London-Moscow Express—III Fantastic Extremes Abound In Russia

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29246, 2 July 1960, Page 10

London-Moscow Express—III Fantastic Extremes Abound In Russia

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PETER MUNRO]

Russia is a land of fantastic extremes. Extremes of temperament, habits, weather, methods and res- : ults. . i; Journeyin; s os :h< vast plain from, Poland to Moscow with the temperature in the eighties, I found it hard to realise that countless thousands of Hapoleon’s jaM, Hiy,gr’s soldiers perished frpi exposure. Nor, wandering aritfand in shirtsleeves in the almost Mediterranean climate of Leningrad, is it easy to believe that the Neva river, a quarter of a mile wide, is frozen solid for three months of the year. There are maqy other contrasts, too. The mean houses and the fantastic 1 Leningrad underground stations, each one a -vast marble palace, of individual design having a special theme—some earnest subjects like Revolution or Russian* Science, others such as a eautiful memorial to the writer Pushkin, honouring a great man. It is difficult to describe these extraordinary stations but they contain so much marble and sculpture, so many frescoes and gigantic candlesticks they must have cost a fortune. The underground trains themselves are fast '‘■and frequent (every two minutes for most of the day) nd hey ai ep immaculately clean as, indeed, are the stations themselves. There are. some, litter baskets, but the Russians just don’t drop litter, any way. “People are proud of their stations. They would not drop paper bn the floor any more than would a guest in your home,” explained an official. All Done in 8 Years Leningrad’s whole underground railway system was started in 1947 and completed in just eight years. Britain has been arguing for twice as long about building a few miles of line beneath Victoria. Furthermore, it was started in a city in which a million people had died of starvation and bombing during a momentous two-year-siege. It is an astonishing order of priorities.

After noting the efficiency of the Russian underground and the obvious quality of the heavy engineering work, I wondered at the strangely ramshackle air of my hotel bathroom, the rail that was practically falling off the wall, the roughly bent piece of wire that was the toilet-paper holder. An even more remarkable contrast, perhaps, is this: Russian railways have a fine system of telecommunications and a great dear of colour light signalling on, at. least,. the ; Berlin-Moscow line; Yet every few miles stands a K?’ an railway worker waving a little yellow) flag to give the driver aII cJ ear”—a survival from 19th century hand-signalling that must be unique in the world and which, so far as I could discover serves no useful purpose! I Shall Remember:— Being buttonholed by the spivs in Red Square and offered 60 roubles for a £1 note (the tourist rate is 18) and by bright-eyed little boys with a carefully rehearsed “Have you any gum please.” - The elderly man on the underground who, seeing we were Westerners, snatched a child’s picture from his pocket and waving it at us with hatred *? ,s e yes, shouted: Think of the children, warmongers, think of the childThe admiring crowd around an elegant Rolls-Bentley outside a Leningrad hotel.' The groups of American tourists, middle-aged folks “doing Europe"—and there are a surprising number of them in Russia now. Demand Far Security I came, back from Russia with one firm conviction—that the ordinary Russian wants security and

do. And the more his living standards improve, the greater his desire for security.. The collapse of the summit conference did riot seem to have created any great gloom in Russia. But one doesn’t have to be there long to discover that everyone is convinced that Mt Khrushchev did right;and thateMr for bpF-msmissing the men" responsible for the JU-fated • U-2 flight. ' I saw the remains of the U-2 which is still on public exhibition in Moscow. There .was no, hatred in the attitude of Russians looking' at the wreckage; rather an air. of smug satisfaction at having caught the Americans out , and given them a iesson. For all that,. I got the impression that there was, despite the cold war, a sneaking admiration for American technical skill. In all the talks I had with ’ Russian people, I could never make our concepts of freedom and democracy understood. Nor could I ever shake their belief —faith is, perhaps, a better word —in the superiority of the Soviet i political and, more important, economic systems. That sense of being right is a ; typical Russian characteristic • rather than a product of commun- • ism. But it makes any sort of i discussion infuriatingly difficult. : To sum up. I am convinced ! that the express to, .Moscow is , a worthwhile venture for. which the British and Soviet railways ■ alike should be congratulated. The ■ more Western tourists that go on I it, the better for the Soviet and I for us, because I believe we have a lot to learn from Russia now. But it will be a greater day I when this train becomes for the t Russians an express to London. t When the Muscovite can buy a , ticket to the West as easily as I ; bought one to the East, we shall ’ all be able to travel through life I without feaf. ; (Central Press All Rights ■ Reserved.) ’ (Concluded)