Your TR Source
The American consul in Odessa, Alfred W. Smith, and Ambassador of the Russian Empire to the United States Baron Roman Romanovich Rosen, have been informed that President Roosevelt gladly accepts the honorary membership in the Crimea-Caucasian Mountaineering Club that he has been offered.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-12
Assistant Secretary of State Robert Bacon notifies President Roosevelt that the Alpine Club of the Crimea has elected Roosevelt as an honorary member. The State Department made inquiry to the Russian Ambassador, Roman Rosen, regarding the standing and recognition of the club. Bacon encloses both a translation of the letter from the Alpine Club president and the reply from Rosen regarding the club’s standing. The State Department will forward Roosevelt’s reply as to whether he accepts the honorary membership.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1907-04-03
George von Lengerke Meyer writes to President Roosevelt about troubles in Russia, including the mutiny of the battleship Potemkin and marines in Libau who rebelled. Meyer notes that as soon as Czar Nicholas II of Russia makes a move in the right direction he is countered with obstacles in the press or in bureaucracy. He is “surrounded by men who are not in sympathy with needed reform.” Meyer feels education, freedom of the press, and a representative government will raise standards for citizenship.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-01
Ambassador Meyer is reporting to President Roosevelt the state of affairs in Russia after having found St. Petersburg quiet. Meyer traveled throughout Russia, Poland, and the Ukraine. The letter examines the situations in many different cities and other topics including removing Jews from Russia, revolution and revolutionaries’ tactics, a pheasant shoot, military escorts, history, travel, and Russian construction quality.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1906-10-28
Ambassador Meyer writes to President Roosevelt comparing the situation in Russia to events in France during the French Revolution. Meyer goes into detail about the current political crisis in Russia, mentioning the need for reform, the need for improved conditions for the military, and the public opinion of the czar. Meyer describes the shutting down of newspaper offices, the imprisonment of editors, and strikes that could take place. He suggests that an American military attache could be of great help to him, as communication and media in St. Petersburg are not reliable.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-12-20
Cecil Spring Rice provides Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt with a detailed synopsis of the ongoing turmoil in Russia, including student demonstrations, labor strikes, and violent police reprisals. Spring Rice believes Roosevelt has seen accounts of the “inconceivable brutality” of the attacks on students and Jews, and that the “accounts are not exaggerated.” He believes the army is the only organized force left in Russia but wonders how long it will last. Spring Rice believes that no one either trusts or likes Sergei Vitte or his government and due to all the uncertainty “the forces of anarchy flourish.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-11-27
American Ambassador to Russia George von Lengerke Meyer writes to President Roosevelt in response to a previous letter. The letter is part of the frequent correspondence between Meyer and Roosevelt during the Russo-Japanese war. Meyer updates Roosevelt about his difficulty with getting in contact with Tsar Nicholas II, how the war affects the Russian peasants, and the current stance of the conversations about peace. The last two pages are a copy of the letter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-08
On Tuesday, June 27, the crew of the battleship Potemkin refused to eat the food from Odessa due to the meat being of bad quality. The Commander ordered the crew on deck and the First Officer asked those not involved in the protest to stand to one side. The mutineers seized guns and ammunition. An order by the First Officer to fire was not obeyed so he took a gun from one of the sailors and shot one of the mutineers, mortally wounding him. The mutineers hunted down and killed the officers on the ship. Potemkin is roaming the Black Sea and is being controlled by a revolutionary committee of twenty.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1905-07-06
Oscar S. Straus shares reports of rumors concerning the massacre of Jews in Odessa, Russia, and the tolerance of the Russian government for publications inciting the massacre. Straus trusts that President Roosevelt will invoke “humanitarian diplomacy” concerning the matter.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-03-31
Summary of testimony during the trial of the thirty-nine people prosecuted for their involvement in the Kishinev Massacre, a pogrom that took place in Kishinev the capital of Bessarabia province in the Russian Empire. The anti-Jewish riots were responsible for the death of dozens of Jewish citizens.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-01-06