Seite - 35 - in THE FIRST WORLD WAR - and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1914 – 1918

The Socialisation of Violence 35 strange mixture of loyalty and sectarianism, Pan-Slavism and Russophilia was also to be observed, without it being possible to agree on a single shared goal. For example, a Czech radical such as the member of the Austrian Reichsrat (Imperial Assembly), Karel Kramář, had tried many times to become foreign minister and minister of the imperial household,54 which makes it clear that he wished to have influence, to create and reform, but certainly not initially to destroy. However, there was one thing that he wanted just as certainly, and that was to loosen the bonds between the Dual Monarchy and the German Empire, if possible in order to pave the way for a closer relationship with Russia. Only when he failed in all his goals did he become more radical and forged increasingly close ties to Russia and the Russophiles.55 Even so, Kramář was severely critical of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, and issued a formal statement confirm- ing his loyalty to the Monarchy which amounted to more than merely empty words. More radical and pro-Russian than Kramář were the National Socialists of Bohemia and Moravia under the leadership of Vaclav Klofáć. He not only oriented his policy towards Russia, but also maintained particularly close contacts with the radical south- ern Slavs in the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, as well as to Serbia. During a visit to St. Petersburg in January 1914, he agreed to a request by the Chief of the Russian General Staff to establish a network of agents and in the event that Austria-Hungary mobilised, to do all he could to disrupt the process.56 Apart from the Russophile group, there was also an opposition faction among the Czechs that was oriented towards the democratic west. Its most prominent represent- ative was Tomáš G. Masaryk, member of the Austrian Reichsrat and Professor of Phi- losophy in Prague.57 However, prior to the war, Kramář enjoyed far more support than Masaryk.58 Unlike the Ruthenians and Czechs, the Poles in Austria were hardly prone to Rus- sophile currents. There were several reasons for this. First, they could expect no benefit from Russia, and in comparison with the Poles living in Russia, felt themselves to be in a ‘western’ state, which despite all its weaknesses was still progressive. Besides this, the Austrian Poles had learned how to utilise their loyalty towards Austria and its ruling dynasty to gain political advantages. For this reason, they were repeatedly given posi- tions of power within the state, in contrast to the Czechs. By contrast, numerous circles in the southern Slav countries of the Monarchy were Pan-Slavic and anti-Habsburg. There, these currents combined with those that were particularly prevalent in Serbia, where speculation on the fall of the Monarchy was sectarian in nature while at the same time being too serious to ignore. The southern Slav radicals could not simply be ascribed to Pan-Slavism and the Great Serbia ideal, however. Their ranks also included those who supported the ideas of the Russian social revolutionaries and who planned individual acts of terrorism. Here, the aim was not to destabilise a small area adjacent to the Habsburg Monarchy, but to bring the Serbs,