_Tekhintsi._ The so-called “Savage Division” in the army, made up of Mohametan tribesmen from Central Asia, and personally devoted to General Kornilov. The _Tekhintsi_ were noted for their blind obedience and their savage cruelty in warfare. _Death Battalions._ Or _Shock Battalions._ The Women’s Battalion is known to the world as the _Death Battalion,_ but there were many _Death Battalions_ composed of men. These were formed in the summer of 1917 by Kerensky, for the purpose of strengthening the discipline and combative fire of the army by heroic example. The _Death Battalions_ were composed mostly of intense young patriots. These came for the most part from among the sons of the propertied classes. _Union of Officers._ An organisation formed among the reactionary officers in the army to combat politically the growing power of the Army Committees. _Knights of St. George._ The Cross of St. George was awarded for distinguished action in battle. Its holder automatically became a _“Knight of St. George.”_ The predominant influence in the organisation was that of the supporters of the military idea. _Peasants’ Union._ In 1905, the _Peasants’ Union_ was a revolutionary peasants’ organisation. In 1917, however, it had become the political expression of the more prosperous peasants, to fight the growing power and revolutionary aims of the Soviets of Peasants’ Deputies. Chronology and Spelling I have adopted in this book our Calendar throughout, instead of the former Russian Calendar, which was thirteen days earlier. In the spelling of Russian names and words, I have made no attempt to follow any scientific rules for transliteration, but have tried to give the spelling which would lead the English-speaking reader to the simplest approximation of their pronunciation. Sources Much of the material in this book is from my own notes. I have also relied, however, upon a heterogeneous file of several hundred assorted Russian newspapers, covering almost every day of the time described, of files of the English paper, the _Russian Daily News,_ and of the two French papers, _Journal de Russie_ and _Entente._ But far more valuable than these is the _Bulletin de la Presse_ issued daily by the French Information Bureau in Petrograd, which reports all important happenings, speeches and the comment of the Russian press. Of this I have an almost complete file from the spring of 1917 to the end of January, 1918. Besides the foregoing, I have in my possession almost every proclamation, decree and announcement posted on the walls of Petrograd from the middle of September, 1917, to the end of January, 1918. Also the official publication of all Government decrees and orders, and the official Government publication of the secret treaties and other documents discovered in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when the Bolsheviki took it over. Ten Days That Shook The World Chapter I Background