habarovsk, Semeonoff with Japanese troops at Chita and vicinity, and Ivanoff-Rinoff is at Vladivostok.
2. As to the results of Japan’s policy in arming, equipping and financing these troops, the following extract of report (marked A) will show. In addition to these written reports, the following verbal reports have a direct bearing on this matter.
(A) A Mr. Parker, an American mining engineer, who lives at and near Blagovestchensk, recently informed me that the attitude of the Japanese soldiers toward the Russian people in the neighborhood of Blagovestchensk was such as to inevitably result in conflict. [Page 470] Mr. Parker said the Japanese soldiers would push people off the sidewalk, go in the cars and force people out of their seats, and other similar acts which had caused the people to have an intense hatred for the Japanese. Mr. Parker is not a rabid anti-Japanese; in fact he would welcome any force which would enable him to work his mining property.
The accompanying extracts from reports of Captain Straus (marked B24) who was stationed at Blagovestchensk show the conduct of one of Semeonoff’s Cossack officers stationed in Blagovestchensk. This man belongs to the force supported by Japan. There is now going on a conflict between Russians and Japanese troops in the vicinity of Blagovestchensk. The Japanese reports say they are fighting Bolsheviki. I have no one at Blagovestchensk and am unable to determine definitely the cause of the conflict.
(B) About ten days ago, a committee composed of six peasants from the Olga District came to the Zemstvo at Vladivostok and asked the Vice-President of the Zemstvo to take them to American Headquarters so they could report facts to the American Commander. These peasants informed me that Russian troops were going from village to village and asking for certain men and when these men were not produced they whipped, with ramrods, the women related to the men wanted. They informed me that it was not necessary to take their word for accuracy of statements made, but they wished I would send officers to these villages to make an investigation and they would produce several women who had been brutally beaten over their backs with ramrods. These peasants also complained that when Allies came to Eastern Siberia they were informed that arms were not necessary for their protection as the Allies would protect them, and they complied with instructions to give up their arms and now they were almost defenseless. They said if we, United States and Japan, would not protect them they proposed to protect themselves as best they could, and asked us not to interfere when the Russian troops called for help stating there was a Bolshevik uprising. The truth of these statements made by these peasants is shown by copies of accompanying official reports (marked C, D & E24). Villages mentioned in these written reports are not far from villages in Olga District. These Russian troops committing these acts are part of Ivanoff-Rinoff’s troops and, for reasons above stated, I believe to be armed, equipped, and paid in part or entirely by Japan.
(C) On January 23rd, Ivanoff-Rinoff ordered the arrest, for political reasons, of four citizens living in Vladivostok. I say political reasons because no charges were made against three of [Page 471] these people and the fourth was said to be a Bolshevik. Two of these men have been sent to Japan, the so-called Bolshevik is to be tried by military court, and the fourth was confined in jail until February 20th, when he was put on a train and started West. This man had been a Russian General Staff officer, but has openly advocated a liberal representative form of government. In addition to this, Colonel Butenko, Russian Fortress Commander at Vladivostok, who was in charge of this former Russian officer while imprisoned here, told me that this man was held for political reasons as he advocated a too liberal form of government. During his confinement here for nearly one month, his wife was not permitted to see him and his friends and relatives could not learn why he was arrested. He was clandestinely shipped out of Vladivostok and his wife could not learn from Russian authorities where he was; she finally got the information from a telegram her husband got a chance to send her.
3. On the night of February 19th, Colonel Butenko, the officer above mentioned, came to my office and informed me that he had orders from General Ivanoff-Rinoff to arrest the executive committee of the Zemstvo, the Mayor, and a similar committee of the town administration of Vladivostok. Colonel Butenko said unless the Allies could do something he would have to resign as he could not disobey an order nor could he be a party to making these arrests. On the 20th I informed General Inagaki what General Ivanoff-Rinoff had ordered and he said the Japanese military could not interfere in the matter but he thought it was a question for their diplomatic representatives here to take up with Mr. Morris, who is now here. This course was followed and Mr. Morris said Mr. Matsudaira thought I was unnecessarily concerned about these reports. I did not think so, as Colonel Butenko, the officer charged with making the arrests, had himself told me he had the order to make the arrests, and any action taken would have to be taken before the arrests were made. These men were to be arrested with as little commotion as possible, taken at once to a waiting car and immediately to start West, destined for Irkutsk. The only charge against these men is they are in favor of a liberal democratic form of government and not adherents of the Kolchak Government. Ivanoff-Rinoff, the man who gave these orders, is one of the Cossacks backed by Japan.
4. According to our standards, it is not unjust to characterize Kalmikoff as a robber and murderer without any desire or inclination to follow the conceptions of civilized people as to what constitutes right and wrong.
[Page 472]If reports are true, and I believe them, Semeonoff believes in brute force and has no more regard for the life of a human being than he has for the life of an animal.
Ivanoff-Rinoff was formerly a Russian police officer at Tashkent and is reported to possess all the qualities possessed by the typical Russian police officers who operated under the Czar’s Government in oppressing the people.
5. The facts above stated indicate very clearly to my mind that the arming of these Cossack troops and the backing of such unscrupulous leaders as I have mentioned above, will not aid the Russian people in their endeavor to regain control of their own affairs, their own territory, and their own destiny, but will create such terror among the people of Eastern Siberia that they in sheer desperation will temporarily submit to these atrocities or it will result in an uprising which may possibly extend against all the Allies. Everyone here, I believe, knows the representatives in Vladivostok of the various Governments are not working together in the spirit of noninterference. Sir Charles Eliot and General Knox, British representatives, are giving Kolchak all the moral support possible and the few English troops in Western Siberia are being used for same purpose. The Canadians, apparently, do not take part in this support. General Janin is also supporting Kolchak.
There is no doubt in my mind that as long as Japan continues the policy of arming, equipping, and financing unscrupulous Cossack leaders, there can be no such thing as security of life and property in Eastern Siberia.