Embossed postcard of the flag and coins of Russia, with fixed exchange rates for major currencies including Germany, Austria-Hungary, England, the Latin Monetary Union, Netherlands, and the United States of America. The Russian Ruble equaled 100 Kopeks. Tsar Nicholas II is on the obverse of most of the gold and silver coins; Tsar Alexander III is on the 7 1/2 ruble gold piece.
"By its very principles and constitution, tsarism is obliged to be infallible, perfect and above reproach. There is no form of government which calls for more intelligence, honesty, cautious prudence, orderly reasoning, far-sightednesss and talent ; and outside it, I mean outside the rank of its administrative oligarchy, there is nothing—no machinery of supervision, no autonomous mechanism, no established parties, no social groups, no legal or traditional organization of the public will.So when a mistake is made, it is always discovered too late. And there is no one to repair it."
Entry for January 13, 1916 from the memoirs of Maurice Paléologue, French Ambassador to Russia. Tsar Nicholas had taken command of the army in the summer of 1915, risking, as Paléologue observed at the time, having its failures placed on his shoulders. In the preceding days, the Ambassador had written about the failure of the Russian offensive in Galicia, a secret conference of Socialists, and Rasputin's increasing sway over the church. Among the pleasure of reading the Ambassador from republican France are his observations on Russia, the Russian people, their arts, and government.
An Ambassador's Memoirs Vol. II by Maurice Paléologue, pp. 149, 150, publisher: George H. Doran Company
1916-01-13, 1916, January, Tsar, tsarism
