BOLSHEVIK POWER

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 167, 15 July 1918, Page 5

BOLSHEVIK POWER

7 WANING IN RUSSIA. CZECHO-SLOVAKS IN SIBERIA. LARGE AREA. OVER-RUN. (Received 10.5 a.m.) LONDON, July 14. Bolshevik rule is "' rapidly 'waning throughout Russia, and the influence of the. Lenin Government is now almost confined to Moscow. Local bands of Bolsheviks, which axe largely independent of Lenin, are governing other towns and districts. The most remarkable feature of the Russian situation is the irruption of the Czecho-Slovaks, many thousands of whom deserted from the Austrian army, and fought /with - the Russians against the Austrians and Germane -before the Russian front finally collapsed. Large bodies of • Czechoslovaks then marched eastward, intending to reach Vladivostok, embark for .America, and fight with the Allies on the Western front. These have captured the larger part of the Siberian railway, routed the Siberian Bolsheviks, and now await Japanese intervention. Other bodies of Czechoslovaks remained in European Russia, and defeated the Bolsheviks in ' the Sumara district on the Volga. The Czecho-Slovaks now control 2|500 miles of the main railway from Penza to Nijni Udinsk in Siberia, where they have established their own Government. The Bolsheviks control a short stretch of the Siberian railway from Nijni Udinsk to Chita, the remainder, to Vladivostok, being in the hands of the Czecho-Slovaks. The remarkable achievements of the | Czecho-Slovaks, who are estimated at I over a quarter of a million, have strengthened the Allies' hands. The halfmillion German and Austrian troops on the Eastern front are of second quality. German newspapers assert that it is impossible for the Allies to restore the Eastern front, compelling Ludendorff to withdraw divisions from France to fight the reorganised Russian armies, and the i Czecho-Slovaks. The utmost that Ger- ! many anticipates is that the Allied f efforts will result in Lenin's overthrow j and create guerilla war against German I troops to prevent Germany exploiting! the Brest-Litovsk treaty.—(A. and N.Z.) ! Falk Horvat has proclaimed himself j Premier of Siberia. The Government's programme includes restoration of the Allies treaties, - re-establishment of the Army and the abolition of the Bolshevik decrees.— (United Service.) / GERMANY'S PEACEFUL " DESIGNS. LONDON, July 14. A wireless message states that' Baron yon Hertling, in the Keichstag, emphasised that the chiefs of the army administration were not conducting the war for the sake of war. They had ,told him that as soon as the enemy manifested a serious desire for peace we must follow it up. Yon Hertling continued.- Regarding the East, Germany stood on the basis of the Brest Litovsk peace, which she desired to see loyally carried out. The only impediment was the unsettled condition of Russia. He was inclined to believe in the loyalty of the present Russian Government, but could not unconditionally assume it would be able to carry out its promises. It was still under the depressing influence of the. terrible murder of yon Mirbach. All indications pointed to the Allies having instigated the deed in order to involve Germany in a fresh war with Russia, which they did not want. Yon Hertling added: "Whereas we support the present Russian Government in its desire for peace, it must be remembered that there are varied political currents in Russia. We will not commit ourselves to any political counter cutrent, but we are carefully watching the course that Russia is steering. Yon Kuhbnann'e successor, yon Hintze, possesses a thorough knowledge of Russian affairs. He has promised in all things to follow my policy. Yon Hertling concluded by declaring that the course with which the great majority of the Reichstag agreed last November would etill be followed. —(A. and N.Z. and Reuter.) STOCKHOLM, July 12. As a consequence of the Allied landing on the Murman coast, the war commissariat in Northern Russia has ordered war preparations to be made. Trotzky has proclaimed a partial mobilisation and gathered war materials from the old front. The military censorship has been re-established in Petrograd and North Russia, Bolshevik circles state that the Government hopes for a peaceful settlement but is determined on. war if it proves necessary A Moscow message, via Germany states that one of the murderers of Count yon Mirbacli, the German Ambassador, has been arrested,—(Reuter.) Russia's CIVIL turmoil. CONFLICTING REPORTS. #. PARIS, July 14. The Stockholm correspondent of the "Matin" states that M. Tchernoff, leader of the Social Revolutionaries, is at the. head of numerous armed bands, chiefly composed of peasants, which are marching on- Moscow, and have reached the environs.—(Reuter.) Russian., news from Bolshevik sources insists that there has been a complete suppression of the counter-revolution in various parts of the country. The messages state- that the Czecho-Slovaks were heavily defeated in the Samara region and forced to cross the Volga, north-west of Moscow. Other Czecho-Slovak troops at Tcheshardrimsk, in Eastern Siberia, were also compelled to retreat. The messages indicate the widespread nature of the revolt. The Bolsheviks state that the situation is now secure, and they are preparing a fresh counter-offensive. The chairman of the American Council of Czechs states that there are 100,000 in the Czecho-Slovak forces in Siberia and elsewhere. Advices received from Vladivostok state that the Czecbo-Slovaka attacked an armed force of former German prisoners, of whom the Czechs captured 600. They also took the town of Nikolsk, 80 miles north-west of Vladivostok. A Russian official wireless message states that owing to food shortage cholera is increasing in Petrograd. There Are many hundreds of victims daily... It is* , very difficult to carry on until "the harvest. The councils in the corn provinces have been urged to expedite the dispatch of food to Petrograd.(A. and N.Z. and Reuter.) . . The murderers of Count Mirbach , (German Ambassador at Moscow) have been " --'-■