RUSSIAN ARMY

Grey River Argus, 11 September 1939, Page 10

RUSSIAN ARMY

Recent Purges The year 1938 will go down in Russian history as the second year of the great Stalin purge, writes Donald Day from Jhe Baltic to Ihe “Chicago Tribune.” Demotions, and exiles have run into the tens of thousands. Despite efforts of the Soviet authorities to conceal the thing from the outside world a careful survey of the official Soviet Press confirms that the number of victims of the 1938. slaughter was even greater than in 1937. lhe new year finds the population of Russia completely demoralised. A short harvest in general with a crop failure in many provinces has. caused a famine in both Ukrainia and White Russia. Late fall sowing and chaotic cultivation indicate a poor summer harvest, next year. Industry, also purged, is breaking down. Most industries report that production is falling. The Red Army received the severest blow. Ninety per cent, of the higher officers of the general staff were "liquidated.” Fifty per cent, of the remaining commanding officers have disappeared into Ogpu gaols. The result was revealed by the “Krasnaija Svesda,” the Red Army newspaper, which said that most army crops and divisions are now commanded by men who only last year were lieutenants.. Regiments and battalions are commander by former privates, hurriedly trained in a six month’s course to make them “fit for commissions.” After a careful survey of all available sources of official Soviet publications, the Baltic Bureau of the "Tribune” can report that not a single commander of any of the military districts or separate Red fleets has held his post for twelve months. The fol ■ lowing fact is the best proof of the. extent of the purge in the army:— In connection with the twentieth anniversary of the Red Army, the Council of National Commissars decided to decorate with a special order 25,000 officers. It took just one month to prepare and print the list of decoratea persons. It was then discovered that during this month the number of men to receive decorations had suddenly decreased by more than 2000. In other words, during a single month 2000 older officers were ‘“liquidated.” Among those purged wer.e:— Deputy Commissar of National Defence Marshal Yegorov. Lieutenant-General Fedko. Commander of the Far Eastern Red Army, Marshal Bluecher. Commander of the Pacific fleet, Admiral Kireyev, and of the Leningrad district, Rear-Admiral Dybenko, one of the men who played an important role in the 1917 revolution.

Commander of the White Russian military district, General Belov, and of the Ural military district, Briga-dier-General Safronov.

Marshal Bluecher's assistant, General Levandovski, commander of the Pacific coast defences. Commander of the Trans-Caucasian Military District Army Corps, General Kuibishev. Commander of the North Caucasian Military District Army Corps, General Gribov.

Substitute chief of the political administration of the Red Army, General Bulin. (An important post which controls political commissars in the, army). All heads of all military academies and training schools. Chiefs of the political administration of the army in all districts. Also a complete clean-up in the quartermaster corps.

Although during the last twelve months repeated purges were made in all branches of industry, transport, and rural economy, those who sufferer most this year were officials who were members of the Communist Party. Stalin did not spare his closest collaborators. Two members of the Politbureau, Kossior and Tchubar, disappeared and were accused of treason. Two substitutes for the Politbureau, Postichev and Eiche, were also purged. The Politbureau is the highest governing body in Russia, controlling the Soviet Government, Communist Inter-, national, and Communist Party policies. Twenty district secretaries of the party disappeared. These men, who possesses almost unlimited power over former provinces (now districts) of Russia, were blamed for the break-, down of party morale, acts of sabotage in the administration and industries transport, and various branches of agriculture under their control. Another development revealing the extent of the nurge is that of the twenty-nine people’s commissars who last January were triumphantly confirmed in office by the first session oi the Parliament, twelve have disappeared into the cells of the G.P-U. They are: — National Commissars Kossior and. Tchubar.

National Commissar of Communications and Roads Bakulin. Natinal Commissar of Waler Transport Pahomov. National Commissar of the Machine Building Industry Bruskin. National Commissar of the Food Industry Gilinski. National Commissar of the Timber Industry Ryshkov, a former Ogpu. leader. National Commissar of Naval Defence Smirnov. National Commissar of Agriculture Eiche. National Commissar of Harvest Preparations Popov. National Commissar of ForeignTrade Tchvialov. National Commissar Chief of the State Bank Gritchmanov. Together with these twelve Soviet Ministers, the OGPU also arrested fifteen deputy commissars. Dictator Stalin not only purged the central Government at Moscow, but all of the various national republics which comprise the U.S.S.R. Another intensely interesting development which puzzles Russian observers is that although the Ogpu was thoroughly purged, it continues to function as Stalin’s greatest weapon for terrorising Russia. _ The most important victims of the 1938 terror were those involved in trials in Moscow last March, when the former Chief of the Council of People’s Commissars, Rykov; the leading theorist of Bolshevism, Bukharin; the former chief of the Ogpu, Kagoda; the National Commissar of Finance, Grinko; former Deputy Commissar of Foreign Affairs, Krestinski, former National Commissar of Agriculture, Tchernov; the former National Commissar of the Timber Industry Ivanov; the former National Commissar of Foreign Trade,, Rozenholz, anl the former Ambassador to France. (Rakovski, and others were shot. ' There is much talk in Russia about

the seemng immunity of the all powerful Kaganovich family from the reign of terror of the last two years. The Kaganovich family are at present occupying the following positions in Russia:—

Lazar is the right-hand man of Stalin, he is a member of the Political Bureau, National Commissar of Communication and Roads, National Commissar of Heavy Industry, deputy to the Supreme Council of tiie U.S.S.R. and R.S.F.S.R., and Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. His sister, or according to other sources, his daughter, is either the wife of mistress of Stalin. Two of his sisters occupy high posts in Moscow. Michail is National Commissar of the Defence Industry; he is a member of the Central Committee of the Party, and deputy of the Supreme Council.

Julius is secretary of the party organisation in the Gorki district. (Formerly* Nishni Novgorod). Andrie is Director .of the State Trade Organisation in the Kiev district. . . Baruch heads the industry supplying uniforms to the Red Army. Sergie is chief of the textile trust. Marie is president of the Trade Union of the knitted goods industry. None of the Kaganovichs has been either named o r involved in the last two years of terror and this fact has caused rumours to spread that Lazar Kaganvich may succeed Stalin as Red Tsar in the Moscow Kremlin.