Relying upon his cunning, bureaucratic and judicial logic,
he tried in the face of the entire world to show that white is in no way
different from black, and it was our own perverseness which made us
insist that there was such a difference. Count Czernin, the
representative of Austria-Hungary, played a part in those negotiations
which no one would consider inspiring or satisfactory.
He was an awkward second and upon instructions from Kuehlmann took it
upon himself in all critical moments to utter the most extreme and
cynical declarations. General Hoffmann brought a refreshing note into
the negotiations. Showing no great sympathy for the diplomatic
constructions of Kuehlmann, the General several times put his soldierly
boot upon the table, around which a complicated judicial debate was
developing. We, on our part, did not doubt for a single minute that just
this boot of General Hoffmann was the only element of serious reality in
these negotiations. The important trump in the hands of Mr. Kuehlmann
was the participation in the negotiations of a delegation of the Kiev
Rada. For the Ukrainian middle classes, who had seized the power, the
most important factor seemed to be the "recognition" of their government
by the capitalist governments of Europe. At first the Rada placed itself
at the disposal of the Allied imperialists, received from them some
pocket money, and immediately thereupon sent their representatives to
Brest-Litovsk in order to make a bargain behind the back of the Russian
people with the government of Austria-Hungary for the recognition of the
legitimate birth of their government.
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