BLACK EARTH

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 167, 17 July 1941, Page 14

BLACK EARTH

RICH UKRAINE

VAST POPULATION

IS QUISLING IN SIGHT?

Only by seizing the wealth and resources of the Soviet Ukraine and the oil which lies beyond it in the Soviet Caucasus could Hitler feed and maintain his war effort, against Britain and its American arsenal, states an article in the magazine "News Review," published early in May.

By far the richest part of the Ukraine, a territory of 151,730 square kms and 28,000,000, or 20 per cent of Russia's total population, has always been dominated by Russia and is now a Soviet republic. This famous steppe land, which up to the eighteenth century was inhabited bv Tartar nomads, has a rich black loam 30ft deep in some places. On this the tall, long-limbed Ukrainians could raise enough wheat to reed all Germany and still leave some over for export. The other important ground crop is sugar beet, which amounts to two-thirds of the total Soviet sugar production. Other big crops are maize, barley, rye. potatoes, sunflower seeds, hemp, melons and cucumbers.

Heavy Coal Output

The industrial production makes it even more certain that Stalin could not afford to yield the Ukraine without destroying Soviet economy. The Donetz region provides the "Soviet with three-quarters of its total coal production. In 1937 this amounted to 67,000,000 tons—more than three times the output of France, Poland or Japan. Much of it was anthracite so low in ash content, so high in calories, that it could profitably be exported even to the United States. , The Ukraine's other really big item is iron. The Krivoi Rog iron region produced 9.000,000 tons in 1937 and supplied the Soviet with most of its cast iron.

Other minerals are rock salt, manganese, copper, phosphorite, mercury, slate, pottery clays, lithographic stone, mineral paints, lime, chalk, gypsum (yielding alabaster) and building stone. The chief industries are flour milling, sugar refining, brewing, distilling, tobacco manufacture, tanning and textile manufacture.

Close to the Dnieper, at Dneproges, Lenin's slogan, "Socialism is the Soviet s plus electrification," was realised by the installation of eight Of the world's largest turbines. These iorm the power source for a network of aluminium, quality steel, and machinery plants which turn out tractors, ships, aeroplanes and motor cars.

The Dnieper Valley, which is still not more than 12 hours' tank ride irom the Germans in Rumania, also contains plants producing artificial manures bricks, pottery, cement, aluminium and ferro-manera-Pif s - e * r such resources within their frontiers, the Ukrainian people form a powerful modern State JLt" e y could achieve independence, l , he ma fazine. Red propaganda claims that this is out of the question. The Ukrainians are said She te Sov a £t y unton^ OUd *° b ° lvllhln

Nationalist Movement hi3nnf be ?°* but "Ukrainian PnthSL ® " ot confir m it. The ttuthenian immigrants who colonised rrooTi« r r ca ™P in ff grounds formed communities and became known as the Cossacks. The Ukrainian national movement began jmd-nineteenth century. r.r-?ha, , ? uss ' a iJ ls to stop it by g * 0 Ukrainian language and fomenting pro-Russian move(?,al!cia ancl Ruthenia. These failed, and when the Great mmt ol ii t the se P a ratist movethi T? gav ® shnH tongue. In 1917 -^" sslan revolution gave the national movement its opportunity break away and form a Ukrainian at Kiev rep c wit h headquarters At first the Bolsheviks raised no tbHno° nt 0 the new republic nego tiatmg a separate peace with the Germans at Brest-Litovsk. At the 'TVu ey , sct 11 P a rival governiqls nL^ rk( T' , ancl in January, 1918, Trotsk.v declared against a separate peace for the Ukrainians. -Hut the Central Powers were in desperate need of food supplies, and signed a separate peace with the

Kiev Government by which they were to be provided with wheat. The Bolsheviks brought such pressure to bear on the Kiev rada that Kiev appealed to Central Powers for help and German and Austrian troops marched in, mainly to secure the stipulated food supplies which had not been forthcoming.

Skoropadsky Appeal's

In Kiev the German commander, General Eichorn, issued a proclamation demanding that cultivation be pushed forward. This led to a quarrel with the rada, which was dissolved by the Germans, who installed a historic figure. General Pavel Skoropadsky, as Hetman or Governor Reacting violently, the Ukrainians demanded their rada back and assassinated General Eichorn.

The Hetman maintained his rickety rule until November. 1918, when the Central Powers collapsed and the demoralised army of occupation streamed out. Hetman Skoropadskv was shortly afterwards driven out by the Ukrainian nationalist, Petljura. After much unrest Red influence triumphed, and in July. 1923, the Ukrainian Socialist Republic became a constituent member of the Soviet Union.

There still remained Skoropadsky. For the past 15 years the lost cause of Ukrainian independence has hovered round his mysterious figure. During that time he has remained in strict retirement inside Germany. Reportedly he has now moved towards the land of his dreams and taken up headquarters under Nazi auspices in Cracow.