RUSSIA’S RUTHLESS WAY.

Evening Star, Issue 21099, 11 May 1932, Page 9

RUSSIA’S RUTHLESS WAY.

Soviet Russia continues to follow its dedared policy of severely punishing those whose actions delay the progress of its industrial programme, or who otherwise do injury to the social scheme.Soviet justice recently meted out death sentences to eight found guilty of sabotage, bringing the total number of those condemned to death for this crime to twenty since the first of the year, says the New York ‘Times.’ In addition, a number have been sentenced to death as racketeers, while robbers who preyed on freight car cargoes received death sentences 'and long terms of imprisonment. Recently a Sverdlovsk court sentenced three men to be shot and forty-five others to prison terms for “ attempting to reduce the city to starvation ” by stealing tho foodstuffs of workers. The penalty for murder in Russia is ten years’ imprisonment, while other acts—considered less serious in the Western World—are thus punished by. the extreme penalty. The sentencing of the railroad workers is a result of the Soviet’s difficult situation in regard to the carriers.; While some otlu r divisions of the Five-year Plan have increased production and made good progress, reports indicate that the rails have not kept in line and that transportation delays have in many cases nullified these production gains. So in July, 1930, Railroad Commissar M. L. Rukhimovitch proposed capital punishment for those whose carelessness caused railroad wrecks, and in January, 1931, the Central Executive Committee issued a decree fixing death as the" penalty for persons convicted' of malicious 1 disorganisation of the transportation system, and ten years’ imprisonment for those who caused train delays, but who lacked malicious intent.

In September, 1930, the Soviet Government launched an intensive drive against its so-called “criminals,” and an unusual number of executions took place in that month. In Moscow three men were shot by the Ogpu. for causing fires through criminal negligence, and two Communist farmers, brothers, were executed for attempted murder—the _ intended victim having been an official who was investigating their method of making profits. In Moscow, also, forty-eight were shot as counterrevolutionaries plotting to create a food panic, and eight others were put to death for activities of a different nature—hoardipg silver and gold' coins and carrying on anti-Soviet propaganda. In April, 1931, six former Soviet officials were sentenced to death in connection with abuses in • the collection of grain. That same month ten persons received the death penalty at Dniepetrovsk.