Contrasts In Russia Described By Tourist

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29801, 18 April 1962, Page 2

Contrasts In Russia Described By Tourist

Contrasts between appalling poverty and signs of wealth and opulence were not obvious to tourists in Russia because of their strict supervision, said Mrs E. M. Day at the Victoria League morning tea yesterday.

Mrs Day, who was speaking about a tour in Russia, said she and a friend managed to take a bus ride in Moscow one day and saw that the conditions in which many Russians lived were “unbelievable.” By comparison, the expense lavished on what the authorities wanted tourists to see was “infuriating,” Mrs Day said.

Underground tube railways in Moscow were an example. In one afternoon, Mrs Day’s party saw eight tube stations, eaeb more beautiful than the last. One had 54 chandeliers There were archways with bronze figures representing the workers, lead-light windows and murals covering walls and ceilings. The trains were as spotlessly clean as the stations, with no litter anywhere, and were packed with travellers. The Kremlin was a dream place. Mrs Day said. Although the Russians hated their former Tsars, they were proud of the relics of Tsarist rule, which they preserved for the tourist industry Crucifix’s, Bibles, and priests’ vestments were studded with precious gems, and the wealth in the Kremlin was “unbelievable.”

Russian circuses were another example that Mrs Day cited. She had seen one in England, which had gone to such lengths to impress as to have carpet instead of sawdust in the ring, potted plants all around, and magnificent costumes. But when she visited a Russian circus on home ground, Mrs Day said, it was extremely poor. "The only anima! they had was a performing hippo, she said. In country districts there was evidence of great poverty. But the collective farm districts were well kept and beautifully farmed, the workers living in a community area instead of their homes being dotted about the countryside. Roads running through the country were bitumen sealed, quite straight for many miles, and tree-lined But there were no service stations, rest rooms, or restaurants. Mrs Day said. A notable feature of city life was that women did the manual labour—tending the bittsmen . roads, chipping footpaths. sweeping streets painting and conereting the buddings “They were a poor and dour-looking lot. and did not appear to be young." Mrs Day said. Women were never seen

carrying parcels that looked as if they might contain hats, clothes, or material. Moscow’s only really impressive store was filled with food shops, where women shoppers filled their string bags with onions, cucumbers and potatoes.

Mrs Day found the food tn Russia very boring and unappetising. Tourists entering the country had been warned to take a prescribed amount each day of a tonic food to build up their resistance and supplement the lack of vitamins and minerals in the diet. "We ate cucumbers till we nearly looked like one. and I was once served with 14 potatoes on my plate.” Mrs Day said. In hotel dining rooms and restaurants, service was poor and the tablecloths and the waitresses not particularly clean. During its tour, Mrs Day’s party had been under continual supervision Their guides kept them fully occupied. and never missed a chance of “spinning stories.” “Guides were well schooled on Communist teachings, and you couldn’t avoid it.” Mrs Day said. They had only answered those questions they

wanted to, and evaded issues raised by the tourists. Mrs Day had noticed in Russia the great emphasis placed on Communist youth Children were instructed from a very early age in special schools they attended to release their mothers for work. "There is no middle-class there—one is either a labourer or a student,” Mrs Day said. Few Churches In Leningrad, a city of several million persons, there were only 18 active churches. 14 of which were mosques Roman Catholicism was barely tolerated, and if a Protestant tourist wished to attend a service he would go to his appropriate embassy. Tourists rarely saw inside an active church—in one city of 40 churches, every one was used as a museum. After Russia, Mrs Day went to Poland, where she noticed a distinct change in the atmosphere. “We' felt lighthearted again, and the people smiled and seemed happy.” she said. Poland, although still a Russian ally and a Socialist country, had broken away from Russia in many respects. Mrs Day said.