St. Petersburg
Having received an urgent telegram from Menshikov, Nicholas I developed a headache, especially when he saw the estimated ammunition consumption noted at the end; his heart bled at the thought of the cost—this was all money!
For this war, the Tsarist Government had already spent three to four hundred million rubles, and if the economic losses caused by the war were included, this figure could be doubled.
Where was victory? No one could answer this question. Judging from the situation on the battlefield, a decisive outcome between the two sides seemed very far off.
If he had known in advance that the war would turn out like this, Nicholas I was certain he would never have initiated it.
Losses in personnel were bearable—Russia was large and could withstand it—but the cost of the war completely exceeded his expectations.
