The nationalist press raised a terrible uproar over the "incident" with Alekhin. Good heavens! The Austrians insulted Russia, arrested an innocent Russian engineer on suspicion of espionage, mocked the arrestee! There was no end to the "patriotic" outbursts against Austria.

And now, the entire machinery has been revealed — a simple, old, long-familiar machinery of this affair. Mr. Alekhin became the victim of an Austrian police "agent" Weisman, who for 2000 crowns (800 rubles) per month tracked down Russian spies in Austria.

A Russian engineer who did not understand German — and apparently, moreover, still rather barbarous — naively fell for the provocateur's bait, who led him to inspect arsenals.

*Novoye Vremya* and other newspapers of our Black Hundred and governmental orientation defend the Russian Azefovs tooth and nail. But when Azef turned out to be in the service of Austria, well-intentioned Russians flared up with "honest" indignation.

But it turned out, moreover, that Weisman was a former Russian spy and provocateur. The career of this Weisman is most instructive.

His father was the proprietor of a brothel. The little son, after such preparation, became a Russian spy in Austria, in Vienna, moreover keeping watch on Russian political émigrés. From 1901 to 1905, Weisman thus served the Russian police, being at one and the same time both a military and a political spy.

Then Weisman quarreled with the Russian police and went into the service of the Austrian police.

Very simple.

Poor Alekhin turned out to be the victim of a former Russian spy. Well, how could one not be indignant — these Russian lackey newspapers — at this "perfidy" of Austria?

*Pravda* No. 20, January 25, 1913. Signed: W.

Printed according to the text of the newspaper *Pravda*