Maid of Baikal: A Novel of the Russian Civil War

“Very well, general,” Zhanna answered. “You have made your case and I have made mine. Let the Admiral decide.”

Now all eyes were on Admiral Kolchak, who sat forward on the edge of his chair, his chin resting on one elbow, an expression of veiled disgust on his face.

“Seldom in my experience are difficult decisions defined in black and white,” Kolchak remarked in a pained voice. “Zhanna Stepanovna, can you not say anything positive about the Chief of Staff’s work?”

Zhanna touched a finger gently to her lips before answering.

“If you wish, sir,” she replied, “I would say that one can count upon the general not to make the same mistake three times.”

A faint smile formed on the Supreme Ruler’s otherwise expressionless face and both General Dieterichs and Colonel Ward struggled to suppress a laugh. Apparently, this was too much humiliation for the Chief of Staff to bear, because he reached across the table and pointed a thick tobacco-stained finger at Zhanna.

“You have twisted my tail quite enough, my pretty whelp, and I will stand for it no longer!” With deliberate slowness, he removed the epaulets from his shoulders and laid them on the table. “Your Excellency, I submit my resignation forthwith unless this thorn is removed from my side.”

Ned drew a sharp breath while observing the Supreme Ruler’s eyes for a reaction. At the same time, he saw Colonel Ward’s lips form a smile beneath his mustache.

“I see that the scythe has run into a stone,” Kolchak said promptly, showing no trace of emotion. “Dmitry Antonovich, your resignation is accepted. I thank you for your faithful service. You will be paid through the end of the year and given safe passage to Vladivostok. From there, you are free to remain abroad until the war is over.”

Turning to Dieterichs, he added, “Mikhail Konstantinovich, you are hereby appointed interim Chief of Staff for the Siberian Armies. Please select a new Stavka with all due haste and prepare a thorough review of all senior command positions, along with your recommendations for change. We will discuss them in the morning. That will be all.”

For a moment, everyone but the Supreme Ruler seemed too stunned to move, as no one had expected him to make so radical a change on the spot. The former Chief of Staff was first to collect himself after receiving the blow, but not without firing a parting shot.

“Don’t be too quick to smirk,” he warned, his gazed fixed on Kolchak and Dieterichs. “Save your teeth, for neither of you can know how all this will end. Mark my words: if we defeat the Bolsheviks, this girl will end up ruling Russia, not either of you. It is she who rules the mob, and she has already gained more power by her scheming than all of us put together. So enjoy your moment while it lasts, as I have enjoyed mine.”

Zhanna as a schemer and ruler of the mob? It was a claim Ned had not considered before? Though Lebedev was far from an unbiased source, could there be a grain of truth in what he said?

* * *

Two days later, General Dieterichs announced sweeping changes to key positions in the military leadership, including a new minister of war, a new commander of the Eastern Front, a new quartermaster general, and new commanders for two of the three Siberian Army Groups, retaining only Rudolf Gaida for the Northern Army and replacing the exhausted Mikhail Khanzin with the underutilized Vladimir Kappel to lead the Western Army. Kappel had commanded the People’s Army of Komuch on the Volga in 1918 and was widely hailed as the ideal candidate to lead a new Volga offensive in cooperation with General Denikin’s AFSR.

A few days after Lebedev’s dismissal, the Supreme Leader also announced a cabinet shakeup. Chief among the changes were Kolchak’s appointment of George Guins as Minister of Finance and General Anatoly Pepelyayev as Minister of State Security. Within days of his appointment, Pepelyayev began ordering the dismissal or arrest of any officer who resisted the new Stavka’s authority.

By a stroke of good fortune, Ned now found himself in a better position than ever to report to AEF Intelligence on new developments at Omsk. As Staff Captain Ivashov had worked with Pepelyayev in 1918 and was a favorite of his, Pepelyayev now made Ivashov his chief intelligence liaison at the Stavka. With this change, the relationship of trust that Ned had built with Ivashov began to pay off handsomely.

Though the Russian was always careful not to divulge sensitive information, he began sharing privately with Ned as much information as could reasonably be justified between wartime allies, in hopes of gaining American confidence. As a result, Ned’s coded wireless messages to Colonel Barrows grew longer and more frequent and received frequent praise from the AEF Intelligence staff for his insights into Siberian plans and intentions.