The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE IN INCORPORATED The Evening News Morning News and The Echo. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1918. THE RUSSIAN SITUATION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 57, 23 February 1918, Page 4

The Auckland Star: WITH WHICH ARE IN INCORPORATED The Evening News Morning News and The Echo.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1918. THE RUSSIAN SITUATION.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that need* resistance, For the -future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

In spite of the fact that the Russian Government is reported to have accepted tho German ultimatum—which apparently means that at one moment they ■were prepared to allow the German armies to occupy what they pleased of Russia—there seems to he no doubt that at the present time some sort of attempt is being made to organise resistance to this new invasion. We may surmise that when the Bolshevik leaders formally accepted the ultimatum (which, by the way, was adopted in their council by a very small majority, at the instance of Lenin, who has been proved to have taken bribes from the Germans) the sincere enthusiasts among them really believed that thig 6.ign of pacifism and goodwill would produce a sympathetic effect upon tho mass of the German people and soldiers. As the well-informed correspondent of the "Daily Chronicle" at Petrograd puts it, the Bolsheviks believed "that-the German soldiers would refuse to attack revolutionary Russia," and they are described as surprised and alarmed at Germany's new move. This very significant comment reveals the pathetic ignorance of the Bolsheviks and their utter incapacity for dealing with tho practical aspects of the situation. For we might expect that it would be difficult to find outside a lunatic asylum anyone who honestly believes that democratic sentiment or "the solidarity of the proletariat" has yet liad any effect in undermining the discipline or the loyalty of the German armies. The fatuous doctrine of "internationalism" has become with the Bolsheviks a childish superstition, which, like "the insane root that takes the reason prisoner," has paralysed at once tho brain and nerve nnd strength of the Russian people. Let us hope that the shock of this disillusionment will arouse them from their drugged sleep before it is too late.

The, position of Russia and its Government is now precarious in the extreme. For though orders havo been issued to stop the demobilisation of the armies and to reorganise the navy, it is almost inconceivable that any effective steps can now he taken to create order out of chaos and to restore Russia's military and naval resources even to thoir old footing of efficiency. One interesting fact which throws a great deal of light upon the present position is that the Bolshevik Government on investigating the defences of the capital found that a largo number of guns had been rendered useless by pro-German agents during the early days of tho revolutionary outbreak. But even without the insidious aid of German spies, Russia is now reduced to such a condition of impotence that it is hard to imagine how any effective resistance can he made to the invader. The Germans arc advancing Tapidly along the northern lines and roads which connect Petrograd with Riga and Dvinsk, a strong fleet is following thorn on the coast and at tho same time they aro pressing on further south with the object of cutting the lines by which the northern provinces are supplied with food from the Ukraine; and if they are prepared to devote a considerable number of troops to this enterprise there is nothing to prevent their entering the Russian capital in a few days or weeks at latest. In view of all this the Bolshevika eeem to have decided that no systematic operations are possible against the overwhelming strength of the enemy, and they intend therefore to confine thjrmselves to a guerrilla warfare, harassing the German forces, cutting off their supplies, and threatening their communications as they advance farther from their own frontiers. This is the policy which succeeded so admirably against Napoleon a century ago; it is the method of warfare in which the righting races of Russia have always excelled, and it certainly seems to 'he the strategy best suited to the present tragic situation.

However, there is still tho possibility that Russia, in this hour of dire extremity, may produce a man strong and bold enough to save his country. As we have repeatedly pointed out, quite apart from the German invasion, the only way out of the chaotic turmoil into which thig unhappy country has been plunged lies through a military despotism. Unless some central authority is set up, able and willing to restore order, if needs be, by the sword, this reign of bloodshed and terror and chaos must continue. But if stability of government, and security for life and property and respect for constitutional privileges were once established firmly, as under Napoleon, the Russian people like the French nation at the opening of the nineteenth century, would secure and enjoy all the fruits of the great movement which has overthrown the Autocracy, but so far has only plunged the country into a deeper and more hopeless servitude. Already before the peace negotiations were broken off, there were evident signs that large sections of the nation were looking eagerly for some leader to gather round and to follow, whether against Bolshevik tyrants or foreign foes. Korniloff, Kaledin, and many more have started on the difficult and dangerous path that leads to a military dictatorship, and at the, present moment the progress which Alexieff is making in Central Russia suggests that possibly in tbe old Commander-in-

Chief, one of the ablest strategists and soldiers of the day, Russia may yet find her deliverer. Of course, in regard to the result of the invasion, everything will depend on the extent to which the mass of the Russian people can be aroused to a se'nso of their common danger, and the necessity for securing their newfound right to govern themselves against the aggressive tyranny of the Germans. In the South the Germans expect to be welcomed by the Little Russians as deliverers; at least that is the pose they have chosen to adopt. But the people of the Ukraine will speedily discover that German military rule is quite incompatible with any sort of constitutional freedom. Incidentally we may remark that the Germans need not expect to get much food from the Ukraine, a fact which even the Austrian Premier has publicly recognised. In the north of Russia- the task of the German invaderß may be in one sense easier. But now that they have thrown off the mask they may be trusted to undeceive the Bolsheviks so completely by their audacious demands that the Russian people will be goaded into resistance, and will realise that the hated German is still their inveterate and irreconcilable foe. No doubt if the Germans succeed in occupying Petrograd their victory will restore their self-confidence and strengthen the failing moral of their armies. But, on the other hand, if the Central Powers attempt operations' on a large scale against Russia, they will need to employ so many troops that the advantage thus secured by the Allies on the Western front will far more than outweigh the injury inflicted on their cause by the collapse and defection of Russia.