The Hawera Star. MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1928. BEHIND THE SCENES IN RUSSIA.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 6 August 1928, Page 6

The Hawera Star.

MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1928. BEHIND THE SCENES IN RUSSIA.

Delivered every evening by 5 o’olook in Hawera. Manair.. Norrnanby. Okaiawa. Eltham, MaDgatoki. Kaponga. Alton, Hurleyville Patea. Waverlev. Mo_ola. Whakamara, Ohangai, Meremere. Fraser R.nmJ. and Arsrata.

An almost unbearably painful account of the Ru&siain. revolution' is 'given by Gon'erail P. N. KraSsmoff in “From Double Eagle to Red Flag. ’ ’ The Author, a Don Oaslsaack toy toirtto, toad a distinguished record iin: the army. He served iin a Guard Oosswck regiment n,t, P-etrograd, and during the war 'commanded a brigade on the Eastern front. Ho sets down the facts without comm'Cfnt or ’criticism. It is not surprising to leain that toils .book too® “provoked indignation in certain, quarters.' ’ V hen men delitocraitely descend toeuegtto the level of beasts the story of itheiir doings i ; s not -likely to present, them An a favourable light. General Krassnoff makes it clear that- a' revolution—although mot necessarily one on these lines —was inevitable. The fabric of t.h© empire wais rotten. The expression “Czar of all the Russia®” is proverbially associated with the possession of absolute power, ye.t Nicholas 11. was a cipher, too weak to assert toimiselif. Ho was surrounded toy unscrupulous 1 Ministers, who kept 'him in ignorance of affairs and pursued their own selfish ends. The aristocracy was pleasureloving and blind to its responsibilities; corruption and oppression' were rife, and Russia was fertile soil far the revolutionary. No revolution, aver sueeedes without preparation, and the analrehiists took long views. They sedulously sowed the seed, training even little children- dm the practice of cruelty, thus ensuring that recruits to the movement were equipped for the wiork that lay before them. Shortly after I the outbreak of the walr the Bolshevists judged that the time had come to put into operation the initial part of their scheme, namely, the demoralisation of 'the army. The programme was thus defined toy one of their spokesmen: — ‘ ‘ The educated 'classes . . . are o

herd of cowardly sheep, and i!t. wi'll suffice to scatter them in the ranks of the army it o sec it decomposed toy them as toy a.' u-oxious microbe. Make- -a. 'laingliingHstoek of tlie -officers' in whatever way you choose- . . . so that the

rank of a general 'shall seem at disgrace ainid 'that of a sold ior, flvommir. Play upon ,-tihiO public nidimitratiom of -the soldier’s merits, and gradually form mew soldiers with nothing military about -them. . . Raise criminals (to hoboes ami got. the criminal classes ho side with you.” And more ito (the same purpose. The revolution 1 could have boon .effected with a' nnlmimium .Off violence. The alrmy was war-weary, the airisitiocratis were few in number, and were unorganised; rtho peasants were apathetic aim'd the bourgeoisie were spineless —as was proved by ithe event wheu (they made uo attempt to sell their lives dearly, but allowed themselves to be killed like 'cattle. There « was no necessity for the savage massacres, the author claims. Russia as a whole would have acquiesced in .the now regime, 'but such a quiet readjustI m.onit would not .have suited the Bolsheviks ’ plan. Their object wa's to create [ am. atmosphere in which mottling was saicred and nothing secure. All iimstihut loins had to go by the board. Religion, morality, and flaw were flouted and held up to. derision, and It.o achieve this ai.m they did not shrink from, the most revolting actions. After victims by the kicjOtci had been murdered by the Chinese executioners, the latter calmly carved up their corpses and the dismembered bodies -wore fed to; the animals in the zoo. A son had his father—a. general—shot after subjecting him .to fiendish tortures. When the impulse to evil doing became jaded, these monsters goaded themselves to fresh iniquities with .cocaine. But- even this stimulus' failed', and one of them complained that he had tried everything, tasted .everything, and found everything tedious. He yearned for a. new sensation. Even depravity palls. This was the type .that brought the 1 ‘ glorious revolution ’ ’ to pass! General Tv'rassnoff’s l book should cure any same person who feels any sympathy for that revolution or for Communistic ideas. “The Chiriistianis l ,” (nuns a, Bolshevik manifesto, “preach that- their lives must be piloted by .three virtues, Faith, Hope and Charity, Charity taking the lead. Our system consists in sowing unbelief, despair, and hate, hate above all.”