[61] These were Count and Countess Benckendorf, whom their great age and uncertain state of health prevented from following us; Baroness Buxhœveden, who was kept back by illness and was to join us at Tobolsk as soon as she could, and a certain number of servants. Kerensky had asked the Czar whether he wished Count Benckendorf to be replaced. The Czar had replied that he would be very glad for General Tatichtchef to come and share his captivity. On learning his Czar’s wish General Tatichtchef only allowed himself time to put his affairs in order, and a few hours later started, valise in hand, for Tsarskoïe-Selo. We found him in the train at the moment of departure. General Tatichtchef held no Court appointment; he was one of the Czar’s numerous aides-de-camp. [62] The four nuns who used to come to sing at first had been replaced by the choir of one of the Tobolsk churches. [63] For this tea, which the Czarina poured out herself, Their Majesties were attended by Countess Hendrikof, lady-in-waiting, General Tatichtchef, Prince Dolgorouky, and, when their duties permitted, Mlle. Schneider and Doctor Botkin. I am now the sole survivor of these evening tea-parties at Tobolsk. [64] At that time the value of the rouble was about one-fifth of the normal. [65] My colleague Mr. Gibbes had joined us at Tobolsk during September. [66] The Czarina was alluding to the Czar’s abdication. [67] When the thaw set in the river was impassable for several days; it was some time before the ferry could be re-started. [68] Vehicles used by the peasants, and consisting of a large wicker basket hung from two long poles which take the place of springs. There are no seats; the passengers sit or lie on the floor. [69] House belonging to a rich merchant of the town. [70] I must pay a tribute to the very courageous conduct of the British consul, Mr. Preston, who did not shrink from open conflict with the Bolshevik authorities at the risk of compromising his personal safety. [71] In May, 1918, the Czecho-Slovakian troops (consisting of volunteers, former prisoners of war), who had by then been developed by Kerensky into two strong divisions, were strung along the Trans-Siberian railway between Samara and Vladivostok; preparations were being made to pass them into France. The German G.H.Q., in an attempt to prevent these troops from rejoining the allied forces in Europe, ordered the Bolsheviks to disarm them. Following on an ultimatum that was rejected by the Czechs, fighting broke out between them and the Bolshevik troops under German officers. The Russian volunteer formations lost no time in joining up with the Czecho-Slovakian troops. Such was the origin of the movement which began at Omsk and soon spread over the whole of Siberia. [72] The swastika is an Indian religious symbol consisting of a cross of equal limbs, their extremities bent to the left.