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146 CHAPTER 7 The Riots of 1905–1906 AFTER PEACE WAS ANNOUNCED IN AUGUST 1905, THE PRAYS HOPED FOR Sarah’s speedy return and for a resurrection of their home’s remembered splendor. Sarah dreamed of refreshing both Dom Smith and the American Store, repainting surfaces, replacing household goods and wallpaper, and adding new furniture. Dom Smith was in bad shape, especially the veranda and the dining-room, where leaks had caused major damage, and where a wholehearted effort to make extensive repairs had seemed futile during the war: “[W]e could not tell from day to day whether the next week would find us here, in Heaven, or in Tokio” (3 September 1905 to Sarah). Now, the Prays began to trust that their faithful Japanese servants could be invited to Vladivostok again, and that jolly guests would spend cozy evenings. Steamer passenger service revived, allowing people to meet returning friends, “instead of going to say goodbye as we have been doing now for almost two years” (23 October 1905 to Home), and Dom Smith would be made pretty: “I finished arranging the veranda and drawing-room and with the exception of its glaring need of paint, it begins to look ‘like befo’ de wah’” (21 October 1905 to Home). But the revolutionary spirit enveloping Russia was also reaching Vladivostok . When Sarah came home, in December, her joy was mitigated by the stark realization of what the war and the riots had cost: “Sarah is quite shocked at us all up here—she left kind-hearted people and she finds us all turned blood-thirsty, even to Mr. Szentgali, who, up to now, never wished anybody any harm in his life, but he can’t get over the loss of his violin which he had had for twenty years, and which he treated like a human being” (26 December 1905 to Home). The Riots of 1905–1906 ✴ 147 THE NOVEMBER DAYS 1905 Vladivostok’s distance from the mutiny in Odessa and the July demonstrations in Saint Petersburg allowed Eleanor Pray initially to feel safe in her city: “I am more than glad that we are inhabitants of Vladivostok and not of any of the big towns in [western] Russia, for I am sure there will be some dreadful riots” (21 August 1905 to Sarah). But signs of unrest were increasing in Vladivostok , too, particularly between the sailors and soldiers, on the one hand, and their commanders, on the other; they argued about hierarchy, about decision-making authority, and about professional respect and demeanor. Eleanor faithfully kept Sarah informed, often making light of it: “It is rumored that both naval and military officers are to be allowed to wear civilian ’s clothes when off duty. If that is true, I fear our Svetlanskaia will look more like a misfit shop than ever” (11 July 1905 to Sarah). But mere disobedience turned to stark violence, and, by early August, before any news about the peace agreement, Eleanor noted, “About ten days ago a sailor nearly killed a drunken military officer who hauled him up for not saluting, and every week there is some scandal or other of that nature. Night before last another sailor, also reprimanded by an officer for not saluting, picked up a heavy rock and banged it down on the officer’s shoulder” (9 August 1905 to Sarah). As the strikes and uprisings moved eastward across Russia, the security offered by Vladivostok’s distance from the capitals was about to be removed. From 30 October, telegraphic communications with the rest of the country were broken, yet the Prays still felt no fear: “Thank goodness we are in Vladivostok ” (30 October 1905 to Home). 12 November 1905 to Home [3 PM] Many thanks indeed, but I prefer a war to a revolution and we seem to be in for a little taste of the latter at the present moment. The trouble began this afternoon in the Bazaar—the soldiers and sailors wrecked all the stalls there, beat an officer who remonstrated with them and two shots were fired— Ted, at work here in our yard, heard the bullets whiz. One of our coolies was down to the Bazaar on an errand but when he heard the shooting he concluded there was no place like home and ambled for here as fast as he could go. Ted says there is a big crowd gathered up on the hill back of our premises, watching the proceedings in the Bazaar from a safe...

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