The Relationship Between Russian and French Freemasonry ( 1905 – 1945 )
In the meantime , however , starting at least in 1908 , they expanded in the two great cities and in the provinces , including Nizhny-Novgorod , Kiev , Kharkov , Odessa , Saratov , Irkutsk , and Warsaw , bringing the total number of lodges constituted before 1910 to eighteen . Bouley and Sincholle returned to Russia in 1908 and engaged in a flurry of activity , conducting initiations and elevations , including that of Kilvein Gueorgiu , president of the zemstvo of Nizhny-Novgorod and Worshipful Master of the first lodge in that city , and Aleksandr Trachevsky , who joined Astrée Lodge in Paris in 1922 . According to Nina Berberova , three new lodges were constituted in Saint Petersburg , Moscow , and Warsaw ; Maklakov adds lodges in Odessa and Lvov . Two lodges holding allegiance to the GODF were established in Warsaw between 1908 and 1910 , named Renaissance and Liberation ( a name that had originally been planned for the Moscow lodge ). Several sub-lodges of Cosmos Lodge were also opened . Bebutov had to rent an apartment above a K-D office and below a club so that the Masons ’ comings and goings would not draw attention . Several deputies and high-ranking military officers were admitted to the lodge .
Bebutov and Margulies ( Orlov-Davydov having stepped down ) were appointed to represent The North Star and Renaissance at the convention of the GODF in Paris in September 1908 . They kept silent in order to avoid indiscretion , but in any case the two lodges were not officially part of the Grand Orient and are not mentioned in the minutes . The two visitors did make
67 their presence known , however , at the banquets held by the various lodges and chapters . In November 1908 , a three-day Congress held in Bebutov ’ s and Orlov ’ s apartments was attended by various Masons who decided to elect a Supreme Council consisting of three members ( later expanded to six ) to manage the lodges , while Bebutov took charge of managing the chapters . Urusov , Golovin , and Margulies were the first elected members , to be joined by Bebutov , who would handle everyday business . The outcome of this election was met with some dissatisfaction , but the Supreme Council immediately began making contact , with a view to gaining recognition , with other lodges or grand lodges in Zurich , Berlin , Budapest , Venice , and Constantinople , where the Young Turks gave them a warm welcome .
In 1909 , however , rising political and social tension reduced the number of active Masons in Russia to no more than one hundred , according to Margulies . One joined a lodge , he wrote , “ less to perfect oneself morally than to band together ... to gain the courage necessary for all those who believed in their duty to devote their energy to the tireless fight against the absolutism of the Tsars .” Hence the frequent change of location after every two ceremonies , the lack of minutes , files , or records , the issuing of invitations only by telephone and never to the same place , the opening of a new lodge once the first reached twenty members ; hence also the need to memorize the names and rites and to be able , if necessary , to convince the Okhrana toughs ( who might